Tantivy

Even then, there is beauty. Truly. Tonight I was cleaning up after supper and looked at these eggs. How beautiful they are. Our friend Jonathan has chickens and we get them from him. They have wonderful golden yellow yolks and whites that don't run all over everywhere; these are eggs as they should be. (But I am not going to crack one just to photograph it.)   In the next room, destined to be part of the kitchen, I never got the little shelf cleaned out. It is mostly Dean's stuff and I think I had the strange idea that he would take care of it. Well, he didn't, so I have been tackling it the last several days when I had a chance. I have also been painting at one of the rental houses and acting as Vick's sounding board for her remodel. The time seems to get away from me. Anyway, here is a reminder of what happens when you take down the chimney from an old coal furnace. Yuk! Thick black dust!  I haven't let the drawing go. Drawing faces is just one of the th...

A few things to celebrate. The little wild violets are blooming next to our driveway. Dean's father always yanked them from his yard, saying they are weeds, but I love their dainty flowers and beautiful dark green leaves.  A biggie on the list. The real TA DA!! The foundation is finished and back-filled. Inside work to follow. We decided today on the size and orientation of the steps and tiny deck. It will be just big enough for us to sit out there for a cup of morning coffee. Two chairs and a tiny table  For just a while the yard was empty of equipment, but then Dean told "the guys" to park the van and trailer there so we could not park on the  street for a change. Still, it was a glimpse of things to come.  This is a window in the basement that once looked to the outside and later to the crawl space under the porch. Now it opens into the much brighter and cleaner space where we will store hand tools for yard work, seeds, etc. and maybe a few bottl...

The roofers are on the roof, doing the addition. So exciting - maybe there won't be any more leaks. There was a major one Monday, and I would have thrown in the towel but I needed it to mop up the water. Well, I did throw it in the puddle on the office floor.  But now, even though it is cold, it is also sunny and things are looking better, The basement floor has been poured. It is still open to the outside and our cold water is COLD. The foundation has been bricked and there are bricks left to use in the yard or driveway.   The outside has been sealed and taped. The windows will be cut in later. We are looking for windows of the proper style and the person that we thought could make them has gone out of business.  The mess in the yard is almost under control.   The big old hackberry tree has patches of moss growing high on its trunk. The green is a beautiful emerald.  I thought that this piece of plywood is interestingly patte...

It has been a long week. All the noise, dust and commotion finally got to me and I just did what we southern women have done since the olden days. I "took to my bed". Well, I just couldn't get anything done without exhaustion setting in and I took lots and LOTS of naps. Today was a beautiful day, though and I was able to stay upright for more (but not all ) of it. Since I haven't done much this will be a short post.  See the black mortar on those bricks? That black, turned into dust, still coats places in my house that surprise me when I find them. Enough of those kind of surprises!! Today the brick guys cleaned these to reuse them.  Here is Dustin finishing the first layer of the new roof. We have chosen shingles that have dark and light grey and a little red. Dustin found an original shingle today and it was red.  A walk climb around the yard, over piles of dirt and equipment, proved that spring is surely on the way. This little rosebush has new leav...

Can you stand some more of my drawing? Vicki and I are drawing the same photo, as we have said. She posted hers and mine to Facebook and then I worked on mine some more, determined to get it closer to real. Now I can't find my first one except on Facebook. I think that Vicki is the one who photographed it and I never got it from her. Oh, well, here is what there is and rest assured that, however good or bad,  the one I am showing you is an improvement.  Above is a portrait of my father that we think must have been made around the time he was a senior in high school. Below is my version. I realize that I haven't gotten the head tilted properly and the back eye is a little large. I will try again from scratch in a few weeks, but for right now - no more erasing! These two are childhood pictures of two of my cousins. The original of the little boy is so cute. He looks like he is enduring the photo session but not enjoying it. He was about 10 when this was taken as...

I haven't posted for several days because I didn't think that photos of the dust would be all that interesting! This house was originally heated by a coal furnace - not today's "clean coal" at all. The chimney is no longer used so we decided to remove it and a little shelf niche to include the space in the new big room. The old chimney was full of soot from all the coal fires and now every square inch of space in this house has at least a dusting of coal soot. I have cleaned part of it but there are two other walls that have to come down and they will spread plaster dust so the cleaning was only what was necessary to keep me from losing my mind. Here are pics.  On the left, the "office" where the wall was cut out. The niche is to the left. Both spaces will be included in the new room. On the right, the view to the attic space. This space has now been closed off with plastic sheeting. On the right, the view to the basement. The ...

Vicki and I have decided to follow the example of sisters Mary Ann and Carol and each draw the same face.  Our styles are different but you can mostly tell it is the same photo. Of course, each of us thinks that the other's drawing is better; you know how that goes. (I can't tell you how hard I have tried to get these images to line up!! Some days blogger is my friend, some days not. ) . Isn't this the cutest little face.? And I just realized what is wrong with mine. Which is mine I won't say. I always post and then see the problem! Meanwhile, have you ever said that you need to "shovel out your house"? You were kidding, of course. Well, today, the guys shoveled out my kitchen. No joke. That light place is where there is no roof, only plastic. The house is not warm. However,  things are moving along and it will be only about 10 days longer for this crew. The inside won't be finished, but we will install the laundry Whoo...