Music for Nesting Ranch

This is a fun collection of old record cover themes by the Melachrino Strings Orchestra.  The music is great for rainy days and the crackle of the record (these definitely have crackles at $1 each from various estate sales) that either can take the place of a fireplace or inspire you to get a fire going.  Cup of tea and cat on your lap music.  Stroll thru a magazine, a catalog, an old photo album or tattered gardening book.  Chop up veggies and get a big pot of soup going.  Comfort music all the way through, be dining, reading, or ... courage and confidence.

Listening links below + 1 more not from this series:

Various pewter cups... and one bowl

Fun engraved pewter cups and one bowl found at various estate sales, displayed on our Union Jack table. Perfect conversation pieces to hold flowers and other decorative bits throughout the year.
Click the photos for enlarged views as the engraving is impressive.

Kittatinny Club - D.C. Seymour - Dec. 2, 1911
printed directly opposite handle

more photos......................................

Record - Having a Wonderful Time ... Wish you would hear

I love collecting sample / compilation records.  To hopefully make the winter go quicker here is Track 5 from side 2 "Summertime" played by pianist Erroll Garner...

... on Columbia Records CZ1 "Having a Wonderful Time - Wish you would hear"

Listen:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Zjv_oeA5-8

Winter Photos 2013 into 2014

Photos from this winter...................................

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Cats and Stockings

A little cat nip present...

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Bird photos Autumn 2013

Photos of Birds in late summer & autumn 2013

Blue Bird

Pileated? Woodpecker (left) & Starling (right)

Brown creeper

Brown Creeper

goldfinch

Redpoll or purple finch?

female cardinal

Deer Party... Party of Deer!

This big buck came around late fall, beautiful!  When the antlers fall off it would be great if we found them before a hungry squirrel... what?  you didn't know squirrels eat antlers?  Yup!

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Trip to Turtle Back Zoo

Photos from a day trip to Turtle Back Zoo ... and seeing their new Red Panda!

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Christmas 2013 Decorating

We had some terrific snow fall before Christmas to really set the mood and make the tree in the front yard very dramatic.

This was also a first year we tried a Christmas tree inside... success!  A fake tree, set on a table, and not a cat did care.

Here are more photos of decorating and the snow...

Thanksgiving Dinner and Decorating 2013

This year we had Quorn Turk'y Roast from Wegmans and a Tofurky from ShopRite.  This year was a completely vegan Thanksgiving.  Deeelish!

top - quorn turk'y // bottom - tofurky

Tofurky

Quorn Turk'y

Also included are decorating with pumpkins, the deer getting the spoils, some fun bird photos at the feeder, and of course, the cats.

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Catching up... with a very talkative goat

Must be time off of work, so we're catching up on uploading photos...

.... and hearing what this one goat had to say on a trip to the Philly Zoo in early November.

more photos and videos at the Philly Zoo...

Autumn 2013 decorating and foliage

Autumn decorating, foliage, and late sunny naps

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Rachel Ashwell Couture Prairie book signing event in NYC

We had a lovely, sweet, intimate evening at Rachel Ashwell's Couture Prairie book signing event at her Wooster Street store in NYC this evening.

Posing with Rachel

Couture Prairie book on our coffee table at home.

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Guessing Game on the Sea of 'G'

G... e... l? v?  e... R?

Why is the 'R' at the end capital?  Geve R.?
 
We had an idea we wanted an ocean or sea painting but didn't think we'd find one so easily or quickly.
Click below for more on the adventures of our ocean painting voyage...

Pool side in July

It was a hot one this weekend.  Observed this squirrel who was so hot it just hung around the birdbath for awhile in the shade with legs dangling over the side.  So glad our yard is a little oasis.

Photos of birds at the feeders....

Rescuing a baby bird - Saving a barn swallow with help from The Raptor Trust

Found this little baby barn swallow outside an office and it couldn't open its left eye.  It wouldn't move at all so we scooped it up gently in a tea towel into a shoe box and drove over to our helpful friends at The Raptor Trust where the recovery is going great.

Barn Wood Mantle

We really wanted a new mantle and are so fortunate a like-minded soul and dear friend just so happens to own a barn with old barn wood to spare!

After assessing the situation a few days going over measurements, then triangulating checks and balances of various online searches we engineered how to mount the beam to our existing brick fireplace.

Next we purchased necessary supplies from the hardware store: metal french cleats, masonry screws, masonry bit, ear plugs, and a hammer drill.

Read more...

Finally repaired and painted: Our Nesting "Beachy cottage-London influenced-Shabby chic-Nestled in the mountain woods-Informal garden style" Ranch!

Finally, all the Sandy Damage repaired over the winter, we then had to decide what colors to pick for the house so as to make the old siding and new siding match.  

Since the house was originally white before getting covered in harvest gold aluminum siding we decided on white.  Mind you, we like the texture of the wood grain in our aluminum siding which is why we decided not to replace it all, just not the color.  

Then after our trip to London, seeing all of the cottages and white-on-white town homes, the decision for white siding with white shutters accented by black hardware - we finally were prepared to paint in the spring

We slid the paint swatch cards into the plastic packaging on the new shutters.  Then we painted an old piece of siding from the damage so we could compare in different light.

Our final decision was Sherwin Williams Cay Blue paint sample for the front door.  Alabaster White on the siding. 

Rainbows courtesy the sunrise hitting our chandelier.

 & spring came along but it was a very cold spring that it snowed again and was too cold to paint...

Snow in late April

So we waited for the first warm day and finally had the painters start painting the house white.

See how the hyacinths pop against the background!

Then we all took a few weeks months of a break before finishing the painting of the front door and putting the shutters with hinges up due to:
a) the tree pollen
b) cicada invasion
c) waiting for a new storm door - which got put on backwards by the installer
d) waiting for a second new storm door
e) all of the above

.... and here's how it all turned out!  More photos....