I HATE COMPUTERS

Imagine you log in to a Live Chat and for some mysterious reason,'acess is denied'. Pretty frustrating, right?

Now imagine the same thing happens when you are the Live Chat's guest and you are one of the two folks who are supposed to be ready to help moderate the chat and answer questions. My ship was sailing and I wasn't on it. XX#&~!@#$%^&*()_+!!

There I was sitting with my Mac, my laptop, my friend's laptop, paint color fans and a few favorite sources of inspiration and for 20 minutes I couldn't get online.
I could read all of the questions coming in ...but I couldn't answer. My office was not a pretty place to be from 11 AM to 11:20! Words that normally don't cross my lips came spewing out.
Then, thanks to the savvy tech crew at The Post, a lifesaver was found, and it worked!
I could publish my answers instead of just thinking about them. It was fun after all.
A great big thank you to everyone who participated in the Washington Post's Live Chat -- and to those who posted, re-posted, re-twitted and spread the word.

There were so many questions and comments that Washington Post editor Liz Seymour couldn't post even half of them in our allotted time!

Please accept my apologies if you were left out. If the Washington Post doesn't mind, I'll try to answer some of the coastal related in future posts.

If you missed the chat and want to read it online the perma-link is:
http://live.washingtonpost.com/home-front-07-08-10.html

For now, I'm going to brew up a pitcher of iced tea and try to stay cool. It's another scorcher here today. I photographed the gull and ship murals at the fabulous train museum in York, England. If anyone knows who painted them please let me know. I'd like to credit their creator.

*** BLOG DU JOUR ***

I'd be remiss if I didn't share this great European ruffled table linens giveaway from Lidy at French Garden House. I know it dilutes MY chance of winning but I owe it to all of you who have been so nice about sharing my recent news. Go ahead and enter, I won't mind a bit.

LET'S CHAT

Tomorrow, I'm going to be the special guest on The Washington Post's Home Front Live Chat (Thursday July 8 at 11 AM.)

Please join editor Liz Seymour and me from 11 to 12 for solutions to your coastal--and other--decorating dilemmas.

http://live.washingtonpost.com/home-front-07-08-10.html

The text of the live discussion will flow into the bottom of each discussion page during its live hour.

You can either click "Refresh" on your browser window or hit "F5" on your keyboard to see new responses.

Make sure you scroll down to see the latest answers.

Please stop by and say Hi.

DELIGHTFUL DOORS

It's almost 6 AM and I woke up over an hour ago to check on all of my chickens.

Today is my birthday but I'm not in a celebrating mood.
Yesterday a critter attacked my chicken coop. I lost one precious 5 week-old chick and another is seriously wounded. One of the senior girl's is also recuperating from a leg problem. My home resembles a veterinary infirmary.

I'm afraid my second sea glass post will have to wait. I haven't received any of the photo's that I wanted to feature. But I hope you'll enjoy a photo gallery of intriguing doors that I snapped on my recent trip to England and Scotland.Now converted to into a chic two-story private home, these iron-embellished doors once opened onto a carriage house that served a gorgeous Georgian city house in the town of Bath.

Stone lions guard the door of Castle Venlaw's North Lodge gatehouse in Peebleshire, Scotland. (more about this venerable castle hotel and its amazing restaurant next week)

Cottage doors are my obsession. In Avebury no two doors are alike. Most are handcrafted.

Many have adorable (and practical) porticos to protect family and friends from the rain.
Nine lite (pane) doors are very popular cottage choices. Some are long and thin.
Others are shorter and wider.
Fan-shaped transoms (called Fanlites in Britain) are de rigeur in upscale abodes.
Antique glass inserts like these bubble transoms come in a pastel rainbow of shades. Did you notice the fairie and mushroom knocker? Mushrooms are a recurring motif in Avebury. I'm not sure why. Does anyone know why?
This old double door has its original stone lintel.
Very few doors are left natural like the two above --most are red, yellow or blue.
Unpainted doors are often found in country settings. This rustic architectural relic is embellished with ancient metal studs and hardware.
In the historic town of Bath, elegance reigns supreme.
Entryways exhibit classic proportions and Roman-inspired details such as columns, pediments and over-the-top stonework.
In Great Britain neo-classic buildings are called Georgian architecture in honor of the kings-- Georges I, II, III and IV-- who ruled when this style came into vogue.
I also photographed this slightly less formal 'Dutch' door in Bath. I love old-fashioned double doors, especially this one which is topped with a stone shelf.
In the medieval town of Lacock, I discovered a random plank Dutch door side by side with a more modern door in a row on of historic townhouses.
One last thought: Doors in Britain can be very bright!