It's Ours!

Our offer was accepted and we are dancing a jig!

Or maybe it should be a Tennessee Waltz?

The east side of the house with the view of the rocking chair porch. This was high on my list of necessities.

The westside view with the nearly completed retaining wall. This is contracted as being completed by closing.

The front garden, and the north side of the house. There are stone walls built in several areas. All the heavy lifting was done before we got there, thankfully.

No dogs. Ducks.

The Quackers arrived on their own. The previous owner said they had laid eggs but the raccoons have gotten them before they could hatch. There is always next spring.

These boys will stay too. We are thinking of calling the place Freebird Farm.

The closing is July 30th and we have a lot to do in the meantime. No, our house in Cary hasn't sold yet. We are not worried. All of this will happen in God's good time. We are prepared to make this purchase from savings and then when our house sells, we will replenish the pot.

Going over our list of desires it is surprising how many of those things are fulfilled in this property.

Water--a pond with koi, bass and bluegill.

Double Bubble tub and a second bath upstairs.

Deep woods. A real forest and acreage--5!

Established gardens with 'Southern plantings'. Azaleas, rhododendrons, dogwoods, holly, jasmine, wisteria, and yesterday I found a patch of mint. (think Mojitos and Mint Juleps). And the orchard contains 32 fruit trees, nine grape varieties and all those blueberry bushes.

Both sun and shade and higher elevation for cooler temperatures.
Low taxes!

An outbuilding for my studio. I will have the upstairs sitting room for my quilting and the outbuilding for my painting. O my!

The decorating will be fun too. Dave suggests Mexican Chalet as our style.

Rustic is only the half of it.

The Re-education of Mel and Dave

Saturday we spent looking at other homes, but really our heart just wasn't in it. Nothing we found could compare to the property I blogged for you on Friday.


Sunday we drove out there again. The owners were gone so we had the place to ourselves. Except for the ducks and two of the three roosters in residence. We walked all around and took a ton of photos. The fowl followed. We inspected the forest and tramped all around the pond and gardens. We sat on the stairs and basked in the morning sunlight and tried to imagine living there. The ducks waited. The roosters gurgled. The locusts buzzed. A few cars whizzed by at the road. The fish lazily rose to the surface of the pond, nabbed a fly and resubmerged.

We have made our decision. Today we are going back to The Palmer House and meeting with our realtor to make an offer. This will be the beginning of a new adventure for us. A very different lifestyle comes with this house. I am believing it is a gift, an answered prayer and major challenge all at the same time.

I have had the opportunity of living many different places, in different states and climates, but Dave has always lived in Illinois, either in the city or suburbs. This new place is really the country. He keeps humming the theme to the old tv show Green Acres.

I googled the nearest major grocery store. 19 miles. Hmm. There is a medical clinic in town, and I guess the local gas stations all have milk and bread and beer. Yup, I will have to make some adjustments. Slowing down and de-stressing will be the first.


I took lots of pictures but left my usb cable at home, preventing me from elucidatin' and 'splaining til we get back to Cary.

No Moss Grows Under Our Feet
After Thursday's memorial service, we went home and packed our bags. Friday at 4am we were on the road to Tennessee. We had a list of homes to see and this one was the first one we sought.

Dave planned to just drive by and maybe knock on the front door. But the owners were working in the gardens and building a railroad ties retaining wall, (what a yard!!!) so we drove up the drive and got out.

This pond has bass and bluegill and the owner's pet koi.

They were a really nice couple who eagerly showed us all around the property and the house and answered all our questions.

Bubble tub for two!!

Dave admitted that we knew all about the house from online shopping, but there was so much that we didn't know. There are blueberry bushes, grape vines, fruit trees, a set of ducks on the pond, a chicken house and a brand new double garage. Add the 5 acres of forest, with deer and turkeys, and a spring fed creek in addition to the pond, and we were overwhelmed.

On the downside, the house itself is smaller than we thought, but still...

We decided to look at the rest of the 20+ houses on my list before we make any decisions.

The only real decision we have made is that this area is HEAVENLY. The scenery is unbelievable and majestic.

Did I mention this potting shed? Um, it has an electric garage door opener, for the mower. A bit too small for a studio, as I had hoped. But it can hold a mess of my stuff.

This bench has a quilt on it and there is another quilt hanging over the balcony indoors. Hmmm.

We will stay in TN and look and then go on to GA where I have a few properties waiting our inspection too.

Thank you so much for your kindness and the many, many emails. We are so grateful.

Susan passed away on Monday at 2pm. We are going to Chicago to discuss the funeral arrangements. Thank you all for your kindness and prayers. We appreciate you so much.

Love,

Melody and Dave

 

Holding Pattern

I am back from vacation, even if the vacation was only in my backyard. I learned how to relax and look at the realities of the moment.

We had decided on a house to buy for one whole day. By the end of the day we came to our senses. Too much house and upkeep, if one of us was living there alone. The next day we found a better choice and tried to think of drawbacks and negatives for it. None were to be found, but we weren't certain, since we haven't been there to see it in person.

In the meantime we are in a holding pattern of another sort. Dave's sister Susan is dying of cancer and while I haven't been blogging about this situation, I would have to let you in on this soon, and it might as well be now. His other sister Carol called yesterday to tell us it could be very near, maybe a matter of days.

So we are waiting and just being in the moment.

It is sad, so sad, but for so many different reasons. Dave's mom is also in the same facility as his sister, with Alzheimer's, and his dad is quickly failing too, not remembering that he had been visiting them both only hours before. Three at once. Dave is doing great and then not so great. It all depends on his stress levels, so we are trying to avoid all that when possible.

So if I am not blogging, and not creating, and not traveling to see properties out of state, these are the reasons.

Researching for Retirement

Thursday 3am Dave wakes me up. He is thinking (it's the meds) about our move. "We are wasting time sitting here watching the birds when we could be visiting the areas we are thinking about buying."

O my.

I was just getting outta the habit of online house looking on a daily basis and trying to live in the now. I was liking it. I can't remember a time when I did so little and felt such peace and tranquility. (I almost wrote tran-quilty.)


We discussed going on another house scouting trip and made the decision to leave on Sunday (maybe). Then we went back to sleep. I had to get my mind back into future mode and devise a plan. When I got up again I began to save the properties we might visit with several criteria in mind.

Distinguishing features must include (not necessarily in this order)
1. great land, at least an acre with woods
2. great house, with low maintenance
3. a water feature of some kind, pool, hot tub, koi pond, river/lake/creek
4. a great kitchen
5. a place for a garden, preferably one that is already established
6. a price at $250K or less


You might think this an impossible task but noooooo! I have around 50 saved that have most or all of these attributes, making it really interesting and tricky to choose.

For example:
This house in South Pittsburg TN has 5.28 acres of wooded land on a hill with a view AND

a matching little house out back which would be perfect for my studio, no? Pretty brand new and with a great kitchen, and hardwood floors throughout. $249K and it has a red metal roof! What's not to love?

But then there is this brand new one in Whitwell TN
A dream kitchen with this mountain view from the front porch. 5 acres for $217,900But what about that water feature I mentioned?

This house has the best already established garden with a koi pond and waterfall and a greenhouse!!! In Cleveland TN for $249,900, loaded with character and an in town location, ready to move into and again, watch the birds. But this Hixson TN koi pond also boasts a hot tub on the 2 acres of wooded property...

with this view

for only $169,900. Confused yet? I certainly am. But wait, that's not all!

Another in Trenton GA: 2.43 acres, great home for $175K, and this chicken house comes with it.

Did I even know I wanted a chicken house until I saw this one? Look at those great chickens!

Just wait til Popeye meets them. But maybe a less grand pool and a smaller yard would be smarter.

Rock Springs GA, 2.53 acres is not exactly smaller, but the price is, at $169,900. No chickens.This lakeside home in Lafayette GA comes with 3 acres and... a pool for $219,900.

But do you decide to buy the pool first or the house?

The house and kitchen with this pool is super, $179K Dunlap TN, 3 acres.

But this Dunlap TN one is closer to Chattanooga, has a super interior, a hot tub, bubble tub, great kitchen, and 1.90 acres for $225K.

I am not even mentioning the homes in the Rome GA environs or Athens GA that await us.

Of course it is all just talk until the house sells, and that could be a long long long time.

Uh Oh...

I am thinking about painting again...

and when I am in this frame of mind I go online and find inspiration in the work of other artists.

I found this piece is by Scottish painter Iain Robinson. Too wonderful and imaginative. I wish my mind could figure out where to begin to paint like this. It is full of detail yet not overworked. It still has freshness and vitality.

I found it on artwanted.com

Image Copyright © Iain Robinson

And then there is Emily Mason whose work I first saw in Santa Fe at the Lew Allen Contemporary. Big swaths of color with very little in the way of detail. So luscious and free. The statement that comes from seeing this is that total lack of needing to be figurative. Just swimming in the paint.

But on a daily basis I visit Martha Marshall's site to see what she is painting.

Joy of Flying which is 4" square on 1.5" wrapped gallery canvas

Mesa

I really feel a connection with her work.

I think I must put away the fabric for a while.

Purposeful Inactivity

I am on vacation in my backyard. No packing, airports, traffic, or reservations. No sand or bathing suits, or suntan lotion either, but I am good with that.

I have loads of entertainment at hand, without having to stand in long lines to buy my tickets. Dave bought this bird feeder which is hanging above the bird bath. Mostly it is loaded with an average of eight sparrows, finches and cardinals. Very busy vying for a spot. The seed includes bits of fruit, so it is way more popular than the neighbor's feeders, plus the water is close at hand to chug it all down.

And for the main event, we have the squirrel circus. Tightrope walkers, and tumblers, chattering and calling each other and making a racket. For comic relief we also have chipmunks which can make it half way up the tree before they are chased away by these big boys.

Dave is teaching me how to slow down, as he has perfected this skill over the last two years. He is reading me passages from Deepak Chopra, and we are discussing the fine points of living in the moment.



My major accomplishment of the day was 2.5 loads of laundry and a nap under the maple tree. I caught up on my podcast listening too, while I finished knitting a pair of socks.




Iced coffee was the beverage of the day and the diet salad kept me on course and satisfied.

I plan on more of the same, at least until the temperature gets too high. It is pretty steamy already, which is making the garden look pretty darn good.

Now here's my plan...

In this season of birthday parties, graduations, banquets, and vacation eating I have fallen far from the sensible diet that put me in sizes I could brag about.

I recently had to pack up my small pants and visit the rumdum for suitable replacements. That is not a good thing, and made me wake up to the fact that something must be done. While I was driving to Columbus I stopped for a bite of dinner and ordered a salad with a chicken breast from a fast food emporium. It was small and sufficient and I felt satisfied. Tra-la! I figured that if I ate like this everyday I could return to the less lumpy figure of my past.

So when I got back home and went shopping I purchased a set of six plastic bowls with lids ($5 for them all) and proceeded to make up salads for Dave and myself. I know that if they are made, waiting in the refrigerator I will not nibble ahead of time, and will be glad that there is nothing that I must 'come up with' in my mind for my next meal. Dave is on this diet too, since he has developed a similar problem with pants that are too small. Thank God for the Goodwill store.
My diet is the No Willpower Necessary diet and it did work for me last time, losing 65 pounds. I now have 20 to remove and it requires that I eat 4 ounces of protein at each meal. That's is a lot of protein. So I got half pounds of turkey pastrami, roast beef, and ham and cut them in half for each salad. No measuring required.

The dressing is where the calories are, so I got a squeeze bottle and put only drops on the top and it suffices for flavor and yet isn't overdoing it. There are so many veggies in the salad too; peppers, garbanzos, cucumber, spinach, peapods and for me tomatoes. I plan to do this for my whole vacation. We'll see.

The Grand Finale

What a fantastic seven days at the Quilt/Surface Design Symposium. See these slides.

My students took to the assignments like ducks to the water. I am thrilled with the results.

My goal was to encourage them to produce many small format compositions with the aim of working them into a series, or discovering the possibilities of building a body of work. For some, the more experienced members, this was a snap and for others this was their first try.

By the end of the week it was hard to distinguish the beginners from the experts.

I am sure part of the reason is the ease of the technique. Things go together so easily when they are fused. And of course any of these compositions could be translated into traditionally pieced and or appliqued work...

I packed up my stuff and got on the road early and made it home Friday night in seven hours, using every last bit of energy I had. Saturday I slept late, had a morning nap and stayed in my pjs all day, just mute in front of the tv.

Now I have a month and a half at home with Dave.

What shall I do with my time?

Super Exciting Series Work

'
I am really thrilled to see the related compositions beginning to happen in class. The assignment is to work in a series, using either of the two approaches we have discussed so far, strip piecing or stacking.

See the slideshow here.

Fused Piecing Compositions and Student Stacks

are viewable here

Qsds weekend Slideshow

Only the Beginning

This is not a quilt. This is a stack of scraps, but Oh, so wonderful! You know how I love stacks. Accidental design is so free and unselfconscious.

This is the real design made by Cyndi Souder of Moonlighting Quilts.

But don't get me wrong, I am all for conscious purposeful designing too. This is from Beth Gilbert.

And below the design from Peggy Taggart.

I will have more to post as they were intent on stitching when I left them at the end of the day.

I was all jazzed up for my first day of class and we had a great and productive morning but by the afternoon I was pooped..

The elevator next door to my bedroom decided to repeatedly open and close by itself at 4am. (3am, my time) and I got out of bed to investigate. I couldn't stop it and it was making a racket, so I called the front desk. They took care of it, but by then I was awake for the day.

After class I came back to my room and got right into bed. I missed dinner entirely,

and the teacher's slide show I was supposed to participate in. O boy, I gotta alotta splainin' to do.