A time to work, a time to rest

It isn't quite from Ecclesiastes, but it has a similar ring. Several months this winter were slow and relaxing, even occasionally boring. But no more of that! It has been a very hectic month. This past week alone, we've had overnight guests, formal dinner for nine, major church responsibilities for three separate days, floral arranging, a vocal solo, heavy baking, garden transplanting, intensive house and car cleaning (three cars, one too-big house, and an extra set of appliances (long story)), and all the other responsibilities of regular life to handle.

Our upstairs heat pump finally went completely out, so I'm getting estimates for that. The Neon has a hole in the manifold, also necessitating several estimates. When I was in the middle of a big fresh flower arrangement, the realtor called and needed to show the house in 45 minutes. We have been about the first to arrive and the last to leave at our new congregation for the past month, with all the duties that come with organizing that. I had the responsibility of making bread for the Passover, which is a new and rather nerve-racking duty. We are the early crew, late crew, and every crew in between at times (sometimes without even a minute to visit the bathroom)! We've fallen into bed well after midnight, only to awaken early, too many times to count lately.

I can more deeply appreciate the cycle of agrarian life this year; the ease of the winter months disappearing into the ever-escalating pace of spring. This break-neck speed surely will subside a bit in another week or so. I hope. ♫Just keep swimming, just keep swimming♫

Landscape Design

We had a fantastic lecture on landscape design in the Master Gardener class by the state specialist. It was such a good fusion for me of my growing love of horticulture and my existing passion for interior design. This is just exterior design! She pulled in several concepts I'm already familiar with such as flow, simplicity, rule of three, etc. They were presented in a new context that sort of clicked for me.

She very organized, and I'm glad she emphasized having a plan. We discussed how to map the property and come up with several templates that designate conditions, positive and negative features, needs and desires, etc. Most gardeners start with a plant and then try to decide where to stick it; her method was the complete reverse. It's such a logical process when done that way. I'm looking forward to implementing this knowledge next week when we design the landscape for a Habitat for Humanity house.

She highly recommended the title "The Southern Gardener's Book of Lists" by Lois Chaplin. It's not a picture book, so you might want a pictorial reference or the Internet handy; but it has lots of categories of plants for specific purposes, such as low hedges under windows or flowers for poor drainage, etc. Between this and several other gardening materials, I'm starting to grow my personal library.

Bloomin' Bushes

Our red tipped Fraser's Photinia bushes are going crazy with blooms this year. We had the same bushes as a tidy hedge row at our bungalow in Arkansas and I'm quite sure they never bloomed there. This is our third spring in this house and I don't remember ever seeing these put on quite such a show. It almost made me second-guess the type of bush, until I looked it up and confirmed that Photinia do flower. We have a very large screen of them at the rear of the property, and it's a nice treat to see flowers all the way up the top no matter what back window from which I look. I even went out and cut several to add to my Friday evening flower arrangement for the dinner table.

Mantel Madness

Though it's certainly not guaranteed that we will be able to buy the farmhouse (since selling our current home in this real estate market will take a miracle), I couldn't pass up buying a little "gift" for our hoped-for home. The farmhouse originally had three fireplaces, but two were closed up. They would have disappeared entirely to be utterly forgotten if not for the solid hearths evident in the wood floors. Though inordinately expensive to restore chimneys, opening up the walls and installing vent-free gas logs is within the budget.

I had already concluded that I wanted one Arts and Crafts era mantel in quartersawn oak, and I was prepared to strip multiple layers of paint off of one given that stained mantels in good condition are over $1000. The second mantel I was picturing would be smaller and simpler, a paint grade specimen that would suit the bedroom.

To that end, I had to jump on the deal I found on eBay. An individual less than two hours away was selling two original mantels for a steal. And, you guessed it, one was a stained, quartersawn oak Arts and Crafts mantel and the other was a chippy white Victorian/Edwardian piece. A breathless, last minute bid and a whirlwind trip 100 miles north with my everloving husband resulted in these two beauties stored in the shop at the farmhouse!

If we don't get to buy the farmhouse, I can clean these puppies up and resell for at least twice (maybe three) times what I paid. Even Jeff was swayed to take the risk by that return!

Delight in every bite!

Jeff took me on a date yesterday evening. We had purchased a Living Social coupon deal to a little Mediterranean/Italian place a few months back, and it was nearing expiration. So we spiced up a mundane Tuesday with dinner followed by ballroom dancing.

The food was fantastic! This place is a bit out of the way from home, but not too far from Jeff's office. I had the grilled sea trout and Jeff enjoyed the lamb. It was a very elegant presentation, but, sadly, you won't get to see that part. I am not much of a photographer and didn't even think about taking a photo until it was too late. Instead, here is a much rarer sight than an elegant presentation of fish set before yours truly:

A completely empty plate! I could have licked it clean. I can't think of the last time I left a restaurant without a take-home box. We really enjoy these elegant restaurants that prize quality over quantity. As Jeff says, he would rather leave an eatery wanting more as opposed to wishing for less. This was the perfect amount for the entree (allowing me to indulge in the rustic bread served with olive oil beforehand without feeling guilty about spoiling my dinner). We were free to savor every morsel and not be too weighted down to samba, rumba, waltz, and swing our way through the remainder of the evening.

Sesquicentennial

Today is the 150th anniversary of the first shot fired in the American Civil War. Jeff and I watched the Ken Burns documentary series on the war last week on PBS. It is really such a huge piece of our history with so many facets. I came away with a much deeper appreciation for the way those four years really shaped the history of the South. I think many of the less than desirable aspects of the South (as I see them; attitudes, habits, education, poverty, etc.) all have roots directly or indirectly in that conflict. It will be a very interesting next four years as Civil War events all over the nation are reenacted and remembered.

Battle of Fort Sumter
April 12-14, 1861

On April 10, 1861, Brig. Gen. Beauregard, in command of the provisional Confederate forces at Charleston, South Carolina, demanded the surrender of the Union garrison of Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor. Garrison commander Anderson refused. On April 12, Confederate batteries opened fire on the fort, which was unable to reply effectively. At 2:30 pm, April 13, Major Anderson surrendered Fort Sumter, evacuating the garrison on the following day. The bombardment of Fort Sumter was the opening engagement of the American Civil War. Although there were no casualties during the bombardment, one Union artillerist was killed and three wounded (one mortally) when a cannon exploded prematurely while firing a salute during the evacuation on April 14.

Excerpt from www.civilwar.org

How men and women see color...

This is so true, at least for us! Jeff and I joke about this all the time; he insists that he sees the color variances but just doesn't know what to call them. If colors had numbers instead of names, I think he might actually remember and use each one correctly ;-)

But we still have the issue on whole color families. He will see something the shade of Robin's Egg and call it green (I would say blue); he sees Wine and says purple (I would categorize it as a red). It really does make me wonder, is it only the vocabulary or is our color experience truly that different?!

Back to Winter

Well, I guess when I said spring break was over, the weather overheard me! It's been quite chilly and rainy here since the weekend. We almost had a freeze the other night, which is not good for all the budding plants. I'm learning so much in my Master Gardening class, but now I just have more things to fret about! I was blissfully ignorant of just what such an early warming/late freeze can do to all the orchards, berry bushes, and ornamentals. It's not only bad news for the beautiful flowers, but more importantly the commercial crops. We're already paying higher commodity prices; hopefully we don't add produce prices to the list of escalating costs!

Delicious in Decatur

We have a world famous BBQ joint in our town! It's won numerous awards and been featured in untold number of food shows, TV programs, newspaper articles, etc. I had been in once to pick up some meat to go and take it to an older friend of ours who no longer lives in the area and missed the food, but we had never eaten inside ourselves.

Jeff's mom is a big fan of cooking shows and food TV, and she had heard about our local Big Bob Gibson on some national programs. So of course we had to go! It's nothing special inside as far as ambiance goes, but since it's been around since 1925, you know they aren't coming just for the decor. The food was wonderful and quite reasonably priced. I had the BBQ Stuffed Potato, which is a huge baked potato with all the toppings, plus smoked meat of your choice and options of their three renowned sauces. It was so large I only finished half and took the rest to go! I can't say much for their pies, but with main entrees so good, why leave room for dessert? Come visit us sometime and we'll be sure to take you for a finger-lickin' good time!

Big Bob Gibson, winner of:
Today Show Challenge 2009 Champions
National Barbecue Restaurant of the Year
Fiery Foods 1st Place Champion Red Sauce
Chili Pepper Magazine 1st Place Mustard Sauce
and many, many more

Spring Break!

Jeff is on Spring Break this week, a well-deserved respite from the semester grind. His mom is visiting for a few days, as it's her spring break also. A nice coincidence that they correspond, since it's different schools at different education levels in different states!

We've planned a nice, relaxing stay-cation (or holistay, as they apparently say in the UK, which is quite cute). Since we're anticipating a trip to Italy in June, we didn't feel the need to go anywhere or pack anything extraordinary into the week. A few meals out, some days on the town exploring local attractions, and lots of rest are on the agenda. I still have Master Gardener classes and an equine workshop this week, and our regular dance lessons and tennis practice take up some other evenings, so we aren't straying too far from the norm. But just a little break from the routine and little R&R will go a long way!

Double Date

We had a lovely weekend with two dates in two days! Saturday evening, Jeff took me the symphony for the last pops concert of the season. It featured two soloist and a choir performing music from Broadway, musicals, filmscores and Disney movies. The female vocalist was the woman who performed the original Ariel in The Little Mermaid! That is probably the first movie I remember seeing in the theater. I was about 9 or 10 and my mom took my sister and me to The Little Mermaid while my dad took my two older brothers to a Star Trek movie (I think that's what it was; some sort of sci-fi anyway).

Jeff and I had great balcony seats for the performance, but we also had the trifecta of concert difficulties; loud talkers behind, tall people in front, and a woman with overwhelming perfume beside! At the intermission, Jeff moved us to some empty seats that had an even better view than the ones we had paid more for, and we were able to thoroughly the enjoy the remainder of the concert in perfect comfort.

Sunday evening, we went to dinner followed by the UAH semi-finals basketball game. It might not sound like much, but the UAH team is ranked 7th in the nation for Division II basketball. That's pretty impressive for a bunch of short, white engineers. Okay, they don't all fit all three of those categories, but I think every one of them fits at least one! It was a very exciting game with UAH finally winning by 3 in overtime. We're off to the final game of the regionals tonight to see if they can hold off Stillman!

The win!

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

I am in the (admittedly privileged) position of having a few too many clothes! We have some incredible thrift stores and consignment shops in this area so I rarely pay more than a couple dollars for name brand outfits. With cost not a factor and storage not a constraint (we have three large walk-in clothes closets in the house, plus many more miscellaneous ones), what is to keep me from becoming the Imelda Marcos of the apparel world?

I'm not anywhere close to that level yet, but I want to take preventative measures. Several people at church have commented that they rarely (if ever) see me in the same outfit twice! In my defense, I do wear some core pieces many times but always try to pair or layer or accessorize differently. And I am not a shoe person (I would go barefoot if I could), so the floor of my closets are tidy and bare.

On a regular basis, I strive to pass on or consign clothes that I don't wear. But now I've come up with a new strategy. For each new item I bring into the house, I have to get rid of two. So, that means that the new article must not only replace something I already own, it must be so worth keeping that I'm willing to part with an additional item.

It's already helping my closets look a bit slimmer, just in time for spring and realtor showings!

Homewrecker

I feel so bad. I've been working around the house today, and on my several trips into the garage, I kept noticing a bird flying quickly out as I entered. We've had birds occasionally venture into the garage during the day when the door was up, or even get stuck in overnight a time or two, so I didn't think much of it. But on my way to the corner cabinet to obtain a paint can for a touch up, the bird flew by in a hasty exit for the fourth time today. I looked up, and finally noticed the evidence of a nest being constructed on the top of the large rug rolled up and stacked vertically in the corner. As I stood there trying to decide what to do, she flew back in, landed on the highrise nest, and neatly arranged another leaf in the concentric pile of pine needles and yard debris. She looked down at me, then flew off in search of more construction material.

We decided it wouldn't be fair to her to leave the nest. As cozy and perfect a spot as she had located, we couldn't leave the garage door up indefinitely. She would be constantly either trapped inside or excluded from her nest and subsequent young. So we carefully carried the rug out, gently removed her cozy home, and left it where she could reconstruct it.

I was sorry to have dashed her little avian hopes; after all, she had scouted out what must have seemed like the ideal setting and spent all day diligently building it. But Jeff pointed out that birds are much more resilient than we humans and she would just go build somewhere else. I guess we can take a lesson from the bird, as well as the ant.

Dining Dream

The dining room is completed and back together. Jeff got home from CA yesterday evening and stayed up late to get the quarter round molding cut and installed. I caulked and touched up this morning and moved the furniture back in, all just in time for company this evening. It's coming together very nicely!

We've been meaning to do this flooring for over a year now, so it's nice to have it completed. It was the same situation back in Arkansas; we got all the lingering projects done just to pass on the beauty and convenience to new owners. Ah well; if this house doesn't sell, then we simply get to enjoy it ourselves!

The overview
(I know the area rug is too large, but it's what I had extra in the garage)

Come on over and join us for dinner!

Promised Pics

I know I promised photos, but I didn't want to frighten any of you. I was waiting to get some nice glamor shots of the old lady, but I think she really needs a face lift first (or perhaps major reconstructive surgery, as you'll soon see)! I love all the little details, though, like the built-in twist ringer on the door and the skeleton keys (that have survived 85+ years of misplacement and are still hanging on a little hook in the kitchen ;-).

The Good

(Okay, I had to photoshop her portrait just a little to smooth over some blemishes)
Good bones, deep porch, large lot, many windows

Three fireplaces..........French doors

Built in china cabinet..........Fabulous original kitchen

The Bad

Dirty, dated bathroom..........Odd paint choices

The Ugly

Horrible laundry room..........Water damage (and clutter!)

The Potential

Great future foyer focal point..........Gardening galore

Future master suite!..........Jeff's Man Cave

(oh, the possibilities)