Grandma came for a visit and bought outfits for the urchins....Wee Q. is modeling her selection - a mermaid outfit, replete with tail. She accessorized this outfit with a hippo-on wheels, flower tiara, silk purse, and "unique" shoes.
Meanwhile, Miss. P. selected a wedding gown, which, you'll notice, has a matching veil and bouquet. She also accessorized with a teddy bear and a silver necklace.

Happiness is a rocking chair on the cottage porch at sunset, with your dollies and your blanket.

Wood-fairy at the cottage.

Before and after photos are some of my favorites when it comes to house renovations....that said, the following two pictures aren't really before-and-after, more like before and during. If you follow that. That's the same newel post, and while it looks almost black in the picture, it's really a deep, lovely mahogany that still shows the grain of the wood. Oh and all the missing spindles all the way up the staircase? You CANNOT TELL which ones are new and which ones are old - they all look spectacular. I can't wait to finally unveil the refinished stair treads - I haven't been able to see them yet, but I'm hoping the overall effect will be yummy.

The kitchen has seen some real progress - the plaster coat on the range hood is on, and I think I like it in it's natural state (apparently you're supposed to paint it, but I kinda like it this way). And - TA-DA! - the barnwood is on the island! I hope this makes it rustic enough that Grandma will feel comfortable frying an egg of a morning (she found the chandeliers to be a little grand for the humble frying of an egg, but barn board? Barn board pretty much requires fried eggs, right? Right?)


The steam oven - my foray into experimental cooking - has been placed in it's rightful home (the first appliance to have that honor - I'm still not certain on the whereabouts of the refrigerators....they're MIA apparently). You can also sorta kinda see a bunch of slabs of marble sitting on the counter above the steam oven. Choosing a counter-top material has proven to be something of an, erm, adventure. Stay tuned for the final word.....



The front porch has been beautifully clad in Pennsylvania bluestone, and we even have a step up to the porch now, so one doesn't have to heave oneself up while muttering about the age of one's knees and wondering how the worker dudes have been doing this for over a year now....yeah, the bottom "step" is still an old hunk of plywood, but at least we're headed in the right direction!!!!

It really is the little things....things like scupper boxes and copper downspouts....



















Things like a water pressure tank and hot water heaters, make me really really happy for our old house. I mean, when you think about it, it hasn't really had any of those things in a very very long time - or never - and THAT means we're one step closer to making it a proper home. Isn't that a pretty picture????

I'm having a terrible time downloading pictures tonight. This site generally stinks when it comes to adding pictures to my text, but tonight, well, let's just say I'm having a Very Hard Time Restraining Myself (from pitching my computer in the backyard). Anywhoooo, I am endeavoring to get some shots of the farmhouse put up here...hope it works....

The photo here (hopefully) shows the master bedroom, where we spent Saturday cleaning up the original doors and added a protective coating of water-based polyurethane to 'em. Because THAT'S how I like to spend my birthday weekend.

Whoot.

The kitchen is coming along...
















The family room is painted and the floors are finished (and hiding under protective paper). So, here you can see the hallway (kinda yellowy orange) the family room (greeny gray) and the library (gray, to the left of the pic, thru the doorway).









Upstairs, we worked on tidying up the finish of the original doors, before they are re-hung in the bedroom doorways. I think they look pretty wonderful (if you sort of squint and pretend that those big chunks of cardboard aren't there).



And this, this is the long awaited, much anticipated, longingly regarded new stove. I CANNOT WAIT to start cooking on this baby....

The best thing about birthdays is having your friends help you celebrate. Preferably while wearing full princess regalia. Because THAT'S how we roll....Happy Birthday, my Princesses....

The birthday girls had their big day today !!

There were princess cupcakes and princess outfits and princess necklaces and princess crowns and princess shoes. And we ate lots of fruit salad and ham (the food groups of choice for the Princess-set, for those of you NOT in-the-know).

So, we've had a full week of stay-at-home time, partially due to weather and school closings, and more depressingly, due to a horrific hacking, snotty-nosed , coughing, gagging, feverish cold which struck all three urchins at roughly the same time. While the cold continues to linger, I'm pretty sure we need to go to school on Monday.
We're starting to go a little crazy....

Making cake.

Unfortunately, it was a healthy cake, made with 4 cups of zucchini and whole wheat flour (amidst the cocoa and chocolate chips).

So, we had to fix that.

An inch of buttery frosting and some M&Ms quickly pushed it back into the "astonishingly bad for you" category. Finishing it off with pink sugar sprinkles just added a certain "je ne sais quoi."

Most tasty with a cold glass of milk.

The stegosaurus costume.
For those days when one is feeling Extra Prehistoric....

Inspiration - Van Gogh.

So, we made it up to the farmhouse this past weekend, and as promised, here are a few photos...
The little man inspects the new plaster, and makes suggestions for additional decorative elements.

The farmhouse floors have been refinished, but I didn't really get to see them, because they are safely under wraps while the painters paint every known surface in the place. I cheated a little , though, and pulled back a bit of the paper in the upstairs hallway.
Wow.
Remember, the floorboards looked really really sad when we first bought the place. But now? I think they are going to be lovely....

A few photos of the kitchen .

This one shows the wee built-in bookcase for the cookbooks (in the center of the picture) and through the doorway on the left is the pantry, with oodles and oodles of shelving...The big doorway on the far right gives you half a glimpse of the french doors in the breakfast room, which ONE DAY will lead out to a lovely garden, but which currently lead out to a muddy, orange-clay-filled pit. In the foreground is the Island-of-My-Dreams. Okay, here's another shot, again with the cookbook shelves, the doorway to the pantry, the big doorway to the breakfast room, and more of the Island...On the far right you can just make out the range hood...

More of the range hood and the island. The island has been designed to store all sorts of goodies, from all angles. It will also house the steam oven, and we plan to plonk a large sink right next to the raised part (we raised part of the island so as to block the view of the island counter top when one is sitting in the breakfast room. Why clean up when you can just hide your filth???)

The library shelves !

And Now For Something Completely Different:


This will only be meaningful to those of you who spent a lot of time in the 60s and 70s, watching Canadian tv. These public service announcements pretty much made up the entirety of "educational tv" during my formative years. Enjoy.

Skinny's. An absolutely imperative lunch stop while visiting Grene and Grandstan. Go for the burgers, onion rings and beer. Stay for the "atmosphere".
Two fine patrons of Skinny's.
Hi Grene! Hi Frannie!!!