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10 April 2008
Fence Photos
 07 April 2008
Please Fence Me In
 Well, it's done. (Actually, it was done before 3:30, but I've just had the time to post about it now.) I don't think photos are necessary, since it's just your garden variety "dog ear" top six-foot privacy fence. If I take photos it will probably be after we have it stained. Besides, you don't want to see outside right now. The yellow pine pollen covers everything with a thin, gritty coating. It's disgusting. The leaves on the bushes out front are coated and I can't even rinse them off. If you look out the window, everything is suffused with an icky yellow-green glow and when you come in you have to wipe off your shoes because they have yellow dust stuck to them.(The one mistake I did make was keeping the side and front windows open while they worked. They raised a lot of pine dust out there and now the sills and on things close to the window everything is coated with yellow dust. Ugh.) The crew came, worked to music which didn't bother me much since I had the windows in the rear closed, cleaned up, and left (they didn't even ask for the check; I assume either the supervisor will come back for it or they will send me a bill for the balance). They did put in the second gate, and when I went out there to inspect I was astonished to find it perfectly counterweighted so it doesn't swing all the way open on the slope. You can open it to any angle and it stays there. Wow. Anyway, once I had inspected I snapped on Willow's leash and took her out back. When she encountered the fence she tried to go around it and I had to tug her out of the neighbors' yard. I let her off the leash once inside the fence and she did her business and sniffed around, and came both times when I called. I had to watch her since the back fence is high enough off the ground so that she can get underneath it. We are going to buy wire edging and put it along the fenceline to solve that problem, but for now she behaved quite well. They cleaned up nicely and the only problem I did see was that there are already two ant beds out there. !@#$#$!@$#$$%!! bugs! Please Fence Me In--The Installation Edition We had a bobble on Friday, when they were supposed to come. As I explained elsewhere, they need electricity and water to install the fence (water for the concrete and electricity of course for the saws). At the morning job they had Friday, the electricity failed and they had to use a generator to finish the job. The supervisor told me they would definitely come today, and they have; working as I "speak," so to say.He said I didn't need to be here, but it was a good thing I was, since there was some question on where to put the gate so that Willow would not get under it. (If they put it in the middle, there would have been a big gap underneath.) Once they finish, we will need to go get some wire edging (which we looked at at Lowe's yesterday) to set out the length of the back fence that separates the property from the trailer park, since it is some inches off the ground and Willow could easily get under it. Willow has at least quit barking, although she lets out an occasional "woof" when the sound gets loud enough. I had to shut the side window where they were installing the corner fencepost since the sound of them driving it into the ground was making Schuyler nervous. Labels: yard 03 April 2008
Please Fence Me In--Interval
Well, now we know it's going to happen: the grass is covered with red marks showing where the utilities are buried.Labels: yard 02 April 2008
Please Fence Me In--Part 2
27 March 2008
Please Fence Me In
The "fence estimator" has come and gone. Maybe I am naïve, but I never realized a fence would be that inexpensive, since I have never had to get a quotation for that sort of thing. The fence behind the house I grew up in was existent when my folks bought the property and my dad replaced it himself when it was nearly 50 years old and falling down (but we had chain-link and that was easy for him; we can't have chain-link here), and there was a picket fence between our property and the Santamarias' land. I was expecting something like $3000-$4000. Of course, we don't need a fence on one side, either, since Josh and Susan already fenced in their property. I guess if we had had to order an entire fence it would have been quite a bit more. I am told the company uses "Yellowwood" and the fence itself is warrantied for 20 years. (You can have the fence stained for an additional amount, but that does not affect the length of the warranty.) They have also advised we have a gate on either side, which we both think is sensible, and will make sure we have at least one wide gate so if we ever have someone who mows the lawn who uses a ride-on mower, they will be able to get through.The fescue in the back yard is getting quite scruffy, so I will have to call the new lawn-mowing guy. The Bermuda grass in front is just starting to emerge from hibernation. Any day the pine pollen will start sifting in little drifts on the deck. We figure since we can't hose down the deck this year due to the water restrictions, once the pollen deluge is over we are just going to have to sweep it off best we can and take all the lawn chairs to the car wash. The tassels on the pine trees around the building at work are fat with yellow pollen, but I don't see any tassels on the pine trees in our yard, just cones. Still, I found my car with a fine sprinkling of yellow on it Tuesday. Spring is galloping in apace anyway: all the trees are in bloom except for the dogwoods, daffodils wave from yards and around Smyrna city center, some places the forsythia and the snowball-like Bradford pear trees are even leafing out. I have all the windows open today (it's about 73°F right now), but no fans since I don't want to deliberately pull that muck in here. 23 March 2008
Happy Easter!
Easter was so early I didn't get to post my St. Joseph's Day altar. Happy Easter!     Foyer things:  The rose I bought for Mom on Valentine's Day:    Dining room:      These goofy-looking chicks are from JoAnn, I think (either that or Hobby Lobby):  These more traditional chicks are from JoAnn, sitting on the satellite box:  Stuffed animals guard the Easter candy on the hearth:  "PLEASE can I have some chocolate?" "CERTAINLY NOT!"  Schuyler had watermelon for the first time today. She loved it!  Labels: decorating, Easter, St. Joseph's Day 21 March 2008
Around the House
Actually, "behind the house" describes the upcoming project better.We feel it's time to get a fence around the property, or, more properly, the back of the property, since by the terms of the covenants, the fence can't extend past the back wall of the house. (I wonder how negotiable this is since the president of the homeowners' association has a fence that does come closer to the front, but it is an iron post fence rather than the privacy fence that surrounds the rest of the property. He did so to fence off the A/C unit away from his two big dogs.) It would be nice to let Willow run free in the back yard. Kristi and Kelly across the street had quite a nice-looking fence put up around their property, so I was asking her about it at the homeowners' association meeting. She highly recommended the fencing company; while it wasn't the cheapest quote she got, they came on time, didn't leave a mess, were very professional, explained everything, and found the property line. Sounds good to me. I have arranged to have someone come over for a quotation next Thursday. In the meantime, we have finally found homes for Mom's two end-tables that we brought home, but were displaced at Christmastime by a new side table next to James' recliner and a new night table on his side of the bed. One I had already placed in the library to hold the lamp next to the papasan chair. Yesterday after work I got a wild hair and replaced the table next to the futon in the spare room with the other end table. Now if we have guests, there is plenty room for them to put their things next to the "bed." I used the smaller table for the retro Crosley "Musician" that I bought a while ago, since my stereo system didn't play 78 records and I wanted to play Mom's old records. It's tucked nicely in a small corner of the spare room. Labels: decorating, yard 25 December 2007
Merry Christmas!
From all of us here at "Autumn Hollow"! Check out our photos!No, it only looks like we are advertising for KMart. :-)  Our miniatures tree in the foyer, with a Peanuts nativity and train underneath—oh, and that moose and squirrel:  The dining room:  The ceppo on the china cabinet shelf, flanked by the Santa collection on either side:  I decided to put the feather tree upstairs this year; it goes so well on the curio shelf:  Some closeups of the 1950s snowmen and Santas, a 1950s skater ornament, those gilded walnuts I made as a teenager, and an ornament I made as a child:    Even the cart serving as a stand for the mixer (and other things) gets a Yuletide remake:  The primitive blocks and other ornaments I bought at the Apple Annie craft fair (including the winged "Holy Cow" in front):  I saw these decorations and wanted to do a simple vignette; I love the way this came out!:  The Christmas tree, with manger set below:  Click here for a larger tree photo (very large). Here is the manger set that I grew up with; some of the statues are ceramic, but the newer sheep are of plastic, and the three camels and one of the sheep are of rubber and stuffed with tissues! These figures could be bought from large bins at one time, in Woolworths or Grants or Kresges:  You can see the chips on the oldest figures:  With just the lights:  The 1940s Christmas village on the mantel from the left:  And the right:  The individual buildings: radio station WENN (looks like the local cops have been visiting the Buttery downstairs; notice the special appearance!), the lovely Woolworths building, the grocer shoveling his sidewalk, the bus passing "Suicide Hill" (looking at the slope, you know where it's gotten that name), the Christmas tree seller waves as the bus drives past, outside the post office the mailman distributes some goodies, a boy leaves the hobby shop with a new model plane, parishoners enjoy a concert outside St. Luke's while in the rear, Father quietly reads, and a soldier greets his girl, having just come in on the bus. Downstairs in the library, a cozy Christmas reading spot:  The library tree, with its literary ornaments:  In the other house, we had no room for a village, so I created this vignette, "Christmas at the Lighthouse":  Nothing special to anyone else, but special to me: my mom's mixing dish for baking cookies. It probably came from the Outlet or Shepards or maybe even Woolworths in the 1950s and is labeled simply "Made in Czechoslovakia."  After being used to mix the wine biscuits, it's now filled with them:  And just because—Willow:  And Schuyler:  22 November 2007
Happy Thanksgiving from Autumn Hollow!
06 November 2007
New Lamps for Old (the coda)
After going crazy, especially with the installation of the pendant light, we wondered if we actually needed to swap out the large round fixture for the smaller one in the prep area of the kitchen. We had both thought that the larger fixture had another socket, which would have given us three of them rather than two, but that was not so.However, since the larger fixture did have a larger reflective surface, James did put that one up in the prep area. In addition, instead of reusing the existing soft white 60 watt "Helco" or whatever the brand of bulbs were, since we could not put up anything of a larger wattage according to the UL listing on the socket, we replaced them with clear 60 watt bulbs. Whoa. Before it was just bright enough to see the food, now I feel like I should be tap-dancing and singing along to the "Back on Broadway" song from Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol (or reciting Luke for Charlie Brown). Labels: DIY 04 November 2007
(Mis)Adventures in DIY
It's been another lovely afternoon...LOL.We had nothing to do today. All the shopping was done, we had Betty's gift, no festivals or shows this weekend. So after James made biscuits for breakfast and then loaded up the dishwasher, we first put up the little ceiling fan in the kitchen and the new faux-Tiffany light fixture in the dining room. This took us till three (four hours total), and we are exhausted. We'd bought the 36 inch six-blade ceiling fan a few months ago because it gets a bit close in winter and on warm days when James is cooking even with the exhaust fan on. We made two sacrifices when we bought this house: one, there's no front window for the Christmas tree, and two, the kitchen is small. James loves to cook and we could never have a professional stove or a farmhouse sink because they just wouldn't fit. It's probably about 10x14, with half reserved for the appliances and sink and counters. The part under the window is supposed to be a breakfast nook, but we have the convection microwave there on a baker's rack, with the old microwave underneath (although we can't use both together; it blows the circuit) and also our breadmaker, stock pot, and crock pot. We knew this going in. Okay, you can't tell the lights without a scorecard, so here goes. Originally there was a large round light fixture in the dining room, a small dropped light fixture in the breakfast nook, and a small round light fixture over the prep/appliance area. I told the builder to put the dropped light fixture in the dining room, and then to swap the two round light fixtures: put the large round one over the prep area, where you need it, and the small one over the "breakfast nook," where we just needed light for taking food out of the convection microwave. Well, they put the dropped light fixture in the dining room, but the large light went in the "nook" and the small one stayed where it was. Never mind. The ceiling fan went pretty well except for James' tendency to drop the screws. He has large guy fingers and these things are made for small children. :-). The Tiffany light was another matter. There were two wires, the one for the power, and the one for the ground. The latter was simple, thin copper wire twisted together, like in a television antenna attachment, and it broke just rubbing against the mount for the lamp. We spliced it together and James screwed it on yet a third time, since the first time he tried to get the wires back in the little space under the "cap" that goes over the fixture hole in the ceiling, the wires pulled out of the wire nuts. But then the ground wire and the power wire were not on the same side, and when James tried to screw the mount up, the thin ground wire would twist. So he had to take it down again, get the wires on both sides, and put it up again. Then the screw ring that fastened the cap up kept cross-threading because it was so narrow. During all this time, since the fixture was not fastened to anything but the power cord yet, I was standing on a chair next to James holding the light up. It wasn't terribly heavy, but it wasn't light, either, and I have arthritis in my neck and also in my shoulder since the thyroid surgery. I was in quite a bit of pain and so was he, having worked overhead for over three hours, when that stupid ring finally went on properly and the light was up and hanging from its chain properly and not the power cord. James then put the larger round fixture in place of the small fixture. We just have to get some better light bulbs than were originally in there, and some small bulbs for the ceiling fan and the Tiffany light. Now that I look at the latter, though, it was worth it. It looks like it was made for that room, with an antiqued copper finish, almost black, and the delicate colored lamp covers, rather than the clumsy top-shaped fixture that was dangling there before. The red bits of glass match the chair cushions and the apple detailing and the soft ivory panels of most of the lamp cover and the yellow oval highlights give it all an autumn cast. In order below: the "breakfast nook" fan, the dining room with new light, the light without using a flash, and then with a flash.     Labels: DIY 28 October 2007
Hallowe'en House
I didn't used to be much of a Hallowe'en decorator. Didn't do anything at the apartment, minimal at the old house until I bought the jack o'lantern and the little ghost and scarecrow cheap at Big Lots.Not much compared to some people's lights, or scarefests, or the guy on Mount Paran Road with a front yard full of inflatables. The first two pics were taken today, after I finished the theme by buying the "Boo!" flag. Can you tell the house faces west? :-)  A closer shot of the flag:  Here's the left side of the porch. Check at right: you can see Willow peering through the window watching me.  Around the front door; don't you love the witch? We got it at A.C. Moore.  Here is the foyer. The little skeletons and the spider hanging from the mirror are made from jingle bells. They seem to be the "in" decorating thing this year, used in Hallowe'en, Thanksgiving, and Christmas ornaments.  I found this tree at Michaels. I love the two little 1930s-type figures of the clown and of the cat in front.  The table takes on a minor Hallowe'en air...  ...as does the whatnot. I bought the plaque today from "Love Street," the little shop near downtown Smyrna; the lovely autumn motif caught my eye immediately.  I paired the goofy ghosts from Goodwill (how alliterative!) with the cow.  The last picture has nothing to do with Hallowe'en. Last weekend in Ellijay I fell in love with this cute little lamb, but she was decorated for spring. She wore a gauzy spring green scarf and had a little daisy stem on her back. Didn't exactly match the house theme. So today I bought a fall-motif plaid ribbon and also used a fall leaf where the daisy had been. Voilá—autumn sheep instead of spring lamb.  Labels: Hallowe'en, photos 10 October 2007
Fall Greetings!
We are dressed for autumn! Come up the steps and inside! A colorful garland, a sign of "HOME" above, a wreath and shared initials, greet you.  Snug in a corner is my mom's tier table. The horse lamp on it sat in our front window for 54 years. Mom and dad's photos are just next to the red gesturing angel. I like to have the floor vase look as if someone gathered branches outside to fill it.  The two ceramic houses at either end of the mantel are part of Lemax's harvest village collection. The clock in the center is one I bought for my mom; my godmother had one like it and Mom always loved it. James found the framed print above the mantel online. I love the bouquet of cattails and one of my favorite flowers, Chinese lanterns.  This is a view of the dining room from the kitchen archway. We have a faux Tiffany light fixture that we are planning to replace the current fixture with.  The next photo is a closer view of the china cabinet (another find from Ikea). The blue glasses on the bottom shelf and the matching pitcher on top were part of Mom's wedding gifts, and the vaguely autumn-colored china in the center shelf is part of Mom's wedding china. It sat up in our attic for 54 years; our house was so small she had nowhere to display it. I love the little sheep in front of the door; he came from a small gift shop in Helen, GA. The cows and apples are part of the kitchen/dining theme.  The microwave cart on the right holds Mom's vintage mixing machine; yes, it still works! The little blocks between the sparrows and the clock are little autumn-themed puzzles from a vendor at the Yellow Daisy Festival. On the left, our Publix Pilgrim figures—from one of the most amusing commercials ever–share space with a pumpkin and Hallmark turkey salt-and-pepper shakers with a vintage tin in the rear.  This is the hall leading to the two small bedrooms. Guess which one is my craft room. LOL. The Lady and the Tramp plaque is from the first of two cross-country trips I took with my parents back in the 1970s.  I don't think I ever posted photos of the finished library. From the doorway looking left. The door to the very left of the shelf with the Spitfire print over it is the door to James' hobby room. The books in front are my paperbacks and all James' paperbacks are behind, with aviation, rocketry, military history, etc. against the back wall.  From doorway looking right: one snuggly papasan chair to relax in. The books against the back wall are my St. Nicholas collection and my Christmas books; facing them are my children's book collection. The center bay holds novels and science fiction on one side, humor on the other. The bay nearest the door has history, linguistics, biography, poetry, animals, the space program, trivia, inspirational, and miscellaneous.  23 August 2007
In a Fall Mood
If summer is wearing on your last nerve, here's an inspiration: Thank God for this to look at when it's 100°F! Labels: decorating 02 August 2007
Fin
Over the weekend we went to Ikea and bought the last two pieces we needed for the library, a Norden gateleg table, which James wanted for gaming purposes while taking up little space, and the short, narrow Billy bookcase.Last night James put the table together, then he helped me finish the Billy. We wanted it to be a little taller, but not full 72" height, so we bought the height extension unit for it. The height extension unit is designed to be used with the taller unit only, so we used brass mending plates at the back and the front to fasten the two together. Unfortunately, since Ikea figures that on the taller unit the top will be out of sight, they did not finish the edges of the side boards. No matter. I will go in the trunk for one of Mom's bureau scarves and that will make it look neater. The table is narrow enough to be stored in the hallway and used as an extra shelf. It is solid wood and quite heavy, however, so we will be buying casters for it. Labels: library |
