Living and gardening in an older Hudson Valley home
Posts about decorating and design in the house and outside
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 […]
It has truly been a busy Spring season. No one thing has caused it to be busy, it is just the amalgamation of an assortment of activities. I wake up each day wondering, where have I spent my time? Why isn’t it possible to just lie in bed. The life of the leisure class. I […]
Often it feels like Winter hangs around longer than it should. This year, I know this was the case. I compared photos of our yard from one year ago. The plants are blooming 2-3 weeks later than last year. There was some snow left in the yard, from a large pile, just two weeks ago […]
What a difference a year makes. While sitting in church on Christmas Eve this year I recalled my experience the year before, in 2019. Then I had waited outside St. Thomas’ church, on 5th avenue in New York City, for over an hour in the cold – just to ensure I would have a place […]
My home has a ladies dressing room between the master bedroom and the bathroom. It has a built in vanity, full length mirror, ironing board, storage drawers, shelves and hanging spaces. All the original cabinetry remains intact and I assume the square, clear, plastic handles are also original. It serves little purpose for me, as […]
Every cloud has a silver lining, as the old saying goes. The downstairs bathroom is one of the smallest rooms in the house, but when it came time to give it a face-lift it proved to be one of the largest tasks. On the original house plans this bathroom had a dual purpose. It served […]
When I lived in Denver, Colorado I had many wonderful neighbors. I didn’t give it much thought when I moved to Newburgh, but I hoped I would have good neighbors. Without a doubt I can say my neighbors are incredible. – even better than I could have imagined. We enjoy our neighbors. They are intelligent, […]
Nature produces beautiful objects. Andrew and I enjoy making things from objects we find in and around the yard. Crafting things has been something I have done since I was a little boy. Autumn is a particularly good time to make crafts. Seed pods, acorns, dried flowers and pine cones all make wonderful useful holiday […]
