Happy Anniversary!

Twenty years ago today we moved into our little blue cottage. It was, and still is, my dream house. There's very little I would change if given the chance.

When we first moved to Georgia thirty years ago, we found a typically southern two-story with white columns out front and two wings on either side. It really wasn't ME, but I wasn't sure at the time what ME was. The colors inside were all wrong. The woman who built the house was a redhead, so she chose earth tones in brown, orange, and gold. I changed the wallpaper in a few rooms but didn't want to rip out the tile floor in the kitchen and dining room. Too expensive.

So I lived with it and started looking for an old house with some acreage. I was homeschooling four children at the time. Actually three; Dylan was two but definitely a force to be reckoned with. He's the reason I gave up homeschooling for a time, but that's another story for another day!

So after we finished schooling, I would pile all my little children into my Ford F-150 pickup and drive through the country looking for abandoned houses. We were able to go into quite a few where I would take pictures of ceilings, mouldings, staircases, etc. I was collecting ideas.

There were plenty of old, abandoned houses around. Some were for sale, but they didn't come with any land. Most would have to be moved. My husband wasn't on board with that. We didn't have any land to put one on anyway.

In fact, my husband didn't want to live in an old house. He had grown up in one and knew the kind of upkeep required and didn't want to fool with it. Sigh...

I eventually found a piece of land that had a mature pecan grove on it, some woods, and an open field. Only thing lacking was a pond. I figured three out of four wasn't bad. Husband was brought out to look at it and actually liked it! We bought the forty acres, but it didn't come with a mule. It did come with an outhouse, pig sty, and barn. Unfortunately we had to tear down all three due to termite damage. I really wanted to keep that outhouse!

I started looking at house plans. Since I couldn't have a REAL old house, I wanted my new house to look old. I also started collecting antique bathroom and light fixtures. A man who tore down old houses gave me some beadboard for the walls. I paid $200 for the upstairs flooring being torn out of an old house in the middle of town. It was heart pine and enough to do most of the upstairs.

There are dozens of stories that could be told, but you'll have to wait for the book. This is getting too long, but a few more things need to be told.

I couldn't find exactly the house plan I wanted and was getting frantic when the strangest thing happened. I had been to Tennessee to visit my parents and had stopped in Macon to see a friend. We had a good visit and before leaving I made a trip to the powder room. There in a basket on the floor was a Country Living magazine with the perfect house on the front. I yelled, "That's it!" It was their House of the Year for 198? I can't remember the exact year. I asked if I could have the magazine, she said yes, and as soon as I got home I ordered the house plans.

I spent many nights sitting up into the wee hours of the morning drawing out the rooms on graph paper and changing the plans until they were perfect for our family. We started building in January of 1990 and moved in on July 9.

Happy 20th anniverary little blue cottage! I love you!

Leaves

I've been harvesting and drying leaves for various purposes.

The raspberry leaves in the blue bowl will be dried and used in tea for PMS symptoms. A good friend of mine gets them to use for her teenage daughter. They are also used to treat diarrhea.

The leaves on the red-checked towel are basil and will be used in spaghetti and lasagna. Basil kills intestinal parasites and stimulates the immune system.

I've also been drying oregano to use in my Italian dishes. I also dry rosemary and sweet bay leaves. In fact, I've got a ton of those two. Anyone who wants some, please come and get it!

Good Stuff!

I made this bruschetta today using basil leaves and Roma tomatoes I grew. Laurel taught me how to make this tasty treat. It's good with a meal or as a snack.

You slice French or Italian bread about half an inch thick. On top you put a basil leaf, a tomato slice, mozzarella, and then drizzle it with olive oil. Stick in the oven under the broiler until the top begins to brown. Enjoy!

To Paint or Not to Paint?

This black and white checkerboard floor is in my laundry room/sewing room. I painted it twenty years ago this month, so it took that long to wear down this much.

The raspberries and leaves were picked one morning. I'll post later about what I do with the leaves.

I'm thinking about painting my kitchen floor to match. The two floors run together. You can barely see the kitchen floor in the top picture. It's pine boards. I LOVE black and white checkerboard kitchen floors. Or I could paint a floor cloth to go under the table instead.

So I'm taking a poll. Come on all you friends of mine that I know read my blog but never comment. What should I do? Paint both floors b/w checkerboard or just do a floor cloth for the kitchen? I think I'll repaint the laundry room floor regardless of what I do in the kitchen. I hate to cover over the patina, but it's pretty worn.
What would YOU do?

Horse Crazy

Week before last Darcie and I spent a week at a horse jamboree in Clemson, SC. This was her first show ever. All week was spent in clinics learning how to do horse stuff such as trail riding, cantering, etc. Saturday was the show. She won three ribbons and won first place in her age division on horse knowledge. I'm very proud of her.

I had an adjoining room next door to three ten year old girls. It wasn't too bad; kind of fun actually. It was like summer camp. I had a lot of free time to catch up on my e-mails, read, write, lay by the pool, and anything else I wanted to do.

I went to Wal-Mart five times! Funny how I don't mind going there when I'm out of town. I'll bet I don't darken the door of our local Hell-Mart more than 3-4 times a year. It always takes so much time. I never want to sacrifice the time when I'm in my town. Too many other things to do, I guess. But on vacation, all I have is time, so I don't mind rambling the aisles. My husband never understands why I want to go there when we're on vacation. Weird, I know.

I found a grill thingy that lays on top of two stove eyes and has marks to make paninis. I hope I spelled that right. Spell check says it's wrong, but what do they know? They also said thingy isn't a word. Sheesh!!! I love a panini with pesto!

So, I think this horse love is here to stay. She's willing to give up dancing for it. Time won't allow both as they are both labor intensive. Of course she wants a horse. Even though we have the room to pasture one, I don't want the bother and worry of a horse. The stables are five minutes away, so she'll just have to love the ones there.

I do think it's helping her to be more confident and to get outside of herself. And those of you with young girls or can remember your own girlhood, that's ALWAYS a challenge! "It's a good thing," as Martha says.

A New Goal

Starting today, I'm giving myself a new challenge. It's similar to the Push-up Challenge I did a while back. This one is called The Squat Challenge. The goal is to do 200 consecutive squats in six weeks.

Before you begin, you take a test to see how many squats you can do in a row. I did fifty, so I get to start at week 3! I've always had strong legs which I attribute to growing up in the mountains and riding a bike for hours a day and also to playing basketball for several years. After growing up, getting married, having children, and being housebound for most of the time, I've turned to yoga to keep me strong.

I mean I'm housebound because that's where my work is (not that I have some debilitating disease that keeps me in). Just wanted to clarify that. Although I guess ya'll are smart enough to figure out that if I'm doing a squat challenge, I couldn't have a debilitating disease.

Anyway....today is the first day. I'll keep you posted when I've finished the challenge. Hopefully I'll be able to do 200. I don't think this will be nearly as hard as doing 100 push-ups.

Welcoming Summer

Summer is officially here! We celebrated its arrival by having vanilla ice cream with red sugar sprinkles topped by a sparkler. The kids loved it!

It's a small way to honor the change of seasons. Much more appropriate than running naked through the field like I threatened to do in the past. Just kidding, my children. I'd never do that. Really...probably not.