The world has tilted . . . . . . .

 . . . . . and our homes have become the safest and most comfortable place to be.

Our little house finch couple continue to build their home in our porch hanging

 basket - a cozy nest for a clutch of eggs which hopefully produce a family of 

baby birds in the weeks to come.

The camellias have been amazing for several weeks but now, just as the azaleas

 are starting to bloom, Camellia japonica's lovely flowers are fading and falling

 to the ground.  

It's always a good idea to clear away fallen flowers as fungal disease is

common. Camellia petal blight causes flowers to turn brown rapidly, then

drop.  Sanitation is the best control: pick up and destroy all fallen blossoms

as well as infected ones on the plant. Remove and discard any existing mulch,

then replace with new mulch.

  

I'm somewhat concerned this shrub may have a fungal issue as many of the flowers

 did turn brown this year. I do try to pick up the fallen ones asap, however perhaps

 I should rake out all the old mulch and replenish. No excuses now for 'no time' to 

work in the garden!

They still look beautiful to me!

Small mercies -

The kindness of the garden is still sharing spring flowers - thank you garden and 

Mother Nature.

This evening, when the season of spring officially starts, we will all have much on

 our minds which is worrisome, negative, and downright frightening. 

Everyone is offering thoughts on ways to get through this terrible time so I 

will not say anymore on this point. We all know what we need to be doing!

Instead, here are some things which have kept me busy this week.

I did some pruning, clipping the pulling in the back garden.

I took stock of the now messy potting shed - made myself a note to clean it 

out this coming week when the temperatures will be exceptionally warm.

I'm hoping to find a way to buy some plants to pot soon - one nearby 

garden center will be taking orders online and you can drive up and have 

your plants put in your car - something to consider.

Our food supply is running low on things like fresh produce - not sure

how to handle that right now other than get to a shop first thing in the morning 

before too many people are about.

I baked a lot of muffins this week (also two loaves of bread) to share with 

my neighbors - put them on their front steps, rang the bell with my elbow,

and stood in their yards within a good distance for a quick chat.

We had a raccoon visit the garden a few days ago - actually not this one
 whom I photographed a couple of years ago in the back garden - a smaller one, 
probably a female, who was under my azalea bushes.  
Bob had spent a good couple of hours out there mowing, trimming and blowing, 
but she didn't come out until I walked out there, sans camera or phone.
She looked healthy but perhaps tired from having her daytime sleep disturbed 
so just bypassed us silently and crossed the road into the wooded area. 
Don't see any babies here so maybe they are in the woods. There is a large owl 
in our trees this week - and they are predators of baby raccoons, so fingers
 are crossed!

Life definitely goes on - proven by a lot of bird activity in the garden. 

Before I could even take the now shriveled Boston ferns down from the porch
 (left up over winter for the Carolina wrens to sleep in nightly), a pair of 
House finches started building a nest!  I haven't the heart to stop them, 
especially as we need all the entertainment we can get now we're isolated
 at home, and watching their diligence creating that cozy spot for their 
coming family is amazing.

The somewhat dowdy little female does most of the nest building, but the more

colorful male always comes along and keeps watch whilst she's in the fern weaving

 the bits and pieces she carries back time and time again. It's day four of construction

 and now they get very upset if I try to look in the nest. They are messy birds so there

 will be plenty of cleaning of the porch - but what the heck we all need chores to keep 

us busy!

I'm still kitty sitting and plan to be until Nala's 'dad', my next door neighbor, gets home. 

He's due back tomorrow night IF his flight makes it. This morning I think she was 

missing him as she was snuggling up with his gardening shoes on the enclosed porch. 

I'm enjoying it because it gets me out of the house. . . . . . . I find myself going 

back and forth to see her even more times than really necessary!

Sending you best wishes - may you and your families, friends and neighbors stay well.

Sleeping comfortably in an uncomfortable time!

Some glimpses of the master bedroom makeover. . . . . . as promised.

Still working on the master bedroom makeover in this small 'cottage style' house.
 At last it's able to be used again now there's new furniture, bedding and
 lighting. . . . . . and Bob has at last put most of his stuff away! 
I lined my dresser drawers with pretty paper - he wanted no part of that!
This coming Wednesday the new window shades will be installed and then
 I can either rehang the linen drapery panels. . . . . . or could search for
 something new.  
I'm thinking the linen panels are fine and I'm not planning shopping 
anywhere for some time.

Above, a few things I've made over the years - and they will remain in the

bedroom - cushion covers and lampshades.  

This weekend I framed the original watercolor of a country barn scene I've had

for years in the attic - no I didn't paint it - in a black frame, and two small prints

 by a favorite British Printmaker & Painter Angela Harding. Do check her amazing

 body of work if you are a nature lover, or even if you're not, you will be amazed

 at the beautiful bird and wildlife art she creates.

I bought this black/gold wood framed fern print at Hobby Lobby when shopping

 last week for frames and mats. It just caught my eye, was inexpensive

and perfect for the room.

The chair was one I painted and had upholstered in antique French linen

years ago - it's a favorite and moved here from the dining room where it

was hidden behind a door.

The matching black/green lamp bases are made from a pair of candlesticks,

and I also made those cute clip on shades - fabric is actually wedding gown 

heavy textured silk. I certainly would not have the patience - or eyesight -

required to sew these shades now!

This botanical print between glass with an aged black wood frame I moved 
from the living room. I've done a lot of 'shopping the house' rather than buy
all new for this room.

I love the taller dresser of this new furniture - being tall myself it just makes sense.
You can see the photo of me with my dear mother. Today marks 17 years 
since her death at age 91, an always and forever very sad day for me, 
but the memories are rich and full of the love we shared. Fortunately I arrived
 home in England to see her the day before she passed. She was the best, 
most talented woman I've ever known.
 The smaller of the two vintage silver lidded crystal powder bowls, was my
 mother's 21st birthday gift from her father in 1932 - a 'treasure' I treasure.

So now there's the question of these swirled silk shades I made years ago! 

 Can they stay? Can I do something to make them look a little less frou frou?  
I'm going to try because they are still quite lovely and are special to me, mostly
because my dear mother taught me how to make them when she came
to stay with me whilst I was recovering from cancer surgery a long time ago.
All the shades I've brought home from stores to try, just don't work for me!
There's really no way to change the trim around the top of each shade -
it's glued on and might tear everything if I try to remove it, but the base 
trim (gimp) on the lefthand shade I'm OK with. On the righthand shade,
fortunately the fancy bow trim at the base is stitched on. I can
 easily remove that and replace with similar plain gimp trim.
I'll see how it all works out.

I hope we can all stay in touch during this stressful time. No matter where 

in the world we are it seems we will all be struggling with exactly the same

 problems for some time. 

Here, our school system is closing down for at least two weeks as of

 tomorrow, creating a difficult time for parents. Retail is shrinking as shops lock

 their doors, and we all wonder how we'll fare regarding replenishing items from

 food to household necessities. If quarantined in our homes life will be much different.

But, chin up, hang in there. . . . . . there's much to keep us busy at home.

Most important, stay well, practice social distancing, listen to beautiful music,

sing like the Italians are doing, cook, bake, garden, read that stack of waiting

books. . . . . . . . . .and pray that hopefully this will pass very soon.

With love -