Friday already

Is this a great moment captured or what? Can it be that she thinks we don't see her behind this tree? How many of us hide like this? HA!

The fall skies are beginning and we are absolutely blessed with some GORGEOUS sunrises and sunsets. Just thought I'd share one ... there are many more to come. THIS is what the universe gives us to admire and be overwhelmed with. Admittedly, I'm usually not paying attention when it happens, but there are those times that I do look and those moments are such a HUGE gift to my humble my little self. As many of you know, I have a horrible time getting up in the dark...or anytime before 9ish. However, with working for a living these days, I do manage to rise and partially shine before the sun rises. Look at what I get to see out of my kitchen window when I remember to look! How lucky is that?!? Amazing!!

On to the "before and after" of some not so delightful nooks and crannies of our Grand Madame house. (Beth coined that phrase for us ... I hope it will rise to the title some day). This unsightly pipe and air duct vent is in the hallway as you enter the "2nd phase" of the hallway. To the right is the kitchen, to the left is the office and just beyond on the left is the bathroom and in the VERY back is the sleeping porch (right now is massive storage for things we've yet to unpack. We've only been here 3 years next month --- yee gads). It is not possible to move throughout the house without passing this beastly mess. So, one night around 10 or 11 pm before we were expecting guests for the weekend, Paul's creative juices were flowing at the same time as my "finding things" skills kicked in. Such a fun pas de deux - our favorite!

Here's another view ... just lovely, don't you think? And check out the disassembled fire alarm! That thing was screaming to the top of it's speaker volume when we moved in. Paul reached up and jerked the wires out. It doesn't work any more. We've installed a new/improved version. It doesn't scream unless it's sounding the alarm. PERFECT!

I found this fabric that Caroline had so generously given to us and Paul found our staple gun, hammer with nails, and ladder. We still have finishing touches, of course ... but boy does it look (and feel) a million times better!!!! We can pretend all that ugly stuff isn't in our house (out of sight, out of mind) yet when we HAVE to remember it due to problems or maintenance, we can get to it without ripping out walls and such. Apparently there was a leak (burst pipe) in the upstairs bathroom before we bought the house, and in order to find/fix it the wall had to be ripped out. Geniuses that they were never fixed the leak, but they did turn off the water. Not quite sure why the wall was missing in that case, but oh well!!! Anyway, that left all those exposed vents and pipes with that pretty pink insulation to look at! There was also a giant hole in the kitchen ceiling, but we'll save that for another post! The ceiling in this hall area is next to refurbish... one of these years. And I still have some seams to secure and smooth out ... but hey, the illusion is there for now and we are happy with that. I love perfection, but "good enough" has begun to make me happy! Oye vey!

This area is to the left of the newly fabriced wall. It is our office. As you are looking at this picture, to the left is the staircase leading to the upstairs area. It had pepto-bismol pink trim with avocado green shag carpeting. It was hideous in my opinion, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder so I tried not to throw up while painting over it! This is the very first "room" I painted after we moved in. It was a small and safe place to start. Paul had painted the big rooms with bleach twice, then with mistinted paint. It did a great job on the moldy, mildewy walls. But this room just needed to start the whole pallet moving. And did I mention it felt manageable?

This is our chaos ... but never mind that ... it's the color of the wall you're supposed to be looking at. The paintings of the kitties were done by Chrissie Grace. She is AMAZING. check here out at her blog and/or website button on this page. She's amazing!

This is that window that had the bed sheet hanging over it in the "before" picture ... and some more art work (mosaic gypsy) and a beautiful Lion King poster. We went with white trim, which was such fun to paint over that pink. Whew - 4 coats counting the primer! My iron worker husband managed to get the railing framed and installed. Someday there will be a pattern in it ... maybe when the building gets up and running. And we'll do the floor as we get the floors doing .... it's all a work in progress ... forever more I suspect!

And this is how the hallway run in to this area. The hallway with the beautiful fabric disguising all that "stuff" you saw before.

So, now you've seen some "befores and afters" as I mentioned I'd be posting a while back.

We had an unfortunate computer virus which absolutely wiped out our desk top. The guy was able to get some ridiculous documents off of the drive, but unfortunately we lost all of the pictures we'd been documenting from day one of the decision to buy the house til now. I have some of them on my laptop ... and we're very grateful for what we do still have. But I am still in mourning for the loss of so many pictures. BACK UP YOUR STUFF!!!! Anyway, we will continue to post before and after when I have the pics to do so ....

There are lots of birthdays on our calendar this month, but the calendar's at home and I'm not. So I will have to post those at a later date. But happy birthday to all your September babies!!!!!

Jenn is in Japan again. Travel safely and have fun, Jenn!

Melissa & Jon are moving today. Good luck kids!!!

Nina's in school and working at the hospital. Hang in, Nina!

The garden is producing beans like mad! We still are reaping yellow squash, peppers galore and corn. The weather is simply glorious and I hope to get out in the yard and plant mums and clean up tomorrow. Mowing is high on my priority list just because I can and it's beautiful! This is always a reminder of why we came here. FALL IS GORGEOUS!!!!!

Labor Day weekend this weekend --- y'all be safe and enjoy life. Remember, no white shoes after this weekend! The only fashion tip of the year I will offer. ;-)

Paul has begun reffing soccer. I watched him "do" a game last night. He was quite the ref, and very serious with his job. FUN. Having said that, you probably know he's feeling better now. MUCH better. He's been staining a deck this week (for work) and he seems to be getting his legs back under him pretty well. He's not completely there yet, but he's come a long way since room 222! Thankfully!!!!

Happy trails!

Paul & Cheri

***Mercury turns retrograde September 7th. Saturn and Uranus renew their trouble-stirring opposition, briefly becoming more powerful than the healing "triple conjunction" of Jupiter, Neptune and Chiron, which fortunately will be running in the background whilst the battle carries on throughout the month of September. Back up your computers, protect your DVDs and etc. Anything that has to do with communication (yes, including contracts and legal docs) are at high risk during a mercury retrograde. Travel safely. Be aware. Be patient with loved ones and friends. This is going on record with the astrology sect as being a stressful month. Hang on tight and know the retrograde turns direct on September 29th. Also be ready for some things to have permanently changed ... as in FOREVER. Check http://www.astrologyzone.com/ for your own sign if you're interested.***

Blessings to all.