Garden helpers.....

Maybe blogging from my phone will make things easier for me to post.  Let's see!

Art... on the walls and in the garden....

We have been on a quest for some artwork to adorn the beautiful new walls.  Not any old artwork will do but things with real age and that we truly love.  Plus they have to be within our limited budget.  We have been very lucky to have inherited quite a few nice works of art.  I have also been lucky to have a mother that painted so we have a few of her works as well.  We've added two new, what we think are wonderful pieces, to our walls in the last few months.

This first picture is from a blog somewhere, not sure where it came from but gave me the inspiration that we needed a portrait somewhere...

source unknown

From that inspiration I was on a quest to fill the blank spot over the bed with something.  One Friday I walked into an antique shop and met Andreus.  I was immediately drawn to his kindly face.  I wasn't quick to whisk him home- I'm not that kind of girl.  Instead, I visited Andreus (I didn't even know his name then) on a series of Fridays.  One day I finally got up the nerve to make an offer on the painting and propose a lay away plan.  I couldn't manage another minute without him.

Meet Andreus Meneur

When we took the painting down off the wall the proprietor said that he felt that the painting was 18th century and Dutch but he was not sure about the name on the back of the painting- Andreus Meneur- was this the gentleman posed in the painting or the painter?  A google search did not come up with an answer.  The painting had also been cleaned and a newly framed at some point.  We also concluded that the panting had been cropped at some point due to his lack of visible hands.  Dave thought that the painting was also left unfinished since the waistcoat and coat had no buttons.  All part of the mystery of Andreus and his appeal.  We hung the painting over our bed and he looks great!

Yesterday we went up to Brimfield to shop for the store and see what struck our fancy.  We found this really cool family crest painting.  Probably early 19th century.  It wasn't very expensive and we thought  we could say that it was Andreus' family crest.  Why not?  It also had the same color orange as the walls we painted the upstairs hallway.

Crest with Latin banner.  Not sure what is really says.

Looks pretty good at entrance to bedroom.

Another area of intense concentration has been the yard.  I've tried to revive the perennial bed that was dozed in the construction.  I managed to save the sedums from last year and the lavender actually survived the winter for the first time ever.  Maybe likes the new "poor" soil or a mild winter or both.   I've also discovered geum's which are early bloomers and very pretty little flowers. My false indigo burst through the soil from nowhere and is actually is starting to bloom.  So all in all it's pretty nice.  I do have a bunch of stuff to move around but the basics are there and can be expanded upon.

Perennial Boarder

 We decided to wait on the raised beds this year until we give it a smaller trial start.  We chose to use the raised area on the far side of the house that was already there and waiting for a purpose.  So far I have some heirloom tomatoes, yellow and red onions, beets and lettuce planted.  More to come!  The 18th century potager come next year after we feel more confident in our veggie growing capabilities!

Veggie patch- good use of an awkward space?

 I found this amazing head of lettuce at the Farmer's Market.  It was picture worthy!  I'm sure my lettuce will never compare to this beauty but....

My lettuce aspirations

Last week I received a call that the camel back sofa, that a friend promised we could have when he found a replacement couch, was finally ready for delivery!  We are the proud new home for said old couch.  A perfect place to just perch (you can't really slump in this one- more like a park bench than a sofa, but....) and have a glass of wine and page through a magazine.  It looks pretty darn nice and homey's up the nook!

Nook with new-to-us couch

Last week we also had a little dinner party.  Obviously my favorite pass time these days.  Why go out when people can come to you!  Plus the food is better and I can feed 8 people for the price of just Dave and I going out.  And, they usually bring some nice wine!  You also can't beat the entertainment.  Moose was right in the house the minute guests arrived- strutting his stuff.

Robbie and Pip watching the Moose show!

He spent about 2 hours encircling the table making his "puff" sounds.  It was hysterical!  The next picture was taken at about 11:30!  He was still going strong- the party animal.  The guests started to leave (they were tired) and I put Moose outside for bed.  He didn't roost in the pine tree that night (his usual spot) but instead stood on the basement door.

Moose still up way past his bedtime!

He obviously didn't have too many Margarita's like some of us since he was back in the house in the morning to watch me do the dishes!

A little look around....

I seem to have fallen asleep at the wheel when it comes to posting.  I should be better about this since a few followers have commented about my lack of attention to the matter-  Dave being one of them.  So, perhaps instead of trying to come up with riveting text and witty remarks about life I should just post some pictures- not every day is a memorable event worthy of a story but pictures can tell their own tales.  So enjoy the pictures!

Some of the girls- see little Maisy tucked in the middle. Kind of like where's waldo?

One morning's collection- love the little English Trug.

New stairway that Dave built to Chicken house- 

The new garden shed- formally known as the turkey house

Happy Daffodils

Door to barn

Notice the new post and chain to deter visitors from going to the wrong door!

Sign carved by Dave's grandfather all freshly cleaned and painted.

Finally chose a color and painted upstairs landing.  Looks great!

Will be back with more pictures of the house and also more inspirational pictures soon- promise!

Snow day!

I've finally figured out how to post from my phone. This could be dangerous with posts on the fly. That's what happens when we have a snow day- experimentation. I tried to stay at the shop but no one came in. I put out some new items and changed over the front window. After that and 2 shovels of the front walk I headed home.

The turkeys were not sure what to do today either. They loitered in the tree for a good long time- perched until after 11:00.  They finally flew down and trudged through the snow all day. They've refused to reside in the new turkey house. They will eat in there but not sleep.  Not sure how to remedy this situation and perhaps it's too late for these guys. 



Moose in his nite nite position

They must have mighty cold feet!

The new turkey house or garden shed????

Does it need a rocker, a hound dog and some shot guns?

Cozy cozy in there!

OK, the posting from the phone is just OK.  The pictures were too big and I had to fix them.  Perhaps I can figure this out later-

La sal de bain magnifique!

I mentioned that I absolutely adore our new master bathroom.  It being really the only 100% fully functional bathroom in the house I guess it has to be fabulous!  Our old master bath (which wasn't so grand) is now our laundry room and in need of some "finishing up".  Not much of a project but something we'll need to ponder and put some time into over the winter.  I think it may also be time to explore different laundry room scenarios that I find on the web.  The downstairs bathroom is still a "lady in waiting".  It has a plan but cannot be executed for a few years yet.  I have chosen the tub and found tiles that I want.  We have more of the wonderful terra cotta that we used in the master bath for the floor.  We have even got a nice antique mirror and the lights in there already.  So,  I'm willing to wait for perfection.  I've waited this long for the rest of it.

So what's so great about the master bath you say?  Well, just about every little thing!  For starters the room is big and has cathedral ceilings.  Sometimes I think it is about the same size as out old bedroom. Is it too big?  Can it be too big- naw!  The size and position of the windows are just perfect for light as well as modesty.  Small windows facing the yard where you don't want anyone to see you and a larger one facing the wooded area in the back- where no one can see you.  I learned the virtues of a well placed potty when we were going through the construction and no matter where you went you were sitting right next to a window- a little unnerving but we lived!

Can you have a chair and a ladder in your bathroom?

The shower is pretty sweet too.  It's large with a nice sized bench. At first I was a little unsure about the bench but the guys convinced me that shaving my legs would be a lot easier with the bench.  You know they were right and I won't ask how they knew.   The shelf that runs the length of the shower is also perfect for all my soaps, shampoos and conditioners as well as the little Buddha head that graces the corner.

I've become the squeegee queen of the large glass door

You remember the quandary that I was in about the pebble floor that Dave wanted and I was unsure about.  Well, I have to admit they are wonderful!  John did an exceptional job installing them and making sure they were smooth and easy on the feet.

Island Stone's Perfect Pebble are just that!

The Restoration Hardware vanity was a great choice for this bath.  It gives an old feeling and blends well with the French terra cotta floor.  It has a lot of drawers to keep things in which we didn't have before.  The walls were painted Benjamin Moore's "Tree Moss".  It's a color that is easy to live and we have gotten a lot of compliments on it's soothing nature.   The mirror was made by Dave's grandfather Smith.  We love it and glad that it fit in so well in the new bath.  Alongside the mirror (and one on the windowsill) are small landscape paintings by Alicia Melluzzo- our favorite local artist.  We have quite a few works of hers scattered around the house.

So spoiled in our new bath!

Another great pendant light from our friends at Brimfield

I managed to find a nice little primrose- my winter favorites

I am getting so spoiled in our new home.  It's hard to extract myself from the house these days.  I was never one to loiter in the bathroom but now it's just so easy to spend time wandering in and out from the bed room.  How did we live without this new space?

Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years all wrapped up into one!

OK it's already the 11th of the month and I have already blown my resolution to be a better blogger.  But once you fall behind it's really hard to start again since you feel like you and your readers have already missed so much!  So here is the speed readers attempt to catch you up on some of the highlights of happenings of November and December.

Let me see-  November saw Dave's birthday and fondue party!  I surprised Dave with a stream ship propeller that he wanted whilst we were in Maine.  Who knew he liked it so much that he talked about it constantly.  I though "oh no" this will be the same as the diorama of Jaws that I said no to in 1999 when we were going to the Metropolitan Opera.  He actually wanted to lug it there with us.  I have never heard the end of that one and now it's about $350 on ebay!  I decided for my own peace of mind to just call the antique shop and see if the propeller was still there.  I had it nicely shipped to my office at Yale and a total surprise to Dave.  He also never suspected a taxidermy old rooster (not ours) that I got for almost nothing at an antique shop.

Jacques the Cock- hee hee

If I had only known we had the perfect spot for the propeller
I would have gotten it right off the bat.
Never seen one like this before either.

Thanksgiving was very nice in our new kitchen.  Man-O-man is that an awesome kitchen to cook in.  I had all the ovens going, the top burners jammed with pans and plenty of space to put the collection of foods that people brought along.  We managed 14 people at 2 tables and plenty of room to spare for milling about.  It was a delight!  The turkeys reveled in their turkeyhood coming on to check on the house before the guests arrived and even striking quite a pose at the kitchen door. At one point Moose ventured into the kitchen when I was basting "the bird" and he let out quite the string of gobbles!  It was very funny and I quickly closed the oven door lest I upset him further!

Birds without boundaries- checking out the nook!

Quite a pose outside the back door Thanksgiving morning.
My favorite picture of Moose and Kellog

William gave the day a big thumbs up.

Once Thanksgiving was over it was the Christmas rush at the shop.  Thankfully we were busy for December!  We did manage a few gatherings.  One of which was the Lacanche people who came for a visit.  The stove needed a little adjustment and the owner of the company Art Culinaire was visiting his son in NYC so they decided to drop by!  Elisa, the wonderful new NY based person, cooked us an amazing dinner.  We invited another couple who also have one of these amazing stoves and had a progressive dinner ending up at their house for dessert.  It was fun evening of good conversation and amazing food.  Thanks Elisa!

The center island is perfect for both cooking and conversing!

The Lovely Elisa cooking up a storm!

One Friday night I had a girl's night party.  I sent Dave packing to his friend Paul's house for the evening.  About 20 women all came over to ooohh and aaahhh over our new space.  Most of these ladies had lived through my constant babbling about how wonderful the house was looking and many were following the blog.  It was fun to see their faces as they entered the house.  I bet Peter Gulick's ears were burning that night with all the compliments being flung around.  Sorry I was so busy entertaining that I didn't take any pictures.  All I have is Veronica and her turnip martini concoction.  Veronica is quite a creative mixologist.  I had to pass on this lovely libation after smelling it.  Diane was very brave and downed a glass. Now that's a good friend!

Turnip water martini anyone?

It was great fun to decorate the house for the holidays.  Simple holly and greens mostly.

This was a perfect spot for the Christmas tree.  It was a charming little tree!

We finally had enough courage to put up the shelf!
Dave expertly arranged my Canton collection.

Some new additions to the decor include a new tiny painting by Alicia Melluzzo to balance her other work that we hung in the bathroom.  We love Alicia's art and have quite a few of her amazing smalls here and there in the house.

Two of Alicia's small landscape paintings.
The mirror is a family heirloom made by Dave's very talented Grandfather!

I also found this great old rug at an Antique shop in Clinton CT called Old Beautiful Antiques and Art.  It was the perfect old battered rug for the bathroom!  I love old oriental rugs with no nap and a few ratty edges.

I love the colors and patterns of this old rug!

I have to admit that I spend a lot of time in this new bathroom.  I'll post more pictures of the whole room another time so you know why I love it so much.

We were very surprised to unwrap the most wonderful Christmas present from our friends Cathy and Robbie- two hand turned cherry bowls from our old cherry tree!  Robbie had somehow squirreled away some wood one day that he was helping Dave.  These bowls are so beautiful and mean so much to us.  How is it that we have such great and thoughtful friends!

Treasures for sure!

How cool is this!

This winter we have to get down to some serious painting!

Changing seasons...

Life has been a little hectic since the apres-Irene posting and this probably should have been 3 posts and not just one mega-post.  But needless to say we are making progress and even managed a little get-away.  At the end of September we headed to Maine for a few days of antiquing, a day at the Common Grounds Fair and time spent with relatives/friends.  For the past few years we have taken my aunt up to Lincolnville to visit her friend at her camp on lake Megunticook.  It's a quirky little camp on a windy dirt road.  It is set up as 3 little residences of sorts, a large center house with a bath, sleeping porch, kitchen, dining room and living room with large stone fireplace.  A little house that has a bed room and bath and a little house on the opposite side of the camp called the ice house.  In the center is another building with a toilet and laundry room.  It's a fun place to spend a few days enjoying cocktails on the dock, communing with nature- loons, toads, red squirrels and plenty of birds and of course lobster dinners.  I love to hear the loons at night as they make what ever the hell noise is that they make.  Sounds kind of mournful and erie but I look forward to it.

View from the dock of lake Megunticook

The main house

Our home away from home- The Ice House

We always go to Maine the same time every year to go to the fair.  It's great fun and something that you don't normally come across in Connecticut.  This is a real organic fair sponsored by MOGFA.  We have learned over the years that you don't go on the weekend or you will be amass in people.  Friday is busy but manageable.  When you park the car you have to make sure you remember what vegetable, fruit or animal aisle you are parked in or you may never find your car again.  Then you head to the transportation down to the fair.  It's John Deer tractors pulling wagons that take you the half a mile or so down to the fair.  It's really fun to see all the different tractors loaded with eager fair attendees.

The shuttle bus?

All aboard to the fair!

When we got inside the fairgrounds the first thing we saw was a stand with the most amazing organic veggies.  I have to say that these were the largest and most beautiful vegetables I have ever seen!

Picture perfect cabbages

Have you ever seen leeks this grand?

You can see from the parade of little vegetables that this is not your usual kind of fair.  There are no rides or junk food. All the food is organic and really delicious!  The closest thing to a ride here is kids sliding down a little hill covered in hay on paper bags!  The parade is always my favorite.  Kids and adults alike dress in costumes and hold signs that say "grow local", "don't spray me" and the like.

There is the yarn tent that sells all sorts of yarns made from alpaca, llama (see below), cashmere goats, sheep and rabbits.  They bring their donors with them to the fair.  I usually get some "bunny blend" angora bed socks when I am there since often they inadvertently end up in the washer and come out the size of dolls socks.  Last year I managed to refrain from this no no so I didn't need to get more this year!

These cats have Llama-tude!

This year I found these little pigs wearing harnesses.  They were super cute!  I didn't tell them about all the research I have done using pigs.  So these guys escaped with only a photo of them.

Oink oink!

Who knew there were this many kinds of pumpkins and squash??

Beautiful gardens nicely labelled

After the fair we went to Camden to have dinner at our favorite restaurant of all time- Francine Bistro- http://www.francinebistro.com/  I had the best risotto that I've ever had that night.  Dave had his usual steak frites.  He hasn't deviated from that in years!  Being Maine we also had oysters as an appetizer which is always a treat and these had a smoked haddock crema on top.  Really delicious!  The theme for Maine this year was Negroni's and butterscotch pudding. Each was great as well!

On Saturday we spent the day antiquing in Belfast, Searsport and Rockland.  Always a good time for Dave and I.  I found the best little alabaster lamp for the bathroom and really cheap too!  It solves the problem of lighting on the vanity.  How clever to find something less than $30 and no installation required. 

Alabaster lamp for master bath

Saturday night we went to Primo in Rockland primorestaurant.com/ for dinner.  Also very very good!  More oysters, burnt orange negronis and butterscotch pudding again! 

Sunday we were going down to Daramiscotta for the Pemiquid oyster festival (yes, more oysters!) and then to Waldoboro for the night to stay with Dave's aunt.  We had rolled our spare change to have enough money for an oyster feast.  You would saunter up to the opening dories to pick your favorites.  I only like the little oysters.  After a certain size they make me want to hurl.  I was willing to wait for the perfect dozen!

Belly up and pick your oysters!

Pemiquid perfection!

After our little oyster feast (we each had 12 oysters which made a good appetizer -I wonder how many make a meal?), we headed to Waldoboro to visit Dave's aunt. We love to visit the farm.  This farm was originally Dave's grandfather's farm and then went on to his aunt.  We have enjoyed many a visit over the past 12 years and cherish every moment we are there.  We hopped into the car and headed out to Round Pond to the lobster pound for a delicious dinner on the water.  The lobsters in Maine are so sweet and nice.  Much better for some reason than the bugs you get around here.  The steamers are also sweet and tender and not full of sand. 

A lesson on the tomalley in the carapace of the lobster.

Once we got back to the house we enjoyed an evening looking at all the old Smith pictures and getting a narrative about each one.  I think Dave's aunt talked from 3:00 pm until we went to bed at 11:45 pm.  Not to shabby for someone who is 94! 

The next morning we headed down through the field to the Medomak river behind the farm.  It was just beautiful!  However I was glad that I brought my Wellies since it was pretty muddy there.  And unusually warm for the end of September.

Beautiful Medomak river

When we got back to the house we had my favorite lunch!  We headed to the fish market for fresh picked crab.  Pat is a connoisseur of crab and is very particular with when it was picked.  Although not picked that day it was less than 24 hours old so that was satisfactory.  We headed back to the farm where the awesome sandwiches were constructed.  I have no idea what makes these crab sandwiches so delicious but they are absolutely the best sandwich in the world!!!  Fresh picked crab, a little mayonnaise (and I hate mayo) on white bread.  Oh, and you have to have a few chips as well.

The worlds best crab sandwich!  Is it the crab or Pat and the farm that makes them so special?



Monday we went back to Lincolnville and the camp for more lobsters and one more night on the lake.  Tuesday morning we departed for home.

On Wednesday we went to work as usual and when we came home we were going to take my aunt to visit my aunt and uncle in West Hartford for dinner since it was her birthday.  We were getting ready for dinner when I noticed that something was amiss in my bedroom.  I looked at my bureau and it was so clean..... I thought hum that's not right- where is all my jewelry?  I mentioned to Dave that there were things missing and he checked my jewelry box and that was empty and so were the shelves in my closet where there were boxes of stuff.  UGH!  We'd been robbed!!!!

I noticed that the bathroom door was closed which is never the case.  We decided to not open it ourselves and called 911.  I told the 911 operator that we had been robbed and that there could still be someone in the house.  Dave walked around with his 18th ce musket with bayonet attached.  Like that was going to be a match for a hand gun!!!  I went outside to wait until the police came while lieutenant Dave patrolled the house.  About 15 minutes later the troopers arrived and took pictures, our statement and made me recall the jewelry that was missing.  I of course could not think of the many pieces that were lost but managed about 40 of my favorite things.  Needless to say, no one had a fancy dinner that night.  My aunt ate at the inn all by herself!

Jewelry box dusted for fingerprints :-(

So, the sad story of the jewelry is still open.  Nothing has been found as of yet.  we feel violated and vulnerable but there isn't anything left for the next guy to take!  We are going to get an alarm system installed.  Better safe than sorry the next time.

On another front- a little pigeon has come visit us often.  He/she must think that we are bird friendly!  I named the pigeon Nigel or Nigella depending on if you think it's a boy or girl.  Dave says it swooped into the barn and sat of his drill press for a while and actually will eat out of his hand.  I like seeing him fly around the barn and then perch on the house.  One pigeon is just fine with me.  I just hope he does not have a zillion friends!

Nigel on the look out!

I am getting my studio all sorted out and have taken one letterpress lesson.  I can't wait to really get started!  There was a lot of engravings to sort through and decide which to keep and which I plant to sell.  Where to put the bins of paper (most just scrap) where it would be out of the way.  I didn't want to discard it since I am sure that I will go through a lot just getting the presses set up.  No need to waste expensive paper just yet!

I got these great lights at Brimfield for $50 each!  I did a fair bit of negotiating to get this price since he wanted $100 each to start.  I can't wait to get them installed!

I've managed to get the drawers into the type case.  Not an easy feat since I don't think my mom ever had anything that worked quite right or wasn't rigged up from cannibalized parts.  I am trying my hardest not to follow in her footsteps in that respect.  She was very clever and talented but sometimes you would just have to shake your head- why????