LAST WEEK, I had great fun telling you about the 185-year-old house (above) that my partner and I saved from certain ruin. I also enjoyed showing you one of the rooms we restored. Here's a bit more history about the place, along with a few pictures of its now-restored entrance hall and staircase. Read more » House Tour, Part 2: The Entrance Hall & Staircase
December 11, 2011
LAST WEEK, I had great fun telling you about the 185-year-old house (above) that my partner and I saved from certain ruin. I also enjoyed showing you one of the rooms we restored. Here's a bit more history about the place, along with a few pictures of its now-restored entrance hall and staircase. Read more » The Poinsettia Has A Future
December 8, 2011
THE POINSETTIA which on December 1 offers us the merriest of season’s greetings is all too likely by January 1 to suggest only gruesome possibilities for the coming year. Yet this need not be so. Indeed, this Euphorbia pulcherrima can, with care, be an excellent year-round companion, one which is worth coaxing into bloom each winter. The following program has never failed me: Read more » House Tour: The Music Room
December 1, 2011
CALL ME HOPELESSLY ROMANTIC, but I chose to live a house which was built in 1826. It's a house that had fallen on hard times. In fact, when it came on the market in 2001, the first offer was from a man who wished to remove all the marble and mahogany fireplaces, the sweeping staircase, and the original black-walnut pocket doors, and sell them as "salvage items." Here's a glimpse of one of the rooms we've restored: Read more » How to Remove Tarnish & Wax from Silver
November 18, 2011
Originally posted on Nov. 24, 2009 POLISHING SILVER SERVING PIECES and removing spilled wax from silver candlesticks is hardly my idea of a good time. Nevertheless, the holidays are here, company is due, and I want my tableware to sparkle. Here are a few tricks I use to make this mundane chore a little less…mundane:… Read more »
November Giveaway: $50 Spending-Spree at Logees
November 6, 2011
HERE AT A GARDEN FOR THE HOUSE, I rely on window gardens -- including the one above, in my den -- to chase away the winter blues. You might like to have such a garden in your own home. Of course you'll need plants. And to help you acquire them, I've purchased a $50 gift certificate from Logee's Greenhouses. Want a chance to win this spending-spree in a random drawing? Read more » Pickled Paperwhites (Narcissus grandiflora)
October 18, 2011
WHO WANTS TO SPEND THE WINTER MONTHS without the colorful companionship of Narcissus grandiflora? Not me! These “paperwhites” make a cheerful display in the various window gardens here, and lend sweet fragrance among scentless cyclamens, ferns, and African violets. I force the bulbs in pebbles and water, and keep the flowering stems from falling over… Read more »
September Giveaway: Waterbath Canning Kit
September 4, 2011
BECAUSE MY FREEZER IS TOO SMALL TO ACCOMMODATE ALL THE TOMATOES I’VE HARVESTED, I’ve decided to learn a new skill: waterbath canning. And to make the job as easy as possible, I ordered the nifty canning-kit you see pictured above. Of course, I purchased an extra kit for you. Would you like a chance to… Read more »
