Smores Bon Fire!

Monday night, we decided we had better have our Smores Bon Fire over at the BNOE because it was suppose to rain the next couple of nights. Charlotte had the fire all going nice and hot when we walked over, after dark. I brought all the ingredients, including a bottle of wine. There are big rocks around the fire ring and that is where we put the Peanut Butter cups, to melt in their wrappers. Then, we roast the marshmallows. You put the PB cups on the graham cracker first, then the ewwwey goooooey marshmallow and then another graham cracker. Man! those are the best smores any body has ever made up!!!! I'm hoping that one of these days we can have our own fire ring. You'd think with 22 acres...we could find a safe place to build a bon fire. Oh yeah, the wine wasn't bad either. Actually goes pretty good with chocolate and peanut butter. :-)

Hanging Pictures, Pictures, Pictures

I didn't hang very many of my pictures when we first moved into the house, cause Shell kept telling me to " wait" and she would help me do them. Well, that's a lot of pictures to hang all at once! Shell hung them in the sun room, my bathroom, the dining room, the hallway and the studio. We still didn't get them all hung but at least decided on where the rest should go. We used the " Martha" way of hanging groupings. You trace the picture frame onto paper and then cut it out. ...mark where the hanger is and then you tape the paper to the wall. You put the nail where you marked where the hanger is. Then, you pull down the paper that you have taped to the wall and " ta da" you hang your picture where the paper was. Since we have 9 foot ceilings, you can hang pictures out of reach and since Shell is short any ways...she stood on anything that would make her taller....like my cubes in the studio. I held on to her so she wouldn't fall of backwards. We got laughing and Chuck came to see what was so funny. It was me...holding onto Shell's butt so she wouldn't fall. ..lol. I'm so grateful to have most of my pictures hung in the house. I did hang a bunch of them in my bedroom, today. It's starting to look like we have lived in the house, all our lives. I still need to work on the window treatments. The ones I'm going to do at least. It's beginning to feel like" Home Sweet Home".

Visiting with "the girls"

I hadn't collected the eggs the morning that Shell came, so after having "tea" we walked down to visit with the girls and see how many eggs we would find. The girls love it when someone comes down to see them because they think they are going to get " treats". Shell found a few strands of onion grass for them. When it's time to go back down to put them to bed, they never want to go. Just like little kids. When you are chasing them to go into the house, they put their " brakes on"....they stop and put their wings out and won't budge. You have to pick them up and put them through their little "chicken door". They are so funny!

" THE bath tub".

Who knew we would " laugh" about Shell taking a bath. I got everything ready with lighting all the candles, giving Shell my pretty smelling bubble bath and turning on the "Christmas music". I close the door and in a few minutes, I hear Shell laughing and laughing! I go in there to see what was so funny and she was half way underwater. She is too short! Her feet don't reach the end of the tub when she lays down so she sliiiiiiiiiides down under the water. ...lol. I wonder if they make " pretty,short tubs" for short people? Speaking of my tub. I always laugh a little when I vacuum the bathroom and wonder how many people " vacuum under their bath tubs". ha. I LOVE my bathroom!!!!....just glad I'm three inches taller than Shell.

Our Southern Dinner

watching it rain from the lean to.

Shell and I went down to the garden on Tuesday morning to pick collards and cabbage for our " southern dinner". I had turned the water on so Shell could wash the plants off and about five minutes later, it started " pouring...I mean, windy, pouring down rain! We ran to the lean to and laughed while we tried to stay dry. It's a good thing I keep an umbrella down there ( which I had better remember to take it back down there). Shell went out in the rain to pick the garden. Just as we were getting ready to take it all back to the house, using the one umbrella between us, Chuck showed up with another umbrella for us. We had soaked a package of black-eyed peas over night. Shell had gotten a good recipe for those from Becca and she had them going in the crock pot all day. Then I showed Shell how to cut up the collards and we cooked those for a couple of hours. The rest of our dinner consisted of fried potatoes with kielbasa and another "Becca recipe" of "pinto cheese biscuits". It was the best dinner ever!!! We sure were " stuffed and there were plenty of left overs....which Shell ate a couple of times while she was here.

She's Here!!

After waiting and counting down the days, Shell came driving up our drive way in her little red " mini". Chuck laughed at me because a half an hour before she got here, I was walking back and forth from the barn to the TT, just waiting. He said you would thought, Shell was having a baby the way I was pacing...not driving up here...lol. It's just so funny for me to think that my daughter is all grown up and drives all this way to our house. As most mothers, I still think of Shell being my little girl...that blond, blond curly headed, never sat still, little girl. I was so happy that she was here. I knew the " fun would begin"! We came in and had " tea" and listened to her funny stories about her drive up and the weekend with Becca over in Georgia.

Getting ready

I spent the last two days getting ready for Shell to come see the house for the first time. I decided I wanted some kind of furniture next to the rocking chair in the kitchen so went off to the barn to see what I could find. I uncovered this night stand with three drawers that I had bought " junking" with Sandy in Gulfport, before we moved. I paid a whole $7 for it...lol. It was painted black with a lot of paint chipped off of it but it was still worth way over $7! I loaded it up in my cart behind " little red" and brought it into the kitchen to decide if I really wanted it in there before I spent the time to paint it. "Yep"...I thought I would like it there so back down to the barn, it went. I put two coats of blue paint on it and prayed that I wouldn't run out of paint. I had a smidgen left when I was done. The handles were also painted black so when I took them off, Chuck sprayed them silver for me. Well, when I loaded the stand back into " little red's cart", I saw where I had a lot of touching up to do. That happens a lot. The lighting in the barn just isn't good for painting. When you bring what you have painted out into the sun light...man oh man! you need to get the paint and paint brush out again. Any ways, I touched it up and let it dry. When I finally brought it up to the house, I was so glad that I had decided on that piece. I love it next to the rocking chair. It also pulls my " blue" over into the breakfast room. After, I cleaned house the rest of the day, I went into the studio and finished up making the last three cushions for the chairs in the kitchen. It finally looks like the kitchen is done. There is one more piece of furniture that I'm trying to decide if I want in there but I need Chuck to bring it over from the TT and IF I want it in the kitchen, I'll have to get some more blue paint. All of this can wait until after Thanksgiving. Shell and I have so many more things to decided on and do. At least I have had the dining room all ready for Thanksgiving for a month now. It will be sad to take it all down, but then again....Christmas will look pretty in there too.

Well, Shell should be here in about an hour. ( smiling) I'll tell ya all about what we end up doing to the house and all the fun we're going to have. Hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving! Ours is going to be GREAT!

Still decorating.

Yesterday we went off for our "monthly trip" to Huntsville. We visit Sam's, the bank and lately HH Gregg. We only had one TV that works up here since we don't have cable. ( the BNOE are the last on the street to get cable ) Soooo, we have had to replace the TV's we had in the kitchen and the living room. That means I finally have my TV back in my studio. A couple of months ago, we got the little one for the kitchen and yesterday, we got the new one for the living room. It was the perfect time to buy one too because everyone has them on sale. We got a really good deal on the 36 inch one. I've decided not to replace the TV that I had in my bedroom in Fla. I have my books to read, to entertain me until I get sleepy enough to turn out the lights.

I'm not sure if I told ya how Alabama puts out a poster every year and they are free. We have three of them so far. My favorite one is the " Alabama Outdoors" one. It has a huge hummingbird on it. I had gotten two frames for the posters on sale a couple of years ago when we were up here visiting Gene and George. I've had the hummingbird poster leaning up against the wall here and there. I just couldn't decide where I wanted to hang it. Then it dawned on me...duh! I have " birds" in the sun room so I took it in there and it was perfect over the 100 year old wicker love seat! Sometimes I wonder why it takes me so long to think of things. Now, if I just had the cushions redone and pillows made in there. All in time. I'll post another picture when the sun room is all done. Hopefully it won't be another year.

Mailed House Warming Presents

Not only are our friends bringing us " new house warming presents" when they come to visit, but they are sending them in the mail. I have never had so much fun, having a new house and I've had three of them now. Our very first " Navy married friends" in Pensacola, Carol and Joe, live in New Hampshire and we have kept in touch for the 40 years. A couple of months ago, here comes a package for the new house. It was the cutest carved set of kitties, which Carol said reminded her of me and my kitties. Also a sweet framed "stitched saying "about "friends". I have them both in the sun room and they make me smile every time I look at them. Then, a couple of weeks ago, there was another package in the mail box from a long time friend, Vickie. It was a chicken pulling a cart with a harvest pumpkin which holds a tea candle. Plus, a box of wonderful smelling tea candles. I just loved it! You know me and my chickens. Vickie and I have known each other for about 26 years. Our daughters ( she has three) grew up dancing together their whole childhood. Vickie's oldest daughter also went to school with Shell and Ryan. It's so great having long time friends and know that they are happy for Chuck and I.

Green, green grass treat!

We put a couple pieces of sod in "the girls" yard. You would think we were giving little kids candy! They all ran to it and as they were eating, they cheeped like they were baby chicks again. They loved it!!!!! By the next morning, there was hardly anything left. Not only did they eat it, but they scratched it to pieces. They got one last piece this morning. I wish I could give them a new piece every day. I told Chuck, it's a good thing they aren't " free ranging chickens" or all of our yard would be gone in a week. lol.

Mountain of Mulch

The mountain of mulch along with some of the wood for the deck.

We thought laying sod was a back breaking job...ha! Putting mulch all the way around the house was harder. First of all, I tried to back my cart on the back of " little red" into the mulch pile, but it is IMPOSSIBLE!! to back the tractor up and have the cart go where you need it. You might as well just give up and that is what I did. Then, I tried filling up a 5 gal. bucket with mulch, which didn't hold very much and carrying it to where I needed the mulch. That took forever! It's bad enough, trying to fill what ever with mulch, with a pitch fork because it all falls through the prongs. I was getting ready to give up and just go rake up pine straw to use instead of mulch, when Chuck came up with the idea for me to use my little hand cart. That worked but was still hard work. It's hard to roll the cart when it's full, over the grass. As I was plugging along, Chuck came from unloading the truck bed of old wood down by the barn and took the cart that goes behind "little red" and loaded it. THEN, he pulled it by hand to the flower beds out front and to the other end of the house. He would dump it all and I would rake it to where it needed to be. We finally got it all done. Then, I planted some daffodil bulbs along one of the retaining walls that Lady Melanie had given me. I need about a 100 more, which I'll get at Sam's. Next, I worked on my " bird girl" flower bed. Chuck finished the last pieces of sod as I watered them. It was dark when we went in the house for dinner. It gets dark at 5:00 pm in the winter, up here. Makes for a short day. ...but yesterday sure didn't feel short.

All 16 pallets of sod!

We left the space for the deck that goes off of the sun room.

Five days later, we have a yard! All 16 pallets of sod are down. What a job! Chuck and I both are aching but it was well worth it. What a difference it makes. It's so nice to look out all of the windows and the porches and see pretty green grass instead of the red, red clay. Plus, when it rains we won't have "mud!". Chuck got the two hills by the retaining walls, leveled and we hurried and laid the sod there first since every time it rains, the mud slides down into the drive way. This should stop it. We will find out tomorrow because it's suppose to start raining tonight and rain through Tues. morning. Perfect timing for the new yard. If you notice in the picture of the back yard, we have " bird girl" with a round flower bed around her. I came up with an idea what to do with the mountain of wine bottles that is behind the barn. ( Chuck drinks a gallon of wine very week and we have been here over a year now....so you do the math..lol) I am using the bottles as a flower bed border. I'm putting them right up against each other, while burying the necks in the clay. It's not an easy job, but I'll just keep working at it, until I have them all in a circle around " bird girl". I did plant some tulip bulbs around her and then a ring of pansies. Chuck brought over the cement planters from the TT and put them on each side of the front steps. He also brought over Mom's cement planter that I have my herbs planted in, and that is in the corner of the back yard, by the screen porch. This way, I won't have far to go to pick fresh herbs when I cook. All in all, it's coming together. There is still a lot of work with planting the flower beds but I think that will wait until Spring. Oh, I am planting daffodil bulbs all along both of the retaining walls. Won't that look awesome, come Spring and they are all blooming!!! It will be a nice break for a few days from working in the yard, with all the rain that is coming. Back to painting furniture in the barn. I'm begining to wonder if my life will ever be "normal" with just having to clean house, do laundry and go grocery shopping. I have to say, I don't have time to get bored.

Sixteen Pallets

Chuck ordered the sod last week. They called yesterday morning to tell us that they went to cut the field and they didn't like the way it looked so they were going to go cut another field and they would deliver it today. Well, it came around noon. All sixteen pallets! Just as I got home from quilt guild ( I came home early...didn't stay for lunch) we started right in, laying it. It sure is a " job" but it's so nice having " instant" yard. It's so green and pretty that it doesn't look real. We worked at it for 4 1/2 hours without stopping and got four pallets down. Only 12 more to go. I think it's going to take us a couple more days to get it all done. We sure are going to have a pretty yard when it is though. Now we are hoping that the weatherman is right and it rains this weekend. Just think...." no more MUD!" Plus, I can start in on all my flower beds too. At least plan them for planting this Spring. Next project....new gravel for the drive ways.

Hay Bales

Fall sure is fun in Alabama. On the way to Gene and George's there are all of these bales of hay that people have decorated. Gene said that they had a contest with them. A giant spider ( not the one I took a picture of) won. As we were driving along, I'd holler..." there's one!!" and Chuck would stop. He even made a " safe and legal U turn" a couple of times. At least it made our trip home interesting because once we got on the interstate, it was the " same ole" that we have seen so many times now. People sure like to decorate up here. Soon it will be time for me to take pictures of all the " decorated mail boxes". Oh..wait until you see some of them!!! lol.

Pike Road Flea Market weekend.

Afternoon Tea.

My wisteria basket

My " John Hall Store" print

Dressed for the cold weather.

Bake sale where Gene bought the mocha cakes and sandwiches.

Chicken bench I'm going to try and paint. I have a bench like it in the barn.

bottle tree that was for sale.

For years and years, I have been wanting to go to the " Pike Road Flea Market" with Gene but it's always the first Sat. in November. Since we always went up to Gene and George's for Thanksgiving, there was no way I could go. Last year, we were driving with everything we owned, that wasn't already in the barn. Yep, we moved up here one year ago today!! ...and what a year we have had! Any ways....I was determined to go to the Flea market this year. We drove down to G & G's on Friday morning. Well, we started out in the morning, but as we were packing the Explorer, Tommy showed up to put the screen porch on the house. After talking with him and explaining what we wanted, it put us about an hour behind. Then, Chuck decided that we would drive down on Hwy 231 instead of taking the interstate. It was a much prettier drive...with the colors on the back country road....BUT...it took us an extra hour. Plus, we had stopped in Birmingham, to look at the "fireplace store" to see if we could find a screen to fit the fireplace. Found one, but that's another story. We ended up getting to G & G's around 3:30. Gene fixed tea and scones for us for an afternoon treat. Becca, Ro and Lanier were coming for the weekend also. Only, Ro, Lanier and Jordan (Lanier's Nanny )were already there and Becca came after work, which made it around 7:30. (she works in Atlanta) We all had a great dinner of George's homemade soup and some great bread. We spent the entire night, visiting ( in the kitchen). Chuck and I slept upstairs while the rest of the company stayed over at the lodge. Us girls got up early and got ready to go to the Flea Market...which, let me explain.......It's not really a "flea market" any more. It started out being like that but now it's this huge "arts and crafts show". There were tons and tons of booths with very interesting things. It was also " COLD"! It would have been a really nice day but it was windy so that made it bitter cold. We were all dressed for it though. Gene bought us all lunch of chicken salad, pimento cheese and BBJ sandwiches. She also bought 15 pieces of " Mocha cake". (when we got back home, we had tea and the mocha cakes..OMG! Best thing you ever put in your mouth!!!!) Gene's mom ( her name is Gene also but we call her Mimmie) gave me the recipe for the mocha cakes. You know what Shell and I will be making when she comes up in a couple of weeks!. Gene and Becca found lots of things to buy. I ended up with two things. An ink print of Cecil's " John Hall Store " which was made famous from being in the movie " A Christmas Memory" ( Truman Capote) Just as we were walking down the last aisle of booths, I found a guy making huge baskets out of vines. I loved them so I bought one that is made out of wisteria vines. I'm so glad I bought it. It looks great on the back porch. It will be fun to decorate with it for all the holidays. There were so many neat things to choose from. I was good and didn't buy one " chicken thing"...lol. I did take pictures of some things, so I can try and paint my own. I do want a " bottle tree" but Chuck is going to borrow Billy White's welder and make me one. I just have to save all the wine bottles for it now. All in all, it was really fun going to the " Pike Road Flea Market". I'm really glad I finally got to go. We packed up and headed for home around 4:00. It sure is nice to only be three hours from G & G and not EIGHT!!!!.....oh yeah! it was weird being in the twin house down there. ha! Gene was right though....they are totally different....just the rooms are in the same place.

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