Mouth of Wilson

There must be a story as to how Mouth of Wilson got its name.  I'm picturing Woodrow Wilson in search of a dentist?  Is there a creek named Wilson which flows down into a delta at the Virginia/NC/Tennessee border?  At any rate,  I spent the weekend there with 3 of my 5 sisters.  It is our 2nd group visit at the mountain log cabin which belongs to the youngest sister.  (55) She flew in from England (!) where her husband is stationed in the AF.  Her name is Jack...and Jill flew in from Massachusetts (near our home town,) and Joy came from Lynchburg.  I'm Joggerella,  but I noticed they are calling me Joannie now:  pronounced Jo Ann EE.  It was a 6 hour drive for me...I had a Mazda rental car,  my old van can't take the Blue Ridge Mountains and Lover's Leap!

I should have pictures!  Drat!  I hate being a photo-luddite!  The highlight of the trip is a mountain bike ride on the Virginia Creeper Trail.  You drive an hour from Jacky's to the town of Damascus, Va...right smack dab next to Tennessee.  There you rent bikes and helmets and take a shuttle bus almost back from whence you came!  Then they let you go and you hop on your bike and ride for a few hours down the mountain on a trail where the Virginia Creeper Train used to chug-a-long.  17 miles.  It was too cold this time and threatening rain,  so I decided not to bike.  When we went in Oct. '06 (our mother's 89th birthday, it was~) the temperature was mid-40's and a beautiful sunny day.  The colors had peaked,  but there was still lots of pretty fall scenery.  I froze the whole ride.  I also go on an exercise bike alot,  so I just couldn't dilly-dally down the mountain like the sisters did.  I finished an hour before them and basked in the sunshine at the bottom.  They were annoyed and told me I won.  I promised that this time I would behave...but it was near freezing at the mountain top (!) and all three told me later I made the right decision.

So I spent 3 hours walking the town, eating at the Dairy King,  and poking my nose in the one antique shop.  It was so typical of Virginia country shops...and pricier than I am.  I could have looked in 10 minutes but I stretched it out to 15.  Damascus will probably prosper as a result of the Bike trail,  it is also on the Appalachian trail...but it ain't there yet!  The people were all sweet and probably a bit hill-billie,  but definitely not jaded yet by "tourists."  

Back at Jacky's we ate extremely well...and I had fun hiking her mountainside,  alone and with my sister Jill.  Some of the highlights were realizing it was a big black angus bull on the other side of the fence...(a fence which didn't look that substantial,)  with his look-alike offspring prancing around...so fresh!  We later saw many deer on the next hillside...both the deer and the cattle stopped whatever they were doing to stare at us as we chattered along.  Then we saw two big white geese which were really anticipating our arrival.  Jill refused to go any further as in our hometown I think Geese are considered very good watch dogs.  Our maiden name is "Wackerbarth," and these geese sounded as if they were saying...."wawawawawa...lets get these wackerbarth girls....wawawawaw!"  We also saw a baby red fox.

We were talking a bit about rabid foxes and the explosion of coyotes in Virginia and it turned out it we should have been worried!  The next day a neighbor shot into a group of four of them which were whirling around a tree right in his yard!  It turned out his cat was up the tree!  He managed to kill one,  he wasn't sure until then if they were fox or coyote,  but coyote they were!  Remind me not to be too nonchalant when I go there next time.

We ended the visit with a wonderful Easter Brunch at a Victorian Bed and Breakfast in Independence.  It was my third visit and it didn't disappoint!  I wish I was there now!  The people are so nice and so is the food.  Delicious...not like this mother makes!  A perfect ending to a wonderful Easter weekend!

Busy is as busy does!

I can't believe almost a month has passed since last I wrote on my Blog.  So,  I am back...writing...but no pictures today.  I have to figure out which charger....of our home's hundred or so lying around.... charges up my camera so that I can be a good Blogger picture taker like all the other's out there in Blog-land!  If you do want to see some pictures my "real" house is now on the market!  You can see it on www.realtor.com if you type in the zip code 23185 and the price: $545,000.  It is 103 Montague Circle.  The pictures definitely do the house justice...the agent should be a Blog-woman!  I don't look at it very often because it makes me feel funny...  Anyway,  it is for sale now and so far the market is just as bad as everyone says it is!  I can't say I don't care,  but it is nice to have the house pretty and sparkly!!!  And,  I guess it is a blessing that we have had rain rain rain for weeks now!  Just look!  All the pictures were on a dark and gloomy day.....and the shed looks cuter and less forlorn now:  I put some lattice on either side,  a couple of finials,  shelf brackets and planted some bushes....so now its:  La de da!  Oh,  and I moved the cupola off of the smaller shed.  It is too small for this shed,  but it looks better than before.  I will take a few shots of it when my camera comes around.

Spring in My Booth

Thinking of Springtime makes me think of white furniture and lots of lacy even silly fun things to bring in the carefree sunshine!  Here is a picture of an all-white booth I had at the Antique Mall(before I went to an all Black booth for winter!)  I was thinking everything in the picture had sold but I realized that the mirror reflecting the camera flash is a pretty gilded folding 3 panel mirror which is now in my daughter's room in the house about to be for sale.  So...some things do take a while to sell!  Usually the things I like.
Here is another picture of Springtime in my booth where I work.  Its a little bit more crowded than I would like...maybe because sales are slow lately?  You think? It is my middle booth of 5 which I tend as the Garden Booth.  I manage the consignment section for the Mall so I never know for sure what I will have to work with.  My other sections are a Traditional one and the Primitive ~Rustic booth.  That booth is very, very full of country pine furniture which a former dealer is pulling out of her attic and consigning. Nice stuff! I wish things would sell faster for her! (One piece she consigned to me is now a display piece at a shop Southern Living calls one of the 50 Best in the South:  Wharf Hill in Smithfield, Va.)  My own taste tends towards Frenchy Frou Frou and English Country style mixed with inherited Virginia ~which I don't think sells very well in my mall so I don't have to much of it.  (Actually,  Virginia things do sell...but I usually keep them.) 

I just realized I worked all day at WAM and escaped without buying one thing!!!  And...I had some nice consignments come in...small things...so my back isn't aching tonight.  After so little sleep Monday night I was a bit sluggish ...it was awful!   I decided I needed a daughter fix so I texted Jojo and asked R U BZY?  DIN DIN? and she is picking me up at 8:00 to go eat at Aromas and walk Duke of Gloucester Street in Colonial Williamsburg!   I am the lucky one!!!

Almost on the market!

Passed a step today in getting my "real" house on the market.  Phew!  It was set up as a day for an appraiser and an inspector~paid for by the RE Agent.  I thought it was a good idea at first,  but it turned out to be incredibly stressful getting ready and I still have to do a turbo-clean next week to list it!  That isn't easy with 2 yelping little dogs and 3 cats and a c/o hoarding husband who helps in his own (slooowwww) way.  

Here are 2 pictures of the center of my life for the last 15 years or so.  "No matter where I serve my guests it seems they like my kitchen best!"  Frankly,   I'll admit the only time it has ever looked anywhere near this good is when guests are being served!  Whenever my children remember living in this house they will probably think of my sitting in that green and white checked chair...It has always been my chair...whenever I get a chance to sit down!  Its where I always start and end my day...with my ToDo Lists and magazines,  my little Pom Pom Kujo ~ and now with my laptop,  too!  When my youngest, Gavin, was little,  we would get up at one of those ungodly hours and he would fall asleep on the floor in front of me until the clock with the bird calls twirped...he still doesn't like the sound of the 6 O'Clock bird...I have to go look and see what it is:  ahh...the house wren.  A pretty song!

I didn't make it to bed until 4 in the morning last night and was up by 7 to paint the back hall and down bathroom floors while the household  was still sleeping.  It has rained steadily for what seems like 40 days and 40 nights (6 in reality) and I wanted to get the sills repainted out front.  Running out the door I tripped and dropped some paint on the front steps...large brick ones which we just had repointed...and had to yell for Fax to get outa bed right away (I think he had just gotten in!) and clean up after me!  I was up on the ladder when suddenly a man drives up and starts taking my picture!  He then walks up and says: "Don't usually see people painting in the rain!  I'm your Inspector!"  I told him I wanted it to look nice for the appraiser...and wasn't he early?  (Meanwhile Fax was barefoot on his hands and knees sopping up the bricks)(Doesn't everyone do that on rainy 40 degree mornings?)  Anyway,  the Inspector begged off...maybe next week?  

It turned out I knew the Appraiser.  She showed us a property in the early '90's and then appraised this house a few years later when we bought it.  She was very complimentary and said it was so close to being perfect (that would surprise my Mother!) that we should make sure everything is ready before listing it.  She thought there was no reason why it shouldn't sell right away...if it is priced right...Well...what IS the magic # these days?

I forgot to say that the Electricians showed up,  too...and the floor I painted wasn't dry yet...and after they left we discovered a ceiling fan that didn't work...the pull cord pulled out...but all's well that end's well,  and everything worked out.  I wasn't even very tired today...lack of sleep will probably hit me tomorrow while I'm at work at the Antique Mall. 

I have been too strung out from trying to get this little housie to market and even though the new sinks and faucets are in~there is still much to do!  And time moves like greased lightening!  I don't feel much like writing about it...but,  since I have had requests for pictures I will try to post a few.  I received a new camera for Christmas and am not too adept with it as yet.  But,  surprise,  my oldest son,  Mackey, took some old discs and set them to music...it was a 5 year walk down Memory Lane for me last week when I discovered them...so now I have over 300 pics to chose from....hmmm....which to share?  And,  how do I do this?  I did once before,  I'll try again....Hey...here is something:  My son Mackey.  A somewhat odd pose which is a self portrait he took with my new camera.  He is an artist...and an actor.  In fact,  he appeared last week at The Comedy Store in LA with his Improv Group.  He pronounced it cool.  In real life he is now living the dream he first had as a 5 year old playing Ms PacMan...he is a computer game designer...I will have to ask him again what his official title is out there in LA...but the game is pretty famous if you like war games (means not a  thing to me~much to his chagrin) "Call of Duty."  He looks a bit like a Mime in this picture,doesn't he?  He moved to Lalaland 6 years ago and said to me that he couldn't believe he was moving to LA the week he turned 26.  I told him that I had him the week I turned 26.  And,  I'm glad I did!

I tried to post a picture of my daughter,  too,  but it came out like the picture that swallowed my Blog...Ah well....another picture for another day...time to hit the hay!

Scheduling nightmares!

We had a little scheduling excitement this morning.   First a little background:  We had the brick mason,  Tommy, show up from Virginia Beach planning to point up the entire front steps. Unfortunately,  the front steps,  as well as the bottom 3 feet of the house and the stone aggregate patio and sidewalk all are in need of power washing.  I had already signed a contract with Jefftile to do the powerwash and he was waiting for a pleasant weekend.  Tommy couldn't do his work without powerwashing and so Fax told Tommy that Jefftile wouldn't mind and for Tommy to go ahead!  I protested...but I was torn because I really wanted to get the work done! Well,  Jefftile did mind (reached via cellphone,)   but Tommy was already on his way!  So~~Monday found Tommy and 2 cronies outside (42 temp. but sunny) washing away that awful black mold that supposedly was a gift from Mexico.  (Is that how rumors get started?)  Jefftile calmed down and said he would be here on Wednesday with the plumber (Nick) to begin putting back the tile shower.  Tommy was supposed to come back this morning (Tuesday,) to finish the power wash and fix the front steps.  The phone rang early Tuesday morning and it was Nick,  the plumber,  saying he and Jefftile would be coming within the hour instead of Wednesday.  Fax didn't want Tommy and Jefftile to run into eachother (plus there was the logistic problem of the men working inside needing to use the front steps while they were being worked on...) so he made me call Tommy and ask him not to show up today!  Tommy took that pretty well...but sounded confused.  The good news is that Jefftile and Nick were here and are not returning until next week.  Fax called Tommy to apologize for asking him not to make the scene and Tommy and his entourage are coming tomorrow and finishing up this week.  Phew!  First no one shows up and then there is a giant bottleneck at the front door!  And lots of trucks in the driveway!   Speaking of the driveway...the new garage doors are in and they look...new...and now we even have motion sensors so we don't accidentally squash our geriatric cats!

Moving right along,  I completely finished painting all of Mackey's room on Sunday and have only one more coat of trim paint to do in the laundry room.  I think the laundry room looks rather charming.  When it is finished I will post a picture of it.  Oh that reminds me:  the sanded wallpaper paste walls came out great!  I used Benjamin Moore primer and it did feel tacky like there was some paste still adhering to the wall,  but I didn't let the roller lag and it came out flat.  The final coat of Linen White looks fine.   It certainly makes me feel more optimistic about removing the downstairs bathroom wallpaper (and the residue aftermath) later this week!

Well,  so far I am batting 100%!  The brick mason loved the entry hall floor also.  He even reached down to feel it and marveled over it!  He is coming back this week to point up the rather large brick stoop at the front door.  I had never thought of redoing the whole thing but it does make sense....especially since Fax decided he would do it.  (An impossibility.)  It looks like most of the joints need mortar again,  but what an expense!  I feel there isn't much we won't have touched and repaired or painted or whatever in getting this house to market.  

Things seem to finally be coming together.  In fact,  the plumber,  the tiler, the electrician,  garage door installers and installers for 2 other doors and who knows who else are all converging here this week!  My dear, late Father-in-law would have called it a "whole Flotilla!"  Just the thought of it makes me nervous,  but I will be busy painting inside.

It never ceases to amaze me what a difference a fresh coat of paint can make in a room.  I painted my oldest son's room yesterday...basically the same color,  Linen White with Bone trim,  (exciting,  huh?) and it looks so much brighter and warmer.  At least it made me feel like it was worth the effort when I finished and gave myself a (tired) pat on the back.  His room is referred to as the Bonus Room over the garage.  I took one look at where he possibly would be located (near a full bath) and asked the RE Agent if she had a contract with her.  He was such a nightowl that I spent 2 years looking for a house with a bedroom for him far removed from the rest of us!  (It also took that long for our house in No.Va. to sell,  so I saw plenty of houses to help me know what to look for.)  So,  here it is now~practically empty and more tidy than it has been in years....waiting for the next teenager!  I should mention that he is the Lead Programmer for the Computer Game "Call of Duty" and much of the work was done right here at the computer in his room!   He is someone who has followed his dreams since he was 5 years old and hooked on Miss Pacman!

Enough reminiscing...what I want to say is that I had a task ahead of me which I dreaded:  scraping wallpaper paste off the walls!   In an earlier life I spent weeks at a time removing hideous flakes of paper off Victorian hogs hair plaster walls with a razor blade.  (And other methods I don't even want to recall.)  But nothing had prepared me for 1980's wallpaper which "pulls off easily leaving a film for the new layer of wallpaper!"  Well,  what if you don't want wallpaper?  What if you want nothing more than a nice,  smooth,  painted wall???  The film does not come off easily.  In various rooms it didn't come off without lots of wallpaper remover and razor blades (again,) and sand paper.  Its a messy,  horrid~~strenuous job and I still had a laundry room and the downstairs bath room to do!  So I said to myself,  "Self...what are you going to do?  You don't have a week to spend on each of these rooms!!!"  Well!  I decided to grab my electric hand sander and have at!  And it worked!  (At least I think it worked!)  In less than an hour the walls in the laundry room were silky smooth.  Now,  I don 't know if I dare wet them to see if any more paste is left to create havoc...I am thinking that tomorrow I will try some primer and see what happens.  But all I can add is "Phew!  That wasn't even very messy!'  Full "steam" ahead!!!