Tour - Three

Today we will view what was the most disgusting room in the house.

The bathroom was long and narrow and filthy.

I still hate looking at these pictures and I"m not even showing you the really bad ones.

We weren't sure if we could get a bath and a half out of the one bathroom.

There was no way we could have squeezed in the half bath if we hadn't used barn-type doors on both bathrooms.

It's snug, but we did it!

Even finding a spot for my favorite bluebird picture.

The barn doors don't seal as well as a normal door so I added quilted curtains for more privacy.

Love this door.

The door to the full bath.

And the quilted curtain.

Compact, but bright and serviceable.

Towel bar that holds the bathmat. It's right near the heat vent which doesn't get used this time of year, but in the winter it will help.

The sink is deep and wide.

Making use of an old end table. It works for towel storage until I can find something else. The scale fits nicely underneath.

Next tour - the kitchen!

Continuing the Tour

From this...

To this....

Beginning a wall of family photos.

Two children remaining home get their own display.

Glass pitcher I purchased from an antique shop recently and

filled it with blue marbles that I found at an estate sale last summer.

A gift from Dave's parents that they purchased in Finland many years ago.

Our Peanuts collection.

View from the top of the stairs.

Another wall of family photos.

Hiking Through by Paul Stutzman - Book Review

Hiking Through: One Man's Journey to Peace and Freedom on the Appalachian Trail by Paul Stutzman

After Paul Stutzman’s wife died from cancer, he decided to resign his position as a successful restaurant manager to pursue a dream. The dream? To be one of the few people who walk the entire length of the Appalachian trail.

  

There were times he wondered if he had done the right thing: leaving a secure job, family, and friends. Dread and determination mingled together in his mind. 

Fourteen states, 2,176 miles, and four and a half months after starting in Georgia he reached the north end of the Appalachian Trail. His experiences and the people he met along the way make for an enthralling read.

I could relate to Paul’s hesitation and regret at saying good-bye to a trail and an experience that defined his life for over four months. Personal grief has a way of making almost any long-term good-byes soul wrenching.

Hiking Through will inspire you to set goals that seem insurmountable. Paul shows us the importance of getting up each morning and taking that first step pointed in the right direction.

I felt Paul’s conversations with God, as recorded in the book, seemed a bit forced. That doesn’t mean I don’t believe they happened, it just means the book would have been just as good, if not better, if he hadn’t shared them. It didn’t deepen the message or draw me closer to God. It seemed more like a distraction.

I’m giving Hiking Through five stars and plan on reading it again soon.

You can learn more about Paul and his experience and the Appalachian Trail on his website at www.hikingthrough.com  .

I received a copy of Hiking Through: One Man's Journey to Peace and Freedom on the Appalachian Trail from Revell/Baker Publishing.

The Tour Starts Here

Fourteen and a half pounds of pure beauty!

My father made the little table, Dave made the two puzzles on the left and the one on the far right, and the beautiful blue glass is one of many such pieces that Busia had in her yard. No one is sure how she came by them. The story I remember is that she and her sister went to Libbey Glass and picked them out of their discard pile. My Aunt Kathi gave me this one after we moved in. She has been the keeper of the "glass" since 1993.

September 2011 - dark and dirty!

Another angle.

This is how it looks after six months of remodeling and seven weeks of making it our home. 

It's small, but we're liking it now that I've sold and/or given away most of our excess possessions. I still have a few things I need to list on eBay or Craigslist, but at least I can finally walk through the house without having to move a pile of stuff first.

Here is a picture of my grandparents, Busia and Dziadzio,* who built the house in 1924. They reared nine children here. (Use the Google Polish/English translator if you want to know how to pronounce it.)

Our view through the enlarged windows. The walnut tree outside the window is a hub of activity with bluebirds, robins, nuthatches, morning doves, and woodpeckers making their daily visits. Tour to be continued....

Grief Eases Amidst the Flowers

These are the violas I divided today and planted next to the lavender plants.

My next project is waiting to be dug deeper and planted with a Red Prince Weigela and whatever else looks inspiring. This is on the south side of the front steps.

On the north side of the front steps I planted a Red Prince Weigela, and pink, yellow, and red carnations.

Both sides of the sidewalk are complete with three kinds of lavender and three kinds of violas.

I planted four burning bush plants plants near the road- two Rudy Haag and two Compacta - all dwarf varieties to help block our view of traffic without hindering our view of the stables and horses across the street. While digging here I found an old, blue/green insulator from the electric line. Unfortunately, it was broken in two pieces. I also disturbed a huge ant hill in one of the holes. They were not too happy with me.

This beautiful Iris variety traveled with us from Greenville where we received a start from the Oliver ladies. The vase was a gift from Ryan and Grace.

Perfect!

All of these flowers are from our yard - bleeding heart, lily-of-the-valley, columbine, and an unknown variety - the white star flowers.

The new planting bed that leads down into the basement has been filled with bleeding heart, columbine, two varieties of coral bells, primrose, and hostas.

Still looking for a positive identification on this sweet flower.

Pansies I will tuck in someplace soon.

Looks like an old truck or wagon bed that probably belonged to my Uncle Syl. It is in the woods to the east of our property.

A found treasure. As I dig new flower beds I search for things of interest. Most of the time all I find is broken glass and old rusty nails. Stephen found a rusty pocket knife by the front steps and I found this head close by. Anyone have a clue what it could have been from? I stopped at an antique shop and the gentleman there thinks it looks Egyptian.

Busia's lily-of-the-valley are flowering and their scent is heavenly!

Today was our anniversary. The past few months have been difficult with the changing of the seasons, Dave's birthday, and our anniversary. I'm hopeful my longing for our old companionship and conversations will soon wane.

I've enjoyed working in the yard, but it has been pretty heavy work, digging up sod, shaking off as much of the black, rich soil as I can, then hauling the sod away in two, five gallon buckets. I sure don't have any problems falling asleep.

Inside, I am still sorting, selling, storing. Soon I will be snapping pictures I can share. It is finally feeling like home. At first it seemed like I was living in a maze, as I had to weave through piles of stuff. If I needed something, I had to move boxes upon boxes to get to it, then move it all back when I was done. All I wanted to do was sit and cry out my frustration. But after mailing 35 eBay sales, selling seven large items through Craigslist, and giving away two sofas, and three chairs I can walk through the house without tripping over something. In a few weeks, most of the rest of my discard pile will be sold or given away. I'm looking forward to this whole process coming to end so I can get back into genealogy research and writing.

Tonight as I've been typing I've been enjoying this: