Happy Birthday to Me!

A Sure Sign of Going Bonkers

Well, we’ve gotten a lot accomplished in the past year: major operation and rehabilitation; selling property; buying property; building a custom home; moving twice; a few little vacations. We finally hit the long-awaited “settling in” period. We’re healthy. We’re happy. Life is good.

And then I recently got a phone call from a former boss of mine (the really good one, not the really bad one).

Would I consider working part-time through the end of the year and help them out? Some long distance travel to their office would be required, but mostly I would work from home.

When you are not seeking work, but a nice opportunity lands in your lap, what do you do?

Well, I chuckled a bit, thought what the heck, and said yes. I guess it’s a sure sign of going bonkers! I’m chalking up this unexpected adventure up as a little surprise gift from heaven and figure that I am supposed to accept.

The bad news for you, my sweet blogging friends, is that I may not be posting and visiting quite as often. Sorry! But I’ll still be hanging around the blogging world as time permits, sharing stories and photographs in the day ahead.

And I start the consulting job on Monday…

One Year Later

A couple of weeks ago, we planted some daylilies in our new flowerbed next to the porch. Once again, we get to admire and enjoy beautiful blooms like this one. Oh my, this purple and creamy yellow one is downright delicious.

It’s hard to believe, but today is my bionic knee’s one-year anniversary! Last summer was a rough one, and the experience will probably have to be replayed one more time before this cantankerous body of mine kicks the proverbial bucket. My fingers are crossed that this titanium knee replacement will last me at least 15-20 years. Next time, I know that I will insist on more and stronger drugs, LOL.

I’m walking really well with it these days. Walking on uneven ground is not giving me the fits that it used to, and this has been a significant improvement in the last six months. Going up and down stairs is still somewhat of a challenge, and I usually have to steady myself by using a railing. The numbness and nerve pain still lingers. One tendon still has tenderness, and I may need another cortisone shot in it this summer.

All in all, my knee is getting me where I want to go. I’ll be concentrating on further strengthening exercises before we take our photographic wilderness trips later on this year. Onward!

Stitches in Time

We’re still in the unpacking phase, but it is largely under control right now. We have both vehicles comfortably parked in the garage. Chaos is being replaced with order. Yeah! Opening up boxes, taped many months ago, has been the equivalent of an archeological dig. We also wrapped up many of our pictures with heavy brown kraft paper. So each unwrapping of a frame is like being reunited with an old friend.

I promised myself that I would get my office shelves decorated this past weekend with various treasures. Mission accomplished! To make the arrangements more interesting, I decided to include a few small frames, filled with my photographs or needlework. As I unwrapped the treasure shown above, I took notice of when I stitched it: 20 years ago this month. Little did I know then, what would transpire in those intervening years. Heavens, time sure has flown by!

This is an old sampler pattern (at least it’s old now!) by Sheepish Designs called “Meg’s Bunny”. It is stitched with cotton floss on linen fabric and mounted in a frame about 8 inches square. In researching the pattern, I discovered that I modified it a bit. That is not surprising, actually. Over the years I have changed many patterns a bit as I stitched them. I guess I like them a little bit unique! It’s rather funny to see my fondness for creatures like rabbits and birds goes back that far.

Did you notice the beautiful blue cloth underneath the sampler? It is a small table scarf, handwoven long ago by my mother-in-law. The pattern is called “wheel of time”. It takes great skill and patience to thread a loom and weave with very fine warp and weft threads in an overshot pattern like this. For many years, she was the head of the handweaving department at Berea College in Kentucky, and she was a professional weaver. So she knew her craft well! I would have loved to have met her, but she passed away about a decade before I met my sweet fella.

I thought you might like seeing a couple of our handmade treasures and knowing a little bit of their history. And thank you for indulging me as I reminisce!

Father’s Day 2010

 

To fathers who cherish, nurture, and support your children:
God bless you!

Photo Challenge: Bedtime

It’s time for another Brenda Photo Challenge! The current theme is Bedtime. Oh me, oh my. I think some folks could really get "cheeky" with this subject matter! I’m going to keep it very clean, except for one little twist of a photo at the end this post. I am not in the habit of taking pictures in bedrooms, but I do have a few that I can share with you from my journeys to historical places. If you dare, you are welcome to check out the offerings of other participants by going to challenge’s web link!

My first challenge picture was taken in one of the refurbished town dwellings at the Appomattox Court House National Park. This park includes the McLean House, site of General Robert E. Lee’s surrender. The event marked the end of the American Civil War, after 4 long years and claiming an astounding 630,000 casualties.

This is a style picture that I rarely do: backlit. It is always tricky to get the light balance just right. I thought there was a lot of charm in this scene: plain white curtains; sunlight streaming through the window; delicate cup balanced on the sill; small Victorian bed with caster wheels; handwoven rug with tears and tatters, weather-beaten wood floor; aged utility quilt; and, button style shoes tucked at the bedside. The image was taken at f/5.6, 1/30 second, and ISO 400.

Shaker furniture and architecture continues to fascinate me. This authentic headboard is one of many on display at Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill in Kentucky. The hand carved cherry piece, with its simple scrollwork, contrasts with the painted bead board running along the whitewashed walls. I applied a textured background to the image to give it an antique flavor. The camera settings were f/8; 1/15 second, and ISO 800.

Last, we have an example of a bedtime essential from days long past: a potty chair! Why make a trip to the outhouse in the dark of night, taking your chances with poor weather conditions, when you can conveniently take care of your personal business just a few feet away? Typical Shaker styling ensures that it is a functional piece of indoor plumbing, yet beautiful at the same time. The scene is complete with a handwoven rag rug on the floor and overshot comforter on an old rope bed. The image was taken at f/7.1, 1/5 second, and ISO 800.

Hanging of the Sign

It’s official! Our Grey Havens sign has been hung on the front porch of our new cottage! We had the sign custom made in Camden, Maine, for our former cottage. When we sold the place last fall, we took the sign with us. Hubby cleaned it up over the winter and put on many new coats of old-fashioned paste wax for protection. After exposure to the elements for almost 18 years, it is still gorgeous and retains the gold leafing.

Before the heat of day completely overwhelmed us, Marty whipped us into action and supervised the sign hanging event.

We soon got it hung without any bodily injuries or utterances of naughty words.

Grey Havens is back!

And Marty is waiting on the porch to greet your arrival!

Cottage Kitchen Reveal (Part 1)

No need to hound me any longer, dear blogging friends. I’m ready to reveal the completed kitchen here at our new cottage. It is classically beautiful with a few surprises. And we wanted a change from the cottage style we had before with white cabinets. If you have been following along our homebuilding progress, you already know that we chose neutral colors, cherry cabinets, a tumbled natural stone backsplash, and New Venetian Gold granite countertops. But you want to see how it all turned out!  Ready? Drum roll, please…

The biggest twist in our dream kitchen is a distressed black island! We love antiques and wanted to have a focal point that played off the cherry cabinets. The granite countertop has deep flecks of black, mixed with light and warm tones. So it was an easy choice.

The darker hardware throughout our new home also was an inspiration. And the black color ties in the stainless steel appliances. Tucked right into the island is our new Bosch dishwasher. We had this brand in our previous home and couldn’t wait to get another one. At 42 decibels (quietest one made in the USA), you have to look at the control panel to see whether it is on or not! In the picture below, you can also see the breakfast area next to the windows. Our view looks out into woodlands. The door leads to the screened-in back porch.

And another surprise in our kitchen is the Kohler apron-front sink. This style is also referred to as a farmhouse sink. We chose a brown and black speckled cast iron beauty. It is one big bowl, which makes it so easy for hand washing pots and pans.

A final surprise on the island is a cute little bookcase at one end. This past weekend, we filled up this space with some of our favorite cookbooks and handmade pottery. The butler’s pantry area cabinets flank the far side of the island, including a lighted glass case for special china and glassware. The food pantry door is on the far left.

Looking from opposite direction, you can see the corbels for countertop support. We got some lovely bar stools to use in this area. In the distance, you can catch a glimpse of the great room cabinets and trey ceiling, in addition to the stairway leading to the second floor.

And below is a total view of the kitchen and breakfast area from a vantage point in the great room. After seeing all of this, are you coming over for dinner soon?  You can sit at the bar area, have a cool drink, and watch the food preparation!  Hubby can be quite entertaining, and I'll make sure that you feel right at home.  We promise you won't go away hungry!

Stay tuned for a second post in the days ahead!

Flag Day 2010

Every heart beats true

'neath the Red, White and Blue

~George M. Cohan~

Summer Thunderhead

The storm starts when the drops start dropping.
When the drops stop dropping, the storm starts stopping.
~Dr. Seuss~

With typical summer weather, we have a lot of thunderstorms rolling into our valley area lately. I captured this thunderhead image while standing in our driveway a week ago, looking out over a valley ridge at the end of our street. I digitally applied two different textures to further enhance the photo.

A Bit Weary...

I hope that you like this altered photo of one of my sweet horse neighbors. Doesn’t she look a bit weary? I am feeling weary myself these days, and my coat isn’t brushed and shiny either, LOL. We’re in the tired and confused period of time after a house move, when reality interrupts the joys of a new place.

I’m sorry that I am not blogging much these days, but the days keep getting filled up with unpacking and settling activities. We’re at the point where we need to arrange our various art and antique treasures, and it has been a bit maddening with a smaller space and less furniture. It’s like moving pieces on a giant puzzle without benefit of the picture on the box! Slowly, so very slowly, we’re getting there.

Do we have more unpacking to do? Yes! (Sigh.) There are dozens of boxes that we will need to tackle yet when we work our way up to the storage room. Most of those items will be offered in garage sales. I also haven’t touched my studio room yet. I think that will end up being my last priority.

A few punch list items got addressed last week and some remain on our punch list. Builder Mike plans to get everything done by the end of next week. Various workers are being scheduled to get the remaining tasks done.

On a happy note, the grass got mowed and trimmed today. And we were observers rather than participants! Three cheers for that! We bought a few flowers yesterday while on a major shopping excursion. I already planted some petunias out by the mailbox this morning. I couldn’t stand the little bed around the box being bare any longer!

Hubby also hung our first picture on a wall this morning. It is a glorious primitive painting of a country scene that we got about 25 years ago in New Hampshire. It now resides over the door that goes to our screened-in porch, right off of our kitchen. Let’s see, we only have about 100+ more pictures to go! Ha!

We spotted a very plump raccoon in the front and back yards during the past week. It likes to dumpster dive in the construction roll-offs, looking for snacks. And on Monday, we had a deer go through the woods in our backyard while we were having lunch! It was happily dining on young leaves. I made a mad dash to the camera and was able to snap a few photos before it wandered off into the brush.

I’m starting to go through my pictures of the kitchen so that I can post those soon. It’s just a little wait longer for you!

Photo Challenge: Weathered and Worn

It’s time for another Brenda Photo Challenge! The current theme is Weathered and Worn. I suggested this particular theme and knew that I could pull a few photographs out of my travel inventory to meet the challenge! Please note I will be a bit occupied today and away from the computer. So there may be a delay in posting your comments. Also, I will be visiting other participants within a few days. Thank you for your understanding!

First out of the gate is an example of the weathered and worn beauty of nature. Does it get any better than the Grand Canyon, carved by the mighty Colorado River? The canyon depth averages 4000 feet deep over a length of 277 miles. I have been fortunate enough to visit the spectacular National Park twice. I sure hope that this destination is on your bucket list! There is no picture that can do the place justice. It is definitely a locale that you have to see in person. I captured the scene below at sunset while walking along the south rim trail. The photo is taken at f/5.6, 1/250 second, and ISO 200.

Next is an example of man-made treasure that served its function gracefully over many generations. This photograph is a detail of Mecca Bridge, located in the covered bridge-rich territory of Parke County, Indiana. It was built in 1873 by J. J. Daniels and rehabilitated in 1993. It crosses over Big Raccoon Creek near the town of Mecca, and it is now open to foot traffic only. It was a drizzly fall morning for this photo shoot. But the combination of the hand-hewn stones, weathered red boards, and sky-reaching vines beckoned for an image capture. I enhanced the photo with a textured background to add richness and depth. The camera settings were f/4.5, 1/13 second, and ISO 200.

And we humans can get quite weathered and worn too! So I couldn’t resist taking a portrait of this chap who hangs around the Pasteur and Galt Apothecary Shop in Colonial Williamsburg. We enjoyed our visit in this delightful shop last year, with its fascinating collection of medicinal herbs and drugs. The skeleton specimen is one of several medical-related artifacts also on display. The walls of the shop are actually a plain cream color, but I enhanced the overall image with a highly distressed textured background to compliment the subject. The photo was taken at f/7.1, 1/50 second, and ISO 800.

Just in Case...

Just in case you saw a weird post of mine on your sidebar, please don't freak out. Blog buddy Jeannette tipped me off a little while ago and was wondering what was going on with my blog.

It's a simple explanation.  I am getting tired of Blogger format problems and plan to try Microsoft Live Writer sometime next week. I downloaded  the program and it had to do a test post for set up. The post got deleted afterwards, so it no longer exists.

So I'm still here and my blog is not messed up. There's a photo challenge coming up this Saturday and I'm not going to miss that! And you won't want to miss my photos either!

(P.S. Thank you, Jeannette!)  

June - A Look Ahead

I have to come up for air and do a blog post! Enough is enough! We are still scooping out moving boxes and it is getting downright tiresome, LOL. Where did all this stuff come from? How many hours is it until the next trash pickup? Will we ever find those objects that we obviously know are missing?

Hello, it is June, sweet June! This is the month devoted to unpacking, cleaning, and organizing. It has been - and still is - a mess. But we’re already creating some semblance of organization in a few rooms. We’re settling in, even though we’ve only been here just a little over a week. We haven’t had time to enjoy the neighborhood or relax. We hope to get to those goals in the weeks ahead.

It has been both wondrous and humorous as we unpack boxes that were closed up a long time ago. It’s like a treasure hunt! And yes, we look at a few things and think “why did we pack THIS?” You are probably wondering if we have decorated yet. Ha! Let’s worry about that in July and August! First we have to finish the archeological digging and figure out a place for things in an entirely new configuration and smaller spaces. For example, I already went “uh-oh” when I unpacked stacks of quilts and coverlets that used to hang on balcony railings. We have no such hanging places at this new cottage. Some possessions cherished or not, will be relegated to the storage room until we figure out whether we can truly keep them.

We’re looking forward to the installation of window shades tomorrow. We placed the order about 5 weeks ago, and have been squeaking by with some sheets and duck tape since we moved in. Curtains are not in our plans. We love the beautiful woodwork here and want to try a fresh and clean look. We also had all of our area rugs carted off to the storage room. We’re going to live without them for a while and see how we do. So far, we are not missing them one bit.

We turned in a punch list to Builder Mike this week. So we will be having visits by various workers in the days ahead. There are items on our “to do” list also, such as hanging mirrors and a shelf in the laundry room. We have already created shopping lists and started on errands to get necessary supplies. Ah, it’s all part of the moving aftermath!

For a little diversion, we plan to take a short trip up to Berea, Kentucky, this month. I signed up for a Santa-making class! It is by the nationally known doll artist, Lindy Evans. I have admired her work for years and have bought some of her creations. She swears that anyone can make a Santa in her one-day class. We’ll see about that claim! Want to place bets on how much mine will look like a bedraggled Gimli after a weekend bender? It ought to be hilarious! While I am in class, hubby will be scouting the countryside and burning up digital cards in his camera.

We have already met a few of our sweet neighbors, and they have been showering us with welcome gifts. I will be getting out some of my handmade cards and penning thank you notes for their thoughtfulness. We hope to meet more neighbors this summer.

Hold on to your britches for more pictures of our new cottage. I’ll be posting some later on this month. Sorry, but unpacking and getting settled take priority! No pestering allowed, LOL! I took some pictures of the kitchen before we started to clutter it all up. So maybe I will get to reveal what this special room looks like in the near future. The wait will be worth it. I promise.

Hello, month of June! We’re home! And we’re so glad.