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!