Content in a Cottage

Library on the Landing

2013-06-18T19:00:00.001-04:00

Southern Living Idea House, Charleston. Margaret Donaldson Interiors. This is a wonderful use for an upstairs hall landing, isn't it? via

Grueby Tile and A New Laundry Detergent

2013-06-18T12:27:00.002-04:00

I should have cleaned off the two coffee stains before taking the picture. I put my coffee cup on this tile every morning. It's a big one 6" square stamped Grueby Boston. We had a surprise downpour yesterday and I had clothes drying outside on a big expanding rack and just barely got them inside before they were soaked. I slept on freshly laundered linens last night and they smelled like lemons thanks to the new detergent I'm using. It's overcast again today so the same thing will probably happen. Then we are supposed to have 4 straight days of sun, sun, and more sun. I'll believe it when I see it. I'm off to do errands now.

This is the aforementioned detergent I picked up on a whim at the grocery store because it was on sale. It says the scent is Clean Burst but believe me when I say the clothes smell like lemons whether you dry them outside or in the dryer. I'll never buy anything else. I am thrilled I finally found something I like. Watch, it will be discontinued shortly. I must stock up, just in case.

Cast Iron Frog in My Garden

2013-06-18T07:31:00.000-04:00

I took this photo early one morning last week. Ribbit. He's a big old one and I love him. I got up before the cat for some reason this morning and decided to start watching PBS Masterpiece recorded from Sunday night. I love Inspector Lewis Mysteries and this episode is the beginning of Season VI. Here is a review from Forbes Magazine. See you later.

Wonderful Guest House

2013-06-17T20:02:00.001-04:00

There's more to see at A Country Farmhouse. This is just one corner of the guest house renovation that was featured in Country Living.

Opinions of Sheep

2013-06-17T18:17:00.001-04:00

Good One! via

Delightful Farmhouse Bedroom

2013-06-17T09:11:00.001-04:00

Traditional Bedroom Chicago Interior Designers and Decorators Tom Stringer Design Partners

I love it all, don't you? Click on the link for some other ideas on introducing farmhouse style to your home.

My Mother and Baby Me

2013-06-16T19:25:00.002-04:00

I've been working downstairs all week for the first time since losing my mother in December. Up until now, I have only been going down there to do laundry. After I washed all the windows and screens and doors on the outside of the lower level, I decided it was time to go inside to start putting things in order. I still have a lot to do but the kitchen, living room and laundry room are looking pretty nice. I found this old photo in a drawer and took a quick picture of it through the glass with my phone. My mother looks so happy and proud of me and I'm trying to tell the photographer how to take the picture using mental telepathy since I didn't know how to talk. I'm sure she made her dress and probably mine too. One of my grandmothers probably did the needlework trim. My mother saved and saved to buy a sewing machine during those war years when everything was so hard to get. It was a Singer, of course.

Male Seahorse in Labor

2013-06-16T13:37:00.002-04:00

YIKES. This is a photo of a male seahorse giving birth. Does that make him the mother or the father or both? It is definitely one of the oddities of nature. Anyway, Happy Father's Day to all of the dads out there. via

Gorgeous pink Cosmos

2013-06-16T11:51:00.003-04:00

Photo by crescentmoon on Pixdaus. Now that my peonies are gone, this photo makes me wish I had a nice stand of cosmos. We all went back to bed and now we are all up again. I watched a movie, put it on pause halfway through, cooked breakfast and ate it while finishing the movie. It was The Clearing with Ann Mearin and Robert Redford. I tuned in after the first 20 minutes and didn't miss too much. It was very good. Then I dozed off again and now I feel great and ready for a nice afternoon. Tabitha wants lunch and Webster wants a walk so I must tend to them both. See you later.

Webster, watching me.

2013-06-16T07:36:00.002-04:00

Webster was outside on the balcony watching me eat my supper last night, hoping I would save him the last few bites and I did. We are both up way too early for a Sunday morning thanks to you know who. Tabitha gets us up at 6:30 every morning like clockwork. I think I'll go back to bed and watch a movie. See you later.

DIY Interior Sliding Barn Door on Closet

2013-06-15T20:36:00.001-04:00

This is a great idea to hide hanging clothes and display collections on shelves on the other side by using a batten door that is half the size of the opening. The construction of this door looks pretty straightforward for the do-it-yourselfer, doesn't it? via

Dragonfly on My Front Walk

2013-06-15T16:18:00.002-04:00

Click photo to enlarge.

He is still out there basking in the hot sun. The photo straight out of my Nikon was very boring against the bluestone background so I played around with the saturation and a few other things and got this. We don't have any cicadas but I can hear them singing faintly in towns nearby. When you drive through those towns, the sound is very loud. This lone alien dragonfly suits me just fine.
I took my best dragonfly photo back in 2009. Click here to see it.

Taking the Hard Road

2013-06-15T11:33:00.001-04:00

Perfect Farmhouse

2013-06-15T08:05:00.003-04:00

Pleasant Valley - John B. Murray, Architect. Bruce Buck photo. Let's ring the bell and see if we can go inside, shall we? Have a wonderful weekend -- there's no rain today here at the cottage. I can hardly believe it!!!

Finally, We See the Sun

2013-06-14T20:54:00.000-04:00

We still have some dark clouds for the sun to hide behind, but when it comes out it is a glorious sight to behold after two days of torrential rain. More is on the way and the weather people say this year's month of June is on its way to becoming the wettest one in history. April was the second driest in history. There is no such thing as predicting the weather nowadays, is there?

Tabitha is catching up on eating the special tough grass she loves. Have a great weekend. my iPhone photos

Thirsty Pigeon

2013-06-14T15:20:00.001-04:00

Great photo of a pigeon drinking directly from a fountain by Johannes Rebling via

Fabulous New Hampshire Traditional Home

2013-06-14T09:36:00.001-04:00

New Hampshire mountain home built and decorated with antiques by a transplanted Texas couple with fabulous taste.

Lovely hallway appointed with antiques, oriental rugs and books.

Tiger maple secretary bookcase filled with lusterware pitchers and other wonderful things. You will be thrilled with this wonderful article in Traditional Home Magazine with a 22-photo slideshow. I had to contain myself from putting all of them on my blog. Click here for my favorite house tour ever.

Small Kitchen Love

2013-06-13T17:52:00.001-04:00

It's small but powerful, isn't it? I love this jewel of a kitchen that is simultaneously compact, efficient and open. Mona Hajj Interiors, Baltimore via

Raindrops on my window

2013-06-13T11:50:00.001-04:00

It is getting brighter outside and the rain has subsided somewhat. Maybe the two solid days of rain that have been predicted will blow over and the forecast will change. Or maybe it won't. We are all having a lazy day so far at the cottage. Tabitha is curled up in a tight ball on my unmade bed and Webster is stretched out at my feet. I haven't done anything productive yet except run around closing windows. I think I should try to do something meaningful soon. my iPhone photo

Laundry Day by Andrew Wyeth

2013-06-13T10:00:00.004-04:00

This makes me want to hang out clothes even though I can't since I lost the tree that held up one end of my clothesline. I still plan on having a post set in the ground to take its place but I haven't gotten around to it yet. I might even get one of those upside-down umbrella contraptions, and I might not. We are having another rainy day so hanging out laundry wouldn't even be a possibility. I washed all the windows and doors and screen on the outside of my lower level yesterday and one was in the laundry room. I think I'll do the insides today. I don't like to wash windows on a sunny day because it seems like drudgery. For some reason, I am in a cleaning mood so I must keep up the momentum. See you later. via

Courtyard Bedroom

2013-06-12T21:10:00.004-04:00

Wouldn't you love to wake up in this bedroom behind the French doors? I would sleep with them wide open to enjoy the breeze and the fragrance of the plants. Tabitha wouldn't wake me up either because she could go in and out and in and out at will. I love the courtyard squares with the grass or moss or creeping something in between. via

Rainbow over My Cottage Yesterday

2013-06-12T14:18:00.001-04:00

It was really a double rainbow as you can see from the upper right corner but I was on my balcony and couldn't get far enough away to get both on my iPhone. I think it was a good omen for my new listing yesterday. The owner got a great shot on her phone and until I saw hers I didn't even know it was a double one. That means good luck for both of us, right?

First Honeysuckle This Year

2013-06-12T08:21:00.001-04:00

I spotted the first honeysuckle of the season on Webster's after dinner walk last night. I love it and the scent is heavenly. my iPhone photo

Delightful Children's Bedroom

2013-06-11T17:18:00.000-04:00

Click photos to enlarge.

I have been very busy with real estate last week and this week with a new listing that went on the MLS yesterday. This is one of the bedrooms shared by two little girls. Isn't it fabulous? I had a broker open house today and everyone loved it. Cross your fingers for me and the sellers. my photos

Copper Measuring Cups

2013-06-11T07:31:00.001-04:00

I have a set of these heavy copper measuring cups with brass handles and I love them. You can melt butter on the stove and they stand up to the high heat without warping. One thing puzzles me though. There is no 1/3 cup. The set of 4 includes 1 cup, 3/4 cup, 1/2 cup and 1/4 cup. Mine are hanging on the side wall of a cabinet and I use them all the time....except when I need 1/3 cup of something. via