Wednesday, April 27, 2011

A Little of This and That



Just popping in to say hello. The wild violets are blooming in our lawn right now, and the weather has been absolutely beautiful. I've been busy gathering donations for the semi-annual VNA Rummage Sale in May. And I have been spending a lot of time setting up my portrait photography website for (hopefully) an early May launch.

But all this has taken a toll. I think I may need to refrain from blogging for a little while -- I'm having some nasty pain in my right hand, and I'm sure it must be from too much typing and photo editing.

But on a brighter note, my photoblog, In a Soft Light, has been included in the Summer 2011 edition of Artful Blogging magazine. I am over-the-moon excited! It will be on sale May 1st. :)

I hope to be back posting here for Mosaic Monday on May 1st. See you then! xoxo

Saturday, April 23, 2011

New Born



"For I remember it is Easter morn,
And life and love and peace are all new born."
~Alice Freeman Palmer

Wishing you joy this Easter season!
xoxo

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Let's Go for a Walk



Greetings, peeps! Do you want to come along for a walk today? It's a beautiful, sunny spring day here in New Jersey, and my husband and I are going to our favorite park, Natirar.




The river looks a little swollen today -- we had nearly three inches of rain on Saturday. It was a nasty storm here, but so much worse in other parts of the country. My heart goes out to all the people who lost homes and loved ones.




I just love the view when we get to the top of the wooded path. The view opens up, and the clouds seem almost close enough to touch.




We have walked along the edge of the woods and down the hill. I've turned around for a moment to snap a picture of the old barn. Doesn't it look like something Andrew Wyeth would have painted?




At the bottom of the hill, where the path curves around at the edge of the trees, the woods are filled with little yellow flowers. I think they must be kingcups, or marsh marigolds. This is damp woodland -- the river you saw in an earlier picture is just beyond the trees. I wish this picture was better -- this is really a beautiful sight!




We have walked in a great circle; you can see the old barn in the distance here. This is a really steep, L-shaped hill path. Here you see my husband has climbed the first leg of it.




And here he is on the second leg. Shall we sit down for a minute on that supremely well-placed bench? Trust me, you will want to at least stop for a moment and take in the view from the top.




It's a beautiful day, the first sunny one in a week, and I'm so glad you have come along on our walk. I'm going back tomorrow to get some better shots of those flowers. :)

*********

Please Note: there will be no Mosaic Monday this week because of Easter. Enjoy your holiday!

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Mosaic Monday: Forsythia



I must admit that some years, the yellow of the forsythia seems like just too much -- too brash, too forward. But this year, after all the snow and rain and dreary gray days, it is like a ray of sunshine, much appreciated. Of course it is to be found in almost every yard and garden, but occasionally I come across it in the most unlikely places -- like at the edge of this stream which is just down the road from our Little Red House.


Now let's have some mosaic fun! Here are the instructions:
1. Publish your Mosaic Monday post. The post may be about any subject you wish. The only stipulation is that it include a collage, or mosaic of photos.
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

And a quick reminder: if you would like to join Mosaic Monday but don't know quite where to start, there is a tutorial on mosaic-making on my sidebar. Just scroll down, and click on the small blue mosaic.



Thank you for sharing your beautiful images with all of us at Mosaic Monday!  

1. The Charm of Home  33. A Montana Life  65. DashingSmiles  
2. Our Country Home  34. Bess at Fixing My Thoughts  66. DD  
3. Eileen, Md  35. Office Reveal  67. EG Wow, Canada  
4. ellen b  36. That Country Place  68. Proje Çantası, Shine and Yellow  
5. Lavender Dreams  37. Starshine Through My Windows  69. Pondside H-O-M-E  
6. A Garden of Threads  38. TBH...Springier  70. Nature Trail  
7. Garden Geek  39. Wandering Thought  71. Just another Girl  
8. Podso  40. Queen Bee Cottage  72. MB Stanwood, Wa USA  
9. peat pot pretties  41. Hyacinths for the Soul  73. Waverly Win  
10. Carol @ There's Always Thyme to Cook  42. Bernie, Australia  74. Jill Ruth  
11. Black Eyed Susans Kitchen  43. Riet, Holland  75. Patricia  
12. After the Rain  44. Missy  76. Candlelight decor  
13. QMM  45. Gypsea Nurse  77. BunnyKissd =:3*  
14. Gardening in a Sandbox  46. Dimple  78. Deb  
15. Porch Days  47. Fishtail Cottage  79. King Alfreds @ Almota Roses  
16. Art@Home  48. Dew Drops  80. Everyday...  
17. Mosaic Kitchen Food  49. Tattered Rebel  81. Happy Birthday, Mom!  
18. Sall's Country Life  50. Mr Gardener Bunny  82. Elliott Crafty Creations  
19. Jeri  51. Suzy@Kitchen Bouquet  83. Teacup Lane - Easter Eggs  
20. Teresa  52. glenda@serendipity cottage  84. Jidhu Jose  
21. Lavender Cottage  53. Lorrie  85. Planes, Trains & Automobiles  
22. Dab of This and That  54. Jenn  86. Shabby Chic Shower & diaper cake  
23. Life Images by Jill  55. Fairchild Street  87. Designing Sugar Cookies  
24. Vee  56. Teacup In The Garden  88. "Eiffel" Tablescape & Chicken Cordon Bleu recipe  
25. Kathy-Delightsome Life  57. Normandy Life  89. amy of four corners design  
26. Twisty Lane  58. Katalin  90. Anna @ Laughing Raven  
27. Diann @ The Thrifty Groove  59. Betty @ My Cozy Corner  91. Flower Photography  
28. Pysanky Easter Eggs  60. DawnTreader, Sweden  92. Beach House in pink and blue  
29. Susan @ Savoring Time in the Kitchen  61. Bhupesh  93. ginaceramics.blogspot.com  
30. Pat !~ Mille Fiori Favoriti  62. Milla  94. Talk Derby to me  
31. Perfect Dress +  63. Self Sagacity  95. Rosie, mygardenhaven  
32. Candy @ The Little Round Table  64. Francisca in Romania  96. The French Hutch  

(Cannot add links: Registration/trial expired)

Friday, April 15, 2011

In the Garden



"Garden? What garden?"

"Oh, your garden? We weren't anywhere near your garden! Seriously."

"Well, maybe we wandered in to take a peek... just to see what's blooming, you understand. You know what would taste, I mean look really nice? Some delicious, I mean beautiful tulips... Yeah, that's right, tulips... "

"What do you mean you don't plant those because we would just eat them?

"It wasn't us. It was him!"


I spent the day in the garden yesterday, cleaning up the god awful mess... Is that a word? One word or two? Should I have capitalized god? Somehow it seems less sacrilegious if it's not capitalized... :)

Does anyone know of any good deer-proof perennials?

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Thoughts and Thanks



I've always been anxious to grow hellebores because some gardening books mark their bloom time as January-February. Yes, well... in England, maybe. In New Jersey, they usually appear for me around late March. This has been an especially snowy and cold winter, so they didn't really show their faces till April.




But that's OK. I'm happy to see them whenever they deign to appear, because it means that spring has begun. No, they are not the reliable late-winter bloomers that the books portray... at least not for me. But they tend to appear with the daffodils, and they are most welcome!




One of their common names is Lenten Rose, and I guess this year that is an accurate description. The blooms themselves are downward facing, so that I finally decided to snip two buds and bring them inside just so that I could photograph them. I think they go particularly well with this Fan China teacup, and also with the small Clarice Cliffe transferware dish, with it's purple and white basket motif. I like to pair flowers and dishes, as you may have noticed. ;)




The teacup belonged to my mother -- she collected them. I guess that is where I get my collecting gene from, although my father was known to come home from the town dump with more than he brought. :)

The transferware plate is from a partial set that I bought a few years ago in my favorite thrift store. I walked into the store, spied them by the desk, but went to look at something else. When I returned, someone had bought half the set.

First rule of thrifting -- when you see it, grab it!




I wanted to thank you all again for your thoughts and prayers for my father-in-law. He is doing better, and my be moved to a rehab center in the next few days. So again, my thanks to all of you. xoxo

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Mosaic Monday: Signs of Spring



It's finally starting to look like spring here at our Little Red House! Crocus and daffodils dot the landscape, and the trees are beginning to bud. We had a beautiful misty morning on Saturday -- the view you see here is looking out at the front lawn. This is my favorite time of year. :)

I just want to say thank you for your comments and prayers yesterday. My father-in-law has been fighting multiple myeloma for the past four years. Last week, he was hospitalized with pneumonia, bronchiolitis and a myrsa infection. Your thoughts and prayers are greatly appreciated.

Now let's have some mosaic fun! Here are the instructions:
1. Publish your Mosaic Monday post. The post may be about any subject you wish. The only stipulation is that it include a collage, or mosaic of photos.
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

And a quick reminder: if you would like to join Mosaic Monday but don't know quite where to start, there is a tutorial on mosaic-making on my sidebar. Just scroll down, and click on the small blue mosaic.

Thank you for sharing your beautiful images with all of us at Mosaic Monday!  

1. Susan@SavoringTimeintheKitchen  33. Bit of Easter  65. AnnA, Sweden  
2. Nicole  34. A Montana Life  66. Jane in England  
3. judi  35. One  67. Crafty Gardener, Canada  
4. amy of four corners design  36. Bernie in Australia  68. La @ A Musing Potpourri  
5. Twisty Lane  37. Touches of Turquoise  69. Art@Home  
6. Jeri  38. Nature Trail  70. Carolina Mts  
7. A Garden of Threads  39. The Gardening LIfe  71. QMM  
8. Home is Where the Boat is~  40. Here's Looking at you  72. Katalin:)  
9. Vee  41. Roban  73. Texifornia - Gardening in TX  
10. ellen b  42. Hyacinths for the Soul  74. Bess at Fixing My Thoughts  
11. A Bit O' Shine  43. Corn Cake - Tlaquepaque, MX  75. Lesa @ Dusty Us Diaries  
12. Spring Redo  44. Betty@My Cozy Corner-Camellia Mosaic  76. Jill  
13. Lavender Dreams  45. Porch Days  77. Sall's Country Life  
14. Lorrie  46. Sweet Nothings,giveaway  78. Life Among Mountains  
15. Wandering Thought  47. Riet, Holland  79. Pondside - Elegant Travel  
16. Carol @ There's Always Thyme to Cook  48. Teacup In The Garden  80. Butterfly Wishes  
17. Blessing Reflections  49. Sheila  81. Teacup Lane - PINKNESS  
18. Tea Time for Bunnies  50. MB Stanwood, Wa. USA  82. THE French Hutch  
19. Rajesh, India  51. Chalk it up!  83. Melissa (irishgardenlady)  
20. The Charm of Home  52. Judy  84. Our Country Home  
21. Cathy  53. Portland Zoo @Almota Roses  85. La Terrazza  
22. Dab of This and That  54. Misalyn, UAE  86. Blue & White Tablescape @ Adrift on the Lake  
23. Lavender Cottage  55. Jackie in Surrey UK  87. Top 10 reasons why I can't decorate my house  
24. Becky  56. DawnTreader, Sweden  88. Mary Lou  
25. EG Wow, Canada  57. Suzy@Kitchen Bouquet  89. M is for Maga  
26. GardeninginaSandbox  58. Ingmarie We/Refugium  90. Anna @ The Laughing Raven  
27. Life Images by Jill  59. AJ Kreations, Holland  91. Quaint mountainside homes!  
28. Podso  60. Normandy Life  92. *Maristella*  
29. That Country Place  61. Pat ~ Mille Fiori Favoriti  93. Elliott Crafty Creations  
30. Pam @ Abiding with Love  62. Tattered rebel  94. Bhupesh  
31. A New England Life  63. Sueb My Garden and Me  
32. Dwellings-TheHeartofYourHome  64. Milla  

(Cannot add links: Registration/trial expired)

Saturday, April 9, 2011

A Moment of Grace



After days of dreary rain and cold, the sun finally came out this morning -- a moment of grace in a crazy week here. We have run the gamut from mildly annoying (the dishwasher door won't close properly) to the time-consuming (efforts to replace everything from my daughter's wallet, which was stolen last Saturday). But the kicker was my father-in-law, who has cheated death more times than I care to say, was rushed to the hospital on Thursday. He has been ill for several years, and this just seems as though it might be very bad... I know I have asked you to pray for him before, but I'd appreciate your prayers, good karma, whatever...

Thanks so much for all your sweet comments and encouragement. I will see you all for Mosaic Monday. The link machine will be up by 8:30pm Eastern time USA, Sunday.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Because I Love You...



I have to admit to having quite a love affair with blue flowers. It probably comes from reading all those English cottage garden books that came out in the eighties. The only "proper" colors for flowers were the genteel blues and pinks and whites.

And blue was always my favorite.




I also, as you know, have quite the love affair with dishes. Of any color. :) I tend to collect single dishes, rather than full sets. This little cheerful flowered dish is one of two that I brought home from the thrift store a few years ago. I use them for decoration, and for photo props.

Yes, I buy dishes so that I can take pictures of them. But only inexpensive ones because I'm cheap. So that's OK, right? :)




I used to hate picking flowers from the garden, especially the first ones of the season. It somehow seemed a waste to spend all that time cultivating them only to have them disappear from the garden immediately upon blooming. But these little scilla are so tiny that they all but disappear in the landscape unless you have great swathes of them. And you can never see their delicate details unless you get down on your stomach and peer underneath.

And my neighbors already think I'm just a little odd (because I take pictures of bare branches in the rain) without letting them spot me laying in the middle of the lawn in early spring.

So there it is. My favorite color flowers, cut to salvage my reputation, and displayed on the cheapest plate I could find to satisfy my urge to take pictures.

Or maybe we'll just say that I thought you might enjoy seeing these beauties from my garden... because I love you. ;)

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Mosaic Monday: Spring Mist and Pussywillows



I always think the bare branches are so beautiful as spring approaches, dressed in water droplets by the early morning mists. Soon the buds will swell and the soft green of new leaves will appear. In the meantime, I have a few pussywillow branches in the kitchen to remind me of the new life soon to come.

I love spring. :)

Now let's have some mosaic fun! Here are the instructions:
1. Publish your Mosaic Monday post. The post may be about any subject you wish. The only stipulation is that it include a collage, or mosaic of photos.
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

And a quick reminder: if you would like to join Mosaic Monday but don't know quite where to start, there is a tutorial on mosaic-making on my sidebar. Just scroll down, and click on the small blue mosaic.


Thank you for sharing your beautiful images with all of us at Mosaic Monday!  

1. Dimple  29. Becky  57. The Blue Ridge Gal  
2. Ingmarie We/Refugium  30. Alicia @ Titere con Bonete  58. Puna@Lifesignatures  
3. Eileen, MD  31. Almost spring--MB  59. Blessing Reflections  
4. Meri @ Playing Along  32. Sheila  60. Wandering Thought  
5. GardeninginaSandbox  33. Sweet Nothings,giveaway  61. La @ A Musing Potpourri  
6. Podso  34. FamilyTreesMayContainNuts  62. Milla  
7. A Garden of Threads  35. Katalin  63. Jill  
8. Twisty Lane  36. One  64. Art@Home  
9. Lavender Dreams  37. Bounty of Cottage Blooms  65. Nature Trail  
10. Carol @ There's Always Thyme to Cook  38. Betty @ My Cozy Corner - Pink Camellia  66. Suzy  
11. Jeri  39. Teacup In The Garden  67. Rose  
12. Lavender Cottage  40. A Montana Life  68. Bess at Fixing My Thoughts  
13. Pam @ Abiding with Love  41. Lorrie  69. Rust and Roses  
14. Rajesh, India  42. Tattered Rebel  70. Slice of Pie Favorite Things  
15. Becky K. - Blues at Rehoboth  43. Cricket  71. The Season Between Winter and Summer  
16. Bernie in Australia  44. Porch Days  72. Peanut Butter Ice Cream Sauce  
17. Savoring Time in the Kitchen  45. Suzy@Kitchen Bouquet  73. Sheltering Tree:Melanie  
18. Vee  46. Going thru the Change  74. Sall's Country Life  
19. QMM  47. yvette@twistedvines  75. Deb - clicks of my shutter  
20. Hyacinths for the Soul  48. Jackie in Surrey  76. Gabriella from London  
21. Wedding Preparation Roadtrip  49. Agni, Greece  77. Cass at That Old House  
22. Dew Drops  50. Pondside-Ghostly Echoes  78. purple @ By the Bluegrass  
23. That Country Place  51. DawnTreader, Sweden  79. Teacup Lane - Easter Baskets  
24. Cathy  52. Bohemian Valhalla - Beautiful Blossoms  80. April-Spring Mosaic  
25. EG Wow, Canada  53. Sueb@My Garden & Me  81. Little PINK  
26. La Dolce Vita  54. Rosie, mygardenhaven  82. shine & yellow  
27. LIfe Images by Jill  55. amy of four corners design  
28. Riet, Holland  56. Country Girl Kate  

(Cannot add links: Registration/trial expired)

Friday, April 1, 2011

Something Pink




Just a little something soft and bright and pink, to chase away the snow-in-spring today. How's the weather in your neck of the woods? :)