Garden and Gun

A fun new Southern magazine keeps arriving at our doorstep every time Wife's parents arrive for a visit. It's called Garden and Gun. Check out their website. While you're there, take a look at the article about great Southern towns. Be sure to check out the runner-up for the Best Equestrian Town.

Jeeps

About a week and a half ago, we arrived home to find a couple of college-age fellows working on a couple of forties era jeeps in the parking area across from the B & B. It turns out they restored these jeeps that were in very poor condition and they are now on a trip driving cross-country to California. One of the jeeps happened to break down here and they stayed overnight to repair it. Check out their blog, Dueling Flatfenders, at http://willystrip.wordpress.com/

Peppers and Estate Sales

We have five different types of pepper plants in our garden. Since many of the peppers are ripe, there is some homemade salsa in our future.


We stumbled upon an estate sale in another old Victorian house today as we were walking the pups. We found this rocker for $45. It is similar in style to our dining room chairs. A lucky find.

The Serpent

Look closely at the edge of the stone foundation. Yes, that is a snake. We think is it a rat snake, but we're not sure. It seems that the snake made its home under the front porch and decided to slither out and view the world after Wife did a little gardening next to the porch. Ick.

Yard cats

These are a couple of the cats that hang around in our yard and the adjoining yards. They were lounging together in our backyard this morning.

Painting Prep Work

It's been a while since we've had any renovation pictures to post on the blog. We've finally gotten around to finishing the painting in the living room. All of the trim has been scraped, sanded, caulked, and primed. Several coats of finish paint is all that's left to do. The front door trim and small stained glass window trim have also been prepped for painting.

Here are some pictures of the living room and some from the front porch.

Aha!

We have been wondering why we aren't getting many bird at the feeder. Now we know why.

Beasties

The weather has been hot and humid for the past several days, so it was time to get out Savannah's pool. She likes to lounge in the water especially after long walks. A real Esther Williams. Finn is not, however, a swimmer. He prefers to drink from the pool like it's a giant water bowl. But not a single paw goes in.

Scout seems to have an affinity for the WW2 books. She got behind the books one evening on her own.

These are two of the six (at least) cats that live in our yard and the adjoining backyards.

June 2008

We finally got part of the back of the house cleaned up today. We put in some new plants and used the old brick to pave a spot for the hose reel. This looks much better than the pile of junk that was there.



Scout lounging on the rocker.....

Before and After Vol. I

Below are before and after shots of three of the upstairs rooms. The "before" photos were taken prior to buying the house. They show the tenant's mess in all of its glory. If we had smellavision you could also enjoy a comparison of before and after odors. The photos are of the small guest bedroom, upstairs guest bath and the hallway.

Sheepdog Trials

We went to the sheepdog trials last weekend. Some of the shepherds were great, others struggled to get the sheep herded. But, all were far better dog trainers than either of us.

Local History

We live a short walk away from Royal Spring and the birthplace of bourbon.

Dining Room

We finished painting the dining room and removed all of the boxes, painting supplies, and other clutter that was filling the room. We've also setup the rug, table, and other furniture that we brought back from Nora's parents' house.

Bzzzzzzzzzz

We have an old rotten tree in the backyard that needs to be cut down. We held off on doing this last summer since the fellow who would have cut the tree found a bee colony in the tree. It was very windy here last night and one of the rotten parts of the trunk blew down. The colony of honey bees was in a part of the fallen trunk. We are making arrangements for a beekeeper to come and get them.

Party Deck

With the recent warm weather we've been able to grill and eat outside.

Fashion Crisis

The fashion police have issued a warrant for Eric. He better scurry back up north where they let people wear stuff like this.

Backpack

The pups got something new this weekend....a backpack.

Warm Weather - Yard Work

The weather was really nice this past weekend so we got outside and did some much needed yard work. We added some lattice to the sides of the porch, planted a bunch of flowers, and started landscaping the west side of the house with some brick and gravel around the HVAC units. The seeded grass is starting to grow on both sides of the house.

New Exercise Program

Having watched every episode of the Dog Whisperer over the last few weeks, we decided to take the dogs out to skate like Cesar Millan. We found that there is a park less than a mile from the house that has a long, flat walking path next to the creek. The dogs love to run next to us or tow us behind them. After a half hour of this, they are ready for naps and we are slightly more fit.

Painting - Stairs Part 2

Here are some pictures of the ongoing work being done on the stairs. The wooden balusters are filthy and need to be cleaned before receiving two coats of trim paint.