BOOK SALE & STRAWBERRIES

Yesterday (Saturday) was my town library's semi-annual book sale. Katherine and I went and this is what I hauled home with me:

I also got a huge coffee table-sized picture book of Ireland for my Becky. Book's in her room and I didn't feel like making the trip upstairs for a photo!

There was a rack of  "costumes" and one of the library ladies told Katherine she could take what she wanted, free, because she always goes to the sales. One of the items she took was this vintage bathing suit! It's by Rose Marie Reed and I have no idea what vintage it is. Katherine was hoping one of my blog friends might have some info on this.

I was asking my neighbor a few days ago where she bought her strawberry plants last year and we had a nice neighborly chat. Next day her son brings over this single plant in an adorable ceramic "can". I went to a local gardening center yesterday and got twelve more, so now I have a baker's dozen!

(sticks for cat prevention!)

And, speaking of cats, Calico likes to climb up the ladder leaning on the back of my little shed and survey her world from there!

VICTORIAN SUMMERHOUSES

Do you like any of these: arbors, summerhouses, gazebos, or pavilions? I have a book called The Classic Garden by Graham Rose, that has a chapter on Arbors and Retreats, and I'm enjoying it immensely! These structures are so dreamy! I scanned a few pages of illustrations for you, so you can dream with me!


Here's some of what the book says about "Inside the Victorian Summerhouse":

"Normally, reading was an activity confined to the library, study or drawing-room. Taking tea was a ceremony that usually took place in the parlor. Therefore in the belle epoque [this time period], merely reading a book or taking tea in a summerhouse had something akin to heresy about it and it induced an exciting sense of mischief. This was amplified because the weather in those northern regions where summerhouses were most frequently built was only rarely kind enough to make using them a pleasure.

"But even when the decision to use the summerhouse had been taken, the ripple of anticipation of a more relaxed feast in the garden was mitigated by the fact that a large element of ceremony still had to be preserved. Flawless, well-starched linen would cover the table. Genteel cutlery and crockery would be used and a maid in a pinafore and cap would ensure suitably deferential service.

(photo from sissymaids.groupsite.com)

"To stage such a tea party, a summerhouse had, in many ways, to be designed to resemble a parlor. It had to be large enough to seat up to eight people in some comfort. So that they could all enjoy the garden view, it had to have large windows on most of its sides. In very hot weather it had to be suitably ventilated, which meant that the windows had to be capable of being opened to create a through draft. Adjustable roof-ventilation was often provided to allow rising heat to escape. Under adverse conditions on windy days the summerhouse had to be suitably snug. Apart from the main table and chairs, there also had to be shelf space for such paraphernalia as kettles heated by spirit lamps to provide hot water to replenish the tea pots. By modern standards, tea in the Victorian summerhouse was hardly a spontaneous affair."

Phew! That sounds like a lot of work to me! Give me my Diet Pepsi and a sandwich any day! But, it would have been wonderful if you had the servants to do everything for you. Which is your favorite of these illustrations? I think mine is the Gothic Summerhouse - love those windows!

BULL WORK

Just a few shots to show you why I've been so busy in the yard the past few weeks.

About a month ago, I laid down bricks for this "patio" in front of my garden shed.
Hmmm, I think we need a wider view. You can see the level below it (covered in dirt) that I made the year before last. I've never done any brickwork before, and don't do it the "right" way with all the crushed stone and sand. I just do what I like.

Then two weeks ago I moved on to the veggie garden to dig out all the tree roots. It's small, about 7' x 10', but after the first few shovels I said, "Forget it! I'm not going to dig this whole thing out again! (You see, there are tree roots everywhere in our yard, so I have to dig every year in the veggie plot.)

I had always wanted to try Square Foot Gardening, and figured now is the time to do it. I was looking through my garden books for something and discovered that I already had the SFG book (duh!). So I pulled it out and read it.

Then I dug out the 4' x 4' area down to a depth of 12 inches (because of the tree roots). I then double lined it with landscape fabric, and a piece of window screen that Mister had. I refilled it with a mix of the garden soil, composted manure (50%), and vermiculite. Hopefully the landscape fabric will keep out the tree roots for a few years. I just have to put up the frame for the vining plants, and I will bury a large pot in-ground for the pumpkins. I'm so excited!

So here we have it! This will grow green beans, cukes, tomatoes, zucchini, yellow squash, radishes, lettuce, broccoli, carrots, spinach, and cauliflower.

Now, you'd think those two projects would have done me in. Almost! There were plenty of bricks left, so I moved on to the back of the house. I made another little "patio" off the stairs that lead to my workroom door. Rocks everywhere! Besides the fact that New England is just plain rocky, we've been told that we live on a gravel pit. The contractor that leveled the property next door found that out and wanted to level our yard and buy the gravel. No way! We love our hilly back yard - it's got character! Now I just have to clean up and haul the rocks away to the side of the yard.

Are you wondering why Mister didn't do these for me? Well, I like doing bull work, and he likes working on the barn - so we each have our "play" areas!

Tonight, Teen is going to the after Prom party. It's from midnight to 5 a.m. at the high school. The prom doesn't interest her at all, but when she found out the party is going to have a bouncy castle she signed right up! I don't mind driving her over at midnight (I'll be up anyway) - it's the 5 a.m. that will hurt! She's hoping to get a ride home with a friend down the street . . . me, too!

REDNESDAY - KNIFE AND NOTEBOOKS

I almost didn't make it! Teen hooked up her Wii to the internet so we can watch Netflix movies directly on the t.v. and, in doing so, lost the wireless connections to Mister's and my pc's. But, thank goodness, we got it all straightened out.

This is my red pocket knife that sliced my forefinger yesterday while sharpening garden tools! Right on the knuckle, too, so I had to put a makeshift splint on my finger so I wouldn't bend it and bleed to death!

This is a cute napkin holder that I use for notebooks and paper and stuff.

And, here are some red tulips that popped up yesterday!
I have been using every available minute this past week to soak up the sun while puttering in my garden - it's good for the soul!

AND NOW FOR A LITTLE WHIMSY . . .

I decided to do something out of the ordinary. I have this advent "calendar" in the shape of a garden shed, that I purchased at Gardener's Supply Company. I bought it not for the advent part of it, but because it's a garden shed "toy"! So, today, I stuck it in the bathroom!
It has a rotating base and it now sits on the toilet paper cupboard (that used to be a cd storage cupboard - those cubbies are just right for t.p.!). Something to play with while on the throne - hee, hee! Here are some close-ups:

(The little sign says "I'm in the garden".)

And, for those of you who are a wee bit curious about what the sign says ~
A close-up of the wallpaper border. I fell in love with the greenhouses and wisteria (the inspiration for the purple paint), and it has chickens for Mister! (He used to have some)

VTT

Greetings to all of you in VTT land!

Today, I'm showing you my vintage garden tools.

The bug spray can says SMITH on it, and the glass is a nice dark amber.
This red-handled claw is my favorite tool. I repaint it every year because I wear it off so much! (the scissors aren't old, just got stuck in the photo for my garden site)
Of course, I have to show you Mister's latest acquisition! Weirdest lamp I've ever seen! A $2 bargain. To me, the bottom looks Deco, while the top looks Eames. Any opinions on this?
That's all for this week!

"Spring" Cleaning

I always start my Spring Cleaning right after Christmas. When the tree comes down and the decorations are put away, everything gets cleaned out and reorganized. This proved very helpful six years ago when our house burned down one January day. That year I had done a more-thorough-than-usual cleaning, which was a relief when I had to remember everything in the house for the insurance company.

We were living in an approximately 200-year-old farmhouse and barn with seven acres. We heated the house exclusively with a wood stove. The fire chief said a spark must have been smoldering all day while we were out. It was a blessing in disguise, because the house needed more work than we could afford to do.

We now have a Cape Cod style "cottage", right in the exact same spot. The barn was untouched, much to my husbands relief - that's his playground! And my garden shed was saved, also - much to my relief!



Another bonus as a result of the fire is that my husband discovered he has a talent for building stone walls! The above photo shows my garden shed, a portion of one of the stone walls, and one of two sets of stairs he made using the foundations stones from the original house. Waste not, want not!