Dunmore Pineapple in Airth Scotland

The Dunmore Pineapple House in Airth Scotland

This folly in Scotland looks so beautiful in the early morning light on a frosty morning. via

Nice Conversation Area with Fireplace

I like this arrangement. Each wing chair has a reading lamp and an ottoman. Reading around an open fire is one of life's pleasures.The side tables are lower than the arms of the furniture too. This is one of the rules of good interior design and a very hard one to comply with when searching for low antique tables that you like. I am pleased that I finally found mine and it's much easier for the sitter to put down a drink or a cup of coffee on a lower table than reaching up to do so. Plus it looks nicer too. It's all about scale, you know. via

It is warm and rainy today and all the snow has melted. I entered my subscription to Netflix on Sunday and love it. I have watched both seasons of The Crown and later today I will search for another addicting series to watch. 

I just cooked some chick peas in my Instant Pot and have another batch of soy milk yogurt in the pot for a 10 hour session. My last batch (8 hours) wasn't tart enough. I have a new method. I inserted my pyrex 32 oz. (4 cup) measuring cup inside the pot, added 2 tablespoons of my own yogurt to a 32 oz. box of Westsoy as a starter, stirred it up and this method was perfect. No condensation on the sides of the pot to run down and dilute the yogurt and the yogurt was much thicker. Yay.

I stumbled on a very interesting article about the invention of the Instant Pot in the business section of the New York Times. Now I love mine even more! xo

Winter Birds: Made me Smile

So cute. 

It is so much warmer today with fog and rain predicted for tomorrow. The roads have been fine from the beginning but I never had my driveway plowed. I parked near the road and have been able to get out easily with the new tires I got earlier this year. So far, so good. Aren't Virginia Greene's birds adorable? This was her holiday card for December. via 

Glass Jar Love

This collection of glass jars in so many shapes and sizes makes me happy. I have been using French glass refrigerator storage containers since 1973. It just made good sense to me back then and I never fell into the tupperware trap. via

Real Life Kitchen

This is not a trophy kitchen. It looks like one from a real family with dishes in the sink, essentials on the window sill, an almost empty roll of paper towels, and other interesting things. I like it, don't you?

Frozen Road and Crescent Moon

Gorgeous Photo by Aaron J. Groen

"Frozen Road to Nowhere"

Waning Crescent Moon rises over a snow covered gravel road in eastern South Dakota.

click to enlarge

WINTER, 19th Century Illustration

Winter

19th century color printed illustration with holly berries, snow dusted leaves leaves, and mistletoe. I love the twig font dripping with icicles.

Snowball Catching Cat

This is truly wonderful.

This cat really is trying to catch that snowball!

via