NEW HOUSE TEASER PORCH CEILINGS

 "That seems like an odd choice, wouldn't it just be the house color or something?"

We are doing something different for the porch ceiling.  You all saw the barn red for the main house color, black (ebony) stained front door, and white for window trim, shutters and porch railing.  But for the ceiling, we're going with a pale blue...

It's a Southern thing dating back over a hundred years.  The original color was called "Haint Blue".  They think the word haint was a derivation of "haunt".  The belief being that it reminded spirits of water and so they couldn't cross.  It also meant evil spirits thought it was the sky and they wouldn't enter or cross.  A more recent belief is that the pale blue tricks wasps and spiders and even birds into thinking it's the sky and so they won't build nests (or webs) there.

This will be our porch ceiling.  We'll have recessed lights and working on a really cool option for a fan, if we can pull it off, will save that for a future post.

And this is the color we've chosen:

It's called "atmospheric" (by Sherwin-Williams).  We tried other SW pale blues and settled on this one because it matched so well with our house colors.

We think it will look great and of course keep the porch feeling lighter and brighter.  Now whether or not ANY of that is true (though we have read some blogs where people swear it has stopped wasps), we like things that have a great backstory and tradition.  In the Heights, where we used to live, so many houses that were a hundred years old or more had these original pale blue porch ceilings and new construction homes followed suit. It'll be a fun story to be able to share with guests.

Here is a link to a SOUTHERN LIVING ARTICLE for more info about the history and here is a link to WIKIPEDIA.

MOWING HUMOR AND THE KINDNESS OF A NEIGHBOR

 Saturday we had our 'color appointment' at the builder (more on that in upcoming posts) and so Sunday was the mowing day.  At the bottom of this post is the kindness of the neighbor.

I was worried it might be too wet to mow...

...this cracked us up when we saw it.  Fortunately it was not too wet, though I did stay off the trails, this weekend anyway.

This was before.  Definitely needed to mow, it's been over two weeks since the last time.

Because I skipped a few areas, it was still a little shorter than normal when it comes to time, but distance was more because I had to mow over the same areas a few times to get it fully cut.

Not the best look but hey, it's done.  I didn't get to edge because, frankly, it was too hot.  With zero chance of rain over the next week, I shouldn't have to mow so next weekend will be tidying things up.  I'll be honest, I wouldn't mind a few weeks without rain.

It was hot, felt like 113 when I left.  But the best part of the day?

I was mowing and "J" from 2nd Family came driving down the driveway and brought a surprise:

She said "here, I worry about you in the heat and so I made you some fresh lemonade!".  How sweet!  It was full of ice and so refreshing.  This was after I had about half of it and realized I needed to take a picture before I consumed it all, ha.

And served in a mason jar, perfection on a hot day!  It really will be wonderful having such a great neighbor.

Hope you all had a great weekend!

COLOR APPOINTMENT TODAY

This is the post we had ready for last Saturday, before we got sick.  We're both 90% recovered and so today, as this posts, we're off to the builder for what they call our first "color appointment".  We meet with a designer for about 3 hours and go over all our choices for tile and cabinets and countertops and flooring and of course...

Paint colors!

They use only Sherwin-Williams so we have lots to choose from.  You may have seen the post last week, we picked the outside colors, that was pretty simple, but the inside is a bit more complicated.

There are SO many colors to choose from.  This is the SW paint 'color wall' like they have in each store.  We went a couple of weeks ago just to get a head start and wow, it can be overwhelming for sure.  Now, the builder will probably have the little flip book with all the colors and different shades of each.

Stay tuned as we show our choices, once we make them of course, ha.  They say this can take two or three visits but we've got a bit of a head start.  We'll also share our tiles and cabinets and countertops once we have those pinned down as well.

On the way back, we'll stop at Costco and pick up some things we're running low on.

Tomorrow I will head to the farm, after this week of monsoon rains, to see how things are.

Hope your weekend is off to a good start!

NEW HOUSE TEASER FRONT DOOR DECISIONS

 We decided on this style of front door.

These are just a couple of pictures from online showing the type of door.  The one above is called a 4 lite over 1 panel door...which is standard but we are going for a larger door so...

...ours will be "6-lite" style.  We love the more vintage look.  We thought about a solid door but we're going with windows in it so we can let light into the foyer.  We would like to have had a double door, but with the size of the foyer, this was the only way to go.  We're also not big on the side windows and figured "let's just do glass IN the door".  We like to be able to see out.  We MAY go with frosted glass or even a vintage wavy glass, that remains to be seen but leaning toward clear.  We can always hang a curtain up on the inside, maybe something breezy and gauzy looking to filter the light.

It's going to be 38 inches wide (for a little more ease of bringing things in and out) and we upgraded to 8 feet tall instead of the standard height. 

It's solid wood (standard was hollow/fiberglass and we wanted something solid) and will be mahogany.  We are doing the ebony black stain for the dramatic look, because 2nd Man's big request was for a black front door.  He's always wanted that and when we saw what it looks like on a red/white barn color house...

  

Well, we loved it.  So black door it is!  Ours will look like this (only with glass in it).

And, many of you know that we're kind of 'tech nerds'...

Well, we upgraded to have the newest biometric front door lock.  Because, well, every farmhouse needs to have some 21st century flare, right?

We can even use our watches to open it.  Never fear, we did a lot of research and it is super safe, but if we decide to just turn it off, it has an old fashioned key deadbolt as well, ha.

We still haven't decided on a screen door or a storm door.  I would love to have a screen door but that would of course take away from the beautiful front door.  We'll have a screen door on the back porch so maybe a storm door?  Again, not sure if we need that.

We figure that even from the inside, it will at least be somewhat dramatic in the foyer.  This would be the inside look (again, not our house, just a sample, ha):

Looks pretty good!  We'll even have lighter colored floors like this (to be decided soon).  And hey, I can still put our wreaths up, ha!

GOOD FOOD AND HOBART MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY

UPDATE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST

Didn't do our regular Sunday post so here is a special Monday edition of Good Food and Hobart, ha.

It was a weekend of doing absolutely nothing.  With both of us sick (four covid tests between the two of us, all negative), it was just sleeping and watching Olympics and more sleeping, ha.

Oh and some good food.

We went to the store, got a couple of chickens, boiled them in a large pot, let them cool, took off the skin and pulled the meat off the bones, then opted for carrots, zucchini, yellow squash, potatoes, onions, celery and corn on the cob all in the strained chicken broth. It simmered for a couple of hours with different veggies going in at different times.  We put the chicken in the bottom of the bowl and then pour the chicken broth and veggies over the top.  It is so good. We ate it Saturday, Sunday and we'll finish it off tonight for dinner.

By the way, as this posts, we are feeling better.  I'm at work (whether I stay all day remains to be seen) and 2nd Man of course, works from home.

Hobart was sympathizing with us so he stayed cuddled up under his couch blanket. You'd think it was Winter, but he does like to be warm as he gets older (I suppose as we all do, ha).  We keep him covered up just how he likes it.  Because...

#notspoiled

UPDATE: ONE MORE DAY AGAIN OF REST, HAVE TO POSTPONE THE NEXT NEW HOUSE POST UNTIL THURSDAY.  IT HAS BEEN A LONG TWO DAYS AT WORK AND THEN HOME FOR SOUP AND SLEEP.  FYI, SAVING OUR DAYS OFF FOR THE HOUSE CONSTRUCTION, WE'RE SURE THERE ARE MANY TIMES WE'LL BE HEADING OUT THERE DURING THE WEEK.  :-)

UNDER THE WEATHER

 Literally and figuratively, ha. 

First of all, we had another post ready to go, about an appointment we had for the new house but alas, we've had to cancel the appointment.

We're under all sorts of flood watches and warnings and they say it's best to stay off the roads.  So, there's that weather and then there is under the weather.

Yesterday, I woke up feeling like I was getting sick and sure enough I did.  I took a COVID test yesterday and another moments ago...

Both negative so that's good.  COVID is making a resurgence by the way, we have a few clients who are VERY sick and my boss (who is out of town) got it for the second (third?) time and he said it has been brutal.  Not sure if these are new variants, but we were hoping it wasn't that.  Thankfully, just appears to be a Summer cold.  Now this morning, 2nd Man woke up and he is getting sick as well.

He's going to run to the store and get some veggies and a couple of chickens and we're going to have a giant pot of chicken soup.

Chicken soup and the Olympics...should be a good weekend to lay around and rest!

Hope your weekend is off to a better start!

WE MISSED SHARK WEEK

 Regular readers know how much we enjoy this.  Alas, we missed it!  Well not all of it, we had a few shows set to record and caught them.  I had grand plans for this year and our must see TV, Shark Week 2024 on Discovery.

Normally, I post "farmshark" sightings but didn't get any pics done this year either.  It seems Hurricane Beryl had other plans for us.  

This was the schedule (click to enlarge).

On Monday July 8th, Houston was hit by the hurricane.  Sigh.  While we didn't lose power for long, the internet and cable TV were longer to come back fully.  Things we had set to record didn't and half the time the guide didn't work so we couldn't set new ones to record each night.  Oh well.  They'll be repeated so we can just keep this listing for future reruns.

I got gifts for us! The plan was to give them in the middle of the week. Again, grand plans, ha. Ocean color gift bags and red tissue paper. Seemed "sharky" to me.

Found a couple of fun gifts for us.  These are "Bento boxes" that I was going to head to the store and fill with some candies, his favorites and mine.  I wanted gummy fish and gummy sharks and even saw some dark chocolate sharks.  But alas, no going to the store to get them on my lunch break.  Well, we can use them later for something fun.  And then what are the other things?  They are shark socks!  They go up your ankle, mouth up, so it looks like a shark is attacking.  No, we won't wear them out in public, ha, but when it's cold this Winter, we'll be able to remember the warm days of Summer (and the hurricane?!? ha).

And we didn't forget about Hobart!

Look at these:

Little shark cat toys!!!  I mean, how perfect is that? Hobart was thrilled.  Notice one is missing?  Pictures of him "attacking the shark" coming soon!

I was a little bummed about missing it, but 2nd Man reminded me of something: next year, shark week will be on our new big TV in our NEW HOUSE!

SHARK WEEK AT THE FARM?

LET'S DO IT!

NEW HOME TEASER EXTERIOR SIDING AND COLORS

Here is a little teaser of the new house...

This is a computer generated image of our actual house plan.  More will be revealed in future posts, we have to make it exciting, ha.  Yes, it will be red and white, like a barn.  We kind of started on the outside and worked our way in, ha.  Those who have followed the blog for a long time know that we always wanted the house to be barn red.  We have our outbuildings that color and it just seemed like a natural to have the house match.

The builder uses Sherwin Williams paint throughout (inside and out) so the fun part has been going to the SW store and looking at a million paint samples.  OK, so not a million but it sure seems like it, ha. 

We pulled these (and one more in white we forgot to put in this picture).  They were the closest to barn red that we imagined.  We know that in these computer pics it will be hard to tell but some were too bright red (we don't want fire engine red) and some had too much purple.  A few we didn't bother with since they were orange or rust tones.  We looked at all of them outside in the full sun because that's how it will be seen.

In the end, we narrowed it down to what they call "Poinsettia" for the red color and "Cotton" for white on the trim, shutters, decorative elements and porch railing.  We get three colors on the exterior without paying extra for paint, and we have something in mind for the third but more on that in a future post.  The front door will be talked about in another post as well because, well, that's exciting too, ha.

Inspiration, image courtesy of wikicommons

The colors are subject to change, let's be honest, the exterior painting is one of the last things done, so we could change our mind before it gets to that point...but not from the red and white, we're set on that.  Photos like the one above have been an inspiration to us for a long time as we planned.

Not our house, yet

Lastly, as you can see on that house in the previous picture, we liked the look of the vertical siding.  We had options brick, stone, regular siding, etc.  In the end we chose a James Hardie board and batten exterior siding, to reflect a barn/farmhouse look, as in the example above.  The siding on the outbuildings is also vertical like this (not board and batten of course) so it will keep things looking deliberate instead of accidental, ha.

Next time, the third color in a special place!

WEEKEND WAS GOOD BUT PAINFUL

This weekend was mowing for sure, it hasn't been done in a couple of weeks (hurricane Beryl) and there is rain in the forecast ALL week.  That means next weekend will be out for mowing.

It was a good day up until the end (see last part of this post for that).

Not my best work, but I got it done!

It was hot and I took several breaks.

The clippings will blow away in the rain and wind this week so I'm not too worried.  Heck in a month or two, I'm not even sure how much I'll be able to mow when construction starts.

A little longer than normal but that's because I had to go over some areas a few times with the mowing deck up and then down just to get through the thick areas.

I decided to clean some things off the porch and move them to the garden shed.  Remember the hoses I got a few months back.  A couple were still on the porch so I grabbed the first one and threw it in the back of the truck.  I grabbed the second one...and felt a searing pain in my hand.

Yep, that's a wasp nest.  A LARGE one.

Multiple stings on my hand.  This was after the initial pain died down.  It was multiple stings (either from one or several).  I decided it was time to call it a day and head home as I wasn't sure how my heart was going to react to the venom.  My rate was up higher than usual.

This was later in the evening.  My knuckles went away, ha!  It was sore but as of this morning it's much better.  Oh and those little *%&^% no longer exist...and I will wear gloves from now on when reaching for things outside.  Wasps, spiders, and scorpions oh my!

Hope you all had a better weekend!  Tune in tomorrow for New House Teaser Tuesday!

GOOD FOOD AND HOBART SUNDAY

 Almost forgot to post for today.  I usually have it ready to go but had the wrong time scheduled.  Today is Sunday, it's hot here, was supposed to rain but so far, none.  Update tomorrow on the farm events of yesterday.

Dinner the other night.  Mixed grains with a side of peas and carrots and topped with a nice fillet of broiled mahi-mahi.  So yummy!  We also had a salad to start.  We eat LOTS of salad now. 

Hobart is sleeping in one of his usual spots, the fuzzy blanket on the couch.  He has several "usual spots" around here and we just adapt to wherever he wants to sleep at the time.  Because...

#notspoiled

OFF TO THE FARM TODAY

With rain in the forecast ALL of next week, next weekend might not be a mowing weekend. Since I didn't do it last weekend "post hurricane", today is most likely the only day I have.

I'm afraid it might even be a bit too wet today but I'll see what I can do.  If I can at least mow the driveway and around the house for now, it will be good.

Hope you all have a good weekend.  More later!

MORE FUN DISH TOWELS

Remember last summer when we posted HERE about 2nd Man getting me some fun BBQ themed dishtowels?

Well check this out:

We went to the same store last week that he found the others at an found these, new for this year!  Same style (terrycloth back/large sized) and these say "Fired Up!". I don't mind being fired up when grilling, ha.

Some more fun towels!!

 

We have shown this before but for new readers, we'll post these pics.  Where do you keep these finds?  We believe everything should have its place and the "place for these" is this...it was my Mom's and now it's at the farm, sitting under a window in the kitchen. I can't remember what she kept in it, but we use it in the kitchen at the farm to store all the dish towels we have so they are in one place.

The best part (besides storage) is...

...it doubles as a bench!

It's made of solid wood (not particle board), hand painted, and has a tight seal when it closes.  Since we aren't there 24/7 to keep an eye on things, we keep some cookbooks stacked on top so that we are sure no mice will be able to sneak in.  It's been a few years and no issues at all.

Since we'll be packing stuff up, soon we'll get them all out and take inventory.  There are also tea towels and dishtowels that both of my grandmothers made and embroidered little sayings on them.  Will have to share pictures!  The new house will have PLENTY of drawers for towels and such so that means we'll have to figure out where it's going to end up!  I'm thinking on the covered back porch by the door...a place to stop and sit to take off shoes or something.