Curb Appeal

April 2010

April 2011  - Better, but still waiting for the plants to fill in.

Saturday+Rain = House Project

When the rain canceled our other plans for that Saturday, we were stuck inside.  Instead of studying, reading, or watching a movie, Chris decided to do a little spur of the moment kitchen remodeling. 

There was this window to the left of the kitchen door (see below) that we assumed went into the apartment side of the house...but last October, after living in the house almost 6 months, we actually looked into the window and saw that it opened into a tiny room that had been completely walled off.  Very suspicious if you ask me.  

So, after cutting a hole in perfectly good sheet rock, my fearless and determined husband ripped down the opening into the mystery room.  Turns out it used to be a tiny bathroom off of the screened in porch that is now part of our kitchen.  

What was even more exciting than discovering a way to turn an old bathroom into a pantry (just need to find a way to cover up the hole where the toilet was...yuck), is that underneath the rest of the sheet rock was the original clapboard siding from the screened in porch days. Chris and I were having a debate whether it was a good idea to rip off the entire wall of sheetrock to expose the clapboard. The discussion went something like this.

  

Chris: the clapboard would look so cool in our bland kitchen.  

Lizzy: but you never know what you'll find underneath once the sheet rock is gone.  It could be a real mess.

Chris: True, it is taking a risk. 

Lizzy: It's inevitable that you're going to rip the wall down and I don't have a strong enough argument to prevent it.  We might as well do it now. 

Chris: You're absolutely right, I'm much to curious.  But it will look awesome, you'll be singing my praises.

Chris, you were right. The clapboard does look awesome.

Easter Dress

Isn't Esther's dress adorable!  What is amazing is that it was hand smocked by my dear friend Adrianne and then sewn into a dress by her mother Debbie.  If that isn't true friendship I don't know what is.

her cheeks can rest on her shoulders

she kept putting the dress in her mouth...

Thanks Adrianne!

Chicken Sisters

Meet Bear.  Bear is a hen.  She lives in Pittsburgh with my sister Cynthia and her four children.  Bear has a companion (named Goldilocks of course) and they are very friendly, tame chickens.  So tame that they don't mind when my niece pushes them around in a shopping cart poor thing.   

I don't know what it is about my family and keeping chickens.  Some of us have them, all of us want them.  Maybe it's the last shreds of our mother's Idaho farm gene manifesting itself in us. We even have a little sisters blog as a forum to exchange recipes, books, and other ideas. The title for this blog is, naturally, Chicken Sisters.

Listen carefully....she purrs