Trip to the big city

Bags packed. a

Chickens fed. a

Shirts ironed. a

All that' s left to do - go get Bessie + Buttercup....

Be there soon!

Scary Enough for Halloween

I'm working on posting the horror shots of our bathroom renovation on flickr so our landlord can see what she paid for. Warning: extremely graphic images of home repair in stark black and white. View these if you want to feel better by saying "at least its not my house" (Sort of the same reason I watch the movie Wonder Boys on really bad days.)

Cottage Time

This cottage in Scotland has been restored and furnished by

Papa Stour

a charming Scottish company that has many yummy items to browse. But back to this cottage... I think I need a month there gazing at the water and chasing the sheep. I love how this photo makes it seem so secluded. I also love the light blue door. N. made scones yesterday so that was my little taste of Scotland for the week.

Amy Butler's patterns and fabrics are just gorgeous. Maybe she'll be at the quilt show? Speaking of the quilt show, should I be looking into getting advance tickets?

My auction picks

Who thinks of making an owl into a lamp? A genius, that's who! This lamp is 1. Cute as all get out 2. Seasonally appropriate for October 3. Well, its an owl lamp, think about that..... 4. For sale.

Also for sale at the same auction:

Green lamp + huge ship topper thingy = fantastic.

(both images from the Madison Auction Service auction Oct. 21 in Deansboro.)

Chicken Palace

The chickens are now happily roosting in their new, improved palace. We changed the screens with antique curved top windows, improved the other open spaces, and the door is going to be covered with shutters. I'll have to take a picture. With the heat lamp on, all 5 are sleeping up on birch branches and seem content. The first attempt looked like a cross between Rube Goldberg and Ma/Pa Kettle. This actually looks rather real. And I think I can look at it all winter. So, the free chicken sign will not be going up after all.

Travel Plans

My search for rooms in Fredricksburg didn't go as well as I hoped. If you can find some better ones (maybe a bit cheaper) that would be great.

http://www.fredericksburg-lodging.com/Das-Mueller/default.asp

http://www.fredericksburg-lodging.com/Aunt-birdies/default.asp

I'm a little sick of adding pictures.

At Settler's Crossing the Pioneer cabin, the Baag House, the Von Heinrich and the Barn are all available for the day we want.

Chicken Pot Pie

Recipe for Chicken Pot Pie:

1. Take a chicken

2. Put it in a pot

3. Ta da

4. Caution:

Eat the Chicken Pot Pie very quickly before it jumps back out of the pot.

The real me

If I had this black dress I would wake up every morning (yes I would wear it every day) and think "This is me putting on my black silk shirtdress." Then I would walk out of the house (not wearing flip-flops and the same jeans I wore yesterday) thinking "This is me stunning my neighbors with my black silk shirtdress."

2 problems with this:
1. dress costs more than 2 months rent
2. in this fantasy I look like Kim Novak --- I'd better save the cash and wear jeans

I wish Amy Sedaris would move in next door

I've loved Amy Sedaris ever since I read that she wallpapered her front hall with candy wrappers. Can I wait to get her new book? No, I don't think I can.

Vienna Teng

My sister introduced me to Pandora, which introduced me to Vienna Teng, whom I now introduce to you...

By the way: correct me if I'm wrong, but I think Robert Siegal would be with me on this one - her hair? Just right.