Rosie says Hello!

I havent posted any pictures of Rosie in a while now. She is now 9 months old and is over 100 lbs. She looks like an adult dog, but still acts like a puppy. She is klutzy as ever and trips over herself all the time. Its very funny to watch!

Rosie and Shane

Rosie came with me for the last day of school, which was a sad day. It was my offical last day at WSD, and I am no longer employed there. It was bittersweet. The students loved seeing Rosie again and were sad to say goodbye.

Rosie and Jon

One of my former students, Jon, had a very difficult time accepting the fact that our working relationship was ending. He developed a very strong bond not only with me, but also with Rosie. Jon is one of my absolutely favorite kids in the world. I first met him as a spunky little 4th grader, and he is now entering 7th grade this coming fall. He has a very dysfunctional, difficult home life and I've decided that I cannot cut all my ties with him. I have been communicating with his grandma (who has him most of the time because his father is who knows where? and his mother is out of the picture). Paul and I will take Jon for a few days this summer, so he still have access to a deaf role model (me) and a male role model who can sign (Paul). We plan on taking him to the movies, to the beach, and play in the backyard with Rosie and Sam.

You can see below that he and Rosie love to play. Its very cute to watch.

Delivery Today!

Guess what was delivered today???

My new chair and the new split boxsprings! Whoo hoo!

I dont know if I told you about the boxsprings yet or not...

On moving day, we realized that our queen size boxspring did not fit in either staircase (ah, the joy of having an older house with steep, narrow stairwells!). So, we have been sleeping in the guest room on the main floor for the last 3 weeks. I went out and ordered queen split boxsprings since they will fit upstairs.

Meanwhile, I ordered a comfortable, cushy chair for my office. I had no problem picking out the actual chair itself... the fabric was where it became tricky. I looked through the store's fabric catalog and wasnt pleased with their huge variety of plaids, solids, tweeds and ugly florals. In the very last book, in the very back, I came across a floral print called "Cornflower Blue" and I knew it was IT! Paul rolled his eyes at me. He said "ok, that fabric is very Hollie..." I figured that I should go all way out "girly" in my office.

I think it looks fabulous and I see many nights curled up in the chair with my laptop and/or watching TV. I think the pillow I made yesterday with the leftover fabric from my curtains looks cute with the new chair.




Obviously, neither room is finished in terms of placement or unpacking. Im just happy to finally have a bed upstairs! I am currently working on putting up a curtain rod in the bedroom-- you can see the wooden balusters at the edges of the window that will hold up the rod. It will look very good, I think. I love having large windows with lots of light!

Its slow work, but progress nonetheless!

A Glimpse into the Backyard

Ah, here are more pictures of what I have been up to recently. These pictures are in no particular order...



I dont think you have seen the actual front of the house, have you? Well, here it is! Its a cute bungalow in grey, white and red colors. Sadly, there is no landscaping in the front yard, as you can see. That will be my big project next spring, I think.


Here is the lovely peony bush we planted. The color scheme in the backyard will be mostly greens (duh), white and blues. So, the peony bush we planted has white, frilly flowers. The peony bush in the front yard is a Sarah Bernhardt (my favorite!), which has very large pink flowers.


As you can see, the dogs LOVE the yard. They play mostly in the "run" which is a long expanse of grass along the side of the house. They like to run and chase each other in this space.




One neat thing that I really enjoy about the house is the fact that we have the largest Oak tree in the entire neighborhood in our front yard. Its majestic and just beautiful! It provides a lot of shade in the front yard, which is nice for when we want to sit on the front porch.



Hydrangeas along the wall by the garage in the backyard. They are doing very well and are blooming like crazy! We will get a third bush to put just beyond the second one to make a "wall" of blue flowers. Hopefully over the years, they will fill out and it will look like one long bush.



Our yard touches the neighbor's garage. This area was poorly neglected (it is across from the herb garden) and we decided to fill out the space with hostas and mulch. Hopefully by next summer, the entire space will be filled out and you will not see the mulch at all.



Back to the blue blooms-- aren't the hydrangeas just beautiful???



In the corner of the yard, where there is absolutely no sun, we planted many ferns. Im excited to see them grow and start filling out the space a bit. I cut out holes in the planters that they came in to give them a little bit support while they grow stronger. Paul calls Rosie "the buffalo" when she runs in the yard... gotta give the poor, fragile plants some help or they'll be trampled!


Ahh, the lilac bush. We found a great, mature bush on sale! Its called Blue Skies, and is a very light lavender/blue color. The nursery said it is a fast grower, so we're hoping to see more growth next year!




I painted the sun porch on Saturday. It was a cream color with a lot of blue/grey trim. The cream color was alright, but it was very dirty looking. (I had to leave the cream color on the inside of the windows, since it matches the paint on the exterior of the house...) I decided I wanted it to be much more airy and clean, so I painted everything white. What a big change! It looks fabulous! You can see the contrast between the cream on the inside of the window with the white on the porch.

In the spring and fall, when the weather is nice and cool, we will leave the doors open for the cats and dogs to lounge on the sun porch in the sun. It should be just lovely. Im thinking about hanging some sheer white curtains to make it look more like a room and give it an airy quality. Eventually, we will replace the flooring in the sun porch and put down tile (to match the tile we will eventually put on the kitchen floor). Seems like a lot of projects will eventually get done...

Ah, the joy of having a house!

Be Warned!

Wanna see what I see every morning when I wake up? *shudders*



Its improving day after day. Im happy to say that the living room and dining room are now almost unpacked entirely. I'll post a happier picture tomorrow, so you won't be so haunted by this sight!

Im happy to report that Rosie and Sam have adjusted well and don't mind the mess. Rosie is partial to the spot behind Grandma J's rocking chair.

Herbs and Curtains

I know, I know... Ive been terrible about posting updates and pictures on my blog. I never knew how much time and energy it took to move in, unpack, settle in and start some renovating projects in a house!

One of the big things that we did was install a herb garden. As you know me, I am a huge fan of gardening and having an oasis where I can escape to. We have quite a large yard and we decided that a good place to start would be a herb garden by the garage.


When we moved in, the small plot was just overgrown with weeds and junk. It had a really rickety, rusty metal "fence" around it. It was such a pathetic sight.

*Rosie says hi, you can see her wagging tail in the corner*


We torn out the metal fencing and dug up all the overgrown weeds. The dirt was rock hard from being neglected for so long. We ended up taking some dirt out and replacing it with rich topsoil. We had to let the dirt "sit" for a few days before planting our new herbs.



The result looks so much better! Its much cleaner and isn't overgrown. We installed small wood fencing around the edges to keep the dogs out. We planted basil, oregano, cilantro, lemon balm, and cat nip. We plan on planting herbs more later, but want to see how these plants fill out first. I am thrilled to finally have some dirt to call my own and I cant wait to see it all fill out and go crazy.

Here's a peek at our new rose bush. More about that tomorrow!


Today, Paul and I went to the fabric store and picked out several yards of fabric for curtains. I was so excited to dust off the sewing machine again! Paul picked a very cool tweed-ish fabric that is really dark grey (almost black) with white thread running through it. I sewed the fabric into simple panels and hung them on brushed nickel hardware. It looks really sharp and Paul is a happy guy (mostly due to his new Xbox, but I digress...)

Not too bad, I think...

Part Two...

I promised a picture or two of my brand new oven. Yes, you are seeing correctly... there is not just one oven, but TWO of them. The top one is a small one, perfect for a pizza or baking cookies. The one on the bottom is a larger one for larger dishes, such as casseroles, breads, and turkeys. Its energy efficient using a smaller oven for smaller dishes, and the bigger one for bigger dishes. I cannot wait to fire up that baby!




Ive struggled with taking a good picture of the living room. I decided to try it again with the blinds partially closed, so there is less light. This picture is much better- you can see the woodwork, the french doors, hardwood floors, and of course the lovely windows themselves.




After putting 2 coats of primer on in the dining room, I cracked open the paint that we will use in this room. Its called Sandstone Cove. Its very similiar to Mom's Pale Almond. What do you think? Too light?

A peek!

Today, I am priming and painting the living room and the dining room. They are both painted a dark Olive green. Its very ehhh, so I am painting over it and it will be a soothing, neutral color that allows all the woodwork to pop out. Here is a peek of what the rooms look like.



This is the living room- it is dominated by very large windows and two stained glass windows. It receives A LOT of natural light, which is why I cannot get a good picture of the room. Its just simply too bright!



This is the dining room. You can see the Olive green color on the left side and the white primer on majority of the walls. Isnt the woodwork just beautiful?


Here is one of my favorite features in the house. Its a swinging door between the dining room and the kitchen. It is very cool with its own stained glass window.

Now going back to the house to finish up a few things and take more pictures...