decorating — Page 17

Scenes From Around the Cottage

February 27, 2016 at 9:14 am by Claudia

As is, of course.

2-27 scenes sofa

Monty watching over the living room.

2-27 scenes turntable

Music, Maxfield Parrish, Scout…

2-27 scenes coffeetable

Coffee table.

2-27 stair art

Art climbing upward.

2-27 scenes livingroom

Looking toward the den.

2-27 bookshelves

Books and pottery.

2-27 scenes full livingrom

Living room.

2-27 scenes upstairs hall

Hallway.

2-27 scenes paints

Paint, glue, tools.

2-27 scenes minipottery

Miniature pottery.

2-27 scenes desk

My little corner.

2-27 scenes painting

Painting by my dad, now hanging in our shared office space.

2-27 scenes newheadshot

New headshot. Dreamy.

2-27 scenes stairway view

Stairway view.

I have plenty more where these came from. The cottage is providing enormous comfort and solace for me right now. The sunlight streaming through the windows makes me smile. I love seeing all of our treasures; tucked into corners, on shelves, on the walls.

A minimalist I am not. Though I can look at minimalist interiors with an appreciative eye, they are not for me. I’ve lived a life. I’ve hunted and gathered. I’ve found treasure and I’ve made things. Everything here tells a story – our story. So as I sit here in my chair or walk around the cottage, I am thankful for all of this evidence of a life lived, of a house finally found, of our life with our dogs, of music and art and literature, of whimsy and joy and color and texture. A nest that wraps its arms around us, where splashes of color and well-loved furniture and objects catch the attention of a wandering eye and bring a much-needed smile to one’s face. Shelter from the emotional storm.

Happy Saturday.

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Adding a Backdrop

February 25, 2016 at 8:37 am by Claudia

Rain, torrential rain, thunder, and lightning which seemed to go on for hours – we were part of that same devastating storm that has wreaked so much havoc. Fortunately, we are soggy – very soggy – but safe. I’m thinking of all those who were in harm’s way. This one was and is dangerous.

I’ve done something to my lower back and I’m hobbling around the house. I don’t know how it happened, but it just seems to get worse, so I’m sitting here in my blogging chair with a heating pad. Yesterday, I hung around upstairs in the office for quite some time and my desk chair, though charming, doesn’t offer the best back support for this kind of problem. In other words, it made it worse, though I didn’t realize it until too late in the game.

Crap.

I think I stayed upstairs because the downstairs reminds me too much of Scout and I was alone all day, missing her companionship. I didn’t break down until Don came in the door – then I lost it. But I got through the day. Small victories.

I browsed online, looked at the Top Secret Project, noodled around and then I actually did something. I decided the color inside my pink cabinet left something to be desired. No, I didn’t start painting, though that may happen in the future. I grabbed some scrapbook paper that I had on hand.

2-25 roseville

And I pieced it together (I only had a few sheets) to create a backdrop for the Roseville Pottery.

2-25 mccoy

And the McCoy Pottery.

It’s clearly pieced together and you can see the seams, but I don’t much care about that. This is for me. Now that I have the idea, if I see some wrapping paper that I like I may replace this with something seamless, but for now, I’m happy.

2-25 twoshelves

That pink candy box contains letters written to my grandmother from her younger sister, Rhoda. Rhoda died at the age of 15 during the flu epidemic of 1918. My grandmother’s sister, Maggie, also died. I can’t imagine how devastating that must have been. I’ve read many of the letters. Rhoda was full of life, charming and delightful. My grandmother never got over losing her sisters.

2-25 closeup

I think the pattern and color really help to frame the pottery – the paper functions as a backdrop.

2-25 cabinet

The bottom shelf has yet to be sorted through and arranged. I have to clean out the craft/crap closet first. And I don’t have any more scrapbook paper. So don’t look at that shelf, ignore it. Cast your eyes upward.

That’s better.

Doing something was nice. It was simple, but I made a little change that makes me happy.

Hold on a minute: there’s more McCoy on that second shelf than there is Roseville on the top shelf.

Hmmm. That is a problem that needs to be addressed ASAP.

Happy Thursday.

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Back in Town

January 26, 2016 at 8:54 am by Claudia

I’m back in Hartford. My trip back included a stop at the post office to mail the green scarf to its new owner, a stop at the gas station to fill ‘er up, a stop at my local supermarket to buy some Peet’s FR and Ghirardelli Hot Cocoa as well as fresh vegetables, brown rice and other essentials, and a stop at Trader Joe’s for a couple of things, but mostly fresh flowers.

I pulled into the parking lot at the apartment building at 4 pm. Perfect. I like getting back in time to relax, have dinner, take a bubble bath and get a good night’s sleep so that I’m fresh and ready for the next day’s work.

As I was taking my trash bag to the trash room, I saw this (I ran back to the apartment to get my iPhone.)

1-26 sunset over the capitol

Sunset over the Capitol Building.

1-26 red alstro

More flowers.

1-26 white stock

And more flowers. I now have three vases full of beautiful flowers and oh, what a difference it makes in a temporary living space.

I also grabbed couple of smallish potted plants at the grocery store, loaded them into my cart, and they are now sitting in front of the windows. I’ll get some photos of them today.

I’ll be here for another month, so the more I can do to make this space home, the better. But I only purchase things I’ll also use at home. The plants will probably end up in the shared office space back at the cottage. (I said a brief hello to it yesterday. Sob.) Everything else that I’ve added to this space has been brought from home. I’m fortunate in that I can load my car up and drive everything here. But even when I was spending ten weeks or six months coaching in San Diego, I managed to do the same thing. I sent a couple boxes of things from home that I wanted around me and I filled in the rest with a couple of visits to IKEA. Everything I purchased there has since been used in the cottage. No waste. If it won’t work in both spaces, I don’t buy it. (If the job is less than three weeks, I’ll usually refrain from bringing anything, though I’ve been known to pick some wildflowers and put them in a jar.)

One other addition:

1-26 Wayfrum

Wayfrum Holmes. After apologizing to him profusely for actually considering being here without him, I nestled him in the car and here he is.

For those of you who are newer readers, several years ago – in 2009 – I had to work away from home for six months. Don gave me this little bear so that I’d have someone to cuddle when I was missing the dogs and him. When I mentioned that he needed a name, Don came up with Wayfrum Holmes. Usually Wayfrum is accompanied by Maggie Rabbit and a little lamb, but this time, I decided that Wayfrum and I needed some quality time together – just the two of us.

Thank you for your kind words yesterday. It’s a tough time right now, with some good days and some bad days for our girl. Yesterday was a wee bit better for her. Lately, the stuff of life has been a bit too much for yours truly.

But, I’m very grateful for my work and the opportunity to work here on this beautiful masterpiece of a play. That is a blessing. As is my supportive and incredible husband.

Happy Tuesday.

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Scenes From Around the Cottage

Adding a Backdrop

Back in Town

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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