Gone, but not forgotten!

It's been gently brought to my attention that my blog needs serious updating.  How right you are!

Let's see...when we last spoke, I just found those awesome chairs and bench.  Well, a daytrip and many miles on the car led me to this wonderful table for the kitchen.  It's new but has the look of an old farm table.  It will serve as both a work surface and breakfast/lunch spot.  With a protective cover, it will also work quite nicely as a crafting/creative center.  Multi-tasking at it's best! 

This kitchen is large enough that I have space to put a rocking chair in front of the fireplace - a hearth room of sorts.  Bits and I like to sit there in the morning with a cup of hot tea.

Slowly, we're moving some furniture pieces from the townhouse to the lake house.  Don't want to make the townhouse look bare, so we're trying to choose carefully what goes and what stays.  Here's a few shots of the interior, all dressed up for the holidays.

We've had our first blast of winter weather unpleasantness.  Bitter cold with snow and stuff.

As long as I'm staying inside, I can apprecaite the beauty.  Here's a few shots from my kitchen window.

We have regular visitors as well.  I've noticed some rather large footprints, rather close to the front porch!  One day I found my front porch wreath lying on the ground and other decorations *rearranged.*  It could  have been the wind, but the wreath hangs securely from a hook rather than just a nail.  Guess it wasn't as tasty as they thought it might be!

I'm thinking gardening may be a challenge next year! 

The projects continue - work begins this week on a third bedroom/bathroom in the basement.  At least the noise, clutter and dust won't be right under foot this time. When this is done, the small room already finished downstairs will become my creative space, my sewing room, my craft room.....my *leave me alone* room.  Every woman deserves a space of her own, even if it's just a corner in a room with a special chair, a charming lamp and books to read, music to enjoy and maybe some handwork to do.  Refreshes the soul! 

Given my past performance, I may not be back to post before Christmas.  If not, let me now wish each and every one of you a very Merry Christmas, pleasant days with special memories created, and an appreciation for the blessings in our lives. 

I've learned to listen to those little voices.....

The ones that tell me to go shopping!  More specifically, antique mall or thrift store shopping.  The little voice told me to try out a new place, away from my usual path.  I was on the lookout for a breakfast table for the kitchen.

The table I was looking for had been sold the day before ! Rats!  But look at what I found instead:

Two of these oak pressed-back chairs, solid, in good repair and clean!  Only $22 a piece!

I've heard that he has another just like it in his booth now.  I believe I'll buy it sight unseen, based on these beauties!
I also found a bench that whispered to me as I walked past.  It fits perfectly in front of the banister railing:

I don't have a picture of this next find, but oh boy, am I happy!  I picked up a pretty etched glass bowl.  Hmmm....seems really heavy for a simple bowl.  I set it down to test it with a little flick of my finger and heard the characteristic *ping* of crystal.  Holy smokes, I got a crystal bowl for $1.50! 

The major part of the housework is completed.  Some furniture is in place...at least somewhere to rest our weary bones at the end of the evening.  I thought I had an idea of what I wanted, but ended up planning everything around this chair:

I know it looks like a giant brown marshmallow, but I swear this chair gives you a hug when you sit down.  We purchased not one, but two chairs -- his and hers.  We really have turned into old folks  ;-)
Kitchen appliances have finally arrived and are in their proper places, not sitting in the middle of the kitchen floor.   Thank you, Rocio, for your help in getting these lovelies into my home.  The refrigerator is really nice, but the stove/oven is awesome!

Fireplace is finished and Bits has found her favorite place to recline on chilly evenings.

We are having some beautiful fall days here in the midwest, although a little rain would be welcome.  Hope you all are enjoying your autumn and the falling leaves. 

Introducing....Lil' Bits

Bitsy is her everyday name....Bitsy Ann when she's being mischevious and "Gosh darn it, Dog" when she's chewed through another pair of socks. 

She's a Maltese/Schnauzer cross...a Mauszer.  I wanted to call her Minnie -- Minnie the Mauszer, but I was vetoed.

She is smart as a whip, stubborn, playful, endless energy and a real cuddler when she finally stops moving. 

A while back, we watched a movie called "Ring of Bright Water."  It's about a man who adopts an otter and moves to the Scottish seaside to live.  Bits watched...really watched.....most of that movie while sitting on the couch with us.  When the otter started to play, she would run up to the TV, try to figure out how to get inside and then race around the room.

When the otter was introduced to a neighbor's dog and they started romping around, she went crazy.  Barking, whining, running around the room, running up to the TV and then repeating the cycle.  At one point, she jumped up on the couch, put her front paws on my shoulders, and said  "Mom, I want an otter!"   Then raced around the room like a crazy dog again.

The other morning, I was at the house looking out the screen porch to the lake.  I just briefly saw something swimming across the water,  really more like gliding across the water.  It wasn't a snake, it wasn't a fish.  There was definately a small head bobbing just above the water. 

Hmmm....maybe Bits is getting her otter after all. 

A light at the end of the tunnel...

I just hope it isn't a train coming at me!  ;-)  Seriously, it really is all coming together.  The fireplace is finished, except for my painting of the mantel.  The wood *faux* beams are in place on either side of the fireplace and finished....except for my painting them.  See a pattern developing here?  My shoulders and arms ache from the scraping, sanding, painting...painting...painting.  But I wouldn't have been happy reinstalling the old, worn-looking baseboard over my new flooring.   Oh yes!  The wood flooring is all finished...sorry, no pictures this time.  I can actually take a moment to begin thinking about furniture placement and what will go where.  At least that's a fun job!

We have a family of deer that visit regularly about dusk.  The neighbor puts out corn for them, trying to help the little ones get fattened up before winter.  I think they are charming now....maybe not so much in the spring when they're eating my flowers.  I'll have to research deer-resistant plants. 

Last night, I heard a *coughing* noise coming from the woods in the upper part of the yard.  Sounded almost like a croupy cough - and if you have children, you know what I mean.  I figured it was one of my deer, and called out to ask if it was okay.  Yeah, I know, bear with me.  The coughing continued and so I ventured up the driveway to see what was happening.  Seriously, what was I going to do....offer it Robitussin?   I noticed three deer to the left, but the noise was coming from the right. 

Then it occurred to me that maybe it wasn't coughing....maybe it was a barking noise...  a territorial, *keep your distance* kind of noise.   Suddenly, I'm remembering those stories on TV..when animals get mad and attack people.  I decided discretion was the better part of valor and hoofed it back down the driveway.  I think I have a bit more to learn about wildlife, up close and personal. 

I got stoned!

Ha, made you look!  ;-)   Actually, it's the fireplace that was decorated with stone, Pennsylvania Ruble, to be exact.  I'm beginning to see a light at the end of the tunnel, which is good.  I'm getting too old for extended camping in the basement on a air mattress.

Here's the finished product:

I  know the mantel looks a little off-balance, but making it only as large as the fireplace opening would have been too small.  What I have planned is to place something tall on the left hand side that will draw the eye up toward the mantel and balance it a bit. 

This is looking from the kitchen into the great room.  I know it's hard to see, but instead of a mantel on this side, I have two stone shelves, one on the left above the firebox and one a bit higher on the right side.  Just big enough to set a picture, or Christmas elves.

Wood flooring will be finished tomorrow and, in the meantime, I will finish my painting.  I have 8 long baseboards left to paint, 12 stair risers to paint, and 12 stair treads to stain.  <sigh>

Sleep has come in short term increments while I get adjusted to the sounds of this house.  I've never had a water softener system before and so didn't know about the *recharging* process that is programmed to begin at 3:00 am.   Jolted out of bed, I swear I thought the water heater had popped, or the furnace was about to blow.  I can't think clearly at 3:00 am.

Last night, one of the baffles on the air mattress gave way and it quite literally popped me out of bed like a piece of toast.  What will come next? 

Before and.....during

I've spent the past few days *camping* at the new house amid the dust, the noise, the disruption....but the progress is amazing.  Just look at what has been accomplished in a few days.

First the carpet disappeared....

And then the walls came tumbling down...and the bones of a fireplace magically appeared

Look how much more open it feels with the staircase wall taken down halfway -- great idea, Joey! 

The new hardwood flooring is being installed.  Both bedrooms are done, but we're waiting on the construction to finish before putting the flooring in the great room. 

Yes, I know, it's dusty and needs to be cleaned.  I've already cleaned it once....I'm waiting till the dust settles.  I love this floor.  It's hickory with a hand-crafted, distressed look.  Bumps and bruises will only add to its beauty. 

Today, the capable carpenters - Mike and Josh - finished the drywall and now we await the mantel and the stonework.

This is the view from my kitchen, looking out into the great room.  It's a see-through fireplace, so the flames will be visible from both the kitchen and great room.  Warm and toasty even on the coldest of the winter days.

My body aches from scraping, sanding and painting all the baseboards in these rooms.  It needed to be done, though, and now is the time to do it.

I am so loving the changes we are making.  This will be a truly comfortable home, easy to live in and easy to care for....not too big and not too small....just right! 

A new adventure begins.....

On Tuesday, we closed on a lake house.  This was a long time in coming...seven years to be sure.  Seven years of a tug of war between me and The Other Half.  I wanted a farm with fences and barns, pastures and gardens, my horse and sheep and other creatures.  He doesn't do tractors.  So we found a compromise.  This house is just 12 miles from my friend's farm where my horse lives.  Much better than the 57 miles I'm currently driving! 
This house is in a community with lakes, hiking trails, riding trails, a golf course...everything a non-horse person needs to occupy his time while his wife plays at the barn. 

So here is the house..

On a lovely little lake...

We'll be making a few changes before moving major *stuff*.

The carpet will be replaced with hardwood flooring.

The wall to the right will be taken down and a three-sided fireplace will be installed, so I'll have a view of the fireplace from both the kitchen and the family room.  Cool, huh?

I think destruction and reconstruction is fun to watch, so I plan to take pictures and document our progress.  There are a few more ideas for the lower level, but that will come later. 

It's not a big house - just two bedrooms, a family room and a large eat-in kitchen, but it will suit us just fine.  The Other Half already has a fishing buddy lined up! 

And so begins the task of dividing my time between the flooring contractor, the building contractor, my barn work, my housework, my handweaving, my family......

When I'm driving, I've noticed that I seem to be hitting more red lights than green lights lately.  Think maybe that God's way of telling me to slow down and take a breath?