Summer Days and all that Work...

OMG!  So I had said I would be back with a new entry soon after my last one and I got sidetracked...big time obviously.  I cannot believe how busy I have been since moving into my place in November.  Christmas came and went, spring arrived and now we are getting into fall weather here in the great state of Michigan.  So let's just get on with what has been happening since then, shall we?

I had dreams for the porch of my house since I first saw it in August of 2016.  I envisioned a nice garden, colorful furniture and a porch swing with nice plump cushions and under the window flower boxes filled to the max with blue lobelia, potato plants, ivy and of course pink, red and white impatiens bursting forth.  And I thought of an indoor/outdoor rug on the floor of the porch, something floral and loud to show from the street.  The grass looked a little bit neglected, thinning and brown. I wondered if I would have to replace the grass with sod or tear up everything and re-seed.

 

It is now September and I have enjoyed a lovely summer in my house with the exterior spruced up to exactly where I wanted it to be. With time it will get better but I had all of my list fulfilled and the place having the cute curb appeal I had dreamed of.

 Everything on the outside of the house looked clean. I loved the buttery light shade of yellow that was on the house. The bright white trim and the interesting lines of the house sold me when I first saw it. Now I could use these details to decide on what to do with the furniture and decide on colors.

This is what I had to start with.

The bright green of the grass needed a shot in the arm.  My son who is the family landscaping guru told me I could easily bring back the grass to a plush thick green. I began to fertilize and trim back some of the edging.  But let's face it...the focal point of the house needed color. My red patio chairs, a porch swing and some foliage in colorful reds would do the trick. And the window boxes I retrieved from my ex, in olive green, were the perfect accent to those boring windows.


So I mounted the window boxes using curlyq brackets and planned on filling them with flowers once Memorial day hit...it was still to early to plant. Anything I would bring to plant would be available in more volume at the stores once that date had come. The final result would be great but it took everything out of me to keep to the safe planting date.  At least there was a bit of color with the wreath I had mounted next to the door. 

Soon I was able to sit on my porch and observe the neighborhood activity, see and wave to my new neighbors and even enjoyed the beauty of a summer rain.

The indoor/outdoor rug seemed to pull it all together nicely!

I learned the secret to the abundant window boxes that I always see when I visit the western side of the state...they cram all the flowers in that the box can hold and water it every day. Also I move them around, trading them from side to side so none gets too hot in the sun and wrinkles.  Still its a big job to constantly be watering the flowers. Don't they look great though? 

Before the flowers were all planted I planned

I love the view from the walkway though..this was before I actually planted all the flowers. I mapped it out. The rocks were found along the side of the property so I gathered them and placed them. Next year I will enlarge the garden and give it more shape.  And I think I will rethink the corner where the columns are..i would like to have some blue morning glories growing up those columns.  There is a rosebush that I want to add, one that climbs to go up the right side of the porch on a sheet of lattice.  As long as the flowers are well fed I can see a beautiful summer ahead.

Below you can see a summer rain from my front porch.  It was really pouring this day so I got a shot from each side of the porch looking out onto the street. 

My neighbors told me that the last owners were going to make the driveway wider. Thank God they didn't.  I even question this one. But I guess everyone has a two car driveway.                                                                                

The grass was so green this day but needed the rain

See how nice the street looks from this vantage point? Everyone on the street have older homes that have been well maintained.  I was told that many years ago the street had to be raised and that explains why my basement window are covered and I have only one with a well for access.  It is a narrow street and so no one parks on the street at all.  You can see the ceiling of the porch is plain wood. I would like to make it beadboard and paint it with a high gloss blue like the sky or something like that. I will be replacing the porch light and my son said I should stain the wood like the color it is when it is wet to protect it from the sun and I will be doing that next year.   

Another view

On a sunny day. Loving it!



Had some neighborhood visitors. I had just gotten my kitty Belle.

So I had finally gotten settled with the outside and I had visitors come by.

The neighborhood kids saw me and could not resist stopping by.  This made me so happy.

I plan to add a wooden screen door to my rear entrance . I always loved that clacking noise that the door at grandma's used to make when I visited there as a very young child. I want to add a clothesline so that I can dry my clothes outside like my grandma did. I remember running through the sheets and towels as they swayed in the wind and smelled so good when we took them down off the line.  I remember pinching my fingers on the clips..not such a great memory but I would re-live it if I could.  So many things about this small cozy historic place remind me of simpler times. And one of those things that I love the most is the view from the front porch, reconnecting with the neighbors. I have waved so many times as I sit on my porch swing and take in all the neighborhood of my little piece of heaven. I have gone a little nuts and brought out a large container of lemonade just in case someone drops by.  I have asked for names and where people are coming from. I am getting smiles galore and feeling so at home here.I am so grateful.

I adopted a kitten and named it Belle.  We will talk about her in the upcoming installments.

We will talk about that in my next installment.  Thanks for stopping by!

With kind regards,

Kimber



Moving In and Putting it All Together in Time for the Holidays

I do not suppose that anyone who reads these posts about moving into a new place can claim that when they have done it the process went smoothly and it only took a short time to be done and done.  My situation had its up and downs.  Let me tell you how moving into my first house went and maybe you can feel better about yours.

Assembling a long list of people to actually haul my belongings was not really difficult. I have been blessed with many who may not see me on a daily, weekly or even monthly basis but they are there for the important times and know that they can count on me as well.  So with two weekends booked in which to get out of my apartment and move my things to my new place I carefully strategized on which rooms of things would go first and which could be relegated to the last Sunday that I would be able to occupy the old place. 

Two weekends prior to Thanksgiving I summoned my son who has a huge trailer and a nice truck as well.   Since none of my best friends was able and had a Jeep she came to help as well.  I had boxes stored up for the previous six weeks, taped, labeled and ready to go.  And since my cousin who would be living practically around the block from me contacted me on the first Saturday of moving weekend offering her truck, trailer and husband, I was in good stead to get all the boxes out on that first day, and the bigger furniture out the Sunday of that weekend.  It was not easy work. 

I created large 8 1/2 by 11" signs to glue on each and every sealed box to identify its contents.  Breakables were carefully wrapped in bubble wrap I had been collecting at work from the orders I received and disbursed at work. So I had plenty of boxes and bubble wrap and signage. 

It is so funny how a stack of boxes in a small bedroom can look like so little, until one begins to peel away the boxes in the front and begins to see what all is hiding behind.  let's just say that on that first day my cousin and her husband could not believe how small of a dent was made in the stuff set to go that morning to the new place. We took one trip and when I returned to the apartment to do an eyeball audit of the place I began to get pretty discouraged.

Come Sunday, my son and my best friend were there bright and early.  Of course my son balked at all the stuff and tried to lecture me on the evils of accumulation.  Again I had to remind him that I had downsized all I could and gotten rid of  or donated and what remained was what I absolutely needed to keep. Kids are that way....always telling me I can't take it with me. And as much as I know they are right, there are times when what I should have gotten rid of I have instead kept because I love to have my memories surrounding me no matter where I go.  And I know that the transition into the new place would only be something comfortable for me if I had my treasures there to comfort and accompany me.  To be thrown into a new place with the things I wanted around would make this whole process a little more daunting.  To me..anyway!  It's not BS at all.  And if you have been reading my blog continuously you would know that I am a very sentimental person and I am moving very slowly toward being practical.  I am only half way through this life and if I want to keep my memories in physical form a little longer there isn't anyone who is going to make me do anything different. I would rather come to my decisions about downsizing myself and not be forced into it.

I collect dishes and so many of the boxes that were being relocated first were those. I think I must have at least 15 large boxes of china sets.  I am today, very afraid to look at those dishes, because even though I reminded people of what was in the boxes and pointed out their labeling, there are not too many people who have the patience to handle so many with kid gloves.  One day I will open up each box and unfortunately take stock of what I expect to be some damage to the items nearest the bottom of the boxes.  Oh well, I guess it is to be expected.

By the end of the first Sunday I had moved some of my things.  The following weekend was more fun than ever.

That Sunday my Son came out again and this time brought his father.  Two minutes before he drove up I fell down the stairs outside the apartment and sprained my ankle. I was rendered totally useless. As my ankle swelled  I felt more helpless. I was relegated to sitting and pointing out where everyone who came to help me move was to place box after box that blew past me. "This one goes upstairs, the bedroom on the right. This one to the bedroom on the left.  this one goes to the bathroom, this one goes in the cellar, this one goes in the kitchen. This one you can take home if you like because I don't need it..."  was my song all day Sunday. 

For the next Thanksgiving week, I hopped, crawled and used a walker to get around hoping my ankle would heal enough to get back to work on that next Monday. It was just a good thing that the first week I had brought in most of my living room furniture and my bedroom mattress, otherwise I would have been a wreck.  And before I had sprained my ankle I had at least some semblance of a nice living room and bedroom together and had access to everything I needed to prepare for a workday in the house for the holidays. I had already put up my Christmas Tree and moved a chair out of the way to make room for it.

I loved setting up my walls with the green framed botanical prints I had been saving for four years..yes, four years!  they are prints of birds done by an artist for the Audobon Society and I cannot recall the name but they are originals professionally set in frames by a merchant in Birmingham Michigan.  There are eight framed prints in all and I had to be creative in hanging them on the wall and I think I got it right.  You can see the colors on the wall and trim were all done in cream color, perfect for the backdrop. I did not have to burden myself with lifting a paintbrush..it was all done.

I love the color of this piece!

The sofa is a Craigslist find. How lucky I was to get this in my possession before I even looked at house listings. It cost me a mere pittance and was in immaculate condition.  No need to reupholster or anything. I even rebuffed the idea of painting the woodwork on it..it is beautiful just the way it was when I found it.  The ottoman was purchased from a woman changing from traditional furniture to modern and the table beside the sofa was purchased from a man who was selling out his deceased mother's estate.  I had the other things from years of finds at the thrift stores. You already know what a great bit of luck I have had finding the coolest decorative accessories. 

The walls are a perfect color.