For many years, I’ve aspired to live in a cottage, which I talked about here. Yesterday, I was sad to hear that Cottage Living magazine is closing up shop — a victim of the economy. I’ve been a subscriber since the first issue appeared in my mailbox four years ago, a freebie because I subscribe to other so-called “shelter” magazines. And I’ve saved every issue — only missing a couple when my subscription got messed up during a move.
Over the years, I’ve lamented the sometimes light-on-content issues and the propensity to feature rooms done or redone by magazine staffers who obviously have the whole design resources of the magazine at their disposal. Country Home magazine has become my favorite for being consistently wonderful. But still, Cottage Living was something I looked forward to and couldn’t bring myself to give up, even as I dropped other subscriptions (e.g., Real Simple, though lovely, was expendable in the name of simplifying; Cooking Light fell by the wayside as it became too much Cooking with 27 Ingredients or Cooking Largely with Ingredients My Husband Won’t Eat). This time, the decision is made for me — and I assume I lose my unfilled subscription dollars too, which really doesn’t seem fair at all.
Coincidentally, I just got a card saying my nephew (via my sister) got me a subscription to Martha Stewart Living, so I’ll get my creative decorating (and inferiority) fix anyway. I subscribed for a year or so many years ago, and decided then it was just too darn intimidating. Now, I think, I’ll just appreciate it for its beauty. As for my cottage dreams…well, I’ll just have to nurture them the old-fashioned way — in my head.
I can envision a small cottage somewhere, with a lot
of writing paper, and a dog, and a fireplace, and
maybe enough money to give myself some Irish coffee
now and then and entertain my two friends.
~ Lt. Richard Van de Geer
Writing by Ear 