June 16, 2010
Progress Report
As usual, I'm woefully slow at posting here, but, as previously mentioned, I'm in the midst of getting the family homestead ready to show to prospective buyers. It has been a long haul (about 3 months and counting), but I'm rounding the bend into the homestretch. I promise to post some photos of the place when it's show-ready, but in the meantime, I'll just share one of the backyard from last summer. The leaves are green again and the petunias are in bloom...enjoy!
May 22, 2010
The Purples of May - Irises
I took an extra minute this morning to take a few photos of the lovely irises - purple, yellow, white - that surround the country house. I love May in the Northeast - it's the "purple month" to me - all those glorious florals - lilac, iris, rhodadendron, azalea - emerge and remind us that Spring is about bright, rich colors and renewal. So, while I continue painting at the city house (and I finally chose the color to transform the tired aqua/turquoise kitchen - yes, you guessed it -Benjamin Moore's Berkshire Beige again!), enjoy the flowers blooming in the country that greet me every morning...
May 12, 2010
Just a Musical Note
I was saddened to learn of the passing this weekend of the marvelous singer and actress, Lena Horne, at 92. She was a stunning woman and she was arguably the very first African-American woman to blaze a trail to real show business stardom in an otherwise all-white entertainment business in the U.S. in the mid-20th century.
My dad was a big fan of Ms. Horne's as a singer, so I grew up hearing her voice and seeing her on television appearances in the 1960s, knowing all the while that she was indeed a very special performer. I have a lot to thank my dad for, especially with respect to influencing the musical tastes that were shaped in my childhood and which I still enjoy. I've always been a fan of what I call "Great Girl Singers" and Lena Horne was among the first that I saw on television and heard and truly appreciated.
I'm very sad that we've lost Ms. Horne, but I'm very glad I was introduced to her wonderful talents as a singer and actress as well as an activist for the rights of people of color when I was so young and impressionable. As an homage to the immense talent that she embodied, I've added a tune by Ms. Horne to my playlist here for you to enjoy and to celebrate her long and well-lived life. She will be much missed, but she always will be much admired.
I'm very sad that we've lost Ms. Horne, but I'm very glad I was introduced to her wonderful talents as a singer and actress as well as an activist for the rights of people of color when I was so young and impressionable. As an homage to the immense talent that she embodied, I've added a tune by Ms. Horne to my playlist here for you to enjoy and to celebrate her long and well-lived life. She will be much missed, but she always will be much admired.
May 8, 2010
Adventures in Preparing the Family Home for Sale
Yikes! It has been a month since I last posted. Sorry for the huge gap, but, as I mentioned previously, I've been very busy working on getting the family homestead ready for sale. So far, I've repainted the living room, dining room and open stairway hall (leading to the basement - an original design feature).
Just before I started painting, a very dear friend of many years - a contractor who has built high-end custom country homes for more than 30 years - had a few days between projects just when I needed him, so he came with his son and colleague and took care of several interior challenges and repairs that were just a bit beyond the limits of my capabilities. (I do have a few power tools, but I know better than to tackle things that I haven't done before when there is both a time imperative and the prospect of financial return on the line! When you need first-rate quality, call a first-rate contractor!)
Here's a peek at the painting work in the living room, featuring the newly repainted walls and tongue-and-groove paneling.
The paneling, which is prevalent in these three areas of the house, was original and had been a pickled natural redwood, so it had a pale beige tone. It held up well, but after 50 years, there's just no easy way to make it look fresh, clean and crisp, so I made the executive decision to paint it. That's the sad news, but the good news is that it looks great in its new coat of Benjamin Moore's Berkshire Beige, which is the color I also used on all the window trim and baseboards. I couldn't be more pleased with the paneling here in the living room, dining room and stairway hall - it is just what the space and these paneled walls needed to look bright and new again, and the color is the perfect complement to the wall color, Moore's "Clay Beige," which I actually chose to complement the trim, not the other way around! The spaces sparkle again and that's what they need to do to make the house easy to sell.
I'm not that worried since it's a great house in a great neighborhood (location, location, location!) and I already have interest from potential buyers, but spiffing a house's appearance up as much as possible always helps maximize the sale price. Repainting tired rooms in soothing, neutral tones is a very cost effective thing to do yourself whenever you can to prepare a house for sale. Can you tell that, among other things, I've been a realtor?...lol. I've been in some pretty sad looking houses that people have put on the market in my realtor days, so, needless to say my house will sparkle in every way possible before anyone is allowed in the door to see it!
One of the other improvements that I'm making is to replace some very dated appliances. Fortunately, I stumbled upon an incredible sale last week, so I purchased a double electric wall oven to replace the old one (in that oh-so-fun chocolate brown finish that was so popular in the 1960s) - and the best part was that I got the new ovens at HALF PRICE! That was such a terrific coup, but the only trade-off is that they won't be delivered (and installed) for another month. Oh, well...it'll be well worth the wait. Then, yesterday, I went to see a stainless steel refrigerator that a local dealer had for half the usual cost of such a popular item - another score! I happened to see the dealer's listing for this fridge on Craigslist two days ago and I've done business with them in the past, so I knew they were reputable. Needless to say, I zoomed over to their showroom and bought it on the spot yesterday.
They'll bring it next week, will take away the old one (yay!) - also in that lovely chocolate brown - and even will replace a switch on the washer I bought from them 20 years ago that was broken when I moved it back here five years ago. (I haven't used the washer more than 7 years since my subsequent houses already had washers, so this one, while 20 years old and a front-loader, still has plenty of life left when I move it to my next home, or sell it to a friend who is in need of one, along with the dryer - both are in great shape.)
I won't bore you with the gorey details of removing a 500-gallon underground fuel oil tank (unused for several years) and will let the photo below illustrate, but that was one of my home improvement adventures during the past week. Two young guys and one small backhoe made relatively short work of getting the tank out of the ground (a few hours and out it came), but it left me with some regrading and remedial drainage work to do next to the foundation of the house. Not unexpected, but not exactly the most fun job on the planet. Still, a load of mulch for the planter, a layer of lanscape fabric and some nice gravel for the drainage bed between it and the house should remedy that situation.
So, as you can see, I have been going nonstop here at the homestead, but not so much that I haven't enjoyed seeing the arrival of Spring unfold over the past month. The forsythias were glorious and the lilacs and lily of the valley are now in bloom in the country, and I'm eagerly awaiting the emergence of the irises that surround the east side of that house. All things considered, life right now is pretty good.
Cheers!
Just before I started painting, a very dear friend of many years - a contractor who has built high-end custom country homes for more than 30 years - had a few days between projects just when I needed him, so he came with his son and colleague and took care of several interior challenges and repairs that were just a bit beyond the limits of my capabilities. (I do have a few power tools, but I know better than to tackle things that I haven't done before when there is both a time imperative and the prospect of financial return on the line! When you need first-rate quality, call a first-rate contractor!)
Here's a peek at the painting work in the living room, featuring the newly repainted walls and tongue-and-groove paneling.
The paneling, which is prevalent in these three areas of the house, was original and had been a pickled natural redwood, so it had a pale beige tone. It held up well, but after 50 years, there's just no easy way to make it look fresh, clean and crisp, so I made the executive decision to paint it. That's the sad news, but the good news is that it looks great in its new coat of Benjamin Moore's Berkshire Beige, which is the color I also used on all the window trim and baseboards. I couldn't be more pleased with the paneling here in the living room, dining room and stairway hall - it is just what the space and these paneled walls needed to look bright and new again, and the color is the perfect complement to the wall color, Moore's "Clay Beige," which I actually chose to complement the trim, not the other way around! The spaces sparkle again and that's what they need to do to make the house easy to sell.
I'm not that worried since it's a great house in a great neighborhood (location, location, location!) and I already have interest from potential buyers, but spiffing a house's appearance up as much as possible always helps maximize the sale price. Repainting tired rooms in soothing, neutral tones is a very cost effective thing to do yourself whenever you can to prepare a house for sale. Can you tell that, among other things, I've been a realtor?...lol. I've been in some pretty sad looking houses that people have put on the market in my realtor days, so, needless to say my house will sparkle in every way possible before anyone is allowed in the door to see it!
One of the other improvements that I'm making is to replace some very dated appliances. Fortunately, I stumbled upon an incredible sale last week, so I purchased a double electric wall oven to replace the old one (in that oh-so-fun chocolate brown finish that was so popular in the 1960s) - and the best part was that I got the new ovens at HALF PRICE! That was such a terrific coup, but the only trade-off is that they won't be delivered (and installed) for another month. Oh, well...it'll be well worth the wait. Then, yesterday, I went to see a stainless steel refrigerator that a local dealer had for half the usual cost of such a popular item - another score! I happened to see the dealer's listing for this fridge on Craigslist two days ago and I've done business with them in the past, so I knew they were reputable. Needless to say, I zoomed over to their showroom and bought it on the spot yesterday.
They'll bring it next week, will take away the old one (yay!) - also in that lovely chocolate brown - and even will replace a switch on the washer I bought from them 20 years ago that was broken when I moved it back here five years ago. (I haven't used the washer more than 7 years since my subsequent houses already had washers, so this one, while 20 years old and a front-loader, still has plenty of life left when I move it to my next home, or sell it to a friend who is in need of one, along with the dryer - both are in great shape.)
I won't bore you with the gorey details of removing a 500-gallon underground fuel oil tank (unused for several years) and will let the photo below illustrate, but that was one of my home improvement adventures during the past week. Two young guys and one small backhoe made relatively short work of getting the tank out of the ground (a few hours and out it came), but it left me with some regrading and remedial drainage work to do next to the foundation of the house. Not unexpected, but not exactly the most fun job on the planet. Still, a load of mulch for the planter, a layer of lanscape fabric and some nice gravel for the drainage bed between it and the house should remedy that situation.
So, as you can see, I have been going nonstop here at the homestead, but not so much that I haven't enjoyed seeing the arrival of Spring unfold over the past month. The forsythias were glorious and the lilacs and lily of the valley are now in bloom in the country, and I'm eagerly awaiting the emergence of the irises that surround the east side of that house. All things considered, life right now is pretty good.
Cheers!
April 6, 2010
A new home...for a while
By popular demand, I'm posting a shot of the country house to which I've moved temporarily. It's a wonderful place owned by a dear friend who has lived out of state for more than a decade now. I remember walking around it when she was having it built 20 years ago and marveling at its post-and-beam construction.
It's a passive solar design and stays quite toasty most days (when toasty is desirable) and with just two bedrooms and two baths, it is the perfect size for me for now.
This is a view to the west. The doorway you see isn't the front entry but is the den/bedroom on the first floor. The front entry is around to the right in this photo, on the north side of the house. The master bedroom and bath are in the loft on the second floor, and its tall double windows are seen above the double windows over the kitchen sink, to the left of the den door, in this shot. It has a wonderful open plan with living/dining and kitchen occupying most of the first floor, along with the aforementioned den and adjacent full bath, closets and stairway to the loft and basement. The windows on the left side of the building in this image frame the view to the south that I posted last time.
Downsizing from four beds/three baths was the plan and this is a wonderful transitional home to give me a good sense of what I will look for later in the year as I plan to relocate permanently to a warmer climate.
Yes, folks, the time has come for this born-and-bred Yankee to follow the sun to a land with very little snow. The plan is to head eventually to South Carolina permanently before the year ends.
Why choose South Carolina (vs some other state)? Several reasons, actually, as I find it offers a number of lifestyle options that I have craved for quite a long time. First, I have several friends and acquaintances of many years who either have moved permanently or who spend winters there, so I will arrive with something of a social network well started, if not firmly in place. Second, I am, and have been since childhood when I first began to ride, a horse person - it's in my DNA - and the world of horses and horse sports are an intrinsic part of the culture where I'm headed. I don't plan to own horses again, but I need to be around them and have them be an important part of any community where I live. Third, as I approach my later years, the cost of living in the Northeast is simply becoming too onerous for me. Fourth, I really am not a fan of snow. I've grown up with it as an unavoidable component of my environment, but those aspects of it that I found entertaining as a child, are no longer appealing. It's heavy, it's obstructive, it can be dangerous on roads and walkways, and most of all - it's just plain cold. I want to enjoy my life, not be a slave to it, so I have resolved to go where the cost to simply exist is not so confining as it has become here and where the weather doesn't torture me with cold and snow. Finally, the South appeals to me. It has a wonderful, genteel pace and a fascinating history. Quite honestly, I can make a home for myself just about anywhere, so I'm choosing the South.
Sure there are aspects relocating to the South that might prove challenging for a dyed-in-the-wool Yankee, but as with living the Northeast, there are always concessions to be made wherever one chooses to live. That's a given, but I've reached a point in my life when it's well worth it to me to trade off for good the bitter cold and shoveling ungodly amounts of snow for a much hotter summer, but a much more temperate winter. It's pretty much that simple, so I hope to be whistlin' "Dixie" with a smile before the year's end.
It's a passive solar design and stays quite toasty most days (when toasty is desirable) and with just two bedrooms and two baths, it is the perfect size for me for now.
Downsizing from four beds/three baths was the plan and this is a wonderful transitional home to give me a good sense of what I will look for later in the year as I plan to relocate permanently to a warmer climate.
Yes, folks, the time has come for this born-and-bred Yankee to follow the sun to a land with very little snow. The plan is to head eventually to South Carolina permanently before the year ends.
Why choose South Carolina (vs some other state)? Several reasons, actually, as I find it offers a number of lifestyle options that I have craved for quite a long time. First, I have several friends and acquaintances of many years who either have moved permanently or who spend winters there, so I will arrive with something of a social network well started, if not firmly in place. Second, I am, and have been since childhood when I first began to ride, a horse person - it's in my DNA - and the world of horses and horse sports are an intrinsic part of the culture where I'm headed. I don't plan to own horses again, but I need to be around them and have them be an important part of any community where I live. Third, as I approach my later years, the cost of living in the Northeast is simply becoming too onerous for me. Fourth, I really am not a fan of snow. I've grown up with it as an unavoidable component of my environment, but those aspects of it that I found entertaining as a child, are no longer appealing. It's heavy, it's obstructive, it can be dangerous on roads and walkways, and most of all - it's just plain cold. I want to enjoy my life, not be a slave to it, so I have resolved to go where the cost to simply exist is not so confining as it has become here and where the weather doesn't torture me with cold and snow. Finally, the South appeals to me. It has a wonderful, genteel pace and a fascinating history. Quite honestly, I can make a home for myself just about anywhere, so I'm choosing the South.
Sure there are aspects relocating to the South that might prove challenging for a dyed-in-the-wool Yankee, but as with living the Northeast, there are always concessions to be made wherever one chooses to live. That's a given, but I've reached a point in my life when it's well worth it to me to trade off for good the bitter cold and shoveling ungodly amounts of snow for a much hotter summer, but a much more temperate winter. It's pretty much that simple, so I hope to be whistlin' "Dixie" with a smile before the year's end.
March 28, 2010
Happy Spring!
Just a quick update mid-move. It's going fairly well. Lots to do at the family homestead and lots to do at the new digs. For your enjoyment, here's a view of my view at the new home (temporarily) of Country Contemporary:
It's a view to the south from the house...rolling hills, fenced paddocks...a landscape that I truly love.
It's a bit ironic, I think, that I've been moving from a contemporary (well, mid-century modern) home in the city to a contemporary home in the country, literally. It really wasn't my thinking when I named the blog, which was more an attempt to characterize my sense that I was, in fact, a "city-gone-country-gone-back-to-the-city" girl. But, Fate has a funny way of laughing at you, or at least bringing you back where you belong, so I'm not resisting it in any way.
Soon, the trees and shrubs will be budding with blooms. I'm looking forward to that and to the warmer temperatures that teased us into thinking they were here to stay a week or so ago. They'll be back by the end of the week, which is a huge relief, and the birds are telling us it's time!
Speaking of Spring, and birds and sweet things of the season, Mary over at the Litte Red House blog is having the perfect little giveaway to celebrate her 700 followers. We 10 here at Country Contemporary are probably her followers, too, but just in case you haven't been there, or haven't been there lately, check out her offer which continues until March 31. Hey, you never know!
It's a view to the south from the house...rolling hills, fenced paddocks...a landscape that I truly love.
It's a bit ironic, I think, that I've been moving from a contemporary (well, mid-century modern) home in the city to a contemporary home in the country, literally. It really wasn't my thinking when I named the blog, which was more an attempt to characterize my sense that I was, in fact, a "city-gone-country-gone-back-to-the-city" girl. But, Fate has a funny way of laughing at you, or at least bringing you back where you belong, so I'm not resisting it in any way.
Soon, the trees and shrubs will be budding with blooms. I'm looking forward to that and to the warmer temperatures that teased us into thinking they were here to stay a week or so ago. They'll be back by the end of the week, which is a huge relief, and the birds are telling us it's time!
Speaking of Spring, and birds and sweet things of the season, Mary over at the Litte Red House blog is having the perfect little giveaway to celebrate her 700 followers. We 10 here at Country Contemporary are probably her followers, too, but just in case you haven't been there, or haven't been there lately, check out her offer which continues until March 31. Hey, you never know!
March 10, 2010
Movin' On
It has been a busy few weeks, with the promise of more nonstop fun in moving in the next month or so as I gradually pick up and pack up for my relocation back to the country. I've been moving boxes, the contents of my kitchen cupboards, linens and some clothing in anticipation of moving some furniture. The items not going to the country house eventually are going into storage in anticipation of another move later, so this is only the beginning.
Once I get myself and the kitties out of the city house, I'll be spending quite a bit of time getting it ready for sale. There's a lot to do between the move and the preparations, so you'll forgive me if my posts are brief and photos, well, I'll try, but make no promises about posting them.
I'll have lots to tell when the dust settles, but it will be a while, I suspect. Please be patient. As soon as I can (and when I need a break from the fray), I'll share as much interesting info and images as I can amid the chaos of the start of this next phase of my adventures in life.
Until then, as those annoying voice mail messages advise us, "please enjoy the music." I'll be back to report from the front as soon as I'm able.
Once I get myself and the kitties out of the city house, I'll be spending quite a bit of time getting it ready for sale. There's a lot to do between the move and the preparations, so you'll forgive me if my posts are brief and photos, well, I'll try, but make no promises about posting them.
I'll have lots to tell when the dust settles, but it will be a while, I suspect. Please be patient. As soon as I can (and when I need a break from the fray), I'll share as much interesting info and images as I can amid the chaos of the start of this next phase of my adventures in life.
Until then, as those annoying voice mail messages advise us, "please enjoy the music." I'll be back to report from the front as soon as I'm able.
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