a little candy now and then

I'm pretty sure winter isn't going to happen this year, so I'm ready for spring, and candy colors.

What about you? How's the weather in your world?

 All I really need is love, 

but a little candy now and then doesn't hurt! 

- Charles Schultz

still I lie sleepless

I'm always hot. It's most annoying when I try to sleep. In that trickster way that the Universe seems to enjoy of pairing couples who run at opposite ends of the hot/cold spectrum, my wife is always cold. The thermostat wars are played out most fiercely in bed, she with her electric blanket on high, me with my fan(s) and brutally cold air, whether from an open window in the winter or an AC set so low it's ecologically criminal in the summer.

To make it even more difficult, I can only sleep really well covered by a heavy blanket - and by heavy, I mean weighty. But then, of course, I burn up.

I look at these thick, plush beds below and I'm torn: oh, don't those look divine, the perfect heft to snug you down to sleep...and, oh my god, don't those look frightfully hot, guaranteed to make falling asleep a miserable impossibility...


My wife, of course, would suffer no such quandary. She would love them unequivocally.  


What do you think?

A flock of sheep that leisurely pass by

One after one; the sound of rain, and bees
Murmuring; the fall of rivers, winds and seas,
Smooth fields, white sheets of water, and pure sky -
I've thought of all by turns, and still I lie
Sleepless...

~William Wordsworth, "To Sleep"

home in old October

I love this c. 1778 farmhouse featured in Country Living. It's the home of ceramic artist Laura Zindel, and her family. That's her work in the hutch below, and in the last two images. I love the restrained palette, and the "cabinet-of-curiosities sensibilities" combined with genuine respect for the home's history - the wallpaper in the master bedroom was chosen by the previous owner's mother. I love everything about the last room.

I don't think I'd want to do full-on bats and spiders year-round, but in October it's damn near perfect.

Laura Zindel Studio

All things on earth point home in old October; sailors to sea, travellers to walls and fences, hunters to field and hollow and the long voice of the hounds, the lover to the love he has forsaken. ~ Thomas Wolfe



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in that little world

I dreamt last night that I was back in the giant late Victorian era farmhouse where I lived for 10 years. The house was beautiful, spacious, had many of its original architectural details, including cast iron fireplace surrounds, original hearth tiles, beautiful over-mantels with original beveled mirrors, solid wood doors, plaster walls...it was magnificent.

It was also falling apart, and hadn't been updated since it was new - so, no central heat/air, no insulation, original (or at best, very very VERY old) wiring and plumbing...in other words, it was also a mess. A magnificent mess.

This isn't the Glendale house, but it could be...

I loved it, though, and didn't care at all that it was in such bad shape. It was on 365 acres, 1/4 mile from the nearest neighbor but only 20 minutes from town, and because it was such a mess, the rent was cheap. I mean really cheap, as in $200 a month. It was perfect for us while we were there. With 2 stories, 4 bedrooms, 2 "parlors," a formal dining room, eat-in kitchen, and front and back hallways wider than most rooms in newer homes, it was like a giant dollhouse. The possibilities were practically endless. I had more fun decorating and rearranging that house than I've had in any other, before or since. Which was what I was doing in my dream - deciding how to rearrange.

I was specifically working on 3 different sitting rooms, and thinking to myself "We don't need 3 sitting rooms, this is ridiculous. But we have all these empty rooms - so I may as well have fun with them!"

Truth be told, I do love sitting rooms, and probably would have 3 if I could. The requirements: the room must be comfortable, well-appointed with places for books and pots of tea and flowers and candles, have adequate lighting for reading, but options for lower light too, be tidy, but ever-so-slightly disheveled...a bit of shabbiness is preferred. A sofa with pillows and a blanket for napping, and a fireplace or open-flame heater are bonuses, but barely...they're very nearly necessities.

Still, the best and most important thing about any place we would call "home" is those with whom we share it...

***

 There is a magic in that little world, home; 

it is a mystic circle that surrounds comforts and virtues 

never known beyond its hallowed limits.

 ~ Robert Southey

  

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the most amazing creatures

Have I ever mentioned how much I love dogs? Yes? Well, then it should come as no surprise that I'm also a fan of dog art. I have a  few vintage dog paintings, including a couple paint-by-numbers, and a custom painting of Coop as a puppy. I haven't hung any of them since we moved to Moss Hill, but I will. Maybe in my new (home) office?

A certain sister has been taking beginners drawing classes, and sent me a few sketches of her dogs. I think they're adorable, and can't wait to see where she takes this newly found talent. I've been thinking about trying to make mosaic collage portraits of our dogs. I can't draw, but I'm damn good at cutting and pasting.

This guy's a pro. See more here.

For Sale HERE

That's one fatass JRT! Still adorable, though.

 I think dogs are the most amazing creatures; 

they give unconditional love.

 For me they are the role model for being alive. 

- Gilda Radner

 

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the world is but a canvas

I love a salon wall.  I'm not "over" them. They're not a trend, they're a classic. 

Paintings were first hung salon-style in the 1600s for exhibits at the French Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture. 

From Wikipedia: "The Salon exhibited paintings floor-to-ceiling and on every available inch of space. The jostling of artwork became the subject of many other paintings, including Pietro Antonio Martini's Salon of 1785," (below).

Though the popularity of this look may wax and wane, there's no reason to think it's going to be truly out of fashion any time soon...

This world is but a canvas to our imagination.
~ Henry David Thoreau

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