Spring is Near! Update for February 22, 2014. Hill Country House

My Ethan Allen sectional was delivered this weekend to our hill country house! I plan on painting the walls a version of this taupe color. 
 Our weekend was cut short by this:

The black truck is ours. The little black car came into our lane around the curve. Our wheel was broken off and pushed up under the cab, so the truck was not driveable. The other driver was bruised from her air bag and had a bad seat belt rash, but we were unhurt. We did meet several of our neighbors, though, including the driver of the car. They are all very friendly and helpful! We had to have family drive the hour and 45 minutes to come get us and take us home because the rental car company was closed! 
 Because of that, we didn't really get much done. Here is the beginning of the stone removal:

You can see we didn't get far! This is going to be HARD!!! I also need to remove the wallpaper, but that will come later. This stone is beautiful, but very uncomfortable to walk on. Those grooves you see between the stones are about 1 1/2" deep. We also want a more cohesive look on this floor, and will replace the stone and carpet with hardwood.
I also tried to make a pattern for slipcovers. I used a cotton duck and pinned it wrong side out. I will try sewing one together in muslin before investing in 24 yards of whatever I use!

While waiting on our ride home, I took a walk around the yard to see what  plants were coming out for spring. I'll be set for Rosemary! This is deer resistant, so it's a nice plant for this area.

I have a fig tree! It hasn't leafed out yet, but I recognize the shape. It is in a small fenced area, so we might actually get some figs!

This tree is also blooming around the property. I have no idea what it is. It appears to be some type of fruit tree. There are small pits around the base of the one in the fenced area. They look a little like cherry pits but could be some kind of plum. (It gets cold here in the hill country, but probably too hot in the summer for cherries!)  Any ideas? (After some internet searching, I think the tree must be plum. Plums bloom in February and cherries in April. Cherry blossoms are on long stems and plum are closer to the branch. This is all assuming it is a fruit tree, but the pits definitely look like they came from fruit and match either plum or cherry.)

I found lavender and irises coming up! I can't wait to have time to work on the gardens, but that is not a high priority now. We are not there during the week to take care of any new plantings. Besides, I need to learn what to plant.  

That's my update for now! We have someone coming Wednesday to give an estimate for the flooring! Hopefully, we can start seeing some real changes around here soon!

           

Thrift Shop and Craigslist Furniture for the Hill Country House

While at the new  house this weekend, I talked my husband into stopping at the local thrift shop. I found two great buys!  First was a lamp. There is no shade yet, and I plan on replacing the wiring (don't want a fire, you know!!!). It is made of heavy cast aluminum, I think. (Some type of cast metal, anyway.)

Then I found an old oak desk that I think will look great in my husband's office.

I haven't found a suitable chair for him yet! The top has been modified some with a couple of holes. I think I can take care of that! Besides, he will probably have a couple of stacks of papers that will cover that up! 

                                    Here it is from the front.
                   We also bought some things off of Craigslist.

This is the table and three of the 8 upholstered chairs. This is very much like the set we lost. There are leaves that clip around the perimeter of the table to bring it to 90" across. Although the upholstery is in pristine condition, I will probably make slipcovers so the color will work better with what I have planned.

This is the buffet that goes with it. It is pretty big and extremely heavy. (Unfortunately, I had to take these pictures with my phone and the sun was not cooperating!) I bought a few more things, but I'll show those later.
 So far, the only new piece I've bought is the leather sectional. It will be delivered next Saturday. 
I am anxious to start painting so I can tell a little better how everything will look, but we're not quite ready for that. (I love painting! Instant gratification!) We've started trying to remove the existing flooring to prepare the floor for hardwood. That is going to be a "bear" of a job, but the estimate to have it done was $2,100. We are going to try to do it ourselves before having it done.
Well, that's my update.  I'll have more to share later!

                                                   

A Glimpse of the Before - My Kitchen.

It was too cold this weekend to go to the new house. The hill country had snow and ice! We knew really cold weather was coming and turned off the water and drained the pipes. Since we had a wedding to attend on Saturday, there just wasn't time to go and make it worthwhile. We'll be there this coming weekend, though. 
In the meantime, I thought you might want a peak at my kitchen as it is now.                        
                                             BEFORE:

Here is the 29" cooktop. It will be replaced along with the backsplash. The wallpaper border will be removed. 

Looking into the breakfast room. We plan to reconfigure this peninsula.

(Don't know what the "rust colored" stuff on the front of the fridge is, but we're guessing maybe it is glue left from having either wood, wallpaper, or something else on it.) The ovens will be removed since I plan on a range with two ovens. The archway that barely shows leads into the dining room.

Island looks a little out of place, but probably looked fine when the kitchen was all furnished. I'm going for a bigger one or maybe two islands! This is a big kitchen!

Now, I know that this is not a bad kitchen. Some people would love this just as it is. BUT, we are going to be making this a dream kitchen. We plan on replacing the 18 year old appliances and doing a little reconfiguring. The cabinets are really nice, so we will keep them. 
Remember, we have to replace an entire household of furniture. We will buy a few quality pieces and fill in with second hand findings. So far, the only piece of furniture we have is a nice leather sectional from Ethan Allen. (Found in the clearance room, but brand new and more than half off!) Since we will not be moving into the house for about a year, I have time to search for just what I want.

 Here is the one wall I didn't show above. It is a desk area. We plan on removing all of the cabinets and the pantry from this wall, lengthening it some, and using this as the "setting" for a nice 48" gas range, flanked by cabinets.
 That's pretty much it for the kitchen. I'll give an update about removing that tile. Hopefully, it will not be a frustrated rant!
 I LOVE making a house my own. What a blessing to have this opportunity. I can't wait to show you progress on the kitchen. (Actually, I can't wait to MAKE progress on the kitchen!)
I'm working on some ideas for some quilty artwork. Hopefully, I'll have something to show you soon.)


                                                 

Don't Let the Door Stop You! My Day and the Tale of Gerty!

                       

Gerty, the Eavesdropper!

Gerty knew it wasn't nice,

but rarely did she take advice!

Her friends had warned her many a time

that nosiness was like a crime.

She thought, and stopped, but then gave in.

She paid no notice of her sin.

She held the glass up to her ear

and leaned against the door to hear.

"Hear" she did, and to her shame

she heard the mention of HER name!

She very quickly backed away.

What did she hear? She'll never say!

Gerty is my own design. She is built on a fabric cone filled with  and covered with her heavy sawdust and covered with her dress. Her face and hands are sewn from stretchy tights and her hair is yarn.She is fairly large for a doorstop, about 20" high.

My thanks to Madame Samm  and Carla for hosting us in this hop! Also, be sure you visit the others on the hop today! (You can find the entire list at Carla's blog.) 

   February 5th    More Stars in Comanche
   You are here! - Buzzing and Bumbling
  Sew and Sow Farm
  Purl Buttons Blog
  Carretel E Agulha
The Quilting Queen
 Pig Tales and Quilts

                                                     

A Peek At My New House!

We closed on the house on Friday! We spent the weekend there, sleeping on an air mattress and eating our meals out. We have not bought furniture yet except for a sectional that will be delivered later.  We spent our time measuring, exploring, and planning. 

You can see that the house is built on a hill. It is at the top of a ridge and has beautiful views of the Texas Hill Country. It is winter here and the hill country gets colder weather than Pleasanton does, so I'll have to wait a few weeks until things start blooming and budding to know what is here. The trees in front of the house are Spanish Oaks. The house is built of the white limestone that is so prevalent in this area.

The previous owners put a lot of thought and detail into the building of the house. It's a great house! but we plan on doing some updating since the house is 18 years old.

Do you see this door on the lower level? This leads to my new sewing room! (I also have stairs inside that lead down to it.) It will not be first on the list for remodeling, but I will be able to use it anyway! 

 As we drove up to the house, some of the deer in the area were there to welcome us!  It will be a challenge to keep them from eating my flowers and fruit, but we will enjoy seeing them!

I will keep you updated on our progress on the house. 

Be sure to join me on February 5 for my day in the Don't Let the Door Stop You Blog Hop.  It is running in conjunction with the She Who Sews Blog Hop. You can click on the button for either on the side bar to be taken to the list of hoppers. I'll see you then!