Friday, August 26, 2011

TGIF!!!

 

 

Just “hoppin” by to wish you all a fabulous weekend!!!!!

froggie

This is the smaller bullfrog that has taken up residency in our Koi pond. The grandpoopa bullfrog which was once this size is now the size of……… a softball!!!!

Have a great weekend!!!!!!

 

 

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Happy Birthday!

 

Today is Teddy’s 13th birthday…..the big 1-3. My how times flies……I remember the day I went and picked him up like it was yesterday. He was the last puppy from the litter of only three. His mommy was absolutely beautiful and so petite. As Teddy came sauntering out with the owner’s little boy I was instantly smitten. The cute little fur ball had so much personality already and literally fit in the palm of my hand!!!! There was no question as to whether he was coming home with me that night as I was instantly in love. He rode all the way home on my lap and has been my cuddle buddy ever since…….

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teddy in robe

 

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Simon was adopted when he was six months old. His owner was moving into an apartment and couldn’t take him with her. She was suppose to send us his papers but never did so we don’t know when his birthday is exactly but we know it is also in August. He is also the big 1-3!!!! Happy Birthday my sweet baby!!!!!!!!

I remember the day we picked Simon up.He was a complete ball of fur and had never had a hair cut. He is Mr. Personality….everyone is his friend!!! Full of curiosity he is always by my side and ready for anything!!!!!!

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Simon with paint

 

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Happy Birthday my sweet boys!!!!!!

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Eight years…..

 

 

Today is the anniversary of when we purchased our cottage eight years ago! This is how the house looked when we first bought it. The Ivy was gorgeous but was so invasive it was growing thru the walls and into the house….so the first thing we did was remove all of it. Eight years later we are still trying to get rid of it.

stone house

 

 

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This is not a current picture….our yard looks a little sad at the moment since we have had extreme heat this summer and very little rain. Here the soffits have been wrapped in steel because we had wood boring bees. We were told the only way to get rid of the wood boring bees was to get rid of the wood. The porch has also been painted and a new roof was put on. The roof was so bad we were told the house was uninsurable unless we had a new roof put on.

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The kitchen is small but cute….we thought we could work with the cabinets. However when I went to unpack my dishes and put them away the doors literally fell off the cabinets! We ended up installing cheap cabinets and then did a complete gut job two years ago……

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This is how the kitchen looks today………

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The dining room when we bought the house. Funny, I don’t remember that light……..

stone house dining room

 

The indoor/outdoor carpet was removed only to expose the original floors that were in really bad shape that had to be recovered up. We had to pull the floor up completely between the living room and dining room to add supports. Reclaimed maple flooring salvaged from a gymnasium in Kansas was installed and refinished thru out the first floor.

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For some reason I have no pictures of the living room except for this one. Probably because it was so hideous…….just kidding…..sort of!

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We took the wall out and added this double doorway making the living room one big room. This small room served as a bedroom, an office, and a catch all room during the eight years we have lived here. Taking the wall out  four years ago and making it part of the living room was the best decision I ever made.

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The guest bedroom…..we actually bought this bed with the house but eventually sold it because it was a three quarter size. It was so short that even my feet touched the end! The second floor had the same purty indoor/outdoor carpeting as the first floor. Luckily the original floors were in better shape than the first floor and we were able to refinish them and save them……

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When we bought the house none of the bedrooms had closets. During the renovation we are currently working on closets were added to all of the bedrooms along with insulation,drywall, and new wiring.

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I won’t bore you all with any more pictures since you have seen them all like a zillion times.

The eight years we have lived here have been very interesting to say the least…..I wish I could say the house is completely done but we are still working on the upstairs. We hope to have it done in the next few months though. We have done a little work on the yard but it really needs a complete overhaul. It’s always something isn’t it? Thanks for following us along on this journey……….

Friday, August 19, 2011

The story of the bottles…..

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Many years ago while at an auction we used to visit weekly I spotted a box of old bottles. Most of the bottles were nothing special but these three were tucked in with the rest. The minute I saw them I knew I just had to have them! Once the bidding started I noticed it was just me and another woman bidding……..In the end I won the box of bottles. A while later the lady approached me and asked what I planned to do with so many bottles. I explained that I collected old bottles and thought they would make a nice addition to my collection. As it turns out she wasn’t really interested in the bottles after all. What she really wanted was the old stopper to a decanter that was in the bottom of the box so I gave it to her……...and then there were two very happy women!

Have a great weekend!!!!

Sunday, August 14, 2011

My version of a trumeau mirror………

 

 

mirror B

 

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The result of what you get when you have some old plywood laying around the garage, then add in an old junky mirror with outdated frame removed, throw in some molding and an applique…….then top off with a dabble of paint of course!

A big thank you to my friend Artie at Color Outside The Lines who is always a huge inspiration!!!! Be sure to check him out……you will be absolutely amazed!

Have a great week!!!

Thursday, August 11, 2011

What is it?

Calling all gardening experts!!!!!! I have this vine growing in my yard and I have no idea what so ever what it is!!!!!!! At first it was just behind the rose bush but I have noticed little starts popping up in the yard now. Every year it comes back and then in August it gets these tiny little white blooms that are very fragrant. Yesterday I cut a few starts to propagate since I seem to kill everything else…… and this seems to be pretty hardy?!?!?! Any idea what it is?

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If it is a weed, it sure is a pretty one…..and it smells heavenly!!!

Edited to add: Looks like Sue is correct…....it is indeed Autumn Clematis! Unfortunately it is considered to  be an invasive vine! Just what everyone needs in their garden right?!?!?! LOL

Monday, August 8, 2011

Embracing a dark and gloomy Monday……..

 

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We haven’t had rain in weeks…..lately the storms roll right by our house laughing at the crunchy brown grass in our yard and bald trees. Today, it is raining…..really raining! I have never been happier to see such a gloomy day! The fur babies are napping and I’m doing laundry…………

Life is good!