Sundays are for Rest and Gratitude



....and naps



...and gardens..





and picnics





...and giving thanks for beauty and grace





...and prayers for peace





....All of these photos were taken by me, and cannot be reproduced without my permission...please and thankyou...Have a blessed Sunday

A Foggy Day; But There's Progress

Meet Eddy, Daniel, and Larry...my heros..and look, no plumber's cracks...I love these guys..they are the problem solvers, southern gentlemen (as in"Please, Ma'am, may I use the facility?")...and wonderful carpenters..(and, they love Missy). Our deck is now up to code..and I don't have to worry about small children, or medium-sized dogs falling off the upper deck..we also did the railings, but left the lower deck without spindles, as it would be ideal to put a screened-in porch there (not us, the buyers..which buyers?).

The fireplace chase(es) have been torn apart, reassembled, and covered with the C-1-ll cedar wood...just look at that staircase...(doesn't take a whole lot to get me excited)..the gutter guys for the back deck are coming next week, and the our Rob the electric guy will be here on Monday...replacing all exterior, and many interior lights...I am always very cost-effective while still getting "the look".

The lake takes on so many personalities, depending on the season and the weather...we have a local muscrat (spelling?), who ate the seats and carpeting out of our neighbor's boat, but seems to like us..(we have a metal rowboat, how bad can it get?)....

I love living on water, especially, after six or is it seven, long years of drought...that said, I have to visit my much-neglected garden out by the stables (about five miles from us)...between being ill, working on the house, and a deluge of rain, the weeds are winning, but I do have sweet, tiny cantaloupes, honeydews, and "personal" watermelon growing, along with weeds up to my armpits...time to go and see if I can save it.
We have our challenges, but we are blessed to live here.

Fireplaces....The Home and Hearth Syndrome

From nearly the beginning of time - okay, when the cavepeople happened to have a lightening strike, and it hit the entrance to the cave where they were huddling, and some wood happened to be there, and it started a fire, and they thought..."Oh Oh, we're in trouble now"..But, then, they noticed that one of their pet wolves (there's a theory about wolves civilizing humans, but I won't go into that right now), snuggled next to the fire and went to sleep, they thought..Hey, I feel warmer (at least on this side)...I figure some cavewoman tossed some more wood on the fire, stuck a piece of mastodon meat on the end of stick, and barbequing was born.  Theory is, there was a keeper of the coals, (no idea how they transported them, but I did read "Clan of the Cave Bears), and woe be to he or she, who let the fire go out...It was probably a long time and a desperate mother, trying to feed the family, before she...pretty sure it was a she, did the rub two sticks together thing, and "viola" (pretty sure she didn't say, "viola", but who knows.
As time progress, and people, hopefully, did as well, structures were made to keep the hot wood and ashes contained - the first firepit...then, hovels, with a fire in the center, and alot of smoke...(put a hole in the roof, dummy)..
So, I could go on-and-on with this, but it's getting boring (for everyone).
I love fireplaces....I love a real fire, as I sit by the fireplace, a good book, a glass of wine, one of my since dear, departed kitties at my feet, I feel safe, secure and sleepy...

Our Texas home had "rattlesnake limestone"...not really rattles in it, but rather, seashells...Notice the builder put a stone shaped like Texas in the face...Not something I would have done, but that's Texans for you...This was a wood-burning fireplace, and I loved it.
(my painting, "Ghost Swimmers" was in the niche)..I know alot of people have their flat-screened tv over the fireplace, but I feel they compete with one another.  I'd prefer two focal points.

I made a faux, tooled leather cushion (with linen on the other side) for our dear, sweet cat, Gussie, who sadly, went blind, and spent five years on that cushion..so, no fires for us.  When we sold our home, she had died, and we buried her out on the property.  The people who bought the house were having strange things happening with regard to lights coming on at three am in the living room (she passed at three am in the living room), and when they would try to light a fire in the fireplace, it wouldn't draw, light, etc. The woman emailed me and said she felt the presence of a cat, (she had no idea of any of this), and I told her that was just Gussie.  She loves animals, and bless her, said Gussie could stay as long as she likes.

I have to go paint the bathroom...so, I am going to post some of the many fireplaces I have designed...It's one of my favorite things in design to do.

It's cold in Wisconsin and gray, a great deal of the time...saturated, warm colors, and fireplaces are necessary..The top one is a Heatolator, and this "keeping room" fireplace actually has a warming oven in it...the rhombus tile is echoed over the stove in the other end of the kitchen.

My client wanted an old-world, French-influenced fireplace, so I designed the coffered ceiling, and the dry-stack floor-to-ceiling fireplace...

No, you are not seeing double; my client's are tv/sports/fanatics...so, I give them what they want...This fireplace is more "PrairieStyle", as in Frank Lloyd Wright, who is very popular in Wisconsin.

This is a "before" fireplace..my client didn't like the stark white..it is also a two-sided fireplace, which I love..the other side faces into the kitchen.  I had slipcovers made for the sofas, white and washable, and I glazed the room (yes, I do specialty finishes)...We changed out some art and accessories, and it took on a whole, new feel.

I still do specialty finishes, but no longer go out on scaffolding, holding glazing brushes in my toes...glazed 1,000 sq. feet. of this living room. Gah!

And The Beat(ing) of Hammers and Saws and Rain on the Roof Goes On



This is Missy, taking in all the hammering, buzzing of saws, shouting, and loving every moment...very heady stuff...
She's in love with Eddy, the job foreman for our renovation of our deck, chimney chase (double deck, two chases), new flashing, new gutters, deck railing and spindles brought up-to-code...and Eddy loves her...heck, my husband and I love Eddy, who is a genius..

The c-1-ll cedar has replaced the fireplace chase on both the upper and lower decks...The deck railings and the spindles are being brought up-to-code (when the house was built, code wasn't addressed as far as the deck was concerned...now, it is going to be wonderful...and safe). This may not seem to be exciting to ya'll, but let me tell you, when this place is painted (Sherwin Williams "Urban Putty", and the deck will be painted Sherwin Williams "Smoketree") we will be done with the exterior...
All of the flashing is being installed or replaced, new gutters and downspouts, new exterior lighting, and "viola"..a beautiful, upgraded lakehouse.










The trees on the property are so lovely in Spring, and the lake changes with the seasons..Flipping this house is a bit emotional, as we've become attached to it, but, we have plans...right on the same lake..hmmmmm.
It is Sunday, and we've taken a break from the scraping of wallcovering, scrubbing, painting, and swearing...The rain has stopped, and all is peaceful...Until tomorrow...

It's Easier to Do Other People's Homes

I seem to be experiencing "Technical Difficulties", but undaunted, I blog on...

We have begun the renovation in full force...7am, the workment arrive...I introduce them to our dog, "Lil Missy", aka "Mistletoe", so she won't be barking at them everytime she looks out the window, and sees them working.

This is her "Glamour Shot"...We rescued her last October, and she's brought such joy into our lives...

At first, the construction guys were a bit concerned, seeing a pittbull (okay, boxer/pitt mix) coming at them (I did make sure she was on a leash, so as not to terrify them)..after she licked them half to death, they figured out she wasn't a threat.

The house is grey, dark, and uninviting...This was taken (obviously) when the leaves were off the trees...We have since added mulch, and have picked the new color...Sherwin Williams "Urban Putty"...Presented it to the Architectural Review fellow..he didn't see a problem...I'd be surprised if he did, as there is a house down the road that it lime green ..gah.

The deck will have new railings (bringing it to code), and will be Sherwin Williams "Smoke Tree"...all the weeds are gone, but with all the rain, we have a bumper crop of mushrooms, and not the good kind..

The lower level has my studio, a small office, and this wonderful, wood burning stove...it does get cold here on the Cumberland Plateau...We are not doing much to it, other than a fresh coat of white...

The God-Awful, ditzy, outdated wallcovering is finally off the little (I call it the "submariner's bathroom", as it is so small)..My husband, Robert, has scraped, scrubbed, sanded, and now, is putting on the "Kilz", as some of the glue would otherwise seep through..Can't wait to get the Sherwin Williams "Koi Pond" on the walls - photos to follow..there is hope!

We've decided to keep the red door and sidelights..I am taking down the carriage lanterns, and since they are so corroded, sanding them, and painting them black.

This is the view from our deck...and the reason we adore this house..it changes with the lighting, the seasons, and every morning, I open my curtains in the living room, and thank God for this view...and this day...

The views alone make all the construction, painting, scraping, sewing of window treatments, scrubbing, and all the other things it takes to bring this house back to life...

In contrast, we lived for seven years with a terrible drought in Texas...Dust and Deer Poop...This is my recently dear-departed Raisenette Funicello Buttafuco (he head-butted things), communing with the deer...I miss my kitty (he was seventeen), and I miss my deer...the 107 degree temps, the deer poo, the fireants, the scorpions...not so much.

My friends, who have a gazillion, lovely blue hydrangea bushes were kind enough to let me take as many as I liked..and dry them...sadly, all these after they dried, fit in one vase..I'd like more, but don't want to be greedy...okay, I want to be greedy.

Soooo, tomorrow, I hope to assail you with two, countem, two freshly-painted bathrooms....aren't you excited?  No...?  I am...and so it Missy...

                                 Sort of...

"As God is My WItness, I Shall Never Scrape Wallpaper Again"

As anyone, who has ever watched "Gone With the WInd", and who hasn't, I especially loved this scene...And since I am a scene stealer by nature, I am  using this image to make a point.

AS GOD IS MY WITNESS, I SHALL NEVER SCRAPE WALLPAPER AGAIN...

This Old House

While living in Boston all those years ago, I loved watching "This Old House"...I didn't realize what "old" really was until living in an house built in the 1700's...It was in Salem, Mass, and it was three stories, converted into apartments.  We had fireplaces in all the rooms, some of which actually worked; the one in the kitchen was a passageway for squirrels, but the one in the livng room worked.  I learned a great deal about how such old houses were built, and how sturdy they had to be.  The walls were horsehair and plaster, and scraping wallpaper was impossible, as huge hunks would just come out..horsehair and all...solution..sheets...I love sheets...

This is my dear-departed Gussie..resting in her "window seat"...the sheets were Ralph Lauren, and I originally covered the bedroom walls of that house with them.  I worked for Bloomingdales in Boston, and when we would get a new "release", we got extra fabric...so, we had wainscoating halfway up the walls, and the other half, I stabled the sheets, and trimmed it out with gimp to cover the staples.  It was cozy and it also was a form of insulation against the cold, New England winds, blowing in off of Salem Harbor.  I still have the sheets...I no longer have my Gussie..although, she is haunting our Texas house (but, that's another story.

Our home in Wisconsin was new construction,as was our Texas house...this house in Tennessee on the Cumberland Plateau on Lake Canterbury is about 27-years-old.  We have begun the renovation, and I'm excited!  When we first moved in, there was the dark, ugly brick fireplace, which we immediately painted white...we painted the living room, "sun room" and our bedrooms, and started the process of peeling and scraping wallcovering (which is in progress).  We have hired the contractor, and selected the color(s) - Sherwin Williams "Urban Putty", and if it ever stops raining long enough, we are on our way.

This is the back of the house..We brought in several truck loads of mulch, and my wonderful husband spread it all by himself..it looks so much better, and if it ever stops raining, we will get rid of the crop of mushrooms..for the are not edible, I am sure!

Face it...ugly brick is ugly brick, and this floor-to-ceiling fireplace ate the room, and it was dark..we painted it...I don't recommend painting stone fireplaces unless you are an expert...I am good at that sort of thing, but it can get pretty scary.

It's blue hydrangea season on the Cumberland Plateau, and kind friends gave me a great gift of them...The fireplace is actually much whiter...here's the "true color"..

I had a wonderful time embellishing the mantle during the holidays...

The "sunroom" has become a combination "dining room" and "sunroom"..the views are wonderful, and I love the "treehouse effect"...Working on the space even as I write this.

I love our cameo chairs, and we did change out the light over the table.

The kitchen...ah, the kitchen..wallcovering...lots of glue under wallcovering...lots to do before it's finished, but it is a work in progress.

As Robert Frost would say, "Far to Go before I sleep".