A Poem For Memorial Day
On this Memorial Day, I want to share a poem by Robert Frost that had me wiping my tears at my desk. Imagining myself as the woman in this poem was – phew – a lot to handle on a Tuesday afternoon. Here’s the poem. Get your tissue ready. Not to Keep by Robert Frost They sent him back to her. The letter came Saying… and she could have him. And before She could be sure there was no hidden ill Under the formal writing, he was in her sight— Living.— They gave him back to her alive— How else? They are not known to send the dead— And not…
Happy List: #346
Hello, hello! Welcome to this week’s Happy List. I’m thrilled you are here. I am also thrilled that this weekend is the unofficial (or is it official?) kickoff to summer in the United States. I’m ready. My kids are ready. Handy Husband goes with the flow. This week on the blog I shared all the tiny paintings that I love and how I display them in my home. I also wrote about the new windowsills in our basement – two so far! I don’t know how much repointing work is going to happen down there this summer. It feels like a nice winter job, but it’s also cool down there,…
Stone Windowsills and Wooden Doorsills
Let’s talk about what’s on everyone’s mind these days – window and door sills. Specifically, stone windowsills and wooden doorsills. *crickets* Wait. That’s not on everyone’s mind? Only mine? Huh. What do you guys think about? What’s for dinner? Why “sigma” is teen slang now? A problem at work? How to help your kid with fractions? When you can squeeze in time for a haircut? That embarrassing thing you did in third grade? All the emails you haven’t read? Inflation? War? If the colostrum all the influencers are taking has real benefits or is a gimmick? Fair enough. I guess we’re done here. But…stone windowsills and wooden doorsills are easier…
Tiny Art and Where To Display It
Let’s talk about tiny art and where to display it so that it packs a big punch. By tiny art, I mean art that is a few inches in size or smaller. I’m not a designer, but I do pay attention when they all say something to the effect that art needs to have the right scale for a space. Same thing for furniture, lighting, etc. Scale, scale, scale. Got it. Then you find the cutest tiny painting at the thrift store. Did someone say something about scale? I tried stepping on one of those once. Didn’t like it. But I do like finding tiny art. Love it, actually. I…
Happy List: #345
Hello! Welcome to this week’s Happy List. I’m glad you’re here. Let’s do a quick blog recap. This week I shared the reason why we kept the blue tile in our shower. Vintage tile does have a certain charm or so I keep telling myself. I also wrote about all the pepper mills my eyes told me I wanted and the one my wallet let me get. As always, thank you for being here. One of the perks of blogging is being able to connect with you. I’ve made the best online friends through this website. If you want to connect, and I hope you do, you can always comment…
In Praise Of: Pretty Pepper Mills
Let’s spice things up! I went on the hunt for a pretty pepper mill recently because our old one broke. Apparently, there are things we cannot fix around here. We are still recovering from that shock. In the process, I learned if you Google “pepper grinder,” you get a video game, not a spice grinder. Oops. Today, I will try and use the words “pepper mill” instead of “pepper grinder” because I’m fancy like that now. I went to college and everything. Ha! I also learned that spice aficionados are very particular about pepper mills. They know all about and argue over blade material, mill capacity, grinding speed, hand comfort,…
Why We Saved Our Vintage Blue Bathroom Tile
Out with the old. In with the new! Or not? I recently read an article in Domino about why designers are saving vintage bathroom tile during remodels. We saved the vintage blue bathroom tile in our upstairs bathroom for a variety of reasons, so the article resonated with me. It was a tricky choice though. Is this vintage blue bathroom tile a tile I would have chosen? Enthusiastically, no! Not in color. Not in pattern. Not in shape. Has the blue bathroom tile grown on me? Yes. I’m not ready to pledge my undying love, but I don’t recoil in horror every time I walk into that bathroom either. Why…
Happy List: #344
Hi! Welcome to this week’s Happy List. It is SO fun to have you here. I hope you enjoy exploring the items on this list that inspired me. Before we jump into that, a quick reminder of this week’s blog posts. On Monday I wrote about the new handles we made for our very old fridge. On Wednesday I shared the not-so-obvious reasons why we are clearing brush on our property. Of course, we want it to look better around here, but there are longer-term goals in place too. As always, thank you for being here. One of the perks of blogging is being able to connect with you. I’ve…
3 Reasons We’re Clearing Brush On Our Property
We’ve been clearing brush on our property for five long, long years now for three important reasons. One of those reasons is not because we are gluttons for punishment. But sometimes I wonder. It’s also not because it is our idea of a good time. It isn’t. Here’s the view of our backyard in 2019. Looks like an idyllic scene, right? Many things can look idyllic in the right light and from a distance and with the sound turned off, including history. What that photo does not show is that twenty years ago, most of the trees and brush behind where the kids are playing did not exist. That’s approximately…
DIY Curved Wood Refrigerator Handles
Let’s talk about Curved Wood Refrigerator Handles and how to make them. We have an old refrigerator. It’s probably over 30 years old. The thing runs like a champ. Makes ice faster than a snowman could, which means it’s probably not energy-efficient. It holds a ton of food because it’s as big as a Mac truck. It’s a creamy color, which I believe was referred to as “biscuit” back in the day. Basically, it’s in fine shape and I’ve loathed it since the moment we moved into this house. But then a funny thing started to happen. I realized a stainless steel refrigerator would be way too modern for our…
