Attic Annie

Remember when I told ya how Annabelle loved the house and has been in every nook and cranny? Well this afternoon, Chuck decided to put our TV antenna in the attic. He had the ladder pulled down in the hallway and after being in the attic, came down and was in the living room messing with the TV. He heard something in the ceiling and thought the antenna had fallen over, so he went back up the ladder. I heard him say " utt oh!...Annie come here!" Annie had gone up the ladder and was running around in the insulation which was up to her shoulders! Of course she wouldn't come to Chuck. Even after me getting the " kitty treats". We turned off the light up there and came down for about five minutes. Then, I went back up and called her and she came to me but getting her down the ladder was another thing. I handed her to Chuck and I guess she thought she was going to fall so she dug her front claws into the board in the opening and also got my finger. Then her back claw dug into Chuck's arm. We were both wounded but Annie was back on the floor where she belonged. It wasn't over yet though, I had to wipe her down with a wet paper towel because she was gray, not black and white from the insulation. She sure is living up to her nickname...." pain in the butt cat"....but we still love her.

Marmie comes out!

Marmalade is gradually venturing out into the other rooms of the house. He only comes out at night or really early in the morning when it's still dark and Chuck is in the kitchen making coffee. Two nights ago, I was watching TV after Chuck had gone to bed and here comes Marmie. He walked around the whole living room and then into the fire place before laying down on the tile in front of it. He actually stayed until I headed to bed and called him to go with me.

Troy's List

Troy has teased me about the chalk board ever since I had him put the frame up for it. He said it was going to be Chuck's " honey do" list and it was going all the way to the floor. Everyone that came to the house, he told that story too. So! I decided to play a joke on Troy and I made a long list on the board of things for him to do. Some of them were things that still needed to be done in the house but I also made up silly things like " gather the eggs, wash all the windows, feed the cats, make whomp biscuits, lay sod, mow the yard, move furniture from the barn...etc. When he came the next morning and saw the list he laughed and laughed. Then, he called his wife and read the list to her. Now when ever anyone comes into the house, he stops them at the list and asks them if they could please help him out and do something on the list....lol. He has cheated some by erasing some of the words to make it suit something that he has done. He's so funny. Believe it or not, he doesn't have very many things left to check off the list. He loves getting into the drawer where I keep the chalk and marking off something on the board. I think he's going to miss us as much as we are going to miss him.

Making it happen!

Our friend Andrea came to see us winter before last, when we came up for a week to stay in the TT. She had brought us a wonderful present and I had stuck it in one of the boxes in the barn because it was for the house. When I was unpacking the other day, I came across it and thought it was " wonderful " all over again. It was the perfect new house present! It was a saying made out of vinyl that you put on the wall. This one said : "WISH.HOPE.DREAM...then make it happen." It was just what Chuck and I did. I put it over the kitchen sink so I see it every day. It's perfect there because the light under the cabinet shines on it. Not only does it remind me every day what Chuck and I have been through, but I think of Andrea too, for giving it to us.

The Big Move!

Hall bath

Laundry room with laundry...lol

Breakfast room

Sun room

I know! I know! I know!.....everyone has been waiting to see what's been going on here at Brambly Pines. Well, we have been working our butts off and we're getting there. Even though we have almost all the furniture in the house, we have a lot of work left....like deciding where to hang things on the walls, what fabric to use to recover cushions ( in the sun room)...make valances in some of the rooms and find lamps where they are needed and find some dining room chairs. Troy came on Wed and helped Chuck move all the heavy stuff that he couldn't do himself . He has gone way beyond to just being " our builder". Everything we own, has had to be washed before being put into the house. Between the dirt, spider webs and mold, it's been a BIG job! Just think about washing everything you own and move it into a house . Our couch is ruined by mold so we have to buy a new one. For right now, we have two chairs in the living room to just give us something to sit on. I pretty much have the kitchen the way I want it. I'm sure I will be changing things down the road....you know me. The "island" turned out awesome for being in a storage shed for ten years and through a flood. I love the color blue I painted it. ( it looks brighter in the pic than it really is) I still have our bedroom dressers to paint and a couple of other pieces to touch up. There are tons of boxes to go through yet. I'm still missing a few things. I'll find them one of these days. ..and won't it be fun when I do? I have my studio about half way set up. There is still scrap booking stuff in the TT and lots in the barn. I've had to rethink how I had things in my studio in Fla because of less space. I'll make it work though. I'm lucky to have an extra bedroom for my studio and it's waaaaay bigger than the bedrooms we had. Chuck's been cleaning up the back porch so Tim can come back and stain the floor and paint the boards that Troy and Tommy will use for putting up the screen. We have to go buy our pretty screen door too. It's going to be prefect for the " Fall weather" we are getting this coming week. Chuck's also been cleaning up the yard....there are big piles of wood, a big pile of dirt that has to be moved and the yard to level before we can lay sod. Troy brought his tractor with the front end loader on it, for Chuck to use. Chuck says his winter job is going to be...clearing out the dead trees and all the vines from the woods in front of the house. Then, it will be my job deciding where and what to put in the flower beds. Oh! oh! they finally came and picked up the stinky port a potty!!!! Yea!!!!!! I hated that thing.! Next the dumpster that is in the drive way to the basement will be picked up. Well, I will try and post to the blog every couple of days again, since we have the major stuff moved. ...including the kitties. Annie LOVES the new house and has been in every crack and cranny. Marmie has spent the past two days under my chase in my bedroom. He does get in bed with me at night though. He will venture out more as time goes by. Chuck painted my bed today and we set it all up....with me washing and ironing both bed skirts to it. I'm off to sleep in it for the first time in almost 11 months. Good night!...don't let the bed bugs bit!

MOVING!

Sorry that I haven't posted to the blog in a little while but I've been busy moving things from the TT and the barn. ....into " the new house". It's a lot of work, but so much fun. We started moving some of the furniture in two evenings ago. Yesterday, I cleaned all the windows ...ALL 22 of them! on the inside. We have to scrub the paint off the outsides yet. Oh! get this...ya'll know about how 22 is " our number". In case someone out there doesn't know: Chuck's birthday is Jan. 22. Mine is July 22. Shell's is May 22. Ryan's is Oct 9 ...(I couldn't wait until Oct 22 to have him...sorry Ryan, I couldn't wait another 13 days to see ya. You were already 6 days late.) We bought 22 acres in the 22 State of the Union. Well.....Chuck counted the doors in our house yesterday and there are 22 just like the windows! How funny is that? lol. I took all the food out of the TT pantry and put it in the house pantry. Oh! I LOVE the new pantry. It's one of my favorite things in the house. Then, I went down to the barn and dug through all the stuff and found my pretty dishes that I haven't seen in almost a year. Before I could put them in the cabinets, I had to clean the cabinets. Men sure do make a mess when they put cabinets in. I brought our kitchen table and chairs over from the TT and then, I cooked dinner on the new stove and we ate our first " real dinner" in the house. Just before dark, we went down to the barn and got my mattress and put it in my bedroom so I could spend the night in the house. ...so I was in the house all by myself last night. I'm hoping we can get Chuck's mattress over there today. We can't set up our beds yet because the ceiling fans are still missing. We can't have furniture in the way of putting them up. I was going to take my " first bubble bath" in my so pretty tub but I couldn't find my bubble bath and we just bought it! It's hiding some where around here or in the barn. Maybe I will find it today. Our friends have offered to come help us move today so that will be a BIG HELP! Bless their hearts...they helped us unload the truck in the "MUD" 10 months ago too. Any ways....if you don't hear from me for a few days...it's because we don't have the computer hooked up in the house yet and I'm really busy carrying things from the barn and deciding where I want to put them in the new house. SO MUCH FUN FOR ME!!!!!!

Two Sleeping Kitties

Marmalade Lee Peterson............

Sweet Annabelle Lee......

Just had to share my two sweet, sleeping kitties. Of course these were taken during the day...not at night when I would LIKE for them to sleep. I love them and wouldn't trade them for anything. ....well, there have been times, I would have traded Annie...lol....but she is lucky that I love her so much.

More apples!

Wild flowers along the roadside...on the way to get apples.

I decided since my apple butter turned out so good from the apples that we picked last week, we would go and see if we could pick some more at the produce stand where we " pick on the halves". Well, it wasn't a good year for apples for them because of all the heat we have had. So there were none for us to pick. We did get to buy a 1/2 gal of ice cream milk that everyone seems to be using for their homemade ice cream. It's neat...it has all the milks and creams in it, that you need for your recipe. Since there were no apples, we thought we would check the other orchard a mile or so down the road, before heading home. We were lucky...they had beautiful apples. We bought a 1/2 bushel and an apple corer. ...that works "wonderful"!

For the past two days, I've been making " apple butter, Aunt Eunice's apple sauce, apple jelly, and an apple pie....(being frozen in the freezer for later) Fall up here is fun...even though it still feels like summer. Soon, it will cool down and the hummingbirds will leave for the winter and we will have beautiful colored leaves to paint the countryside. .....and we will be eating my " apple efforts" all winter long.

They Found IT!

I went off to " quilt guild" this morning and told Chuck that if my bath tub showed up today, to please call me and I would come home. I wanted to be here when they put it in the bathroom. I didn't want them putting it up against the walls. I had a couple of errands to run while I was in town, after QG and I was leaving the one store when I got a call from our stock broker wanting to talk to Chuck. When I called Chuck, he said that my bath tub was on it's way. So, I came straight home without running the rest of my errands. I made it just in time! The guys were putting the feet on the tub when I walked into the house. :-) While they were doing that, two guys were outside, putting our garage door on. THEN! the guys brought the appliances. They didn't hook them up...that will happen when the plumbers come tomorrow. The refrigerator didn't come in a box, so they just unwrapped the plastic that was around it and put it in the hole. This morning, while I was gone, Victor put the tile around the fire place. He will grout it tomorrow when he comes back with our carpet. Tommy and Troy are suppose to come tomorrow also to put all the quarter round molding on the bottom of the base boards. I sure hope Tommy brings me my three "new girls". If everything that is suppose to get done tomorrow, we just might be moving in this weekend. I'm trying not to think about it because....as Debbie says....I'm so excited that I'm about to pee my pants!!!!...lol

Almost Done!

My pretty blue chandelier!The ceiling is green..just didn't show up in the pic.

outside light matches the antique bathroom window.

The wood floor makes the sunroom look really big.

All of the floors were done, yesterday. They are so pretty!! I've never had wood floors before. I know they are "the thing" to have these days. Sure hope I like them. ( they are taking the blue tape up today) The carpet comes in a day or so. It goes in all the bedrooms and the living room. The electrician came yesterday also. He put the chandelier in the bathroom.( it's way prettier in person than in the picture) It turned out sooooo pretty. I LOVE it! ...and to think it costs $5 in a junk store and Chuck spray painted it a pretty blue for me. I sure have gotten teased by all the men working on the house about my " BLUE chandelier"! ..lol. Wait until they see the "real blue" one that is going in the kitchen. ..ha. We dug the "crystal chandelier" out of the box we packed it in for the move and MAN! it sure was dirty....not broken...just dirty...thank goodness Chuck hung it on the clothes line pole for me so I could clean it. Now it's all nice and shiny and ready to be hung when the electrician comes back. The only things left to be done are: tiling the fireplace, put down quarter round on the baseboards, the ceiling fans and lights put up ....find my bath tub...lol and deliver the appliances...which are coming today. It could be that we start moving in this coming weekend. Can you believe it?

Picking Apples and Pears

We were invited to pick apples and pears any time we want over at Pam's (Troy's Aunt by marriage) Dad's house where no one is living any more. We were a couple of weeks too late for the apples but I think we got enough for me to make some apple butter. The pear tree was loaded!!!! so I'm going to can some more and finally get to make my pear bread. I love " southern pear salad" where you have a pear half, put a dab of mayonnaise and a sprinkle of shredded cheddar cheese on top. It sure will taste good this winter to go along with a bowl of hot soup. I'd better get canning!!!!!

Still Painting

the neat kitchen chalk board!

the porch ceiling is blue...just doesn't show up well in the picture

Mr. Tim the painter man is still here painting his little heart out. He's been here over two weeks ....painting even on weekends. He used 60 gallons of paint on just the inside of the house. He's caulked, sanded, painted, stained and has run to the paint store I don't know how many times. He has painted more than what was expected of him. I had said....I wished he could spray my wicker because it would take him a few minutes to Chuck's hours and ten cans of spray paint. Mr. Tim...said " I'll spray it for ya...just bring it down in front of the house". I started right away, cleaning all the spider webs and dirt off of it all. Chuck loaded it up in the truck and took it to the front yard. Tim had it painted in just a few minutes. I had asked if I bought the chalk board paint, if he could please paint my chalk board in the kitchen. He said " no problem". Taa Daa!!!! I have the neatest chalk board ever, in the kitchen. We're going to miss having Mr. Tim come every day. He's become a really nice friend and has invited us to come swim in his pool next summer. He just lives down our road about five miles.

The Three Little Kitties

George of the Jungle

Just thought I would update everyone on " the kitties". Annabelle and Marmalade are fine and don't have a clue that they will be moving into a big house in a few weeks. Annie will love it but I'm sure Marmie will spend another three months under the bed again. I'm not sure if he will ever venture out to the screened in porch or not. Our " third kitty" George, is getting more tame each day. He spends most of his time either on the porch or under the TT. He is becoming Chuck's cat cause Chuck shares his sandwich at lunch with him every day. He rubs up against Chuck's legs and lets him pet him. I can only pet him when he's eating his kitty food. He is a " talker"and will answer me when ever I talk to him. He's so cute. .....and I have to report...he's getting fatter...no longer just kitty fur on those bones. :-)

Kinlock Indian Shelter

pretty wild flowers

going down the waterfall

inside the cave

Yesterday, we went to the forest which it had been awhile since we had spent the day there. While we were driving up the mountain, a doe and her fawn ran out into the road and stood there for a minute before running into the woods. They were so cute .....I just don't understand how anyone could shoot them. I know, I know...there would be a zillion deers in the forest if they didn't but I'm just glad it's not me that does the shooting. Of course we found some wild flowers beside the road for the vase in the truck. The hike to the Indian shelter wasn't far at all...only about 1/2 mile BUT....it wasn't an easy hike. We had to go down a water fall (good thing it's summer and there wasn't any water going down it...it was hard enough as it was). It was all worth it because just around the corner was this awesome canyon with a cave. It was used as a permanent home and a migration camp by native Americans for thousands of years. There were carved symbols in the rocks and to this day they use it as a ceremonial place. While having our picnic lunch, I thought of how many beautiful places Chuck and I have had lunch in the forest. We are so lucky to live in such a beautiful State. We saw a few " Fall leaves" turning already. As we were hiking back up the waterfall, I was wishing Shell was there behind me to push my " butt" up the rocks....lol. ...but I made it. We headed for home, after marking off another place in our " Alabama Canyons" book that we had found in the forest.

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