Living and gardening in an older Hudson Valley home
Posts about decorating and design in the house and outside
The end of winter is fast approaching, both from a calendar perspective and an ecological perspective. Winter is a time for many indoor activities, chief among these is having fun with various hobbies. This year I tried a new hobby. I have long admired artists who paint with oils. I dabble occasionally with watercolor but […]
The internet, or more precisely Instagram, will probably be my undoing. Posts by influencers and bloggers demonstrate many clever and interesting things. I waste hours looking at posts of the seeming ease of renovating French Chateaus and English manor houses, cake decorating, gardening and countless other worthwhile, but challenging occupations. For unknown reasons, I get […]
In warmer months, I get to indulge my creative passions by working in the garden. In colder months, I invent projects that are fun and creative, especially gifts to give away. I will probably never stop making things, because I derive a lot of pleasure in the planning, sourcing, execution and giving of personal gifts […]
In Winter my projects are usually focused indoors. Once Spring starts my attention shifts to the outdoors and indoor activities are given second place. This past Winter, I embarked on a project that spilled into my Spring schedule. The wall space on either side of the fireplace was empty. Over the past several years, I […]
After watching the Netflix series Sky Castle and The Glory, I was in an Asian appreciation mood. Korean drama, also known as KDrama, is exceptionally well acted and written. Some people binge watch television programs. I savor them and spread them out, watching one episode per evening. Thus the 20 episodes of Sky Castle and […]
This may look like any other tree decorated with Christmas lights, but it represents much more. A few months ago, my neighbor approached me about decorating a 4o foot Canadian Hemlock tree in my yard with Christmas lights. She would buy the lights and have them installed, if she could use my tree. I immediately […]
Last year, I had my old garage doors replaced. They were wooden and had seen better days. A ground hog had decided to visit one evening and thought it would be a comfortable place for an overnight stay. Unfortunately, his check out time did not coincide with when I would next be opening the garage […]
When a local non-profit canceled their fund-raising event in support of an annual summer festival, Newburgh Illuminated, I had a conversation with some neighbors and friends about having our own get-together. The original event was planned as black-tie, with a Copacabana theme. I retained the black-tie format but dropped the Copacabana theme. It’s not every […]
Winter is for indoor projects. After cleaning, painting and papering most of the house, there was still one room untouched. The original house plans show an unfinished room over the garage. At some point this room was finished with a connecting door to the nursery, making it ostensibly a bedroom for an au pair. It […]
Thanksgiving is about the feast and the time-honored traditions and recipes that somehow relate back to the early pilgrims. This is our interpretation of Thanksgiving dinner. We had a special dinner for two with all the trimmings! I remember many wonderful Thanksgiving dinners over the years. When I was a child, my mother used a […]
