Dirty Hands and Distractions

Dirty Hands and Distractions

Jun 27, '11 5:54 PM for Julie's contacts

This became a difficult week for me when life suddenly took a frightening turn on Tuesday evening. I won't go into all the details, but suffice it to say a Drs. appointment was immediately made and tests at the hospital began today. My Dr. should have some idea of what's going on tomorrow but until then I am trying desperately to keep my nerves in check - unsuccessfully I might add.
Being desperate for a distraction on Sunday, I decided to get my hands dirty and began re-potting some of my flowers and adding some more that I had picked up the day before. I spent money I shouldn't have - especially now - but I needed some form of therapy. I'm sharing some shots of the flowers with you, but please forgive the blurry ones - I am a very novice photographer and this week I've been unable to stop shaking.
I always try to buy some pansies because they were my mother's favorite and seeing them always makes her feel near somehow. Right now I wish I had her reassuring voice calming my fears and her hug to let me know she'd be by my side through whatever may be ahead.

Gerbera Daises; favorites of both my daughters. We have bright pink ones too but the blossoms have died and I'm hoping for new color.


 
Columbine! These were here when we bought the house. Hubby has mowed them down a time or two, so I put them in a large pot with some pansies and hope they multiply. Being from CO, having the state flower already growing in my new yard was like someone was trying to tell me "welcome home".


Meet the Black Prince Rose. He is a gift from my mother-in-law handed down several generations now! Hubby said he remembers seeing it bloom once in his lifetime! We transplanted it from her yard last summer and feared we had killed it, but it appears to be making a come back. I would love to see it bloom! Hubby gave him some rose food this weekend and now we're hoping for the best.


These are our new blueberries that we transplanted. No berries yet, but we are hopeful!

And here we have the bird feeder station offering the very best in song bird seed for the discriminating pallet of our feathered friends and even luscious red syrup to satisfy those with a sweet tooth. Suki, my constant little companion enjoyed the day in the yard as well but was being a bit of a drama queen about getting her picture taken. Normally she poses right away, but not that day LOL!



Finally looking at the camera!

The braided hibiscus is still doing well this year even though it has blown over three times! I did find another pot for it that will hopefully be more stable; the old one was given to the Columbine.

We are expecting thunderstorms tonight - so far we've only had a few sprinkles but since I didn't get to them today I'm hoping God will water my flowers tonight. And as if on cue, there goes the thunder! I might need to shut down my computer.

Bless this house

Dec 10, '08 2:35 PM for everyone

Here is a shot from the outside looking in that I took this morning when I took Suki for her walk. I have never been able to put a Christmas tree in front of a window like that before. I wish we could afford to put lights on the outside this year. Oh well, maybe in the future. You can also see how the snow bank has grown in the last few days!

I was listening to my Mom's Perry Como records and heard this song. It was so perfect that I have to post the words here. I'm thinking of typing this up nicely and framing it.

Bless this house, O Lord we pray,
    Make it safe by night and day . . .

Bless these walls so firm and stout,
    Keeping want and trouble out . . .

Bless the roof and chimneys tall,
    Let thy peace lie overall . . .

Bless this door that it may prove,
    Ever open,
    To joy and love . . .

Bless these windows shining bright,
    Letting in God's Heavenly light,

Bless the hearth, the painting there,
    With smoke ascending like a prayer!

Bless the folk who dwell within,
    Keep them pure and free from sin . . .

Bless us all that we may be,
    Fit O Lord to dwell with thee . . .

Bless us all that one day we may dwell,
    O Lord! With Thee!
    Words and Music by Helen Taylor
    and May H. Morgan ( a.k.a. Brahe ), 1927

Home Sweet Home

Home Sweet Home

Nov 15, '08 10:00 PM for Julie's contacts

Here I sit enjoying my new home after a long day of cleaning house. Cleaning house will always be hard work, but I am amazed at how much easier it is here, even though I go over the floors twice, once with a broom and then with my Swiffer Vac. It took me about three hours to do all the dusting, floors, clean the bathroom and do the dishes. Of course I had to do the dishes and sweep the floor again after supper.

I continue to marvel at and be thankful for my new little house. I've been reminiscing a bit today at the events that led up to our living here. Ever since we moved to town 21 years ago I have liked this house from what I saw of it from the outside. I always wondered what it looked like inside and often found myself straining to get a peek through the livingroom windows from across the street. At that time an elderly couple lived here, appearently they are the ones that had it built in the 70's. Not long after we moved here, his wife passed away, and we would see him out in the yard and greet each other almost daily. Several years ago he became ill and was placed in a nursing home. I wondered then if the house would go on the market and was disappointed that his nephew and new bride moved in. Little did I know they would put in new flooring in the kitchen and bathroom, new carpet, new kitchen cabinets and counters, spruce up the basement, and paint part of the exterior. They only lived here about three years when she got a job offer out of state and they found newlyweds to rent the house. One day in mid May I was taking Suki for a walk. It was a very windy garbage day and the truck had come and gone and their cans were blowing all around the neighborhood. Suki and I gathered the cans and lids and carried them up the driveway to the garage where the wind would be unable to reach them.  I stopped and looked around the yard and then enjoyed the view across the street for a few minutes, and as I turned to leave a strange feeling came over me. Something about being in the yard gave me a feeling of "home", it felt very familiar when it should have felt strange seeing as how I was in "someone else's" yard. I didn't even know these people, I had only exchanged greetings from the street. I couldn't help but pause and think about how nice it would be to live here. If I remember correctly I even whispered, "this feels like home". Later that same day when Suki and I went for our evening walk I couldn't believe my eyes...there on the lawn was a for sale sign!! As soon as I got home I looked it up online hoping to finally get a glimpse of the interior. Sure enough there were pictures posted of nearly every room and it looked immaculate. I have spent many hours online and in person looking at houses in the area and rarely do they look that good with a pricetag that low!! I called Hubby to the room and told him about it. He always just gives me a sigh or a humph, and rarely agrees to even look at a property. This time he immediately said "CALL". I couldn't believe my ears!! I loved everything about it the first time I saw it and amazingly enough Hubby had nothing negative to say either. He told the realtor he would crunch some numbers and get back to her. He has said that to agents before and never called them back so I didn't get my hopes up. I was amazed further that over the next few weeks he continued to talk about it and how we would fit in the smaller space and how we could arrange our finances to make the payments. I still tried not to get my hopes up. Early in June we went for a second walk through, Hubby was not willing to give up, but I still was afraid to hope too much. July 8th we made an offer on the house and so did someone else. Our agent made sure that the owners knew ours was coming too so they would hopefully look at both before accepting anyone. The very next day Hubby came in and asked me to take a walk with him...a bit unusual. We walked about a half block (down near the house), and he said to me, "well, we're in debt up to our eyeballs". They accepted our offer on the house; I have no idea why, certainly the other offer had to have been higher. We didn't need immediate occupancy which may have been a factor in the situation. August 8th we closed on the house and on the 12th we took possession and walked in for the first time as owners. The next step was painting and choosing a floor and a contractor to lay it. September 10th we hired the contractor and October 25 we were able to finally move in. It's been quite a journey and a miracle in my estimation. Even now as I'm returning to the house from my walks with Suki, I see it in the distance and have to nearly pinch myself to believe that it's really my home now!

Life in general is so much easier here in so many ways, not just in the cleaning department. Hubby and I were talking last night about how we are sleeping better. We don't have any neighbors here slamming doors and fighting at all hours of the night, there is very little traffic here and we are warmer since we don't have the drafts we had at our old place. Even though we went from 2000 square feet to 792, we left much of our rarely used "junk" at the apartment and so here everything has it's place and I actually feel like I have more room. I love cooking in the kitchen, everything is just a few short steps from everything else. Before I was walking clear across the room and around the table to get to anything and back again. I've always wanted a galley kitchen, and this one is perfect. I worried a little about the lack of counter space, but so far it hasn't been a problem. DD#2 is having a wonderful time inviting her friends over. Hubby set up the basement so they can play DVD's with a projector and watch them on a large movie screen. It seems to be a big hit, I just have to remember to lay in a supply of snack foods and pop! DD#1 and her boyfriend are turning up every Sunday afternoon for dinner, they say it's very homey here; we rarely saw them before the move. Food even seems to taste better here! I am looking forward to Christmas and having everyone "home". It will be a bit crowded, but that's going to be fine.

I don't want to ever take my little house for granted. I know that in the blink of an eye it can all be taken away. I can only thank God that He has provided the means for us to enjoy it today.

Opening Day!

Opening Day!

Aug 12, '08 8:11 PM for everyone

This morning we got the call that we could have possession of the house TODAY! It was in the contract for the 25th, so we are pleased. This evening we made our way down to open it up for the first time and claim it as our own.

Hubby and DD#2 hurrying ahead:

Looking in the garage because I have the key LOL!

The moment I have been looking forward to:

I Have Keys!!!

I have keys!!!

Aug 8, '08 6:56 PM for Julie's contacts

Today at 3:00 was closing on the house. It took us one full hour to sign all the paper work. I personally had no idea what I was signing. I feel so stupid, but I don't understand any of that stuff at all. It was exciting, but scary at the same time. 
 
In addition to all the paperwork, I came home with two really nice "house" key rings, a framed picture of the front of the house, a pitcher (too bad it's plastic), a nice pair of all purpose shears, a night light, a dishtowel, a thermometer, a $25.00 gift certificate to a local green house and several pens from both the bank and the real estate office.

We can't get in the house until after the 25th when the renters are supposed to be out. I did see a moving van in the driveway tonight, so I wonder if maybe they are planning on being out earlier.

Now the work begins.

Pretty Close

What the House Test Says About You

You are happy with who you are, and you don't have an inflated sense of self importance. You do your own thing quietly. You don't take up a lot of space. You aren't against being community oriented, but it's not really your thing. You tend to prefer to focus on your family and not the neighborhood around you. You are a calm, contemplative, and smart person. You take ideas very seriously. You take good care of your physical appearance. You dress well, stay in shape, and do your best to look great. You are moved by the most simple of things. You can find pleasure from a small, perfect moment.

The House Test

A dream come true?

May 29, '08 10:43 AM for Julie's contacts

We have lived above our printing business for 21 years now and have always dreamed of having a house with a yard. I especially wanted one when the kids were little, but we could never come up with a down payment.

Last week this house down the block from us went up for sale. It is one I have always had my eye on, so I checked it out online and was amazed at the asking price of $62,500.00. I told my Hubby and he immediately said "call", which totally amazed me because he usually won't even consider looking. We made an appointment and went to see it and loved it right away. It's small, but our family is shrinking and I would be willing to downsize. It is immaculate!!

Hubby just returned from the bank. I don't understand numbers and how things can be finangled to change down payment costs and interest rates, etc., but suffice it to say the monthly payment is uncomfortably more that we originally thought it would be. We also have to consider utilities, internet, taxes and insurance. Hubby has still not come out and said it won't work, his exact words were he wants to "do some thinking". He also wants to get the business finances in better shape, etc.; I have no idea how long all this thinking and planning will take, so I'm going to post these pictures, then let it go. If Hubby is willing and able to do what needs to be done and if the house is still "waiting" for us after everything is in place, then it's a dream come true, if not, then it wasn't meant to be ours.