In the "home" stretch...we hope

Latest updates from the house build which is hopefully on track for September 30th finish...hopefully.

This is an old sewing machine stand that Michael is going to put a 3"x3", 2" deep butcher block on and it will sit in the middle of the kitchen.

This church pew came out of the church Michael's family has been going to since they came over in the 1800s. It will get a coat of red paint and sit on the front porch.


This is my new clawfoot tube :)






This is my 1/2 of the master bath where the tub will sit.

This is the cool shower in Michael's 1/2 of the master bath which will eventually be a steam shower. Note, Micheal's 1/2 of the master bath is not red ;)

Spare room (Arlene's office)

Nursery (this picture washes out the blue it's painted). The left wall (you can't see it in this pic) will have a big mural painted by a good friend of a woodland forest animal scene.

This is the dog wash corner of the mudroom (not finished yet of course) but the raised tub will make dog bathing much easier on the back! Plus it will double as a really big utility sink. The stained Dutch door to the right goes into the main living area and will have a wood doggie door in the bottom.

Progress on Micheal's closet / safe room with the steel door being mounted.

Below is the master bedroom with it's first coat of paint. The doors we're using came from Michael's Grandfather's house on his Dad's side and Michael has put a ton of time into refinishing them so they look beautiful. 2 were outside doors so we've ordered etched frosted glass for them and they'll go on the Master bedroom and the pantry. The rest were solid and go on the other bedrooms, linen closet and spare bath.

Below you can see the nice trim and really cool wood ceiling in the main living area.

Here's one of the antique pieces we're having refinished for a kitchen island/bar. It's a general store bar from an Amish store in Indiana.

That's it!

House update and new family "development"

Enjoying the breeze on the new porch
The nursery

Arlene's paranoia room (Michael's closet)

Kitchen / dining area

Lovely Pecan mantle from a tree Michael's Grandfather planted many years ago.

Lots of changes coming for us :)

This is the latest ultrasound of our twins. Kind of hard to see but they are both facing forward.

Coming along

It's been a while since I posted about the house so here's some updates. The floor is giving us a snag as we're having some trouble with the finish and the stain color but as soon as that's resolved and done the firplace is next.

Here's Michael working to refinish some doors from an old family home that we'll use in ours

Hopefully the next post will be of finished stained concrete floors and a lovely fireplace!

Derby Thoughts

It's Derby Week

2 interestng Derby tidbits for today:

First, I am very excited about the young lady trying her hand in the field this Saturday.

Go Rosie and Pants on Fire!

In this picture she is racing her way to becoming the first female jockey to win the Louisiana Derby which clinched her a place in Louiville this Saturday.

Go to this CBS news video:

www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/05/01/eveningnews/main20058771.shtml

After this news video does anyone else see a movie in the making??

Julie Krone's movie "The Boys Club" was slated to come out this year.

Second Derby tidbit I wanted to share today was this really neat little mint julep jug I found in a antique shop. It's from the 100th running of the KY Derby. Hope you can see the recipe! Next year, when the house is done, we'll have a big derby party and everyone will have to wear a hat.

Every day a little more

First a few gardening shot & questions to my MJF ladies

Michael rides his bike down to the orchard to work. It's so fun to see him riding it - boots and cowboy hat :)

This is Dixie, today's gardening buddy

My Dad and Michael's 92 year old Grandpa working in his garden

Now, who can tell me what's up with this tomato plant???? And how do I fix it?

Who can guess what this is?

A few years ago when we lived in Paige Michael took cuttings from an old rose that seemed to have survived on it's own for a long time. This is the first year his cutting plant has bloomed and what a sight it is!

Saw bees and hummingbirds buzzing around this group of "to be planted" salvias

Iceberg climbing rose from the Antique Rose Emporium in Brenham, thriving alongside the log smokehouse Michael built.

Onion and tomato plants

Asparagus!

Popcorn, sweet corn, watermelon, cantaloupe, beans, squash, potatoes... can't remember what else

Gladiolas and other flowers in the cutting bed

Wall of native crossvine...easy to grow and LOVED by hummingbirds

Our house guardian, little Zoe, at her post on the not yet finished front porch

We have windows!

My clawfoot tub will sit under these 2

fireplace will go in the center between the 2 picture windows

Board and baton siding almost complete (note: house will not be yellow, but white)

this is just the color the siding comes in

That's it for now!

If someone knows how to turn down the wind please do so!