Mosaic Monday: My Spring Flowers

I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend. It's been rather busy here, with the kids going in and out to visit their friends, and some friends coming to visit us. So my mosaic this week is just made up of spring flowers, from my garden and from some of the public gardens I've visited this year.

I'm looking forward to seeing all your creations. :)

Now let's have some mosaic fun! Here are the instructions:
1. Publish your Mosaic Monday post.
2. Once it is published, click on the title of the post. This will lead you to the static link for your post. The static link is the page with only that post on it. Copy the url from your browser at the top of the page.
3. Paste the url into the appropriate inlinkz box in this post.
4. Type your name in the appropriate inlinkz box in this post.
5. Click on "Enter."
6. Please link back to this Mosaic Monday post so that your readers can find other wonderful mosaics.
That's all there is to it! It's always a good idea to then check and see if your link is working. If you have any questions, feel free to email me: mrcarroll(at)optonline.net.

Weekend Thoughts

Saturday morning, sweet veronica spires, dew on the flowers and the sound of birdsong in the trees... the weekend stretches before me like a gift. I will spend it with the ones I love.

My daughter and I spent the afternoon yesterday wandering through a local antiques shop, searching for old vinyl albums for my son's birthday present. The first time I took my son to the same store, he spent most of an afternoon selecting some hip vintage items for his apartment. For my daughter, it was the vintage jewelry that beckoned.

I love it that they have both inherited my joy in anything old or vintage. That is so cool. :)

Wishing you all a wonderful, slow weekend, my dear bloggers. Here in the United States Monday is a day of remembrance for all members of our armed services. I thank you and your families for your service. Your sacrifices are great, your courage overwhelming. Thank you.

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Are you guys up for Mosaic Monday this week? Even with the holiday weekend? I tend to do everything at the last minute, waiting for inspiration. So I'm sure I'll come up with something by Sunday night. The linky thingy will be up by 8:30pm Sunday. Thanks, everyone! :)

I ♥ Peonies

The peonies are in bloom here at Little Red House. I only have four plants -- two that belonged to my mom, one that was given me by a friend, and one that I bought.

But oh my goodness, when they bloom, the garden is a happy place, and I can't help but cut a few to bring inside. They have a delicate perfume, not as overwhelming as the wild roses and the honeysuckle currently blooming outside, but a scent that weaves it's way quietly into the senses.

I'm linking this post to Cindy's Show & Tell Friday. Thank you, Cindy, for hosting this wonderful party. :)

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Thank you for your support and prayers for my father in law. As I write this he is still in intensive care. I guess the only thing to do is take it one day at a time.

Willowwood Arboretum, Part IV

I'm going to be a post and run blogger today. Please forgive me, but my father-in-law is in intensive care, and my mother-in-law, who suffers from dementia, needs someone to sit with her. I was gone from home most of yesterday, and expect to be so again today.

These photos were taken several weeks ago at Willowwood Arboretum. For more information, check out my posts here, here and here.

And if you could, please say a prayer. Thanks.

Mosaic Monday: Wild Roses

I think I'm getting into a flowery rut with Mosaic Monday, but I just couldn't help posting about the wild roses that are blooming here right now. They usually bloom around June 1st, but they are a little early this year. I guess all that rain this spring moved the flowering schedule up a bit.

Or maybe it's global warming.

Anyway, these small white roses are ubiquitous here in my part of New Jersey right now, and their scent is nothing short of amazing. It follows us as we walk in the park, and it wafts in through the windows at night to perfume our dreams. I wish there was such a thing as a scratch and sniff blog, so that I could share this wonderful rose with you. :)

I'm trying a new linking system this week. I guess we will all be learning together. Let me know how you like it. :)
Now let's have some mosaic fun! Here are the instructions:
1. Publish your Mosaic Monday post.
2. Once it is published, click on the title of the post. This will lead you to the static link for your post. The static link is the page with only that post on it. Copy the url from your browser at the top of the page.
3. Paste the url into the appropriate inlinkz box in this post.
4. Type your name in the appropriate inlinkz box in this post.
5. Click on "Enter."
6. Please link back to this Mosaic Monday post so that your readers can find other wonderful mosaics.
That's all there is to it! It's always a good idea to then check and see if your link is working. If you have any questions, feel free to email me: mrcarroll(at)optonline.net.

Of Proms, Pepper Shakers, and Police Departments

I'm not allowed, under pain of death, to post any photos of my daughter's prom. And I thought I might use my son's graduation photos for Mosaic Monday. Or maybe not. But anyway, I'm reduced to posting salt and pepper shakers. lol

But thank you so much for your words of encouragement yesterday. They mean more to me than you can imagine. Thank you for sharing your experience and your dreams. Thank you for being my role models and my inspiration. Thank you.

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A little story here about my daughter, one I'm sure most of you who are mothers will relate to:

I'm not sure what the traditions are in other states, or countries for that matter, but here in New Jersey, it is almost a tradition that kids go down the shore (to the beach) after senior prom. So last night found us waving goodbye to our daughter at midnight. All her friends had gone in other cars, so she was facing the two and a half hour drive alone. We were not thrilled with this, but she's a smart kid and a good driver, so we didn't object.

She called us as instructed, about two hours later to say that she had arrived in the town, but was having trouble finding the house. We pulled up Google Maps and tried to direct her, but she kept saying that she didn't see it. She had been following an address and directions given her by one of the other kids in the house, and after awhile we realized that she was actually in the wrong town.

There we were, my husband and I, frantically searching on our computers, to try and find where she was supposed to go. I installed VZ Navigator on my phone, so she could follow satellite directions. My husband even tried to call the local police department in the town where she was, but they did not answer the phone at 3:00 am. Can you believe that?! What kind of police department doesn't answer the phone at night???

Finally we had her pull into the parking lot of a doctor's office, got that address and the correct address for her destination, and were able to direct her once again using Google Maps. We even pulled up Google Street View so that we could talk to her about what she was seeing at each turn. At 4:00 am, she finally arrived, safe and sound, at her destination.

O. M. G.

I know several of you took me to task for saying that I was old yesterday, but let me tell you that I feel a lot older today. About ten years older. It's a good thing I've got an appointment for a cut and color this week, because my hair turned gray overnight. ;)

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Are you ready for Mosaic Monday this week? AM I? Anyway, I hope you will join me. Mr. Linky will be up by 8:30 pm Eastern time, USA, Sunday night. By which time I will probably be about 100 years old. lol

The Season of Second Chances

My son graduated from college yesterday. And as much as it was a turning point in his life, I'm feeling as though it was one in mine as well. I've been thinking a lot lately about second chances. It's galling to be such a cliche, but I think I may be a part of that legion of women who find themselves at loose ends when their children leave home or when they reach a certain age. (Don't you love the phrase "une femme d'une certaine age?" Sounds so much better than "pushing 55," doesn't it?) We have been caretakers for so long, that when faced with time on our hands and no one to drive to soccer practice, we simply don't know what to do.

Until it dawns on us that maybe this is not such a bad thing.

I was recently asked to review a book about second chances. The Season of Second Chances, by Diane Meier, is the story of Joy Harkness, a woman who seems to have what she would consider the perfect life -- a tenured position at an Ivy League University, her work in print, and an apartment overlooking the Hudson (just) in New York City. Despite this, she begins to realize that what she has always strived to achieve may not be all that she thought it would be. When she is offered a teaching position at Amherst, in western Massachusetts, she jumps at the chance.

Joy buys an old, run-down Victorian house, and sets about renovating it with the help of a talented handyman who teaches her about sheet rock and masonry and tiling and, inadvertently, about life too. Joy has found her life in academe to be limited and sterile. She had a few friends, but has not really connected with them on an emotional level. And as a feminist of a certain age, she dismisses matters of style, both interior and personal, as unimportant.

As Joy settles into her new job and her new home, she acquires some real friends who both give and need emotional and real-world support. And the restoration of her beautiful old Victorian house becomes a metaphor of sorts for the emergence of Joy's restored emotional life.

The Season of Second Chances is the engaging story of a woman who takes a chance and finds her true self. Diane Meier is a wonderful writer and her characters are multi-dimensional. We are immediately drawn in by the voice of Joy Harkness -- intelligent, witty and engagingly vulnerable. She is a woman we would like to meet in real life. We watch with concern, and later with joy, as she emerges from her cocoon. And ultimately, we rejoice in the message that her story illustrates -- that no one is ever too old to recreate themselves.

And this, my dear bloggers, is the message that I suspect a lot of us need to hear. My son graduated from college yesterday. My daughter attends her senior prom tonight. Tomorrow may be "how in the hell did I get so freakin' old" day. But we can always reinvent ourselves. Like Joy.

Or like Madonna.

I think I'll stick with Joy. :)

The Season of Second Chances

by Diane Meier

Henry Holt & Co.

Rainy Day Light

I thought I would take a little respite from the garden posts and show you a slice of life at Little Red House. It rained here in my part of New Jersey yesterday. In fact, I think you could safely say that it poured -- one of those days where the water gushes noisily out of the downspouts, and renders the lawn a soggy mess.

Inside, the house was dark. This is a small house with low ceilings -- no recessed lights save for the kitchen. The dining room has two lights -- a crystal chandelier and a thrift store lamp, both shown here. When it is dark day, I like to turn on the lights and enjoy the warm glow that they cast.

Of course this would have been the perfect day for a book and a cup of tea, but there were the usual chores waiting. I did stop for a moment to snap a few pictures of the shadows, but then it was back to the laundry.

So my question for you is this: what is your favorite way to spend a rainy day?

Mosaic Monday: The Stone Cottage

Are you getting sick of Willowwood yet? Because I think I've got one more post after this. Four posts out of one visit -- that's got to be some kind of record. I've got a master bedroom project coming up at the end of the month, and a book review as well, so hopefully subjects will get a bit more varied here soon.

So, the Stone Cottage at Willowwood... First of all, can I tell you how much I love stone cottages? And stone houses? I am always drawn to them. The Mansion in May designer's showhouse that I visited this weekend was a gorgeous stone house, with a cottage and outbuildings as well. Oh how I was missing my camera! In fact, I have already written a post about a few of my favorite stone houses. So you can imagine my delight when I walked around a corner in the arboretum and discovered this beautiful example?

According to the Morris County Park Commission, the Stone Cottage at Willowwood is made of Roxbury Puddingstone, which is a kind of aggregate stone named after Roxbury, Massachusetts where it was primarily found. In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries it was used in many foundations and walls of houses in and around Boston. I am assuming there was a local source for the stone used here. In fact, having dug in my backyard, I can assure you that the local shale looks very like puddingstone.

The cottage itself is thought to have been a possible residence for farm laborers. It is at least partially Greek Revival in style, which dates it to the late eighteenth or early nineteenth century. I just love those beautiful stone walls, with the keystones set above the door and windows, and the plants clambering up the sides. Gorgeous! So anyway, before I start actually drooling, let's get on with Mosaic Monday.

Now let's have some mosaic fun! Here are the instructions:
1. Publish your Mosaic Monday post.
2. Once it is published, click on the title of the post. This will lead you to the static link for your post. The static link is the page with only that post on it. Copy the url from your browser at the top of the page.
3. Paste the url into the appropriate Mr. Linky box in this post.
4. Type your name in the appropriate Mr. Linky box in this post.
5. Click on "Enter."
6. Please link back to this Mosaic Monday post so that your readers can find other wonderful mosaics.
That's all there is to it! It's always a good idea to then check and see if your link is working. If you have any questions, feel free to email me: mrcarroll(at)optonline.net. I can't wait to see your mosaics! Here is Mr. Linky:

Baaaaa!

I'm going to a designer showhouse this weekend, but they don't allow photography. So I guess I'll just be one of the sheep who meekly follow along -- and look but don't snap. Baaaaaa! :(

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. The weather is supposed to be sunny and in the 70's for my part of New Jersey, and I'm looking forward to some grilling (my husband is the grillmaster) and dinner on the deck!

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Won't you please join me for Mosaic Monday? Mr. Linky should be up by 8:40 pm Sunday, Eastern time USA. I can't wait to see your wonderful mosaics!

Willowwood Arboretum, Part II

As promised, here are more photos from my visit to Willowwood Arboretum. This is the cottage garden which is situated in front of the main house.

A pot of pretty succulents (above) is set on a plinth near the entrance to the cottage garden.

The main axis of the garden is centered on the front door of the house. There is an allee of evergreens marching down the center of the beds, with perennials and annuals surrounding them.

The nineteenth-century Tubbs house, with a conservatory on the left. In addition to the cottage garden in front (which is across the road you see at the bottom right of the photo), there are also gardens surrounding the sides and back.

Here is another shot of the entrance to the cottage garden. Can you see the beautiful wrought iron gate?

Leaning out over the central path is a beautiful specimen of yellow baptisia (above). I have seen this in purple, but never yellow. Lovely!

There were some beautiful purple alliums in bloom as well.

You can see the exuberant character of the cottage garden plantings here. The evergreens add structure, along with the wooden obelisk and pergola, but the billowing plants are the soul of the garden.

I love these blue columbines (above and below). Blue is my favorite color in the garden.

There were also some white baptisia (below). I've got to find a source for these beauties. Baptisia does well in my garden, and the deer don't seem to find it too tasty. :)

(OK, now someone has to tell me that this is not actually Baptisia at all, right?)

I must have taken 150 pictures here. lol

Next week, I'll show you some of the natural shade garden. But I promise, not as many pictures. ;)

Willowwood Arboretum

300 Longview Road

Chester Township, NJ 07930

Willowwood Arboretum

I thought you might like to come with me to explore Willowwood Arboretum. Although I drive past often, I had never visited the place till yesterday. What a wonderful surprise! The arboretum consists of 130 acres of meadows, pastures and gardens nestled in the Hacklebarney Hills of Morris County in New Jersey.

In the seventeenth century, the property was part of a large French Huguenot farm. Over the next hundred years, the remaining woods were cleared and in 1839 the fields and pastures were purchased by the Kenneday family and named "Paradise Farm."

In 1908, the property was bought by a pair of brothers, Henry and Robert Tubbs, for use as a weekend retreat where they could indulge in their horticultural interests.

The brothers were born in Pennsylvania, and had a love of gardening and botany instilled in them during their childhood. As young men, they both took jobs in New York City. They discovered Paradise Farm during a weekend jaunt in the country, bought it and renamed it "Willowwood" because of the large weeping willows which lined the driveway.

When their mother, father and sister visited the farm, they loved it so much that they all stayed on. Willowwood became the new Tubbs family residence. Over the next 40 years, Henry and Robert Tubbs transformed the farm into a beautifully landscaped collection of rare and distinctive plants. Their design philosophy was simple -- "Nature is the guiding hand."

The design of Willowwood was influenced in part by Martha Brookes Hutcheson, one of the first female lanscape architects in the country. Hutcheson owned the adjoining property, Bamboo Brook. Her European travels informed her designs, which may be seen in parts of Willowwood as well.

Henry and Robert Tubbs had many connections in the world of plant exploration, and Willowwood was the recipient of plants from numerous expeditions, including those of the famous plant explorer E. H. Wilson. Some original specimens that found their way to Willowwood include the Davidia, Lace Bark Pine, Waterlily Magnolia and Chinese House Lemon. The arboretum is justly proud of a champion Metasequoia which was grown from seeds collected in China in 1947.

Willowwood includes a beautiful cottage garden, formal gardens and a shade garden which I will show you later this week or early next week. Most of the photos here are of The Stone Barn, which is also called The Myers Center. It is a beautiful structure, built of local Roxbury Puddingstone, circa 1790. Today it is used for meetings, programs and rentals. As you can see, it is wonderfully landscaped with many lovely plantings of ivy, bamboo, laburnum and lilac. There is also a wisteria arbor nearby.

Willowwood is beautifully maintained by the Morris County Park Commission. For more information, visit their website.

Willowwood Arboretum

300 Longview Road

Chester Township, NJ 07930

I ♥ Rummage Sales

Last week I went to one of my favorite rummage sales -- the twice-yearly Visiting Nurse's Association Rummage Sale in Far Hills, NJ. There are lots of different barns and tents, filled with everything from books to clothing to electronics to furniture. My favorite, though, is the housewares section. So herein follows a list of my goodies: :)

The cream cutware dish (above) was $4. The one below was $1.50. Woo hoo! I've been collecting cream colored dishes for a few years now. They can be combined in many different ways for table settings, and they look great in my kitchen.

I love milk glass. This has been one of my favorite collectables for a few years now. I probably have way too many pieces, but I couldn't resist two more. The little basket (below) was $3. How cute is it with those little blossoms?!

The hobnail goblet (below) was $1.50. Classic shape, beautifully executed. Love it.

I also have a thing for anything urn-shaped. I picked up this little silverplated cup (below) for $1. I guess I'm starting to collect silver cups, too. I love using them for small bouquets. I have this picture in my mind of a series of silver cups, marching down the table, filled with colorful zinnias or cheerful daisies. Wouldn't that be fun?

So that is my $11. haul. And yes, I ♥ rummage sales.

To see some of my past rummage sale and thrifting finds, click on the "Thrifting" tab on my navigation bar directly below the blog header.

Mosaic Monday: Mother's Day Wishes

One mosaic, two ways today. I made the mosaic above using Photoshop. I matted and framed it below using Big Huge Labs. I wish all of you a very happy Mother's Day!

Now let's have some mosaic fun! Here are the instructions:
1. Publish your Mosaic Monday post.
2. Once it is published, click on the title of the post. This will lead you to the static link for your post. The static link is the page with only that post on it. Copy the url from your browser at the top of the page.
3. Paste the url into the appropriate Mr. Linky box in this post.
4. Type your name in the appropriate Mr. Linky box in this post.
5. Click on "Enter."
6. Please link back to this Mosaic Monday post so that your readers can find other wonderful mosaics.
That's all there is to it! It's always a good idea to then check and see if your link is working. If you have any questions, feel free to email me: mrcarroll(at)optonline.net. I can't wait to see your mosaics! Here is Mr. Linky: