The gift that keeps on giving!

As I type, Jeff is still pounding away on that infuriating fireplace! Little did I know when I asked for the wall and firebox to be opened that someone had WAY over-engineered the closure of the thing. Was there a simple piece of plywood or drywall over the hole? No. Was there a single stack of bricks closing up the opening? No. Were there thin mortar lines of hastily laid patching? No.

In fact, this firebox was basically a solid block of bricks and concrete mortar, built up layer by layer and cemented together into an integral mass. What was someone thinking? To make matters messier, the bricks are coated in soot; so, by default, is Jeff at this point.

I guess we should have suspected something like this. The last feature we tried to uncover, the heart pine floors in the dining room and kitchen, were buried under layers of linoleum and plywood nailed in columns and rows EVERY FOUR INCHES across the entire floor (remember this post?). Perhaps it speaks to the well-built construction of the house in general, but I could do with a little less brick-and-mortar and little more hole-in-the-wall!

Almost there:

Success!

There is still plenty to be done! We'll have to tidy up the plaster, patch some brick, cut back the baseboards to exactly the right width, lug the very heavy mantel in, position and attach it, reinstall the mirror, etc., etc., etc. But we'll enjoy our hole for the moment and try not to think about that yet.

Oh, and I think we may build a firepit outside with the extra brick, so add that to the list, too!

Anniversary Part Deux

If you read the previous post, you know Jeff began work on opening the old fireplace as part of his anniversary gift to me. He also surprised me with a very nice dinner out, which was quite a treat, given the day we had (details below)!

So you may be wondering, what does a woman like Sarah get for the best husband on Earth who would slave away for hours in the plaster dust and mortar mess and brick debris just to please his woman? Why, she gives him the world, of course!

Again, just like the hole in the wall, I do mean, quite literally, the world. It's a 9 1/2 by 6 foot detailed map mural of everyone's favorite planet, produced by none other than National Geographic!

I wish I could say I surprised Jeff with it, but given that it comes in three giant panels and hangs like unpasted wallpaper, it was definitely a two person job. So I prepped, primed, and painted the wall Sunday evening, and on Monday, twelve years to the day we married, we joined forces to mold the world onto the vertical plane that is our upstairs hallway.

Before:

During:

While I'm wishing, I wish I could say the project was smooth sailing. And it might have been, were it not for the thermostat right off the coast of Spain that was going to be obscuring much of Western Europe. So we decided to move the thermostat and neglected to turn off the proper breaker while fishing the low voltage wires to another location. So the air handler fuse shorted out and left us without air conditioning for several hours on a humid 87 degree day while Jeff scrambled around in the tiny attic, located the fuse, drove to get a replacement, and got it all put back together.

So only one-third of the world went up on Monday (since we had to get cleaned up and ready for our fancy anniversary dinner), but the remainder was completed Tuesday. Then we stood for a long while admiring and marveling over our amazing planet and it's countries, names, geological formation, bodies of water, and other fascinating features. We shall strive to spend our thirteenth year together more informed on social studies and geography!

Before:

After:

(As you can see, the thermostat now floats happily in the middle of the North Atlantic!)

Everything a Girl Could Ask For...

For our twelfth anniversary, I asked Jeff for a hole in the wall. A literal one, not a reference to a dive or some smoky joint!

It's been twelve wonderful, exciting, adventurous, fulfilling years of matrimony on July 8th. We talked about a trip to the shore or some other vacation destination, but in the end, we preferred a quiet holiday at home. We are blessed with so many opportunities to travel and see and do that sometimes being in our cozy home is the best treat. We did do dinner (fabulous, fabulous restaurant!) and dancing last week, so we can count that as our romantic outing. And I finally got the present I've been really hoping for: a masonry chisel and a hole in the wall!

Before:

(You can see the strange peach colored hearth plate on the floor, and if you look hard, you can just make out the patched plaster.)

(Who knew the plaster would be well over an inch thick in places?!)

I've had two lovely, antique mantels waiting in the shop for over two years. I bought them even before we officially purchased the farmhouse, that's how long I've been hoping to do this project.

The study and the downstairs guest bedroom both have old fireplaces that have been long ago bricked up and plastered over. It's been my dream to open them back up and install the mantels, and Jeff took the first steps toward that! First with an exploratory hole, then with a fair amount of pounding and plaster dust, Jeff was wholly (ha, ha ;-) on board with my scheme. No better way to say "I love you" than a little house wrecking!

Eleven Wonderful Years

As Jeff told me this morning as he left for work, we are in our twelfth year of marriage! It's amazing how time has flown. Our eleventh anniversary was Sunday. We celebrated it simply but enjoyably. Neither of us felt the need to do anything over the top. It sounds sappy, but we both said that every day together is such a joy in and of itself that we didn't need much else. It's really the truth. I get hugs, cuddles, kisses, "I love yous", a helping hand around the house, and compliments every day of the year. We note our anniversary as a way to mark time together, but it needn't be a big show when it still feels like we're on our honeymoon! How true that statement was on the window of our get-away car as we departed the reception all those years ago:





To celebrate yesterday, we did do a light lunch out and go dancing. The local DanceSport chapter has a monthly Sunday dance, and it just happened to fall yesterday, right on our anniversary. We had already been dancing Tuesday, so twice in one week is pretty special, I suppose! One of the board members found out it was our 11th and asked us what our song or wedding dance was, so they could play it for us. We had to admit we didn't have dancing at our wedding (for several reasons), nor do we have "a song". I guess we could rectify that now, but it would be hard to pick just one!

In addition to a meal and dancing, we spent some time reflecting. Life hasn't exactly gone as we expected; but it's better! We did think we would have children, and neither of us thought we would be living in Alabama, but we view it all as blessings and opportunities rather than trials. In eleven years of marriage, we have traveled to ten foreign countries; lived in three states; worked abroad; completed two advanced degrees (Jeff); retired (Sarah); bought and fixed up three houses; raised a fairly decent dog; assembled a small flock of animals; grown spiritually, emotionally, and mentally; maintained a fabulous, fulfilling, and enriching relationship with each other; and only gained about five pounds in the process. So far, I would say it's been a successful marriage!

In the spring...

...a young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love. Or so the Tennyson poem says. I think it holds true for us, as Jeff proposed on May 6th, 2001, exactly 11 years ago today. It was a lovely spring morning and he orchestrated the whole thing so well. We've talked of planning a visit back up to New England to see some of our old friends and stomping grounds, and to check in on the peaceful park where he proposed by the pond in poem over a decade ago.

Picture Perfect

I'm so excited! We finally had professional portraits done after all these years. It's been over a decade (the last time was at our wedding)! We decided it was about time, and no use waiting for children. Adults don't change as much, but that's no reason not to capture the moment.

We did an outdoor shoot at a small farm in a historic town just up the road. Our first appointment several days previous was canceled 15 minutes before the meeting time because of rain. But our second try was pleasant and dry.

It was a lot of fun. Our photographer was very efficient and knew just what she wanted. I hope another ten years don't have to pass before we do this again!

A belated celebration

Since we had such a hectic summer, we didn't really get to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary. Well, I thought we had celebrated it, but not in the style Jeff had secretly planned. He surprised me with a trip to western North Carolina to stay at a 1920's inn and a trip to the nearby historic Biltmore House!

We left Friday and enjoyed a very scenic trip through the mountains into South Carolina where we attended church services and stayed two nights. It was nice to catch up with old acquaintances and make new friends. We ate dinner at a Teppanyaki style Japanese steakhouse where they cook right at your table with big flames and the whole nine yards!

Our personal chef preparing the onions

Sunday morning we began our drive north and west to the Asheville area. We stopped at the famous North Carolina apple festival in Hendersonville which has been going on for over 60 years. We enjoyed fresh apples from local growers, tasty treats, street performers, and live entertainment from a nationally ranked dance troup.

Oh, how tasty the Honey Crisp were!

A living statue

A poodle-skirted tap ensemble

Since rain was in the forecast for Monday, we toured the Biltmore Estate gardens and barn area that afternoon and evening. What gorgeous grounds! Even as a lover of old houses and historical architecture, I have often wondered what the fuss over Biltmore was about. Now I know! It is absolutely breathtaking. The remaining 8,000 acres (of the original 18,000) are just amazing. And to think it was crafted from rather overworked open farm fields is even more astounding. Vanderbilt certainly knew how to hire the best men for the job!

A view of the conservatory across the walled gardens

In the Italian Garden

Monday was indeed raining, so it was perfect for spending the day in the enormous house. At 175,000 square feet, it took the better part of the morning to tour. Pictures are not allowed inside, but it rivaled the best castles and palaces we have seen in Europe.

Just a corner of the Biltmore

One of the many fine views from the house

The afternoon involved a tasting and tour of the on-site winery, converted from the very success dairy barn operation. Biltmore Estates was (and continues to be) self-sustaining, which is rather impressive in this day and age. We also saw a temporary exhibit of Tiffany Studio stained glass lamps in the exhibit hall on the grounds, which we loved. The artistry and intricacy were breathtaking, particularly the pieces that took their inspiration from nature. Jeff was particularly fond of the sculpted bronze lamp bases showcasing the fragile shades (being the metallurgist that he is)!

The Biltmore Logo on a wooden barrel

An elegant dinner at the French restaurant capped the long weekend. The rain (at a golf and spa resort) meant very few guests, so we practically had the place to ourselves. Attentive service and fine food marked the occasion.

Our accommodations and site of the restaurant

On the drive home today, we stopped by McKay's Used Books. It's a small chain of huge used bookstores. Jeff had visited the Knoxville location previously, but I had never been in. It was wonderful! I have never seen such a huge room of books (and videos, DVDs, CDs, records, etc). And it was quite busy! It was nice to see so many people still buying, browsing, and reading books. We purchased a small stack of music CDs and a few books to add to our library on landscaping and old house remodeling. What a fitting end to our Labor Day weekend!

Books, books, and more books