CABIN ON THE WATER

Odd Sources

Tricia Rose — Fri, 18 May 2012 13:36:26 +0000

I am spending white nights mentally building a box bed in the spare room. I loved the one in my grandmother’s house, curtained, and with mysterious spaces below, so cosy and enticing.
The space I have to play with is more than adequate, four feet by ten. There are some ground rules.

The bed must be quite high, and the mattress mustn’t be too thick.

You must be able to lean back against a bolster.

There must be handy shelves and cunning lights, marine cup holders and a special place to put your pen. There must be a spyhole. I suppose in this day and age you need a port for your iPhone, a hook for your headphones.

Though my box bed is designed for one, this is a rule which is easily broken, for it should welcome friends climbing in to join the fun. It should be so warm and comfortable that the open window is shocking and bracing: fresh air intensifies the pleasure.

It is perfectly normal to practice music in a box bed.

You really should not find ancient toffees down the side, but it is part of life.

Do you see the attraction?

Gentleman Jim

Tricia Rose — Wed, 16 May 2012 08:33:42 +0000

I cracked and had him groomed. The grease and filth and dreadlocks were too much for me and I can never get him as beautiful as this when I bathe him myself. This little dog breaks my heart, he is so cheerful and eager and leads such a constrained life. He enjoyed being with other dogs too after so much time alone, when I picked him up he had such a debonair swagger, and a lovely droll gleam in his eye. It may be foolish, but I felt he had his self respect back.

Sleep

Tricia Rose — Sat, 12 May 2012 18:07:32 +0000

Three a.m., a waning moon, and the excitement of the day has caught up with me. A lovely article in Remodelista! We were caught napping rather, so this morning found me taking photos in a hurry while Stefan updated the Rough Linen website – we had done the Summer Covers but not the Simple Pillowslips to go with them.

I spent some time doing brutal gardening to relieve my tenterhooks. Both the old aloe and the may are now history, and my New Dawn has room to breathe and a rich mulch of well-rotted manure, sulphate of potash and compost. The slope looks like a victim of slash and burn, and so do I. There is no point in envying Kelley her blessed green acre, we all work with what we have. I felt I had the most beautiful garden in London and I’m glad I did, but we weren’t on the water then!

Fish and chips to celebrate at our favorite un-smart waterfront, always great fish and colorful clientele. Smart would have been uphill, I’m working this weekend.

Windrush Farm

Tricia Rose — Wed, 09 May 2012 23:58:31 +0000

This is where I hope to be this Sunday, with a picnic and my knitting. Open to any one who loves natural textiles. I have been a couple of times before and loved it, especially petting the lambs (and the dogs!) Thanks to Mimi Luebbermann and Marlie de Swart.
Windrush Farm
2263 Chileno Valley Road
Petaluma, CA. 94952
Tel (707) 775-3390
Sunday May 13
11:00AM – 3:00PM

Life on the Ocean Wave

Tricia Rose — Mon, 07 May 2012 18:31:22 +0000

A most nautical weekend: Saturday shooting Digglers on fabulous Angel Island (the jingle was inside my head all morning)
Then an amazing seven course dinner with friends in San Francisco, culminating in petrale sole en papillote (Stefan was thrilled that he was allowed to keep the scissors!)
And on Sunday we explored the Bay in hedonistic comfort on George’s new boat
I think summer has begun!

Patience

Tricia Rose — Sat, 05 May 2012 06:37:45 +0000

Last night I made the most heavenly barley soup in creation to celebrate the rain, and this morning put out the ham hock for our pet crows – watching them tackle the marrow reminded me they pecked the eyes from dead knights in grim border ballads. They are also comical, and handsome, so I got my camera and waited for them to return.

And waited.

I can see one, way down on the dock

Was there a reason they were wary?

Ticking off the List

Tricia Rose — Thu, 03 May 2012 20:46:20 +0000

taking it for granted already...

The wing chair is finished, ta-da! I found a fault in the fit while I was tucking it all in, and I WILL go back and repair it, promise, but not now. I am barrelling ahead, and the tiny, tiny flaw only I can see can wait a while. I have finer fish to fry.

Do you see the wonderful machete hand-printed tea towel Karen sent me? I love it! She deserves a bread bag! And if you contributed an esoteric fact to the bread bag comments but haven’t sent me your address yet, please do it now: you know who you are.

I decided my decor was just one perilous seashell short of a theme park so I have been culling. Pictures down from walls, trays emptied, bowls put away, baskets hidden. The trim is now complete in my room, the light is wired up (and I’m still alive), chimney swept, and nice men with names like Ulysses have been measuring my floors, before polishing them. No more bright orange varnish!

Then… I stained the legs of my table with vinegar and steel wool, sprayed my beautifully shaped but beige ceiling fan ‘oil-rubbed bronze’(that’s what it says on the can), planted out my tomatoes, uprooted the aloe and liberated a large fire grate from its fibrous roots. I don’t know where the energy came from, but April was also our best month to date for Rough Linen, which makes us very happy. Must be some cosmic influence.

I would like to give thank to wonderful Juana and her daughter Karen. For many years I didn’t have a housekeeper, but since Juana came into my life my house is a miracle of order and sweet-smelling cleanliness which lifts my spirits. They do it far better than I could ever myself, and I am truly grateful, both for their work, and for Juana’s quiet grace and dignity and her beautiful beaming smile.

Satisfaction

Tricia Rose — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 10:52:40 +0000

This morning I replaced the broken LCD in the camera, a delicate business with tweezers and micro-screwdrivers. The part cost $50, so I am well ahead of the $176 Wolf Cameras wanted to charge for a ten minute job.

It works!

We needed the big camera to take photos of the new Summer Covers we are launching in May, preparing for hot weather – though who knows what this summer will be like? We might be huddled in our beds in socks and beanies. It doesn’t feel like it at the moment, with all the windows open and the delicious scents of jasmine and pittisporum tumbling through the house on a rough summer wind. My curtains are dancing.

In preparation for actually finishing the wing chair cover I sprayed the legs matt black, trying not to inhale. It feels almost illicit using spray paints, they are so easy. I have been taking things away from the room one by one, to see if they will be missed, a thoughtful exercise.

I spent a happy evening sewing bread bags, and now need the addresses of those who sent me so many diverse and fascinating factoids. Don’t be shy! You know who you are…

Bread Bag, Part 2

Tricia Rose — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 18:37:50 +0000

The bread bag experiment has been a success, although it doesn’t magically transform a hardened loaf into a crisp, warm scented just-out-of-the-oven experience. Our bread doesn’t hang around since generally we go through a loaf in two days, but it certainly looks better than in a crumpled brown paper bag. I got marmalade on it, but it will wash.

It has all sorts of other uses too of course, and in different sizes (must have one for baguettes). Maybe I should just make a series of them and see how I use them – we always need a bag for pills and potions when we’re travelling, and since we have stopped using plastic bags they are harder to corrall.

What about a giveaway? Leave a comment telling me the kind of bread you like and the most fascinating thing you know, and I shall capriciously send out bread bags until my attention-span runs out. don’t forget to give me your email address, or email me direct, tricia@roughlinen.com.

I think I’m onto something.

[the bread bag giveaway is now just crumbs...thanks to one and all for the odd facts!]

Ned’s Bed

Tricia Rose — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 02:34:37 +0000

I have been spending a fair amount of time plotting my Australian visit next month with my sister – we will be driving up from Sydney to Murwillumbah and she has booked us into her favorite halfway stopover: Ned’s Bed. Do click the link!
We will be travelling with Cairo,
and they have stayed here before and loved it . I am having such fun seeing my visit gain structure: my life is sometimes very satisfying.

My dear school friend in New York sent me this photo of a peacock in flight. I tend to think of them as empty-headed creatures with an irritating call, and this reminds me how beautiful they are, thank you Maryna.

I seem to be melting into soppy bliss tonight so I’ll just enjoy it, the first warm day we have had, cat and dog unusually affectionate and the weekend to come. Pretty good, enjoy it!