First Fall

I'm winding down on the first year in my cottage.

My own home,
my oasis,
my shelter,
my blissful place,
colorful,
old but new,
peaceful,
happy,
secure,
mine.

What an incredible year it has been, from stringing up the first Christmas lights to watching the leaves fall off the maple tree.

And the dogwoods, the dogwoods, sweet Goddess, the exquisite dogwoods.

I shook heavy wet snow off the branches,
feeling like a little girl dancing in the snow showers.

I marveled at the huge white blossoms,
stars of velvet outside my windows.

I tenderly watered all through the hot summer,
soaking their feet,
creating a little wetland oasis.

I sat on my rocker on the front porch,
sheltered by green,
breathing the lacy softness
into my body,
peaceful.

And now, the beginning of the long rest,
storing energy,
making dreams for the
winter's memory.

Wistful,
sad,
yearning
promises of
more
to come,
colorful fantasies,
otherworldly,
hints of
fairyland.

Peace

House Firsts - May

First time I trimmed the Boxwood hedges.
Peace

Short dogs, tall gate

Our new, gorgeous gate by Frank Whaley of Whaley Construction.

This spring I'll see if I can get some ivy to grow on the fence section and eventually it will weather to a silver color but right now it's wonderful.  I really like the added privacy it lends to the back yard, my secret garden.

The boys are romping in the back yard now, racing around, barking and chewing on each other.  I think they exist to make me smile.

Peace to you on this sunny day.

First Day of 2012

And a fine day it was, unseasonably warm, incredibly sunny, fragrant with lingering wood smoke and the mountain defining smell of pine.  We slept in and went to the park later to play frisbee.  The boys looked pretty hot after clearing the ball field of geese and chasing the frisbees so I let them cool off in the duck pond and then we headed over to the dog park for some social time - also known as sniff butt time.

With the help of a great and talented guy I've gotten a lot of the more complicated projects done around the house.  The garage is almost ready for two cars and looks pretty damn neat and tidy. Locks work, curtain rods are ready for curtains, shelves are up and so is the really large mirror that takes up most of one dining room wall.  The potted Turkish Fir has been moved back outside.  We also have a really great door knocker.  It's a cast piece by Michael Healy.  I love people who do fine metalwork, this is truly a nice piece.

What an incredible year!

This time last year I was hanging on.  I was just starting to make friends.  The weather was awful, cold and wet and gloomy, it didn't seem like California.  I wasn't really sure what I wanted.  I had an idea forming, a wish for how things might be, and yet, no, I didn't really know what I wanted.

Do I now? Maybe, maybe not.  It's true that the more you know the more you realize how little you know.

So what do I know now?

I know that having my very own space is gratifying and satisfying way down deep in my heart.

I know that each person has the capacity to love but that each person loves in their own way.  Learning how our styles of love fit together is half the fun, sometimes frustrating, sometimes fabulous, always a learning process.

I know that rushing anything is a mistake, good things really do take time.

I know that keeping an essential vision of what we need and want is crucial to actually finding it.

I know that good friends are few and far between but that those few fill our hearts to overflowing and they are enough.

I know that we often do good things for people not because they are good but because we are.

I also know that a tiger doesn't change it's stripes and has big teeth and is often hungry.

I know that watching my children become adults is pretty freaking fabulous.

I know that pounding on a piece of metal makes me happy and a little sore when I miss.

I know that each day is a gift.

I know that I am enough, no matter what.

My heart, my words, my thoughts go with you.

Peace

Joyful!

It hardly gets any better than this.  Every day I love my house a little more.  Every day, every box unloaded, every small detail attended to make the rooms more beautiful, more comfortable, more cozy and welcoming.

A friend was teasing me about not having Christmas lights up, hopefully those will still happen.  I'm playing elf in my workshop to get some last minute things done and the lighting elf hasn't made an appearance, oh well.  I do have to go to the hardware store today, maybe I can get some light to dress up the boxwood on the front porch.  And maybe hang some icicle lights around the porch soffits and drag the potted tree up on the dining room porch and light that too, and get a little Christmas tree for inside...

It's rather like when people ask me how I get my ideas for jewelry.  It's not getting ideas, it's having the hours in the day to make the things floating around in my head.  It's not how to decorate, it's having enough hours to actually do what I'd like to do.

I'm so excited about my new housemate!

This little piece is going to a great girl for her birthday.  I used 20 gauge fine silver for the moon, it's a pretty piece.

Peace to you and yours.

Some say...

No, no, no, don't paint the wood.  I tend to be a bit heretical about that, figuring that eventually things have to change. This wood was cheap pine, nothing really special even 60 years ago when it was installed.

From this:

To this:

I liked the wood, loved the texture of the old boards with their knots and grooves but hated the dark and gloomy feel of the rooms.

So, Chris Sgambati and his painting crew came in and transformed it into a light filled space, airy and bright.  At my request they filled the million little nail holes but didn't seal the wood so the knots may still bleed through.  There are two coats of paint,  under the white is a rich coffee creamer base, which will peek through with a little hand sanding. It looks like a seaside cottage hidden in the mountains.  I'm completely happy with it now.

My long time house sitter is moving in with me this weekend, this will be her space.  I'm excited to have a young one around again. The boys will be ecstatic having her here.

Peace

Moving Monday

It's all gonna be here today.

I put my new drill to the test and managed to hang this glorious art piece by Michael Larson.  He's a fellow coop member at the Art Works Gallery and makes these fabulous chimes, plus smaller ones and some amazing garden art, metal and glass.  The metal on this one is reclaimed auto springs and a bike chain is wielded on to hold the glass.

This is the view out the door on my back porch now.

The property beyond the fence is state owned, part of the Empire Mine.

Well, time to get going, the floor is vacuumed and cleaned, ready for furniture.  It's hard to remember to breathe.

Peace

Ahhhhhh...

I'm pretty sure I'm winning.  Just tonight I got my internet and phone connected, lots of things are moved in already and the big stuff will be here tomorrow.

I'm in love with my Dacor gas range, which so far has produced pancakes on it's griddle and a couple of outstanding if simple meals.

I'm not really sure if I want the extent of my fiestaware addiction out on display but what the heck.  Of course, there's lots more still in boxes and a couple of new colors I don't have yet, marigold?

I think every home owner needs one of these, a sexy little cordless Dewalt drill.  It's posing on the "absolute noir" kitchen countertop, which has sparkles.

And here are the very contented pups, they are loving having their own yard.

Peace

New house

I can hardly stay away from the new house.  It's being painted right now, the warm gold walls perfectly complementing the golden floors.

I spent a night there this weekend and woke to sunlight pouring into the three kitchen windows facing the Empire Mine State Park.  It's glorious.

There will be lots of pics soon but right now I'm enjoying every minute of a very short visit from my children.  We've been having a great time.

My son and me at our Thanksgiving feast on Friday.

Peace

Done!

All done, got the keys!

I can't believe it.  I've got my own home.

Home, home, home...

Peace

Holding my breath...

I think that today the house will be mine.  Everything is signed, funded and processed, we just need that magic button marked "Recorded" to be pushed and I can go get the keys.

If you listen well you'll hear me squealing.

Here's a wonderful little Pelton wheel I saw in Sutter Creek last weekend.

I think it would go beautifully in my new backyard, unfortunately the generator attached to it is VW sized.

And a new pair of earrings, the bars are forged fine silver, with a beautiful cultured freshwater pearl.

Peace to you and yours this weekend of Thanksgiving.

Getting closer...

It's all coming down to the end.  My children are coming into town next week and the closing is scheduled for the Monday after Thanksgiving but may happen sooner.  They leave Tuesday and then I will have five days to stuff things into boxes for moving day on December 5th.

OMGosh! In between I'll be having the inside painted and a gate installed on the back of the house.  My studio is in major production mode to keep up with the Holiday rush.  My social life is rich and quite happily distracting.

No time to dream.  Well, maybe a little, after all, decorating for the Holidays in my own house is pretty exciting.

Peace

Pinch me...

It's almost too good to be true.  I LOVE this house, it's everything I want and need.  I got to spend a couple of hours there today while the inspections went on and my family and friends stopped in to check it out.  Being there just makes me happy, it's got that sense of serenity that I was hoping for.

The entry and on into the living room, all new wood floors.

Dining room and the glorious kitchen.

The dining room has a nice sliding door out to the peaceful side yard, with a fountain splashing.  The kitchen is in the back of the house with windows looking out at a huge maple tree and on out into the state owned Empire Mine property.

The downstairs bedroom, mine.

The upstairs, still old knotty pine, which we will paint, it will look like a seaside cottage.

And the outside back and side.

It's going to be really hard to be patient.

Happy Day!

Mi Casa

One cozy cottage nestled amidst flowering dogwood trees and big pines.

I can't believe it's going to be mine, sometimes you can be so happy you cry.

Peaceful dreams.