When Roger Supervises... aka When Bill Leaves His Wives Alone With Tools...

The past two weekends my husband has been gone - he's working in Panama - yeah he sucks... we're freezing in Georgia and he's in a toasty place with water views... sigh...  Alas, I've been on reserve both weekends.  Miracle of miracles, I haven't really been called.  Unless you can say two round trips in 13 days is working... but I digress...

Last Saturday, I took Bill down to The Farm so that we'd both be closer to the airport.  Me if called, and him for his 5am flight on Sunday.  We went junkin with the red head when we got there Saturday, killing a few of my hours of waiting.  When we came back I needed to feel like I wasn't wasting time.  Reserve can do that to your mind...  So I quietly walked away, grabbed Cherie's pruners and sneaked onto our property to start chopping down a massive cedar that had fallen months ago.

You'd think Bill would look for me when I disappear... Like a kid or a puppy, it always means I'm getting into something.  After I got a nice pile started I sent a text to Cherie and told her to send Bill over with her chipper shredder... I could hear him grumbling about the 300 pounds of metal he was pushing all the way to where I was working... but he did it... and after a rough start... he actually kind of... wait for it... ENJOYED it...   We worked for two hours probably and got a good amount chipped up for Cherie's dog kennel... waste not want not in the country...  All that work was oddly satisfying.

Easter Sunday I drove Bill off to work and fully expected to be called to work also... and wasn't.  After a wonderfully yummy brunch with neighbors we came back to the house.  I looked at Cherie... and grabbed the pruners again.  We worked on that cedar for three more hours until there was nothing we could prune without a chainsaw.  There are HUGE piles of branches waiting for Bill's return to throw into the chipper shredder... neither the red head nor I are certified for THAT kind of power tool.  For the record, our neighbor across the street offered his chain saw but I'm smart enough to know we aren't qualified for THAT kind of power tool either... I like us having all our limbs and fingers...

Yesterday, after working an overnight to Mississippi, I went back to the red heads to show my other bestie our new property.  Then spent the night because it made more sense to stay close to the airport again, as I knew I would be called today (I was wrong- mark today in the history books folks).  By 11 am we were both bored sitting in her living room.  I looked at her and asked if she felt like taking down some wall paper.  Can I tell you how much I love this woman?  She is happy to jump into any project that needs to be tackled.  We are Thelma and Louise... without killing men or driving off canyon cliffs...

We spent 4 hours removing wall paper... when we were done with wall paper we went to trim... when we were done with trim we went to shelving... and when we were done with shelving we went to the spare bathroom and attacked it with a feverish gusto.  We both agreed that we understood why Chip Gaines loves Demo Day... it's oddly satisfying to destroy and demolish.  I kept sending texts to Bill to tease him with each part of the house we started to attack.  I know he sat there in Panama second guessing his brilliance in leaving tools where Cherie and I could find and use them.  I'm pretty sure we saved him lots of time in our fervor today, and I'm also confident that we didn't destroy anything that we shouldn't have.  Really.

By the end of the day we had the wall paper removed from the dining room, kitchen and master bedroom.  I can officially tell you which rooms have plaster and which have sheet rocked walls.  The kitchen no longer has baseboards or crown molding, neither of which are a loss.  They were put on horridly.  I guess at this point I should mention that I think Bill and I have finally come to a design plan for the kitchen.  It's been a struggle to figure out how to lay it out and get everything we want in it.  After Alex left yesterday, I took her input to heart and started re-configuring the design on paper.  I'm pretty excited with the current plan.  First step... get the pull off dumpster and toss everything that is piled in the middle of the kitchen floor lol...

The spare bath we gutted as much as we could without Bill's help.  The cheap wood wall paneling was smacked off piece by piece.  I love Bill's mallet and crow bar... but I think my right wrist and arm are going to hate me tomorrow.  That shizzle is HEAVY.  We're still working on the configuration of that room.  I think I have a "new" plan for that.  Bill is trying to keep up with changes I make daily.  He needs to blame the company for not calling me.  The more time I spend laying around looking through This Old House magazines the more ideas I get for our house... As Bill put it today, when we are done we will have a nice NEW old house.  What I DO know is the things that were done half assed will be fixed to stand the test of time.  I'm all about do it right the first time, which is half of our conversations...  "We can do x..."  "How much would it just cost to replace?" "A couple hundred and be easier to do"... "Well duh, lets do it right"...  I guess in this respect, I AM my mothers daughter.

While we were attacking each room, Roger, Cherie's "feral' barn cat followed and watched us.  The noises didn't scare that cat.  We've decided he's the project mascot and overseer.  He's going to be very sad when a very large Tank moves in.  Roger has already claimed our property as his too.  You can see how helpful Roger was today.  Criticizing over our shoulders.  He's quite a hands on manager.

Roger agreed with us that the wall paper we uncovered today was not something that we needed to recreate to bring the house back to what it was originally.  Some things just need to be left in the past.  Green checked paper was found in the spare bathroom.  Looks like there was tile on the bottom half of the wall before they decided to take a Folk Victorian and try to make the interior look like a cabin in the northern Georgia mountains.  We also found a yellow paisley? paper in the dining room.  Apparently that room has been a green floral and yellow paisley.  With the orange and green patterned paper we found in the living room I can see the 50's-70's and I'm having flash backs that no one should have to experience.

It's time to end this blog and this week.  I'll leave you all with some pictures from our demo of the master bedroom and spare bedroom... and because people noticed my little gold shoes when I posted pictures on Facebook last week of our pruning job... I thought I'd post a picture of the flip flops I wore today.  Yes, I agree... neither were appropriate for the jobs I was doing... but I really thought I'd be called to work.  I've made a mental note to leave a pair of old jeans, t shirt and tennis shoes at Cherie's so I don't have to worry about my feet or clothes lol...

Happy April y'all... may Spring really come to your house... and may the weather stay ABOVE 60 from here on out...

I Never Used Lamaze in Childbirth

The past two days I've been walking around trying to breathe.  It's been nice having a chunk of change in the bank...  and the closer we've come to today the more I've needed Lamaze to fight down the panic.  I remember when I bought the home we are living in... it was 10 years ago and I was a single mom... it was a DREAM to buy a home on my own and call it MINE.  There's a picture of me on Facebook - arms splayed out and face completely overcome with joy.  I'd done it.  It never occurred to me that one day I'd be buying a SECOND house and carrying two mortgages!!!  (wait a moment... I need to take a sip of my drink)... breathe out the bad panicky air... breathe in the positive juju...  I've done it... and I'm thrilled.  I know the next year is going to be a wild ride.

I'm kind of a sentimental traditionalist... and once I finished signing all the bloody documents I needed to sign to make this thing happen... I refused to step into the house without Bill carrying me over the threshold.  Now mind you... I DO know how much I weigh... and I DO know how old my hub is... so I did ASK him before I caved to my sentimental traditional shizzle... You can see HE had to practice the Lamaze I used all week to get my ever expanding white butt over the threshold.  It was a joint effort with the red head handing me bubbles and taking pictures... and me holding onto Bill and the bottle for dear life... but we did it... and it's official... and my husband is NOT in traction at the local hospital... thanks for asking...

Those of you that know us have been watching us send each other love notes on Facebook this past month... as in "I'd love this in the kitchen" or "I'd love this in the bathroom"... ummm wait... maybe that was just me sending Bill a whole list of wishes that I'd love him to miraculously complete this next year... from the kitchen, to the bathroom... to the fire-pit outside...

(Sidebar- we get that fire-pit going and you see us out there drinking... there will always be a drink for a friend or neighbor... come join us... Additional sidebar- you see us working and want to check out our progress... come in... and you'll be handed whatever tool we're using for that day and you'll be free labor... but you'll get a beer for your efforts... xoxo)

I've digressed... I tend to do that.  Listening to me is like trying to follow a ping pong ball... but I promise, I'll come around to the point... in a minute or two...  So... it's been a pipe dream for me for a LONG time to find an old house and rehab it.  I'm somewhere between the couple on Home Town and Nicole Curtis on Rehab Attic.  I love all things old (thus my hub lol)... our home is filled with antiques from 1880-1920... so this house is a LONG time coming in my pipe dreams, and I'm kinda shocked I've done it.  I told Bill today that I just paid a big chunk of change for our neighbor... The house is going to take a minute to shine.

I think what's hardest for me... is to focus on one spot and say "this is going to be fixed first".  Bill is doing that part of the job... the keep us on point part... well and the actual fixing the honey do list... and... well he's doing everything really...  I'm looking inside the house and I know that's his gig... and then I look at the garden and I'm chomping at the bit to cut down the dead trees, put in a fence and plant fruit trees, hydrangeas and my garden... but I know we've got to do the inside work (and toss everything into a roll off dumpster)... and then we've got to fix the exterior (and toss everything into a roll off dumpster)... before I can build a fence and fix the garden... Do you know how hard WAITING is for an only child?  I want it... NOW...

Which, is why... things didn't quite go the way they were supposed to go today.  Bill and I are working the next two weeks and we're planning on getting that roll off dumpster there mid April.  I told him that he couldn't start the demo until BOTH of us were in town.  We agreed to that.  Together.  Yet I signed for that house... we had our bubbly with the red head... and we were waiting for our locksmith... Bill was in what will be the "she shed" and I was in that kitchen... and I grabbed a hammer... and I knocked out a piece of wood... in heeled booties, jeans and a peasant blouse... yeah I'm DRESSED for demolition... I grabbed that wood and ran outside to Bill... and screamed "Game on!!!" or something to that point... and next thing I knew we were DEMOLISHING shit we didn't like... I actually did a Chip Gaines and put my bootie through a wall... and it felt... AMAZING.

I walked out of the kitchen while Bill was continuing the demolition that I started and I heard him say "watch that one... she walks out innocently and she sees a squirrel and next thing I know there's another project..."  I had NO CLUE what he was talking about of course... I didn't SEE a squirrel.  I knew that it was hiding in the bathroom so I simply went LOOKING for it... with a screw driver... and I started removing the gazillion cabinets in there... and he came and helped me... and I sweetly walked into the living room with the same screw driver and my flash light... and he found me attacking the fireplace mantle (aka the 80s waterbed headboard) with a fervor... and that came down... In the mean time Cherie is tearing off the wall paper in the dining room...  it was a mad dash by all to dissemble everything that had bothered us...  and again... it felt.. AMAZING.

Now I did not succeed on one course... I actually tried to hammer a wall switch that everyone hated... no one watched me do it... and I failed... that  Mary Engelbreit ceramic switch plate was indestructible.  I'm going to have to attack it with a screw driver tomorrow... but it's the next thing that's going.

I'm going to leave y'all now with a small dusty spot we found as we were taking down one of the cabinets...  a perfect heart... which says sooo much about how I feel about this place's potential... and my ever suffering hubby...

Keep with us as we blog this whole home's journey of going back to the future...

...and one last note... MoonCrest will not be keeping this pole that Bill is convinced is a 'stripper pole'... but it made him happy for a minute... and I didn't kill myself trying it out... so... life is good...

A Crows New Roost

This is one of those blogs that's bittersweet.  We've been thrilled to be at the Queen for the past year and are ever so grateful that they welcomed us home.  That said we have an announcement to make... yet again.. our lives are changing... we're following where we are led and trusting in the decisions we've made... Heather changed airlines in January- she left her home of 10 years to find another home in a company that she believes is strong enough to withstand the ever changing ever evolving airline industry for another 40+ years...  While she finds her footing at her new company she's got less time to put into our business...

We've announced that as of March 31, 2018, we'll be out of the antiques business.  We're taking a wee break from it all.  For those of you that love antiquing we whole heartedly support the Queen of Hearts in any of their locations (Marietta, Alpharetta and Buford).  Stacey and Jim Anderson know what they are doing and have developed a business plan that can not be matched in the Atlanta area.

Those of you that know us, know that we can't sit still... so the real announcement is that we've found what we believe will be our 'forever home'.  Heather's best friend bought a house in Woolsey last summer... and while Heather was in training at her new company her friend told her that the house next door was for sale.  Heather came home from training, grabbed Bill and said "Ok.... lets go look at this place to appease the crazy red head"... no intentions of moving or buying a place... and they went down to Woolsey to say "ok and no"... only to find themselves faced with the house they'd dreamed of renovating...  Before they left Heather was on the phone with the bank and a realtor to just verify that this pipe dream might actually be a reality.

On March 28th, we're closing on that pipe dream... It's a 1905 farmhouse on just under 2 acres, right next door to Heather's favorite crazy red head and her 2.5 acres...  It's a house that was built semi Victorian and semi Craftsman...  and was remuddled in the 50s with horrid siding and pine floors over beautiful original dark oak floors... It's screaming for a renovation... that Heather and Bill have wanted to do... and it's also screaming to be part of a revitalization of central Woolsey... in a town of 150 people that want to stay connected to their past...

This town was meant for us.

Stay tuned as we blog our renovation... with before and afters... we hope that you'll live through us and be inspired by us in our pseudo Chip and Jo styles (minus the all white)... We've given ourselves 14 months to do this remodel and a healthy budget that we hope we'll stay under... and after.... we have another project that we're potentially looking at once this is done... and we think you'll cheer... but that's for 2020...

Until then... stay tuned As the Crows Fly turn an old property into MoonCrest...

For Christmas Collectors

I was raised Episcopalian... I lean more towards Southern Baptist now... and my parents converted to Catholicism... I start this blog with this as a caveat because in explaining Christmas traditions to the masses today I tend to use current movies/books/tv shows to help the younger generation "get it"... so please forgive me if my next paragraph offends you... :)

Christmas has evolved over the centuries as Christianity evolved.  As crusading Christians went out to save the wretched, they amassed people as quickly as the Borg did on Star Trek.  However, instead of simply saying "We are the Christians.  Lower your weapons and surrender your ideals.  We will add your religious distinctiveness to our own.  Your culture will adapt to worship with us."... in a truly inspired moment they DID add different aspects to other religions to their own. It's easier to get people to join you when you accept portions of their traditions right?  While keeping Christ in Christmas, they added:

• The Pagan love of trees
• The Egyptian worship of Ra's winter tradition of bringing in greenery on the winter solstice to symbolize life after death
• The early Roman's similar tradition of bringing in evergreen boughs and fruit symbolizing the near return of Spring
• The Celts tradition to bring in evergreen boughs this time of year symbolizing everlasting life

In early 16th century the Germans added candles to their trees.  In America... we took a while.  Early Puritans fought against these Pagan traditions even making it illegal to have any frivolous displays.  We can thank Queen Victoria for bringing Christmas to America.  She was pictured with a Christmas Tree in the mid 1800s and by the late 1800s decorations began arriving in America.  Of course we took it to a new level with our commercialism... I personally, have many reasons for loving Queen Victoria... and this is one of them.  I always joke I was born in the wrong era... but I digress...

There are two types of Christmas styles... the designer decorators and the collectors.  If you're a designer decorator, your feathers, garlands, and similar color balls are gorgeous... but they're not for me... and you'll probably hate the rest of this blog... 

I'm a collector.  Everything on my tree means something to me.  In fact I've collected so much that I now have 4 trees that I actually decorate among a myriad of other decorations.  I've got a bird tree filled with antique chandelier crystals, small vintage ornaments... and birds of all ages...

On another tree I have vintage figurines that I've been collecting since the mid 70s.  I remember watching my mother unwrap each of hers when I was a child and fell in love with her love of these pieces.  Together we've added an ornament or two to our trees for the past 40 years.  Our husbands shutter every December.  They tremble as they grab the dozens of boxes and bring them into our living rooms and then they smartly RUN.  This black and white panda is one from my childhood, along with the clear cat and a few more not pictured.

I love the old glass... and the old hand made ornaments... whether I made them or I purchased them.  The crochet snowflakes all over my tree were made by a master... I can't crochet a straight line let alone intricate designs like these.  The snowman I made for my Berts Big Adventure flight... It was the year Frozen was popular and I greeted each child with a snowman.  <3

If you're like me Christmas delightfully spills everywhere across your house... from vintage nutcrackers to smokers to Babushka (nesting dolls) to ceramic trees...  Ceramic trees are my latest obsession much to my husbands dismay.  "We don't have any more room to store these"... "Yes we do... I'll put them in my closet".. Yes... I'll give up room for clothes for gorgeous vintage ceramic trees... I'm THAT collector... 

While all of these pictures are from my own private collection we have multiple dealers that have vintage Christmas in their booths...  Last I looked there were still a bunch of shiny brites and vintage German candle holders (warning:  please do not actually burn the candles, they're for decoration only- unless it's outside... on a beach... where you wont lose your home and Christmas presents... trees become extremely flammable by the end of the season).  There are figurines... red and green glass and other items that will bring the holidays to your home for years to come.

With that.. and with just a few days left til Christmas... Let me remind you that the Queen is open til 3pm on Christmas Eve and then we'll be going home to our families.  We'll reopen on the 26th.  Many dealers will be doing "Christmas Only" sales between Christmas and New Years... Get away from the mall madness and enjoy our bits of history instead...

Happy Holidays!  This elf stays on my tree... he was my grandmas... may your elves learn to be good too... :)