SHOULD I COPY THIS COTTAGE?

VISITED A VERY COZY COTTAGE 

VIA INTERNET.

~Vintage Cottage Dreams~

Just something about this COTTAGE 

that was very comforting to me as a tired old woman.

Gathered some sweet ideas to aim for in my world.

Light colors, greenery, candles, lamps, pictures.

What do you think about it?

Blessings to you,
~d

 

RAMBLING AROUND THE COTTAGE

JUST FINISHED EATING BRUNCH as the clock ticks on.  Scrambled eggs, crunchy toast with real butter and Manuka honey plus half an apple to eat.  Sipping on Bigelow Green Tea with Pomegranate.  Thinking about what else we should eat during the day.  Early supper and light evening snack?  I need to use up the lettuce in the fridge for salad and have some pears for dessert.

SUPPER MEAL.  Lettuce.  Plenty of bell peppers, chick peas, black beans, seeds and nuts.  🫒🫒🫒Olives, 🥕🥕🥕carrots and celery added.  If I whip up a healthy dressing, it should be eatable.  Croutons as well.  

Took some time this morning to look over the news and do some paperwork.  Hubby is snoozing in his chair as I blog.  He managed to get the pictures and receipts of the carriage house doors for the garage sent to the Insurance company JUST IN TIME to beat the deadline.  I relaxed as he emailed info to the Insurance Co.  He had one day remaining before the clock struck twelve.  

Cutting it too close for being comfortable for me.  I don't know if the adrenaline required to get a project done is what feeds him.  Flying by the seat of his pants, I get way too uptight when he runs right up to the wire.  This makes me extremely nervous and uncomfortable.  The blood pressure climbs with my nerves shattering my peace.  He flies by the seat of his pants.  Perhaps this should be an epitaph for him.

I saw a young girl at the coffee shop wearing blue jeans with wings printed on her backside and Hubby said she is flying by the seat of her pants.  I laughed as I knew what he meant. 

With my hip hurting, I won't be walking today around the track getting exercise or sunshine.  It bothers me that I am not getting my exercise.  I will start counting calories again with recording what I pop into my mouth and try really hard to stay in the 1000 calories a day category.  Back to it.  

I will make an appointment to see my doc next week about this hip pain and visit with him about Vitamin D shots as well.  Better get an adjustment by a Chiropractor also.  I've put this off long enough.  At the moment, I have frozen peas in a baggy in my right pocket as I wear my pink housecoat to help with the discomfort, but while I was putting some things away, I noticed some J.R. WATKINS COOLING pain relief roll-on staring at me from inside a clear sided storage box. hmmmm.  What a great find today as I limp about.  Better give this a try.

  

During the month of March, I had such great hopes of working in the garage and in the flower beds pulling old weeds and overgrown grass.  I might be able to work slow.  Really, really slow. With Spring being early, I'm not sure I'll get this accomplished before the Irises shoot upwards and bloom.  Disappointed as I had hoped that the flowerbeds and garage would be tidy, but then March isn't over yet.  After the beds finally get cleaned up, I need to stay on top of keeping the beds cleaned out of overgrowth.  I will aim for this.

Driving about town, the Daffodils are in bloom gracing us with splashes of cheery, spring yellow flowers, green leaves and stems.  The wavy, green leaves of Tulips are shooting up.  Pretty white Mock Pear blossoms from some trees shout tis Spring.  Really pretty.  Forsythia bushes are out in full bloom.  Tis SPRING with the calendar still saying it's WINTER.  By March, I am beyond ready for milder weather.  

I have some Tulip bulbs that didn't get planted last Fall so I may go ahead and place them in paper egg carton as a tray and plant in a prepared hole in the ground anyways knowing they will not bloom this Spring, but hopefully next year.    

At the base of the front yard trees is where they will go so next Spring they will be the first flowers to show Spring has arrived. Daffodils with Irises not far behind.

The small, Baby Gem Boxwood Bushes in front of the porch have freezer burn on them.  The last two years, the weather has dealt harshly with them in this part of the world.  I think I purchased the wrong kind of Box Wood from the venders.

Our Spring/Summer weather will disappear on Sunday with a wintery mix of snow again.  From threatening thunder storms one day to freezing snow the next, I'll rejoice when the blue skies and lush, green grasses make an appearance.  I am a pansy and dislike threatening weather.  The excitement is gone.

SNAP SHOTS ABOUT THE COTTAGE.  Bunnies by the window.  Bed is made up with thrift bedspread and throw pillows, baby plants are potted sitting on the window ledge in the kitchen and Roscoe P. Bumpercrop the Bunny is sitting in the Living room.  Doll Collection.

Thrift purchases to perk up the pink bedroom.

Paisley print.

Paisley refers to a distinctive teardrop-shaped pattern originating in Persia and India, popularized in the West by textiles made in Paisley, Scotland, and also used as a popular gender-neutral first name meaning "church" (from Scotish/Latin roots).  The pattern, known as boteh in Persian, symbolizes fertility, life, or a cypress tree, while the name Paisley itself comes from a Scottish town meaning "church" or "basilica".

Adding some green to the kitchen window ledge.

Roscoe P. Bumpercrop is waiting for SPRING.
Hello Roscoe.

I continue to TRY to make some sense of this messy COTTAGE dealing with things out of place.

Slowly, I will get finished.

Blessings,
~d

   

QUIET AT THE COTTAGE

 ~OUR little 1900 Folk Victorian Cottage~

It's that time of year where Irises are blooming.

It's been so windy lately that the fern plant 

takes to flight and leaves the table.

Sometimes the quiet is so soothing 

that my health improves.
~d

 

OUR 1900 FOLK VICTORIAN FIXER UPPER COTTAGE

OUR SMALL TOWN COTTAGE perked up when 10 Baby Gem Boxwoods were planted out front.  Makes me smile that these were planted so quickly by my Hubby.  He made quick work out of it.  A brick border was already there in place and it will remain.  

Lilacs are one of my favorite bushes of all times.  
This pic is from a previous property of ours.

On the grounds is a large Lilac bush that hasn't flowered very well this year.  It will be pruned in May.  The bush will be shaped into a tree.  Hoping the pruning encourages next years flowering.  I will be checking into when to fertilize, etc.  The bush seems to have been stunted this year.  Very few blooms.  Not enough for making jelly.  sigh.

https://www.almanac.com/plant/lilacs

~Irises at the COTTAGE~

Along the side yard is a flowerbed full of white Irises plus a few of purple with white blooms.  This one is called Mariposa Skies Reblooming Bearded Iris.  The coloring reminds me of a stormy Kansas sky.

In the backyard, there are two long flowerbeds that Hubby created during the Summer heat of 2021.  He worked on it during THE DOG DAYS OF SUMMER during the HOT month of AUGUST making the flowerbeds a reality.  Hot and sweaty, the beds came to fruition.  We were pretty sure we'd be relocating to the COTTAGE from our larger house, so I was adamant about bringing our Irises with us.  The flowerbeds had to be prepared before relocating the Irises.  

He prepared three large flowerbeds and planted close to 700 Iris bulbs.  They'd be waiting for us when we finally arrived at the COTTAGE in October 2023.  This is the forth year that the beds have been present.  The third year of  blooming Irises.

One bed beside the house is basically all white Irises, another one next to the chain link fence is full of colorful ones of a variety of various shades of beauty.  Then there is one along the backyard sidewalk that is four rows deep with Heirloom Purple Irises that smell like BUBBLE GUM.  What a treat.  We have moved the Heirloom Irises from the 1885 Rock house we lived in then moved them to the 1883 house we recently sold.  Now they have migrated to our COTTAGE.  

Our love for Irises started at the Rock house that we moved into back in December 2006.  It took 4 years for my Husband to plant Irises along a fence we had there.  The collection has grown since then.  We've been at this for 17 years.  This is something the two of us have bonded on making it even more special as a married couple.     

The chain-linked fence flowerbed is starting to develop blooms that will be very colorful when they open up showing off their beauty.  I'll have to mark each one so I can identify them in case we move them elsewhere in the yard next Autumn when planting Iris bulbs is ideal.  

Not trying to grow dandelions, but we sure have them this year.  Even with the yellow dandelion flowers being edible when they bloom as well as the leaves, we don't eat them.  Maybe we should as they are very nutritious.  Yummers.  Dandelion Tea.  Greens for fresh salads.  

Please excuse the mess in the backyard.  When we eventually get to cleaning up the place it will look so much better.   Much to do.  This long flowerbed by the sidewalk has the Heirloom Purple Irises that will more than likely bloom next week.  Once again the dandelions are present. 

 

Afterward when the Irises are dormant, I think we will thin the bed out and line the other side of the sidewalk with two rows of Heirloom Irises on both sides of the walk then the sidewalk will be in between two flowerbeds.  It will be lovely.  

We have collected bricks for a future PATIO outside the back door.  Scheduled for 2025. Nothing is in concrete so it can all change in a blink.

The area to the left will become a raised vegetable garden along a fence that I'd like to use for a long Vegetable and Herb Garden.  We're thinking about fencing the yard in.  This would clean up the backyard for the better creating some privacy, but until then we can groom the lawn and tend to the flowers.  

It is one of the best ways to LIVE LIFE and have something to show for it. 

The 1900 COTTAGE is our HOME for now as we slowly work on her.  Each day, something gets done which is a BLESSING.
  

I am beyond pleased that SPRING is here.  We moved into our RETIREMENT COTTAGE the last part of October 2023.  At the end of April, we will have been here half a year.  Six months.  This time has been one of unpacking, trying to get settled and resting.  Making plans on what to do on the COTTAGE and living DEBT FREE for the first time in nearly 50 years.  Praise the LORD.

How to stay out of DEBT is a work all its own.  How do you stay out of debt?  By living below your means, rethinking how one's money is saved and spent.  Spend NOTHING if possible. Don't keep up with the Joneses, buy 2nd hand, trade with others, do without, look for bargains when something is truly needed.  WANT and NEED are not the same thing at all.  God can show you the way you are to go.  Amen.    

A modest lifestyle is to be admired and coveted.

~d

LETTING SOME NATURAL LIGHT INTO THE HOUSE

TADAAH!  THE DINING ROOM CURTAINS CAME DOWN so Hubby could hang new blinds we purchased.  When the curtains were down, natural lighting came indoors.  The room filled with sunshine.  It made a difference as the light filled the room.  UPLIFTING after a very long WINTER.  

We are still tidying the room, but this step of hanging the blinds is completed.  One small step toward making our small COTTAGE a lovely HOME for us.

Later the room will be painted a lighter color.  

Blessings,
~d on the prairie