two straight lines

 

Last weekend we decided to dine with the birds and eat on our upstairs balcony.  It's a pretty big space, it covers two rooms of our home below.  I'm embarrassed to say this was the first time I'd ever been out there.  We moved in in December and when spring finally came I could never get the door to the balcony open.  And I never remembered to ask Scott to open it for me when he was home.  He had been out there-- Clio our cat has ended up stranded there several times after climbing up the small cedar tree nearby.

The balcony is actually off of our bedroom, through a dressing room that we think used to be a small landing or maid's room from a back staircase that we no longer have.  The former owners were smart enough to add a master bath and dressing area there when they bought the house 15 years ago.

It's fun to see your neighborhood from a different view.  I told the kids this is the closest we will probably come to a tree house because the tree line is far too high here to build one.  I'm actually thinking some chaise lounges would be great here, a nice place to read after the kids go to bed, since in the summer it's still daylight at that time.  A neighbor suggested watching the fireworks out here.  Maybe we'll try that out this weekend.

I think I've mentioned before that we have a street in front as well as behind our house.  The houses in the back a charming smaller cottages that you see here.  We also have a tiny but cute garage.  I've never seen one with so many windows, I can't imagine why they put so many in.  And there is also a potting area which is pretty cool to have, even though I don't consider myself too much of a gardener yet.  It does store the kids outside toys nicely, though!

Check back next week for my dining room redo.  Nothing dramatic, just a new light fixture and some fresh paint.  I am starting with that room because there is the least amount of work to be done in there!  Happy Fourth of July to all of you who are stateside. 

XO- Courtney

I've been meaning to set up a compost been for a million years, but at our old home the prospect of a move was always looming on the horizon, so we held off.  I always thought I'd do one of those tumblers just because it seemed the easiest to keep up without ending up with a rotting mess on your hands and having your neighbors hate you.  After some research and polling of a local online parenting group I belong to, I decided that the tumbler was not for us and focused instead on a regular old open compost bin, or a worm bin which can be kept inside.

About this same time, Elliot's class had a unit on recycling and they had a worm bin in their class.  One of his teachers made it look so easy and sort of fun too, so we decided to start with a worm bin.  Last week we drove out to the headquarters of wormwoman.com (who knew I lived in the epicenter of vermiculture?) and bought our bin and little wrigglers.

The next day we raided our neighbor's recycle bins until we had 7 pounds of newspaper and then shredded it...  

...added a little dirt, a little water and then our new wriggly pets.  Elliot decided to add them one by one (there were probably a thousand of them) but who am I to argue with an activity that keeps him happily busy for a long time?

We then added our first batch of worm food (our kitchen scraps) and then placed the whole bin in the basement.  Now we are on our way to worm poop, which can be applied to our garden.  Sounds lovely, doesn't it?

For a DIY version, there was nice simple one in the March 2007 Martha Stewart made by drilling holes in a white IKEA plastic bin.  We were having a hard time making it to IKEA and I got impatient and just bought our bin locally.  I do like to support businesses that are promoting a more natural approach to gardening anyway.  The worm bin I bought can be found here, and the most lovely open compost bin I've seen is here.  That one may make an appearance at a later date.

Also-

We've been adding to our fairy garden, thanks so much for all of the great recommendations!  And a little book fairy stopped by, actually the owner of our fabulous local children's bookstore dropped off a few books, including Fairy Houses...Everywhere that was a great source of inspiration for Elliot.  We'll post some photos soon.

Elliot went back into business this week selling some potted lilies that the former owner of our home left in the garden.  It was slow going, but then he sold them all to one person who is going to use them for a lily garden at a church downtown.  He's becoming quite the entrepreneur. 

On a totally unrelated note, what a weird week, right?  I have to say both Farrah and Michael Jackson were major parts of my childhood, so I am a little sad to see them gone.  Both sort of heartbreaking stories, really.

 

 
Elliot decided to kick off the beginning of summer break by having his first ever lemonade stand.  Cookies and lemonade to be precise-- that's what his friend Henry served at his, and Elliot thought it was the way to go.  We used one of our playstands as the base for the lemonade stand, and just painted a paper sign to go on it using IKEA paper and tempera paints from Stubby Pencil Studio.  It was the first time we'd used the paints, and I have to say they were very fun to paint with, rich and creamy.  Elliot art directed and I painted.  He declared it "the most beautiful painting I ever saw."  That's a lot coming from the mouth of a little boy who doesn't often dole out compliments.

My first try at snapping a photo turned out like this, that is until I told him I'd put his photo on Facebook to get him some customers.  Then he was all cheesy grins.

It was a cool and rainy day, minutes later you would have found us in raincoats and hats hoping for customers.  Luckily, they came, and we worked until we sold out of lemonade, keeping more than a few cookies for ourselves. 

Even though activities like this sometimes inspire dread in me, I'm always glad I did it.  I visited with neighbors I'd never met, and even learned some really cool details about our home and one family who had lived here.  And I was really proud that Elliot wanted to follow through on his plans even though it rained.  He is very persistent, and while that can be trying at times, I can also see how it can be a very good quality.  Indeed.

Elliot decided that we should make a fairy garden under a pine tree ringed with stones.  We weeded, we planted a few fuzzy plants to go with the existing blue hostas (aka fairy roofs, so I hear) and we scattered cocoa mulch about (fairies love cocoa, of course).

Now we sit and wait.  If you build it, they will come, right?  More photos of our work-in-progress are here.

Any good fairy garden resources online that you know of?  Or fairy books?  I googled it and was a little frightened at how overdone many of them were.  I'd love to see some simple examples.  And we need a fairy door, I think.

I've enabled threaded comments, so feel free to share information with me as well as each other.

I always see cute kids' items online and in catalogs, but am hesitant to order them and pay shipping for a fairly inexpensive item.  Lately we've found quite a few summery items in surprising places, from our local hardware to big box stores and we wanted to let you know that the items are likely available in your area too.

This shovel we bought for the beach came from our local Menard's for just shy of $5, available online for a little more here.  We started off with just one, an orange one, but after a few days I decided that I'd be willing to pay $5 more to stop them from bickering over who got to use it, so back to the store we went so Lucie could pick her color-- "Pink!"  It has a plastic grip and spade, but the handle is wood.  It's called a Dune Spoon.

We're loving this Fire Hose Nozzle that we picked up at Lowe's because I can turn the hose on, set the flow to a reasonable rate and then set the kids free with it.  We used to only have the trigger style which was too difficult for little ones to turn on, so I ended up standing there holding it for them which was a drag.  Available online here, but I got mine for a similar price at Lowe's.

This butterfly net was picked up at our local True Value (Gale's for any locals) for around $4 and we've already put it to use quite a bit.  Bug catching is a favorite pastime around here.  Elliot was even interested in catching an injured robin in it last night.  Of course, that was a no go.

I've eyed child-sized gardening tools a thousand times in the Montessori Services catalog, but I picked up this shovel along with a hoe and rake (in purple and yellow) at Lowe's for about $4 apiece.  The have a metal grip and tool, but the pole itself is a thick plastic.  You can see that it does double duty in our sandbox.

And everyone needs a sprinkler, right?  We have two kinds-- the old fashioned twirly yellow type by Nelson and this large beach ball variety by Little Tikes.  We got that one a few seasons ago at Target, but Amazon has it online for just under $16.  Lucie loves to roll it around the yard when it isn't attached to the hose.

Stock up now so that you're prepared for the upcoming long summer days-- then you can sit back and sip lemonade as they get busy.

Our school year is winding down and Elliot has one more week before he is out, so like a lot of you, I've been trying to figure out how I will manage two kids all summer long.  I'm lucky to have a big network of friends here who I enjoy hanging out with just as much as our kids like to play together, and I know our summer will be filled with meet-ups at each others houses and in local parks.  This still leaves a pretty large chunk of the day with just our family, so we have been readying a few things at home.

This past weekend we built a sandbox for our kids, using these instructions, but enlarging the size to 6' x 6'.  We had trouble sourcing cedar locally, and after doing a lot of reading online decided that untreated pine would be fine for our purposes, as many say it will outlast a child's interest in the sandbox.

If any of you have purchased sandbox sand, you will also know that there is a lot of controversy about whether or not sand is safe, and which kind of sand is the safest.  I guess I'm grateful that we have more information available to us these days, but I also feel like there are a lot more worries with every little decision we make as parents, and often feel overwhelmed making the choices.  After a lot of research (ugh.) I decided to go with "washed sand" which is a real sand (not manufactured) and is washed to remove dust and impurities.  We were able to find it locally and have a yard of it delivered for somewhere in the $60 range.  As for the safety of sand in general, my personal belief is that risks of lung cancer and disease are due to prolonged exposure such as mining or sandblasting, and that a child's use of a sandbox does not pose a significant risk. (except for mosquitos and/or sandy potato chips)

We have a wonderful shady yard here and are already finding ourselves spending many hours out there each day, which is a nice change from our old house.  It's been fun seeing what the previous owner has planted as flowers come and go from our garden.  She seemed to have it all carefully planned because just as one thing withers, the next plant starts to show.  Elliot and I have pulled out Roots, Boots, Buckets & Shoots and are planning on constructing a teepee made of bamboo poles and moonflowers in the front yard.  He also goes on "blossom hunts" each day and fills a line of tiny juice glasses on my kitchen sill with his finds.  And the wildlife puts on a show as well-- deer are regular visitors, we have some brave black squirrels, and a tiny chipmunk has even made a home in a hole our paver patio.

A lot of  you have contacted me and asked if I would consider coming up with another version of Camp Russell from a few years back, and as of right now, I don't think I'll be doing that.  I am so busy with my kids, and also am not as panicked about summer as I have been in years past.  We will probably just take summer as it comes around here, and throw in a few summer camps for Elliot.

Have a great weekend!
XO Courtney

Life has been so full recently, full of enjoying the pleasures of spring, of life in our new hood, of time with new friends, and of adventuring to places nearby.  We headed off to our first day at the beach yesterday to enjoy the Great Lakes Kite Festival in Grand Haven.  We procured our beach pass to the state park beaches and look forward to many more visits soon.  My kids have never really been to a proper beach (poor souls) and felt like the world had just turned into a giant sandbox.

I tried to balance snapping photographs with actually enjoying the moments, which can be a tough task.  I have some things to learn about beach photography, as I overexposed most of my shots, but they still capture wonderful memories for me.  Time is flying by so quickly, it's nice to preserve a bit of it.

This was a last minute trip, but we managed to remember most of the necessities.  I think I may make up a "day at the beach" checklist because there are so many things required when venturing away for the day with the littles.  I am also thinking of what makes good beach food so I can get stocked up.  We decided to leave our kites at home yesterday and leave the flying to the pros, but when I snapped a photo of this superman kite, the man flying it handed me the line, saying only "enjoy" and walked off.  And then my husband surprised me with a citrus green oval box kite that I admired.  Generosity at every turn these days.

More at flickr.

This past weekend we drove up to Grand Rapids to see the tail end of the springtime butterfly exhibit at the Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park.  While that was fun, what really captured our hearts was the children's garden. 

It's fun to think about how some techniques that designers of public spaces use could be applied at home to create whimsical spaces for our kids.

   A pint-sized gate welcomes you.

  Large scaled artwork enchants you.

  Areas for pretend play transport you.

  Paths lead you to magical places.

See the rest here.

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I wanted to let you all know that we finally sold our old home on the other side of the state and late last week we received a truck with the last of our things.  I'm busily unpacking over here, trying to find places for all of things that we probably don't need since we haven't missed them for the last six months.  I'm getting excited to start some decorating projects, namely painting--  more progress as soon as the last of the boxes are gone.

The apron + goodies winner is:

Comment#60:

Congratulations on your 3rd Blogiversary! I am not much for giveaways either, but here goes nothing.

I am tall too - 5'10". I just found out today I don't have a right kidney. It's weird...

Posted by: Lynn | 14 April 2009 at 05:52

(Please contact me Lynn, because I don't seem to be able to access your information.)

The scrap bag + goodies winners are:

Comment#106:

Hmm... I've done random so many times on my blog, that much of it is not random any more!

I asked my husband to name a random thing about me and this is what he said, "You like mushrooms, but not to eat. Just to look at them. You're weird."

There you have it!

Posted by: sarah | 15 April 2009 at 07:20 PM

(Sarah- weren't we partners last year for the children's book swap?)

and

Comment #138:

I also love your new banner.

Something about me...hmmm. I draw ( I have a BFA in graphic design). The best part about the whole process is seeing someone's face when you give them the picture. It is the best feeling in the world.

Posted by: Wendy Gleaves | 17 April 2009 at 01:22 PM

(Wendy- it looks like you need to contact me as well!)

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Thanks for all of your continued support and inspiration.

Hi there.  It's nice to be back.  Things suddenly got very busy around here.  As you know, Lucie had a birthday in late March, then on April 1st I had one (38th) and somewhere in that time frame, this little blog also turned three.  Add to that, spring break, a business dinner and leaving town for Easter weekend and you have a busy few weeks. 

That's why I chose to redesign my blog, in honor of its third birthday.  I'd like to thank Alyson of Seventy & Sunny for designing my banner, "good craft" button (which I'll explain as soon as I have the chance) and the tiny button favicon.  She was great to work with- my ideas sparking her ideas, which in turn sparked more ideas from me.  Thanks Alyson!

So, for my blog birthday, I'd love to do a little give-away.  I want to start by saying that I've hosted one give-away on my blog a while back, and I swore I'd never do it again.  I was a bit embarrassed by the influx of comments, partially because I knew they were mainly because people wanted to get "free stuff."  For that same reason, I am often hesitant to enter into give-aways on other peoples blogs.

Because of this I am going to share five random things about myself, and for your comment, please share one random thing about yourself.  No need to toot my horn, just tell me something interesting about you, so that I can save it as a little snapshot of you. 

And what will I be giving away?  The main winner will receive the one and only "two straight lines" patchwork apron  (photo here) and a few other goodies.  I've gone back and forth about whether or not to give away the apron-- but I think its time for a fresh start.  Two more people will receive a scrap bag with a few other goodies as well.

OK, here goes.  Five things about me.

1) I have a "colorful" family.  My grandmother's maiden name was Blue, and she married my grandfather, whose last name was White.  My Mother's maiden name was White, and her married name (the one that stuck) was Brown.

2) In college I made and sold flavored oils and vinegars at the farmer's market in Bloomington, Indiana, where I went to school.

3) We have two Pembroke Welsh Corgis, Madeline (12) and Basil (11), a fluffy black cat named Clio (we don't know how old he is, but we think he's older than the dogs), and two fish, Sunshine and Little Gray.

4) For both of my kids I had natural childbirth in a hospital setting.  I'm not an evangelist about natural childbirth, believing it is a very personal decision.  But, I do wish every woman knew that she could do it. If I can do it, anyone can.  I wouldn't even jog around the block willingly.  I think jogging is miserable.

5) I am pretty tall, a little over 5'9".

OK, your turn...

Update: I'm going to cut off the comments now.  Thanks for all of your great "random" things.  They really brightened up my week.  I will announce the winners shortly.

Over the weekend when we opened Lucie's gifts I nearly forgot this toadstool outfit that I'd purchased way back in January for her Bamboletta doll.  The outfit is made by Jane of Little Seedlings and is modeled after her son's Halloween costume.  Her craftsmanship is amazing as usual. 

Now I just need to head over to our local children's bookshop, Bookbug and see if they have a copy of Children of the Forest.  Can I just be honest here and say that being able to buy stuff like this is really the reason I had kids?

Lucie at two, I love that you:

Say no to my kisses almost all day, which makes it all the sweeter when you finally say yes.

Carry around tiny books and sit and look through them all by yourself.

Have a new fondness for dolls and stuffed animals which you carry tucked under your arm.

Cry and run to Elliot when he is crying.

Wrinkle up your nose and kiss me over the edge of the bathtub.

Think that you are one of the big kids.

Make me leave a little earlier so that you can walk to the car yourself.  "ME!"

Eat your peas and chicken, then eat some of your brother's.

Dance and giggle when I've deciphered which snack your asking for (that is, when you're not helping yourself to the bunny grahams).

Point and practice your words just to hear yourself say them-- "wuh-wuh" (dog) and "mow" (cat) being two of your favorites.

Sing to yourself in the back seat of the car, sometimes for the entire trip.

Make all of us a little softer, lighter and the world a little sweeter.

PS- I hope you like my new look.  Poke around a bit.  The links have been moved to another page, but can be accessed from the sidebar.

Elliot and I went to an exhibit of Japanese packaging at Western Michigan University yesterday.  We had fun finding all the smiley face packages.  This is my favorite shot.  See the rest of them here.

 
I hope you're all having a nice week and gearing up for the first weekend of spring.  I've been very busy but have nothing much to show for it.  We had a lovely playdate this morning complete with soft pretzels, (via The Artful Parent) so I have nothing to complain about.  And sweet Lucie turns two next week, so we are planning a little celebration for her.

 
I've been trying to take more time with photography lately and figure out all of the settings on my camera.  When I first got it (a Nikon D50) I was pretty happy with it, but over the last few years have messed up its settings a bit and never took the time to actually figure out what I was doing wrong.  I also had forgotten much of what I learned in my photography classes in design school.

Last summer I bought a few photography dvd's to refresh my memory and just got around to watching them in the last few weeks.  They are produced by Me Ra Koh and I would recommend them to anyone looking to move away from the auto settings on the Digital SLR.  The first one would be useful for someone with a point and shoot as well.  Just thought I'd let you know that I enjoyed them.  I figure that as busy as my kids keep me, at least I can express creativity through photography!  I'm not saying my photos are anything great yet.  Baby steps, baby steps.

Have a nice weekend.

XO- Courtney

Note: This is not a paid advertisement.  I have no affiliation with Me Ra Koh and paid full price for the dvd's.

I wanted to post this before winter is entirely over and mittens are, at least for a little while, long forgotten.  Because as relentless as the winter sometimes seems, the time will come for sure. 

Elliot has a December birthday, so this year due to moving and general newness at his school, we decided to postpone his birthday celebration until January.  I sort of figure that during the busiest season of the year, people have very little time or patience for a child's birthday party, let alone a child who has just transferred into the school.  I have to say this was a wonderful decision, because his party came near the end of January, when in snowy Michigan parents and children alike are willing to do just about anything to get out of the house on yet another weekend morning. 

We headed out to the Kalamazoo Nature Center with thirteen friends for Winter Tales themed birthday party.  The birthday boy planned the menu- chocolate cupcakes, hot chocolate and pizzelles dusted with "snow."  Be warned that you should know how you will prepare and transport hot chocolate for thirty odd people (well, the people weren't odd) before you promise it to your five year old.  But with the purchase of a pump pot disaster was averted and very dark hot chocolate was delivered for the birthday boy-- who didn't even consume it, because it was, um, hot.

It seemed a very nice time was had by all, even though at times it was a bit chaotic.  Following the telling of the folktale "The Mitten," a brief animal scavenger hunt, and some gift opening, we handed out our favors and sent the kids free to run, er, I mean roam about the place.

So, the favors.  The nature center provided a goody bag with the price of the party, but it was just trinket-y stuff, you know the kind of stuff kids just love, and parents love to hate.  Elliot and I decided to give a little something else and happened upon some plain cotton tote bags on sale 3 for $3.  (I've since seen them at JoAnn's for 3 for $8ish, but with the 40% coupon this is a fairly good deal)  He wanted to take them home and paint them right away, but I prefer a more planned approach to crafting, so while he was sleeping I ironed a few cute gender neutral prints to some HeatnBond Ultrahold iron-on adhesive and cut them into a mitten shape.  I then ironed this applique to the bags.  They were very fast, I may have done all 14 of them in 1 1/2 hours, and I'm not a terribly quick crafter.  Someone like Hillary could easily turn out a few hundred in that time frame.

I wanted to show these here, because aside from the obvious use as tote bags, I thought these could also make nice reusable gift bags and really would be less expensive than the paper ones that many people buy for $2 or $3.  In addition to ironing on patterned fabrics, you could also freezer paper stencil, add a button closure, etc.  And they could be used again either as tote bags or gift bags.  And of course, they aren't restricted to being used for children only.  They come in many shapes and sizes and could be used for upcoming holidays like Easter or Mother's Day.

It's been really fun seeing these pop up here and there at school.  And it's nice to know that they will be used a bit before they end up in a landfill.  I was really surprised by how much waste was created by having a birthday party away from home, and this is just one nice way to cut down on the waste.

We had so much fun participating in the recent Kids ATC Swap.  Elliot has blossomed into quite the artist in the last few months, but he didn't put as much energy into his cards as I thought he might.  What can I say, the boy likes white space like his Mama.  He seems to be in his "Little" phase, as the are named "Little Cute Cupcake," "Little Flower with Blue Petals," "Little Cute Chick," "Little Cute Cake," and "Little Flying Butterfly." 

Just to add to the fun a bit, we packaged them in little glassine envelopes (I've had these for 11 years and had exactly 5 left, so I suppose it was meant to be), and included a map and a picture of Elliot, in costume of course.  We also swiped Abby's idea (her daughter was in our group) and included a few stickers.  Elliot was being very economical with these.  He wanted to send each child exactly four stickers.  Aaaah, to be inside the mind of a five year old.

Thanks for organizing this, Blair and Erin.  I know it was a big swap and required a lot of work.

Like Erin, my favorite color is green, so I am glad I got a chance to participate in Emily's green week today.  I received this German candle pyramid for Christmas.  It caught my eye in a shop last summer, and my husband went back later and retrieved it.  I like it because I have a springtime birthday (April Fool's Day) as does Lucie, and most other pyramids I've seen have a wintery look about them.  I received one of those brass ones as a child and found it so magical (Aunt Collie, was that from you?).  I just need to round up some candles for this one.  The store was fresh out.

With all the bad news these days, its nice to have little ones around to keep us firmly planted "in the moment."  I found this adorable drawing of Elliot's the other day (the little Scotty is a sticker), and although it obviously isn't what he intended, I think it illustrates beautifully the challenges facing many of us today.  Yet, the message is still cheerful and optimistic.

So, what is the bright side of all of this?  Is there one?  Have any of your families made choices that were at first painful, but had a silver lining?  I'll go first.

Any relocation is a tough one, but this one has been particularly so because we have been unable to sell our home near Detroit.  There really isn't a worse place to be trying to sell a home these days, and even after a large price drop a month ago, we have only had one recent showing.  Of course, we are still well fed and warm, so I don't have much to complain about yet, but this combined with the loss of my income when Wondertime closed means that there is no "fun money" these days.

So what's the good news?  Well, we've been staying close to home more, having fun nesting in our new home, and cooking up some yummy things in our kitchen.  This morning I made some sourdough pancakes that Catherine Newman posted over here, and then pulled out The Pancake Handbook (from the cooks at Bette's Diner in Berkeley, CA) and looked up some more recipes, trying to decide just what makes the perfect pancake. (Is there really a bad pancake??)  Now I'm thinking my little assistants and I may have a little cook-off to decide which recipe is best, maybe come up with our own variation.

What about you, what have you been doing with your family that was brought on by necessity, yet has had unexpected benefits?

I just love it when I find an unexpected use for something I already own.  A few years ago I bought these hot chocolate cups in two sizes because I am a sucker for "real" dishes that look like a takeout containers.  I use the tall ones fairly often for coffee, but these tiny ones sat unused because apparently I'm a mean Mommy and don't give my kids hot chocolate too often.  Recently I spied them in the cabinet when I was serving up some yogurt to my kiddos, and it wasn't until I was actually spooning the yogurt in that I realized that they are the exact size of individual disposable yogurt containers.  Love that.

I buy or make plain full fat yogurt and sweeten it myself-- 4T of real maple syrup and 1t of vanilla per quart.  We avoid processed sugars as much as possible, so this gives me some control over the amount of sweeteners in our yogurt.  These cute little cups are also available in lovely colors (I'd like to put an official order in for 8 aqua ones for my upcoming April 1st birthday, Friends and Family), and I saw them on this new-to-me cooking blog being used as custard cups.  So cute!

One more discovery-- after searching high and low for tiny spoons for Lucie, I stumbled upon appetizer spoons in my local hardware store (this was when we were still near in Ann Arbor, so for any locals, it was the amazing Ace Barnes Hardware). They were close to a perfect match for our flatware, cost a couple of bucks each, and have lasted much longer than the plastic ones I have used before these.  These are Norpro brand and so far I have been unable to find them on the internet, but I would imagine many nice cooking stores would carry something similar.

Lucie seems to approve.

(Apparently stain removal is not my strong suit)

It must be a Friday afternoon thing, peeling wallpaper.  The kids were home all day just like last time.  One thing lead to another and the next thing we knew, we were ripping off the kitchen wallpaper gleefully.  Even Lucie got in on the action.  Can't say I like this blue much better, but at least I'm one step closer to the bright kitchen I imagine.

PS- Thanks for the house love.  I'm quite smitten too.  There's a lot of work to be done (just surface treatment thankfully), but I feel like I'm "home."  I also wanted to say that I by no means mean to make fun of the previous owners decorating choices, and don't want anyone to feel bad if you like the stuff I'm removing.  The previous owners created themselves a lovely home here, and it was through their loving care of this old house that I saw her potential.  It's just that our things don't go at all with the current style.  So, we're stripping her down to the more spare quality that we love.