VT (for all of my design-obsessed peeps)

imagecourtesymarksikes Peeps, Besides the spartan and sparse bath(room), I've also adore 'cozy.'  Especially when elements not normally associated with the bath are introduced, such as easy chairs, lamps, wonderful art, books, and so forth.  If one considers that about one-fifth of our waking hours are spent in the bath(room), why not make it as comfortable and pleasant as one possibly can.  Even now I can clearly remember Sir David Hick's bathroom which included a comfy reading chair, beautifully framed art, reading lamps, and classical statuary.  While something of that calibre may be difficult to emulate, putting lights on dimmers, shades over bare bulbs, oriental carpets instead of the dank bit of fabric festering at the base of the toilet and/or outside the shower, and a waste-paper basket with a lid in lieu of a plastic grocery-bag stuffed inside of an inadequate bin--these are all small changes that will contribute nicely to a more appealing bath(roo...

imagecourtesycoloroutsidethelinesblog Peeps, Today, as the temperature climbed to just below the 100F marker, so did my desire to strip away the superfluous and unnecessary.  Getting the garden watered was my first and foremost objective, as some time had slipped by without getting over to the vegetable beds, and it showed.  Badly!! Droopy tomato plants, as well as bean-vines and thirsty okra calling for care and attention.  Weeds had taken up residence in every available crevice of the path, and morning-glory snaked heaven-ward through rose-bushes and peonies.  Mark my words, within a decade or less the world will be covered with rose-of-sharon, for it spreads more easily than quick-berry, and is twice as stubborn in getting uprooted.  The high point of my trek through areas in desperate need of hard pruning was the discovery of multiple drifts of Queen-Anne's lace that suggested an untamed, natural beauty reminiscent of country-roads and the...