Cottage Cheer

 

Last year when my father was sick and I was sad, a good friend invited me to her summer home in Green Lake, Wisconsin for a little get away.  And it worked!  I laughed with good friends, drank wine and we all told stories about the good old days when we were 20 years younger. Thank you, Jo Ellen!

One of my favorite rooms in that gorgeous house was the 'Cottage Suite'.

Twin spool beds...

Your own pink teddy bear...

And the perfect nightstand out of colorful luggage to hold a lamp with a rose print shade for reading that can't put down book.

The two mornings I spent in that sweet room were glorious.

And the nights were heavenly.

I miss my father and would give anything to have him back.

But my good friends are keeping me company through my grief and can make me laugh even through my tears. Cindy, Jill, Juliette and all the SJA Soul Sisters, you are AWESOME! And Laney, what would I do without you! Someday we will meet!

Genevieve

Loss

Dick Ervin (left) skiing in Sun Valley, Idaho 1947.

Last year in October, my father died.  My favorite photo of him is above, as a young man, skiing in Sun Valley, Idaho with friends.  He was an excellent slalom skier and qualified as an alternate in the Olympics during the late 1940s.  He was also a salesman for materials handling equipment and a business owner in the same industry until he retired.  During World War II he was a B-17 pilot in the European Theatre.  His last year of service was spent flying 'high pointers' to Morocco for the final leg of their journey to the U.S.

After the war my father married my mother, Genevieve.  The photo below is my mother on Mount Hood in Oregon where she met my father while skiing.

Genevieve Ervin skiing on Mount Hood.

My mother and father celebrated 34 years of marriage and raised three children, my brother, me and my sister.  They had tremendous affection for each other and managed to build a strong family even though they were not near parents or extended family.  In June of 1987, my mother died.  For a long time, the loss of my mother was the most important event in my life.  She did not live to see me engaged, married or have children.  Yet her love of life and stamina to meet challenges gave me the endurance to weather stress and laugh a little along the way.  Her response to the internist when she entered the hospital the last time is a good example of her wry humor. While going through the standard list of admitting questions, the doctor asked do you have your appendix, your tonsils, and so on.  My mother replied, "I have everything except my virginity."  Everyone in the room was laughing out loud!

A couple years after my mother died, my father married Geneva and moved back to the Northwest.  My step-mother, Geneva, is a lovely woman who was married to my father for almost 20 years.  I remain close to my step-mother and her family who all cared deeply for my father.

The pain of losing my father has been unparalleled in my life.  When my mother died, I was blindsided.  But my father was there with an emotional safety net.  Now, I'm living without a net.  Until shortly before he died, I spoke to my father nearly every other day.  We talked about everything, my work, his grandchildren, politics and the weather.  We disagreed on many, many things, but my father encouraged different points of view and we both loved our colorful discussions. 

For me and my family, the most tangible gift from my father is the financial support he gave us over the last four years during the economic recession.  He paid our mortgage for several months and co-signed a loan so my oldest son could finish college.  I thanked my father for his generosity many times, but I would also like you all to know that my father saved this family.

I have been blessed with many things, but perhaps the greatest of these is the love and generosity of my father. 

Genevieve

Empty Nester!

I'm now an empty nester!  It's bitter sweet.  I'm so happy to see them move forward with their lives.  But I miss them too.  It didn't really hit me until they both moved out in September.  My oldest left for his first job with Teach for America and my youngest moved into his college dorm. 

My two sons and hubby at high school graduation.

My older son just before he left for his first job out of state with Teach For America.

Mt. McKinley in Denali, Alaska.  From left to right, my nephew, a family friend, my youngest son and my brother.

So what am I doing now that both boys have left the nest?  One of the first things I did was cry, a lot!  Crying jags still hit me, especially when I'm cleaning out their bedroom and virtually everything reminds me of them.

But now I have time to do chores at a more leisurely pace. Here I am giving Buddy a bath in the kitchen sink. And believe me, he was sorely in need of a good washing.

Washing Buddy in the kitchen sink.

And I have always enjoyed the feel of freshly ironed kitchen towels and linens. Now I have time to do it. I also find it strangely soothing! I like to do my ironing in the kitchen on the counter. I use a heavy table pad covered by a clean sheet. Then I dial my iron to the highest setting, use a spritz of spray starch and press away. My favorite things to iron are pillow sets and hand towels. So easy to do and the end result is so nice!

Ironing in the kitchen.

Towels that have been ironed and folded ready to be put in the closet.

See you soon!

Genevieve

No Money for Flowers? No Problem.

Pink hydrangeas from my garden, crystal decanter and fresh fruit.

Why do I blog so sporadically?  Because life keeps happening and blog posts fall by the wayside.  Since my last post:

• My oldest son has graduated from college with majors in English and Neuroscience! And he has a job! Yes!!!
• My youngest has graduated from high school and is going to college!  Double yes!!!

There is lots of other stuff.  Good and bad.  But I'll save that for another day.

Let's talk flowers.  I LOVE fresh flowers and used to buy them weekly on my trip to the grocery store.  But no more.  With hubby out of work, money for fresh flowers is not in the budget.  So what do I do?  Use flowers from my garden.  In the photo above are Forever hydrangeas and below are Annabelle hydrangeas framed by elephant hosta, all cut from my gardens around the front and back of our house.

Hydrangeas and hosta from my garden.

By the way, this little end table is an antique from my mother's house.  I finally found a place for it.

Antique end table topped by hosta.

I also LOVE to garden, but didn't have time to fit it in last year between college visits.  This year I eased back into gardening by focusing on a few of my favorite plants, impatiens, trailing bacopa and sweet potato vines, in a single color, white. 

This cherub is from my mother-in-law's house.  White impatiens are planted at its base.

Another view of the cherub under my pear tree.

Large terra cotta urn with trailing white bacopa.

I thought grass between the aggregate cement on my back patio might look nice.  I'm still working on it.

Grass growing between aggregate on the back patio.

Angel out my back kitchen door framed by impatiens.

Until next time!

Genevieve

Small Balconies - Tiny Outdoor Rooms in the Sky

One of my favorite things to do is sit outside in a comfortable chair reading a good book.  When I was first married, we lived in a small apartment on the 24th floor of a nondescript Chicago building.  It was nothing special, just a vanilla box of a place, but the tiny balcony was magical.  Whenever it was sunny, I was out on the balcony enjoying the view along with a good book, surrounded by my potted flowers and tomato plants.  There was barely room for my chair!

These glorious little balconies remind me of my tiny outdoor room on the 24th floor.  Enjoy!

All photos from the FreshHome Interior Design and Architecture.

Potted lavender plants and polka dot pillows make a surprisingly nice color combination against the teak patio furniture.

Don't limit yourself to the usual flower and plant varieties.  Notice the miniature tree potted above and the use of and silver pails for containers. 

Lanterns are always a nice balcony accessory and provide soft light when the sun goes down.

When the weather is nice but the air is chilly, bring pillows and blanket throws outside to make things cozy.

Yes, that is snow on the streets and roof tops.  This balcony is in Sweden where cold weather never stopped anyone from enjoying the outdoors.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Genevieve

Two Small Cottages - One Marriage

Trevor Tondro Photos for the New York Times

I just had to share the article 'With This Cottage' from the New York Times.  These are 'his and hers' bungalows  for a married couple.  The husband, Robert Pardo, bought these two houses so that his now wife, Laura Ann Jacobs, would agree to marry him.  Ms. Jacobs originally declined Mr. Pardo's proposal, but could imagine being married if they had two houses, one each.  So Mr. Pardo bought the pair of houses from the bank for $62,520 in January of 2011 and restored them.  Mr. Pardo and Ms. Jacobs are now married, living at the same address, but in two houses.  His is 'pink' and hers is 'blue'.  Take a look at these fabulous little bungalows!  All photos are by Trevor Tondro for the New York Times.

 

I'm not crazy about the fake purple fur throw in the bedroom.  But separate small houses are certainly one way to solve design differences.

And before I go, a quick 'fun fact' about 'his and hers' houses.  After getting married in 1929, Frieda Kahlo and Diego Rivera, known for their art and famously volatile love affair, built these side-by-side block houses in Mexico, linked by a rooftop bridge.  'Red' for him, 'blue' for her.

  

Unfortunately, they were both notoriously unfaithful to each other. 

Happy Weekend!

Genevieve

God's way of saying...get rid of the clutter!

 A few days ago our basement flooded with several inches of water.  The culprit, a gorgeous red maple tree whose roots had grown into the drain pipe.  Here are some of the photos from our water logged adventure.

Basement spread across the backyard to dry.

More basement stuff.  This we stored in the car! 

Plastic sheets covering basement furniture and schoolwork.

Because of the moisture, several feet of drywall had to be removed.

The living room doing double duty as storage.

The bad news, it will be several weeks before our little home regains it's Jewel Box® look.  Until then we will be living with 'stuff' everywhere.  Nothing puts me in a bad mood faster than a cluttered, messy house!  My husband is at the opposite end of the spectrum, he loves to be surrounded by his 'things'.  Fishing gear, flashlights (over 30 at last count), Home Depot hardware for future household projects that somehow never happen and stacks of books that are never read.  Secretly, I am relishing the fact that some of his gear is too damaged and has to be thrown out.  And there is another silver lining, our homeowner's insurance covers everything!  The basement rebuild and all damaged contents.  Laney, your prayers are working again!

Now for my friend's gorgeous spring garden, the original topic for this post.  The bright green grasses are just now making an appearance.

Grasses along the pavers.

We have had an early spring, so the ground cover next to the River Birch is almost completely filled in.  Don't miss the papering bark on the tree trunk.

The contrast of the new grass against last year's dried growth is lovely.

Karl Foster grass showing new and old growth.

Cat mint just beginning to climb the stone path.

Contrasting plant shoots add color to the garden, even without perennial flowers that will arrive later.

'Found' stones are often at their best in the spring garden when they are the most visible and create dramatic contrast with new growth.

Gardening is a passion with me, so even in the dead of winter I like to have something growing in the house.  A few weeks ago, after passing a difficult certification exam for work, I treated myself to a creamy white orchid.  And I learned a new trick about watering orchids.  Place 3-5 ice cubes at the base of the plant once a week.  This satisfies an orchid's water needs and doesn't rot the roots. 

My poor orchid is not in it's usual spot because of the 'flood', but it is surviving beautifully and doesn't seem to mind the disruption.  The photo above does not do it justice.

Enjoy your weekend!

Genevieve