Thank you. For being my friends. Your loving, supportive, caring comments mean the world to me. Please know that I carry each and every one of you in my heart.

Yesterday, we had a big, sudden thunderstorm in the late afternoon. I heard something hitting the house and realized it was hail. We ran out to the porch and watched the little perfectly round pieces of ice hit the ground all around us. The storm was short-lived but tempestuous. I love a sudden storm.

I thought I’d share the other end of the living room with you:

We bought the tiger oak sideboard when we moved into our first place together in San Diego. It’s heavy. The large cupboard was one of my favorite auction finds ever.  It has lots of shelves inside that store all kinds of supplies, phone books, receipts, wrapping paper. At the moment they are a tad messy. That’s green McCoy pottery on top. What else would it be? The two paintings by the front door are very special. The one on top is of Mockingbird Hill Cottage and was painted by my father. The one below is of my grandmother’s childhood home in Canada and was painted by my great-aunt Ruth.

The french doors lead two steps down into our den. That’s where we watch television and where I usually sit with my laptop (which you can see if you look closely.) And there’s the piano on the right. Snug quarters, that’s for sure. I didn’t do any staging for this photo – what you see is what I saw. Thank goodness there were no piles of folded laundry on the chairs, as is quite often the case.

Jill from Little Nest Studio sent me a note about a Vintage Spode pattern named Claudia. Oh no. I love it. That spells trouble, if you know what a pottery and china lover I am. And now the hunt begins.