moving along through summer

the little landscape round was green and woody, and refresh'd the eye*

 

Summer is moving along too fast. I've worked extra a number of times; the heat has kept me in more than I would like - I think, after today, we'll have a break in the hot and humid weather. We haven't even opened the windows the past two nights, but it looks like the upcoming evening temperatures will be down in the sixties - I feel cooler just thinking of it!

There are a few youtube sewing channels I like to follow - these women like to sew all their clothes and they seem to whiz along, so even though I don't, watching them is motivating. My blue linen top just needs the hem binding, and will be done. I realized I've got a lot of blue in my summer wardrobe all of a sudden - oh, well. I think navy suits me pretty well. 

I bought a new rug for my bedroom; Daisy is often on it. I came home from work yesterday, and she was there. It's wool - can it be she has an appreciation for quality?  :D Annie also likes it, but Daisy is with me more often.

*  Coleridge, from Reflections on Having Left a Place of Retirement

"It was a spot which you might aptly call the Valley of Seclusion.......it was a Blessed Place."

keeping it all together

 Well, my time off has been lovely; a friend was over for lunch Wednesday. But then yesterday I felt like I might be coming down with something and I've been resting a lot these two days. It could be allergies, or even resulting from too many late nights and still waking up early - it does catch up with one.

I've grabbed a Jane Austen mystery for entertainment, the fourth one. I tend to forget the murderer's identity when I re-read a mystery, and just enjoy the writing. 

I desperately needed a new bedspread or quilt - whatever. I ended up getting a duvet cover. I don't have a duvet - all these European words that we didn't used to use; I always called it a comforter, or puff - I've got plenty of quilts, throws and blankets, and don't need or want one. My intention in buying this was to stuff it with quilt batting and machine-stitch it. When it arrived, I gave up the idea. It is so tightly woven, like a quality sheet, that it would be a pain to work with in that way. I love it as us, and just lay it over the bed. It's so pretty, and I got it on sale.

The colors blend harmoniously with the overall scheme of the house, which I'm trying harder to stick to.

"One can do nothing, you know, without one pays homage to the genius of the place."

                                           -   from Jane and the Genius of the Place, by Stephanie Barron

that deep, Christmas red

 There is a very nice shop in town, and I like to at least go there before Christmas, when they have a good sale. 

This year I noticed that the shade of red they choose is consistent year after year.

The napkins were purchased several years ago, after the holidays; they were on clearance. They're so nice, they don't need ironing, but are cotton. I got the center table runner a year ago, and they look fine together.

This year, I bought four placemats in that same red, with white snowflakes on them. Very nice.

new curtains for the living room

 I was very excited today to finish off the new living room curtains. The curtains I made years ago were impossible to salvage another day. I had hung those every fall, ignoring how faded they were, until last year when I cut them short and used them like valances. Which was rather cute, but it couldn't last.

So, there I was, looking at fabric sites and wondering what look I wanted. Meanwhile I was thinking of things in drawers which could be gotten rid of, or whatever, and I remembered two twin flat sheets, in their packages, which nobody had a use for. I folded over the big hems and slipped them over the rod. 

They are a mocha color and they darkened the room immediately. This can be cozy when winter comes, but they were just hanging there and something else was needed. I searched Pinterest and found this image 

And this is what I did -

It's hard to tell here, but I used brilliant red satin ribbon which I have plenty of and I love it! I decided ahead of time I wanted the curtains pulled up at the lowest window pane. What a difference! I like the idea that it's tied back up and away from frisky kitties - I'd never seen this style before. Thanks to Mom's Secret Recipe blog for posting it.

the reason in this season

 See the rope? It's making sure nobody can take down the tree. See that furry one there? It's the reason for the rope.

working on the bathroom window

I have been slowly, very slowly removing the wallpaper in the bathroom and painting the walls - just the upper half of the small room, the bottom half being tile.

It looks bare without any pattern on the walls; it will take getting used to. So, I was looking at the window with fresh eyes the other day. I had removed the shade and the upper curtain a while back, with the idea to let more light in, but with just a curtain on the bottom half it did look rather blah. I picked out a book from my shelf and flipped through, looking for ideas of, I don't know what, things to put above the window, or a very sheer curtain (I really didn't want to do that but sometimes a good picture changes your ideas). I saw this:

Now, I don't have painted woodwork, or those nice knobs. But, laughably, the curtain rod brackets were still up, screwed into the window frame. I looked through my fabric and saw some left from my summer dress. I cut a long piece, pinked the ends to make it neater, folded it and laid it over the brackets.

Very hard to get a decent photo, and it's certainly nothing fabulous, but now something is up there and it doesn't block any light. And today I made new curtains with some beautiful soft denim I've had for years, which matches the swag very well. They still need to be hemmed and I hope I can do that Saturday.

I love the frayed look of the selvages.

coziness

I don't think it's overkill to have a throw on as many chairs as possible.

just housework

I made new curtains for my brother's room today - his old ones were torn.

I used a sheet from the thrift store.

I guess I was preoccupied last week - we had a cookout for all the cousins on my mother's side of the family. There were sixteen adults and two little ones. It was very hot and humid, but we sat under trees and nobody minded. They did all enjoy it, but we hadn't entertained so many before, and there's a lot to think about, isn't there? I'm not sure what I could have done better; I'll have to think about it.
Dolly escaped out the back door twice, so we harnessed her up and she was a hit with little two year old Ollie, so patient with his pettings. She impressed everyone.

She peed on the new rug. (Sorry to mention such a thing, but I like to share.)

I brought it outside to spot wash. It's cotton, and not heavy, but it's inside now and still smells. The area is on an edge, thank God, so perhaps I can drag it to the tub sometime and soak that section. She ran outside this morning when I opened the front door for a delivery; ran to the neighbor's and actually started to climb his tree! I wanted to say, Dolly, do you know how old you are? She didn't go up, though, and I was able to grab her. Her fur was all fluffed up with the excitement. Mr. Kibble is outside at this moment, and I've never seen him abroad after dark before - we do worry about him, but how much can you do with a cat who won't let you touch him? Except give him food and water. I'll have to get back to that story.

Dolly likes the new rug

Well, why wouldn't she?

It shows her off so well.

bare floor in the living room

It's strange to see a bare floor in the living room - the cats are probably glad to lay on the coolness of it. Settling on a suitable area rug is not as simple as I imagined, but I think I know what I want to buy now.

Here is the best photo I've ever been able to take of the beautiful Yogi -

but I am very, very sorry to report that my brother found poor Yogi two streets over on Monday morning, and he'd been hit. He picked him up and brought him to Diane's; they found a box for her husband to bury him in. He was so alive last week! Here he is hovering over Mr. Kibble, which was getting to be a problem, I admit. Not a good way to end a problem, though, is it?

Good-bye, Yogi. But, please God, no more!

a visit from Yogi and a new bedskirt

I desperately needed a decent dust ruffle, and I found a used one on ebay. A Laura Ashley, supposedly one hundred percent cotton.

The tag clearly says half cotton and half poly. Anyway, I adjusted it for my daybed and it looks nice.

Dolly and I sat out again today for an hour. About halfway into it, a catbird started fussing up above us; I could see him clearly as he chucked at us, and just when he began his meowing, which sounded exactly like this,  (I guess it isn't really meowing, but does seem like a cat-ish noise.) I turned and there was Yogi right next to me. So the little catbird wasn't concerned about Dolly's presence, but he took a different view of Yogi.

He let me pet him! I offered him some of Dolly's food and water (he sniffed and then declined), and he stayed nearby for a little while. Oh, why didn't I think to bring the camera out? He is a beautiful cat.

does this remind you of a fairy tale?

except there isn't any pea under there,

just a few magazines.

(illustration by Edmund Dulac)

the half-made home

"Nobody has a right to be bored in a half-made home. A home which is not a fair expression of us at our best, a home which lacks what it might have, a home which is in any part more ugly or in any part more uncomfortable than it absolutely need be...a home which cannot be run without waste, a home which by any detail gets on the nerves of its inhabitants and so impairs the harmony of their existence - something ought to be done about such a home."

                                         -  Arnold Bennett,  quoted by Sarah Ban Breathnach in Simple Abundance

blue and white

pretty floral shelf paper

Now that I've put away the Cuddle Duds and tights, there's breathing room in my drawers again.  I'm determined to empty each one, give it a wipe and freshly arrange.

Well, hello shelf paper -  I'd forgot you were in there!

clean window, crisp curtains

And this is for Val, whose birthday was today, and who seems to find hearts wherever she goes -

the patience of smart kitties

Whatever cats' understanding is of the busyness of humans, I can say that Dolly definitely has my bed-making habits pretty well figured out.

Tonight she happened along before I'd turned down my bed - oh, dear. But I gently pulled and tugged, and she scooted out of my way as I layered on the covers -

In no time I had everything just right, and when I needed to get my pillows arranged near the head, she moved to the other end and settled in her spot.

And all's well with those who wait patiently.

Dolly makes her mark

This picture doesn't really need a caption, does it?

 The bottom of the cabinet has a door (where the china is kept) and I'd primed one side already.  I was doing my work on the kitchen table with a drop cloth underneath - I had primed the other side and was washing my brushes. Suddenly Dolly ran up from the basement and leaped onto the table before I could do anything! I grabbed her and washed her little feet - she, who has such a dread of water. She didn't squirm or make a peep, the brave little soul. She had her big adventure.

As for me, I wasn't going to touch it up; I didn't want to wash brushes again. It was the inside of the door, and I'm going to be painting it tomorrow. The paint will probably cover it up. But if it doesn't, Dolly's paw prints will be there every time go in there for the china, and that will be OK.

painting in the kitchen

I've been painting in the kitchen. This corner cabinet used to be blue, a pretty sky blue color.  But you know how the knots in the wood sometimes show through the paint? Well, it had been that way for many years. And rather than trying to match up the blue, I thought I'd use up some of the Benjamin Moore Indian White that we used for the walls here. So that's what I did.

I am thrilled with it! I hadn't thought of it as a cream before, but it seems very creamy to me now. And the white is a more updated look, I think.

The biggest challenge was keeping a certain person away from what I was doing -

I managed to keep her occupied on the sunny window till all was dry.


There's more to do - a cornice between the kitchen and hallway and a narrow molding along the ceiling all around the room, except where the cabinets are. I'll do it a little at a time, like the tortoise.

But the biggest part is done.

{p,h,f,r} kitchen edition

It's been six months since I made a valance for the window over the kitchen sink.  After a bit, I made another for the other window. There was fabric left over for the bottom part, and I started it - and then left it. I was afraid it wouldn't come out as nice as I was imagining. Well, the other day I just up and made the curtain, and it looks very well.

It's so hard to get a satisfactory picture of it. The material is too sturdy for gathering in a rod pocket, so I was going to figure out tabs of some kind, and then I remember the good old brass clip rings - the old fashioned kind that you really have to squeeze.  I like the fabric, though - it's linen-y looking. I had been dreaming of white linen curtains in the kitchen, and these are just wonderful.  A close-up of the fabric:

pretty

I've been thinking about a food processor for too long, and I finally bought one. It sat in it's box in the living room over a week, because I knew it would involve rearranging the countertop arrangement. I tackled it yesterday.

It took me most of the morning trying to figure out how best to do things with a good workflow in mind. I had several canisters on top, and a couple under the stove area - now, it's all beneath the counter where the mixer, etc. are - much cleaner, neater, and more sensible. And of course, you tend to forget what's in these out of the way spaces after a while. So, some items went to the basement. 

happy!

(Look at the old sugar canister of my mother's - such a nice size - they don't seem to make them to hold a five pound bag of anything anymore!  I don't get that.)

funny

I went to boil some eggs the other day, and one of the eggs had a "bump" on it - it was hard to capture, but the shell isn't smooth. I didn't use it - I don't think I've ever seen that, and didn't know it it was safe to use. But I kept it anyway, for some reason!  I should open it up and see how it looks inside.

real

This is the sad state of some of the kitchen chair cushions - the old foam is coming out. So, when the curtains are all finished (I still have to make one for the back door's window) I will have to make new chair cushions.

Joining Leila for {pretty, happy, funny, real}

Thank you.