Tearing up the house...

We have finally started.  They begin to tear up the carpet and find hardwood floors where I was told there were none. Surprise. I am afraid there are more to come. Hopefully they will be good surprises. In the background is Rick the tile guy. He is standing in part of my kitchen.

Here is the stairway off the family room/kitchen that leads downstairs to my Studio, the workroom and workshop, bathroom, large closet/storage room and garage. I am having them tile the bottom of the stair and pull off all this carpet. We kept out fingers crossed and Yes! there are beautiful hardwoods under the carpet. I can not wait to get rid of all of this carpet. It is so disgusting. Dirty, old, and attracts all sorts of grime. I have vowed not to have any carpet in my new house. Today it all goes!

Here is where the old kitchen met the family room. Sometime in the early 80's they tore that kitchen out, added a laundry area and built a new kitchen. Rather than deal with the floor they carpeted over everything and added some linoleum to the new kitchen. It is a hodgepodge of materials. It is time to create one space with one type of flooring.

Here is the fireplace in what was the family room soon to be part of my kitchen. I am going to put my table there in front of the fireplace. I want to have wonderful meals with friends and family in front of the fire.

The new sub flooring is in. This morning they started on the tile.  It should tie these two room into just one large space. When they finish with the tile floor the new counter tops, sink, cook top, lights, and bar stool area should be ready to be installed. I love the huge floor to ceiling window in my kitchen. My plants will go there on a lovely table.I have several bird feeders in storage that will look lovely out that window.

Thought I would share what I have been preparing for the past few weeks. I have been looking at flooring,lights, counter tops, cook tops, window blinds, upholstery material, the list goes on and on. Until the kitchen flooring is installed I have been at a wall. I cannot set up any of my rooms till I get all the extra furniture, boxes, etc. out of the way. My kitchen table is in my living room, etc... The furniture is being reupholstered while the floor is being laid. Soon, I can really set up house and get everything out of storage. It is a long journey. The great news is the weather has been fantastic. So warm. It feels like spring. I have bulbs coming up. I have no idea what they are going to be, but they are mine and I am happy. What is everyone else up to? 

Digital Photograph...Not all who wander...

Quote #7 - Home

Four Letter Words...Home

This week's Freebies ... Boys

Simply darling! Mom has spent a long time getting these boys dressed and their hair combed.



Now these guys look like they are alot of fun. They remind me of my boys getting together. Love the attitudes. I have a couple of chairs like these.





He looks as if he is just now growing in to himself. Love his hat!



Three handsome guys. I love the blanket they are sitting on. This could be one of our family pictures.

I love the little chair with the dog or lion on it. Because he is in black I wonder if this is a funeral picture. They often had the photographer around for funerals and weddings.

Yesterday I took a drive to go visit a couple of my boys and their ladies for dinner. As we finished dinner the waitress told us we had been her "most fun" table all month.  I am taking that as a very big compliment.  When we get together we tend to spend several hours enjoying our food and drink. Several desserts to share usually end the evening.  As I drove home last night I thought about how blessed I am to be able to spend these evenings with my boys. I hope you will find sometime to spend an evening with someone you care about.

Digital Photograph...The Red Barn

Sunday one of my sons and I went to the Pisgah National Forest. It was a beautiful day and the outside was calling us.  On the way home I spotted this little red barn. It reminded me of many red barns I have seen along the way. I hope you enjoy my version of "the red barn'.

A little light in your life...

I have lusted for this lamp ever since I saw it in a magazine. I bought the small version of this light from Ikea.  I had it installed in my studio in my new house.   It makes me happy everytime I see it.



Here is another picture of my large dandelion type light. At night it sends off these delicious shadows that look like flowers.  I adore it. My boys think it is way over the top!



I bought this lamp years ago at a church rummage sale.  It is from Italy and the base is Italian marble, with a brass base.  The lamp is handmade Italian pottery with the most beautiful handmade roses on it.

Here is a closer shot of it.  It is a tall lamp.  I keep it on the dresser in my bedroom.  I love the muted tones of this lamp, the elegant feel to it. It is very understated.

Here is a very close shot of the roses.  Aren't they beautiful? I love that they are lightly tinged with pink.  It is like having roses everyday!

I am slowly but surely getting things rolling in my new house. I have bought new counter tops, a new cook top, a new sofa, replaced most of the light fixtures and door knobs. Painted, painted, and painted. Still have two ceilings to go.  I am putting slate floors in the kitchen and familyroom. Bought fabric for nine chairs to be reupholstered. Lined more drawers, shelves, than I can count. Gone through 24 wardrobe boxes, sorted clothes, taken bags to Goodwill, and to a local consignment store. I figure another two weeks and most of the heavy work will be finished. Knock on wood. It is an adventure. Hope a little light shines on you...

Happy Valentine's Day!

Quote #6...Love is

Birds of Feather...Digital Photograph

Four Letter Words...Love

Around Town...

Thought I would share this owl, window, and cross with you.  I spotted this in downtown on one of the lovely old churches here.  I am always amazed at what you can see if you just look up.  Try it for a few days and see what I mean.

Living in the Mountains...

It has been almost two weeks since I left D.C. for my home in the mountains. I can hardly believe it. Yesterday as I ran a bunch of errands I thought to myself how lucky I am to live here. Every place has a view. Every day the mountains look different. Coming out of Barnes and Nobles yesterday I stopped and was overwhelmed by the contrast of the mountains and the retail stores.  This man stopped and asked if I was new here. I said yes, he laughed and told me he had been here almost thirty years and was blown away by the views on a daily basis. It never got old for him.  Now I ask you, how nice is that? I have found the people who live here want to be here.  It certainly makes them a lot happier. I hope you are having a "happy day".

Some Valentine Freebies for You...

Valentine's Day is just around the corner. I thought I would share some of my favorite postcard artist's work with you.  I love Ellen Hattie Clapsaddle's work.  Her children are so cute and sweet.  I think they are how she sort of saw the world - with sweet innocence.  Ellen's story is rather romantic and tragic all rolled into one.  We are so lucky so much of her work was not destroyed during the war. I hope you will enjoy these.

Quote #5...The Heart

Digital Photograph...Restoration Needed

A Rose for You...

Drying Flowers in the Microwave

Flower arrangement from Daddy's Memorial service

Rose Petals on Plate

Theses will be a bit darker when dried

After my Father's Memorial service my sister decided she wanted to save a few of the flowers to remember this life changing event. We decided to do some of the roses that were in the flower arrangememts.  My sister looked up on the internet what we decided was the best way to do this. The microwave. Who knew?

We put the flower petals on a plate, spread them out some,then microwaved in 20 second intervals till they were dried.

They retained their color and smell. I was amazed. A few of the arrangements had minature roses in them so we decided to give them a try. We put them on a plate and did them in 15 second increments. The stems have a lot of water/moisture in them.  They tend to crackle and let off some steam. They also turned out beautifully.

I put mine in a zip loc bag as I was traveling by car.  My sister was traveling by plane so we put hers in a plastic food storage container so they would not be crushed in her suitcase. They all arrived safe and sound. I will be trying this again with my flowers.

Digital Collage...Blackbird



Blackbird

Colors of Home...

I have had several requests to take pictures of my home. As the days go by and I unpack and decorate I will share my new home. Right now we are painting, redoing floors and countertops, replacing lights, hardware, etc. It is generally a mess with little order. Soon though, I hope to have something to show for it all. I have years of collections to unpack - which I come by honestly. Both my Grandmother and Mother are collectors. I only have another 800 or so boxes to go through. Today I thought I would share a picture of one of my Mother's collections. When I walk in the door and see this I get warm inside. It says you are home, all is well.

February Already...Really

I can not believe it is February already. I feel like January was a dream.  I love February. The month of love. Everything is red and lacy, full of chocolate and flowers. Hoping I get everything unpacked and in its place would be nice. Dreaming of taking a little trip to visit friends and family when I am finished with all these boxes. February means just a few more months to Spring...