Evolution of a Kitchen

♫Reflections of 1952♫

If you clicked on the above link you're listening to the music in vogue the year our kitchen was designed and built by a scientist and his concert-pianist wife.  Because we've been doing some refurbishing in our kitchen I thought I'd show you how this kitchen has evolved over the years.  

These photos were given to us by the second owners from whom we bought the house in 1981.  This is how the kitchen looked when the house was sold to them in 1969.  That's my kitchen window you've been seeing in my "View From My Kitchen Window" posts....

Ice and Memories

♫Through the Storm♫

Wednesday morning this week we woke up before the sun as usual.  As we drank our morning coffee, I back in bed, Ken in the livingroom, we could hear creaking and popping and snapping, and OH, NO, boom! Gabriel had been let out earlier to do his business, but when he rang the bell again to be let out after sunrise this is what greeted him.....

View Outside My Kitchen Window - February

♫Blues Guitar♫

The first day of February was warm and most of our snow melted, but as you can see we have a new covering of snow today....

Out and About - January

♫Here, There, and Everywhere♫

There's more About than Out this month with January being so cold and snowy.  I started the month off by feeding my neighbor's cat while they were away.  It's just a short walk through our woods to her 1935 log cabin.  I have this dream that one day she'll sell it to me and we'll move there and let one of our sons and his family live here.  The cat comes and goes through a cat door in a room under the front porch so I did not get to go inside the cabin, but on this 1st day of the year it was warm enough to sit on her swing in the front yard and enjoy the view....

The cliffs peer over the roof in the background.  In the winter I can see the outline of the cliffs from my bedroom window as the sun rises over them.

Emily Dickinson's Garden

Emily Dickinson was born in 1830 in this house, called the Homestead.  It was built by her grandfather in 1813, and except for a 15-year absence when the house passed out of the family, she lived there until her death in 1886....

ca. 1870

Her grandfather lost it in 1840 due to bankruptcy, but in 1855 Emily's father was able to buy it back.  Emily wrote about the move back, "I supposed we were going to make a 'transit,' as heavenly bodies did - but we came budget by budget, as our fellows do, till we fulfilled the pantomime contained in the word 'moved.'"

Life in Miniature - More

The winner of the Tasha Tudor's Dollhouse book has been announced!  You can find out who it was by going HERE and scrolling down to the end of my original post.

When I did my post about my dollhouse I found many kindred spirits in the miniature collecting world!  I asked to share these with my readers.  The first one is a miniature greenhouse owned by Shelly in Kentucky....

You can visit her Blog HERE to see her photos and read about it.  

Sharon Calvert in Alabama shares the log cabin (below) that her husband made for her.  I'll let her tell the story....

Life in Miniature

♫Music Box Medley♫

My interest in miniatures began when I was 6 when I collected and traded the little miniature toys that came in gum ball machines.  It wasn't until early 1978 when I was 27 that my interest expanded to dollhouses when I took a class in making miniature furniture.    With the help and guidance of the teachers I made 12:1 scale reproductions of my dining room table and hutch.  By the next year I was a Mom to a baby boy so I set my hobby aside until I had a little girl to share my interest in dollhouses.  Well, three boys later, that was not to be.  Fast forward to 2008.  I'd been a fan of Tasha Tudor for 16 years by then.  I'd been collecting all the books by and about her for several years, one of which was "Tasha Tudor's Dollhouse"....

All God's Creatures

♫Sounds of Nature♫

We live on a 1,000-foot mountain that is part of the Catoctin Mountain range in Maryland.  This is a several-years-out-of-date aerial view of our house (in the center of the photo) and surrounding area....

Hot Soup on a Cold Day

♫Music to Cook By♫

I first had this soup at a friend's house in the early 1990's.  It has been a hit whenever I've made it for my guests, so I thought I'd share it here.