A couple of visitors

The heat of the last few days has finally broken and although it's still sunny, it's much cooler. Outside the kitchen door I found this blue butterfly slowly opening and closing its wings in the warmth of the morning sun - very beautiful but so fragile; inside was a rare, and not exactly welcome, phenomenon - a furry toad sitting on the tiles. I guess he had either been brought in by a cat or dog who then released him or he'd hopped in when the door was open. Either way, his hind legs were covered in animal hair which leads me to conclude that although he may have been a rare hybrid species it's more likely that I am not the best housekeeper in the world...

Evergreen Inspiration

I have a plan in my head of how the final section of the yard should look but I'm having a hard time explaining it. So here (courtesy of the comprehensive Better Homes and Garden website) are some truly inspirational shots.


This is perhaps a little too close to how it used to look - except behind the-not so-lush junipers was 30 years of dumped debris and you couldn't walk down the path without getting scratched; I'm positive that is not the case here. Anyway, I love the boxwood edging under the rhododendron and the ground cover plants between the stones. If only money were no object...


This is probably the nearest to my ideal - a mix of evergreen and perennial, hard and soft textures, colour and structure


I love the autumn colors against the blues and greens of the conifers but I don't want to be raking any more leaves - and it kind of looks like the back yard at The Cool House right now


And finally... not evergreens but perennials. I couldn't resist this one full of perfect lush hostas. So far I've put in a whole lot of big, bi-coloured Frances Williams; I managed to score a few of the 6' wide Sum and Substance in my favourite shade of green - chartreuse; three cute, compact June hostas went in front of one hydrangea; another trio of medium-sized, speckled Revolution are under the black spruce and I bought as many Elegans as I could find. Now all I need them to do is spread out in well-formed clumps just like the photo...

Some shady characters

and some that prefer bright sunlight in the newly rescued part of the yard. This section goes from deep shade to full sun so it gives me lots of possibilities and I've taken full advantage of them at the 50% sale at the nursery.


Three The Dark Lady roses (I was drawn by the fragrance as much as the crimson colour), a couple of Razzle Dazzle Crepe Myrtles, six Glowing Embers hydrangeas, and a sprinkling of Autumn Fire sedums will guarantee waves of pink toned flowers from Spring to Fall, while a baker's dozen blue fescues, lavenders and hostas by the boatload provide contrasting shades from grey-blue to bright yellow. For structure and something green to look at in the long New York winter, The Guy planted a boxwood to add to the existing yews and I plan to put at least one blue spruce in there in the Spring and a few Japanese hollies - I really like the slender Sky Pencil variety.

We just have to hope everything that has gone in so far survives the six months of ice, wind and snow we get annually. But I'm not going to think about that on an early fall day when the thermometer hit 80F and the lawn got its first gentle trim. I'm just going to look on the bright side... and go and smell the roses.

In mourning

As if my trip to Brussels wasn't frustrating enough I learnt on my return that my beloved handyman had sold his house, packed his bags and was moving South - retiring for the second time.
He wasn't our first "contractor", we tried several - each worse than the last - before we found The Handyman. He came via our neighbor (who was very reluctant to let us have his number, so sought after was he) when two of us had unsuccessfully tried to sister in a Dutchman. His work was remarkable, clean and perfect in every detail. Over the years he has been responsible for all the great renovations at The Cool House: the bathrooms, the powder room, the laundry and the repairs and maintenance: the gate, saving the siding and fixing the bridge. I had just emailed him a list of things (big and small) that needed his attention this fall when he called to give me his news. I cried. I'm happy for him but devastated at the same time. Where in this world will I find another person who can do such great work, who will cooperate with me to solve problems and design dilemmas, who is willing to go the extra step... and who likes the nosey animals?

My House Smells like a French (or Belgian) Restaurant

Since I got back from our challenging European vacation I have been (unsurprisingly) obsessed with comfort food. The very first night, despite jet lag, I made Fusilli with ground Buffalo and Three Cheese Sauce. Okay, I cheated by using a jar of Trader Joe's sauce but I added a parmesan rind I had left over in the fridge to the sauce that I mixed with the browned buffalo - unctuous, soothing and exactly what was needed after a plane ride of almost eight hours.
The next evening I was restored enough after 10 hours sleep to cook Pork Tenderloin with a Mustard Sauce and serve it with Stoemp, the Belgian speciality of mashed potatoes with vegetables. The standards are carrots or spinach but I finely chopped green onions to add the perfect bite to an otherwise typically Franco-Belgian dish.
A disappointing but not bad bottle of Pinot Noir became the basis for Boeuf Bourguignon, the classic French stew and an embarrassment of onions prompted me to make Soupe à l'Oignon in the proper fashion with cognac and real bouquet garni.
The only dish I haven't tackled is Lapin Chasseur although the cats did present me with a laid out bunny on the doorstep - a welcome home present.

Home

I'm home. I saw England and Belgium. I didn't get to go to Paris. I did get sick. That's all you need to know for now. More later.

Book review: House and Home

You love your home, you've made eighteen years of memories there and now you are forced to sell it. How would you react? That's the scenario explored in House and Home, the first novel by writer and HGTV columnist Kathleen McCleary.
Although she seems to have been living the perfect life (she runs her own business, has two adorable children and is surrounded by loving and supportive friends), Ellen Flanagan suffers a crisis in her relationship with her husband Sam that, combined with an earlier tragedy, results in an obsession over the family home... a home that has already been sold.
Anyone who loves their home will relate to this novel, and we empathize with the frustration and resentment felt by Ellen when her husband's unsuccessful business venture leads the family into financial hardship resulting in the sale of Ellen's beloved cottage to the preppy Jordan Boyce and her husband Jeffrey. Not only does she have to leave her cottage but she is forced to listen to Jordan's plans to remodel all the things she loves about it - the colors, the moldings and even the picket fence.
By turns comic and poignant, the novel is a page-turner; we sense a crisis is coming but we're unsure what form it will take. How far will Ellen go to keep her home? Can she renege on the sale, will she ruin someone else's marriage or even burn down her cottage to ensure Jordan doesn't take possession of the house? Eventually priorities become clear, and Ellen realizes that she must hang on to the important things in life. The author leaves the reader to answer the ultimate question: What makes a house a home?

This book review is a stop on the House and Home TLC Book Tour.

Dizzy

I am totally in love with this Sergio Rodrigues Diz chair from Vintage and Modern Brazilian dealer Mercado Modern. Designed in 2002, it pays homage to many 20th century styles and would fit perfectly into the unique architecture of The Cool House, perhaps near the Michel Arnoult game table. The asking price is actually something of a bargain - they retail for almost double. Dreaming....

Maybe it's time to wash the windows again

Is it me being more slovenly than usual or are the spiders more dedicated in their web building endeavors this year? It seems that every time I remove one web (usually by walking through it) another two or three spring up in its place. On the one hand I am itching to get the Windex out, on the other I'm enchanted by the size of the web... and Halloween is nearly upon us...

Market Sunday

Huntington Farmers' Market on Sunday morning - a gathering place for good food, chatty neighbors and friendly dogs


Lots of samples and a few unexpected items


Cheesecake Souffles - a sweet treat for breakfast


and red wine starter bread - yeast-free but without the sourness of sourdough.

Last Night

A cocktail followed by:


the setting sun over the bay


an inside joke


sparklers after dark


music and dancing at a local bar - expanding the evening and the summer fun...

When angels come to the rescue... ::UPDATE::

UPDATE: the Angel drove me in his truck to get the Crepe Myrtle I had seen earlier this week. That's above and beyond!

We have a host of house angels who go the extra mile for us. This week's star is definitely the landscaper and his crew... Meanwhile, did you doubt that I wouldn't be able to control my plant procuring self until Spring? There were bargains to be had:


I scored three huge - well they will be eventually - red toned hydrangeas and three prolific mopheads, "Nikkon Blue", at the 50% off section of the nursery


but the biggest deal was this yew that cost $7! Fingers crossed they survive the winter.


Super Landscaper to the rescue while I was at the Goombas event, planted everything, fixed the break in the sprinkler line, put on a new head and changed the direction of the others so the whole area gets watered. I told you he reads the blog...

Keeping it old school in a digital world

Young Rebel Goombas (l to r) Richie Saccente, Cosmo Mallardi, Uncle B Johnson and Richie Cannata keeping it real at a special event @ CW Post, Long Island University.


The live sound is being videotaped by Jake Gorst for their youtube channel. Awesome jamming - that's one way music is made in 2009.

Framed Up

Recycled picture frame ceiling - an exercise in colorful creativity, and thinking outside the box - from a house built using other peoples' trash. Recycle, repurpose, reuse taken to a whole new level. From the New York Times.

Almost a Home Run

A week or so after we decided to clear decades of debris over on the north side of the property. it's all done. The good news is we have a weed-free, level piece of property that is graded away from the house, seeded and ready to sprout green shoots of grass. The bad news, as I discovered when I put the sprinklers on, is that the whole side needs an improved watering system. We have a break in the main line that's probably been split all summer; we just didn't see it because it was hidden under all the holly, juniper, weed mess that was there before and the one sprinkler on that zone is knackered - more water pores out of the bottom than the head. That goes for the next head down too. Thanks to the extra-long hose we purchased earlier in the season I can water the entire area from the other side of the gate, but that's just temporary until super-sprinkler guys can run me a new line with some cute pop-up heads. Superb landscaper tells me to wait until spring and have them do it when we do the turn-on but that was before I realised we were watering big holes in his newly created lawn. (As he reads this blog, he's probably learning about it, just. about. now!). Anyway, let's recap:


Monday August 31st - at the start of the day: a stumpy, McGrumpy, mess of tangled roots


mid-day: tons of topsoil, a bobcat, a roller and a lot of manpower


5 PM: looking over the fence after the prep-work is done.
It's amazing how much better this is. Firstly you can appreciate the house even more - it's not closed in by the shrubby border. Secondly, the property looks so much bigger, which in a sense it is - we've increased the space by about an eighth of an acre. Lastly, I can skip down the path with the dogs and not be attacked by prickly, allergy-producing bushes, and that's a huge bonus. Also, the fence guys will be able to get in to repair/re-fence the area, the borders have been laid out and the landscaper is lobbying for a pergola to go in the north-east corner...
Now I can either wait for Spring to begin planting or go see what is available in the half-price section of the nursery. Which do you think I'll do?