News From The Nest

Fun Times

I hope each of you had as wonderful a turkey or tofurkey day as we did!  Our Thanksgiving was very quiet   without the boys.  It was also much less hectic.  We were all here, no one had to get anywhere by a certain time, we ate when we felt like it, and we didn't do anything fancy.  

Thursday morning, we all piled into the car (which has new Ohio license plates and just doesn't look right) and rode around to see the sites.  We rode through Caesar Creek Gorge, Miami Cemetery in Corwin, Waynesville, Lebanon, Fort Ancient, and back home.  Here's a picture I took from down in the gorge.  The green hill is actually the dam.  The road runs along the ridge at the top and on the other side is the lake.  The gorge area is so pretty and peaceful.

Mom and Daddy arrived with a cooler of food!  Daddy smoked a turkey for us back in Virginia.  Mom brought the makings for her broccoli, cheese, and rice casserole and her dressing with her, too.  I made mashed sweet potatoes with brown sugar and cinnamon and a sweet potato pecan pie.  Lois, back in Danville, VA, sent a jar of homemade pickles which were really crisp and sweet/tart for us to enjoy.  And, Barbara sent us a loaf of homemade bread.  Everything was delicious.  

We have really enjoyed the house.  The furniture is so comfortable and has proved itself snooze-worthy.  We've all taken turns doing just that.  I've knit a little and dozed a little.  Mom has done the same.  Lily, of course, has spent time doing what she does best --- sleeping.  She has appreciated the furniture, too, for all the laps it's created.  We've turned on the gas logs a few times to knock the chill off the air and they just make the room so cozy and comfortable.  

 Earl Gray and Gracie also have new furniture - a kitty cat tower - and they are loving it!  Earl Gray goes outside and cats around and then comes in and settles onto one of the shelves of the tower and keeps watch outside through the garage door that's left ajar.  

Friday morning, I was expecting a little snow on the ground but nothing.  It was, however, 28 degrees!  

The feeders have stayed full of Goldfinches.  I have dozens at a time.  A little Titmouse has made an appearance over the last several days.  Just this week, I've   seen two Downy Woodpeckers who have come for the suet feeders.  Here's one enjoying a snack on Friday.

After breakfast, we bundled up and headed into Waynesville to inspect all the shops.  Mom has really been looking forward to seeing all the places that I've written about on the blog.  I had not been in most of them so we both had fun shopping around.  

I decorate the house and Christmas tree in snowmen - I just love them! - for the holidays and winter.  A couple of the shops had these really cute fat stuffed snowmen - one with a top hat, one with a stocking cap, and one with earmuffs.  Mom and Daddy gave me one of each and they now sit on the bench at the top of the stairs.  A perfect place for them. 

We covered a fair amount of the street and then stopped to eat lunch.  Several people have told me how good the Cobblestone Cafe was so we decided to eat there.  It was delicious!  Mom ordered the Cheese and Fruit Plate with Bruschetta, Daddy got the Angus Burger, Andy ordered the Ratatouille Omelet Roll, and I got the Asian Wrap.  Everything was presented nicely and tasted as good as it looked.  

The picture of Andy and me was taken outside the Cobblestone Cafe with Frosty the snowman.  Mom and Daddy were standing in front of one of the shops when I snapped this great picture of them.  Mom is wrapped up in my Sursa Shawl and I'm wearing my Blossom Shawl.  Both never fail to get compliments when worn -- I think it's the colors.      

After lunch, we hit another dozen or so shops and then we were ready to go home.  We were whipped!

I'm not sure what we're going to do Saturday.  I hope Mom and I get to go to Panera's to sit and knit a bit with the ladies.  Then, we could stop at Grandma's Garden and Secret Garden on the way back home.  Since tomorrow is supposed to be in the 50's, I thought we might want to go to the Cincinnati Zoo to see the zoo and also the Festival of Lights.  We also would like to check out the Air Force Museum (and here).  And, then there's the Cox Arboretum. Oh my!  So many things to do and see! 

With all the riding around we've been doing, the baby blanket is making terrific progress!  I'll post a picture soon!

They're Here!

Mom and Daddy made it!  They left home at 7:00 AM and pulled into my driveway at 5:19 PM.  I think they stopped a total of four times to stretch, get gas, and water Lily.  

They LOVE the house and the decorating.  I'm so glad that they are tickled.  I can't wait to show them around a bit.  If tomorrow's weather is agreeable, we're going to the gorge and walk around.  Then, we can dine on smoked turkey and all the trimmings.

 Here's a picture of Daddy and Lily enjoying in the den.

I promised more pictures of the other rooms involved in the grand redo.  

Here are the dining room windows.  The seat cushions are still with the upholsterer.  Also, this is the room that Andy needs to get into and finish painting.  So, I'll post another better picture for you later.


  

Upstairs, is the library.  We ordered two recliners and are using our Virginia kitchen table Andy made out of old boards from an area post office.  From this window, you can watch the sun rise.

Now, on to guest bedroom #1.  I'm very pleased with how this turned out.  I bought that bedroom suit from a unpainted furniture store w  hen I was in college.  It has certainly served me well.  The paint here is Meadow Trail --- it's a grayer green than Olive Grove.  Both are very pretty shades of green.

I've had fun incorporating our old furniture.  Many of the little old pieces we already had go perfectly with the new furniture.  Lots of little antique tables and chairs to set around as accents.  

I'm thankful for lots this year.  It's been a tough one.  Last year, there was the uncertainty of Andy's job.  This year, the job / new plant is still tenuous but we're both employed.  I also have family who wants to and is able to come visit me.  I have friends - internet and otherwise - galore who inspire me to write this blog and share little snippets of my life.  My mother is doing well after her open heart surgery for mitral valve replacement in July.  My sons are doing well.  I could go on and on because I'm thankful for so much this year.  

Hope each of you has a wonderfully happy and relaxing Thanksgiving today.

Done Den Done Done!!!!!

 Mom, Daddy, and Lily (my 4-legged sister) arrive tomorrow.  

Tonight a miracle will happen at my house.  It always does in the 11th hour.  All the stuff that doesn't have a place will be swept into a crate (or two or six crates) and hidden away.  There's a lot of this place-less stuff to hide this go around. 

This week has been a whirlwind!  Andy has been painting in the evenings after work.  He finished the den and the guest bedroom #1.  He didn't get the dining room finished.  Hopefully, over the Thanksgiving holidays he can finish that room.  Then, I hope he doesn't stop -- I want to keep going to get it all done so we can then take a BIG deep breath and relax.    

The den is absolutely GORGEOUS!  I have to include a before picture from the same angle so you can fully appreciate the improvement.  Both of these pictures were taken from the kitchen.  I just love the feel of this room.  I can't wait to sit and knit in front of the fire.  I'm almost 52 years old and haven't had a relaxing place to sit and relax for the past 25 years.  I think the room looks so cozy and inviting.  Just what I was after.  I can't wait to do a pear picture for over the fireplace to tie in all the colors. 

 What do you think????  Does it make you want to come curl up and knit with me or read a good book?

I think it was almost worth waiting 25 years for or maybe not.  Anyway, it feels so unusual to have furniture that doesn't have stuffing hanging out everywhere.  

The two last pictures of the den were taken from the hallway.  

A new kitchen table and chairs were delivered, also.  This set was on sale and was the store model so we got a good deal on it.  I like the glass top with the wooden pedestal.  It makes the sunroom look much bigger. 

I'll show you the rest later!  The guest bedroom #1, the library, and eventually the dining room.  

Now, back to making a miracle!

Onward

I had to go to Celina, OH yesterday for a 4:30 PM work appointment.  Celina is about a 4-hour round-trip  drive from my home.  The weather was yucky!  Dark and rainy.  

So, when I got back home, it was wonderful to see this ------- a wall of the dining room with one coat of Sherwin-Williams Olive Grove.  BEAUTIFUL!  Andy decided to go ahead and get the window walls of the dining room and the guest room #1 painted since the window guy is coming to install the shades and cornice boards at each of these windows next Tuesday.  Then, he has assured me that he will go back and finish the rooms!  I hope he keeps going from there so we can finish ALL the painting.  Then, I'll feel like I can start putting things into place.

Our master bathroom is HUGE!  We lived 24 years in the old house with one bathroom (4 people to 1 bathroom) where we had rigged the bathtub to be a shower, etc.  Andy finally renovated the upstairs hall bath last winter before the kids, wife, girlfriend all came for Christmas.  

This bathroom is like the Ritz-Carlton!  I took this picture standing inside the doorway to the bathroom from our bedroom.  On each side of me is a closet (not very usable - need to  be redone), straight ahead is the whirlpool tub, to the left of the tub is the shower, to the right of the tub is the toilet.  There are two sink/cabinet units ahead of me to the left and right.  I thought there needed to be something in front of the tub - 1) to break up the view of the tub and add interest, 2) to enable us to keep the shade up and not closed all the time, and 3) to block or at least fuzz people's view through our bathroom window.  We don't have close neighbors but we can see their houses from the window.  

I decided that there needed to be some kind of room divider - a screen of sorts - in front of the tub.  This is what I found ------- two screens at Pier 1.  On clearance for $49.95 each - had been $129.95 each.  I like the look!

The tub area is nice and roomy -- enough to accommodate pots of ivy in the window sill and on the ledge above the tub.  The orchids around the edge of the tub should also do well here.

Look at this picture and imagine Sherwin-Williams Brandywine paint on the walls.  Brandywine is kind of a terra-cotta color.

I love birds, leaves, twigs, anything that speaks of nature.  That's the feeling I'm trying to give this house and I think these screens fit right in.  After 25 years of living in the old house with not even a comfortable place to sit --- I want this new house to feel like an oasis!  

At this stage of my life, I NEED an oasis!

Phase II Has Begun

Phase II has begun!  The painting in the den is nearly finished.  Andy is a big fan of Sherwin-Williams paints so all of our paints are Sherwin-Williams Duration colors.  The den walls are painted Chamois with the face of the drop-down ceiling Restrained Gold.  The Restrained Gold is two shades lighter on the color card than the Chamois.  The Restrained Gold is also the color I chose for the foyer and hallways (up and down).  Andy has put on two coats of the Chamois on the walls and has one more coat of the Restrained Gold to go on the face of the drop-down ceiling.  

Here are some before and after pictures.  One picture is before-before and the other is after the hardwood but before the paint.  What a difference!  Not nearly as dramatic as going from the carpet to the hardwood but sure looks better with a color on the walls.  Love this color!  Very rich!

Not, sure which direction we'll go in next.  I want to get the rooms done that the window treatments have been ordered for ---- the guest room #1 upstairs and the dining room.  I think it makes sense to do the dining room next -- doesn't look like it needs a lot of patching and we can move the stuff over into the den area.  Once done, that whole area can be cleaned up and ready for company next week.  Also, the dining room is smallish and should go fast.  The guest room #1 will have quite a bit of patching to do.  Maybe I can patch while Andy paints the dining room.

The cornice boards are due to be installed this Thursday in the den.   Wait until you see them!!!!!

My job while Andy has been painting - besides that of supervisor - has been to empty boxes.  In the past several days, I've gone through, sorted out for Goodwill and what to keep, and had a couple of cardboard bonfires.  I found the blender and the crockpot!  

I need a picture for over the fireplace.  A BIG horizontal picture.  I'm thinking pears.  Three pears sitting at angles like they do.  Green, gold, with a touch of burgundy.  What do you think?

The birds are finally finding the feeders.  We've had tons of finches (gold and purple) since immediately after putting them up but the other birds have taken a little longer.  Recently, there have been Downy Woodpeckers, a Red-Bellied Woodpeckers, a Titmouse, Chickadees, Doves, and a Junco at the feeders.  As I sit in my office typing this post, a Bluebird just landed on the roof outside the window  and stared at me.  He flew away just as I aimed the camera.  He was so vividly blue and rusty-orange.  Such a pretty bird!

This feeder photo was taken through the kitchen window but hopefully you can make out the Goldfinch, the Red-Bellied Woodpecker, and the Chickadee.

I am making progress on the baby blanket.  Love the pattern and the color for a little boy.  Almost ready for my third skein. Need to finish this as I really want to get a few other things done by Christmas.

Well, need to do some work so I can "help" paint tonight!

Phase I ---- Done!

Phase I of Home Remodel After Waiting 25 Years is DONE!  

The hardwood floors are down and the carpet was installed today. It's gorgeous!  I forgot to take before and after shots of the stairs and the upstairs rooms with that old NASTY carpet.  You'll just have to refer back to the previous post and picture that stuff covering the steps and three rooms upstairs.  The kicker was that we didn't think there was hardwood under the old carpet on the steps but there turned out there was unfinished red oak hiding underneath. Could've finished those puppies and had hardwood stairs for less money than the carpet.  Oh well.  Some one forgot to check.  (Name unmentioned and it wasn't me.)

Here's a picture of the stairs as you come in the front door and one of just the carpet.  Neither do the color justice.  I took several photos but none of them really show the rich dark gold color of the carpet.  

Phase II has started - S-L-O-W-L-Y.  Andy has begun patching the den getting it ready to paint.  Hopefully, after a week of patching, we'll finally get some color on the wall this weekend.  We're finding some really shoddy workmanship - nails not sunk deep enough, the drywall is sagging where it wasn't nailed up properly leaving cracks, some woodwork has been varnished and some hasn't, etc.  

I'm still hoping for a miracle with all these dang boxes.  Don't know how in the world I'm going to go through them all or where I'm going to put anything in them that I might want to keep.  Just need to get the basement space organized.  Stuff is ALL OVER THE PLACE and it drives me NUTS!

On my walk outside today, I found this little nest squished in tight between the  naked branches of one of the bushes along the front walk.  It is filled with red leaves from the bush.  

The pots out front are looking pretty.  Wonder how long the plants will last in them?  They are up next to the house under the porch roof so are kind of protected.  I just love pansies!   Wish I had room to plant every color available.  They are such happy flowers.  

The scaredy cat has now been replaced with a rather less than plump turkey!  Mom gave me these metal pieces last year but this is the first time I've used them.  I think this pumpkin made a better kitty cat!

Had a work appointment today up in New Albany, OH where I had lots of wait (read knitting) time!  The baby blanket is growing!

Enjoy the pansy pics!

Where Did Last Week Go?

Last week absolutely flew by!

In addition to work appointments, I had the flooring fellow here three days last week.  He transformed the downstairs by ripping up the old NASTY carpet and putting down red oak hardwood to match the rest of the first floor rooms.  When I say NASTY, I mean NASTY!    The carpet had visible stains from the top-side (even after being cleaned) but the underside was full of stain evidence.  Plus, the padding underneath was just powdery.  I wouldn't have expected that in a house that's only six years old.  Must not have been very good quality.  

What a difference the hardwood makes!!  The rooms look so much cleaner and so much larger.  Such an improvement!  Here are two views of the den / living room - before and after.  WOW!

Here's a look at the NASTY carpet and also before and after of the rooms.  The carpet people will be here next week to replace the NASTY carpet upstairs (in the  two guest bedrooms and the office) with new in a pretty shade of dark gold.  I wish I could afford to put hardwood upstairs and on the stairs, too.  Just too expensive. 

I saved most of my vacation days this year since I didn't know if I'd have to take them to move or what.  So, now I have to use them.  

I took Friday off to attend a Friday-Sunday watercolor workshop with Nancy Nordloh Neville at the Pendleton Art Center in Cincinnati.  I think I was the only student in the class that hadn't taken from here before.  In fact, several of the students are also in her class that meets every Monday afternoon.

Nancy was a delight.  Very good with her critiques.     

I LOVE Nancy's work!  Everything she paints is just gorgeous!  She leans towards florals and fruits -- still life paintings.  Nancy's husband, Bruce Neville, is also a watercolor artist.  With his background in architec ture, he prefers painting landscapes and buildings.  They share a studio on the 6th floor of the eight-story Pendleton Art Center.  Their studio space was jam-packed with inspiration!  I could have sat there all weekend and been satisfied with just looking around!  

Friday, Nancy had set up this butt-kicking (no other way to explain it!) still life.  It was gorgeous but, boy!, was it intricate.  My mind starts screaming "I can't do this" when it's confronted with something so complicated to paint.  This still life could have been a dozen or more paintings from different angles or by including / excluding this object or that.  Here is my attempt.  I want to go back in and add more leaves to the hydrangeas so there won't be so much white space.  I also want to make the flower heads less splotchy - more uniform.  The fact that the hydrangeas are so straight bothers me a bit but that's how they were in real life.  Using artistic license to  make the changes mentioned above, might help things.  I won't even discuss the trials and tribulations of trying to paint the silver coffee urn!  We'll see if I can improve this any.

Saturday, most of us were still finishing up Friday's piece.  Once done, it was on to the Saturday set-up.  Mine lacks the red-checked tablecloth -- still need to add it.  I also want to go back in and paint more pansies - make them fuller with more blossoms and leaves.  The spot where the bag meets the pot also needs to be darker.

Sunday, was a real challenge!  An architectural piece straight off the streets of Charleston, SC.  I wasn't feeling well on Sunday which didn't help matters.  I found this piece very hard.  Extremely difficult to draw / simplify.  

One thing that this workshop taught me is that I really need to draw more --- practice, practice, practice!   Your drawing is the foundation of your painting and I really need to practice drawing everything in sight!  

I'm taking an Imaginary Trip Through Autumn with Laure Ferlita, too.  Journaling is something I've always wanted to do.  This would also provide good drawing opportunity.  Anyway, Laure is a watercolor artist living in Florida who sponsors these "trips" to Paris, Europe, through Autumn, etc.  I think she has one coming up to the beach.  It is very organized and a super fun idea.  She gives us assignments and posts demonstration videos, we do them in our journal, post our results to the blog, and she provides us with helpful criticism and tips.  Check out Laure's blog, Painted Thoughts.

This imaginary trip idea is great!  I would have loved to have known about this when I lived in Virginia and the closest art class was almost two hours away.  I think the format is a great opportunity for people in rural areas, people that can't easily go away from home for an art class due to children, full time work, handicap, etc.  If you're interested in more information and possibly joining us on a "trip", click here.  

Here is our second lesson on the autumn "trip".  A white pumpkin.  I kind of like this pumpkin.  I especially like the water blossom in the shadow.  The first assignment was to design a cover for our journal.  Our next lessons were an andirondack chair and leaves.  I still need to do my leaves.

When Laure posted all the people and their state of residence on the blog, I noticed there was another painter from Ohio.  I emailed and found that Kelly lives right down the road - about twenty minutes - from me!  What odds!  This is open to anyone on the web and the two of us are practically neighbors!   Kelly and I emailed back and forth and then met for dinner Saturday night after my workshop.  It was great fun meeting her!!!  We seem to have a lot in common - love of art, love of birds, mother to sons, etc.  I hope we can get together again soon for a painting date.  She said that I need to see Fort Ancient - which is just about five or six miles from me.  Check out Kelly's blog, Red and the Peanut.  She is a terrific photographer!

On the knitting front ---- the baby blanket continues!!!!!!!  What an easy knit!

I'm off today and tomorrow and had hopes of unpacking boxes in a big way!  However, I don't know what this is I have but I still don't feel well.  I think it's asthma that has just settled in my chest.  Anyway, it comes with a hard cough but no runny nose or cold symptoms.  Needless to say, I don't feel like unpacking a thing.  Gracie kitty has an appointment at the vet for her annual exam this afternoon and I do have a late afternoon work appointment tomorrow.  If the day is nice, I might just take a folding chair outside and sit and read or knit.  There's no real furniture in the house so it's either get back in the bed, sit at the kitchen table, or sit outside!  

Post Boo

I intended to post yesterday but just plain ran out of time.

Saturday began with knitting at Panera's.  There was a great crowd and a lot of knitting going on - Lynn and Dee were working on a baby hats out of self-striping yarn ( so cute and colorful), Pat was crocheting the edging of her grand-daughter's baby blanket (when a group member has a grand-baby, everyone knits blanket squares and then the grandmother puts them together and does the edging), Mary Anne was knitting and about to finish yet another cardigan (she's a prolific knitter - I think this is the 3rd or 4th child's cardigan she's knit since I started going to the group).  Dot and Connie were there but were at the other end of the row and I failed to see (or can't remember) what they were knitting. 

Next, there was the dreaded trip to the grocery store.  Every area resident was there which made the chore full of "excuse me's" trying to get around people, waits in aisles that were blocked, etc.  I usually don't mind the trip to the store quite so much but just had so much I wanted to do this weekend.  

I finally made it home - just in the nick of time!  Tom followed me up the driveway with his truck loaded down with red oak hardwood for my floors!  Yes, people --- Phase Two of project "Make This House Mine" will get underway tomorrow.  Should take two days for the nasty carpet to come up downstairs and the hardwood to be put down.  Next week, is Phase Three - the nasty carpet upstairs and on the stairs gets replaced by new pretty carpet in a dark gold.  I will be posting before and after photos.

I had just a little bit of time to do some cleaning out before having to get ready for the Ghost & Goblets Dinner and Tour at the Hammel House Inn in Waynesville.  Waynesville has a reputation for being the most haunted town in Ohio and it is well-known that Hammel House Inn is the most haunted site in Waynesville.  So, it seemed like the perfect place to hang-out for Halloween.  The dinner dinner part of our night was delicious.  Served by the Hammel House, we dined on a salad of mixed greens with roasted pumpkin seeds, Craisins, and pecans, a chicken dish with a cornbread/grit cake and spinach souffle, melt-in-your-mouth buttery rolls, and an apple bread pudding w/ caramel sauce.  Yummmm!  During the dinner, we were entertained with ghostly tales from the owner of the Hammel House Inn and two volunteers from the Museum at the Friends Home.  Then, we were able to walk off at least some of the dinner calories as we continued our night touring through the town with the museum volunteers leading the way and pointing out points of paranormal interest along the way.  Afterward, we drove two blocks up the hill to the Museum at the Friends Home.  The structure was built in 1905 and was used as a boarding house for Quakers.  The Quakers remain quite active in this area.  

Reasons for Waynesville being so haunted????  Well, I have read that it is built over Indian burial grounds and also this area was very active in the Underground Railroad.  Throw in a triple ax murder by an eighteen year old boy and a murder by a former Hammel House Innkeeper and you've got yourself a haunted town!  Four out of the five bedrooms of the Inn were reserved last night by people who attended the dinner / tour.  I wish I could find out how they slept!  Two of their rooms continue to be reported as VERY "active" with spirits.  You can read more here and here.

Some of Andy's family are coming this afternoon for lunch/dinner.  We'll be improvising since we don't have any real chairs to sit in on.  Thank goodness it's nice out - very sunny - not a cloud in the sky!  So we'll put the patio to good use.  Andy will grill chicken and I'm making three bean salad, copper pennies, and corn pudding.  We'll finish up with a peach pie and apple caramel cake (no, I did not make them!).  

Enjoy these few pictures of Halloween here at my house.  The row of burning bushes has been gorgeous with its fiery red color.  Now, their leaves are shedding and they'll soon be a row of sticks.  Not sure how I'm going to like that as I'm used to huge evergreen English boxwoods - green all year - along my walkway.  

I love this pumpkin cat!  Mom sent me the metal attachments to turn this plain ordinary pumpkin into a scaredy cat.  He's so cute!  I especially love his toenails.

We'll be getting ready for turkey-time soon!!!