First, I cracked open the can of yellow paint...

And here, I prove what my husband said in the previous post was true--I have no "off" switch.  Thing is, I want to get as much done on the cottage as I can before the really cold weather comes to stay.

Today, I cracked open the can of yellow paint and commenced.  I will say that I DO NOT like the "new" Lowe's Valspar Primer and Paint in one product.  Apparently they're switching all their Valspar paints to that formula.  If so, then I'll shop elsewhere for my paint.

So, like I said, I cracked open the can of yellow ("Croissant" actually). And this was the result.  It's a nice "buttery" yellow, but not too intense.

 

And my good friend Holly Van Scoy gave me another project piece.  This old trunk is made of pine, topped with rustic metal and old handles.  Love it!  It just needs a "bit" of work. :-)  I intend to use it as a coffee table in my living room. 

Now tomorrow, I rest.

Happy trails,

bobbi c.

Zest Fest 2012, Taylor Texas

Dear friends,

We spent this morning acting like locals.  Because after all, we are locals now.  First thing we did was visit the small Hutto Farmer's Market and scored some delicious fresh produce from the folks there---fresh cauliflower, tomatoes and cucumbers.  The first tomatoes are just now coming in and we can never resist them.  We bought from farms in Thrall and Taylor, and other than my own backyard garden, that's as local as it gets!

Then we came back home to Taylor and went downtown for their annual Zest Fest celebration.  I'll admit, it was a lot larger than I expected.  The entire downtown area was filled with music and crafts, local organizations like the Taylor Garden Club, Chamber of Commerce and the Blackland Quilt Guild had booths, and a classic car show got both Rudy's and my attention.  Here are a few photos I took along the way.  Forgive the quality of the pics, it was in the upper 90's, my camera was being a bit flakey and the crowd of people were often in the way.

 

Quilts flapped in the breeze, hung from a building.  Sorry I didn't get the names of the quiltmakers.

My favorites are always the brightly colored ones.

The quilts had many admirers, young and old.

Husband Rudy liked this one the best.  The quiltmaker used all floral fabrics on an otherwise simple pattern.

Blackland Quilt Guild is the local Taylor quilting group.

The Taylor Garden Club had a booth selling plants.

The classic car show also caught our eye.  I love classic cars, especially the Chevys.  I've been a Chevy girl from the get-go. :-)

 After wandering around for an hour or so, I scored a grape shaved ice (we used to call them snow cones---when did they quit putting them in cones?  LOL), and we followed our ears to the live music.  We got quite a surprise when we arrived at the stage.  A young girl with a gorgeous, strong voice was belting out some contemporary songs.  Turns out, she's Courtney Ging, the very talented 16-year old daughter of our beloved plumber and wife, Wayne and Cara Ging.  Her performance deserves a blog post of its own, so stay tuned!

We also checked out the marquee to see what's coming next at our restored Howard Theatre in downtown Taylor.  YES!  Dark Shadows is coming next week, and Rudy and I already have a date for the first showing.  We haven't had a chance to see a show there yet, and  I'm looking forward to it.

Hope you've enjoyed this little picture of our new friendly, vibrant community!  The temperature eventually reached 96-degrees today.  Crazy.  But that didn't stop the Taylorites (as we're called, I found out) from getting out, having fun, and celebrating small town Texas.

Happy trails on Cinco de Mayo!

bobbi c.

Singin' the Blues

This heat, and drought, is getting me down. My trees are stressed and other than the plants I rescued and put into pots in the shade, my veggie garden is dead and gone. The predictions are more of the same for this week---Wednesday, 105—Thursday, 105---Friday, 104---Saturday, 102 (ah, a cooling trend!).

I’ve been trying to make a decision on the paint color for my little writing nook, which is also the main entry to the house. I want something bright and cheerful that would stand up to the bright sun that streams into the old windows there, but also something out of the ordinary for me. Every time I look at the paint chips at the store, I’m attracted to the blues. My little sister says “But you NEVER do blue.” That is true; I don’t. I like blue, but don’t want to use it in such a huge way in my room since I do spend a lot of time in there. Still, when it comes down to a choice, I choose blue. The blue paints are different now...brighter, more cheerful. The one I like is more of a robin's egg blue, and it matches the old curtains that used to hang in the living room. I've re-purposed them for my room after washing them four times. They are a landscape print, with fluffy trees and a watermill.

BEFORE

IN PROGRESS

THE ONLY THING I DON'T LIKE ABOUT THIS ROOM...IT'S ALSO THE ENTRY TO THE HOUSE

After painting two of the walls, I start to feel like I’m immersed in deep, spa blue. This particular color, appropriately called Blue Bayou, makes me feel cool, even though it’s now 108-degrees outside. I wonder how much hotter it will get before we all spontaneously combust.

The flat farm and ranch lands in between Leander and Taylor are golden brown, crispy and dry. On the ride over, I notice that some of the short cotton plants that were fluffy with small bolls have been plowed under overnight, before harvest. Now they look like a light sprinkling of snow has fallen on top of the dark soil off in the distance. All of the farmers are hopeful for a tropical storm that will bring rain to the coast and maybe some farther northeast, too. “Just enough, not too much,” is their mantra.

I take a break from the painting for lunch. I sit and stare out the window at the old pecan tree that grows in the center of the yard. Someone years ago hung a giant thermometer on the tree and it reads 110-degrees. I’ve had enough! I go outside, the screen door slams behind me, and take it down. I go back inside, find my hammer, go back outside and remove the giant rusty nail that’s held it there for years. I apologize to the tree, go back inside and fling myself back into the chair in a heap of exhaustion. Much better.

After a while, I pull myself up, grab the paintbrush and slowly apply more deep blue paint to the walls. I visualize water, and lakes, and rain. And fields of white fluffy cotton, knee-high.

Happy trails,

bobbi c.

Progress!

Dear friends,

The remodeling of Two Sisters cottage continues. The days are flying past, and no end is in sight yet to the things that need to be done before we can actually move. This week, we're having the old gal leveled. The foundation is the pier-and-beam type, which means the house sits up on whatever the builder could find at the time--old stumps, telephone poles, rocks, etc. We weren't going to spring for this right away, but walking up and down the slanty floors has been making my legs ache, and we won't be able to put in any kind of hard flooring, such as tile, until it's level. Since the process is nice and slooow, I'm hoping that we won't get too many cracked walls or windows/doors that won't open (or close).

So, it's out with the old...

And in with the new:

I'm annoyed that the old stumps will have to be trashed. They still reek of creosote (a coal-tar/petroleum product used for treating wood) even after all these years. I seem to be very sensitive to it. No surprise there. That pile represents some huge old trees. Sigh. I don't like the idea of using something with so much embodied energy (like concrete blocks), but at least they're forever, and they don't smell. And they were probably made locally.

It's been hot here in Texas. Most of us have lost count, but in general we've had over 35 days of above 100-degree temps, with more predicted for this week. (Which prompted a thought...we didn't move to AZ because it's too hot there. Hmmmm.) Want proof? Here's some:

And that's in the shade, folks. Ay yi yi.

In spite of the heat, my little potted garden is doing well there and I'm harvesting red bell peppers for the first time, as well as baby eggplant for grilling. One of the many rosebushes has been outdoing itself. Here's an impromptu bouquet I cut the other day. No fancy vases here...LOL. BTW, all of these are on ONE stem. I'm still trying to identify this rose. Anybody know?

In spite of some surprises with the house (as in, balloon framing), I continue to be charmed. Here's how the two sisters communicated with each other. One hangs beside the back door and one hangs beside the cottage door.

They didn't need no steenkin' cell phones!

Every once in a while, I'll walk to the edge of the cottage and ponder my new yard ornament.

Yes, it's the original 1930 enamel over cast-iron bathtub. It took two very strong plumbers to get it out of the bathroom, down the steps, and out to the yard. They told me to make SURE I wanted it there, because it would never be moved. I have my own opinions about that (LOL), but for now, it stays put. I'm thinking pond, or planter?

In another part of the yard, another mystery has popped up.

This mess of rusted metal all of a sudden popped up in the yard. We tried to pull it up, thinking it was just some old trash, but nuthin doin'. Is it part of a former water well? Storm cellar door? Further investigation is needed. Meanwhile,
we have it covered so that nobody slices their toes open on it---like, well, me.

Thanks for reading!

Happy trails from h.o.t. Texas,

bobbi c.

Welcome to my Two Sisters Cottage!

Dear friends,

Welcome to my new blog documenting the journey I've taken over the years to find our (forever?)home. This journey has finally lead us to purchase a 1930s farmhouse style cottage (or box bungalow) in Taylor, Texas. We've just started to clean and "destinkify" the house from it's 81+ years of sheltering two families, and the exuberant use of chemicals and fragrances by former occupants. Let's just say I should buy stock in baking soda and vinegar right now. :-) In general, the house is in great shape, but needs those "luxuries" we require in 2011 like air conditioning, plumbing for showers, electrical circuits for power tools, etc.

The house came with some interesting benefits...there's a garage with attached lean-to greenhouse and "casita" out back, and what I'm sure is the longest clothesline in the State of Texas. There are numerous great old pecan trees which cast the most lovely shade, there's an old water well which I hope is still active, and there is a large flock of resident mockingbirds who are not so happy that I've moved in. There is already a large garden here filled with heirloom daylilies, antique roses, Texas natives and wildflowers, boxwood hedges and more. Oh yes, and lots of snails and fire ants. Nothing's perfect, right?

This project will be a long process. I've already moved a chair and shelves into my "writer's nook" which originally was the front parlor, as far as I can tell. The
9 x 13' room also serves as the foyer by the front entry, and is sunny and has a great view of the front porch, side and front streets. It's a great spot for sitting in front of the fan and contemplating the traffic as it goes by, the train whistle in the distance, or the neighbors as they come out onto their porches, look around, whip out their cell phones, or just catch a bit of breeze.

Join me on my journey as I spin tales from Taylor, Texas...

Happy trails!

bobbi c.