The Journal - Ryan and Leah's New House

In an attempt to over-winter my ivy and spikes, which grew quite well this summer on the front porch, I decided to transplant them indoors until the spring, after the last chance of frost has passed.

I have no idea whether or not this will work...just figured I'd give it a try. I didn't have the heart to watch them face certain death under blankets of snow. If they survive, that's less ivy and spikes I'll have to buy next spring. And I'll start out with mature plants instead of scrawny little scraplings (that's a real word — I just invented it) like I did this year.

Not sure where the dusty miller (in the red pot) fits into this plan, since it's kind of strange having one inside. But it was so huge and hearty, I just couldn't leave it outside to die. The spike on the right (yes, that glob of mush was a spike) had multiplied and was doing great...until about two weeks before I finally got around to transplanting it and bringing it inside. Now I feel a little guilty for waiting so long. Here's hoping it perks back up.

I have to move these down to the basement windows from here in the foyer, because there's a certain someone in our house who likes to munch on the ivy and dig in the dirt just after a thorough watering.

I'll give you a hint: it's not me and it's not Ryan.

So much for ivy cascading off the balcony...

P.S. I've added a couple pictures to this entry from last week, so if you haven't seen it since then, GO BACK.

5:27 p.m. — Thursday, December 8, 2005
The State of Things: The Master Bath

As the year comes to a close, I find myself doing a lot of looking back. As such, I thought it would be nice to make some posts about the current state of things at the end of 2005. One room I've recently neglected to show...?

The master bath.

The color one the walls is Benjamin Moore's version of Behr's "Scotland Road" (don't ask). While I liked this color very much in the sample room on Behr's literature, I'm still not sure about it on our walls at home, though the color seems to match exactly. This color was certainly a departure from the warmer, more classic colors used throughout the house, and I was feeling wonderfully brave when putting it up. But now it seems every time I look at it, two words come to mind: Green Board.

'Nuff said.

We plan to add a one-foot high tile backsplash above the rim of the tub that matches the tile on the floor.

This tile is very difficult to describe. "Um, it looks sort of black but it isn't really and has lots of swirly brown and red and green in it..."

Yeah, sounds LOVELY. ;) But we are very happy with it.

So happy, in fact, that we've decided to tile the bottom of all the walls in the bathroom up to where the tile would stop over the tub. So now, all that's left is choosing tile for the shower...

My brother saw these options and said, "Yeah, that one looks good." As in, "They all look exactly the same!" Maybe we're just overthinking it, or maybe Home Depot and Lowes just have nothing left we're interested in, but this decision has taken us literally MONTHS and we still have nothing to show for it.

I think the problem is that nothing we find comes close to the dream:

Remember these pics from last November? In the back of my mind, I am still in love with this shower, or the IDEA of this shower. And now that we have a floor to match the wall tile to, the hunt has become even harder; the options more scarce.

But it will happen when we least expect it! It always does...

And until then, we are restricted to only using the tub in this room...

Which we most certainly do ;)

The vanity is American Woodmark Gettysburg in Hickory (the same as in the guest bath), the sink-to-be is white-on-white Marblux on special order from Home Depot (also the same as the guest bath), and the tub "apron" (front panel with removable cover) just arrived from Home Depot and is awaiting trimming and installation in the master bedroom a.k.a. workshop.

The last item on this tour is the new "Victorian-esque" vanity light:

(no, the wall is not really this minty...)

It can hold three 60-watt bulbs, which burns permanent spots onto our corneas. Fortunately, this room is lit so well naturally (as are most rooms in the house), that most of the time, we won't need to turn on the light, haha. I'm looking forward to the day when this room is finished.

Can anyone say, "Flat panel over the hot tub...???" ;) We'll see.

4:51 p.m. — Monday, December 12, 2005
The Neighborhood

A few weeks ago, I decided to bring the digital camera along on one of our nightly walks. Here are some of the photos I managed to sneak in before Ryan stole the camera from me and refused to give it back. (Something about "...impolite to take pictures of people's houses with my bright flash after midnight" and "...how would you like it?")

This first house, of course, is ours. This was back when my mums were still in bloom and my funny little home-made autumn wreath was on the front door.

These first two house are typical of houses in our little lake community...lots of capes, lots of ranches, lots of small, charming houses on similarly small lots. But these bottom two houses are springing up all over. The one on the left typifies the faceless McMansions local builders continually squeeze onto tiny lots. The one on the right is deeper than it is wide, and this top-heavy house is being squeezed onto the smallest of lots throughout the neighborhood.

The thing I really don't understand is how quickly these houses are gobbled up once they go on the market. I can understand the appeal of buying a brand new house, especially if you've lived in a fixer-upper before and have no desire to ever rip down someone else's 1960s paisley wallpaper again. But to pay an enormous amount of money for a house lacking in character and SIDE WINDOWS that practically overflows its yard and does not fit in with its surroundings...?? That, I'll just never understand.

Well, how about I get off my soap-box and share some pictures of the kind of village that I would design if given the chance?

My village did not make an appearance last Christmas and happily escaped from the basement to the living room last weekend. It is enjoying its new home on top of the entertainment center. Thanks to Lori for my new skating mirror and park benches!

Continue on to Next Month...