It’s a day of “Little Things” around here, making life sweet . . . even better because you are here . . . 

I promised in the new WILLARD I would take you to the water . . . so here we go.  (Willard starts going out Tuesday morning and will continue through late afternoon on Wednesday ~ if you’re signed up for it, watch your email!)

XOXOXOXOXOXO

It started out so peacefully, the little lapping of the water on the very edge of Martha’s Vineyard, and then, here comes my guy the photo stylist.  Which reminds me, while we’re at it, I should show you another of Joe’s amazing talents.  But first, Musica?  Oui!

Because I love to look at my Beatrix Potter figurines every day, I keep them in a precarious position on a narrow shelf above my kitchen sink.  It’s only precarious because that’s where Jack hangs out.  The bird feeders are right outside the windows.

Who me?  I never go there, why would I go there?  I don’t care about birds.  I’m innocent!  Where’s my fair trial?  I need a lawyer.

Here’s my lawyer, Petey!  Tell her Petey. We were together, right?

Uh-huh ~ I think Petey’s face says it all.  Anyway, Jemima Puddle-Duck ended up in the sink.

With a broken neck.  Oh, the anguish.

I took her to Joe for fixing.  And look at that rubber band origami he performed with a toothpick!  My hero!

Could you do this, to hold the glued neck together?  I could never do this. I don’t even like to think about myself doing this.  It would be like dealing with a pile of tangled hangers which is one of my worst nightmares. I would very likely accidentally shoot Jemima across the room.

Note how the rubber band goes around her tail.  This is pure artistry.  It’s so nice to have a man around the house!  Between Joe and I, and each of our talents, we make one entire person.  He reads the map, and I say slow down.  I hold the camera, he throws oyster shells.  Perfect.  Something for everyone.

So we are having company.  Today my girlfriends Elizabeth and Diana will be coming in from California, arriving on the noon boat.  I have flowers to arrange.  There’s a beach party tonight,  and we’re also having our Royal Baby Tea Party on Saturday.   Must hang the bunting, make the cucumber sandwiches!

Talk about two people making one person!  I hope Catherine has the baby soon so we know what we are celebrating (I’m sure she’s hoping the same thing!).  Hope it’s a fat healthy pink baby that looks just like its Grandmama with all the grace of it’s great grammy.  Such a happy time for our lovely Mother Country. ♥

So of course I’ve been getting ready for everything, cleaning house, washing shelves, hanging towels on the line to dry, making delicious carrot salad . . . and my new curtains came.  Aren’t they pretty?

I’d love to show you before and after photos, but “before” would be SO bad, I could never show you ~ they looked like they’d come out of Miss Havisham’s house.   You only get “after” pictures.  (Love Miss Havisham, the character in Dickens Great Expectations, whose expectations were so dashed that time stopped for her while she was dressing for her wedding day when she realized her groom never loved her.  She stopped all the clocks in her house; stayed alone exactly as she was at the moment of discovery, never removing her wedding dress, wearing only one shoe,  leaving the wedding breakfast and cake uneaten on the table, for years.  It was awful.  Her hair, you can imagine; her curtains were hideous. That’s what I call passion. “A woman scorned…”  I could never stay mad that long.  But I do love this woman, for all her faults, how fun she must have been to write!)  My old curtains would have fit perfectly in her house.

 But here are the new ones (that’s a canopy on the poster bed at the top).  Love lace, so light and airy, and these hot summer days, we need all the airy we can get!

I chose the “Ivy” pattern, but there were many beautiful alternatives.  I looked everywhere for lace curtains, and I found lots of them, but my windows are a funny height and everywhere I looked, they came either much too long or much too short, and in this case, I was looking for a little instant gratification that did not include hemming.  I found a lace curtain place that hems them exactly to your measurement!  They were fast, good quality, and inexpensive; I thought you’d like to know.  They’re from a store called Decorating with Lace.   Think “decorating.”  Think “holidays!”

Each time I show pictures of Jack, I’m asked, How’s Girl Kitty?  So here she is, you can see, she is fine, more than fine, perched in the soft spot as a calm little queen should be.  She truly understands the art of “continuous small treats.” ♥

Must go finish washing the dishes for Twine!  And make an Orange Lavender Polenta Cake from our new book (I put the recipe in the WILLARD).  I’ll show you the How-To for this cake in a couple of days.  You will love it.  I’ll take pictures of the Tea Party!

OK, that’s my day of Little Things that Make Life Sweet.  I hope you are making some little things of your own.  I will say hello to the ocean for you tonight, and watch the sun set; I’ll take a deep breath of island air and bury my toes in the sand, and imagine you are feeling it too.

Because it is. xoxo