Still Here and Making Slow Progress!

Yes, I'm still here! Above you can see the new patio door installed in what will become the kitchen for the Mother-in-law suite downstairs. This opens under an overhang, so it will be protected from the weather. This is also the sidewalk to the patio. I will add pots of plants outside on the raised bed above the stone wall. The debris you can see through the door is a section of HEAVY stucco still attached to the metal "mesh" they put up to hold the cement. It was removed from the old entrance door, which has been sealed up. (below)

The subfloor in front of the door has been replaced. What you can't see if that we put up gutters. If there had been gutters before, the water damage that had been in this area would not have happened.

We have removed the bathroom that was between the kitchen and this room (which will become the media room). We added a window in this room and the old bathroom will become a closet. We're putting two new bathrooms on the other side of the downstairs space. 

While taking a break from the work, we chose to eat dinner at a local Thai restaurant. It was sunny and about 72 degrees, so we ate on the balcony overlooking the river park here in Kerrville. I couldn't quite capture the beautiful blue water and the pinkish tinge in the trees, but it was a beautiful sight!

Chiristmas was a blur! We hosted two gatherings. One with 12 friends from church and one with 25 family members on Christmas day! I had a lot of fun decorating the table to match the Christmas plates that were rescued from the fire.

The cactus is made of metal. A local man makes all types of things like this to be used in a yard or garden. I put it in the center of my table!

The buffet area was decorated Christmas cowboy style! I found the hat and wooden cowboy Santa in the thrift shop. 

 My daddy does woodwork. My sister and I were in his workshop and noticed the great shapes that were left over when he cut out pieces for the toys he made. We pulled them out of the trash bin and started playing with them, glueing them together and adding bits of wire. Here are two pieces I made. The wood scraps are just as they were pulled from the bin - no sawing was done. (Paint was added!)

(Notice the little fish under the "waves"? 

 

My "looney" bird!

One last thing. Compare the set of windows on the left with the ones on the right. Do you see how much clearer the ones on the right are? 

I have a friend who told me that during college she cleaned windows wtih "window wax". I had never heard of it, so I have been keeping my eyes out for window wax for quite a while now. Finally, I found some and tried it! It is amazing!! I can't wait for the cedar pollen count to come down so I can go outside and wash windows!

I HAVE done some sewing. In fact, I'm working on a couple of patterns. They are not in a stage yet to show, but hopefully, I will get back in the swing of things soon.

My husband's company has been in the process of lay offs, so that has interfered with life in several ways. He survived the lay offs, but has been cut to two days a week at work. That will slow the progress downstairs down some because we are NOT independently wealthy! On the other hand, perhaps it will be a good incentive for me to get serious again about selling my patterns. 

Thank you for your encouragement and for sticking by me! I've always felt change was exciting so I've had a couple of adventurous years now!! Life is good!

 

Being a Nana!

I'm away for a little while being a Nana to my only two grandchildren! ( My son had surgery and my daughter in law was sent away for a few weeks with the military.) I have been unable to download photos to my blog and I am trying to post on a Kindle. Not easy for older eyes!! I did find this 7 year old photo in my Picassa files. This four year old (seen here in a butterfly house in North Carolina) is now taller than I am and has a little brother!

While I'm gone, my husband is "holding down th he fort" at home and great things are happening at the hill country house kitchen reno! 

I'll be back soon! 

Hill Country Update and a Mystery!

We finally gave up and hired someone to take the old stone up at our hill country house. This was a photo I took when I drove up on Tuesday to pay for the work. He hadn't hauled off all the old stone yet. When we arrived Saturday morning, it didn't really look a lot different. The big pieces of stone were gone, but the piles of cement dust, portions of cement backer board, and thousands of nails remained. Since we needed to be able to work in the house, we needed all of that up so we could walk on the floor. (He said he would clean it up when he laid the floor, but we have to do some reconfiguring in the kitchen before the floor goes down.)

 After a  day of sweeping up bucket loads of cement dust and bending over a pry bar pulling up nails, the floor is now "walkable"! The next step is taking out a few cabinets and putting in an island. 
I have a mystery that I'm hoping someone can solve. You may remember the old desk that we bought for my husband's office. It had been modified to accommodate a computer. (This is an OLD desk - much older than modern computers!
Front and center on the top is a little brass plate with a rectangular spring loaded "slot". As far as I can tell, its only function is to pinch the fire out of your finger when you push down on the slot.  As far as I can tell, it is not connected to anything below the top of the desk. I can see where it is screwed in. It might have served a function before the drawer was modified to be a pull-out keyboard tray. The desk belonged to a medical doctor, if that helps. (His name is stamped in the drawers.)

        Does anyone know what it is? (I'm a very curious person!)

                                                        

We've Found a House!

We've found a house! I am trying to wait until we actually close on it to post pictures. We should close on either Friday or Monday, depending on when some work is completed. 
The house is in the Texas hill country, which is an area we have loved for a long time.

The house is on a hill and has a nice view of the hill country from just about any window. (The pictures on this post were taken last year and are not from the house. ) You will also see deer grazing freely on anything they find! I love watching them, but will have to confine my flower beds to a fenced area! (I'm going from bad to worse. So many people thought I meant "horse", I switched the pictures around. Now it looks like I think the horses are deer! I'm going to quit while I'm ahead!)
Best of all......I will have a large sewing/quilting room! It will probably be one of the last rooms we work on, but it will be wonderful having a big space! 

We are going to take our time updating the house. I'll show before and after pictures of our work. I plan on spending most of the budget on really quality purchases, then filling in by finding second hand furniture and sewing my own drapes, etc. I'll share this with you, too. Perhaps my successes and failures (and I'm sure there will be some!) will help some of you out in some small way. For example, I've already purchased a really quality leather sectional. It was on clearance at Ethan Allen because someone ordered it and then changed their color scheme. It was EXACTLY what I had in mind and although it had just come in and was in perfect condition, it was marked half price! Even at that, it was expensive, so I will need to search Craig's List for some side chairs that I can upholster. (I've never done that! Do you think I can?) I hope you'll stick around and share in my adventure! Can you tell I'm excited?
                                                 
P.S. - Please join me in the Don't Let the Door Stop you blog hop that is going on now. I will be posting my contribution on February 5. You can follow the entire hop, in conjunction with the She Who Sews hop, by going to Sew We Quilt.


                                                 

Progress and a Cute Little Sewing Machine!

My dad, who is an extraordinarily creative and skillful artist, is making a few of these little sewing machines for an upcoming crafts fair! This is his own design.(He has also made little tractors, cars, etc.) What you can't see from the photo is that if you turn the wheel, the "needle" (also wood and not too sharp) goes up and down. What little girl wouldn't be thrilled with a machine like this! It is about 10" or 11" wide - a perfect size for a wantabe seamstress! I think it would be a cute addition to some of our sewing rooms!
As far as progress after the fire,I am still filling out contents lists for the insurance company. This is probably the most difficult task so far. Could you remember every item in your house, when and where you bought it, and how much you paid for it? 
 I'm still doing fine emotionally and I still feel that everything will be fine in the end. Doug and I are safely tucked away right in the heart of family and the people around us have been amazing! My sincere thanks and appreciation goes out to all of you who have written encouraging emails and cards. Some of you have sent packages and I have had so much fun opening them up and discovering the contents! Early Christmas! I plan on putting all your cards in a scrapbook so that if I find myself bogged down in discouragement, I can pull out the scrapbook and see what an amazing group of people God put in my life! Thank you so much!!
Hopefully, I will have more to show you when all this insurance business gets behind me, but I wanted to give you an update.

 Since I showed my house after the fire, I wanted to show some pictures of it before.
                                                 
                                              

                                                       
  

My Recent Vacation

 

We have recently returned from spending a little over a week driving from the northern valley in California to our home in south Texas. We toured four national parks along with a few other tourist stops along the way. Along with us were my two grandchildren, aged 5 and 10. First stop was Zion National Park in Utah. We hiked a total of 4 miles (down to the canyon floor and back).

He's an explorer!

! 

The shuttle bus was the best place my grandson found to nap! He was "tuckered out"!

The next day we drove to Bryce Canyon National Park, where we felt like we had entered another world! 

This is a very tired and sick Nana (I had a summer cold and felt pretty lousy. I normally look about 30 years younger and 50 lbs. slimmer! - that's my story and I'm sticking to it!)

 

We made a couple of stops before the next photos, but here we are at the Grand Canyon National Park. This first day here, the canyon was clouded by a haze from the California wildfires!

 

I'll be posting some sewing goodies soon. See my entry , along with my granddaughter's,in my last post for the Stamp On It blog hop going on now. The link to the blog headquarters is on my sidebar!

 

 My new computer has arrived and now I have to learn how to use it! It's a touch screen and does not work the way my old computer did. UGH! I know I'll enjoy it when I learn, but I still have the grandkids with me and finding time to just sit at the computer is not on the radar for a little while now. The 5 year old is really put out with me for spending time doing this instead of entertaining him this morning!

 

So until next time....

Bee Blessed!

 

Toy Sewing Machine and Other Vintage Items

My oldest son sent me this adorable little toy sewing machine for my birthday! It is a Betsy Ross 707. According to what I can find, this model was made in the 1940's (the plaid box is an indicator). The 1950's models came in a red alligator textured box. 

This machine sews a chain stitch. I doubt I will be making quilts with it, but it will look so cute sitting in my sewing room!
I'm really drawn to all things vintage. I don't know why I'm so fascinated with them, but I am! Here are a few other "old" things that I consider treasures!
My husband's mom was a child in the "roaring 20's". She gave me these sweet "pin cushion dolls" many years ago. 

This little pin cushion doll is only about 2 1/2" to 3" tall including the skirt.

This pin cushion doll does not have her pin cushion skirt. She is about 3 1/2" tall without it.

This tape measure was in with my great grandmother's buttons. (She died in 1988 just shy of her 108th birthday!) It feels almost like paper. I have no idea how old it might be.

These sequins are not all THAT old, but old enough that you won't see any like this any more! A friend gave them to me. They had belonged to her mother. (Thank you, Diane!)

These two "knick-knacks" have nothing to do with sewing, but were also passed down to me. The snow globe on the right was from my grandmother and depicts a sailor and his girlfriend. (I have no idea how old it might be. - perhaps World War II?) The globe is very heavy glass and the base is a heavy porcelain or similar material. The globe unscrews from the base. I'm assuming that is for filling with water?

 This "saucy" little dancer belonged to my husband's mom. She appears to be dancing. Again, I have no idea of age, but she looks like she's having a grand old time!

When I look at these things, I don't really see old objects. I imagine stories and events surrounding them. Did my great grandmother use that measuring tape to sew for her family? Did some little girl learn to sew on the toy sewing machine? Although I may not know them, there are stories connected to these little things. 
Until next time....