large snowfall in Spain

It is snowing in central Europe, according to the top of this thrifted tabletop.

I spent a lazy hour or two last evening clipping coffee filters and paper cupcake holders into snowflakes. Even though this new/old table was one of #1 Son's Thrifty Christmas gifts, I stole it for my crafty purposes. He won't mind.

As for the table, it was a $10 auction bargain which had a damaged top. So I covered it with a vintage map and lots of layers of mod-podge. Anthropologie called & and they want it, but they cannot have it.

Before the guests arrive, I roll soft white napkins around the silver
and then the November sun deigns to warm them.

love people, not things

After the guest room was furnished with an antique brass bed, a night stand, a bedside lamp, an area rug, and little else, The Quest for a suitable wardrobe began. This was over a year ago.

We scoured local auctions, flea markets, roadside sales,and antique shops all over the North country & even beyond. Unless we were willing to part with a large amount of moolah, the wardrobe-thing didn't look promising.
The LOTM was in on this hunt too, and even resolved to build one from scratch -even tho' he generally takes on bigger projects. Like whole back wings or large sections of sidewalk.

But as you can see, our determination prevailed.


We scored this beautiful find at our local auction house for a very fair price. It is large, regal, and deep. (Can someone say, "Narnia"?)
The carved top had to be shaved a few inches to fit, but my guys took care of that, easy-peasy!

Now we -(when I say "WE", everyone knows I really mean "William Edwin", the fortuitous name of the LOTM) need only to customize the interior ( which is as large as the Louisiana Purchase) with shelving & closet racks, and we are ready for a small family to move into it.

We (again, that "WE"-thing) will leave just enough squeezing room to slip through the back panel into a lovely, snowy place where reside Victorian lampposts & talking beavers & such.

Now, I don't mean to make this little ole' blog into a list of things we have acquired. Oh no. But I really must share one more addition to our old stone home with you.

-namely, an old oxen yoke- turned- architectural curlicue.

.

A man named Blieux Coyote dragged it all the way from Mexico to Hudson, New York, just to sell it to me.
In the process of the sale (read: dickering & bargaining), he told me his story while #1 Son & myself stood transfixed.
Everyone has a story, and I am learning to just listen.

So thankful am I for this old painted hunk of wood, and not just because it adds a splash of exclamation to our kitchen wall. It reminds me to watch, look & listen for the tales that people need to tell.

I am richer for them.

wake up time

The sun has awakened me these past two mornings. I always rub my eyes in wonder when I look from my bedroom window, but especially when the last days of autumn are upon us.

Blessed am I!

a perfect day for a new sidewalk

 This is the kind of day it was; a rare day of autumn warmth, sun, breezes, blue skies, and cement.

Those kinds of days don't come along very often. One must seize them when they do.

 So, around 10 am, when the ground rumbled with the arrival of a cheery red & white cement truck, the guys
tossed on their wellies & grabbed their rake or shovel of choice.
 The cement truck really thrilled me. When the back went round & round, the red & white stripes looked strikingly like a candy cane on Christmas morning. I think I was the only one who noticed this.

 Cement truck drivers are a special breed. And that's all I have to say about that.
-But I had to say SOMETHING, anyway.

 See how expectant these guys look? They know that this is the last time their lower backs will feel good for, say, 48 hours at least.

 Then the job kicked into gear when the first river of sliding cement dropped down. Ah, its a lovely sound!

Allow me to get out of the way ( which is what the LOTM regularly tells me to do) and show you what transpired:

 I'll just say this one thing: that girl in the background?

 Yeah. Her.

She stuns me with her beauty. And her ripped up jeans. And her brother's hat.

It was an eventful day.
Now I get to throw in more more thing, and it is this:

 When life gives you three wheelbarrows full of extra cement, you think really really fast about WHERE ELSE CAN CEMENT MAKE MY LIFE EASIER.

With me, it was a fast answer: I KNOW! Why, the bottom of the hill as slick as an oil spill! You know, that stretch of hill that always lands me on my bottom on my way to my kayak!

All it took was two really helpful & strong guys who didn't mind me being a tad bit bossy. ( "Dump that heavy load here." "Put that really big rock there" -and so on & so forth.) I suspect they were extra gracious to me because they knew I had a double-meat casserole in the oven with their names on it.

 I am so entirely happy with what they made for me, that I trotted down those steps tonight & hopped into my kayak for a quick spin on the river. I didn't even land on my bottom ONCE.

That's how I spell S-U-C-C-E-S-S!

As for the sidewalk, it will be quite useful this winter. And in the spring, the Lord of the Manor will install the gorgeous slabs of paving stone that he dragged home from Pennsylvania.

Won't that be ever so nice?

sure footing

 What is the purpose of this mess?
Is it a moat? A new kind of security system? The ravages of a large marsupial?

Nope.

It's just what happens when the Lady of the Manor sweetly suggests to The Lord of the Manor that we might possibly need a real sidewalk before winter. Last winter, we balanced upon wooden planks, the kind that pirates place over the open sea & forcibly urge prisoners to trot upon.

If my memory serves me well, ( and I pray it does) -all last winter's guests to the Stone Home were accounted for; none were lost in the mire, nor skated away over the hillside beyond rescue ---depending upon the rise and fall of the season's climate.
 Early this spring -when these planks rested gingerly upon a veritable sea of mud-, M'Lord bestrewed some sundry stone in place to make the way a bit more pleasant:

 
 (No side-by-side travelers, here. Single file, please!)

But I digress. I left you, kind reader, at my sweet entreaty for a proper sidewalk.

"The Royal Coffers cannot support such an Expensive Endeavor!" -quoth the LOTM.

(royal silence before the Lady replies)

"Neither can the Royal Coffers support the Hospital Bills of the Common Folk who mayeth fall on their keisters this winter." quoth the Lady --who thinks of such things.



So the LOTM saddled up his royal steed ( the Suburban) and hitched a jolly wagon ( a flatbed) to its hinder parts & hied himself to the Stone Quarries of Pennsylvania, where he had to go near anyway for another reason. And he brought home some little bits of paving stone.

These little bits of paving stone weigh a few tons. But their cost was well-discounted, even considering the efforts it took to obtain them and lug them to their new home!

We also have a humble pile of stone which we gathered from around the yard. No sense leaving these to waste.

It was kind of fun to take a can of bright orange spray paint & lay out the Royal Sidewalk Pattern this morning! As you may note, we changed out minds a few times. But nonetheless, the die was cast -thanks to the borrowed machinery (also bright orange) from our generous neighbors.


More on the new sidewalk very soon!

harvest-display

Mornings find me puttering in the garden. I am usually dirty before my morning coffee. And my sneakers are wet. Never mind my fingernails.

I play with my vegetables before I eat them. Today, they are arranged on a recently-acquired Turkish platter. Later this afternoon they will find their way into hungry mouths. But for now they are art.

so many things to show you:

Summer means many things to many people. To me, it means not sitting down at the computer to post pictures of what's getting done around here.

Obviously.
Over the months of June & July, the back wing was completed. I, for one, will not miss the white tyvek-paper that proclaimed we bought it at Lowes. Instead, I will regularly get a happy kick from seeing our beautiful stained hardwood siding.

It was a labor of love, let me tell you. Each piece of siding was hand-routed by the Lord of the Manor (LOTM, remember?). He rules my kingdom.

At this very moment in time, I am enjoying the finished screened porch. I have a great view of the waterfalls from the table here. We were very careful to make a smooth transition between the old stone of the original house and the wooden addition. I hope we were successful, because this porch STAYS.

Around the other side of the house, one can see the edge of the upper driveway and a make-shift stone path which lead to the back door. Before winter, we need to have a permanent walkway. Stay tuned for that!

Let's not forget the garden, where one can find me most mornings wiping mud off my hands onto my jeans.

Sometimes one can find me dragging a sprinkler around, lugging produce into the house, pulling stubborn weeds, or admiring my eggplant -which are almost too pretty to eat.

But mostly one can find me wiping mud off my hands onto my jeans.

Down in the lower driveway, the minions have been as busy as bees working on "The Cottage". We are not allowed to call it "The Garage" anymore. Orders of the LOTM.

One of my personal-fave minions is cutting sheet-rock while wearing a tool-belt. Presently, he is in far-away Uganda wearing a steadicam. Ask me later & I'll tell you all about it.

I miss him like crazy. I may start a whole other blog about how much I miss him, but after about 4 or 5 entries, I don't think anybody will read it.

It's kind of the same old thing over & over & over.

Oh you may think we are hardly doing ANYTHING around here, but you would be dead wrong. BECAUSE:

Over on The Town Square, the minions have been overhauling one of our apartment units. In deference to my blog-audience, I shall discreetly leave out the details of this particular overhaul.

-but I am compelled to mention that one of the bedrooms was "affectionately" dubbed The Cat-Pee Room. And one of the other bedrooms had been housing chickens.

You read that right. And might I add one last thing: there was no affectionate name for that room.

To quote Forrest Gump: "-and that's all I've got to say about that."

From the front window there is a great view of the town square, where one can spy on the Amish when they come in to town.

P.S. they buy chewing tobacco & powerade.

We also own the house on the end of the square. I have never seen the inside of it. I'll bet they are housing piglets.

Just kidding. They are nice people who read the fine print of their rental agreement.

Inside the Big Yellow House (as we call it), we find Geoffrey who does not have a friend-number. He deserves one after all we put him through. He claims, and I quote:
"This apartment has sucked my soul." He was fed well & comforted daily while he was working with us. Poor guy.

I don't think he was overcome by the fumes here, I think he was merely adjusting his equipment. -At least that's what he told me.

As I was departing the upstairs apartment at Big Yellow, I came upon this. I was rendered speechless.

Don't worry: it was summarily scraped off & painted over with Navajo White.
Two coats.

Perhaps if I follow up that last image with something stunningly beautiful, you will forgive me. This is a shot from the back window of The Cottage.

One last thing. Clever Tommy was able to install the mad-cool lighting on the porch. These are IKEA candle lanterns which he wired for us.

After installing them, he did what all clever people do: relax on the porch while taking in the view.

a fast fast train

The summer started quietly. After all my commitments at Crane were behind me ( concerto auditions, German Diction, recitals, etc. etc.), I had a glorious week or so for twiddling my thumbs & planting my garden.

I hardly remember what that lazy week was like. Was it a dream?

June & July were a ride on a really really fast train. Except every morning I woke up here in my old stone home --which was a fantastic perk. Also: this fast train had the people I love on board.

And now the month of August is before me, the sweet & wonderful month of August! But before I breathe deeply & take the August-plunge, allow me to throw some pics down which illustrate what June & July have brought me:

My Saturday Friend & Constant Companion. I am blessed beyond measure with her steady company.

For weeks on end our yard was full of sawhorses & busy guys. The whole back wing is DONE now.

This was the view from the roof where I sat to converse with #1 Son as he caulked. By the way, #1 Son packed up his stuff & moved home from the Big Apple for 3 weeks, only to leave us a few days ago for a month in Uganda.

This was the driveway. Please note the person in the doorway of the RV. I love when the Eastmonds live in our driveway!

One week we had a young visitor staying with us from Madrid, Spain. She walked on our roof for fun. She begged for piano-advising sessions. She saw fireflies for the first time ever. She read books whilst curled up in the porch on a wicker armchair.

I love this shot because of the blur Joe's hand going for the rolls. It is a typical scene & it wouldn't be summer without it.

Don't even ask me how many meals were served nor how much money was spent on groceries. You MAY ask me how much fun we had at the table. Answer: LOTS.

Somebody around here owns too many guitars.

Lunch on the screened porch is a daily event. Even strangers line up for a chance to eat here. I have checked the front porch for hobo-signs just in case. The "talk religion-get food" sign particularly works around here. Just sayin'.

Starving musicians were busking for cash. They really need cash. I mean, look at their clothing!

We took time out to watch a bed race. I'll bet you haven't done that lately.

Again, lunch on the screened porch. Many jugs of Iced Rooibus Tea were consumed.

I never sat on this deck. I only wished I had.

Dessert of the Day: cupcakes. What's not to love?

Crafty friends on the porch. On this day, we painted rocks. It seemed like a good idea at the time.

Our old stone home. Come & sit for a spell sometime.