Welcome home!

A couple of weeks ago, we returned home to the home/house in Tennessee after a few months break in New York.  When we left, I asked the neighbor kid who was going to mow the lawn each week, if he'd use the weed eater in the front yard only.  In the back, I've almost always had some small plantlings that I was trying to grow along the fence, that were often overlooked by zealous landscapers - my son included - who either mowed them down or "weedate" them.  Every year I lose a few this way.

(For years I have tried to grow different shrubs - for both beauty and privacy - along our 6' fence, with mixed results.  I've lost quite a few to the intense summer heat or winter freezes, others to the weedeater, and still others to random factors I don't understand [like the beautiful weigela I had for years that suddenly shriveled up and died within three days.  Maybe it was underground moles?]  Of course, our frequent coming and going doesn't help, since I'm not there every single day to nurture them; though we do have an irrigation system.  This is why I'm always continually trying to grow at least a couple of new little shrubs.)

Anyway, I figured we could just weedeat the back when we returned (no one sees the backyard behind the fence anyway); that way my little plant babies would have their best chance to succeed.

So the neighbor kid did just as I asked (and he did a great job!); therefore, this is what we returned home to in the back of the house:

Here is where my daylilies and irises grow.  They're in there somewhere!

Here's the awful crabgrass that thrives in the sweltering Tennessee heat and which I've found no good removal method for.

The squirrels broke into all my cans I store birdseed in.

They ate three huge bags full! 😠

(And left me a mess!)

And here was the GREAT part, in the front yard!

I always throw seeds from fruits and vegetables in my compost (even though you're not supposed to), because doing so always brings me some fun surprises each year.

I composted all my plants in early summer to feed them.

After being gone a couple of months, I returned to find this pumpkin growing in front of the tree in my front yard.

Of course I left it!

I may not be able to sustain a real vegetable garden with all of our moving around,

so I'll take what I can get!

There's a huge butternut squash vine growing at the mailbox, with multiple fruits.

I have to keep tucking the plant back over to the side so my son doesn't drive over it.

It took nearly a week to get the yard back in shape.  It's amazing how fast (and how big) weeds will grow!

So once the yard was back in shape, we left again (of course) to return to The House of Goodwill to pick up where we left off.  It never ends.  Good thing I enjoy the work!  (More or less. 🙂)

Some old house inspiration, part 3

This is my final post with old house pics from New York; when I saw something interesting last summer I tried to take a photo if my phone was convenient.  (I saw a lot of beautiful old houses while I was running, and I never run with my phone.  By the time I was done I'd often forget what I saw where, and on which street.)  But here are the last few I managed to get some pics of.

I noticed a lot of neat details on this house as I passed, aside from the architectural detail that is well-maintained and looks so nice.

The house is shades of dark and light blue, like the water.

A few blocks from Lake Ontario, this house has a lot of nautical details (much easier to see up close):

the outdoor light that is ship-style, the paddle on the railing, the galver on the door, the crane outline on the porch and even the lettering on the welcome sign.

Someone managed to make this house memorable and area-appropriate, without it being "theme-y."

I'm hoping to do that with my 1970's house!

(FYI: my cool new word for the day is "galver" - I learned this when googling "What do you call a ship's steering wheel?")

This house caught my attention because of it's cool window art. 

I'm not sure what inspired this; were they artistically covering up an unwanted window or did the homeowner just want to add a cool art feature to what would otherwise be a long blank wall?

Whichever reason, this is so creative!

This is lighthouse in the city; someone did an amazing job painting it!

Very cool!

Here's another house in the country that looked so pretty, mainly due to this garden of sunflowers.

I passed this one too on my way to the flea market, surrounded by farms.

Again, this is the New York I know, but not necessarily the New York most people imagine.

What is it about sunflowers that make the heart so happy?

💛💛💛💛💛

I saw some beautiful sunflower bouquets in the supermarket in New York, and I was tempted to buy them.  But I was leaving to return to Tennessee.  When I made it to Tennessee I saw the same and wanted to buy them again.  But I was leaving the home/house to come back to The House of Goodwill to work.  One of these days my house changing will pause again, and I will finally buy myself some sunflowers.  Looking forward to it!

Oh, New York.  I love my home state.  But my heart is with the thousands and thousands of people who have lost jobs due to the vaccine mandate.  (And who are barred from collecting unemployment.)  The tyrannical government of New York has been dooming this state my whole life, as more and more people leave and the state suffers.  (I assume the taxes will be raised once again to help pay for the "state of emergency" caused by the decision to fire everyone.)

I try so hard to not mention politics, but...it's hard to see a place you love fall apart.  And it's hard to witness so much unnecessary suffering caused by a person who was never elected in the first place.

But I'll leave it at that.

My prayer is that The House of Goodwill will be a place of respite for those who need it.  May my blessing be used to serve others.  I better get it done!

Some old house inspiration, part 2

One of my summer highlights this year while staying in New York were my in-town runs.  I joined the YMCA this summer, and after spending an hour there, on many days, I would pick a neighborhood in the town where I grew up and run a few miles.

It was fun; the different scenery kept things interesting.  And since I love old architecture, there was plenty to look at and admire.

As I was running one afternoon down a street I had never been on before (that I can remember, anyway), I came across a house that made me stop in my tracks for a minute.  It was a very large, old brick house on a big lot in town.  It had the most beautiful flower gardens.  I had to pause and just enjoy the view.  I returned with my phone later on for a few pics.  This house inspired me. 

Let me share:

Here is the front entrance to the house.

I've never figured out how people water the flowers in upper window boxes.  (?)

But I've always loved that look!

On the side of the house are bigger gardens.

This part of New York is teeming with Monarch butterflies. 🦋

I love the flagpole at the corner of the lot, growing out of two Rose of Sharon shrubs in different colors.

There were stone columns along the front of the house, all with big, beautiful planters.

I have no idea who lives here, or if this is a private residence or a B&B of some kind.  But someone put a lot of work into this yard!  Everywhere you looked on this large lot was something beautiful.  And there was a long fenced yard on one side...I would have loved to see behind that fence!

I sure hope the neighbors appreciate this.  It would almost be like living next door to a small scale botanical garden.

Every year it seems I have a new favorite flower.  A couple of years ago it was the cascading begonias that I bought that grew really big and beautiful.  Last year it was the tuberoses; I had never planted any before, and when they bloomed, they not only looked lovely but the scent was heavenly.  You could smell them across the patio.  This year it was definitely the hydrangeas - running through the city I saw hydrangeas of every shape and color.  It inspired me to buy a new hydrangea (50% off, of course).

I move around so much each year that gardening is a real challenge for me.  I plant things wherever I am, only to lose a few plants to neglect each year when I'm away.

I always stop and appreciate a beautiful garden when I see one.  Someone else did the work, I just get to enjoy it! 🌹💕

The New York I know: some old house inspiration

Summer's officially over today, and we're back in Tennessee, back at The House of Goodwill, getting back to work again.

Our goal is to have our groovy 1970's house finished and ready to rent by the next summer season.  More to come on that.

But first, before I turn the page from our summer in New York, I wanted to share a few more images.

I've lived in Tennessee for twenty years now, and over the years, when I meet people and tell them I'm from New York, I usually get a reaction along these lines: "Wow, New York!  Nashville must seem so small to you," or "Oh wow, Tennessee is so different.  Do you get bored?"

Which is funny because I am from New York state, not New York City, and anyone familiar with New York knows that once you leave the city, the rest of the state is tiny little redneck towns and villages.  (Which is how all the Californians who have moved to Tennessee describe California too.)

But the assumption is usually that I am from the city (which was FAR from where I grew up).  Ironically, Nashville is a huge city compared to what I knew before.

When I return to New York, I am keenly aware of it's rural beauty, which I (of course) took for granted growing up.  The Adirondack Mountains, the Finger Lake region, the Great Lakes, the farm lands and the Thousand Islands are all part of the magic of New York.  (Unfortunately the ridiculously high taxes trump a lot that's good, but I won't take this down a political path...)

Anyway, my summer was spent in the town I grew up in, and I made some new running routes through the city in different neighborhoods.  Which gave me lots of opportunity to observe all the old, historic houses, which I love.  Love!  I love old architecture!

When I could, I took photos of some of the places that inspired me.  I thought I would share a few here.

I just love to see a house and imagine what could be.

I passed this house on a rural road heading out to the flea market.

The sea of orange lilies was breathtaking.

Just look at them all!

This beautiful old stone house was surrounded by the most beautiful flower beds.

I'd love to sit on that upper porch with a glass of lemonade on a summer afternoon!

The Monarch butterflies were everywhere in the gardens at this house.

The ionic columns on this Greek Revival house are amazing!

Over the years this great Victorian house sadly lost a lot of detail.

But wow, those hydrangeas!

Hydrangeas of every color and type surround this place, and they were stunning.

This is the front and back of possibly the oldest house in the city.

It was bought and restored several years ago, after falling into disrepair.

I was told the owner's daughter got married in the gazebo in June.

Aren't they beautiful?  There's nothing like an old house, especially when they receive the care and attention they deserve.  I love to glean inspiration from great outdoor spaces.

The weird thing about New York (at least to me)?  The only inexpensive thing about living there (once you escape the city), is the houses themselves.  None of these houses were expensive, at least compared to most cities.  (I think most people would agree they're downright cheap.)  But you'll probably pay the price of your house a second time in a decade or two of tax payments.

My feelings about New York are complicated.  I would liken the state to a beautiful (but very expensive) ex wife that you sometimes miss but is ultimately not worth the cost.

It was a great summer though!

The final flea of summer - small town New York style

For the last three months I've been on a break from the House of Goodwill project; a welcome respite from more than a year of sanding, painting, cleaning and shopping.

My family and I spent a couple of months in New York, where I thought I'd have all kinds of free time for exploring and posting.  It didn't exactly work that way - it probably never really does, really - but the summer was so busy even I was surprised at how little time I spent on this blog.

It was great, though!  It felt like a summer that made up for lost time...our last two summers were spent working on the House of Goodwill, taking care of foster kids and barely leaving home, because of all the Covid shutdowns everywhere and foster responsibilities.

So to be busy and free (more or less) felt amazing.  None of us took it for granted.

Anyway, while I was in New York, I had to check out my favorite flea markets and antique stores.  There were three in town, but only one was open.  Two of them had signs posted on the door that they were open "by appointment only" (due to Covid).  This was a downer.

I never called, because if I scheduled an appointment and someone came to the store just for me, and then I walked around for an hour and didn't buy anything, I would have felt bad about it.  (I know I shouldn't, but I also know I would.)  So I just missed out.  (Or they did.)

Until (UNTIL!), my last day out in town, I passed by one of the places, and just happened to see the front door open and a car parked outside.  So I jumped out and asked if the store was open, and I was told yes.  YES!

Two Covid-masked men were leaving as I entered, and I was the only person inside, so I guess I was doing what I hadn't wanted to do.  But at least the owner hadn't come out just for me.

This place - antique store? building of old stuff? - is hard to describe, and it's a real trip.  It's called "The Seneca Warehouse" and is loaded (LOADED!) with "stuff:" some cool antiques, some things that appear to be yard sale or estate sale leftovers, vintage items and lots and lots of random objects.

The place is an old building which appears to be barely maintained enough to load up with stuff.  It's kind of like Goodwill - everything is dusty and things are piled on top of things on top of things.  I met the old guy who owns it a couple of years ago, and he's an interesting character.

It's one of those places where the ratio of "stuff" to cool antiques is probably 50:1, but that's usually the fun of places like this.  It's like digging through Grandma's really enormous old attic, and occasionally unearthing something really interesting.

This place sort of feels like the really old house of a hoarder, where you have to uncover little walking paths through all the stuff...though at least it's not garbage, so that's a plus.

It's kind of frustrating being in here, because so much stuff is blocking so much stuff that is impossible to get to, that you get the feeling you only see about 1/100 of what's actually inside.

I must have walked through at least ten waist-tall spider webs on the "paths" through this dark back room.  I just noticed the street sign - didn't see it when I was there!  

(Where in the world did he get that?!)

I was excited to revisit this place because of a few gems I discovered there in the past.  (Like a perfect condition "Masterpiece" game from the 1970's for $2.  Something we loved playing in our house growing up.)

Remembering this, I inquired about a couple of items I saw, only to be shocked at the price I was quoted.  There were two metal lawn chairs with some decent looking (used) cushions on them.  How much?  "$500," I was told.  $500!  What?  (Mind you, these were not vintage or hard to find like what I would expect for that amount.  These were just ordinary, decent metal lawn chairs.)

After another similar inquiry I stopped asking.  I never did figure out how this guy was pricing things.  (Keep in mind this is not a store in a well-to-do city.)  Apparently inflation is affecting flea markets too!

Wandering through the dust and cobwebs, I did see some interesting things, as always:

My first time seeing a Virgin Mary planter.

There's something charming about her.

I've seen lots of planters, but never any saints; this is a highly Catholic town so not a big surprise.

How about a brass armadillo?

Again, I've seen all kinds of brass animals, but this was a first.

I just thought this was really cool!  

I've seen this milk glass jar in a million people's houses (my mom probably has it), but I've never seen one unused in it's original box!

(Someone received an extra as a wedding gift, and stuck it in the attic?) 

This embroidery was just so pretty, and in perfect condition.

Someone worked very hard on this!

Wouldn't this be cute in a little girl's room?

The owner wanted $50, which it is totally worth, I just didn't really need it.

I sure did love it, though!

When I arrived at the store, I had told the owner I was happy to catch him there.  "I have another store now," he informed me.  "In Hannibal.  It's bigger.  I'm hardly here anymore."

Oh.  In the village of Hannibal?  Bigger?  More stuff?  I can only imagine that place.

"Besides," he said tersely.  "No one buys stuff in stores anymore.  Everything is online.  Ebay.  You know."

"I see," I agreed, though I couldn't help but wonder why he opened another store if "everything is online."  I also resisted pointing out that it's probably challenging to sell things when your store is open by appointment only, full of spiderwebs, way overcrowded and puzzlingly overpriced.

So I walked around for an hour and didn't buy anything after all.

But at least I didn't feel guilty about it!

A good deal in New York?

The summer break in New York is wrapping up, and soon it will be time to return to The House of Goodwill project.  But first, a few more New York shares, things I haven't taken time to post, because I've been a little too busy living life outside (and away from the screens).

As a former New Yorker - one who would not return as a permanent resident, due to the crazy high taxes here - a piece of my heart will always be here in this state.  As much as I love it, I have to admit, New York's reputation for being an expensive place to live is totally accurate, even if you are FAR from the city.  Which is sad.

New York is full of old houses, which I love.  The countryside here is beautiful too, though I think many people are unaware of this.  (I often meet people in other states who just assume I grew up in the city when I tell them I'm from New York.  And I realize many people think of the state as one big city.)

So yes, New York is expensive.  But one of my favorite things to do here is free.

In my home town, which is located on Lake Ontario (one of the Great Lakes), watching the sunset is an activity you plan your evenings around.  And the sunsets here are AMAZING.  Somehow, they're always different.  The variations of clouds, the flatness/waviness of the lake, the rain (or snow) - there are a million factors that can change it up daily.

Here are a few of my favorites this summer:

In this photo and the one below, the tiny black spot on the water is my husband, floating on a tube.

FYI, none of these photos were altered or enhanced.  God didn't need any assistance here.

The old cliche holds true - the best things in life are free.  Even in the “concrete jungle” of New York. 🙂

A flea market Fenton & another fantastic find

Well, I thought "with all this free time" I'd have this summer, I'd be posting pretty often.  But it turns out, with lots of free time came lots of fun opportunities, which is a situation I'm not going to complain about.

I spent last summer taking care of two foster kids I didn't expect to still have with us, while working nonstop on The House of Goodwill (while rarely leaving the house due to both those reasons plus Covid); so I can't say I feel too bad about having fun things to do this summer, and doing them.

We've been making up for lost time.

Shortly after we arrived in New York this summer, I visited my favorite local flea market, which I hadn't been to in a couple of years.  I had a great time looking around, and made a couple of great finds.

I keep a collection of blue glass in my New York cottage (all from thrift sources).  I've always loved colored glass (and vintage glass); when the sun shines shines through beautiful pieces of glass, I really think there's nothing lovelier.

When I first got to the flea market, I found this piece - I don't know what you call these, I need to learn the name - sitting on a table with a $12 price tag:

I have a few variations of this, in other colors.

But I have never seen one of these in this shape.

If you've never seen one of these, this is a "vase" with a built in flower frog to place flower stems in.

The clear glass piece lifts out so you can fill the bottom with water.

Kind of like a simple flower arranger - a centerpiece for dummies. 🙂

As you can see, each end has a larger opening for a pillar candle (or just another flower).

There are two larger openings for pillar candles in the center part as well.

When I was checking out, the man working the register told me he couldn't believe the price.  When I told him I'd never seen a piece quite like it, he said he hadn't either, and when he arrived at work that morning he'd spent time online trying to find something like it but couldn't.  And he agreed that it was probably worth much more than it's $12 price tag!

Here is my other find, this beautiful vase was sitting all dirty on top of a shelf:

When I spotted this, I thought it might be Fenton, and when I turned it over, under the dirt you could just barely make out the mark on the bottom.

I couldn't believe the $26 price tag - I NEVER see Fenton pieces marked this cheap, and I wondered if the seller knew what they had.

I don't think I own another piece of Fenton, so I bought it.

Maybe it wasn't cheap - but it is cheap for Fenton!

I came home, got an old toothbrush and some soapy water, and cleaned it up.

I couldn't believe how different it looked after it's cleaning.

SO, with two new pieces of art glass, I just couldn't let them sit!

Here it is, filled with pink carnations, and here it is in action!  (As our dinner centerpiece with my sister-in-law at the table.)

And here is my beautiful flea market Fenton, full of gladioli:

 

Even the non-flower noticers I know have noticed (and commented) on these happy-colored gladioli.

With so much world-wide tragedy currently unfolding, I am trying extra hard to be grateful for the simple pleasures.

I'm going to find out what these glass/candle/flower arranger things are called, and I'll get back to you.  BEFORE another month goes by!