Crossing the Finish Line
Late last night, Mr Chiots and I finally crossed the finish line on the upstairs project. We now have two extra bedrooms, a bathroom and a nice sitting area. Working around the clock is almost an understatement when it came to this project. I snapped a few quick photos and then we fell into bed.
We still need to have the tub installed, we’re going to have a plumber to that. We’re still waiting on a few parts to arrive for that. I can’t wait to see how it looks in the bathroom with the show attachment!
We crossed the finish line just in time because we have two showings today. One this morning and one later this evening.
What was the last home improvement project you completed?
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Whispers of Fall
Last week I noticed a leaf falling from the tree above me. Then I spotted some yellow out of the corner of my eye. When we were driving around Cincinnati this past weekend, the smell of fallen leaves filled the air in the park. Everywhere you look you hear whispers of fall.
The tulip trees are the first ones to signal the change in seasons. Their leaves start collecting in the gutters and by the doors long before the other leaves start to turn. Soon after the sassafrass trees start changing, the dogwood trees will come soon as well.
On Sunday, I realized there were already enough leaves on the ground to consider raking. I can’t believe that fall is almost here!
Has fall arrived in your garden yet?
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18 Years and Counting
Way back in 1994 I was a college freshman in Cincinnati, OH. That fall, I met five other girls with whom I would form a close friendship. Little did we know that 18 years later we’d still be getting together yearly for a reunion. This past weekend was our 17th one. Throughout the years we’ve reunited in different places, rented cabins, at each other’s houses, until we settled on traveling back to the city where it all began.
One member of our group still lives in Cincinnati, thus we all stay at her place. The rest of us drive in from our respective locations in Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio. Not all of us can make it for each gathering, but there are always at least four of us. We have celebrated weddings, rejoiced at births, comforted after divorce, and cried at a funeral throughout the years.
Even though we don’t talk much throughout the year, when we come together it’s like we were never apart. We laugh as we tell funny stories from the past and much time is spent filling each other in on what’s going on in our lives.
It is a weekend filled it lots of laughter, great food, and good company. This past weekend we went to the Findlay market, walked down the by the river, rented a quad surrey and went for a ride in the park. Of course, all the Cincinnati specialities like Graeter’s and Skyline Chili were checked off the list as well.
It’s really hard to believe that I’ve known these lovely ladies for 18 years, time really does fly. It seems like yesterday when we were eating key lime pie out of the pan in our hotel room of our first get together the summer of 1995 the summer between our freshman and sophomore years.
Do you have any friends that you reunite with on a regular basis?
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Quote of the Day: Louise Dickinson Rich
It’s very illuminating to have to make a list, which you will very possibly have occasion to use, of the things you’d save in extremity. It reduces one’s material possessions to their proper place.
Louise Dickinson Rich We Took to the Woods
This is also the case when moving, or at least it should be. Going through everything you own and asking yourself what you really need. The truth is, we really don’t NEED that much to survive. It is nice to have things that make our lives more comfortable, but it can weigh us down if we have too much. Thankfully, Mr Chiots and I started minimizing our stuff many years ago. We stepped off the consumerism treadmill by dedicating an entire year to not buying anything we didn’t need to survive. At the same time we started getting rid of things we didn’t use or need. As a result, packing should be a little easier. During the process, we’re also trying to go through everything to lighten the load even more. There are still a few things that we’re asking ourselves: to take or not to take?
Take my hanging baskets for example, I don’t really NEED them, but I do like them. Do I want to pack them, take them to Maine, store them over the winter, plant something in them, and water them next summer? That is the question, do I want to deal with hanging baskets? There isn’t even a front porch at the new place.
They’ll go into the “maybe” pile. Things that we’re on the fence about and may part with if the moving truck gets too full.
How good are you about keeping your things at a minimum? Do you find it difficult to part with things?
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Plant Labels
Whenever I buy plants, the little markers that come in the pots are thrown into a bowl on my potting bench in the garage. Of course, there’s always a plan to do something with them, or to start a database of all the plants in the garden, but that never really materializes.
They are handy to have around, I find myself occasionally forgetting the name of a specific plants and sorting through the labels to find the tag. I also like to look through the bowl every now and then to see what plants haven’t survived.
The previous owners of this house often planted the tags along with the plants in the garden. They usually blew away, or got buried. Sometimes, when I’m planting something or working in the garden I’ll find one for a plant I didn’t purchase and it makes me smile. Kind of like a relic unearthed in excavation. It gives me a small glimpse into the previous gardeners that lived here.
What do you do with the tags that come with plants?
