Working my tail off

Would it were true; but every time I turn around, there it still is, right behind me. Sigh.

But we were determined to fix everything up by winter; to make it a showplace, to make it beautiful. Folks have stopped us on the street, or talked to us at get-togethers, telling us how much they love what we are doing to the place. We love this old house; so much potential, so many little surprises, so many little things that would cost a fortune - literally - back east. Check out the 2 inch baseboards in the upstairs BR at the end; you can't find anything like that anywhere any more, and they are all throughout the house. So here's the tour...

Here's the pond, before and after..

Yes, that raccoon with the bucket came with us, and is pumping again quite happily in its new location. You can't see the tiles I laid in the bottom of the pond, right into the fresh cement, that make a pretty little picture of flowers in a basket. Just something for when the pond doesn't have water. All of my little daffodils and narcissus bulbs are planted around the pond, too, just waiting for next spring...

The house front - Before and after - Remember that, on the paint, it ALL had to be redone as a condition of the sale, so we and the sellers painted it bright white everywhere. The red, the plants, the statues, are all my own. Once the hot weather and the wind die back a bit, I will scrape together my courage, go up on the ladder, and finish the red trim on the upper story and bay window!

The east porch and yard - of course the trees leafing out for the summer really helps, but if you look close you can see the red paint and trim, and the poor sad fence that needed repainting. The Sunflowers and daylilies and roses in the new garden that lines the fence, are all mine, too...

The West Garden - in the before picture, you can't see the whole fence, but it was pretty ragged and needed sanding. Note the red stylized roses on every post, in both the east and west yards, that match the red trim on the house and porch posts. (Cheaper than spending $2 per finial and sawing off the posts flat to accomodate them!) That big bunch of green in the middle? Horseradish! From the previous owners - now THAT'll keep us warm this winter! LOL

And the upstairs guest room, of which I am now inordinately fond, since I repainted the walls a rich lavender, and polished the floor!

Oh, there's so much more to show; the freshly waxed and oiled doors and trim downstairs that make them sparkle, the new lights in the basement that really make my ceramics shop and the laundry room glow, the way we have redone the tack shop inside so that Mike has his man-cave, the redoing of the barn roofs and corral gates, and the gates and fences all around the gardens and pasture. Yes, as fall weather approaches and things grow cooler, our new home is starting to take on a lovely, warm, even happy character. There's a lot more to do, and we will gradually do it. But this is the place we now call home - and we love it here. Not that you could tell...