Lovely Interior Design

I will never be a minimalist and never will the owner of the home shown above. I like lots of water in my washing machine and lots of things to love in my cottage. I have had people tell me, "You have so many things, but it doesn't look crowded." There is an art to this; you must choose things that are appropriately scaled to the size of your rooms so nothing overwhelms them.

I have been donating like crazy lately, giving away things that were duplicates in my newly cleaned out cupboards. At the end of this month, I can put things out at the road for the yearly pickup. I love driving around to see what other people are throwing away and maybe finding a treasure to bring back home.

Fall Garden Crops

I love every single food on this chart. Fall is so exciting on so many levels. via

Einstein Quote about Fairy Tales

I have always loved this quote and today I discovered the perfect illustration!

æOnce upon a time the famous physicist Albert Einstein was confronted by an overly concerned woman who sought advice on how to raise her small son to become a successful scientist. In particular she wanted to know what kinds of books she should read to her son.
‘Fairy Tales,’ Einstein responded without hesitation.
‘Fine, but what else should I read to him after that?’ the mother asked.
‘More fairy tales,’ Einstein stated.
‘And after that?’
‘Even more fairy tales,’ replied the great scientist, and he waved his pipe like a wizard pronouncing a happy end to a long adventure. via

Artwork in My Bathroom

I am in the nesting mode again and this corner of my full bath got an antique etching of The Hague in the Netherlands and fresh flowers on an old walnut tray yesterday. I love the new look. I was up with the chickens this morning to get caffeinated and drove around before eight o'clock to put out my Open House signs early. Now I can relax before I have to leave at noon. Have a great Sunday and wish me luck. xo

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.

New Village Homes: Tornagrain Inverness Scotland

I adore this new planned village in Scotland. See more here. Their Instagram account is named @tornagrain_newtown and the photos there capture the charm of this village. Be sure to check it out.

Hand Decorated Chest of Drawers

Dibs. I saw it first! I photographed this lovely paint decorated chest at a broker open house recently. I would love to have this in my cottage. Swoon.

Blue Beets Textile Design

I adore this fabric. I can think of a thousand places I could use these blue beets in my cottage. Have a great weekend! via 

Guest Dog in my Living Room

Meet Harper. She was quite interested in a nature program about alligators. I had her for a few days while her owners enjoyed an out of town trip. 

Our Vines Have Tender Grapes: Movie Review

An endearing and quietly rhapsodic slice of Americana about a single year among the Norwegian immigrants in a Wisconsin farm town, Our Vines Have Tender Grapes enthralled 1945 audiences and critics with its timeless joys. Told from the viewpoint of little Selma (Margaret O’Brien), the film explores grand childhood adventures: making friends, a pet calf, Christmas, a terrifying trip down a flood-swollen river, a barn fire and a ride on a circus elephant’s trunk. In a change-of-pace role, Edward G. Robinson is a revelation of wisdom and compassion as Selma’s father, leading a fine cast that illuminates the profound power of everyday triumphs and sorrows.

I have watched this movie twice on TCM and love it. It follows the life of a close Norwegian family in a Wisconsin settlement. The family values of the whole village are wonderful and Margaret O'Brien is a treasure. I love her telling of the Nativity in the church Christmas pageant.

Maybe you can find the DVD at your library. You can stream it on Amazon and iTunes. This is a must-see movie. I have never read the book but it must be wonderful too.

Daffodil Cottage

Garden Goals. via

Scrimshaw Double Heart Mourning Pendant

Scrimshaw double heart mourning pendant, 1807

“Beauty and youth in vain to these you trust

For youth and beauty shall be laid in dust.“

This quote is so true. Growing old gracefully rather than trying to turn back the clock is quite a challenge at times. 

Mushroom Studio: At The Toronto Sculpture Garden

Art Studio of Katie Bethune-Leaman commissioned by The Toronto Sculpture Garden. See another photo and read more about this delightful fairy-tale structure here.

Mostly Martha + Zodiac : Two Great Kanopy Movies

MOSTLY MARTHA is a very entertaining movie about a controlling chef who is definitely not in control of her life. 

This might be too violent for some or most of you but I like true crime movies. Click here to view the 2007 movie trailer before you decide to watch it. 

'Zodiac" is the "All the President's Men" of serial killer movies, with Woodward and Bernstein played by a cop and a cartoonist. It's not merely "based" on California's infamous Zodiac killings, but seems to exude the very stench and provocation of the case. The killer, who was never caught, generously supplied so many clues that Sherlock Holmes might have cracked the case in his sitting room. But only a newspaper cartoonist was stubborn enough, and tunneled away long enough, to piece together a convincing case against a man who was perhaps guilty. read more here

Southport CT staircase

Harbor-view residence. David Scott Parker Architects, Southport, CT. Durston Saylor photo. I want to see more!!!

August 1st + Two Legal Drama Movies

August is a month to try to enjoy in spite of the heat because once September rolls around the rest of the year flies by.

I enjoy legal dramas and two that I have enjoyed on Kanopy are shown below.

Emma Thompson is wonderful. View movie trailer here. I loved the interior design of her London apartment too.

This movie is based on a true story and the legal trial takes place in England. 

Based on the acclaimed bookDenial: Holocaust History on Trial, DENIAL recounts Deborah E. Lipstadt’s (Academy Award® winner Rachel Weisz) legal battle for historical truth against David Irving (BAFTA nominee Timothy Spall), who accused her of libel when she declared him a Holocaust denier. In the English legal system, in cases of libel, the burden of proof is on the defendant, therefore it was up to Lipstadt and her legal team, led by Richard Rampton (Academy Award® nominee Tom Wilkinson), to prove the essential truth that the Holocaust occurred. View video movie clips here.

Two More Kanopy Movie Recommendations

A MAN CALLED OVE: I actually watched this on a DVD from my library but it is now on Kanopy so I want to watch it again. I blogged about the book before I saw the film (with subtitles).

Ove, an ill tempered, isolated retiree who spends his days enforcing block association rules and visiting his wife's grave, has finally given up on life just as an unlikely friendship develops with his boisterous new neighbors. Based on the bestselling novel.

I just read that Tom Hanks is producing and starring in an English language interpretation of this film. That should be good. I adore Tom Hanks!

THIS BEAUTIFUL FANTASTIC: A contemporary adult fairy tale revolving around the unlikely of friendship between a reclusive young woman with dreams of being a children's book author and a cantankerous widower, set against the backdrop of a beautiful garden in the heart of London.

Bella Brown (Jessica Brown Findlay) is a beautifully quirky young woman who dreams of writing and illustrating a successful children's book. When she is forced by her landlord to deal with her neglected garden or face eviction, she meets her nemesis, match and mentor in Alfie Stephenson (Oscar-nominated actor, Tom Wilkinson), a grumpy, loveless, rich old man who lives next door and happens to be an amazing horticulturalist.

This was the first movie I watched on Kanopy 8 months ago. I found it delightful. I loved all of the library scenes and the mean librarian too. Watch the movie trailer here.

Let me know if your public library offers Kanopy.

BREATHE: True Story Movie with Claire Foy + Andrew Garfield

My blog is turning into a movie review site. I couldn't find anything interesting to watch on TV last night so Kanopy came to the rescue again with a fabulous movie with Claire Foy (The Crown). Just seeing that she was in it made me want to watch and I'm so glad I did. It's the love story of all time and every frame is true. The son of the couple is the producer of the film so it is partly his biography too.

After contracting polio at the age of 28, Robin Cavendish is confined to bed and given only months to live. But with the help of his wife Diana and her twin brothers, and the groundbreaking ideas of inventor Teddy Hall (played by Hugh Bonneville), Cavendish emerges from the hospital ward and devotes the rest of his life to helping fellow patients and the disabled. Click here find 8 videos about the film and the official movie trailer.

Google images has many photos of the real Cavendish Family

STORM BOY: Another wonderful movie

I never thought of pelicans as cuddly birds until watching this movie. I am amazed it is already offered free on Kanopy as it was only released in theaters in April. I have never watched a movie with Geoffrey Rush I didn't like. The book is based on an Australian children's book and repenned for the big screen as a multi-generational bittersweet film. Image found here.