Here’s how spring is progressing in our home! Musica for today: our new favorite song . . .I’ll get you hooked yet!♥
But first, just so you know, the drawing for the Rose Chintz teacups is still open; just leave a comment at the bottom of this post, and you’ll be entered in the drawing! You can read more about it and see pictures if you scroll down one post.
I just couldn’t wait to show you what we found in the hall next to our dining room!
I think many would see this as a harbinger of spring, which was exactly my first thought; plants are bursting up through the floor! How adorable! Get the camera!
But, with a little help from Joe’s more mechanically-minded, reality-based thinking, our second thought was, What’s going on in the basement? Is there massive plant growth down there? Now we’re afraid to open the basement door! 
Well, Joe’s probably not, but I kinda am. I’ve never really gotten used to having a basement even on a good day.
Our basement was dug in 1849; it has a dirt floor so it smells like old dirt down there; the walls are made with granite blocks. It’s very deep, plenty high enough to walk around in, it’s very cold, and it has rooms! They probably kept their apples and potatoes and other garden produce down there in the old days. And who knows what else.
You get there through an outside door on the porch; the door opens with a long creak to a steep set of granite stairs going straight down into a dark, what appears to be, hole. The stairwell is very deep and draped in cobwebs suggesting that a person should definitely duck when they go down the stairs; the corners are alive with long legged black creatures that seem to “winter” here; they like it in the summer too; I don’t know if they jump. I’ve only been down there maybe four times in the twenty-three years we’ve lived here. Our basement goes under the entire house. I call that area of the house “Man Country.” It’s where Joe keeps his paint cans, for one thing; and he seems to like it down there. But of course, he was born in this part of the country (Connecticut) where every child grows up with a basement.
I grew up in California, no house I ever saw had a basement; all I ever learned about basements was through Halloween stories (“he’s on the first step; he’s on the second step . . . slooowly he turns…” . . . my dad, entertaining us around campfires with ghost stories), horror films, and movies like Arsenic and Old Lace, where the darling old ladies buried their gentlemen friends in the basement. So basements, to me, had no lure. I wasn’t all that wild about attics either, for the same reasons.
Having 
basements and attics were two of the many new things I had to get used to when I moved to this part of the country; every old house has them!
I never went into the basement of my first house until I completely owned it; did not visit it in the course of buying the house. Even then I knew it was man country down there (this definition comes from having four brothers and learning very young what was and what was not, man country; I’m sure there are plenty of intrepid happy normal women who love basements too, don’t get me wrong; I like the basement, I just don’t like to go there!), there were no men around me at the time; I rest my case, pathetic as it is. It never occurred to me (because I was young and this was my first house) that it might be the place where the furnace was, which is something a savvy home buyer should take an interest in.
Now I understand that having a basement is a wonderful thing! It’s extra storage space! It’s where many people do their laundry; it’s where they keep their children when they turn into teenagers; but I’m also pretty sure it’s where Lizzie Borden kept her ax. I will love our basement if, and when, a giant hurricane comes to the island; we’ll make friends then. Why am I talking about this? Oh yes, Joe (Oh yes, I’m spoiled) needs to go find the beginning of this plant before it eats the house!
I really didn’t think I’d be writing about basements this morning! I meant to write about happy harbingers of spring, and then our basement crept into the story. That’s how letters to my girlfriends have always been. We go from cheese blintzes, white tablecloths, and Rose Chintz dishes to scary old basements in the blink of an eye. That’s another thing I like about us! We’re diversified!
Now, here is a true harbinger of spring. Normally, one hundred percent zero things bloom on Martha’s Vineyard in February, no camellias ever bloom here this time of year. At least, I’ve never seen it. But, I went to my girlfriend Annie’s house the other day 
for tea, and the six foot camellia bush next to her front door, outside, was blooming, all over, like this!! I want to be afraid about what this could mean, planet-wise, but I’m too happy having them on my kitchen windowsill right now! I will let this pass for one winter; if it’s like this next winter, I’m going to start having a fit. Let’s all have one!
What else? Oh! You know what I think would be fun? If, when you leave your comments, at the end, you always type in where you are, what city, state, or country. I love hearing where people are so I can imagine, or try to, their surroundings. Plus, then everyone with the same name will start to look a little different! We have girlfriends from Alaska to Florida, Maine to Hawaii, and so far, just today, I’ve heard from Finland and France! Love it! Sing with me!
♫ I’d like to teach the world to sing, in perfect harmony. . . ♪
I was going to show you more of my dinner party diary, but I think I’ll save it for later, this should be enough for today; I have stuff to do, and you probably do too! I kept you long enough the last couple of days! Love hearing from you! Love how you’re connecting with each other too. Have a great day! ♥
Thanks for sharing Spring, Spring, Spring with us, Susan! I had never heard the Bing Crosby/Fred Astaire version. What a wonderful, happy, simple song. It reminds me of the movie Seven Brides for Seven Brothers – perhaps I will watch it tonight 🙂 I definitely know what I will be humming today!
~Rebecca from Seattle
That was my favorite movie growing up! Love it! Linda in San Diego
Such great music and dancing and colors and dresses! 🙂
My camellia is going nuts this winter — blooms everywhere! I love it! Beautiful, rich red flowers….love Spring, Spring, Spring. Had not heard it by them; I always think of “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” when I think of that song. Ah, good times…wonderful movie, watched it so many times with the kiddos. Hope your day is lovely, and here are happy hugs for you from South Carolina!
I’m thinking that the sweet little bright green shoot popping through your dining room floor (ivy?) is much more poetic than the little mushroom I found poking up next to my shower last year. A little embarrassing, but I still ran for my camara…
Virginia Beach, VA
Little miracles!
Mother Nature RULES doesn’t she? No embarrassment needed. It gives you a good story to tell. 🙂
We all have “basements” and the detour was a reminder that we sometimes need to “go with the flow” and embrace it for a moment to move on to bigger and brighter things. Singing in harmony with you this morning.
Hi Susan.
We have one of those old basements – you enter from outside the house and open up a door like the one in the Wizard of Oz. It’s cobwebby, musty and has a very low ceiling. But it houses the furnace and the hot water heater and the well pump so we have to go down there at times. I understand!
xo
Claudia from upstate NY
Gutsy lady. I applaud you!
Now you have turned into a mystery writer! Did Joe find the origin of the plant popping up thru the floor??? I wish I had a basement. Live in Texas and there are few and far between.
Well, after a very foggy morning here in Knoxville, TN, it appears that we will have a touch of sunshine after all. The husband has gone on a golf outing, and I am here trying to finish up computer time before heading out on a few errands myself.
One new thing I noticed this morning is the blooming of our miniature daffodils! I always hope they will linger until St. Patrick’s Day once they begin to bloom, but I don’t think there is any chance of that THIS year.
I share your lack of enthusiasm about a basement, too. We have none, although we do have about a 7-foot (or more) high crawl space.
Sending along wishes for a good Thursday to you!
I LOVE this Spring-y post!! Imagine- camellia’s in FEBRUARY! I grew up near Sacramento, so camellias hold a special place in my heart. I told my bff (aka, my husband, Bill!) two days ago that there are tulips coming up. He didn’t believe me and had to go see for himself. I tend to see signs of Spring waaaay before anyone else in my house. 😉 The crocuses and daffodils were pretty much expected, but not the tulips. Not in February in Michigan. And the first robin has been spotted by my lovely granddaughter! :-)… Thanks bunches for your gorgeous site and blog- it brightens my day no matter WHAT the weather!
Teresa in Sister Lakes, MI
Sister Lakes, Michigan — I’ve never been there! Yet!
I know where Three Lakes MI is in the Upper Peninsula, but where is Sister Lakes???…
Good question!
It’s a beautiful area in southwest MI, lots of cottages and year round homes, in a prime fruit-growing area. It’s a great vacation area with lots of lakes! Google it — have fun!
I am with you on the basement creepies! EVERYONE had basements back home in PA. I was thrilled to find that on our island in WA there were none…. make that few. When we bought our new house, my wonderful husband found a way to make a basement. YUCK! I am staying home sick today; what a treat to find Willard and a new post to make me feel better. Thanks for all you do! Hugs from Whidbey Island, WA!
Feel better Amy on Whidbey Island!
Soooo excited to be coming to Whidbey Island for an oil painting class in about a month. Have heard nothing but great things about your lovely island!
Hi Amy,
Where in PA did you live? I lived in York as a child. I loved it & miss it terribly! And it’s been 35 years!
Happy Spring with a month of winter to go 🙂 I laughed when I saw your green vine coming up through the floor. The plants are going wild at our house too. I saw ivy growing through our floorboards. A visit into the basement showed SEVERAL shoots coming in from outside!!! They have since been banished. We have a beautiful red japonica bush that is in full bloom!!! Way early. I guess they got tired of waiting for a snowstorm and decided to bloom early.
I do agree we must all protest if Winter doesn’t return to us in all of her glory next year!!!
Georgie from Yardville, NJ
The birds here (Yakima, Washington) are doing their Spring songs now and our temps are more Spring-like, getting up to 60 yesterday. We could still get some snow, winter isn’t over (technically speaking) yet.
I don’t know how I missed another giveaway, please enter my name for it. I’ve been thinking about Tea Parties and hoping I can get my energy up to do one soon. Right now we are in the midst of freshening up the walls of the house with fresh paint, and cleaning carpets (oooh, that sounds a bit like Spring cleaning, doesn’t it?). It’s my Mother’s house. DH and I have been living here, caring for her the last few years. We actually live in the (are you ready for this?)…. basement. We had to move Mom to a care facility as she was needing more than we could provide, so now the house will soon be put up for sale and we will be finding a new place to live. Thus the house fix-ups.
LOL, you made me burst out laughing, the basement! Oh dear, you know, I’ve been in lots of really nice basements, ours just doesn’t happen to be one of them!
Just love that little green shoot telling the world spring is poppin’:)
The suspense is killing me—what did Joe find in the basement? Now you can add mystery-writer to your repetoire of talents. The cameillias bloom around this part of Arkansas (just south of Little Rock) every December/January. It is so beautiful to look out the window and see them blooming in reds, dark pinks, and whites. Right now, I have daffodils which are just past the perfect bloom stage and the trees are starting to bud. Loved the Spring, Spring, Spring from Fred Astaire and Bing Crosby. They could certainly croon and it is such a happy song. Have a lovely spring-like day…….from Jefferson, Arkansas (it is supposed to be 80 degrees here today–yikes, a little too warm for February.)
Hello Jefferson Arkansas! I already love this! I’ll find out what Joe found and report back later!
Ifound my first snow drops in my garden yesterday,susan—love it! i look forward to many months of tulips,lilacs,foxgloves—all my favorites. hope your day is enjoyable.love your blog-it puts a smile on my face everyday–besides,it reminds me of cape cod-my favorite place on this earth!
Hello Sharon from Webster – from Janet in Greece!
FYI everyone – Webster & Greece are suburbs of Rochester, New York [southern shore of Lake Ontario]. Toronto right across the lake from us…
Our basements well most of the basements here in St George Utah….we use everyday..Could be bedrooms, family room, game room, laundry room, no dirt floors here (well I don’t think so any way).. Spring is here in our town in Southern Utah, spring flowers are popping out…Don’t know what you new in house plant is…let us know..Love your post…
The beauty of nature….your little green shoot determined to bloom and undeterred by its surroundings makes me smile. What a wonderful lesson in these tough times. Your blog is inspirational….not to mention charmingly beautiful as well…lol. Welcome spring!
What a gentle, sweet reminder of the perserverance and strength of nature. At my school, they’ve poured asphalt on beautiful grassy areas to accommodate trailers (we’ve run out of classroom space in the buildings) and little blades of grass grow right through! Amazing! At least it is to me. And I also don’t blame you for thinking it’s a scary basement. Your home is filled with positive light, but even looking at those stairs scare me. Please let us know if you and Joe ever discover how that lovely harbinger of spring erupted in your hallway. Wishing you, Joe, the kitties and the ladies of this blog lots of Spring signs to uplift.
Susan, Your basement is sounding like ours. We live in a 220 year old home and I don’t even like to think of what may have happened throughout my house, let alone the cellar…I have to go down there and do laundry and we also have an extra freezer, so unfortunately I am forced to visit the spiders, mice and whatever else lurks down there…..
lol! Making me laugh!
Well given it’s New Hampshire what might the odds be that they concealed a slave or two on the way to Canada? Just saying history doesn’t have to be all bad news — of course the abolitionist leaning folks were not popular with everyone but then — it’s still history.
Another still awaiting moderation? Hmmmm… my posts all seem to have missed the boat for some reason.
Dottie I’m sure she’ll get to it in the morning. She retires early in the evening 🙂
Thank you Charlene, we DO need a night-time explainer around here!! 🙂
Charlene — yes, I realize. Another thing which may become cleare now with locations posted is the Time Zone differences LOL. The query at 5 something was posted in CA three hours earlier though it didn’t show up till 5 back East. The internet is MARVELOUS and quirky and gets better as we remember to take all these differences into account — and now we’re global — even better and more confusion — LOL — gotta LOVE all of it especially when it becomes a gregarious, friends gathered for their tea place like this — Susan dear Susan — never take a query I post as being aimed at you or your schedule or how you do things here — only at some quirk in the processes – PROMISE pleas.
I knew you couldn’t see on the other side of all this! There are lots of quirks in the process around here, and I’m just one of them! 🙂
Love life’s little surprises and wonders…Love your story telling…Don’t love dark, damp, spidery places!!! But DO love a BRAVE man that is just fine with dark, damp, spidery places! “Bloom where you are planted!” …Awesome!
Unually warm here (but not complaining!) in Gardnerville, Northern Nevada ~ (near Lake Tahoe). Have a happy day! =}
good morning susan!
happy anniversary to you and joe. your breakfast looked sooo lovely i wished i could just crawl thru the computer screen and join you 🙂 i would be very quiet in the corner…… you truly are an inspiration. my dh and daughter and i like to go to antiquey places, wandering thru and looking for old treasures. i have never yet thought to buy some of those dishes, jugs or mugs. but after seeing the things you do with them, ( i never thought of using them for flower vases) i think that i will be wandering with a different eye next time. which means dh needs to build me a china cupboard to display them in.
it is most defiantly spring here. trees, flowers, everything is in bloom. my favorite daffodils. so strange to have them in February. i hope a late cold blast does not come down in your area and freeze all the spring blossoms.
thanks for all the lovelyness to start our days,
natasha from the south central coast of ca.
Basements and attics are all new to me too having moved here just five years ago. Even though are basement is “finished” I prefer to be above ground. About five years ago some sirens were going off and my daughter called me and asked if we were in the basement. I answered no and she replied “well, you should be”!
Good that someone is paying attention!
That basement looks so scary! >.< I don't think I'd like going down there, either!
Our home is just a single level with an attic. A rather nice attic with lots of shelves for storage. It has a really nifty pull-down ladder for access. No basement or shelter here, though.
I LOVED your pics and discriptions of the breakfast. Lots of pretty pink! Your friends are very lucky! Your food looks deeelicious! 😛
I am sitting here at the table in my little breakfast nook with the east morning sun shining down upon me. I love that! Very frigid cold out, though. Where am I? Boise, ID. USA!
Love you! Love your artwork! Blessisngs, Cheryl
Idaho! Happy day!
I like basements (except my sister Liz’s). When I was a kid (well I acted like a baby goat) we had a small root cellar under our house, with stone walls and a dirt floor. It was very small, but in the heat of the summer I’d get an old rug or towel and lay on the cool floor. It was pure heaven, and my older brother rarely came in there to bother me. I guess I like basements because being the fourth girl (and child # 5) my mom use to kick me out of the house just after breakfast (after all it is dangerous having a kid in the house) when the weather permitted. She didn’t need me to help with anything, not even making my bed since I slept with an older sister. I was always directed outside to see if dad needed help working on the truck, do yard work, or to just play in the woods. When I was about 6 we (the whole family) removed the front porch and added a bedroom for us girls, and a basement under it. It was a walkout basement, not a dungeon like your basement and my sister Liz’s, lol. Maybe I wouldn’t be so thrilled with yours either. Really it’s spiders that bother me. Posted from Southern Maryland USA
I’ve always thought, on the really hot days of summer, of putting a lawn chair down there and taking my book — because it’s always cold there, but I’ve never done it!
The camellias are blooming here, too. It is suppose to be 78 degrees today. Happy Thursday everybody, no chemo for me this week. Hooray!!!!
Cynthia N.
No chemo, ENJOY!!
Your “indoor” plant is interesting – we had mushrooms in our basement once after much rain & before we had the basement waterproofed! I swore I would NEVER tell that to anyone! Embarrassing. 🙁
In the old days, people really were buried in the basement if they died during the winter & the ground was too frozen & hard to dig a proper grave. “The Twilight Zone”!! Ooooh. Has Joe REALLY checked things out? 🙂 🙂
Love, love, love those teacups!
BTW, I presume the bodies were moved outside to a grave once the ground thawed!!!
Who KNOWS!
I think it’s normal! Mushrooms a very strong little characters!
Euwww – YIKES! I never thought of bodies in a basement in winter!! Makes sense but ick! Now cellars really are scary!
See? What’d I tell you?
Oh, you will update us on the plant situation won’t you? I had that happen in my basement the first year I lived here, where the cement slab meets the wall. Scared me!
Yes, I’m laughing, but I really don’t think it’s a good thing!
Hi, Susan – I love the glimpses of spring. We’re expecting another dose of winter today and last Monday night be were stranded in a blizzard – thank goodness for last exits! Our basements are used for tornados, which you do not want to be above ground in!
Karen L. in Iowa
No, I’m sure you are right! Iowa, my mom and grandma were born in Sioux City!
Sioux City is on the western side of the state. We live in the east, in Hawkeye country.
Karen L.
I love that the little plant was coming up through the floor! It’s searching for spring, too! I am not fond of basements that are unfinished. I do ok with finished ones because we have safety from a tornado. But, I am with you on the spooky factor.
My mother has a beautiful camellia bush outside her kitchen window. It is in gorgeous bloom with pink and white striped flowers.
Oh, and I am in King, North Carolina. Have a beautiful day!
We always have camelias in February here in Texas, but we don’t have basements.
Good Morning~
We live in my husband’s ( ours now) family’s built home~ 1908~ so you can imagine how
” creepy” our basement is! Thank heavens for first floor laundry rooms~But honestly my family’s home~1972~ was even creepier!
My “darling” younger sister thought it would be ” funny” to grab my foot ( from between the stair opening) and yell ” Gotta Ya!”
30+ years later I am still waiting to get her back!
Getting ready now for the snowstorm after I just got into the Spring mode~At least we don’t have to seek shelter in the basement~
Lynn
LOL!
Just a thought~ if by chance you get snowed in over the weekend you can watch the movie ” Little Shop of Horrors “~Have you seen it?
Here’s the link to a clip from the movie
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RRh-g-CC8g&feature=youtube_gdata_player
I am so with you on the basement thing! I’m from So. California and we DID NOT have these spooky, gaping, creaking, doors with rickety stairs leading into darkness, when I was growing up. Now, I live in Vermont with a Vermont husband and he just LOVES it down there. (??????) It’s his man cave! Our last old farmhouse had a silt floor because of the floods that they had back in the twenties. Now, in our new home, we’ve upgraded to a stream that runs, purposefully, through. Hm! When I put it like that, it doesn’t sound so bad but, really…..eek!
Ah, but the camellia bushes in our Pasadena backyard in February….sigh! I miss them!
Here, in VT, after yesterday’s “poor man’s fertilizer” and last night’s spring rain, the grass is greening up. Usually, we’re buried under deep drifts of snow. It’s an absolute dream!!!
Your post is so engaging – it’s drawn a response right out of me! Cheers to you! =]
Katy
California girl gone east! Love hearing from you!
I don’t know how you girls can do it. Maybe it is the summers in the NE.
Chinz tea cups!!! are you kidding….wow~that is the stuff dreams are made of!!!!
I love the plants and flowers you have forcing their way upon you in MV!! What an incredible gift from Mother nature in February. My cellar is kind of scary and 1800’s too!
Hahaha! I know that plant growing up through the floor had to be a SURPRISE! 🙂
I’m with you, basements are scary places. I lived in an old home when growing up in Washington state that had a dirt floor basement, and the furnace reminded me of the one in the “Home Alone” movie … I knew if I looked at it long enough I’d be in some sort of trouble … 🙂 Although your Joe truly does have a “Man Cave” LOL!
Yes, to the Rose Chintz tea cups … I am so in L❤VE with the picture of them! My other mis-matched China Princess would welcome those Rose Chintz China Princesses with open arms! Although, I know you have lots of other girlfriends who would love them too so I’ll just say in advance “how wonderful to whomever wins!”
XOXO, Priscilla
Mornin’ Susan! Love the basement chat. 🙂 I LOVE my basement…my master suite….my husbands ‘man-cave’/office…along with my charming studio is all down here in the basement. Plus, living in Alabama….a basement is such a good thing due to the amount of tornadoes we have. Weather gets bad…….I want a hole to get in!
It’s a full basement and used to look like one, but with sheet rock walls, carpet, bathrooms, windows, pretty stuff…..viola….it doesn’t look a basement anymore!!
And I’m here in Birmingham, Alabama. We love you here. 🙂
Love you back Jennifer, your basement doesn’t sound at all like mine! 🙂
HI Susan, I also share your feelings about basements. I think it comes from not having one growing up in AZ and falling down the basement stairs, while visiting someone who did have a basement! For the last 21 years I have lived in North Dakota, where basements are plenty, for deep freezers and tornado hiding! Still don’t like ’em. Call mine “the man cave” for my hubby!I like to be above ground, better to see the sunshine and outside to my yard. Snow on the ground here in ND, but I just know spring is coming!! Thanks,for always making me smile..Andrea B
Hi Susan,
Our basement was turned into a library a few years ago. We had so many wonderful books that had no real home so I decided to hire an architect and contractor to build a library. We also added a half bath there, too. Sometimes our friends visit us just to browse our book collection. The storage side of our basement has (in addition to Christmas decoration storage) a little scrapbook nook for me. Thanks for everything you do for the girlfriends. It is truly appreciated.
Georgette from Maplewood, NJ
Sounds wonderful!
Hi Susan,
Love the branch growing in your home! So cute!
I do feel Spring in the air it is so warm I don’t need my coat!
About basements—my grandmother has lived in the same house for almost 50 years ( and she had it built for her so we like to think of it as our family’s home forever).
Well, my grandfather who was a math teacher, had a love for painting and over the course of 40 years, painted with oil paints on canvas—nudes, fractals, cityscapes, oceans, florals, abstracts you name it!
And guess where he painted them? The basement! His work place! It’s the most amazing place—the paintings (over 5000 of them) reside there among other places. His paints are still there but frozen and on the wall are his thoughts and quotes from his 40+ years there written in pencil.
If you want to see pictures of it, there should be some on his gallery’s website:
susanberkocondegallery.com
Have a marvelous day!
How interesting! I think I’d like to go into that basement!
U R my sunshine! Expecting rain later in this creepy-warm “winter” here in the great Middle (Indiana). Have loved your “Celebrations” book for years, and am slowly filling it up when a party just “clicks”, u know what I mean. Some parties r just special-er than others. It’s party-love-friend-food karma. Now go tell Joe to check the basement. Have you seen Little Shop of Horrors? I have. The plant eats people. And on that cheery thought–SWAK.
HAHAHA thank you JoEllen!
I have an old basement as well. It can be reached through a door in the kitchen as well as a door from the outside. In one section I store all of my patio furniture for my monthly summer patio parties. I would love to invite you. It is an open invitation for the entire neighborhood to join me for libations and other refreshments. This basement has a cement floor but my garage is still a dirt floor. My house was built in 1921 and I’m only the third owner!
Lots of houses in Flemingsburg, Kentucky (located where the bluegrass kisses the mountains) have basements but not mine. My childhood home had a basement and was a wonderful place to play as a child on a rainy day. Hahahahaha!! I love suspense!! But when do we get to find out what Joe found in the basement??
As soon as I know . . . I asked him to take the camera down there!
Good Morning Sweet Sue…Oh You Have Me so Hooked on The Spring ♥♫☼ Song with Bing!(& Fred!) I L♥ve it! I Began My Morning with Your “Willard”…so You Put Me in The Spring~Time Mood…& Now Your Spring~Time Blog…Yay! I Guess with The Mild Winter all The Flowers & Trees are Waking Up Early! I think You Have a BeanStalk Growing in Your Basement! Beware of Giants…but Hey The Goose That Lays the Golden Eggs…Perfect for Easter! Yay! 🙂 My Dad Turned Our Basement into The “PLay~Room” First… (6 Kids)…Then it Became The Perfect Teen Hang~Out Room…(Also My Mom’s Laundry Room A Whole Seperate room was also in The Basement) Very Cool….& Our Attic Turned into The Boyz Bedroom(2 Brothers)…That was in Our House In Westbury Long~Island…Here In Florida…No Basement…& Our Attic is a Storage Space for Holiday Decorations etc…Anyway…Thank You for This Blog…it Made Me Smile 🙂 Still am 🙂 & Thank You for another Brilliant “Willard” Sweet Sue…”Sweet Breaths of Spring In The Air”…Perfection! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh Twirling into Spring~Time…Yay! Sending Spring~Time Pixie~Dust Everywhere! xoxo Poof! ♥♥♫☼ Angie(Tink!) Winter Haven Florida…Exact Center of Florida…The U.S.A. ♥
Hi from Il., Spring is in the air here too!! I cut some pussy willow branches Sunday to bud in the house and some of them have already bloomed outside! We have two Canadian Geese who come every year in the spring to nest, and their already here!! By the way their names are Fred and Wilma. My daughter Priscilla named them when she was little. Lol
Good morning Susan! My you wonder where that little plant got its start. Glad you have Joe to check it out. I wish we had a basement here in Greenfield, Ohio (we get plenty of tornado scares in the summer) but all we have is a crawl space. Looking forward to more signs of spring. I could feel it in the air this morning as I was leaving the house for work. Birds singing and the sun just peaking over the hills. It won’t be long!
P.S. I also liked the spoons in the “JOY” cup! wonder why?
I think I know!
Oh how I miss a basement. Grew up in Ohio and could not imagine a house with no basement. And I have lived in some pretty old houses, so not all the basements were pretty. The house I grew up in had a “fruit cellar” in the basement. It was a room with a dirt floor and lots of shelves for produce and canned goods. As a child I will admit that room scared me a little….I’m not a big fan of spiders! I think you should accept your new green sprout as a GOOD sign! We are to have temperatures in the 80″s here today, it’s alittle early for that, so I am fearful of yet another long…..hot….miserable summer! But I shall remain forever hopeful. West Texas
I would love to win the tea cups!! 🙂 Basements are creepy!! Never had, don’t plan on it anytime soon either.
Yes, you must tell us how the plant story ends! PS-my new kitty and old kitty are doing really well together. They have love fests–cleaning each other and sleeping by each other. Love it!
Carol in New Carlisle, Indiana (a darling little one stoplight town!)
**never had one**(basement that is)
When I was a girl, we moved into an old house out in the country. My Dad went down to check out the basement and I followed along. Even back then, (6th grade) I was into vintage things. I know, I was nothing like the kids my age. What girl of that age wants a Hoosier? So, imagine my excitement at seeing shelves with old, blue Ball jars with glass tops or zinc lids! Hallelujah! I have the best memory of Dad and I finding those treasures. Even though basements can be scary, my mind tends to wonder what hidden treasure might be down there waiting.
Oh and I have to say I loved seeing your silver spoons in that tea mug on your window sill.
That’s the reason I went down there four times, looking for treasure 🙂 — I found treasure in the attic . . . a tiny pair of brown leather baby shoes from the turn of the century.
Susan,
Greetings from Bloomington, Central Illinois! Smack dab in the middle of the state. It’s a dreary, drippy day here – goes along with your basement story!
You can never keep us too long following along with your delightful, funny and heart-warming, hugging posts!!!
I grew up with basements and they’ll always be basements. Some are kinda creepy and others not so much. Ours is well-lit and wide open, plus we have a walk-out to the yard so it’s much brighter than a typical basement, this helps a lot! And, given our locale, I’m grateful for it when we have a tornado warning. Although I run up and down ’cause I need to know what’s happening and if I really need to stay down there after I’ve gotten the pups secured there…
Hope your day is sweet and as bright as those knock-your-socks off Camillas!
xoxo,
Jeanette
xoxo! Bloomington, Illinois!
We are going to be pushing 80 degrees here in Southern California today…just for a day or two…they say. The camillias are definitely blooming – along with the geraniums. I love all the beautiful colors of these flowers that grow everywhere. Basements?? Being a California girl, they have not been part of my life. Looking at that door going down those stairs…I don’t think so! Sending warm wishes from San Diego, California.
Here in the southern-most tip of Indiana, we are still enjoying balmy weather 🙁
Noticed the Iris’s peaking out of the muddy ground too! With too little Winter, it’s just no telling what will sprout where this Spring 😉
I can’t stand the suspense waiting for Joe to emerge from the basement…hope you sent a camera with him!
Also, I am surprised you found the “sprout” before Jack did … cats just love little things like that!
Have a wonderful day!!
Hi Susan,
Having just moved West from all those basements and attics, I am trying to come to terms with the fact that we DON’T have a basement, and might never have one again….I WON’T, I just WON’T…..I CAN’T…..nope…not me….won’t allow it…. (warning…when I get adimant about something like this I am about to change my mind completely….happened with the HATE/FATE of coleus and spiria bedazzling our garden, and now it just might happen with homes w/o basements.
Anyhow, out here in Windy Wyoming I was/am/ might be certain a strong, heavily secured basement would be good policy. Standard Operating Procedure if you would, but no. Only basement I’ve seen are called STORM SHELTERS and there is one at the railroad depot 3 miles away.
Folks out here feel otherwise about their importance. Most homes here are what I consider DOROTHY’S WORST NIGHTMARE. Her and Toto’s house landed steadfast and strong after a big blow, but would she have had the ride of her life if she had been in the basement? Probably not.
So, here I am not knowing where I stand in this desert of beautiful snow. I learned something new last night: Wyoming wind can do a nasty number on electricity and owning your own portable generator is handy….Now, we just have to figure out where to store it.—garage…..barn……basement….man cave’s all the same but which will we land on when our home stops swirling? We can only guess. For sure, I hope there are no ruby slippers hanging out near the foundation!
Best wishes,
Jena
Grasslands of Wyoming
(Presently covered with snow snakes blowing around on the road and slippery desert soil.)
Sounds lovely Jena 🙂 Love Dorothy’s Worst Nightmare! LOL!
C0ming fron western N.Y. very few houses have NO basement. They run from very old to new builds, most are water proofed and used as added living quarters. Dampness brings mold, cold and spooky things, but well done and taken care make great family play spots.[still love old houses and their history as long as the basement is redone]. What did Joe find? Can’t wait for real spring it’s been a crazy winter for us,we should have had 70some in. of snow by now and only had 30 some,hope the boom does’t drop.Love your blog, Thanks makes my day!!! Flo from Lancaster, N.Y.
I am dying to know, what is going on in the basement with the plant? Please tell.
I am loving the spring weather, but missing the winter snow. It feels like early April and it’s only February.
Tricia
Bolton, Mass.
Because of you dear one, I have started combing the local antique stores looking for some vintage tea dishes and have fallen in love with your Rose Chintz. I’ve always been drawn to lovely dishes. In my searching I found a Japanese ironstone pattern by Nikko called Ming Tree in blue on white, so lovely! Started with the creamer and just found 4 cups/saucers to match yesterday! My Hubby thinks I’m mad for dishes… he knows me well! So far only found 2 Rose Chintz salad plates but they are even more lovely in hand. So yes, I’m up for the drawing!
My favorite bloom is our jasmine vine growing at both ends of the yard. They were swollen with buds a few week ago, and now are blooming & filling the air with their distinctive heavy, sweet smell. Oh, the scent on the breeze is intoxicating! Flowers are the diamonds of nature. Thank you for your inspiration on all things cozy & homey.
From Lemon Grove (in the heart of San Diego, CA).
Must be beautiful there today! Good day to go antiquing!
Our mudroom/laundry room has a floor door to a basement/cellar it was once an old school house and the foundation of rocks is still there and I cant stand going down there . It has a small concrete floor for the furnice and water tank but thats it the rest of the cellar is dirt . Havent had plants poking up from the floor as of yet but never say never . Our farm house was built in 1895 the school house was built in the earlier 1800s . There is histroy wiht in this house and thats just one of the things I love about it ! Some of my indoor plants are blooming and outside my Daffodils and Hyasinths are poking above ground WOOHOO !!!!Awesome post and photos of spring ! Have a great day !
Never say never! xoxo
Our basement was a finished one with paneling and furniture and where I watched scary tv shows when I was growing up. Many a time I’ve thought someone was coming in the basement door after a scary movie, and I’d run as fast as I could up those steep steps. After marriage and children, my parents would have us sleep in the basement and a crib set up there for the little ones when we came back home to visit. Of course, being the brave mama I would assure them that there was nothing to be afraid of in those dark corners…knowing full well that I was remembering the same thing in past years!
I LOVE the evidence of spring….creeping up in your home…something’s in that basement! LOL! ~ Deb from the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia
Don’t tease with that camelia blossom! It’s still well and truly winter up here in Vermont, although I admit it’s been an easy one so far. Still, it’s going to be a while before I see anything bloom. The other California winter blooming flower that I miss is the daphne. They don’t look like much, but they smell like heaven.
Snowy, northern Vermont
Daphne … mmmmm. Dangerous thought for northern Vermont!
I like to live on the edge! 😉
ha ha ha!
Loved your comments about basements. Norm, too, grew up in Calif. so the idea of basements is foreign to him. I’m not fond of them, either–have creepy thoughts about them EXCEPT in the spring when “tornado season” gives the basement a very different feel. Then I work at making a small space that is a somewhat nice place to go to spend some time when the tornado sirens are blaring. A space with a couple of “resident” Coleman fluorescent lanterns, a good radio with new batteries, a couple of magazines and books, etc. You get the picture. Unfortunately, the “safe place” in our basement is an interior bathroom. There are usually two dog crates stacked in the shower for Fanny and Betti during this season. It is not my favorite space in the house but the safest should we get a direct hit. We actually spent a couple of hours in there with company one spring evening when the weather turned nasty–one of the more “creative entertaining” evenings we’ve had!!! LOL 🙂 Norm told me once, when we were looking at a house and I was reluctant to go check out the basement, “Face it, Pat, we are just not basement type people.” I still am laughing at that one… Meanwhile, the weatherman has predicted a big storm headed our way for Sunday with possible 12″ of snow, depending on where the storm tracks…I’ll believe it when I see it, but wouldn’t mind it one bit! Want spring but still want winter, which we haven’t had yet! Even if the chickadees and cardinals sound like they are singing their spring songs here in the Midwest!
Have a good day! Pat in St. Paul, MN.
That’s what my Mom says….”in our family, we are not basement dwellers”….lol!!
Okay, you are like my girlfriends and I! You get to telling a good story, it changes directions and then you never remember to tell “the rest of the story”! What was growing in your basement?
I know, that’s exactly what happened! I still don’t know, I have to go ask Joe . . . he’s upstairs in the back of the house, I’m going now!
What a find!–A sign of spring, and you didn’t even have to go out your door. 🙂
Too bad it can’t stay–with a trellis, it would be a real conversation piece. (guess it already is-grin)
I didn’t even know what a basement was, until I moved here, from Derby, England!, let alone that people might make rooms down there and sit in them! We had cellars but you didn’t go into one unless you had a death wish. Now I’m in Algonquin, IL…and we have a basement but it’s not for ladies ~( Ladies who do tea!) We prefer the lounge, by the fire, or the patio on lovely days! Ah yes……’twill soon be Spring here as well! I can hardly wait….
Your writings are the highlight of my day….thanks so very much.
No basements in San Diego unless you live high above the waterline. Always wanted one. Can’t wait to see what Joe finds in the basement. Love those cups & saucers.
Oh my! SPRING! I can’t wait!!!! We woke up to about 4 – 6 inches of snow this morning – enough to shovel – AGAIN! It’s cozy but I’m admiring your spring flowers. Geez, they’re even growing in your house – hahahahah! I’m thinking daffodils and tulips will be very much appreciated when they finally arrive! BTW – when we lived in our 100 year old house in MN – we had a “cellar”. I learned quickly the difference between a basement and a cellar. I much prefer a tidy, clean basement over a spooky, scary, cobwebby cellar (sp???) ! I don’t think I’d like being in yours – even in a hurricane!!!!! 🙂 🙂 🙂 Ackkkkkk!
Forgot to say – speaking of hurricanes – we had winds of 88 MPH yesterday. Windy all day long! Blew over several trucks and telephone poles!!!! Don’t have to be near an ocean to get hurricanes!!!!
Yikes!
I’m so happy you’ve asked us to say where we’re writing from! It’s amazing how easy it is for us to communicate with each other from all over the world. Technology is a wonderful thing! Frustrating at times, but wonderful just the same! 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what Joe’s found in the basement. Hope it’s not too much work for him to get it under control! 😉 Bye for now!
Hello Susan, I have just “found” your blog, and I’m hooked!! I signed up yesterday for your newsletter…which I’ve just read…..wonderful!
My name is Gill, and I live in North Devon UK. I am 3 miles from the sea, and Live in a Lovely village. We have many thatched cottages,winding lanes with high hedges and rolling green fields here.
I’m so glad you enjoyed your visit to the UK.
I’ve had my atlas out to see just where you live; it looks a super island, and who knows…..one day….maybe!!
Hope this is the first of many “letters” we will share.
Spring is well on its way here too.My garden has daffodils flowering since early January; Camelias just bursting into life, and best of all …..the days are getting longer.
Take care and look forward to “speaking” again
Gill xx
Hello Gill, so nice to meet you! Sounds like a beautiful day over there!
Da Spring is Sprung
Da Grass is Riz
I wonder where da boidy is (boidy = bird)
da boid is on the wing
But that’s absurd . . da wing is on da bird . . .
I love listening to your choices of musica as I read your beautiful words and passages of prose . . but as I read on today I began thinking Triffids! eeeek!
Cellars (aka basements) and attics hold no attraction for me either, mainly as they are home to //V\\ (spiders) and I am severely arachnaphobic . . did we ever find out what the plant is?
Wishing you a wonderful, fun filled day of musica as you teach the world to sing in perfect harmony (perfect harmony) la la la la la la la la la la la la la la . . that is me singing along from wild, wet, windy, wonderful west Wales! I don’t know why, but each time I read your blog I always come away singing a little song for the rest of the day!
I really do like that Deborah!
My grandmother was born in Llandudno…anywhere near you? I was there some 40 years ago…lovely beach community.
Hi Susan, thanks for sharing all your thoughts, ideas, etc…
What happened finally in the basement? Did he find a whole secret garden down there? How come that little plant came thru the floor? I’m so curious, sorry for asking so many things.
Marcela, born in Colombia(South America), living and commenting from Antwerp (Belgium)
A true Continental, nice to hear from Marcela, I’m going to check on Joe in just a moment!
Wow — how long have you been living in Belgium? We spent five years in Limbourg Province and found it WONDERFUL and though of course home is always HOME, second homes can become beloved and be missed very much once one is no longer there.
I love your web site. My artistic talent is of the appreciating variety. I bought my first house (cute little thing, built in 1939) last year and am trying to learn how to do all the stuff that goes with that, like gardening. Why can’t we just grow weeds, they’re green and they don’t need much water, very drought tolerant and they, you know, grow like weeds?
Rebecca L. from Riverside, CA
A new old house, how fun!
Hey there! Your little sprout reminded me of Bailey White’s story of “Meals On Wheels” – (her beloved holiday story) where there is a morning glory growing in the main character’s Ida’s home. Lori from Prescott, AZ (just over the hill from your Daddy!)
Yikes! a basement with a dirt floor??? I can’t even imagine that!! Have always lived in homes with finished basements. A dirt floor means critters and bugs to me and that would scare me enough to NEVER want to go down there either. What did Joe find in the basement after having found that sprout (yikes) in your hallway??
I guess I’m just not a romantic to enjoy seeing a seedling sprouting inside my house, from the floor no less, that wasn’t in a planter. I prefer spring to sprout outside, please and thankyouverymuch… 🙂
To be honest, as a homeschooling mother, I have a tendency to grab the camera and the kids and study things like this 😉 But now I am dying to know what is going on in your basement! I would love a basement- firstly because then I’d have storage and secondly because then I would have a place for the kids to try and tear up without wrecking the rest of the house 😉
Here it is beautiful- sunny and warm. The birds are singing away, and I caught a glimpse of magnolia blooms on my neighbour’s tree. We have had violet and speedwell blooms for weeks (and the snow doesn’t seem to have hurt them) and daffodils are blooming all over the place!
Rachel in central Virginia 🙂
Can you believe this great weather here in Northern California, we are having another 75 degree day:) I mowed the lawn yesterday! and it looks green and beautiful. I’ve got bulbs blooming and humming birds are coming each afternoon. I have got to get the feeder loaded up for my favorite birds. My kids love to sit and watch them too.
Yeah for spring!
Well…I love all the seasons…winter included but I think I am moving into full spring mode…I am going to start some lettuce seeds today!!! I still have one tree of Christmas lights outside just In case we get that last storm!!!! I love the old colored lights when it snows As for basements…..creepy….always creepy to me…and always will be…I have one and I have to talk to myself every time I am in it!!!!!!!!
I just love the fact that on a blog you have friends all over the world…I just got a follower from Turkey!!!! I am not going to be one of your far away followers as I am just over the bridge a ways…..marshfield Ma. …….but it is beautiful here!! And I love it and I get to visit that wonderful Island several times a year…we were married in menemsha 20 years ago!!!
LOL! I thought I was the only one! Nice place to get married Miss Holly!
That is WILD!!! But having been raised in old houses, I am not surprised! Kind of cute to though, wouldn’t it be great it it had a flower on it?! (UTAH) ;D
I sort of want to wait for it, but I really do think it’s ivy!
Hi Susan~
I think your basement looks fascinating!
I never had a basement myself until I bought the house I’m in now- it was built in 1926. Believe it or not, basement (along with fireplace) was the top priority when looking to buy. The main reason- children. After spending four years cooped up in 800 sq feet with two young boys I needed SPACE! We bought our house (7 years ago) partly because the basement is completely open, partially finished (all smooth, painted concrete) and 1,000 indestructible sq feet of boy-land. I love it. Especially because I can store all sorts of things down there- as long as they can get down the narrow stairs, mind you. 🙂 We even have our television down there so upstairs remains free from that distraction. Having a basement is wonderful (except for the occasional leaks of course!) A dream come true.
Those camellias are stunning- I absolutely love camellias. Haven’t had any luck growing my own yet though. But all my neighbors have, so I’ll just continue to enjoy theirs. Have a happy day, and may Joe not be swallowed up by giant plants or you may never come to love your basement! 😉
~ Jennie, Vancouver, Washington~
🙂
Our basement is pretty dingy with a crumbling cement floor, so I don’t like going down there very much. But I do like having the space for storage, and my washer and freezer are down there so I do have to visit regularly. At least the access is from the mud room, so I don’t have to go out in the wind and snow to get there. Speaking of which, it is snowing like crazy here today, so instead of spring cleaning, going to be sitting by the wood stove catching up on some magazine reading. I love home and gardening magazines, (it’s actually an addiction I’m afraid) so I can have trouble keeping up with them.
Sitting by the fire with tea and honey in Pueblo, Colorado.
I don’t know why I ever waited so long to ask where everyone is, there you are, in Pueblo, with tea and it’s snowing!
New girlfriend here posting from Clovis, California, in the Central Valley, where there are no scary basements. It is sunny today, blue skies, should be about 70 degrees, and the tulip magnolia that faces my house is gorgeous! I so enjoy your blog…it is such a “feel good” site and I look forward to what’s going on at your house each day. Special thanks for your cute apron pattern which I just made and love how it turned out. Love your Jack videos (I really like cats!). I envy you your closeness to the ocean…takes me two hours to get there. I hope you have a wonderful day today!
You too Dot!
When I am feeling especially stressed I always go to your website for a ‘quick pick-me-up’! I grew up in an old house with a basement that was alternately fun or scary. On hot, summer Oklahoma days the cool basement was a wonderful spot to escape the heat and play. Of course, having an ornery older brother, there were times when he made sure it was a scary place–I can still hear his laughter when my eyes would grow huge with fright and I’d run up the stairs to ‘safety’. My parents are long gone but the memories linger, especially when I read your posts. Thank you for being such a wonderful ‘prescription’ in many of our lives.
hailing from the heart of Native America – Oklahoma! Susan, my women’s group at my church is throwing a tea party for our sister-friends in our community, based on your book Girlfriends Forever. We are starting by visiting a tea room this Saturday to see how it’s done properly (actually, just another reason to party and eat!), then will be throwing our soiree in April. Fun times shall be had by all – now I’m on a search to find teacups just like yours. Our “registration fee” is a teacup and saucer, which we are going to exchange in a white elephant/dirty santa kind of way. Wish you could be here with us!
Now I have to go outside and smell the earth, to remind me of your basement… 🙂
OH how fun! I like the way you do your research!
Love reading your blog and all the GF comments. I live in Valencia, CA….you know, Six Flags Magic Mountain? It used to be the only reason people from “The Valley” came way out here, but now we actually LIVE here! I grew up in an old house in upstate NY (till I was 12) with one of those basements and I think was only in it once or twice. I never saw my mom go down there. Only my dad when he had to check the furnace.
Love the camellias, so beautiful!
The first time I saw Valencia, the Valley was way far away and the hillsides had perfect rows of Valencia oranges!
oh how I miss camellias! I grew up in Georgia, and they do bloom there December-February, but not in Wyoming where I’m currently living. They don’t grow here at all 🙁 thank you for sharing!
Growth from outside plane roots that surfaced in dirt floor of basement seeking LIGHT more than likely –no big problem to whack the offending root and pullout the unwanted growth –possibly putty / silicone the space and viola -home basement creeper gone !
My brilliant father can diagnose from a photo in case anyone needs help!! xoxo
You left me hangin’! What happened with the wayward plant?
I have to get Joe to go take pictures, because I don’t really know yet!
That’s “plant roots”
I am from Orange County, Ca and was recently introduced to your extremely fun blog and website! I too LOVE everything New England. I adore the old, gorgeous homes that have wonderful stories to tell, like yours. Too bad there aren’t many houses like that around here to buy, but I’m always on the lookout for one. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about your basement today and what it looks like because like you, I have not grown up with one, but am very intrigued by them; along with attics too! Thank you for allowing me to get a peek into your lovely home!
Hi Sarah!
Oh my goodness! That plant through the floor is just too funny. Be safe down there Joe. I’m with you Susan – the basement where I grew up was a scary place. I held my breath every time I had to go down there to get my bicycle.
Lori from Cape May, NJ currently in Tempe, AZ
Growing up in Northwestern Wyoming all the houses had basements. My sister and I had lovely bedrooms with tiny windows – cool in the hot summer and sort of warm in winter! The windows were at ground level so interesting view. The laundry room was there too – not as cozy as the bedrooms! Moving to California was a shock – especially having the laundry in the garage! Made my husband lay down peel & stick tile around the laundry area in our first house! Now we have indoor laundry downstairs in this house. Which is a luxury to me!
Wondering how plentiful the lilacs and peony season will be considering how warm most of the country has been (except Washington state & Oregon) since those plants need certain amount of freezing weather!
The last of our daffodils are blooming along with the freesias. The paperwhites lasted from November thru January this year which was a treat!
Cheers from San Pedro Ca (our house is 5 minutes from Trump Golf Course and 15 minutes from LA Harbor – view of Catalina Island from most of the house!)
I was born in Long Beach, so I can picture where you are, so pretty there! My mom lives in Seal Beach!
Love Seal Beach! Just a hop over the bridge, drive thru the LA /Long Beach Port, hop on the 710 to 405 and you’re there – although more challenging with all the freeway “remodeling” on the 405 & 22 in that area. So PCH is the best way to visit Seal Beach for next couple of years!
With just buying a house, when I scrolled down and saw what was growing, I gasped then howled with laughter. Trying to fix up a house that the previous owners didn’t, has been one of the most overwhelming tasks I think I have ever done. (and I fought to live five years ago!!) I don’t have a “Joe” as my Joe is in Germany and he isn’t a handy man, unless you need something done to a computer etc. I have found myself in tears over the roof, that has a quilt patch going on from replacing so many shingles, painting the cedar siding, gutters that all leak where they are not supposed too, and old rickety fence that needs to be replaced, lots and lots and lot of yard work and now I am finding things that I didn’t see when we bought it and the inspector missed too. So in spite of my migraine today and the bucketful of tears in the past few days trying to find a decent handyman etc., your post just so lifted my spirits! Now I don’t feel so bad about it all I guess, but still praying for “Joe” to help me with all of this! LOL!! Someone I can trust as the last contractor here, well, he took the money, didn’t finish and is gone! Thanks for being there Mz. Susan! I so needed this today! Love you and Joe and the kids!
We could work out a momentary trade as I could really use a computer wizard around here! 🙂
Spring is already on it’s way here in Los Angeles – Yeah! ♥
Thank you for the post today on my birthday. It feels ‘s great getting it for my present.
Happy Birthday Rosarito!
Joe & the Beanstock, hope he made it safely out of the basement! Cracked (haha) me up – sprouts in the house – happy Spring! Gotta run help Don pick camellias (loved seeing your blooms in your kitchen!) to refrigerate for the Sat show in Santa Clara! We LooooVE camellias, such beautiful color in the winter (although it’s not very wintery here this year)! Then, we get to celebrate our 48th Anniversary today – I have to keep saying it, can’t believe it! Maybe we’ll go buy more camellias! Love your blog & the comments! ♥ from Carmichael (near Sacramento) CA
Love your blog, did I say that before? yes! but i love your blog!
I live in an old orange grove house in So. Cal and have a basement! Ours has Lionel trains and some storage! Concrete walls and floors but open to underneath the house! It is my husbands domain but the Grands love to go with him to play trains!
Covina, CA
I LOVE knowing where everyone is from! Loving it!
Ooooooo I love the cups. I can see them now shining out from my China cabinet. 🙂
In our house the basement is my domain. It is cold wet, dark and dank. I keep my paint, tools, Christmas trappings, and furniture restoration projects tucked away. Its also the home of many tiny visitors in Fall. I get the priviledge of being pest control as well as nobody else dares to go down there.
Anywhere you can manage to get your own domain is a good thing!
Hello! From San Diego, California!
Another one of our sunny days, can’t really complain but I would like it to be cooler so we can say we have some kind of seasonal weather!
Question for you, Susan: And I not sure where this came from, but do you know of the book and movie called “The Egg and I”? The movie was especially delightful with Fred McMurray and Claudette Colbert, my Grandma recommended it to me when I was much younger!
Hugs, Cocoa
Darling movie — I think that’s where the idea for the TV show Green Acres came from!
Also the books by Betty McDonald are interesting to read – the hardships of living in the Northwest in 30’s & 40’s if memory serves! Characters of Ma & Pa Kettle also originated from these books!
How you see the world shapes what you can do! In your case, it shapes what you can create and DO create. And, that is LOVE! Thanks for showing us your loving spirit in all you do and say!
xoxo!
I think your house holds so much love and adventure that the green plant wanted to join in the fun…can’t wait to get the whole story after Joe investigates…here in tiny Fergus Falls in western Minnesota it is definitely still winter…a fresh blanket of heavy white snow arrived a few days ago and the “powers that be=weather people” are talking about a major storm this coming Sunday…it has been a mild winter in comparison to last year…glad about that…have always had basements in Michigan, not in Georgia when we lived in Savannah…we do not have a basement at our 106 year old cottage in Harbor Springs Michigan because the house use to have parts of big trees holding it up…that has been changed to cement posts…you can walk under the cottage where the floor is squishy dirt because of all the natural springs~hence the name Harbor Springs…lots of critters under there…eek!!!…
:-)!
Spring is definitely in the air today! It’s going to be in the mid 70’s here in North Carolina. Think I’ll put on my flip flops and go get a pedicure… have my toes painted in OPI Dutch Tulip. I’ll check back later today to see the mysterious origin of your little plant. I wouldn’t worry though… I think your beautiful home is just welcoming an early spring in it’s own little way.
Yvonne from just a wee bit outside of Raleigh, NC
Just discovered your blog and spent many hours going back and reading all your wonderful stories. Love them. You are such an inspiration to all.
Avon, Ma
Susan,
I thought we had a lot in common until the plants growing through the floor thing. I don’t have one. I know all about basements, never lived in a house with out one. BuT then up North here near Buffalo NY Its pretty common. Sooo loved your post, but what did Joe find in the basement as to how a plant got from there into the house? Did Joe ever come back up?
Nancy Jo
I’m going to go look now!