Merry Christmas from Missouri!

     We can't believe it's Christmas time already!  The season has really snuck up on us this year.  The weather has been pretty good (so far......)  Last Saturday I finished putting up the garland and lights on the front porch and didn't need to wear a jacket - it was 60 degrees!  We've had a few days of waking up to some snow flurries - the kids run outside to try to catch a flake or two on their tongues, then it warms up to about 45 degrees.  So far, so good.

We've spent the last couple weekends decorating for Christmas - we thought that we owned a lot of extension cords..... now we have more.  It takes many, many cords to get the lights out here.  We put a lighted horse and carriage out in the field - that alone took about 250 feet.  Every time we try to put up some lights we realize that we need to go to the store and buy some more cords.  Now we have a lot of extension cords.

Brennan thinks it's time to concentrate on putting presents under the tree (notice his little stocking filled with Hot Wheels cars).  Jim, however, thinks it's time to tear apart out family room....  Last weekend he installed 10 (yes, TEN!) speakers in the walls and ceiling.  (Hopefully it won't be too long before we post the after pictures of that project.)  As stressful as all that sounds, we really haven't given ourselves any deadlines, so we're enjoying the whole process. 

We hope that everyone has a very wonderful (and stress-free) Christmas.

Autumn in Cottleville

So much has been happening on the farm.....

#1 - Remember the "ugly tree"?  It's turned out just fine this fall.

#2 - Remember the orchard? 

Ahhhhh, the promise of juicy peaches and crisp apples, the hopes of wonderful pies in the fall, and the anticipation 'til everything was ripe............all of that vanished with our newest resident - the groundhog.

 

He's such a cute little guy, but evidently very hungry.  He moved in for the harvest............took all the peaches, took all the apples, then cleaned up all the crab apples in the front yard (for which we're grateful).

#3 - We burned the entire brush pile - there's no picture but our view is much better now.  After a whole weekend of feeding a fire it is finally gone!

#4 - The Music Room is done!



Music Room before









Music Room before





Music Room after



Lots of new woodwork

#5 - We've started our barn!!!!  (That's "we" as in Tom, the barn builder)

Our "super-cute, heirloom" barn.  It'll have 3 stalls, a wash bay, tack room, center aisle, and eventually a (party) loft.

#6 - El is building a new closet!!  Since we tore out our only closet in the entryway, we REALLY needed a new one. 

We had a nook on the left of the fireplace which was just the right size for a closet...........

.........which we can access from the hallway next to the laundry room.  Thanks, El!

#7 - Lots of fence mending (thanks Dave!), brush clearing, general maintenance...........

     It's been a busy fall:  lots of company (lots of fun!), a BIG 90th birthday bash (Jim's dad turned 90 on October 20th!!!), Cassidy's softball and marching band, Karryn's gymnastics and school clubs, Brennan (enough said), Jim's travels...........and work.  Very busy, just the way we like it!

The Entryway - FINALLY!

This has been the longest project yet - the stairs were all ripped out and replaced at the proper heights, the stair landing was re-designed, the closet was demo-ed and the floor, walls and ceiling were repaired, the light was moved, the opening to the music room was enlarged, the trim moldings were replaced, the newel post and columns were built, and everything was primed and painted..... the longest project ever.  The result is a larger, lighter, brighter and more welcoming entryway.



Entryway - before



The closet took up most of the entry



Now.............gather up your tools, Honey, we're about to start a barn!

Summer Flowers and a Lake View

    About 2 weeks ago Zac, Theresa, Lilly, Zoe and Cam all came to visit.  We had a great time and the boys helped us clear the rest of the fenceline to reveal the lake.  I'm really enjoying the view.

I'm also enjoying all the flowers the previous owners have planted over the years.  The flower garden has proven to be a bit of work but it seems there is something new blooming every week. 

Project: Landscape Lighting

   The strange (different) thing about Dardenne Farms is that there are NO street lights (and no sidewalks).  One solution to the darkness, which some of our neighbors have done,  is to install landscape lighting - thus the project of the day!   Today Jim decided it was time for outdoor lights.  It was nice to have a project that only took an afternoon and reeped such rewards.

The Cupulas of Dardenne Farms

  

      As soon as we moved here we noticed that there were many cupolas of all sizes and shapes.  Our neighborhood and even the businesses near here all have them... and we had a tired, old, rotting cupola on our house - we had cupola envy!  Jim wanted (needed) to upgrade.  He ordered a new weather vane and built a new base.  Now (I'm sure) the neighbors are all jealous!

Old Cupola

New and Improved Cupola

The Upstairs is Complete!

     We have officially declared the upstairs complete!  Last week Cassidy and I tore apart the upstairs bathroom, added moldings, replaced baseboards, refinished the vanity, and painted (and painted, and painted).  It's only a bathroom, why did it feel like it took forever to paint?  And why is it when you're working on a bathroom it always feels like you're hugging the toilet?  (Between painting the plumbing behind the toilet, replacing the baseboard behind the toilet, painting the wall behind the toilet, painting the trim behind the toilet, and chasing runaway screws behind the toilet - they always go back there - I think I spent at least a day behind the toilet)   We were trying to surprise Jim but we didn't get it done before he got home that Friday - so he got to hang the lights and replace the faucets.  Cassidy picked the color - it was a pretty good compromise and seemed to go with the bone colored shower and toilet, the gray colored ceramic tile floor, the cream colored trim and the yellowy colored counter.  We decided that a black cabinet would look better with that yellow tinted cultured marble vanity top than the cream color and  we found glass knobs to give it a vintage look.  We didn't replace the flooring because it is fairly new, and we didn't have the budget or the ambition to tear out the shower - which is also in good shape.  All in all we're pretty happy with our "lick and a prayer" makeover.

Bath before - don't miss the oak toilet seat!

Like the wallpaper border?

Ta-dah!

The Lake - FINALLY

 At the back of our property is a very over-grown fenceline, and on the other side is a lake (or large pond).  When we moved in there weren't any leaves on the trees so we could see the lake - now it's an overgrown mess and we can't see it any more - at least we couldn't - until Jim's sister came to visit.  Linda, Jim and I worked for a few hours on Memorial Day and cleared about 50 feet of fenceline (or falling down fenceline).  Thanks, Lin.

The only problem with this little project is that we now have a very large burn pile (or as Brennan calls it, a bunny hotel)................this includes about 3 large dead trees and lots of little trees and brush. 

It's pretty much just a drop in the bucket, but it's so nice to drive up to the house and see that clearing.

Another Project......

Jim and I often seem to utilize the "while we're at it" clause of home remodeling.  So rather than finishing the stairs and stairway, we (Jim) tore out the front closet while we were at it.   Instead of having an entryway the size of a typical public bathroom stall (and that's not the handicapped accessible stall) we now have a semi-generous sized entryway.  The extra 28" really made a difference - I don't think we'll feel like we have to move through the entryway single file anymore.  So we're off to Lowe's for another load of supplies - while we're at it, I'm sure we'll find more things we need.  It's supposed to rain all weekend again so it seems to be a good time to finish the stairway and entry.



Entry - before




Entry - during






 And all the while we're pounding around on our house our baby goslings are growing......................




Sometimes there are as many as 3 or 4 families (would that be gaggles or are the 4 families together one big gaggle?) at the pond across the street or in the pasture next door.  Some of the families are pretty big and then there are some pairs walking around goslingless - do they have goose daycare? 

Stairs in Progress

     This seems to be the longest and most tedious project yet.  When we moved in the stair heights ranged from 6 1/2" to 8 3/4" tall.  We also had a really funky diagonal landing - if you weren't on the right foot coming down the stairs you missed the step on the landing (at least it happened to me).  Maybe the previous owners always started on their right foot and never had a problem with the weird step...............whatever, now it's fixed and I don't have to remember "right foot first"!  We didn't like the original newel post so Jim started building, and building, and building.....and the newel post grew, and grew, and well, you know.  So here are the pictures of stairway mid-project.

The next exciting news is that Bella killed her first mouse this week.  The cat played with the dead mouse for a while and then Bren played with it.

Bella on her 2nd favorite perch - the tractor

Bella on her favorite perch

Kind of on the same note  (animals and their prey)............  I watched a crane catch a fish in the pond, throw it up on the grass, watch is flop around a little, and then eat it.  It was cooler than it sounds.

The other "project" that's been keeping us busy is filling up the front porch.  We may have enough seating now.  Between Craig's list, Cracker Barrel, mom and El bringing a rocker we had left behind, and a cute little shop in Cottleville, we've filled up the porch.  (I also painted the front door)  By the way, if you want to chck out earlier pictures of the stairs and the porch check out the post on Apr 9th.

So.................. everyone should come on down and hang out on our porch for a while. See ya soon. 

Gather up the animals 2 by 2!

     Today I heard that someone posted a "pre-owned" ark on Craig's list, gently used - only 40 days and 40 nights.  A few days ago the weatherman said that we had gotten 18 inches of rain so far in April.  Everybody says that this is a crazy spring.  On Good Friday night we sat in our basement waching the storm on TV.  There were 2 storms in the area and the one with a confirmed tornado was traveling right our way.  There was damage in New Melle, then a spotted funnel cloud in Lake St Louis, then a touchdown in Dardenne Prairie (about 2 miles from our house).  This storm was traveling down Hwy N right for us.  After we heard that Dardenne Prairie was hit it seemed to get really calm outside and very bright - the sky was almost yellow.  The next thing they were saying on TV was that the storm had gone by St Charles, but the other storm was tearing through Maryland Heights and the airport.  The news has been showing the damage to the American Airlines terminal at the airport, but the damage around the airport is unbelievable.  On Monday morning when Jim and I were headed to the airport we saw the path of destruction - whole neighborhoods with the roofs gone and blue tarps instead.  There was a cement block warehouse up on a hill with big holes in the walls, the blocks from the walls in a pile of rubble down the hill and the inventory still on the shelves inside.  Crazy is an understatement.   Now we're ready for a couple of clear days before the next week of rain in the forecast.  Meanwhile, we actually have geese swimming in the "puddle" in our backyard and rivers running through it.

But our neighbors are getting it worse - one of their pastures floods completely.

And still, life goes on.....................