Category: Uncategorized

Barn babies

 I went to the barn last night to tend to Opie’s wound…

(you’re welcome) ……
And this is what Opie thought of that…
So when I walked down into the darkened barn and flicked on the light… there were four scurrying creatures underfoot… four adorable baby skunks running for cover. They could fit in my hand.  I turned the light off again and stood still for a few minutes while they ventured back out, playing with each other like kittens.  The bravest started wrestling with another and then backed up to him with tail raised as if to say “back off,  or I’m gonna spray!!”  Really cute, until I realized I was just feet away and if he really WAS gonna spray, I wasn’t going home smelling like roses.  So I flicked the light back on and quickly took these pics with my iphone (sorry for bad image quality)….
I want one!
Three!.. poking their heads out of their current home the shavings pallets..

Happy Hour

 Last night the guy and I went to my favorite mexican restaurant to decompress.  I needed decompressing, you see… because this week has been less than joyful due to the still-unpacking nature of things at This Old House plus the financial stress of still owning two mortgages, my back went out,  the camp schedule for the manchild and  my back went out, my work schedule thankfully still part time, (my back!)  and the three times daily cleansing of the horses GAPING CHEST WOUND schedule.   

My charming little quarter horse thought he might try on a fence post as, oh.. I don’t know… a chest piercing maybe?…  and he learned it hurts alot and bleeds profusely too!!… plus there’s the gaping hole that remains, minor detail.  Kinda like those holes left by the (what do you call them) … pegs?  you see people wearing now and then in their ears.  I’ve always wondered what happens with those holes when they get tired of wearing the big round peg things.  Do they close back up or is surgery needed to repair the earlobe?  Anyone know? Just wondering.

  Anyway… I had my favorite things (cheese enchiladas with a big bowl of fresh quacamole and if you don’t recognize that drink, you’ve been missing out on something really good). …. in an atmosphere I just love.  The buzz was a necessary evil at the end of a hectic day…. it was truly a happy hour.

 
    

Master Bath

 Moving along… the master bathroom is unpacked and decorated with things from our previous house…..  I’m not showing you the toilet,   (it’s now stuck in that little cubby hole on the left next to the shower)    because it’s just a toilet and I haven’t found the right “stuff” to put over it or on it or even near it besides the toilet paper, and that’s just tacky…SO..

The cabinet to the left  in the picture below and the vanity cabinet under the mirrors were made by a local man with a great talent for making furniture out of old barn wood and material taken from houses, hotels, barns, etc.   His son  works mostly with new cabinetry, but Art adds the whimsy with layers of paint, old beadboard, knobs, hardware, etc…   For those of you who are local, you will recognize his pieces in my shop. You could say his furniture is “green”, or eco-friendly because it is recycled material.
It’s hard to tell from these photos, but there are several layers of paint, several colors intertwined.. a green/grey moss color as well as a deep maroon,  more obvious in person.  The cabinet doors are old windows.
We live about five miles from the shoreline, but one of my great loves is the seashore. I always do some decorating with shells, even in this old farm house.   Someday if I find just the right really cheap fixer upper beach cottage….
I found this glass bowl at Homegoods… and even though I’m practically chanting “less is more” lately….  I couldn’t walk away from it,  it was just $12!
Shower with pebbles… it’s like your feet are getting a massage every morning….

Before and After – Family Room

 In truth there is no “before” because this is the Chester House frame and I have no idea what it looked like before. We only got to know it dismantled in a trailer. But I can show you start to finish… and so here we go…

Chester house as Jeff’s crew reassembles it attached to This Old House….

Family room window framed….
Wayne walking the walk….
My son’s rock-climbing wall  Fireplace in family room almost to the roof….
Lived in… and I have to admit… I wanted bold colors in this room because there is an awful lot of grey, brown, earth tones. So I picked bold colors for the fabrics in this furniture.. (note the RED! I kept my word)  It’s taking some getting used to… the gold hues in these chairs.. but they are awesomely comfortable, so … yeah…there’s that.  
Found this rug at Homegoods for a great low price… love when that happens.
One of my favorite features in the room is the moss that remains on the rocks of the fireplace…
Needs a grate and screen….I’m hoping to find an old set in the near future…remember the owls with the glowing eyes?…
I bet some of you have a few of these ducks…
A few birds landed in here too….

This mirror is one of my favorite pieces of furniture.. made by a company called Sticks . Their pieces are fun, whimsical, inspirational and usually too expensive for my purse. This one was on sale half price years ago and so I splurged. 
The photo over the corner table is of This Old House in the beginning…
Butter Churner in the hall between the family room and Mancave…
 My books….this bookcase is tucked under the loft sortof  between the family room and Mancave…
The rest of the house is still alittle jumbled, and this room isn’t finished yet… needs “stuff”, but I’ll get to it. maybe when it’s on sale half price.  And there’s that thing I was preaching….
less is more  … or something like that.

Marilyn’s House

   Marilyn Monroe died three years before I was born, but her story always intrigued me. I don’t think the true full story will ever be revealed. The mob, a famous baseball player, a movie mogul, the Kennedys!… whodunit is right.

  I feel sorry for the celebrities who get caught up and die in the wicked machinery that is Hollywood.  Anna Nicole Smith is another who wasn’t mentally strong enough to handle the crush.  Will somebody please save Lindsay Lohan, even if it’s from herself?!

  Marilyn’s house is on the market…12305 5Th Helena Drive Los Angeles,  – $3,595,000.
She lived there for  just the  last six months of her life and it’s her place of death as well. 

What a beautiful little oasis it apparently was not.

Before and After – Barn/Garage

  There were several brown outbuildings where the new garage stands… The largest consisted of a dog kennel on the far end, a sculpting studio, an apartment and a two car garage. Next to that stood a  chicken coup and another two car garage. There was alot of wood rot and no historical significance, as the building was constructed approximately 40-50 years go, and the decision was made to take it down instead of trying to patch it up. We didn’t need that kind of extra space, either… (less is more! )

 What we have now is similar in look and in the same place as the old brown barn building, consisting of a small gym at the back, workshop for Mike’s “stuff” in the middle (this workshop has a rear entrance from the road)  and three bay garage at the front, entered from the main driveway.

 It was a cluster of buildings originally…

 Pared down to just one…
 

You’ve gotta be kidding me

Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston reveal exclusively in the new Us Weekly that they are getting married.

And, they tell Us Weekly, former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin has been kept in the dark about their plans … until now.
“We got engaged two weeks ago,” Bristol, 19, tells Us Weekly. “It felt right, even though we don’t have the approval of our parents.”

I’m no fan of Sarah Palin, and I know that will offend some of you because she does have many faithful fans. But I do feel just alittle sorry for her at this moment.  Do any of you remember this lovely young man’s interviews after his breakup with Bristol?  The things he said about her family, her mother? …his apparently soon-to-be mother-in-law.  What is this young woman thinking?  I sure hope this is not the way SP found out, on the cover of a magazine.

This is why people should never be married before they are atleast 25.  ATLEAST.   Although, it’s also true that age does not guarantee the absence of stupidity.  

*sigh*

When Life Reminds You

I didn’t know this woman and yet she has unknowingly reminded me of the most important lesson.  Truly.. Live For Today… there is no guarantee of tomorrow.  Hold dear what is important and let go of all the petty things. Let go.

http://holdingcourtblog.blogspot.com/

 I have no appropriate words, just tremendous sorrow for the loss her family has suffered.

Live for today.

Before and After – About her face

  When we bought This Old House, we had to go before the Historical Preservation Committee in our town. They were a newly formed and wet-behind-the-ears group and we were their first case.  FUN!  One of their concerns was that the old house would still have the same “face” when she was rebuilt.  A prominent committee member actually requested that we don’t change a thing.  The building inspector was quick to reply that the house would not pass inspection or meet today’s codes with everything exactly as it was, and therefore some changes were necessary.   In the end we kept as much of the historical integrity of the house as possible, with a few additions.

This photo shows the house before it was taken down, sitting 40 feet closer to the road.  The foundation was moved back 40 feet when the frame was put back together.   The photo also shows the old barn and outbuildings.

This is how it looks now from almost the same angle.
Just before the take-down…
Frame reset on it’s new foundation…
Building her back up again…
Mission accomplished.
  

Normal

 Anyone who’s been through a difficult time (I think that covers just about all of us)  – whether the cause is illness, tragedy or just plain overwhelming life events – knows the value of an ordinary day.  Normal. 

Since the decision was made to jump into the resurrection of This Old House, our life has been on a treadmill with the packing up and preparing the old place for resale, the work of rebuilding the new homestead,  and all the other life shifting that goes with the territory.  It’s been wonderful and overwhelming at the same time and it all came on the heels of two tragic events in our life.

Today was the first normal day in a long time and it felt good. 
The boys won their first AllStar game in the blazing heat….

 We spectator moms sat in the shade talking Twilight.  This is Janice… she shares my love for the Twilight books and movies… yes I know, you’re rolling your eyes, aren’t you.  If you haven’t tried it, don’t knock it.

Mike got to spend quality time with his girlfriend….
He missed her, I can tell.

  Tell me what an ideal normal day is for you, I’de like to know.