It’s wonderful to see a subtle pattern emerge from the stone – one row of large stones, two layers of smaller rocks… The finished wall!! I love it so much! It is truly a Thing of Beauty. Beauty is truth, and truth beauty. What can be more true, more honest, than a stone wall? My…

Moving into a new (dilapidated) house, especially in a new country, can be a bit daunting and can throw us off-balance. I’m keeping close with my loved ones by sending cards and letters every day. It makes me ridiculously happy. I’ve received letters here, too. Seeing familiar handwriting come through the mail slot in the…

I have so much fun sending beautiful old cartes postales to friends and family. It’s a bit of an addiction. Some from 1905, from 1915… My favorites are the ones with old cursive writing and post marks, but these ones that have embossed designs (above) are the most delightful – especially the undersides that are…

OK so I’m generally too laissez-faire with my footwear on a building site ! I’ve already stepped on a nail…but as I was still feeling invincible, I wore my flip flops yesterday. Granted, it was my day to do admin so I was on the phone with utility companies out of harm’s way. By the…

We had no idea that this fireplace has such a wonderfully carved stone mantel. This room hasn’t been used since the early 1930s, and it had been wallpapered 2X by then, so the stone predates that quite a bit. We can’t wait to gently peel back the rest of the art nouveau wallpaper to reveal…

We made it! Our first night sleeping in the house was actually fine! To be clear : we are not moved in yet. We probably won’t move in until late August / early September. The other day when we found out that our airbnb couldn’t accommodate us this week (Aug 6 – 12) we were…