Quick Post…..NO using that T-word!!

Getting many worried calls, e-mails, texts, etc. about the weather. So I thought I’d let you all know, that we are fine.

So far, so good. Just thunder/lightening storms with a huge dose of rain.
No T-warnings that we know of, but are keeping a look out. All the hard weather is sliding just to the west of us and we are catching the fringe. In between, we’ve seen a bit of blue sky here and there. Even for just a few minutes at a time.

We are having a come meet the “New Kids on the BLOCK PARTY” on Sunday and I did not invite the rain. Keep good thoughts or our party will be in the warehouse. Not nearly as inviting as my front yard but I’ll make it work! LOL.

Thanks for all the love and concern!
Hugs
Julie

Getting Settled?

We have still been struggling for spring to “stick”.  We’ve had some sunny days but temps are still up and down. I’d say just like a roller coaster but that’s a bit to cliche’ and really it’s more like a fishing lure, it “bobs” up and down rather then that gradual swoop of a coaster. It was a beautiful sunny 76 the other day, then it drops to 52, then today up to 64. If I’m staying inside then I’m okay with 50’s although I wouldn’t mind if they were a bit higher on the scale but as long as there is sun once in awhile. Wait….maybe this “IS” Spring in Kentucky. I wouldn’t know any better would I?

They expect some more showers this weekend. It’s been so wet that no one is able to start their gardens. Along with the rain there was so much ice in the ground it’s just to saturated. They dug the footings for Kevin’s new room addition and the water was filling in as fast as they could get the cement in there. They say that’s good for cement but I’m not planting cement so I have to wait. Most of the ‘real’ gardeners have their plants started and growing in their “garden” rooms. I think I’ll wait, gives me more time to read about what I’m suppose to learn about all this. Since there is nothing vegetable wise, planted, I’m starting to see which plants are the weeds. I’m getting good at that.

 

 

Many people have asked  “Are you settled?”  Well, settling in has been a bit more successful then spring….although we have our ups and downs. One of the first things to decide was room allocation. Other then the obvious master bedroom, we needed to figure out the best place for my office. Final answer….the second upstairs bedroom. It just doesn’t function well as as a bedroom, there is no bathroom access. The only bathroom upstairs is the master “on suite”.  A bit quirky to have a guest come through your bedroom to use the facility. Hence the guest room downstairs with a common bath…..Office…upstairs.

When we found out we couldn’t have internet or TV in the main house for awhile (which turned into 7 weeks) we partially moved the office to Kevin’s house where they had agreed to put internet only since there was already a cable. Office….Out…..sort of.

So…the guest room allocated and a bit moved in. I had decided on “Disney Princess Shabby leftover Chic” for the guest room. It’s a bit outside the norm of Modern Contemporary Minimalist or Retro Rustic Maverick. I’m trying more of a  “What’s left in the box” style, so this is my own creation but it was coming along “lov…ily”.  Big pouffy down comforters, white bedspreads with medallion motif.  Fluffy pillows to sink into, the adorable white picket fence that Larry had made for me as headboards. A bit of a distressed side board, a little bird house with a hidden mickey, a distressed white mirror, white sheer curtains, crystal bed lamp and candelabra, framed Disney princess art along with some of our Disney memorabilia. To come later….a gold and crystal chandelier (OK, it’s from the dinning room and very dated but it’s going to be a pretty bedroom light when we add the ceiling medallion that matches the bedspreads), You just can’t wait to see the pictures right? Sorry they never made it into the camera. Then Kevin came, delays in his house, weird upstairs bath issue, Kevin, is a lover of ‘Princess’ but NOT a pretty, pretty princess “theme” kind of guy….. so we changed it around for that….Guest room out….Kevin in.

They started the demo on Kevin’s house and they finally installed our internet at the big house so we moved the office from there back to the upstairs bedroom. But then we our very first visitors (…excitement, excitement) David and Linda (cousins) were coming from Florida. Wonderful people and we had a great visit catching up and talking smack about the family….(NOT, I’m just kidding……) but……that meant……office out……Guest room in (Minus all the foo foo).  When they left, the office had to be moved back into that room. Guest room…out, stacked in….guess where? That’s right….that infamous “Bonus Room”.

This house is 3200 square foot (twice the size of my CA house) and yet one small room has such an identity crisis. I’m looking into CIT (crisis identity therapy) for it but then I have to remember this is a small town so there may not be the services that you’d have access to in Los Angeles.

Oh, by the time Linda and David were here, we had found a “modified” quirky answer to the bathroom access. This won’t make a lick of sense and it’s probably harder to explain in print….but there were two closets in this guest/office bedroom and also two in the master bedroom. A third closet in the master bath. Three of them backed up to each other, the bathroom “linen” closet (long skinny with a huge dead space in the middle, shelves at each end), one Office closet and one of the Master bedroom closets (deep, squarish but with one wall angled from the side roof). Each were not really “small” but awkward. The other closet in the master closet is long and skinny also. Even my long arms can’t reach the ends and you’d have a fight with the hanging clothes if you tried. Someone smaller might be able to duck around them but “girthy girdy” me was frustrated.

I was telling my one friend/realtor that I was looking into putting a double wide door in that closet, when she commented that she thought the other three would make an excellent “master” closet. Well, believe it or not, I’m not the creative leader you may think I am …. but egg me on and I’m a great instigator to execute other peoples ideas (good and bad…right Carol?)….down came the walls.

I now have a 9’x7’ master closet with 3 access doors, one from each bedroom and the bathroom. Modified quirky equals….go through the new master closet to enter the bathroom. Not exactly the best scenario but we anticipate allowing the guests back into their own room someday. Until then, meet me in Nashville and we’ll stay at the timeshare. They have plenty of normal bathrooms.

Does this tractor make my butt look big?

I’m  not a “shopper” but I would guess that for many of you who are, the choices you make are second nature for you. But for Larry, buying his new lawn mower, it was quite an ordeal. He had so many decisions…..This one…..or that one?

Pick up or delivery                                (The Mall or online)
Lowe’s or Sears                                    (Macy’s or Ross)
Zero turn radius or steering wheel        (Formal or casual)
Black or Red                                          (Black or Red……LOL)
John Deer or International                     (Ann Taylor or J.Crew)
42″ or 54″ deck                                     (Size 12 or 14)
Over or Under budget                            Cash or Credit

Then a completer set…..
Trailer/Cart or Aerator                           (Shoes or Sandals)

And don’t forget the accessories…..
Cup holder AND umbrella                    (Earrings AND Necklace)

Then when he got it home and tried it on, he didn’t even ask…..

“Does this tractor make my butt look big?”

It’s here….It’s here !!!!

 

Kevin Shares the Fun…..This time they are using an aerator.

A few days later it took no less then 3 1/2 hours to mow our whole property.

The Pink Tractor is an actual store in Grand River, Kentucky.

 

We bought a restaurant……..

First of all, I need to update you on Tater Days….yes, the weather held enough for us to get up to Benton.

The cloggers know……….Directions are not my strong suit.

Everyone had been warning us, “It just not what it used to be” and the usual “if you can’t make it, you won’t miss much” but of course, we had to check it out for ourselves.

We are worried that “Tater Days” may be the most exciting thing in Benton all year……….

So the deal is…..On the first Saturday of April, the streets of Benton fill with thousands of people, all who have come to the annual celebration of the sweet potato. “Tater Day” started in 1842 with the trading and selling of sweet potatoes. Today, over a 3 day period, it features a parade, flea market, arts and crafts, beauty pageants, carnival rides, barbeque cook-off competition, a demolition derby, Tater trot & run, and all the “good eats” you would expect to find at an old time country fair. We had fun, a nice afternoon diversion. One thing tho’ the taters forgot to come, we never saw a one.

Not a single sweet potato on the menu.

As long as we are speaking of food…..like I said in the title…….

We bought a restaurant……

Kind of foolish when you are new in town, not sure of your competition or your clientele and don’t even advertise. We had to move it out of a “seedy” location, but praise the lord, they are lined up out the door and into the trees. There were such a variety of guests and it turned out that most of them just like to “flock” together so it quickly became a buffet. We have LBB and some BBB’s, we have one that dresses up in bright orange tails with their red lipstick and even a wood pecker.

Of course you’ve figured it out….it’s a bird feeder. Stylish, understated but ever so trendy. Yesterday, a bit of a wind turned it into a revolving restaurant.

Yes, Mr. Cardinal, your table is ready. Unfortunately, sir, it’s by the kitchen. Indeed, even the seats by the kitchen are in demand.

We never knew how popular this start up would be and now we are unsure if we are a charitable organization or an enabling government agency. When the trays ran empty our avian customers began circling, not like “Hungry Hungry Hippos” at the hometown buffet. No, instead they all become crazed vultures. The latest problem is that many of them are flying out the door without paying their BILL , this business has not been CHEEP!

And yet, you’d think we’d learn, but oh no, we were stupid enough to add a satellite location. The customers at that one can be a bit more aggressive, you may over hear them saying “Get your own “hum” town buffet”.

 

 

 

It REALLY Is Spring……

Not only by the calendar but now in practice. We had a few days in a row of beautiful, sunny skies. Kevin and Larry have been doing yard work. The wind has left a mess of downed tree limbs and leaves along with a seeming homeless baby bunny. He scampered away but we will watch for him again. Everyone’s garden is running late since all the cold and rain this winter. It’s time to rototill (Kevin informed me it’s called “harrowing” in Old English) but the ground is just tooooo squishy. This city girl having a garden should be quite entertaining. Stay tuned.

The trees and flowers seemed to have bloomed out of no where. The first day was the daffodils, the second day the hyacinth. I was taking a picture for you and look what just popped in and before I knew it, he was gone, lightening fast. Then we woke up to these white, puffy trees. First thought….Dogwood? But I was “schooled” that these bloom first, they are called Bradford Pear. Although they are beautiful they do not produce fruit. I’m guessing they are messy so thankfully, there is not one on our property. I’m sure the wind will share them with us at some point because they are everywhere. Some are more of a bush but many are shaped to be trees. My favorite is on the way to town, in the middle of a field. It’s huge! Will check into their fragrance if the allergies don’t show up first.

Today wasn’t quite as sunny but it was warm and this evening it became a wonderful thunder and lightening storm with HUGE rain drops. I think each drop made its own pond. At times the sky was so bright with multiple lightening strikes that it felt like daylight. The thunder rolled from one side to the other and back again. In between it grumbled like a hungry tummy. It has yet to stop after 5 hours. We live a bit close to a creek because the crickets and the frogs are right in tune to the raindrops.

When I was a child we would go to Kansas in the summer to visit my dad’s family. They had these same kind of thunder storms. I was deadly fearful. I was the “Chicken Little” then. In my eyes the sky truly was falling or at least going to reach down and ZAP me. My cousins were hysterically laughing as I would tearfully hide under the bed. Grandma tried to convince me that it was God’s Bowling Night in heaven (she was a championship bowler) but it didn’t help. The tears only stopped when I’d fall asleep exhausted. The next day was usually bright and sunny, all forgotten until my cousins came back again. Even the last time I saw them a couple of years ago, they still like to be sure I never forget that story.

It may be bright and sunny tomorrow, we’ll see. (No tears anymore). But they say we are still due for a “Gully Wash”. We hope it clears up by the weekend because it’s “Tator Day” in Benton, Kentucky just north of Murray. We can’t miss our first “Tator Day”!