It seems so short a time when the boxes were being unpacked for the move into this beautiful home.... and now we are repacking and taking so much more than just STUFF with us. We have to thank our wonderful neighborhood for these memories.
We are starting a new chapter in our adventure...

Boxes, tape and packing materials.....

The rooms are looking bare,

things are ready to be put in their new places,

and we are ready for the moving truck.

We're checking to see that nothing gets left behind,

and want our dear neighbors to know they will not be forgotten and we will not be far! We love you!

What Is It?

I have no idea what these are (well, somewhat of an idea - but it is probably wrong...). Would my plant savvy friends give me a hint?
Amaryllis and Italian parsley or Queen Anne's lace?

Young peaches, apricots or the forbidden fruit?

I am hoping for peaches, but I think my hopes may be dashed either way.

I think they're being eaten by a parasite - what should I do?!

Thanks, friends!

Paint Colors!

My last post was a post of GREAT lamentation, so I thought I would post only of happy things here today!
For example, my favorite sub-contractor:

Now, the house is still a mess, but floors are being added and walls are being painted and, plumbing is being installed. For all of this to happen, you need to have a very large workbench:

Back to paint colors! We had a good bit of leftover paint from our old kitchen wall color, so we reused it! The color scheme we will the same in this kitchen. No marble counter tops, but you can't have it all!


We'll change out the light fixture in the dining area to the one in my current art studio. It's an antique crystal one. My dad gave it to me. I love it!
The window below is in the kitchen and has a very wide sill, like a window seat. I plan to put a birdbath and feeder on this tree so that Scout and Henri can watch the birds for hours.

This is the main room of the house, minus the paneling and crazy colors - doesn't it look SO much better?!

I really like the light that streams in from this window. We will be able to sit and watch the sunset over the barn from it as well. I can't wait!
Here's the master bath - it has a LONG way to go, but it is getting there.

I told some of you about the paint color controversy in the master rooms... turns out the yellowy-orange cast was from the light hitting the orange-brown deck and reflecting back into the room. It looks much better now! :o) Everyone is happy.

We chose very light colors for our house because the rooms are so much smaller than what we are used to (and the ceilings), so we knew we would need that light look to help create the feelig of more space.

I know I've shown you the two guest rooms before, but here they are again!

See how the light can create different hues out of one color?

Here's the guest bath - purple of course! I have to have some purple!

And last, but not least... my art studio with the beginnings of a floor!

Yay!!!!!! Once the tile is grouted those dark lines will be much less visible. The room is purple, too. :o)
It is starting to come together - can we get it done in less than a week?!

House Tetris

You know how in Tetris you start off doing really well, enjoying the game and getting rid of those little lines one by one and quickly advancing to the next level? Then, at the next level, the tetri (plural?) start coming faster and faster and you have those long, skinny pieces that go anywhere less and less? Things start piling up. The space between the pieced tetri and where they drop becomes much smaller. Now the shapes are coming way too fast - crunch crunch crunch - they begin to slam into each other before you can get them placed. Then - GAME OVER . I think that's about where I am right now. Close to game over...

It's been a tough week at home (old house) this week. The process of moving and selling the house has had a few train wrecks. Add to all of that coordinating renovation, selling furniture, cutting pastures, moving horses, packing things up, saying goodbye, working this job and that job, day to day life stuff...... and we are a little worn out at the end of the day. I've been feeling guilty about been tried and short tempered when SO MANY that I know have it much more difficult than I do, but it is what it is.
I am very grateful for the new adventure and excited to see what life is like on a small farm, but I forget about that when I am frustrated. Forgive me if I've hurt your feelings or seemed distant. I am hoping to be a better friend and/or relative soon.
I almost reached the breaking point last night. I told Sam that I was overwhelmed and felt I had no one to help me... even he couldn't because he is so busy (and rightfully so). He gently reminded me that I haven't asked anyone for help (SO hard to do and quite humbling). So, here's my cry for help:

HELP!

I need it in the form of packing, cleaning and reassuring, mostly. The barn needs to be cleaned and ready for my sweet ponies, the pasture needs to be cut, the farm house needs to be cleaned, what the heck am I going to do with that kitchen and so on and so on. Most of these things are projects that I need to be working on, but I need buddies to come hang out and keep me focused and motivated while I pack and clean and plan. I need someone to bounce ideas off of. I need a friend!
It would most likely just be an hour here or there. It's hard to ask because it is something I know no one wants to spend time doing. I'm also afraid that no one will want to help. Plus, three out of my four readers live out of state... and the other reader is my husband. :o) I guess what you could do for me is pray that God will send me some friends to help. or give me superhuman powers for a few days!
On a happy note (a much needed happy note!), we have some new floors and they look GREAT!

YAAAAAAAAAAAAY FLOORS! YAY YAY YAY floors!!!!!!!!!!



These are the two guest rooms - don't you like the floors?! I do! Both rooms look similar because they have the same paint color, but they are DONE!
I'm so excited! They are beginning on the tile for the living area tomorrow! :o) Hooray!

Moving Messes

Things are progressing at the new house very nicely. The paint is on the walls (sorry - no pictures yet!) and the floors are being put down as I type! I am very thankful for the progress!
Things are the current home... well... they are slow. We had a great open house, but haven't heard back from any potential buyers. I know that God has a plan and a family that He wants in this home, so I am trying not to stress out. The house hasn't even been on the market for a month and it is a beautiful home, so I'll stop my worrying for now. :o) We'll see how that goes!
I have semi- started putting things together to pack. We don't have many boxes, so that makes it difficult. However, I haven't filled up the ones I have, either. What gets to me the most are the piles of stuff here and there. I am one of those "everything in its place and a place for everything" people so seeing things unorganized and rooms cluttered up puts me on edge. We are also trying to sell some of our furniture, so I have to move piles of clutter here and there to take pictures. Once the furniture goes, I will have even more things to box up! It looks like we are going to have to have another yard sale SOON!When we moved three years ago, I used the Flylady system and it really helped me rid my house of the clutter I did not need and kept the packing/moving process organized, sane and do-able. I will also be color coding each room for the movers (even though they didn't use it last time) and having a room name and color on each box. This was soooooooooooo helpful for me. When the movers would ask where something was going to go, I could just look at the color and point without having to think too much. I also knew about what was in each box by the color since I knew what room it came from/was going to. It sounds crazy and time consuming to color-coordinate things, but I can't emphasize enough how helpful it was.
So that's how my week is going and next week I hope to be stepping into high gear with the packing. After all, we are moving in the first week of May! Yikes!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks for listening to my woes. Hopefully I will have some fun pictures for you next time!

Sheet Rocking Updates

I know that what you all REALLY want are updates with pictures, so I thought I'd deliver!
Sheet rocking and demo are still the words of the week in our school of remodleing, but I am so pleased with the changes! Take a look!


Here's the big family room without carpet, the brick planter or cedar planks. It really, really opens it up (forgive me for the ladder in the picture. I had been cleaning up debris and was too tired to move it)!

Yay for sheet rock! Hooray!

I can't wait to see the house painted in the soft colors we picked out. It is going to make everything seem so much lighter and brighter!


Here's a wider angle.... you can also see all of the dust from sanding sheet rock mud!

It's the crazy room! Much better already!

They skim coated over the old polka dots - it almost looks like some sort of modern wall decor.


These pictures are from the guest bath. We took down the old mirrors and found this wall paper behind it. It came down (wallpaper) so easily. What do you think of the pattern?


Below are pictures of the master bedroom and bathroom. There was old wall paper on one wall and it did NOT come down easily. It was bringing the sheet rock with it, so we had to stop. Our wonderful paint crew is coming up with a solution for this dilemma.

Stacked in the middle of this room is the new flooring for the bedrooms.

Here's my favorite worker demo-ing the bathroom in the middle of a snow storm!

Here's how it looks with out the tub and dust particles. We will not put a new tub in just yet. We are going to save up for another claw-foot tub! We just love ours at the old house!
And the shower..... it had to be gutted. Any ideas for decor with this bathroom? I'm so excited to have a new BIG bathroom! I have had such a small one for so long!

So what do you think? Any suggestions? Where should I look for bathroom ideas?

One reason I find it hard get anything done...

... is because this cute little cat is always in my way, demanding love! :o)

There are Times...

...like right now, that I wonder why I am putting myself and family through all of this stress of moving to a new home when I have a perfectly wonderful one right here.
I have an extremely exhausted husband, confused dogs and cats in need of attention, horses desperately needing exercise, family and friends I ought to be spending time with, a house needing to be cleaned (here I am blogging - but it is the easiest way to keep up with family & friends right now), paintings needing to be finished and a garden and a pile of books just waiting to be enjoyed.
I'm not even going to tell you how pitiful my prayer life is right now....

BUT I know this is what we need to be doing for so so so many reasons. I won't go through them all, but here's three very good ones:


I must say, the reason to the far left is an especially sweet and cute one!

I feel a little better now! :o)

Flowers

My irises at the old house have been putting on quite a show lately, so I had to take pictures to capture their beauty.

But the pictures just don't do them justice!

I am most certainly going to pull some of these up to bring to the farm! I love that purple!


My knock-out roses are in full bloom - these have been such easy and beautiful plants.







We even have a little bird who's made a lovely nest!