Demolition Day and a Flurry of Birthdays

The doors have been removed, all the old wood kept or taken/given away for other projects.  Hundred year old wood is irreplaceable, so we wanted to make sure it would all be put to good use again.

The right bay of the original garage.  Dirt floor covered with crumbling old rugs.  This door has been removed too.

Left bay, original part of garage.  See the daylight there in the back left corner?  Lots of leaves blow in there, and the corner is rotted.  The section just sits on dirt.

There's the knob and tube.  No longer functional, it had been rewired with extension cords and a 2 fuse electrical panel.  No wall switches or anything fancy like that.

And here is reasonably ok picture of me that I will post, since I so rarely do so.  We took Chickie and her boyfriend to Hotel Hershey for their famous Sunday brunch for her birthday. 

Everybody seemed to have a pretty good time!

And all 3 of our birthdays are within a 2 week window.  Right now, Mister is a freshly turned 60, Chickie a newly minted 20, and I've got a few more days left of 50!

Looking forward to some warmer weather this week, some gardening and a terrific week!

Carol

Happy Birthday, Darling Chickie!

She turns 20 today. I waited a long time for her. Thought I might never have a child. Finally, when I had about given up, I became pregnant.
What a wonderful experience! I loved being pregnant. It was miraculous.

What a happy and easy baby. I made sure to remember and savor the moments through the years because I knew they would go fast. I made a point to be WITH her.

As you can see, she has turned into a beautiful young woman. She is beautiful inside and out, she is smart, courageous, strong, and gifted. She is my pride and joy.

Happy Birthday, Dear Chickie!
Love,
Mom

On Tap for Today

.......so the old garage comes down on Monday.  The back/lean-to part is original to the house, dirt floor and all, and ready to fall down.  The front section is less than 20 years old.

We've arranged to sell the 2 sets of carriage doors, and the 2 small side doors to an antiques dealer.  He'll take them today.

Most of the front of the garage is empty, we'll get the back half today.  That's my dad's high chair to the left of the mower there.  Gotta keep that.

Boy, was that fiber cement board heavy to move.  Mister and I got a great workout.  See the old fence rail laying by the sawhorses?  103 years old.  The rest of the rails are still in place at the back of the yard. 

Shaking and moving the place.  The swing hangs on the framework between garage and patio in the background.  Which will have to be replaced.

Things that need to be under roof are stashed on the patio.

The patio set now crowds the family room porch.

Dinner for tonight will be comfort food. Two cups of dried pinto beans in with a ham bone. Some pepper. Slow cooked all day long, and then served over diced potatoes. Can't wait!

Have a wonderful day and weekend!

Carol

Picture Notecards Party - April Edition

I've got a special treat for this month's Note Cards Party hosted by our friend, Vee!  It's all about Porches.

These Porches were initially featured in a Porch Party Post.  Mt Gretna is a Summer Chataqua, summer church meeting camp.  Methodists built the camp in the late 1800's.  It is a step back in time.

Most of the homes have gracious porches. 

Stringing the porches with lights makes them even more inviting, and
enhances an evening of fellowship, al fresco dining or board games.

This little alley, lined with porches, delighted me.

Porches on every level.  Personally, I've always wanted a sleeping porch.  Have you?
Go and visit Vee, and join in this delightful party!  It's one of the most fun in BlogLand!
And have a wonderful, wonderful day!

Carol

Master Bath (Almost) Free Re-Do

We made over our deplorable master bath the other week.  Dr. Cat oversaw the project.

My inspiration came when I was out in the garage.  The top of this piece that we used in our kitchen before the remodeling was out there.  We had the bottom stored in the basement.
I measured it for the bathroom.....and it was a perfect fit!

There are no before shots, because like I said, it was deplorable.  But imagine a washer and dryer stacked in the right hand corner of this picture.  And a not so great paint job on the wall.

We found the mirror for $29 at Home Depot.  The lamp was similarly priced.  And that was the cost of this l'il makeover!

The mirror over the sink - no change there.

Never had a flowered sink before.  This was here when we moved in.

So now, we have a lot more storage, the new mirror lightens up the room and provides me with a vanity!

The room is so much better with a new paint job, no washer/dryer, lots of storage, and the right price!

Don't you love shopping the house?

Joining Susan for Met Monday!
Carol

Springtime Lovelies

Spring is a lovely time of year.  The magnolia is lovely and frames our home beautifully.

We've had plenty of sunshine.  Love the dappled pattern on the railing.

Here's a beautiful chippy fence I saw on our travels.

Along with the sunshine has been plenty of wind.  But Easter was a lovely day.

I hope each of  you is enjoying a beautiful week, and that your Easter celebration was wonderful!
Joining Susan for Outdoor Wednesday!  She has some gorgeous shots - go and see!
(please excuse the weird spacing on this post....couldn't fix...)

Happy, Happy Easter

He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.  
Matthew 28:6

Hallelujah!  My redeemed soul rejoices in the Good News.  Jesus Christ, Son of God, Redeemer, Saviour........and Lover of my soul!

His love never grows stale, less exciting, less overwhelming.  Year after year after year He reveals more and more of what He has for me if I yield to Him and look to His will. 

What freedom!  What joy!  Abandoning myself, abandoning myself to the Almighty God, Creator of the universe, King of kings.

And He is faithful.

Have a wonderful, blessed, joyful Easter.
He is risen!!
Carol
Joining Charlotte for Spiritual Sundays......

Not-So-Pretty

If any one of you have ever noticed that I've never posted basement pictures before, this post will settle any questions about it for once and for all.  Forever. 

I made laundry detergent this week.  Been meaning too for some time.  No, it's not in a pretty container.  It's in a big black 5 gallon bucket with a cardboard box for a lid.  Told you it wasn't going to be pretty.
The recipe is from Jill's Home Remedies blog and calls for washing soda, Fels Naphtha soap and Borax, which I already had.  I used it today and it works well.

You see, we moved the washer and dryer to the basement a couple of months ago.  The door gasket on the terrible front loading washing machine ripped for the second time in 5 years.  Replacement cost and labor is about $375.  Not doing that again.  (I suspect a young'un who washes many hoodies with large zipper pulls that get draaaaggged across the gasket is the culprit.)
You'll take note of the stream of water flowing across the floor to the drain.

Yes.  The basement is unfinished and 103 years old.  Looks every minute of it.  That's ok.  We are going to build in a laundry room and a room for the cats to eat and have their litter boxes in.  We did it at our last house, we'll do it at this one.  Eventually.
There is is a nice window over the washer and dryer.  And a foundation shelf under it.  I see potential.

And I'm surrounded by cats eating their supper. I love watching cats eat.  By the way, 9Lives is not a cat food I would recommend.  All by-products.  I'm just using it to transition to a very special all wet, all natural diet.

Now that the washer and dryer are out of the master bath, I should really show you the master bath makeover.  Especially after this post.  It's only fair.
Stay tuned.

Carol

When a Small Task Turns into an Epiphany, of Sorts

We are, sadly, replacing our old garage. It has to be done, it's falling down. I realized I needed to move some plants around the garage that would otherwise be lost.
It seemed like a good idea to move the rhubarb. After all, that is a plant I've had at my last 3 homes, and I got it from my grandmother's home.

That was the plan.  Dig up the rhubarb.  Move it to the "bed" by the lower deck. 

Of course I forgot to get "before" pictures.  As usual.  But here is a shot from last year, looking down upon the empty bed by the deck.  We dumped some topsoil on it last year, and planted some volunteer cleome, but that was as far as it got.  Seemed like a good place to store the rhubarb.....
But what about the herbs growing by the garage?  They had to move too.
And then there were the rocks here and there, waiting to be re-used....

This bed was completely and totally FREE.  I shopped the yard!  Transplanted the daylilies, lavender, oregano, rosemary, sage.....and the RHUBARB! 
Oh, and the stones, too.

This gardening project gave me great joy. First of all, I was in the garden, always a joyful experience. Second of all, I shopped my own yard, resulting in a FREE garden. Third of all, I got a great workout!
I call that a Win-Win-Win. Wouldn't you?

Have a marvelous Monday!

Carol