The Big Reveal

While I busied myself taking pictures of a Jack-be-Little pumpkin and my bare feet, John busied himself with the final fussy little piece of siding at the tip top.

John at the garage peak and almost finished with this job that took the old garage below

(yes, he built it in 2003)...

to this sweet little number. I love it! (Don't tell me if you don't.)

Oh this doesn't quite give you the details, but let me just thank everyone who *voted with John on the scalloping.* It really does look terrific!

A little better view above...

This is about all the contribution I had to the project—photoshopping.  I knew that I didn't like the placement of the former windows (you can see them up there in the third photo) nor the cut out above the garage doors done before John knew that transoms were going in...a last minute decision on someone else's part (not either of us). We do like the transoms a lot so it all turned out in the end. You can see how beautifully John interpreted my ideas and made them so much better!

I was trying to get John to say that the project was good enough for "who it was for." He just wouldn't. Gotta love the little bow he gives me. Sweet, sweet man!

Sneak Peek

It's all winding to a close after a year and a half or more. Oh there are one or two leavings to weave into the whole, though they can be done whenever. (My wish would be for sooner; John's on a completely different time frame.) We hope to have the driveway done at some point as it's in rough shape from having been dug up to run electrical wiring underground to the house. Yes, yes, little things.

It's lovely to see a project pull together. Yesterday was so warm and pleasant that I asked John if he minded if I sat out there watching. I come from a long line of folks who do not like to be watched. John is much more obliging.

Do you mind being watched while you work? 

Day Four and That'll Do Thanks

Yes, Day Four of rain though there may be a slight brightening. Perhaps we'll see the sun again after all.

John, that scamp, made a liar out of me and worked right through the rain Saturday morning getting the window in. His reasoning was that he had heard the weather frogs croaking about torrential downpours and he didn't want any water getting in. As it turned out, they were correct.

~new window~

Someday, I'll be sharing the before and afters... We had quite the discussion about this yesterday. It may have become a little heated. He said that the window looked great. I agreed. Then, because I'm like this, I added that, if someone had listened to me, it wouldn't have been like that in the first place. Then the discussion was off like a house on fire! It ended rather brilliantly I thought when I explained that the former windows were like eyebrows positioned at the top of a person's forehead instead of over the eyes where they belonged. Moving on...

Yesterday was so quiet after Saturday... The leaves were falling gently, the rain was pattering down, there was only the soft breathing of two furbabies as they napped. I finally lay down myself and caught a few more zzzzzzs.

The only trouble was that I had recently listened to the warm and wonderful Andy Williams singing ♪Lida Rose♪ with the Osmonds...have you seen that video? Too darling. So, back to my story, the only problem was that I only knew the first four notes of Lida Rose and in my dreams I was trying to sing the song. I'm quite sure that if I knew the entire song I'd not have had to keep restarting from the top. Very strange little nap I had.

Can you imagine a world without Mr. Williams in it? That's how I feel every time we lose someone. (As it happens, Becky of Hospitality Lane was in Branson last week on vacation. She has some wonderful photos to share in a number of posts.)

~all quiet~

It's back to normal whatever that is today...

Was your weekend quiet or busy?

Projects Big and Small

He worked through the rain. Up and down the ladder. Got soaked. 

I checked on him often, though I tried to stay out of his way.

My task was to putter about the house. Funny how the simplest things bring back the sweetest memories like this little screen door that always reminds me of the last Thanksgiving when our family was all together. That won't be repeated until Glory.

It was so gloomy that I declared it not too early to put out the harvest lights.

This was only a test... You can see the difference in the wood color from where the windows once sat and where the new window will set.

I finished my utilitarian runner made from mattress ticking on one side, painter's cloth on the back and some gingham edging. I had some fun with creating an easy quilting pattern. Prior to this, I had used lots of linens none of which fit the space. Now my mind is filling with all those sorts of places that could use a tailor made piece — the top of the fridge is next!

Still checking on him... No pressure, Honey! In fact, he is taking the weekend off and perhaps Monday, too. 

Have a lovely weekend... any projects you'd like to discuss?

Prattle On

It's going to rain for the next four days just when John gets on a roll. Perhaps the Lord knows that he needs a break. Yes, I'm sure that's it.

Such a pretty graphic from Graphics Fairy. And so perfect for us in Oak Alley. Every morning, before checking on the garden, I should don my hard hat because squirrels are pitching acorns furiously. They certainly have been an industrious lot.

***

This is a fried green tomato. I chucked all of it into the garbage and started over with much thinner slices. John ate them, but felt that I may have failed. He's never eaten them before, nor had I. He says that I don't have to go out of my way to ever make them again. Right. I won't. So to anyone who does make fried green tomatoes, what am I doing wrong?

***

My daughter volunteers for a certain campaign this autumn. She works a regular job and donates an additional 20 hours or more a week. Last night found her traveling 40 miles to pick up signs for our hometown. Ten of them. She thought that she would be getting a hundred. Hmmm... Oh well, at least she has one for her vehicle.

Yes, that is John in the background. Quite a work out he had yesterday because this is the garage he built. He says that ripping out his own work is some of the most difficult he's ever done. He does build a thing to last.

Say, do you enjoy fried green tomatoes?

An Unlikely Star

How glad I am that Diane told me not to snip back the spent rose blooms. It's so pretty. Doesn't it look like a star? I'll have a few more perhaps before the rose bushes are ready to retire for the season.

I was out mowing yesterday afternoon so got to appreciate the west side of the garage being accomplished from a lot of angles. Much better! I'd do a before and after, but I don't want to take away from the pretty. =D

This is a little view into the forest primeval. ☺

*Foliage report* for a certain someone who cares about such things: Very Low in my corner.

What have you discovered lately at your own home that delights you or surprises you? Feel free to share!

To Scallop or Not to Scallop

Ahhh, that is the question!

Turns out we have extra scallop that we could place above the transoms to mimic the front of the house. I think it could be too busy with the transom windows; John thinks it would be great to use the scallop since we learned that we are not allowed to return it. 

A little reminder of what will be going on one day soon...

The windows upstairs will be replaced with this one and the doors are going to be trimmed out somehow. John is saying that he is cutting the doors square. I don't know. He's doing something to bring it more in line. As you may remember, we have this wonky asymmetrical garage front because of property constraints and the need for stairs to the side entry. (Before, the stairs came out into the driveway. Since there was a different garage then, it didn't matter. [A single garage door was to the left.] )

So, if you have an opinion this fine Saturday, please share. No, it will not cause an argument. I promise!

Have a lovely weekend...


Edited to Add: For further clarification, the scallop is a similar color to the siding, but not the same color. It is almond and the siding is pale green sage. We won't be painting. That's the whole point behind siding. =D

Edited to Add Again: Oh my! My communication skills are slipping. The garage will have the same siding as the house. It will be light sage green. See yesterday's post about one garage side already having been done.  So the brown is going away as the light sage green siding will go over the top. The scallop trim is a complementary color (almond—also the same color as the scallop on the house), while the siding color is as you see on the house. Same color, same batch, same everything. That siding has been waiting in the garage for a year and it's going on over the next two weeks. Just in case that makes a difference for anyone trying to decide. 

Thanks for your input. This has been fun!

House Work of Another Sort

It's been such a muggy summer and hot, though we've not achieved a 100F day yet (and don't wish one) that John decided to follow other pursuits until it got cooler. This week begins with tidying up some loose ends on the house and then moving on to the garage.

This is all very good as I want the garage interior back. After over a year, it is time.

Any tasks that you've put off for cooler weather?

I'm off on Nonni duty until later this afternoon, but never fear I'll be catching up with you. Much too nosy curious not to...