Gosh darn it. I love the fact that this den is sunken. Just two steps down, but those two steps create a separate little world. A cozy, smallish world. Since the kitchen and living room are essentially one big room, the den would be part of that expanse save for those two little steps. All the difference in the world.

I’ve been under the weather for the past day or so. The barometer that is my head went off like an alarm the night of the storm. Boom. I felt terribly congested and achy and almost like a cold was coming on. I was pretty sure it wasn’t a cold, merely a reaction to the barometric changes going on outside. I felt fairly crappy yesterday but am feeling a bit better today.

Oh winter, you are trying my patience.

Several of you have remarked about some of the smallish lamps I have here at the cottage and if we’re talking small and charming, I have to highlight this one. We found this little lamp several years ago when we were still renting a place across the river. It was in a little shop in Millbrook, that town we recently visited that has the great diner. I don’t know about you, but there is something about a little lamp that allows for more detail, more charm. Look at those sweet faces. They never fail to make me smile.

How could we resist? Eventually, I found the red shade, which just seemed made for this lamp. Although, have you ever noticed that there are some shades that are just impossible to keep straight? This is one of them. That adorable egg cup was a birthday gift from Linda.

After almost ten years of sitting on the windowsill in the bathroom, where it was constantly in the way of the blinds and fell to the floor more times than I can count, this little guy got moved to the bookshelves. It’s a watercolor of a Steller’s Jay and it’s on the small and petite side.

When Don and I were first courting, we took our first trip together – a trip that was fraught with misunderstandings, emotional craziness on my part, miscommunication – all the things that can happen when you are first getting to know each other and are still unsure as to where the relationship is going. We had planned to go to Yosemite, but the weather was terrible up there so we switched our destination to Lake Arrowhead, where we stayed in a sweet little cabin. There was a picnic table outside the cabin where a fascinating little bird would hang out.  I was absolutely smitten by this bird. So was Don. Turns out it was a Steller’s Jay.

Years later, when we were trekking across the country to our new home out East, we spent the night in Flagstaff, Arizona. Actually, we spent two  nights there because we were so exhausted after packing up the truck, saying our goodbyes, and not arriving in Flagstaff until the wee hours of the morning. We ran across a little art gallery and there we saw this watercolor. It reminded us of our beginnings. So, we bought it.

There’s always a story behind everything here at the cottage.

As I write this, I hear some snoring.

Sometimes, the tunnel is just not very comfortable for Dame Scout and she walks to the sofa and looks at me. That’s my cue. I lift her up, place her on the sofa, and she settles in for a comfy sleep. And I can gaze at her all I want.

Happy Wednesday.