Oh Dear!

I'm dying over here!

My camera died.

Like, it's not the batteries, died.

That thing is just locked up

and won't budge.

I will be sending it in to hopefully get repaired

because a new camera is just not in the budget right now.

So, I will suffer, till then, with taking old school phone pictures

(old school = NOT an iphone/smart phone).

Here's my one "fabulous" photo

of the light post we finally got up.

Now our end of the street has light!

Next, to find the perfect hanging basket for it.

I'm thinkin' our front yard is starting to look a little

French Quarter and I like that!

xo, Amber

Memorial Day History

I found this little nugget of information 

about Memorial Day

that I never knew and after posting it

on Facebook, neither did many others.

Did you know?

KNOW YOUR HISTORY: Memorial Day was started by former slaves on May, 1, 1865 in Charleston, SC to honor 257 dead Union Soldiers who had been buried in a mass grave in a Confederate prison camp. They dug up the bodies and worked for 2 weeks to give them a proper burial as gratitude for fighting for their freedom. They then held a parade of 10,000 people led by 2,800 Black children where they marched, sang and celebrated.

Thanks to Abstrakt Goldsmith for this nugget of history that most of us never learned in school.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend.

Amber

The Projects...

This is gonna be a long one and

I could probably save some of this material for 

THREE separate posts 

but WHATEVER!

We'll start with the front.

Something new to me is Pine Straw.

The first time I saw it being used, 

we were at the State Capitol

and the landscapers were putting it out.

I never saw this in CA as ground cover!

So, I jumped on the Southern wagon and used it to

spruce up the front of the yard.

Looks pretty nice!

It even looks great filling in the 

dirty-dirt in my *new* mint bed!

Mr. Jim is a plant grower and brought

 over several flats of mints (four varieties) 

and tomatoes and delicious basil, 

so I got a huge jump

start on my Alabama garden this year!

Thank you Mr. Jim!

My garden is not what I wanted it to be

BUT since the dog's pen is smack dab

 in the middle of the yard right now,

it'll do for this year.

I don't expect much but I'm hoping for a miracle. 

I shoveled so much seasoned horse and steer manure

that those roots better love me! Haha!

We shall see!

Alas, I must say that I am truly amazed 

with my husband and his skills. 

Really. 

He has a gift of taking an idea, 

thinking it through in his head,

sketching it out on a piece of

 cut-off wood and he builds it. 

His friend once said that if he 

were ever stranded on a deserted island, 

he would want him (Bruce) with him because 

Bruce can make anything out of nothing.

I have to agree.

Have you ever watched Naked and Afraid?

If he were ever on that show, 

they'd have the tightest, bug free hut 

ever known to man. 

Serious!

This man has made A LOT of things

 for me/us out of an idea that I've had.

The only difference is he makes it better,

 stronger and more beautiful.

I know one day we'll get back to making

goods to sell like we did in CA.

He misses that wood working stuff.

I am a lucky girl.

In his spare time, he whipped out

my new clothesline that I wanted for Mother's Day.

(Today, the lines will be installed so I can hang clothes tomorrow!)

And, right now he's making our original

 2 bedroom, 2.5 bath house

into a 4 bedroom, 3 full bath home,

without adding on.

I'm excited to have a "real" guest room!

All the upstairs will be done before he makes the iron

railing. It will make for easier up and down with material.

Oh, the things he does after work and on weekends.

Yes, he has ADD. ;)

That pretty much sums up a weekend

at the French Pressed home.

Oh, except for this....

The outdoor shower is on the list.

xo, Amber

Me.

I was pretty selfish yesterday (Mother's Day).

I took a "me" day.

I was invited to do something that I haven't done 

since my boys were born, let alone conceived.

Horseback riding.

It was the best day I have had in a long time.

I rode a real pretty black and white paint named Teddy.

He was good to me. A gentleman with nice trail manners. 

We rode for three hours.

Yeah, my butt hurts but I feel

so good on the inside!

I can openly say,

a good "me" day is also good 

for my family.

Horses are my best medicine.

I got a present when I got home too.

The Mr. made me a new farmhouse clothesline.

I'll be priming and painting it today and figuring out 

the best placement in the yard.

I'll share pictures soon.

xo, Amber

This and That

A leave of absence from blogging means work
and progress are being made!

The stairs are constructed, primed and caulked.
I won't paint those until we construct the walls upstairs
 in case there's an oops with something dropping on them.
Before:

After:

The railing upstairs (picture below) will be gone and that 
will be a solid wall to the ceiling. 
That loft will then become our new guest room.

I'll be painting and antiquing the stairs and trim
 in ASCP French Linen and painting the treads 
a rich warm brown with some antiquing.
I'll be looking forward to that!

 We now have crown moulding installed in the kitchen,
 dining room and hallway (yay!) so now I get to
caulk all of that. Not complainin', it's UP!
And, I decided to repaint my pink ceiling, white.
Just not feeling the pink anymore. It looks dirty
with the crown in place.

We have also planted some Snowball Viburnum bushes and Hydrangea between our house
and our neighbors to create a living fence 
and to make amends
(Bruce accidentally cut some bushes to the ground. 
Only they didn't look like bushes. 
They looked like tree suckers under the Oaks so
he was "cleaning up".). She's happy now (I hope).
I baked her a chocolate cake, just in case.
Everything is better after cake, right?

We got all the scrap lumber piles 
up off the ground and cleared more 
vines and brush (giving us another 30-40 feet of real estate)
so hopefully we don't have any snake hiding places.
We are trying to eliminate all the 
wild shrubbery around the back
 so we can eradicate as many ticks and critters
as possible! Once we get a clear barrier between the yard
and the woods, I think we'll be way better off. 
The nightly tick inspection has been
incorporated into the schedule, so no biggie.

The gazebo has gotten a new coat of black paint to match
the iron on the house. It looks much fresher and new!
Hopefully the grapes will start growing!

I'm sure I'm missing some other stuff but...

Phew!

We did manage to squeeze in a few hours of
fun on Saturday, though.
Our City has what is called
The Chunnennuggee Fair
and this was our first one.

Southern BBQ, Funnel Cakes, pony rides, shopping
 and chatting with friends.

We had a great time.
Maybe (maybe) next year we'll have a booth.
Maybe. 

But next year,  I will try a fried pickle!

... and now, I'm off to caulk!

More photos to come later this week of the 
completed projects and a clean house.

xo, Amber