Zucchini Muffins Recipe

I have been saving this recipe because of this photo. I will probably replace the maple syrup with a little more sugar. I don't like my muffins too sweet. If they are, they are really cupcakes. Article and printable recipe here. They look yummy, don't they?

Snakes at My Cottage

This little harmless garter snake has taken a liking to sunning himself atop the two large English boxwood flanking my front walk. I realize most of you are rushing for your delete button to get away from my photo of him but I think he's cute. I embrace the snakes around my cottage because they eat mice and mice are the only critters that absolutely terrify me. 

I once had a blue-eyed snake at my cottage and blogged about him here. I used my Nikon to photograph him.

Snake in the grass.

Rare Blue-Eyed Snake at My Cottage

The weather seems more bearable today and I have opened a few windows and the central air is turned off. Have a great weekend. xo

Dog Photos to Warm Your Heart

This one is my favorite! What a wonderful idea. View 27 more photos with stories here. I am sorry I have been away from my blog for so long. My life is no longer my own since being a real estate sales associate is more like being a property manager if you have an expensive listing that needs to be presented perfectly. Thankfully, I am the perfect person for the job but it's taking a lot of my time. xo

Female Hare with Daisies

This famale hare is lovely. Found on Instagram. I don't believe I've ever seen a wild hare, only rabbits. I tried Google to see if there are wild hare in New Jersey and all that came up was a beauty shop called Wild Hair😂😂😂

Delightful Cat Painting at Christie's

Noted for her paintings of cats and dogs, artist Henriette Ronner-Knip lived surrounded by her favourite subjects who played and watched on as she worked.⠀

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Henriette Ronner-Knip (1821-1909), 'Kittens at Play' (detail). Estimate: £12,000-18,000.

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British & European Art: European Art – 11 July at Christie's London.

I love the colorful needlework on the stool mama cat is curled upon, keeping watch on her little ones. The geranium in the clay pot is pretty wonderful too. Found on Instagram.⠀

Black Sheep: So Beautiful

How in the world did black sheep get a bad name as in "the black sheep in the family" being a negative thing? This one is a beauty and he looks very proud of his black woolen fleece. xo

OCD Wrens at My Cottage

This new Wren family in the penthouse apartment on my balcony have a bad case of OCD. Every morning the pile of nest debris under their house is in a different spot and it gets smaller every day too. This is not because of the wind, it's definitely the birds. See original pile of nest building supplies here. They are a very odd couple, not at all like the earlier inhabitants. She won't let him inside very often and he sits on the railing and sings his little heart out.

Singing and waiting.

I am thinking of changing my name to Wren Cottage. This one lives in a bird bottle under the eaves of my front bedroom/dressing room. I have 4 nesting wren families in total.

This is my Friday morning barn/garage, field, and sky view with thunderstorms in the weather forecast. Enjoy your long July 4th weekend. xo

Have a Safe July 4th Holiday

Have a safe trip if you are going to be on the road for any distance, or a nice picnic if it's a short trip. I am going across town for a cookout with friends. Happy July 4th!!!

July Home Maintenance Checklist

I found this article to be informative with great photos. I especially like this all white colonial home below with the partial wraparound porch. I have to do my grocery shopping early today to beat the heat and buy the items I'm preparing and taking to an outing tomorrow. Happy July 4th. Sorry, this list isn't on the internet anymore.

July is here. Let the summer begin.

Happy first day of July.

The year's half over.

Clouds Viewed from My Cottage

It has been a strange 27 hours. When I drove through a ferocious downpour and arrived home at a little after 5:00pm I heard my generator when I got out of my car. I am thankful I have it but I am always anxious for the power to be restored. It finally came back on at 4:00 this afternoon. This photo was snapped on Friday qt 8:30. It's the same sky as my previous photo but a different orientation. Click to enlarge.

Friday Night Eventide

I snapped this photo out back just before the end of the day. My lacecap hydrangea is to the right and it's more beautiful than ever this year. My field is looking very nice with some golden tall grasses mixed in with the weeds. The sky had some nice color too. I wish I could capture the fireflies that will be blinking after dark. They are absolutely amazing now that we are having hot summer nights. I finally went to the attic and put a new filter in my air exchanger and fired up my central air for the first time this season. 

Stay cool and have a lively weekend. xo

New Mrs. Wren Redecorates

The new Mrs. Wren who just moved in hated old Mrs. Wren's decorating so out it goes.🐦

Birthday Card Request + The Death of Brown Furniture

Here I am again after a few days off wearing my Realtor Hat and working harder than you can even imagine. I am a member of NEXTDOOR, a neighborhood app where members can post and share. I am amazed at the questions, mostly looking for recommendations on home repair, good hair cutters, and child care workers. I especially love the photos of free things they are giving away!

The post below touched my heart:

I have my birthday card to this veteran who is turning 100 all filled out and ready to mail. I enclosed a dollar bill too, just like my grandmother always put in my birthday cards, ho matter what my age.

I typed out his address below if you want to send him a card as well. I love Hendersonville and my family always vacationed there. Doesn't Sunnybrook sound like a nice place?

Let's all help this 100 year old Veteran get 100 birthday cards!!!

Mr. Art England

Sunnybrook Assisted Living

Apartment 211

306 Spring Street

Hendersonville NC 28739

Now on another note. You know how much I love antiques and most of you do as well. This article that appeared in YANKEE MAGAZINE will break your heart. THE DEATH OF BROWN FURNITURE 

For those of us who still love old things with rich histories, it is a buyer's market. For those of the antique collecting community who paid premium prices for their possessions, it is very depressing. I rarely miss an episode of The Antiques Roadshow on PBS where they freely speak of the depressed market for fine antique furniture. I can't help but think the trend for "staging" homes that are for sale is partly responsible too. Having home sellers replace their possessions with rented furniture to go with gray walls with white trim might be sending another message. Maybe the buyers think they can't keep what they have but need all new furniture in order to move. I could go on and on but will get off my soapbox now. I am turning this platform over to you now!

Garage Sale Find: A Cow Creamer

It doesn't take much to make me happy as you can see. It was an absolute delight this morning to pour my soy milk into my coffee from a cow's mouth instead of a carton. Why would anyone want to get rid of it? I have no idea, but I'm happy they did. Photographed on my hunt board in my kitchen. Click to enlarge.

Best dollar I've spent in a long, long time!🐄

Magazine Photos waiting For New Watch Battery

Best wedding cake ever!

The only magazine in the Morristown Jewelry Store where I stopped in for a new watch battery was New Jersey Bride. I loved the photo of the wedding cake. Who wouldn't want to go to a wedding where there was Pumpkin Cake with brown sugar buttercream and cranberry preserves and macarons? Yum.

Swedish School Girl's Fight for Climate Change

Click here to watch and hear Greta Thunberg speak in this wonderful video. I loved it. She has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for her advocacy work for climate change.

Magazine Photos Snapped in Dentist's Office Today

This was an article about a house in Nantucket.

I would absolutely love to have a stacked washer/dryer in my kitchen.

Isn't this a lovely painting of a cottage?

Elevator in My New Listing

My new listing went "live" yesterday and today is my Broker Open House. As luck would have it, the weather is awful. It's raining buckets but is supposed to stop by my 11:00 opening. When was the last time you saw a house with an elevator? For me, it's never! This one is a beauty and it serves all three floors. MLS: 3566006 Wish me luck today. Fingers crossed. 

Limelight Hydrangea Cutting Rooted in Water

It took a while but my Limelight Hydrangea experiment is working. A while back I showed you a cutting from my "Mother" Limelight that I pushed into the ground when I pruned her in the fall several years ago and the cutting rooted itself and is now a baby shrub. I took a cutting from the baby and put it in water at my kitchen sink and I got my first little roots this week. Plant propagating is another form of thrift and you know how much I love getting something for nothing. It takes patience and luckily I have plenty of that. I need to plant the two containers of lavender in the background that are full of roots.

My grandmother and grandfather purchased their retirement home in Greenville, SC and rented it out for years and years and years before they could actually live there. My grandmother rooted all of her boxwood at her sister's house nearby and they were mature when she transplanted them in their final resting place. I guess she was the one who gave me lessons in patience. She love African violets too and actually bred them on her window sills. 

Happy Father's Day to all the fathers out there. Enjoy your celebrations. xo

Pair of Built-in Bedroom Cupboards

What to do when you can't find the perfect pair of cupboards for your master bedroom when building your house? Find a woodworker who can build them flush with the wall! On the other side there is a fireplace and a pair of bookcases in the sitting room/library. The deep wall in between the two room provides extra sound proofing for sleeping. This is a sneak preview of my new listing that goes live on Monday. 

Hydrangea Explosion

Wow. I love how happy these hydrangeas are all smashed together and blooming their hearts out. via

Rainy Monday Photos at My Cottage

My front entrance this morning on a rainy Monday

Pink and proud. Still looking lovely in a soft rain. Notice clipped boxwood in background,

Riffled white hiding from the rain.

Ruffled white peony. I love this variety.

Petals are falling.

Red barn garage with loft, back entrance. Don't my clipped boxwood look nice? I am liking my wild field too. Serious grass cutting will be done the next nice day. xo

Injured Sea Creatures in Doctor's Waiting Room

Look what ocean pollution is doing to all the sea creatures. Please recycle your plastic!
A RECYCLE A DAY KEEPS THE DOCTOR AWAY.
YouTube link here.

“Marine life in plastic is not fantastic.”

Greta Thunberg is my hero. Read all about her global warming campaign here. How one teenager became the voice of the planet. #FridaysForFuture

Greta was on the cover of Time Magazine. Don't you love her shoes? She posted this photo on her Instagram.

Plastic Change: Poseidon attacks litterbug

This is the best thing I've seen lately. Don't litter because you never know who's watching! If you cannot see this post, here is the YouTube link
Have a great weekend! xo

Making a Vestibule when There is None

I think this vestibule was added to a door that opens directly into the living room. What do you think.? I like it!