A Gorgeous Day!

After several days of rain we are making headway on the front yard irrigation system! All the pipe and sprinklers are hooked up, the water is hooked up and the control panel is installed. All that needs to be done tomorrow is connect the wiring, adjust the sprinkler heads and fill in the trenches!

Today the day was so gorgeous and the sky was soooooo blue I had to stop and take some photos. The following photos were taken with an old 5 megapixel camera and the photos were not enhanced in any way.

 You can see our trenches for the irrigation system in this photo.

Hope everyone had a great day!

Pam

Stopped In To Say Hello...

Just thought I'd stop in and say hello. Sorry I haven't visited you this week--I've been busy  helping Mr. F. with our irrigation system, keeping the house presentable, going to our youngest daughter's Senior Breakfast, etc.

my new camera: Canon Powershot sd1300

I ordered a new digital point and shoot camera from Best Buy today during a break from working outside. Best Buy sent me a link which has some photography tips, which I definitely need. There are several short videos and I am going to watch them when I get a chance. I already learned something new watching the very first video. Here's the link:

Shoot Like a Pro

time for me to get back to work... 

Pam

Another Big Project???

Yes, Mr. Fanatic is at it again. Saturday he rented one of these:

to do this:

 We have lived in our home for ten years without an irrigation system. Hard to believe, considering the large yard we have, but we have only had to water one or two days a week in August and in September after re-seeding for the fall. Ten years ago, the builder wanted $6,500 to install a basic system. We thought it was a little steep. Mr. F is only doing the front yard this week. We can handle watering the backyard.

Of course Saturday it was still in the low 90's! Digging trenches, even with the machinery was hard work!

We were a little nervous about the forecast for 4" of rain --and downpours filling in the newly dug trenches, but even the though rain fell Saturday night through yesterday it wasn't that heavy and we only had 2". It was probably a good thing that it rained for two days because Mr. Fanatic definitely needed a break! Sunday we purchased supplies  and laid them out on a sawhorse table in the garage. Cost for the supplies and for renting the machine and hiring a helper will probably be around $800.

Since it was still raining on Monday,  he built this...

...and ran wires so he could hook up the control panel.

Today it's back to the trenches!

Pam


linking up with A Southern Daydreamer for Outdoor Wednesday

I finally scheduled an appointment to see the house I have been obsessing about. The one in the great location and beautiful setting...the one that is a total fixer...ok, I have seen worse.

I am going today at 12 noon. Not sure of the reason for the fascination...I think it was kicked into high gear when I stumbled upon this blog post  by Angela at  The Painted House. Angela's ranch redo is just what I've been looking for. I'll show you the after first....

And here's the before...

This is the feel I have been looking for. Kinda goes against the grain of perfect little houses all in a row here in Union County, NC. Easy to find something like this in Cotswold or Southpark, but not in Union county where everything is new... and big.

I really love the all the details especially the  turquoise door and the window boxes. Angela really did a fabulous job with her remodel.  I definitely recommend visiting her blog to see more great photos.

So, maybe something can be done with this house:

???

I  will let you know how bad it is things went...

Pam

Another Fall Tablescape

Today I finally took down all of the decorations from my youngest daughter's 17th birthday party. I enjoy having the table set just in case someone calls to see the house. This table looks so much better set since it covers up all of the damage done to the table top. My oldest daughter spilled nail polish remover  on the table several years ago and since then I have had to keep a table cloth on it.

It is still suppose to be in the 90's through Saturday, but it's suppose to be in the low 80's by Sunday.

In anticipation of cooler weather, I included soup bowls on the table because Chicken Stew is a family favorite when the weather gets cool. My youngest daughter loves it so much she has asked for Chicken Stew in the middle of summer!

I really need to get some more dishes, because I really only have one set for every day -- Mikasa Italian Countryside. It goes with everything. The green bowls are from Target. The chargers are from Walmart. The pumpkin is new and is from HomeGoods. The cake stand was also a HomeGoods find awhile back. I pulled the runner out of my teak chest and I believe it was my grandmother's, but it doesn't look like it is hand made.

I love the little burlap wrapped candles I made awhile back.

Hope you all are having a great week! Thanks for stopping by,

Pam

A Gorgeous Estate

I was house hunting on the internet the other day and found this gorgeous estate that is a few miles from my home. It is pretty amazing. It boasts approximately 10,000 square feet on  22 acres. Pavered circular drive to 4 car garage, Custom wrought iron gates that take you to a courtyard entry. Sunken living room with grand Fireplace. Gourmet Kitchen opens to hearth room with reclaimed beams. Two pools, media, exercise, two kitchens, pub room, billiard, six fireplaces,two laundry areas.…It is being offered at $4,950,000.

This You Tube video shows all of the rooms. I really love some of the "smaller" secondary bathrooms.

Not sure if I like the finish of the cabinetry... and the island seems too small--but, the hood is awesome!

There is a really magnificent skylight in the Master Bath that is shown in the video.

Second Kitchen

I love this  covered patio area.

The largest home I've  designed cabinetry for was 7,200 square feet. I don't remember an elevator in the house. Once when I was at there, I was in the upstairs laundry room  and  I left my measuring tape in the Master Bath which was on the opposite side of the house and down stairs. There were a lot of stairs because the ceilings were 14 ft high. I remember thinking at this point how much walking you would do living in there. The house was at least a 100 feet wide. Imagine getting in your car to leave the house and remembering something you left in your bedroom on the other side of the house!

Homes like this are truly amazing and I would love to design cabinetry for them, but I don't think I would like to live in one. I would not enjoy having staff in my house all the time and this home would require at least 3 full time housekeepers and several groundskeepers, not to mention maintenance people.

But, that's just me! How about you? Would you like to live in a house like this?

Front Door Link Party

Many of you have seen my front door before, but Kristin over at My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia is having a Front Door Link Party, so I thought I'd join in. 

My front door has always been black, but this past year I gave it a fresh coat of paint and replaced the brass handset with an oil rubbed bronze one.

Thought I'd show you the porch again, too!

I bought some flowers and a new basket for fall to hang on the front door, but I will show you that another time.

Pam

They Grow Up So Fast!

We celebrated our youngest daughter's 17th Birthday  (again) last Friday with a party with her friends. I was surprised a few weeks ago when she asked me what theme we should do.  I think she's catching on! We went to Walmart and found most of the paper items for the decorations. The lilies came from Trader Joe's.

Walmart sells single colored m&m's in containers and I they came in the perfect colors. The center bowl is filled with lemon heads.

Everyone came in and commented on how nice the table looked, but no one ate anything on it!

 They did make a dent in the taco bar, though!

Mr. Fanatic made the cake.

I made the pom pom flowers...grrr, after the last party, I said I'd never make them again!

Here's the birthday girl!

I found this photo of her today when I was looking for something else. She was about 7 years old at the time... my how time flies FAST!

Thanks for stopping by,

Pam


participating in Tabletop Tuesday at A Stroll Thru Life