Happy House-versary

Gosh, well, happy new year. That’s a bit embarrassing. I’ve been, um, busy.

So, 14 years ago we bought this house. It was almost a 100 years old at the time. Now it’s well over. It was built in 1908 or 1910, depending on which source you believe. We are finally getting to the point where all the work N does on it is “nice to have” instead of “really, this needs to happen.” We had a visitor come look at the house recently. He grew up here with his 8 brothers and sisters, and a cousin who stayed for a few years.

I felt a bit bad. There’s little left of the original layout. The floor is mostly original downstairs. None of the original closets or stairs remain. His parents came by maybe 10 years ago, so we’d heard some of the history already. They lived here 30 years, from the 1960s to the 1990s. We’ve had other former owners (from earlier) come by, too. It’s a house that inspires loyalty, it would seem. Certainly the garden has undergone at least as much change, too. It had hardly anything when we arrived. Just a few large trees, a couple lilacs. Not much else.

Anyway. If you would like some stylish shoes like these, here’s how to get them. Buy an old house. Work on it constantly for years. Wear the shoes a lot. And that’s about it.

Yes, I did take this photo last summer. When there was grass. It's not like I don't have blog ideas. I just don't seem to prioritize the time to write.

Beautification

One day a long long time ago, I think it was in May, I went to a garage sale with the kids. I gave this bench a look, but from afar it looked like the price tag said $300, which was believable. A nice bench like that.  But as I squinted more carefully, I realized that this oak veneer bench with hideous stained fabric was really marked $30. No way, I thought very very quietly to myself. What a deal. I sprang into action, declared it sold, and made the kids sit on it for safekeeping. You know how crazy people can get at garage sales. I wanted to take no chances.

Isn't this great? I said to the kids. No, they said. They hated it. I proudly brought it home and showed it to N. He was not impressed. No vision, this family of mine. So I ignored them and went to the fabric store, clutching a coupon. And now, wah laa, it is finished. Got some nice baskets from Target to store our shoes underneath. Makes the back door all fancy-like. 

Touring the estate

When we stroll around our garden, we like to call it "touring the estate." Aren't we fancy? Sometimes we wear hats and sip fancy drinks, too. I'd like to take you on a short virtual tour today. Last year N ripped out the strange half-wall on the side of our old wooden front stairs. We immediately received a code violation notice from the village. So he applied for a permit and that shut them up. Here it is, over a year later, and he just finished the last finishing touch, which is the lattice under the stairs. (The permit was closed last year.) 

Also of interest in the photo is the giant coffee cup planter on the platform. I love it an unreasonable amount. 

I'm going to pretend this is a magazine article, and include notes on where to purchase the items shown.

Deck and railing: Azek

Hostas and front planter: trashpicked


See those porch windows above? They are the windows shown below. This is most of our collection of birdhouses. 

Birdhouses and rocking chair: Nearly all of them from garage sales
Bench: trashpicked


Last year we added another small raised bed. At left rhubarb, moved from a too-shady spot. Front is onions and peppers. In the cold frame, two tomatoes (one Brandywine, one sweet 100 cherry). Between them is a potato that just showed up. That's known as a "volunteer."

Rhubarb: Chivilo Family
Onion sets and tomato plants: Sneed's
Pepper plants: Long Family
Big Honkin' tomato cages: Menard's


And my old bean area (see the last photo) was becoming shadier year by year, plus I was really sick of climbing a ladder every day to harvest them. So N had to build another bed. Hmm. Seems like we're averaging one new bed a year. Interesting. 


The beans are blooming, so we should be eating them soon.

Trellis and magnolia tree: Schwarz Nursery
Bean seeds: Duffin Family

Creativity

Lots o' creativity around Chez Bluestem lately. I have photographic proof! First up, Nea's snowman. A fine fine snowman it is, too. Boo reports that no one else's in the kindergarten class looked like Nea's! I bet. You can even see the eyes, smile, scarf, and buttons if you look closely. I want to frame this one. She's not much into arts and crafts, unlike her big sister, so when you find a piece like this one in the backpack, it's time to celebrate.

Next up: Mittens by Oma. I know what you're thinking right now! Jealous, aren't you. Are they not gorgeous? And warm! Believe you me.

Lastly, N, as is typical, is working on a project that has immediately snowballed into a larger affair. Project entitled "Enlarge closet door opening to make wide closet more useable" (ECDOTMWCMU) is now "Enlarge closet door opening to make wide closet more useable after removing some other drywall and setting up some venting for the bathroom that will eventually be put in the basement" (ECDOTMWCMUARSODASUSVFTBTWEBPITB). He wanted me to see how it was coming, and so we were standing in the closet regarding this hole in the wall. As married couples are wont to do. He said, "I can't believe the crap plumbing job I was doing back then." I know you were thinking the same thing. Look at that pipe on the right. I mean, it's embarrassing. I can't believe I have to live in a house where that sort of ridiculous higglety pigglety is going on inside the walls. What must the neighbors be saying about us behind our backs.

But if you call it "creative plumbing" it's suddenly all ok again, isn't it. I'm guessing Project ECDOTMWCMUARSODASUSVFTBTWEBPITB will take us well into May at the current rate of progress.