Books ... Books ... Books ...

 I am always looking for quotes and this one fits our house perfectly.

I a small house and a large garden have ...

Steve questioned the wording of the quote,

but I pointed out the time period in which Abraham Cowley lived.

Where does one keep books in a small house?

The answer is, anywhere and everywhere -

 if it's a flat surface, there are probably books sitting on it.

I have books on the mantel

 and the window seat ...

on tables ...

and chairs (although that's my Ipad in a case that looks like a book) ...

This little fellow is surrounded by books in the bedroom,

but it's raining and the light is not good for photos in most of our rooms right now.

I counted 35 different spots in the house where books are

stacked in baskets, used in vignettes or lining shelves.

Suffice it say, I think anyone dropping by our house would quickly grasp that we like to read books.

I wonder what Abraham Cowley would think of our little house filled with books.

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Poofing the Pillows for Thoughts of Home on Thursday

French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday

Sun, Sea, Sand & Wildflowers

We walk every single day and we try to "shake it up" a little by walking on different beaches.

Today we headed north to Summerland where there is a large expanse of sand for Lulu to run her little heart out.

But, you can see the effects of El Niño on the beach.

Up and down the coast, boulders long hidden by sand are laid bare.

We began our walk north, but boulders hindered our walking so we turned back south.

What do you think, would you want to spend the weekend at this house on the edge of the cliff?

Now this one is another story.

Can you see the four adirondack chairs lined up ready to watch the sunset?

 I can't see the house, but that arched window is amazing and I imagine that it has a fabulous view.

There are few houses on the bluff, but each one has a spectacular view of the ocean

and it was a gorgeous day after 3 days of rain.

I have shown pictures of buoys hanging on our gate

and we find all of our buoys on the beach, but we left this one behind because it was covered with tar.

We never know what we'll see on Summerland Beach, this pic is from last year, but today was uneventful.

We did find some great sea glass - lately we have been finding aqua glass and I'm always looking for heart shapes.

I had fun taking pictures, but my new camera is too heavy for long walks 

so these were all taken with my small Canon Power Shot D10 underwater camera.

It was a great day - sun, sea, sand and wildflowers!

Fluffing on a rainy day . . .

With spring almost here, it's time for spring cleaning.

and I interspersed my cleaning with a bit of fluffing on this rainy day.

Flowers are my favorite way to fluff, but until the garden is in full bloom, I need the help of Trader Joe's.

One bouquet of asters went far - a few on the mantel,

a few in a bucket and

a big bouquet in the entry.

The bouquet is part of my Easter vignette

complete with chalk eggs in a wire chicken I bought in Tijuana 40 years ago.

Snips of flowers grace old spoons that have been passed down several generations.

 They are engraved with Carl and Bates - quite close to my maiden name - Carol Bates.

I stretch the life of flowers by drying them - the bunny salt and pepper shakers I just received from an Instagram friend Kim of @kimih801 keep the Easter theme going in the entry.

A few wooden and ceramic eggs found their way into the dining room - dried roses and hydrangeas add color to the shelves.

Flowers are all over the living room like these pink flowers I spotted at a vacant house - I just had to snip off a drooping branch .

Daffodils adorn the mantel

 and a bit of greenery

sitting on a scale adds color to a bare corner.

Yesterday, our walk was at Rincon (referred to in Surfin' USA by the Beach Boys) and all the shells and sea glass were found on the beach.

It's pouring down rain as I type this late at night and more rain is expected so it looks like I will be fluffing on a rainy day again tomorrow.

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Poofing the Pillows for Thoughts of Home