Cutest Doggie Door Ever

How Darling.

If the door to the house is closed, it appears there is a holding area on the porch where the dog can have shelter and dry off. Photo found here.

xo, Rosemary @ Content in a Cottage

New House with Classic Elements

I adore linen presses in hallways of old homes and so appreciate seeing them in new construction. High ceilings and transoms over the doors are another feature I like and these floorboards are wonderful. xo

Distressed Cat Face

Look at that cat's face in the last photo. I don't blame her for being distressed about having to share her food with a possum. So adorable! Photo found here.

Topiary Perfection

Could anything be more lovely? I think not. The house. The walk. The clipped topiaries. Perfection. via

Kanopy: Free Movies w/ Library Card

The public library from my old house is much closer to my cottage than the public library of the town where I pay taxes. Last month I turned in my old library card from 1975 (sniff) and got a new one from The Library of the Chathams because they had just gotten the KANOPY streaming service for card holders. I can stream 10 free movies per month and many of them are current Golden Globe winners.

These photos are screen shots from my laptop. Click either photo to enlarge. I pulled up Kanopy from the Madison NJ library so it wouldn't show my log-in information. Click here to see the website. Don't try to log in because you will need to log in to your own local library to see if they have Kanopy https://www.kanopy.com. Hope this isn't too confusing. Read the articles below first.

The New York Times wrote a great introduction to this service that streams 30,000 movies and documentaries. My librarian told me academics love it for the meaty content and many colleges offer it to students and staff. Even die-hard movie fans who see everything that comes out at movie houses will still find something they haven't seen. Read the article and be amazed. You can call your library to see if they have it or are planning on getting it. I am happy my library picked 10 as the number of free movies for members. The Morristown library near me only offers 6 to their members. It's an arbitrary choice for each library. If you live in a small town where they will never get this service, I remember reading somewhere that you can get it as an individual for $150.00 annually. That is about the same price as Amazon Prime though it doesn't stream TV shows. I would imagine an individual membership might offer unlimited access but I'm not sure. 

Anyway, I just wanted to make you aware that this exists. It streams to your computer, iPad, or phone or other mobile devices. You can stream through your TV with Apple TV or Roku or Chromecast too.

Check it out, I know you will love Kanopy. Hooray for Libraries!

PS: I had to mail something today and the postmaster said first class stamps are going up to 55 cents each starting 1/27/19 so buy some forever stamps before then. 

Video: Nordic Skating on Thin Black Ice in Sweden

This small lake outside Stockholm, Sweden, emits otherworldly sounds as Mårten Ajne skates over its precariously thin, black ice. “Wild ice skating” or “Nordic skating” is both an art and a science. A skater seeks out the thinnest, most pristine black ice possible -- both for its special smoothness, and for its high-pitched sounds of cracking. This is so exhilarating to watch!!!!!

View full screen if you are watching this video on a computer. It is truly amazing and don't forget to turn on the sound. If you cannot see the video, here is the link for a National Geographic feature on YouTube.

English Hare Portrait

Photographed by Margaret the Novice in Suffolk England. Click on the link and follow the arrows to see more delightful photos of this hare that posed for her while she sat in her car. Love! xo

Blooming Amaryllis at My Cottage

In the few days since I took these photos, a third flower has bloomed on my stunning Amaryllis. I hope I will have success in forcing it to bloom again next year. I have done it in the past but I will have to refresh my memory on how to do it. I seem to remember planting it outside and then bringing it in and putting it in the refrigerator. These flowers are way too pretty for just one season. This pot was a Christmas present from a friend.

xo

Small Space Love

There is not a single thing I do not love in this photograph. Obviously an antique-loving gardener who likes to fish lives here. The painted floor and the old drop leaf table painted white set off the collection of old watering cans. Love it!

I have been advised that the first photo is from this book: "Nora Murphy's Country House Style" Making your Home A Country House. Thank you for all the comments crediting the first photo. I am so glad to know the source. xo

Wild Owl. Old Church.

What a beautiful photograph. Found here.

Lovely Royal Crests by Jessica Roux

Royal Crest with Pomegranate

Tudor Rose

Royal Crest with Tudor Rose

Jessica Roux is an illustrator new to me and I love her work. I chose these three black and white illustrations of Royal Crests because they are so beautiful. 

FATAL THRONE: INTERIOR ILLUSTRATIONS - Click to read more.
Black and white interior illustrations for the Young Adult book "Fatal Throne: The Wives of Henry VIII Tell All"published by Schwartz & Wade. Each chapter is told from the perspective of one of the wives of Henry VIII by different authors. Each one of the chapter header illustrations show the heraldic badge of the wives.

I consumed no added sugar yesterday. Yay. xo

New Year's Day 2019

I think I made this in 2009. I scanned a page of a decorative alphabet and cropped the individual letters to spell out this greeting. I am having my morning tea with no honey this morning in an effort to cut down on all the sugar I consumed over Christmas, Thanksgiving and Halloween. 

"A new year's resolution is something that goes in one year and out the other." I hope I can keep mine.

Happy New Year 2019

HAPPY NEW YEAR

It is raining at my cottage but it isn't cold. 

Happy New Year to each and every one of my fabulous followers. Wishing you all good health, happiness, and prosperity in the coming year. xo

Bird Camouflage

Alaskan state bird Willow Ptarmigan (Lagopus lagopus) blending in with winter landscape. Photo: Anthony Madden. via Isn't this photograph spectacular? Mother Nature never ceases to amaze me!

Have a great New Year's Eve. I am watching BBC World News America and it is already midnight in Japan where they celebrate the new year with oranges. I like that!

Christmas Eve at My Cottage with Luminaria

Christmas Eve 2018 at My Cottage

I finally edited an iPhone photo and made it good enough to post. I used the photo editor built into my phone. I am so happy my across-the-street neighbors invited me to participate in luminaries to set out on Christmas Eve. I did my walkway too and it was magical. The long-burning fat candles amazed me. I had no idea they would burn between 10 and 12 hours depending on the wind conditions. My neighbors ordered the bags and candles here. This is going to be a tradition for me for sure. I took this photo about 10:30 pm when the full moon was above my cottage and the stars were plentiful and bright. Only 6 families signed up, two next to me and three contiguous properties on the other side. Several friends said they drove through and commented on how beautiful it was. Maybe more will participate next year. I hope so. One more day until year's end. Where did it go? xo

Real Life Gingerbread Houses

Can you see these houses in Wroclaw, Poland as gingerbread houses? I surely can. via

Tiny Kitten. Enormous Window.

This tiny black kitten looks extra small sitting in this enormous window. I guess he's having some huge daydreams in his favorite napping place. via

Kindness is Like Snow

"Kindness is like snow.

It beautifies everything it covers."

Khalil Gibran

via

Gorgeous Hotel Bathroom

Capri Palace Hotel and Spa via Have you ever seen a more beautiful shower floor?

Fox Chasing Hare Papercutting Gif

The fox will never win in this creative moving animated gif. I love the papercuts. via

Simple Christmas Decor

I love this minimalist Christmas tree and package wrapping. Simple is good. My neighbors across the street put out luminaria last year on Christmas Eve and this year they invited all the people on the street to do so too. They ordered all the supplies. I decided to only do my front walk and just finished putting out my white paper bags filled with sand with a fat candle inside. I won't be home when it's time to light them so my neighbors will light mine. It will look so nice when I come home.

lu·mi·nar·i·a

noun

a Christmas lantern consisting of a votive candle set in a small paper bag weighted with sand and typically placed with others along a driveway, sidewalk, or rooftop as a holiday decoration.

UPDATE: I was amazed at how long the luminaries lasted after they were lit at dusk. The special candles lasted for almost 12 hours. My neighbors ordered them here.

Holly with Berries Botanical

Elizabeth Blackwell's A Curious Herbal

Flip through this early 18th century volume of hand-colored copper plate engravings HERE. Use the arrows to flip back and forth. What a treat! Merry Christmas. xo

See and listen to the whole book from the beginning, including the cover here courtesy of the British Library.

Knitting for Chickens

These chickens look quite happy wearing their hand-knitted capes. Sweet! via

Christmas Decor in Wales

Door on a rural Breconshire farmhouse, early to mid 17th century, Brecon Beacons National Park in Wales. I saved this photo from Instagram. This place looks perfect for an outdoor adventure.

Snow Dog

What a great idea. You could do this with a little human standing behind an appropriately sized snow body too. via

The Poisoned Apple 1938 Snow White

What you see: The Poisoned Apple, a study by Wanda Gág [pronounced ‘Gahg’] for an illustration in a 1938 edition of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Wold at Swann Auction Galleries in NYC for $5,000. I would love to see the other illustrations in this book. Her work is spellbinding!
UPDATE: I found a digital copy of this very book online HERE.

Cat Nap in a Window

“Cat in a cottage window” by Ralph Hedley (1848-1913) via He was a realist painter, woodcarver and illustrator, best known for his paintings portraying scenes of everyday life in the North East of England. I love this painting!

Pumpkin Pies in a Basket

Two beautifully decorated pumpkin pies ready to travel. via

Merry Christmas animated gif

I love this and will save to my phone to text to friends on Christmas morning. via

Christmas Card by Ernest Shepard

CHRISTMAS GREETINGS from Norah and Ernest Shepard: "This pen and ink drawing of Eeyore with holly, Pooh with a jar of honey and Piglet with a Christmas cracker comprises the original illustration for the only known Christmas card ever created by E.H. Shepard featuring the A.A. Milne characters." Offered for sale by Sotheby's in 1997. Sold for 30,000 GBP

What a treat it would have been to receive this Christmas card!

Beatrix Potter Rabbits Gathering Wood

Here is yet another Beatrix Potter image I haven't seen before. After gathering twigs for the fire, the rabbits are preparing to put the big log on the sled to drag it home in the snow. I wish I could see more artwork about this story. via Click photo to enlarge.

Ural Owl in Sweden

Photographed by Mattias Bergman in a dark forrest in Uppland, Sweden. He said seeing this Ural Owl against the dark background was like seeing a ghost.

DIY Window Ledge Trees

I love this idea. It takes some advance planning to get the bases ready. If you have several different varieties of evergreens on your property, it would be fun clipping the perfect tips for the log bases. via

Antique Radiator with Warming Oven

How clever is this antique radiator with a warming oven? It's in an old flat in Paris. It warms my heart!

Christmas Decor on My Farm Table

I bought these pomegranates several months ago at an estate sale with this arrangement in mind.

They are artificial but they look pretty real and they are frosted too. In person, they look as if they are sprinkled with fine sugar. Last year I had a table top tree in the center of my table but I like this arrangement much better. It is simple but effective and it only took five minutes. Yay!

Kep the Dog by Beatrix Potter 1909

This study of ‘Kep’, one of Beatrix Potter’s sheepdogs, dates from a visit to Near Sawrey in March 1909, when Potter made a number of studies of the Lakeland landscape in snow. Potter gave this drawing to Stephanie Hyde Parker, the daughter of her cousin Ethel, who stuck it in an album: remnants of the album can be seen in the floral motif adhered to the lower left of the design, and in a drawing by Amy Hyde Parker attached to the back of the study.

Beatrix Potter (1866-1943) is one of the world's best-loved children's authors and illustrators. She wrote the majority of the twenty-three Original Peter Rabbit Books between 1901 and 1913. The Tale of Peter Rabbit (Frederick Warne, 1902) is her most famous and best-loved tale.

Beatrix Potter purchased Hill Top in Near Sawrey, her first Lake District farm, in 1905. After this date she visited Hill Top regularly for holidays, eventually settling permanently in nearby Castle Cottage following her marriage in 1913.

In the collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum. Click on photo to enlarge.

Kate Greenaway Tile 1881

Earthenware tile, transfer-printed and hand-coloured. Designed (1881) by Kate Greenaway. Made by T. & R. Boote. Image and text information courtesy V&A. via This is lovely, isn't it?

© Victoria and Albert Museum, London 2017. All Rights Reserved

4 Stuffed Animal Sewing Patterns to Download

There's still time to make a stuffed toy. Luckily this is a digital download so there's no waiting or leaving home to get all four patterns. Just pay for The Dear Ones and download patterns here.

Cutest Handmade Bear

The hand stitching makes this bear so very lovable and adorable. Some lucky child is going to be thrilled with this huggable stuffed animal. Handmade toys and gifts are the best! via

English Robin on A Snowy Holly Branch

This beautiful photograph is a living Christmas Card. Agreed? via I love the English robins with the upside down hearts on their breasts.