Progress at the Hill Country House - April, 2015

Wow! This has been such a busy spring! After the Hawaii trip, I spent a couple of weeks sick with bronchitis. Now I leave again tomorrow for three weeks taking care of grandkids!

We did manage to get a little done on the house during that time. I'm still playing with furniture placement in the living room. I have two thrift store recliners. (They are the "Stickley" style chairs you see on the right in the photo). One is black and one is tan, so I would love to have them reupholstered. I haven't checked into that yet and I'm really intimidated about doing it myself. If it doesn't cost too much, I would love to have them done in cowhide.

 The two portraits are hung and I've found some antique books and a few other things to put on the buffet to tie everything together. I found the old watering pitcher in an antique shop for about $10. Everything else, except the flowers, was from a thrift shop. I'm sure this arrangement will change, but for now it makes me smile.

Here's a view from the dining room end of the room. We are going to replace the ceiling fans with some in wood tones. I haven't found the ones I want yet.

 My island cabinets had been painted gray, but I wasn't happy with how they turned out. (I know that when the red cedar top is put on, it will make a big difference!)

I decided to put a glaze on them. If we don't like it, it is only paint!

Here is a photo during the process.

Here they are finished, except for the island top. 

We are also waiting on bids for the countertops in the pantry. We haven't decided yet what to call that area - prep kitchen, working pantry, butler's kitchen, dirty kitchen. All of these are names we've found for a pantry that you can actually work in. We had planned to reuse the Corian countertops in that room, but found that it will cost more to have someone come in and seam them than it does to buy new granite!

 

I also went "estate sale" shopping. I found this Raku vase. Inside is a receipt and a note from the potter about how she did it. If you know Sunee Rakowitz, tell her that her beautiful pot will be appreciated and loved. As a young art student in college, we made Raku pottery. It is a fascinating process!

I also found this Mexican casserole "dish". I love the simple beauty of it! I even love the clay color on the inside!

I hope to do some posting while I'm away, but I'm about to enter the lifestyle of the "young and restless"! I don't know how these young families keep up the pace! What a privilege to be part of their lives for these coming weeks!

 

I'm Back from Paradise!

My husband and I have been in Hawai'i for the last couple of weeks. It was a dream vacation that we really hadn't planned for. Wow! What a wonderful experience!

 

A quick picture taken with my iPhone)

 We stayed in a hotel in Waikiki, just a walk across the street from the beach. We ate breakfast on the beach most mornings. (There were covered pavilions and picnic tables.) 

We experienced TWO luaus!

We watched our grandkids learn to surf! (Fast learners!)

They talked me into going parasailing even though I was terrified! It was fun! (Yes, our legs are snow white!)  My sons have teased me about the look on my face. I'm afraid of heights and of swimming in the ocean, so this was a stretch for me!

 (Our view of the boat from the air.)

We did a lot of other things while we were there:

We saw the Dole Pineapple Plantation and  a macadamia nut farm.

 I hiked up to Diamond Head and saw the panoramic view.

 We paid our respects at Pearl Harbor. 

We drove around the coastline of Oahu and saw the beaches on all sides. 

We watched fireworks on Waikiki from the beach. 

We took a submarine ride to see sea turtles, plane and ship wreckage, and lots of tropical fish.

We shopped at a flea market as well as the International Market.

We tasted Spam flavored macadamia nuts!

I am still a little jet lagged. It was a long flight. I made yo-yos (Suffolk puffs for some of you) when I needed to do something with my hands during the flight. I have a nice start on a little coverlet. I like having something I can grab up for times when I know I will be sitting for a while.

To my friends in Hawai'i, you really do live in a paradise! Wow!

 

I came home and bought a couple of albums by the late Israel (Iz) Kamakawiwo'ole. I have always loved his renditions of Somewhere Over the Rainbow and It's a Wonderful World, but I also appreciate his Hawaiian traditional songs. If you haven't heard them, you should check it out.
Israel Kamakawiwo'ole