You’ve probably heard that when the going gets tough, the tough go shopping, and since it has been very tough to set a pretty table on my deck, or under my pink tree, or down on the lower deck, I decided to brave my driveway (it’s somewhere under that snow) and take my MacKenzie-Childs Traveling Tote, Miss Posie, shopping. I’m a…
’Twas the month before Christmas, and all through the towns, The Traveling Totes were making the rounds. Miss Poppy, Miss Posie, Miss Rosie and Dot Each had an outing to a favorite spot. ************************************************ Miss Rosie was nestled away for the fall but she sprang from her wrappings at my frantic call! She was already dressed in her handles of…
Welcome to the ongoing adventures of the Traveling Totes! You may be expecting Miss Rosie to join us on our adventures today, but she has gone into hibernation for the cold months and will return in the spring, sporting her pretty green handles. But don’t worry! I am truly a bag lady, and I have the perfect tote for every…
This month the Ladies of the Traveling Totes are taking us all, totes in hand, to see what kind of fun we can have in a park! Can you guess that this was my idea? If you have read my blog in the past you have traveled with me to several local, state and national parks, so you know I am…
The peaceful northwestern corner of Connecticut is home to many secret gardens and beautiful homes, including several whose owners generously open gates and doors to the drooling public for the benefit of various charities. Fifteen years ago Bunny Williams held a garden open house, and its success inspired an annual tradition known today as Trade Secrets, a two day event which…
A Year in Provence — what a wonderful idea. I’m not sure how I would manage to get you all over there, together with my books and all our picnic goodies, however, so instead I’ll share our recent picnic inspired by Picnics in Provence. Just up the road from us is Weir Farm NHS, once the home of the American painter J. Alden…
Towering over my small table on the back deck is a glorious tree. For a few weeks each spring it bursts into blossom, and sunlight streaming through the petals casts a pink glow on everything around. From our two rear bedroom windows on the second floor we see this every morning. Sitting underneath the spreading boughs I can drift away…
When I think of TARTAN I think warm colors and woven woolens. The kind of fabric that can keep you warm in the cold Scottish winters. (And summers.) And like any good New England family, we have a large supply of cozy tartans in the form of scarves, flannel shirts, pjs, robes and certain other men’s undergarments. None of which you…
“If you don’t like the weather in New England, wait and it will change.” This year, in the strangest ways. In August, Hurricane Irene blew through, taking down one of my favorite backyard trees. It was huge with pink spring flowers and deep plum leaves. For days afterward, birds fluttered around the fallen limbs, as confused as I was mournful. …