Kitchen re-model and a little bit of sharing!

Something I’m afraid I’m not too good at lately. 

Blogging has pretty much gone to the dogs.  It’s not that I don’t have the time, I just don’t have the energy.  I’m stressed…S.T.R.E.S.S.E.D!  And nothing can be done about it.  I’m not sleeping.  I’m grouchy.  I’m mean.  I’m tired.  I’m stressed.

                                              

So…now that you know, let me get on with it and show some of the things I’ve been doing.  (Be forewarned…it’s a “picture heavy” post!) 

One of the things I’m not stressed about anymore…

Remember how my kitchen looked when we first bought the house?  I have others from the first re-model, but because of the fire, I won’t bore you with them. (And as you all know, you can click to enlarge…Just sayin’!):

                                         

Finally:

                                                            The Big Reveal!

                                           

                                           

                                           

                                            

                                             

                                                         

                                               

                                                         

                                                             

                                                  

I really love it.  It really gave me fits, because I wasn’t sure how it would all come together and if I had chosen wisely.  But, thankfully…all worked.  I’m really lovin’ the tile…I ordered it online, it’s glass and I was hoping it would match my dishes…it did!

So…thank-you hubby!  For putting up with my stressed-out self and for just being here for me!  Thank you my sweet sister, Donna and her hubby, Woody for giving me advise, watching as it went up, and getting me out of the house!  I appreciate it!

I’ll try to be back sooner!  Donna and I have been doing some antique shopping and I really want to show you what we gotten and what I’ve done with it!

Thanks to you, too for coming back to read and putting up with my “sketchy” blogging!

Later,

Debbie

Miss me?

Really?  No…really?

I haven’t been gone…just lazy.  Lots of things to talk about, though!

First!  Yay!  Congrats to my ‘Bama Girl!  She graduated!  With honors!  and a 4.0!  (I know, I’m late!  She graduated August 9th!  At least I’m writing about it in the same month!)  So…here’s a picture to prove it:

                                               

And now, she’s officially in the University of Alabama’s Law School!

What else?

Well, we had a new baby…a bull!

                                           

I got a solar clothes dryer…**squeal**!

                                          

Thanks, honey!  Sorry…no pictures of underwear! 

Speaking of “him”…he’s now home….full time!  He retired.  And yeah, it’s been a month and he’s still alive!  (We’re hoping he’ll still be alive next month, too! Kidding!)…if you don’t know, I’m kinda hard to live with!

Anything more?

Well, I made squash relish and pear honey, three new quilts and I’m learning how to Knook…(google it!)…my sister and brother in law have come home from Iraq and moved into their new home.  We’ve been to a lot of antique shops!  My house is still a mess (from the fire) and I still haven’t gotten my new cabinets or countertops installed…hopefully next week!  But, my honey and I did something new to the dining room…we put up bead board and I painted.  Yes…again!  Wanna see?  Well…if you don’t want to see, leave now!:

                                            

Not a great picture…we’ll be doing a little more wall decorating!  I did get new blinds, though…2” plantation blinds…even though you can’t see them here…they’re lovely!  Take my word for it!  LOL!

Well, I’m getting silly, so it must be time for bed!  TTYL!

Later,

Debbie

PS: Roll Tide!  Football starts next weekend…just sayin’! 

Happiness!

It’s not always sunshine and light around here, but you’ve got to make the best of what you get!

                                            

 

                              

                                                                                                 

                                                                               

 

            

 

                                                                           

 

       

 

                                                                            

 

Hope you have a day filled with sunshine!

Later,

Debbie

“Good Fences Make Good Neighbors” Robert Frost

Not! At least not when your neighbor cuts the fence down. I try not to complain (operative word…try! LOL), but seriously people I need a place and some friends to vent to today!

First, the back story.

About 2 weeks ago, one of my neighbors (we’ll call him Bubba for lack of a better name) came over and let me know that I couldn’t leave my cows in the pasture with our pond and the one leading into it. Why? Because he was going to take his fence down if I didn’t put up my own fence (not sure if it’s his fence or if the fence is on my land…). His reason? Because the people we bought our farm from had horses that leaned against his fence and stretched it out. Number one…I’m not those people. Number two…I don’t have horses. But he said that now that we had cows it’s what I had to do. My problem with this? The pond is the only way the cows get water, I have to let them in those two pastures.

Fast forward two weeks:

Saturday, one of our cows had a calf. 2 months early. That’s not the problem, just the backstory. Monday July 4th, David had to leave to go back to Ohio for work. He left about noon and called saying that he got there around 8:30 pm. We had a really big storm , so 8:30 pm, I took a shower, put on my pj’s and settled in to watch some TV and maybe do a little sewing.

Sometime around 9 pm, David called and asked if the cows were in the pasture. I said I didn’t know, but would check. So I put on a pair of capris and sneakers, drove up the driveway, but didn’t see any cows. David said someone had called to say the cows were out. Dangit…they were! All over the place. My neighbors from all down the road and a deputy sheriff were trying to get them into one of their pastures when I got there. I counted nine of the ten we have. Mama cow and calf were not with them. The story goes downhill from here!

Because of all the fireworks, dogs barking, and the sheriff flashing his lights and blowing his siren to keep them off the road, the cows were panicked and running from one field to another. (Remember it’s dark-thirty!) About 11:30, we lost them. . . could not find them anywhere! In the meantime, “Bubba” and his mama started yelling at some of the men as they walked up their driveway to see if the cows were there. Real redneck thing to do…right? The sheriff’s deputy went to see what the problem was. “Bubba” and his mama told him that they had called me tonight and told me they were cutting the fence. (I found this out later that night and no…there was no phone call). When I got back to my pastures to see if maybe they had come home, sure enough **@?! Bubba had cut the fence down.

Now…since it was midnight, all my neighbors told me there was nothing I could do until morning, but they would come back and help me find them. Everyone was hopeful they would come home in the meantime. Also, David was on his way back from Ohio. Which meant he would be driving 17 hours that day.

Morning:

David got in at 5:30 am. I had no sleep. We went to the pasture to see where the fence had been cut and “Hallelujah” the cows were there…the nine that got out, plus Mama and her baby!

So…all’s good that ends good. Except we have to get an attorney, have a survey (we had one during the sale, but may have to pay for a new one), and get a restraining order to keep “Bubba” and his family off our land! The upside? I met some really good people!

David left on his third trip to Ohio since Monday. The cows are in the other 3 pastures (we have 5). All’s quiet on the home front for now.

How was your weekend?

Later,

Debbie

PS: Thanks for listening! 

Happy Independence Day, Let Freedom Ring!

                                             

I made and quilted a red, white, and blue stars quilt.  I think I really like it!    It’s very different from my other quilts…at least I think so!  But what do I know?                                 

In other news…                                  

Miss July 4th, 2011 made her appearance.  We had a baby…*squeal*!

                                       

It wasn’t expected until September.  Right now, we’re not sure if it was early or if the vet messed up the dates.

Other than that, not much is going on except work on my kitchen…again.  Same song, second verse…

I’ve picked out new cabinets, countertops and appliances.  Before the fire, we had planned on a redo of the kitchen anyway, but not to this extent!  We also are planning on new carpet and *maybe* new living room furniture…crossing fingers!

Anyway, I’ll be getting a new stove (gas…which I don’t have now.), an over the stove microwave, a new sink and faucet, as well as granite countertops.  I’ve picked out white cabinets and an oak island, two things I didn’t expect, because I’m all for the darker, more vibrant colors of the spectrum.  I’ll be getting  most of the bells and whistles such as:  a cabinet with a lazy susan, a mixer lift, and roll out shelves/drawers? I’m not sure what they’re called…LOL!   I’m also getting a garbage compactor (never had one before!) 

The best thing?  All my appliances will match!  I don’t know if ya’ll remember, but I did a whole house redo in my Decatur home a few months before selling and moving to Eva…total regret at having to leave it! 

The only problem I’ve encountered with this remodel is the indecisiveness I’m having with the granite countertops.  Should I go with Uba Tuba, which was in the Decatur house:

         or…..

 

Santa Cecilia?

 

As of now, the money is on the Santa Cecilia and we got an off white ceramic sink (which I can return)  and will get a rubbed oil bronze finished faucet.  The problem I’m having is that the tile in the kitchen and dining room clash with the granite, plus you all know how much I like darker colors…this is my conundrum!  Here’s a picture of the floor tiles:

                                             

with a picture of the countertop samples:

                                              

**Click to see larger pictures!

And yes, if you all say the darker countertop, I agree, but…remember these are samples. (I have to keep reminding myself of that!)  Also,  the cabinets I ordered are white and the island will be oak, and…the countertops will not be laying next to the floor but closer to the cabinet.  A conundrum!  (I’m trying to convince myself that the Santa Cecilia is the “right” one…**I’ve already ordered it, but…!  Oh well…I’ll sleep on it…I have until Tuesday to make up my mind (all opinions will be considered and appreciated with love!)

Later,

Debbie

What you missed...

Trust me.  You missed a lot!  This is going to be a picture laden post!  I went to a quilt show in Cullman, AL this weekend...gorgeous quilts!  I made lots of pictures, but here's a few of my favorites:

                           

                                       Got to make one like this!

                        

                                               My kind of colors!

                                

                                 I need to make one  for Halloween.

                               

                                                        Love the batiks!

                            

                                                     One after another!

                                 

                          Somebody in the family needs to have a baby girl!

The next pictures are of a couple of sweet vendors at the show:

                             

                                      

Ladies, I have apologize..I lost your names.  I had a freak accident this weekend.  A kitchen fire.  The fire department had to come and everything!  But thankfully, no one was in the house, except Chance...and he's okay.  I was out on the tractor mowing near the pond and when I came back to the house, I opened the door to a lot of smoke, but no flames.  Apparently my paper towels had blown onto my stove (off, but still hot from previous use) and started a fire.  My cabinets are blistered and my countertop is ruined in one place...and the house smells like smoke.  But everything is okay, no worries!  So...sometime during all the confusion, the bag that had your cards in it has disappeared...if I find it, I'll add your names later.  Or, if you want to email me, I'd be happy to add them sooner!  Again, I'm so sorry!

To end on a happy note, here's some of the fabric that I bought and a clue to the next quilt I'm making!

                                 

Well, gotta go!

Later,

Debbie

Same song, second verse...

could get better, but it's gonna get worse!

It's not even summer yet and I'm sweltering!  11 days above 90* and no rain in the forecast.  But there's not a lot I can do about the weather, is there?

I haven't done much lately except spend time in the pool.  David was home this weekend and just left yesterday.  We're on the retirement count-down for sometime in August!

I did work on  a couple of  projects last week:

**Click for larger views.

                     

                      

I made curtains from drop cloths and hung them on the porch area outside of our bedroom.  (No sewing project...they're hemmed on all sides!)

Here's the view from inside:

                                                 

And I also made a couple of pillows:

                         

Since it's so hot, I think I'll stay inside and maybe do a little quilting this week.  I got a new template for a Twister block in Decatur the other day.  Another quilt shop is going out of business and everything was on sale, but between you and me...they were really on the pricey side.   But, luckily another one is expanding just a few doors down.

Well, guess I'll go look at my fabric stash and see if there's anything that interests me!

Later,

Debbie