MISS MARPLE Double Feature Tonight on PBS

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I just set my DVR to record both new episodes of Season 7 Miss Marple on Masterpiece Mystery on PBS. Tonight is going to be a wonderful TV night. I am also recording Madam Secretary and The Good Wife on CBS. I'm always happy when the good shows start at 8pm, aren't you? Happy viewing.

Did you sew as a child on a toy sewing machine?

I did and I had a similar toy sewing machine. I can vividly remember sewing doll clothes on the screened porch in the summer before I graduated to my mother's Singer in the sewing room. That was also at a very young age. We always had a sewing room too which was wonderful. I am selling this one on ebay. I photographed it in my guest room. This built-in cupboard with shelves above and drawers below has a pull-out slide that was perfect for attaching the clamp on this vintage child's sewing machine.

Webster, Tabitha and I worked outside all afternoon yesterday and into the early evening getting the yard ready for fall. I weed whacked and they watched. Really! They love to watch me work and they give me lots of moral support just by being close by. Our street was repaved this week and it looks so nice. Now both entrances to my circular driveway are nice and spiffy too. 

A Really Great Walled Garden

I took this photo yesterday with my iPhone. There are some really lovely secret gardens in my area and this one was especially beautiful. As you can see, it was a perfect day for touring several fabulous homes.

Some of My Favorite Things

Cubbies, wire shelves, bins, balls of string, twine, jars, pencils, labels, little gift bags, clothes pins, etc. I love it all. via

E. B. White writing in his boat shed

E.B. White writing in his boat shed overlooking Allen Cove, Maine photographed by Jill Krementz via

There's a lesson to be learned from this photograph. So many of us think we have to have a stage set kind of place in which to work. This isn't necessarily true, is it? Not that this isn't a special place but it doesn't look very comfortable. E.B.White's mind was probably churning with so many things he wanted to put down on paper and he could probably work anywhere. Jill Krementz's childhood home is near my cottage. xo

A Glimpse into Jackie's Fifth Ave Apartment

Jackie lived in the same apartment in NYC on Fifth Avenue for more than 30 years. The apartment overlooked central park and was a lesson in restraint, style and comfort. via Mark D. Sikes

French Choir Boys

Dreaming of Home. I found this wonderful video on Donna Baker's Blog called Gather. She posted the lyrics and the history of this beautiful song too. Choir boys always make me cry. This old Scottish hymn is from the movie JOYEUX NOEL and it's not on my must see list. Thanks, Donna.

My Fortune for Today

I have a can of Chinese Fortune Sticks that sits on table in my bedroom. When I think about it in the morning, I shake the can and open it up. Then I shake it at an angle and then pull out the stick protrudes the farthest and that is my fortune. The one for today was especially true. Here it is photographed on top of a book. "You(r) work is best done alone not in a group." That's me in a nutshell, the lone wolf. Busy day ahead -- see you later. xo