January cold

 

Hello my friends and family.  How are you?  I realize it has been a while since my last post, and here it is, mid January already.  Not very much has been happening at Mourning Dove Cottage.  The January cold has hit us and we have been having dreary gray rainy weather...day after day after day, but this morning, there it was, the sunshine!  What a nice surprise.  The months of January and February tend to get me down and I find I would rather like to hibernate with the bears until spring comes.  I filled the bird feeders and Otis and I enjoyed the warm sunshine for awhile. 

 

I am reading "The Shoemaker's Wife" by Adriana Trigiani.  Most mornings I curl up with a good book by the fire and a nice hot cup of coffee.  I've also been cleaning out and organizing closets and cupboards, and doing some redecorating after the holidays. 

 

Maybe spring isn't too far off.  I have hyacinths starting to bloom in a pot in the garden. 

 Until next time....

 

Back porch living

Our back porch is like an extra room for us when the weather gets warm.  From spring until Fall we practically live on the back porch.  

Enjoying morning coffee and eating our meals on the porch~ often times breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Reading a good book on the back porch. I just finished "Whistling Past the Graveyard".  If you liked the "The Secret Life of Bees" and "The Help" you will like this book.  

  

Otis in his rocker.  

We love the back porch for many reasons.  Watching the birds, hearing the wind chimes when a soft breeze blows through, and just being close to nature.  So until the weather gets too unbearably hot to be outside, this is probably where you will find us.  

A little "me time"...

.....with my morning coffee, my favorite magazines and a good book.  What could be better, especially on a rainy, gray Saturday morning but to curl up on the sofa and enjoy what makes you happy.  

My Victoria magazine came yesterday in the mail and I saved it for this morning anxiously awaiting what was in those pages once I turned the cover, and The English Home magazine is one that I read over and over again and never tire of.  
The book I am currently reading is "After the Fire" by Belva Plain, really good.  I found this one at our local library for $1.00.  

So don't forget to have yourself a little "me time" every now and then 
with whatever makes you happy!

Hello, my friends

I just finished reading two good books.  The Magic Apple Tree was one that a blogger friend, Cherry Menlove, recommended on her blog, and the other one I found at the library a few weeks ago for 50 cents.  

With all the painting projects and the upkeep in the garden, not to mention helping my brother and sister-in-law move to a new home, it's been difficult to find time to read, but oh so relaxing when I do.  How about you.  Have you read any good books lately?  

Thursday I have my follow up appointment at the UNC Cancer Center in Chapel Hill.  It's just a routine checkup to make sure everything is going well with me.  It seems to be....I've been feeling great, and I also feel so blessed to be getting my life back.   

Enjoy your day!  

Quiet week....

After the hustle and bustle of the holidays it's nice to enjoy a peaceful quiet week at home.  I just finished reading "The Golden Cup" by Marcia Willett, and ready to start "The Way We Were".  Love cozying up by the crackling fire with Otis and Riley snuggled close to me.  

This weekend I will start preparations for our New Year's dinner.  The family is coming and I will be hosting.  Pork and sauerkraut for good luck!  

See you in 2013!  

Winter, in this heat??

It's 100 plus degrees outside and hotter than all blazes, 

so, yes, I am cooling off today inside and reading the most wonderful book... 

 "A Week in Winter" by Marcia Willett.  

It takes place in England and the Cotswalds and it's all about an enchanting old country house called "Mooregate".  

It's the kind of book that makes you want to curl up on the sofa and enjoy a cup of tea, 

or in my case a cup of coffee....yes, even on a hot day like today.  

I found this book at our local library for $1.00.  

Love a bargain!

Hope you're staying cool!  

A walk with the wieners, a bird house and a book

There's a chill in the air today and it's a beautiful day for a walk.

The wieners were ready to go. I put on my hooded sweatshirt, gloves and scarf and out we went into the fresh brisk air. It's about 54 degrees here today (that's cold for me) but later in the week it should be back up into the 60's (looking forward to that ~ I'm not a cold weather person, as you probably know).

The leaves are not as vibrant this year as they were in years past ~ slow to change color and they seem to be dropping fast, but I did get a few photos of some pretty Autumn color. Otis and Riley enjoyed running and playing and sniffing everything possible at the park.

And since the weather has turned cold I've turned to painting and reading. I'm working on a bird house that I purchased at AC Moore. I like their variety of bird houses and they're very inexpensive. If you put several coats of paint on and a clear coat varnish, you can use them outside.

This one on my art table is still in the works and will get a bit more embellishment. I'm going to make a bird house wall on the back of the house where I will hang several colorful bird houses all clustered together.

The book I'm reading is another one of Barbara Taylor Bradford's books, The Triumph of Katie Byrne, and it's so good I can't put it down!

Well, I hope you're enjoying your day today,

whatever it is you're doing!

A good book and a cup of coffee

A gray weather day is the perfect time for a good book and a cup of coffee (or tea if you like). I'm reading Anne Rivers Siddons, Sweetwater Creek, just one of the many books I've read of hers, and this, too, is another good one. I like how she writes.

This is my favorite spot to sit and read, and as you can see beside my chair is a book stand filled with my favorite books and magazines.

We may be in for a few more gray weather days as Hurricane Katia moves its way up the coast bringing more rain.

I think Otis is looking for some sunshine.

Thrifting again...

only this time, I just found a book. Hard to believe, but yes, just a single book. A really good book though.

Kelly Park by Jean Stubbs

You may have already read it since it's an older book, I absolutely loved it.

Review:

Flavia Pollard, chef extraordinaire, reassesses her life after dissolving a seven-year business and amorous partnership with ne'er-do-well Jack Rice. She lights on the idea of restoring the long-neglected Cornwall manor house of her dear, sentimental old friend, Humphrey, and turning it into a country inn. When he agrees, she sets to work, dealing vigorously along the way with a profusion of problems and encountering a lively assortment of people. Filled with fresh, humorous dialog, affectionate depictions of fully fleshed-out characters, interesting turns of plot, insights into English country life, and delectable descriptions of culinary delights, this novel by the author of Like We Used To Be offers pure enchantment to the mind, heart, and palate.
The Library Journal.

Coffee and books

I love having my morning coffee with books. Yes, books! Decorating books, gardening books, idea books.

Mornings are a great time to curl up in your favorite chair, get cozy, and get inspired. A lot of my inspiration comes from my books. That seems to get me going for the day! That and coffee, of course!

Enjoy your weekend everyone!

Donna

A new old book

I picked this book up at the library last week for $1.00. It was an old book they were getting rid of, but a new one for me. "The Golden Straw" by Catherine Cookson. Off to a good start. I find myself reading more now that it gets dark early in the evenings. It's nice to curl up with a book.

Back porch reading

This morning was the perfect morning to grab my cup of coffee and my book and magazine, and head to the back porch.

The cool breeze was delightful and the early morning sun was peeking through the trees.

The book I'm reading is Barbara Delinsky's "Lake News". I picked it up at a thrift store, thought it sounded interesting, and now I can't seem to put it down.

And my October (wow, October already) issue of The English Home magazine came this past week.

This is my favorite magazine. So I will sit and enjoy each and every page...

on the back porch.

Hope you're enjoying your day!

Donna

Reading

With this HOT HOT weather we've been having lately, it's rather nice being indoors today and staying cool in the air conditioning.

It's given me time to catch up on some reading.




This morning I brewed a fresh pot of coffee and headed for my comfy spot on the sofa and opened my book to where I last left off.

The book I'm reading is "At Home on Ladybug Farm" by Donna Ball. It's about three very different women buying an old mansion in the Shenandoah Valley and their dream to renovate it and start a new life for themselves.

It's a really good book, and one of a series.

Another book I like to read in the mornings is Simple Abundance. This book was given to me by my dearest hubby many years ago and I'm still enjoying it. One lesson for each day of the year.





Hope you're enjoying whatever it is you're doing today! Have a good weekend.

Donna

Early morning and a book

I walked outside early this morning with my coffee to walk around the garden and noticed how pretty the ornamental cabbage looked in the sun. It has gone to seed and now has soft yellow flowers. A red finch was perched on one of the stems.

Soon it will need to be replaced.



Over the weekend I finished Maeve Binchy's "Whitethorn Woods". Another enjoyable read. I love all her books.

It's a beautiful day for a walk so I'll take Otis and Riley to the park, and then there are a few unfinished painting projects waiting for me to attend to.

Hope everyone has a good day!

What are you reading?

I just finished the book, "The French Gardner". What a great story. If you enjoy Maeve Binchy and Rosamunde Pilcher, you will enjoy this book.

I'm on to my next book, "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett. I can't put it down!

Enjoy your day!

A really good book

The Olive Farm, A Memoir of Life, Love, and Olive Oil in the South of France.

This book was recommended to me by one of you dear bloggers and I'm sorry but I don't remember who it was, but thank you! It's the first one in a series by author, Carol Drinkwater, and I was told to read them in this order ~ The Olive Farm, The Olive Season, The Olive Harvest, The Illustrated Olive Farm, and The Olive Route.

If you've ever read Peter Mayles, A Year in Provence, or Frances Mayes, Under the Tuscan Sun, you will enjoy this one too.

Happy reading!!