On the stoop yesterday aft, productive day, as the doggo got a walko, and other things I needed to do, and we spent some quality time on the stoop. Watching the world go by, and while there is less of it, or less people, there are people. Actually, more people, but spaced out people throughout that day, going on their daily sanity stroll round the village.

Soaking in the sunshine, that kind of weather makes you feel hopeful. Good to see everyone.

Nice steady stream all afternoon… villagers with their poochies, on bicycles, with strollers, joggers, all keeping their distance, and enjoying the day.

Soothing to see the world go by, together apart.

Every nite at 7:30, sirens start moving down the main drag, and everyone goes out on the sidewalk and claps, honouring those who are essential workers, especially those on the frontline. And I guess too, a reminder, a way to connect with that world outside, together apart as we are.

https://videopress.com/v/R1obdJHx?preloadContent=metadata

So, you know that you and dad generally only saw where I lived either when I was moving in, or moving out? Rarely in-between.

Rural folk, and both you and dad had that in common. Different sides of that 49th divide, but farm families from way back all that way. And, visiting all the way from Dodge {rolling eyes}… well, London might as well have been on the other side of the moon.

Course, preferring to be close to downtown didn’t help either.

I know, I don’t blame ya, no worries. But I was thinkin’ that I come from a family of hermits.

Anywho. Since I’m spending so much time here, been puttering about, moving this, cleaning that, standing and staring, thinking, taking stuff away, putting this here, that there. Ya know. Best past-time to engage in when one is trapped inside for all this time.

All kinds of time to think, stare, wonder, move this here, that there.

Soooo, perhaps a tour, a picture tour of my abode is in order, a walk thru pertaps… from my front door thru to my nook in the kitchen where me and the now teenage ninja daemon weasel spend our time.

Yes, the wee Chi has taken to barking at me, for no good reason I can find. Just yap, yap, yap, bitching I suppose… hard to know, but she’s found her voice, and has been using it… often.

And dear lord have mercy, if I have to throw that goddamn toy of her’s again tonight, holy cow batman. So she’s in the crate, we are having a bit of a time out. Binaural Beats drifting from the speaker, a hush, peace.

One of the coolest things about this place is that it used to be the back kitchen. The house is c1896, built the year before they finished the Normal School, which I think is around the time this village was swallowed up by London.

Now, the general layout of the house itself when it was a family home would have been more or less the same as the Homestead back in Dodge, but larger, 50 years or so newer, and that yellow brick you find all over the county quarried from St. Mary’s.

It’s a bachelor, with one large room with 12 foot ceilings, small bathroom and galley style kitchen.

First thing is that transom. LOVE the transom, and the high ceilings. The transom lets in light at a neat angle, and washes different parts of the room, that orange from a coral in the afternoon, to a deep umber in the evening light.

So because of those orange walls, the high ceilings, as well the furniture I have, well it all really sets a Vintage Boho vibe to me, so I went with Edwardian Beach house for the look I wanted.

That idea gelled a couple of years ago when I found this can of Ultra Marine Blue with a chalk finish down at the Home Hardware – so I marched home and sprayed everything I could.

It gives the rooms a flow, and I’ve woven it somehow in to each space.

THE ENTRYWAY

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I’ve used a couple dividers and that dresser of Great Grandma Calverts with the wavy old mirror to separate the space off.

You’ll note my Rogues Wall I set up with family photos… of course added that Ultra Marine blue.

Still have Fred the Ficus. I’d had him in the kitchen close to me over the winter, but the light changes in the spring, and so I move him out to the main room just before I set him outside in May.

THE BED CHAMBER.

That print on the wall draws your eye, which is actually where I drew the inspiration for the whole beach house idea.

Tim actually hated that print, but I love it. Found it at a garage sale the summer before he died, and it somehow spoke to me.

Probably cause it reminded me of the beaches of Cape Cod, which I probably mentioned, and which is why he probably hated it… since I probably also mentioned to him ol’Roger the dodger and I went there the year after we married.

THE KITCHEN

The kitchen is the only room where I painted the walls, which were I think just some drab yucky white. I choose this very pale minty green, which I’ve wanted to use somewhere for decades… carried that little paint chip around forever. It doesn’t compete with the orange, its complimentary, and gives this fresh and inspiring feel to the room… which I think is a good trait for a kitchen colour.

So, one side of the galley kitchen is the kitchen part, and other end my sitting nook, and is where I spend most of my time.

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Again, I love the way the colour changes subtly, depending on time of day, and whether the main light is on, or just the little funky plant light I use to keep my plants alive in that otherwise cold north facing room.

See the Tiffany style lamp shade? That thing is solid glass… and looks like it is hand done stained-glass – Tim found it at a garage sale.

I had it for a few years, but last year I took a little Bluetooth speaker and used it as a kind of speaker amplifier. Found that when I set the little speaker in the sound was louder, and it sounded better… directs the sound more I suppose… plus it suits the vibe of the room.

The cabinet on the wall is my tea cabinet… Tim find. We came across it lying on the banks of the Thames river beneath the old Vic. Think it must have been maybe used for medicine or something. No clue. But it has neat hinges and matches the wood of the Hoosier Cabinet.

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Note the Eastlake velvet settee of Grandma’s. You know, this is the first place I’ve had that thing where it actually suited the space. I was iffy about it here, but once I got this room all put together, well, now I can’t imagine anything else, it really fitted the vibe… you know, that Vintage Boho thang I like.

Plus, it must be about 1920s or so I guess? I think the Hoosier is alittle older, but all suited to the Early 1900s beach house style I’m going for.

This room is like my little indoor garden. The green is a soothing tone, and the plants, with beautiful light streaming in that window… so zen… and lord knows, I often lately really need that.

Makes me feel more creative, and I can just sit here and stare at the light, admiring the streams and how they play with the colours, leaving the main light off to get the full effect during the day. It’s a calm space for intimate chats with friends.

THE BATHROOM

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With the bathroom I went with the style of an Edwardian Beach Hut. Looked online and found pics of these cool huts from Britain… so that was my inspiration.

You see the photo on the wall… recognize that? Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. Took that photo on that last trip we went on together down to North Carolina with ol’Roger the dodger.

The case I have on the toilet I put my makeup in…what of it I still have… is actually made by the same company that made Grandmas… and so I’ve started a collection.

Well, looks like wee Pika is ready to rumble. She’s been on a rip lately. Very barky and bratty.

Em, and you’ll note the weird pillow arrangement on my bed? Ya, that’s because I have to barricade it during the day, or she’ll go up their and pee, or try to destroy something… cause she’s an asshole.

She knows I’m talking bout her when I say it too.

No idea why she does that, but Sandy, who has her sister, says Rosy does it … soooo… a Chihuahua thang? Or, they’re both just assholes. Rosy is not a litter mate sister, but, still.

She just figured out how to get her favourite toy to squeak… that should keep her busy for a while.

Ok, so that’s the tour. Should take her for a walk, write more this week.

Love,
paula