New Maytag Washing Machine LOVE

My new Maytag washer arrived yesterday and I am thrilled with it.

The lid opens perfectly as if it had been designed for my tight spot. The dryer is recessed and my old front loader used to match it, side by side. But I think it looks fine this way. I had to pull the washer all the way up to the door surround in order to be able to fully open the door but I am very pleased with the way my new laundry room is working out. I absolutely LOVE my new washer and have done two loads. I think this top loader gets my clothes a lot cleaner than my old machine and it spins them almost dry. Today I did my double bed sheets and four towels and I will use the sheet setting again because I like a tub nearly full of water. The load I did yesterday was on a setting that used very little water but the clothes came out clean. I can't wait to do some sweaters on the hand wash setting. One of these days I will photograph the other half of the room which is a half bath but I need to do a deep clean first. 

One of the reviews I read said to walk away from the machine after starting the wash. I decided to watch it because it's fascinating the way it works without the center agitator that I grew up with. I did today's load in all white but threw in an old pink and white striped towel that I use for cleaning. It was so interesting to see that it changed positions in the load so the other things must have also. 

The stainless steel tub is huge but not overly deep so you can easily unload the wet clothes. See what I mean about the center device? I guess the sides work like a wash board and they say the clothes get clean by rubbing up against each other. There are lots of interesting sounds and the clothes are always doing something, sometimes fast and sometimes slowly. I was prepared to be disappointed but instead I am delighted with my purchase from Lowes. They aren't paying me to advertise this, I'm just sharing with my friends.

xo

Beatrix Potter Watercolor 1898: SNAIL

Beatrix Potter 

(British author and illustrator) 1866 - 1943

A Snail and her Young, 1898

Fine ink and watercolour drawing.

This is definitely a drawing I've never seen and you probably haven't either. I suppose the mother snail is watching one of her eggs hatch and she's using a magnifying glass! I never knew they laid eggs so Beatrix is still educating me. I love the red clover flowers embellishing the artwork. There must be a story behind this artwork because it took her almost a month to complete it. She must have discovered the eggs and watched the whole progress as they matured and became baby snails. She must have been the one using a magnifying glass so she transferred the process to the mother as a bit of the whimsy we all know and love in her artwork. via

15 FASCINATING FACTS ABOUT BEATRIX POTTER

Pam found a video on YouTube showing a snail laying eggs that look like pearls. View it here. Thanks, Pam!!!

Windsor Chairs Around My Farm Table

This is a previously posted photo showing the old bentwood chairs around my farm table. They came with my cottage and have served me well. I recently found a set of 4 handmade windsor chairs and I snapped them up. I had two more in a different style for the two ends.

This is the same view as the first photo only for some reason I had my phone's camera set on square. The Fan-Back Windsors on either end were already in my collection. I was friends with the man who made them. The new chairs on either side of my farm table are the thrift shop finds.

I had the overhead lights on for this view. Don't my new Bow-Back Windsor chairs look fabulous against my wide board floors and with the black hardware on my cabinets? They look right at home with the two chairs I already owned. I cannot imagine why anyone would get rid of these authentic reproduction windsor chairs, handmade in New Hampshire, but I am glad they did. 

My mother moved in my cottage full time in the summer of 2003 and I moved in after selling my old house in mid-winter 2004. It has taken me 15 years to get my kitchen just right but patience is my super power. Have a great Labor Day. It is a rainy day here at my cottage and I am thankful to get to stay inside all day long and take it easy. I have been on a cleaning/organizing tangent (again) and the insides of my cupboards are finally the way I want them. I still have to deal with my basement before Thursday when my new washing machine arrives. But today I shall watch movies and do fun things inside. xo

Hello, September

Hello, September and hello all. Sorry I haven't been around for a while. My washing machine broke and cannot be fixed and I have had a really hard time finding a replacement. The part is no longer available (of course) and the repair man found one on eBay but it was $600. YIKES. I looked and looked and looked and absolutely could not find a front loader that would fit in the tight space in my laundry room. I settled on a Maytag front loader that will fit but it might not exactly line up with my dryer because I completely forgot about the shallow cabinets above. I might have to pull it out farther than the dryer in order to get the top open. I think it will be fine, fingers crossed. It is being delivered on Thursday. I am not at all excited about getting a new one and having to learn how to use it. Nothing is simple these days, right? Things don't last the way they used to and the manufacturers have planned obsolescence built in. I have gotten numerous tips by watching demonstrations on YouTube. Some of the comments are hilarious. My old one was a high efficiency front loader and I could see that it used very little water. My new one is HE too and all the comments were about the lack of water in the drum. It doesn't have the old-fashioned agitator that sticks way up either. My clothes are never very dirty except when I am down on my hands and knees in the garden. I have old work clothes so I don't care if they don't look brand new when they come out of the washer. Sorry to sound out of sorts. I am really fine and just wanted you let you in on what's going on in my life.

Enjoy the long Labor Day weekend. I am loving the cooler weather after a long hot spell. I am not ready to kiss summer goodbye, are you? I love fall except for the leaves which I never get raked until spring rolls around. I have learned the birds like it this way because they can find winter food underneath the leaf cover. I don't feed them so this is the least I can do for my feathered friends. xo

Wicker Baskets for Plants

These wicker baskets look wonderful on either side of the front door. Maybe they are having a party! They look very festive, con't they?

Rowena Cade: Reading Chair

I blogged about this photo in 2012. It's much more meaningful since I learned all about this remarkable woman in an episode of Penelope Keith's Hidden Villages on PBS. Read more here. I love her hair and her outfit from head to toe. I am rather certain this was not staged but a chance photo by someone catching her unaware. She was such a hard worker and a real artist in cement and stone at the open-air amphitheater she created in Cornwall. Numerous links here.

Do you have VISION?

I think I do. Vision a gift for those of us who have it. via

Elephant Shadows

I just started following @wildlife.hd on Instagram. This is one of my favorite photos on the feed.