Another beautiful day today. Fear not, it hasn’t turned into all-sunny around here, rain is on the docket for tomorrow. But right now, birds are singing, the sun is shining, and green is everywhere.

I don’t know if you’ve ever watched Nate and Jeremiah by Design  on TLC, but it’s one of the two decorating shows that I watch, the other being Home Town  on HGTV. Most other shows are so formulaic and, let’s face it, fake, that they bore me to tears. They also promote the whole “we have to redo everything  here!” kind of thinking that I find troubling. Equally, they promote a “we have to have a large master suite and this walk-in closet is just too small and I need a huge kitchen with more cupboards than I’ll ever use!” sense of entitlement. Let it be noted: I have never hired a contractor or had anyone do any major work in a house I’ve lived in. Of course, we rented most of our lives, so that wasn’t an option. But even when we finally bought a house, we didn’t do anything structural to it. We chose a house we liked, one we could live in quite easily, and all we did was decorate and paint. I’d love a mudroom. I’d love more storage options. I’d love a couple more cupboards in the kitchen. But I don’t have them, and it’s highly doubtful that we’ll ever have the money to construct them, so I find creative solutions. And we’re fine.

The reason I like the two shows I mentioned is because they’re a little different. N & J’s mission is to rescue those in need; people who find themselves in an impossible position because of bad contractors, or personal challenges that have kept them from making their houses liveable. They’re very up front about budget. They’re kind hearted and compassionate.

Home Town honors the character of the homes they are redoing. They’re ‘Real Life-Sized,’ if you know what I mean. There’s always a nice mix of old and new. And they’re very down-to-earth.

I got tired of Fixer Upper  fairly early on. Joanna Gaines’ decorating style was pretty much the same from show to show and that style was implemented no matter who the clients were. They also own a real estate company and the houses that were used were sold through them and it all seemed like a giant money-making venture – which it was. They’re good people, but they’ve become mass-marketers and empire builders and that’s always a turn-off for me.

Anyway, I watched N & J’s final show of the season where, for the second time this season, they were working with a kitchen that had a beautiful O’Keefe & Merritt stove which they ended up scrapping in favor of a stainless steel stove devoid of any charm or personality.

Why oh why? I like you guys, but I definitely have a bone to pick with you. Not everything has to be stainless steel and matchy-matchy. Character matters. Stella is not happy!

The clematis has been prolific this year.

Wildflowers by the driveway.

I’m finally about to finish Paris In Winter, which was neglected as I was reading Beverley Nichols. I’m still reading Nichols – I’m on Sunlight on the Lawn, but I miss Paris and I’ve been thinking about it a lot, so I went back to Paris in Winter. So many places mentioned are places I’ve been and loved and can visualize, but Coggins mentions many that I didn’t get to see and want to see.

Oh, Paris. You have my heart.

Happy Wednesday.