Hill Country Update, This Rocks!

This looks like a mess, but it's actually progress! My dad has been making cabinets that match the existing cabinets so we can add them in where we need them. The island will have cabinets only at the end near the range and he has made a red cedar counter top to go on top and extend past the cabinets to form a breakfast area. The cabinet that drops down a few inches will have our stone counter top and will also have a sink and dishwasher. (As you can see, the floor is not in yet. It will be the last thing to go in.)

The cabinets on the "living room" side of the kitchen have been set. The columns will have stone on them, so they are still bare.

The doorway you see here will lead into the butler's kitchen (also called a "dirty kitchen" or "working kitchen".) The built-in refrigerator will go to the left of it where you see the dry wall built out. 

This is the wall where the range and Vent-a-Hood will go. I will be painting all the cabinets to match. The areas where the dry wall is gone will be limestone. (We still need to remove some above some cabinets, but since I was the one doing that I had to stop when I got to the areas that I couldn't even reach with a ladder.) That has to go in after the counter tops. (They will be making the template for counter tops this week and then will put us on the list for installation. UGH! I hate this waiting game!)

So....

it doesn't look like much yet, but progress is being made. Just wait and see. It will all come together in the end!

During a little break, I found a couple of large rocks that really were interesting to me. It's not uncommon to find rocks in the hill country with all kinds of shapes and wear patterns. Many have holes and other beautiful and odd configurations. This held my interest because not only did it have holes,it had a very porous texture like a bone. I thought  it was a deer skull when I pulled it out of the ground. (It was half exposed.) 

See how porous it looks? 

Nearby was another interesting rock. These are both large rocks, about 10"to 11" wide. 

This also had an interesting texture and was full of holes. 

I can't wait to do some exploring with my grandson. I think this would be a great place for a little boy to find "treasures".

I am working on some quilty projects, but I am saving some to show for the See You in September blog hop! I hope you'll be surprised!

School Supplies for the Sewing Room!

(Check out Debby Kratovil  Quilts today! I've been featured! I made some throw pillows using a beautiful line of Bernatex fabrics!)

As a former teacher, I can't resist the school supply aisles at the local stores. I am drawn to them like a deer to water! 

I found these great little metal boxes this year! They have a black top and brightly colored sides. 

I used these great Expo Neon dry erase markers to write on the top of each what I would be storing inside the boxes. These markers are made for writing on windows.(Although the words can be erased, they do dull the shiny surface of the metal a little so you can tell where you have written.) 

I plan on a brightly colored sewing room, so I'm thinking these will add a pop of color on the shelves.

I think they would also make a great little toy for travel. Fill the boxes with the little magnetic alphabet letters and include a small box of sight word flash cards and let your child have an "educationally" great time!

Hill Country Updates:

We spent the weekend in the hill country. Although I posted that a lot would get done this week, there were delays. :(

We did walk in to find that the dry wall installer had been there! Yay! He did a lot of drywalling. Unfortunately, he did more than he was supposed to do! 

This half wall and these columns were supposed to be left for the stone workers to do. We have been removing dry wall where backer board and then rock are to be installed. This will delay us by quite a bit. We will have to have this removed. He also set all the electrical boxes that Doug had so carefully "UN-set" for the rock work.  Things like this can be a problem when you're not there to clarify things. I feel sorry for the dry wall guy. He was trying to do us a favor by getting this done before he had to go out of town.

We removed some picket fence and leveled an area in preparation for a garden shed. That will be built starting next Monday. There were raised garden plots here, so we shoveled the precious dirt out of them and into a different area. It was HOT work! 

At lunch, Doug went back to Home Depot and dropped me off at the thrift store. I found another souvenir plate! 25 cents!!! (I am working on a lap quilt that will be in the same room as the plates! I'm using them for inspiration. Watch for it in the See You In September Blog Hop!)

We bought a washer and dryer and it will be delivered around the end of September. (Hopefully, we will be ready for it by then!) 

The dry wall has to be in and the walls textured before the cabinets are in. The cabinets have to be in before the stone is in. The stone has to be in before the floor is laid.  Then we can take a break and go see our  grandkids. Thank goodness we live in an age where we can at least talk on the phone! Can you imagine how our great great grandmothers felt when their kids traveled west and even letters were few and far between? We really are blessed, aren't we?

Last summer we had a family Luau on our patio. My daughter-in-law had just returned from a two month duty station in Hawaii where my son had joined her for part of the time.

This was the last family get together there before the fire. Thank goodness for memories!

Upholstered Chair Update

Ta-da! It's finished. Okay, so it's not perfect! (I did go in and straighten some of those crooked nail heads, but failed to get a picture of it.)

It is sitting in the workshop here and not in it's setting. BUT, I did it!!! I really did! I upholstered a chair from start to finish! My sons have teased me about it being "cow" fabric, but it is supposed to be PINTO PONY!!! I didn't want cow! 

As an update from last week, I added padding to the back of the chair and covered the top part of the ottoman with the dacron.

                                                      

I upholstered the back and added nailheads to the arms and all other areas where it originally had them. (I found out afterwards that I could have bought nail head strips that make this job much easier. They are strips of nail heads with every few inches a real nail to tack in. The rest just sit on top. It would have made the difficult job of getting them straight easier.)

I plan on revealing the entire chair and ottoman (I have a surprise in relation to those two) in September when I show you some of the things I've accomplished this summer. (The "See You in September Hop! Coming sooner than you think!) 

I'm having a little bit of an issue this morning trying to post. I was startled when something grabbed my hand while I moved the mouse around! I should have known that cats are famous for hunting mice!

Although things are moving along in the hill country, we are in a holding pattern yet again waiting for things to happen. We spent two extra days there getting things ready for progress this week, but so far nobody has shown up to do their part. The dry wall guy had been there preparing the walls for texturing, but no patching had been done. I know it will all come together eventually!

I snapped a photo of this spider web on the grounds of the hill country property. There has been a drought there, but "stars" of limestone were trapped in the web from a light drizzle. They were sparkling and shining in the sunlight. When I stopped to take a picture, I was reminded of the little spider that sits and waits for something to get trapped in his web. Waiting is just part of living - even for God's tiniest creatures. Plus, I'm not having to wait for my sustenance. No, I'm well fed!

I was reminded of Psalm  145:15 - 16

"The eyes of all look to you in hope; you give them their food as they need it. 

When you open your hand, you satisfy the hunger and thirst of every living thing."