A Quiet Corner of a Busy World
Honestly, I think the answer to that question keeps shifting. When I started this blog almost six years ago, its main purpose was to share my home renovation projects. Then as the renovation work settled, it became more of an outlet for my writing, occasionally fiction or poetry, but most often non-fiction essay or personal [...]
One surprise that hadn't been on the original itinerary for the retreat was the opportunity to go to Kelmscott Manor, William Morris' house. Most of you have probably seen William Morris' work, even if you don't recognize his name. He was a pre-Raphaelite artist, at the head of the Arts and Crafts movement in the [...]
Won't you be my neighbor? Mr. Rogers I found this abandoned draft from March 11, 2020. You'll see why I abandoned it at the time. Enjoy this unedited time capsule! In a world where you can be connected to people half way across the globe, relatively few know the people in their physical neighborhood. I [...]
I want to share one of my favorite Christmas decor collections. My family is of Danish descent and I love to incorporate a little of my Danish heritage into Christmas traditions when possible. One way is through these Danish porcelain Christmas plates. To be clear, the ones I have are not family heirlooms, but something [...]
When I bought the carriage house three and a half years ago, I quickly made a very long to-do list, ranging from replacing lightbulbs for security lights to installing a half bath. I'm currently doing the last thing on my list! I am reglazing and painting the windows. I know I'm not done with working [...]
There are days that try a gardener's patience. I've spent several weeks caring for a sunflower seedling (the only one to sprout from the seeds which had matured enough from the sunflower last year). I had the seedling covered with a little wire cage, then a bigger one, then a net as it grew to [...]
I watched my fair share of Flip It, Property Brothers, and other HGTV shows back in the early 2000s. One of the themes I remember was "California outdoor living." Can you picture it? A patio off the back of the house, a grill, maybe a pool, and a manicured lawn, all enclosed within a tall [...]
Yesterday, I was really looking forward to a day free of obligations so I could write and do some gardening. I decided to do my weekly house cleaning quickly so it would be out of the way and I could better focus on writing. Then if the clouds broke, I would go into the garden [...]
The pot on the stove was simmering and the hearty smell of lamb and potatoes wafted through the house. The bathrooms were clean. Books, papers, and craft projects had been corralled into the art room. At the risk of being too cliché, I almost felt like dancing with the broom while sweeping the front porch. [...]
Two of the best words ever are "Let's eat." Of course, any words that have to do with eating are pleasurable, but compared with other phrases also involving food and meal time, "Let's eat" is the best in my opinion. Why? "Let's eat" implies you are eating with someone else, that there is a shared [...]
Welcome To The Carriage House 