garden — Page 89

Short and Sweet

October 5, 2018 at 10:47 am by Claudia

I shot this from inside the kitchen this morning, which is why you see a smudge or two and the reflection of the kitchen door. But it was so pretty out there with the sun coming through the trees and the leaves on the ground that I couldn’t resist.

The posts for the next few days will be on the short side simply because I have so, so much to do before we go! Every day, there is a new list. Today, errands this morning and this afternoon, mowing the front lawn. It should be dry enough then. Because…you guessed it…yesterday’s beautiful morning turned into clouds and rain in the afternoon.

Tomorrow we clean the gutters and rake and that kind of thing. Since we’re not leaving until Sunday night, we also have Sunday to do laundry and pack.

This morning, we sat on the loveseat and looked at maps of Paris, figuring out where the hotel is in relation to everything else in the city. I must say, we couldn’t have picked a better place to stay! A short walk to the Luxembourg Gardens, another shortish walk to the Seine and Notre Dame and the Louvre. Not far away is the Pont Alexandre, the bridge referenced in Anastasia. You can bet I’ll be walking across that bridge. I am so excited – more excited about Paris than London, but that’s just because I’ve never been there. Taking some time together to look at the maps and talk about what we want to see and do made us both so happy and eager to start our adventure.

Paris readers: Do you know the best way to get into the city from Charles De Gaulle Airport? Any advice would be most welcome.

Before I forget: Don and I saw the most wonderful movie on Netflix the other night. It’s a little gem that I didn’t know about previously. It’s called The Man Who Knew Infinity. It’s based on the true story of a young man from India who is a brilliant mathematician and travels to England in the early part of the 20th Century to study with a well known mathematician who teaches at Cambridge. It stars Dev Patel and Jeremy Irons and a cast of wonderful supporting actors. The acting is impeccable. It’s very moving. So it you’re looking for something, we recommend it highly.

This beauty greeted me this morning. I’m so happy there are blooms, especially since I didn’t get any morning glories this year.

By the way, I am taking my laptop with me so I will be blogging. Not every day. Just when I can. When they will post is anyone’s guess because of the time difference. Just check in every couple of days or so. I have to take you along, right?

Happy Friday.

Percolating

September 30, 2018 at 9:39 am by Claudia

Surprise rose in the midst of an increasingly fall-like landscape.

Three new babies on my monstera. I was thrilled to see them as there had been no new growth during the summer. I know many of you think I have a green thumb and I guess I do, but I’ve had problems with certain houseplants this summer. My schefflera keeps dropping lower leaves – lots of them – but there is new growth as well. I can’t tell whether this is some sort of natural shedding or if something’s wrong. This particular plant has always been a bit touchy, but over the winter it did really well. I also have a few succulents that have bit the dust. So – I have my successes and my failures, just like everyone else.

Dollhouse renovation idea:

This is a small dollhouse. The rooms are not spacious and the kitchen is downright tiny. The stair placement is troublesome because it takes up so much room in the center of the house.

Not much can happen in this area. So now, we have an even smaller living room.

When I put the hutch in the kitchen, I realized how little space I would have there. One of the things I dislike about Hummingbird Cottage is the narrow, dark kitchen. Impossible to photograph, I did everything I could to lighten it up, but wasn’t very successful. In retrospect, I wish I had opened the wall up in some way.

So….

That’s what I’m going to do with the downstairs. I’m going to take the wall out, put a couple of columns in to support the floor above, take out the stairs and add something I found in a miniature catalogue – set of pull-down attic stairs. If this is a funky English stone cottage, why not? I thought about a spiral staircase, but they take up a lot of real estate.

Or, since it’s my dollhouse and dollhouses can be anything, maybe I’ll dispense with stairs altogether. I’d really like to open up this floor with a kitchen island where the wall is.

Those are my thoughts at the moment. I’ll let them percolate a bit while I’m off on my European adventure.

Your thoughts, my friends?

Happy Sunday.

Fall Is In The Air

September 24, 2018 at 10:19 am by Claudia

It was chilly this morning! Don and I both remarked on it. I ran upstairs to put on some socks, Don put on a sweatshirt. But we refuse to turn up the heat. Too early. Autumn is everywhere; in the changing leaves, the golden light, the gutters that need to be cleaned out today, leaves on the ground and leaves in my potted plants.

I can’t get over the fact that my heavenly blue morning glories have not produced a single flower. This has never happened before. I sowed the seeds at the same time I always do, they took off quickly and the vines are lush and filled with large, healthy leaves. But no flowers. The other morning glory that I planted – can’t remember the name – that flowers early did just beautifully. But not the heavenly blues, which are usually no-fail. Has anyone else ever had this happen?

The moonflowers usually flower well after the morning glories, so since they’re already flowering, I’m thinking nothing will happen with the MGs. Makes me sad. Ah, well.

We just booked our hotel in Edinburgh so we’re all set except for whatever train trips we take in England. Whoo hoo! There’s a lot to do before we leave, but we’ll get it done.

In the meantime, I have to go into the city tomorrow to work for a day on the Anastasia National Tour. It promises to be a LONG one, so I won’t be posting tomorrow. I’ll be back on Wednesday.

Happy Monday.

Short and Sweet

Percolating

Fall Is In The Air

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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