Monday Musings No. 27

Monday morning musings no. 27 -a quite weekend,  a landscape and kitchen update and 5 finds for Father’s Day. 

Good Monday morning friends, it was a beautiful weekend at our house. The weather was perfect, not too hot, sunny and low humidity. We spent a lot of time outside on walks, working in the back yard on our fountain and cleaning up pinecones, and reading on the porch with the pups. I have a few updates on the landscape, the kitchen and some fun finds for Father’s Day.

Monday Musings

Jubilee Thoughts

Did you watch any of the Jubilee celebrations? While I wasn’t glued to the tv all weekend I did catch snippets of it here and there.  Last night I watched parts of the Jubilee concert on YouTube. If you missed it, or simply could not find the concert, here is a link to watch it.

Paddington Bear

My favorite part of the entire Jubilee, was the Queen having tea with Paddington Bear. It was so sweet and apparently a surprise to her family too.

I have loved Paddington Bear since I was a child and in fact I still have the stuffed bear I was give so many years ago. Do you know the story of Paddington Bear? Michael Bond, the author of the books, bought a small bear on Christmas Eve and gave it to his wife. After a few days he began writing stories about the little bear that he named Paddington, then he sent the stories to his agent and the rest is history.

In 1958, the first book A Bear Called Paddington was published, from then on this sweet bear has warmed the hearts of many with his antics and love for marmalade sandwiches(which he keeps in his hat for emergencies).

You can learn more about Paddington Bear, this movies, books, and more on his website.

Photographer RANALD MACKECHNI

Queen Elizabeth

I am a huge fan of Queen Elizabeth, her sense of duty and life of service for the last 70 years is remarkable. In addition to raising 4 children she has carried out her duties faithfully to the age of 95, decades past the time when many people retire.

I know that there are two sides to every story, as was noted in the comments of weekend meanderings where I also wrote about the Jubilee. I respect that and frankly had never thought of Queen Elizabeth as part of the history of our own country. That said, I love her, she is caring, steadfast, intelligent, funny, loyal and all that the monarchy should be.

If you missed Weekend Meanderings…All Things Jubilee you can read it here, then pop over to read Kims’ post  because she is an anglophile as well.

Landscape and House Updates

Landscape

We have been waiting for the last 10 plants to go into our front beds, peonies and climbing fig. While I was running errands on Friday the landscapers installed them and I could not be more thrilled. Sadly I will be see any peonies on them this year but maybe in the next two years. The hellebores and gardenia are doing well and flowering away.

My “weed circle” as I fondly refer to the patch of grass in the midd of the driveway is still a challenge. The grass is fighting for space with the weeds, we are trying not to treat it too much with chemicals because the dogs love to walk around in it. The zinnia and the catmint are doing very well, maybe this week I will see a flower or two.

Image Decorpad

House Renovations

The kitchen, laundry, and Carolina room  demolition is on the calendar for the end of June. Basically the entire house will be in a shambles for the foreseeable future as all of the rooms around it hold the furniture, cabinets, tools, tiles, etc. Thankfully I have my bedroom to escape to!

The floors will be brick, the cabinets are custom to the ceiling in White Dove(kitchen) and in the laundry a pale blue Farrow and Ball color that I cannot remember. The knobs are un-laquered brass(kitchen) from Rejuvenation, counters black stone, backsplash white tile from Ann Sacks, and the appliances are a mix of Sub-Zero, Wolf and Kitchen Aid.

5 Finds

Father’s Day is just a couple of weeks away, here are a few things the men in your life might like. I let my husband pick the gifts, and he recommend the 5 products that he loves and that we actually own. If you have questions about them don’t hesitate to ask.

My husband loves this Yeti Rambler and so do I! It fits in every cup hole in the car unlike some of our other yeti cups. It keeps drinks hot or cold and it has a great cap system allowing you to drink from any side.

Pizza is my favorite meal and we make them all of the time this pizza oven.

This Everdure Portable Grill is one of my husbands favorites, it is portable, easy to use and maintain and includes utensil storage and a cutting board that is also the lid!

A handmade oyster knife from Join or Die Knives. Bill loves oysters and this handmade knife makes shucking them extra special. Find them on Instagram.

Hand made skillets and bakers from Heart & Spade Forge. Jed is an interesting and amazing artist, a former school teacher who turned his life long love of metal craft into hand forged one of a kind artisan skillets. The image above is actually my own No. 10 Baker filled with au gratin potatoes. I also used it to make a delicious wild rice side dish that you might enjoy.

Bill and I spent a half a day with Jed in his forge a couple of years ago and it was amazing to watch him work and to hear his story. You can find Jed on Instagram.

Everything in the photo is hand-made, the knife is from Paris, the small salt and pepper bowls were hand-crafted in Argentina and the cutting board is hand-made in the USA and we stamped it with a brand we received as a gift.

We love to support small and artisan businesses. Join or Die, and Heart and Spade Forge are just two of our favorites.

Do your have a small business, artist, or artisan that you love and support? If so, please share I would love to learn more about them.

That is is from Monday Musings No. 27, I hope that you have a wonderful week. Thank you for spending part of your day with me.

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