Thank you for finding That Old House amidst the chaos of the Internet. We are delighted that you are here.

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Look Backward, April

Sunday.
Howard and I are home today, doing some fiddly house things.
The windows are open; it's lovely to have fresh air
breezing through That Old House.

As we lingered over coffee late this morning, I noticed that one of our lilac trees is just about popped.
I can't wait to bring in armloads of soft, airy, fragrant lilacs.

I wrote this post, below, about two years ago.
Here it is, again, as this lazy lady's Sunday re-run.

***********************************
(From April 27, 2010) -- Who can resist chopping off some lilac limbs
and bringing them inside to enjoy their heady fragrance and simple, artless grace?

They arrange themselves, the little darlings.  A pile of this --



-- trimmed of its lower leaves and plopped in a vessel --
drapes itself artistically in graceful swoops, and does this:

Pair lilacs with a bit of old handmade lace, a classic Staffordshire china dog
(a recent garage sale find), a tiny portrait of a child and her Cavalier King Charles Spaniel,
and an ironstone plate piled with grapes and strawberries  . . . .

And your Tabletop just says, "Spring!"


**************************************
Now, a question:  Do you have Sweet Spots in your house?
Places where you love to set for awhile, because you like what you see; you like the view?
It just plain makes you happy?

One of my favorite Sweet Spots in That Old House is in our Parlor.
This room is far from finished -- no permanent rug, almost no artwork, furniture layout in constant flux,
but from my favorite seat in the wing chair to the left of the fireplace, I just never get tired of seeing this:


I love looking out of the doorway, to the front hall -- the newel post, the stairs that have felt the tread of feet for 180 years, the goofy old brass switch plate with the embossed eagle, the wide board floors . . . .
I look to my left, I see the fireplace:

The other wing chair:

And a peek into the dining room, where the clean plates from the most recent dinner party (in this case, the past evening's gathering of ten) are often waiting on the sideboard, all ready to be put away:


What are the Sweet Spots in your house?

***********************************************************************************
I hope you enjoyed this glimpse back at April 2010;
not much changes here at That Old House, does it?
Within a few days we'll once again have lilacs spilling out of vases, 
scenting our home and making us smile.
Enjoy your own favorite Spring things!  -- Cass

5 comments:

  1. Okay... You are the third blog I have read today with photos of lilacs. I hate all of you. LOL I WANT LILACS IN A VASE TOO!! They're gorgeous, and I noticed that you have a new photo of your house on your header.. Nice!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh I wish we could transport lilacs down here to the south. Or at least the scent. One of my most favorite of spring ! I enjoyed your sweet spot view,so similar to mine in many ways, including the blue chair we sharein common. Maybe you were witting in the other you have the pair.

    ReplyDelete
  3. My goodness, you do live in a fine looking house. I just love the 'oldies' when they are well maintained and HUGE. Lilacs are a thing of beauty. My 'sweet spot' in this house is anywhere, sitting back with the layout and picture of the house I am hopefully about to have built. I'm looking forward to a new house on a bit of land that I can fill with old stuff. :) Hugs, Deb

    ReplyDelete
  4. You have a new banner picture!! I love it! It almost looks like a different house!

    Love your lilacs, I really have to plant some...I say that every year. I just love the smell!

    Your parlor looks like a very comfortable place to relax in. We have a den that has never been completely finished, yet I love to spend time in it dreaming of all the possibilities!

    Have a great week! :)

    XO,
    Jane

    ReplyDelete
  5. The aroma is leaping out to me ;0) Lovely....just lovely! (((hugs)))Pat

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for visiting That Old House; it's always exciting to find new comments -- they are treasured! Because of increasing spam, I have reluctantly eliminated "Anonymous" commenting. Legitimate anonymous commenters, please forgive me! You might try using "Open ID" instead. Blogger's spam software worked for a good long time, but, sadly, no longer.