Baby Beans

Paden started these beans, zucchini and heirloom tomatoes a few weeks ago and they're going crazy! They want OUT of those cups and into the garden and sunshine! Go beans! This year we're trying out soybeans too. We want to make our own soymilk and our own tofu. Watch for more happenings on the soy front!

Spring has Sprung

You know you've lived in the south too long when you're thrilled to see tulips come up! These were obviously planted before we bought the house along with Lily of the Valley that I haven't shot yet. They just started to bloom. But, I thought the colors of these tulips were just gorgeous! Enjoy!

Who Would Have Thought?

When we first moved in I complained about this handrail saying that it was stupid that someone just put up old pipe. Turns out it's BRASS! Paden cleaned it for hours and it's now a beautiful golden color. This picture doesn't do it justice. The handrails in the cellar and attic are also brass!

The Transom Project

There use to be three transom windows in the house, but it appears the woodwork has been taken down and dropped ceiling put up. Yikes... The one remaining transom was paneled over from the outside leaving a dark window above the front door. I wanted to put something up there to play up the fact that one old window remained, but stained glass was out of the question financially. I found this great product on www.Etsy.com and bought some Gallery Glass and tried it out! Here are some pictures of the faux stained glass piece just colored in. I had to lay the 'leading' first and let it dry, piece it together and then add the color. I'm wondering how it will look when the clear paint and the etching paints dry! Results to follow!!

Red Doors are Good Fung Shui!

This is the back door painted a wonderful barn red as is the porch.. pictures to follow. Paden's hard at work scraping and painting! I saw this wreath at Michael's and decide to make one like it. I used my 40% off coupon for the wooden flag, and bought the flowers at Dollar Tree. The wreath was about $3. The finished wreath was selling at Michael's for $40! HA!

The Kitchen

The kitchen was the same horrible brown with a handcrafted island that was very dated. An old side by side fridge which went on Freecycle and and old, rusty stove which has been replaced. That's me painting my little heart out. The cabinets are the old metal ones and for now, they're useful until we can find some wooden sets from a friend who flips houses. Besides, I love the big drawer that I can put all my pots and pans in! We replaced the lightbulbs here and throughout the house with the florescent compact bulbs. They're fine throughout the house, but in the bathroom, they make your face look blue!

I added a picture of the kitchen as it is today. Much better, but will still need upgrades maybe next winter after we finish lots of outside projects!

The Bathroom Project

What a bathroom!! The toilet had been replaced with a more efficient one, which was great, BUT, it was set on a block of wood and wobbled back and forth! The floor had two layers of tile, the bottom on being asbestos that had to be left there. There was horrible floral trim around the room, but not QUITE around the room. When the trim ran out, there was just bare wall. The shower has the water pipe coming up on the right side of the tub, then making sharp left to the middle of the tub to the showerhead. Interesting. Paden stripped and ground and got down a nice piece of donated carpeting after totally removing the toilet and fixing the whole area so the toilet doesn't rock anymore!

Our New Home

Here's our new house the first time we could actually get inside. It sits right behind a huge Russian Orthodox church, so we have the pleasure of hearing the brass bells ringing every day. Our block actually has four churches on it! Very old, some like European cathedrals. We can also see the old high school towering over the houses. I love that we have sidewalks so we can walk or bike!
As for the house. It's a big old home and someone thought it necessary to paint over all the wide oak trim with chocolate brown outdoor paint!! The did spare the pocket doors that close off the den from the livingroom. I imagine at one time it would have been the livingroom from the parlor. I can imagine a scratchy horsehair sofa (davenport) in that parlor. Used for entertaining the minister or other important guests!
Our house is one of the biggest on the block and even though I've tried to research it and find out who built it, I haven't had any success. The kitchen has the original wainscot under some awful '50's paneling! Untouched, original wood!
Our goal is to see if we can make this house more self sustaining and see how much edible landscaping we can do. As I write, the seedlings are growing big up in the front bedroom. Paden's been busy taking off the grass layer from the garden plot so it can be tilled. That between painting the porches and doors red and putting in some decorative bulbs.