August Already?

Walter Crane illustration. Verse by his daughter Beatrice Crane. Arts & Crafts movement, late 19th century. Can you believe it's August already? I can't! I always try to embrace this month because when September rolls around the rest of the year flies by.

 

Today is the closing of that real estate transaction that has taken up so much of my time so maybe I can get back to blogging again, fingers crossed. My mower is out of the shop following a tuneup and I used it yesterday. It really felt good to walk behind it once again. The weather has been unusually cool since Sunday and I want to take advantage before it heats up again. 

I never feel guilty if this is the only thing I do.

Quote found here: https://www.inspiringquotes.com/

14-quotes-to-start-your-morning-on-the-right-note/ZEaOIvkZ4QAI6I7X

 

Weekend Photos Missy's House + 4 of My Antique Boxes

When leaving Missy's house earlier in the week, I spotted these mushrooms and bent down to photograph them and got a good picture of her house too. 

I have four of my antique boxes lined up on my mantel to act as stands for my antique silver trophy cups.

I love the fancy drawer fronts on this one using two types of wood.

This miniature blanket box has a lift top and a single drawer.

The fancy inlay on this one is on all surfaces except the back and the bottom. It has a lift top and opens to a dressing box with mirror and liftout tray with dividers for small items like earrings or cuff links. Could be a gentleman's dressing box too. The box has a lock and the original key. It's my favorite. 

I hope everyone has a great weekend with some relief from the heatwave. It was "only" 81° today and wasn't as humid as it has been.

See you again in a day or so. xo

Project That is Long Overdue

This stand in my bedroom has always been a pain to dust and I have always wanted to sew custom covers for the tops and today I did. This was fun and pretty easy and I have tons of this fabric for curtains should my current ones ever need replacing. Dusting the drawer fronts, legs and sides will be a breeze now and I like the way it looks. Why today? I don't know but the mood just struck me and I ran with it. I wish I had done this sooner but better late than never. Remember dresser scarves? Maybe it's time to bring them back♡ xo

Two TRUE Spy Movie Recommendations: FREE ON TUBI

THE CATCHER WAS A SPY

https://tubitv.com/movies/684147/the-catcher-was-a-spy

I enjoyed this so much. It's a true story about a Princeton educated catcher for a baseball team who became a spy. I recommended it to a friend who had also read the book but didn't know it was a movie.

RED JOAN starring Judi Dench

https://tubitv.com/movies/100000249/red-joan

It's mostly flashbacks to her student days and early employment. The actress who plays her then reminds me of a young Laren Becall. This is a must-see movie before seeing OPPENHEIMER that comes out this week about The Manhattan Project.

Hope you are all having a nice summer and have found ways of staying cool. I didn't turn on my central air until July 2nd. My house is very comfortable. I have mine set at 79° and that seems to be perfect unless I am doing something strenuous. I only have two zones, my main floor and the attic. I find that if I leave the basement door open it removes the humidity from down there too. I turn it off completely at night because the condenser is just outside my bedroom window and the noise would keep me awake. So far this system is working perfectly. I also turn it off completely when I go out. I changed the filter too. 

Let me know if you watch either or both movies and if you liked them. TUBI is wonderful and has a really vast catalog of great movies. They say it has surpassed YouTube in popularity. https://tubitv.com/home There are commercials but they aren't very distracting.

Enjoy. xo, Rosemary

July First Evening Photos

Two tiny geranium cuttings I just pushed in the dirt of this hanging basket and they are both blooming. Geraniums are so easy.

The begonias my friend gave me are lovely.

An overview of the bed to the left of my walk. The peonies are finished but the greenery in the foreground is still nice. The same for the lilies of the valley that are my main groundcover to the left all the way back.

Mainly pansies and a few begonias mixed in. I pinched the pansies daily. My mother always said the more you pinch them the more they will grow. And she was right.

I started some ferns in this corner and they should spread over time. The impatients that were a give are doing well too. 

The hanging basket with the tiny geranium cuttings.

An overview of this corner of my world.

Hope everyone has a great long July 4th weekend.

See you again soon, I promise.

xo

Click any photo to enlarge.

Find Your Old Nutcracker to Open Screw Top Lids on Milk Cartons

I mentioned buying a nutcracker at a thrift shop recently and posted this photo on Instagram a day or two ago. The response has been overwhelming. So many people didn't realize the plastic tops have been reduced in height and there is no longer enough surface to get a good grip and unscrew them. When I saw this nutcracker I knew immediately it would work and it does. I could have used pliers but I only have one set and it's downstairs in my toolbox. Most of you will have a nutcracker in your junk drawer and won't have to buy one. I love giving new life to old things and this nutcracker now has an honored place in my kitchen silverware drawer. See my Instagram post HERE Now I know I'm not the only one with this problem. Trader Joe's private label milks have gone back to the old carton design with no plastic at all. You just rip open one of the sides and pour. 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CtwSeyhOnIG/

Just a random photo from one of my walks. Allium seed heads look like exploding fireworks, don't they? xo

Wildflower Garden I Photographed with Mostly Bachelor Buttons

 I went out on Wednesday to do some food shopping and to my favorite thrift shop to donate back at the loading dock. To my great surprise they had planted the most wonderful wildflower garden against the metal siding. I was mesmerized by its beauty. I have always loved bachelor buttons or blue cornflowers and there were so many of them. I took a video shown below but I might have to delete it if it doesn't upload correctly. I won't know until I publish this post. I only bought one thing when I went inside for 50 cents. It was an old fashioned squeeze nutcracker. I always have trouble unscrewing the Half & Half tops since they reduced the height. Now they are so shallow I have a really hard time unscrewing them. The nutcracker worked perfectly for this task and I am thrilled. Tara made me feel guilty about not blogging in a while but I have been very busy with many things. More about that later. xo

Have a great weekend. We finally got rain and I have two baby groundhogs that I've been enjoying. I only have weeds and they are welcome to eat all they want. Will try to get a photo to show you.The video worked♡. To see it in your email notification you have to click "continue reading". xo

Saturday Vibes

I brought a few lily of the valley plants with me from my former home. It has taken over 20 years for them to become a ground cover that gets bigger every year.

Nothing earth shattering here, just the picket fence that surrounds my air conditioning unit, my gas meter, and my electric meter. It looks so nice since it was painted last summer. Have a great weekend. xo