We have spent a wee bit of time and more than a wee bit of money at a wonderful orchard near Shell Cottage. Our first visit we picked apples for 15 minutes and were surprised to find that we had accumulated over 40 pounds of apples! What further surprised us was how fast they disappeared, what with apple sauce, apple cake, and just plain eatin'!
I discovered a new apple on that trip, the Melrose. As big as my head (and I have a BIG head) and a wonderful balance between sweet and tart, I found them addictive.
We had to go back in very short order. And those apples went away pretty quickly.
That's when I realized, Hey! I have a yard! I can grow apples myself! So I started researching and studying and trying to make decisions. Yesterday I went back to the orchard -- the very last day of the season -- and asked a question about planting, and my friend the AppleMan asked me how much I was paying per tree. I told him and he said that he could tack on my trees to his order and get them for me for one-third the cost!
So come spring we will be planting three trees - Melrose, HoneyCrisp, and Smokehouse apples! And in 4 or 5 years we will be harvesting 12 bushels of apples a season! (A bushel weighs approximately 42 pounds!) We should be able to provide all of our friends and family with apples! And apple cake. And apple sauce. And apple butter. And mincemeat. And...and...and!
Showing posts with label Shell Cottage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Shell Cottage. Show all posts
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
It's Not the Same as a Trip to Paris
...but it will have to do for now. Last Thursday I cast on the Eiffel Tower Shawl, which was inspired by the iron work detail in the tower. I'm half-way through the second chart, and enjoying it. It is, for the most part, an easy, mindless knit -- which is exactly what I need right now! The end border will be more involved, which I am sure I will enjoy as well.
Norbert is home from camp. He grew two inches while at camp and is now 2 inches taller than I. And he is only 13! His return is much appreciated -- I didn't realize how much I rely on him for the tie breaking vote on things like going out for Vietnamese or buying ice cream for dessert! All joking aside, he is a good boy and I am so glad to have him back.
Next week is vacation. The three of us are going to Shell Cottage. We'll spend one day in Shipshewana, Indiana, but other than that we plan to stick around and go to the beach, go kayaking, and lay around and read a lot.
While on the subject of books, let me recommend a couple I have really enjoyed: "The Good Good Pig" by Sy Montgomery is at the top of this year's list. I enjoyed it immensely and it really touched me deeply. I'm also re-reading "Miss Mary Bobo's Boardinghouse Cookbook.". I love the unfussiness of the comfort food.
Gotta run. Have fun. Be good. Stay well.
Sunday, August 08, 2010
HOW 'S ABOUT A QUICKIE?
Myfanwe and I spent the weekend together at Shell Cottage sans Norbert, who is at camp. We went to hear Uncommon Folk at the band shell in the park and took a wonderful picnic of grilled pork (don't tell my Rabbi), sliced tomatoes, marinated green beans, some perfect melon, lemonade, and peach cobbler. We ran into a former colleague of Myfanwe's, Fakurdi, and her husband and son and ended up staying well after the concert was over. If the mosquitoes hadn't gotten so thick, I think we would have stayed even longer! They have a house nearby, so we'll be able to take up again soon.
So. This spring we had all the raggedy bushes in front of Shell Cottage ripped out and I planted 6 hedge roses (Rosa Rugosa) in front of the house. I wanted a low maintenance, healthy rose. When the roses came, they really looked like nothing more than sticks poking out of the ground. Not a surprise -- I knew and was expecting it. And I expected that they would bloom for the first time next year or possibly even the year after. So you can imagine my reaction to this:
I hope it will be in bloom when we are there next. If it is, I'll update the pics! Have a good week!
So. This spring we had all the raggedy bushes in front of Shell Cottage ripped out and I planted 6 hedge roses (Rosa Rugosa) in front of the house. I wanted a low maintenance, healthy rose. When the roses came, they really looked like nothing more than sticks poking out of the ground. Not a surprise -- I knew and was expecting it. And I expected that they would bloom for the first time next year or possibly even the year after. So you can imagine my reaction to this:
I hope it will be in bloom when we are there next. If it is, I'll update the pics! Have a good week!
Monday, April 26, 2010
Quick Update
Um. Where to start.
Work. Work. Work. Work. That pretty much tells the story of Monday to Thursday.
Friday. Worked -- a little bit longer than planned, but still out of the office in time to run home, throw the dog and the food into the (already packed) car, drive back downtown to pick up Myfanwe, and make it Norbert's school by 2:30.
We arrive at Shell Cottage in late afternoon, and I immediately started mowing the lawn because I wanted to get it cut before it started raining. I got the front law mowed before the rain came down, and it rained the whole rest of the weekend, so I never got to finish the back. It's going to be a bear to mow next Friday.
We had chicken, onions, mushrooms and sweet potatoes roasted with white wine and rosemary for dinner. It was ok. Norbert loved it. The boy is ALL about the mushrooms.
Saturday I woke with a migraine. Lots of meds and an ice bag later it was manageable, and coffee helped keep it at bay for the rest of the day. Which was good, as I had a lot to do. The rain was nice, soothing, and I loved knowing that the roses were being watered by G-d. That way I don't have to tote buckets. (Have I failed to mention that this house has no spigot to take water to the outside? No. Really! None.)
Mitzi had an appointment with the vet in Three Oaks. Mitzi needed her rabies vaccine and she desperately needed to have her nails trimmed. (Click Click Click all through the house!) It's so much easier to walk her over to the vet in Three Oaks than to drive downtown and park. The vet in Three Oaks is a quiet, pleasant man and I really liked that he apologized to Mitzi when he stuck his thermometer up her Hoopdeedoo. I also liked that the bill was half as much as in Chicago. We will definitely be repeat customers.
After the vet, we decided that Mitzi stank and needed a bath, so we drove a few miles to the town of Bridgman, which has a do-it-yourself dog was and feed store. Plastic aprons donned, we proceeded to wash and condition, rinse and dry poor Mitzi. She is such a good dog. I'm sure if I'd been poked and pinched and stuck with a needle, had something stuck up my folderol and then been dunked in water, well, let's just say that I wouldn't be happy about it. Mitzi is, above all, forgiving.
Saturday night there was a hog roast at the American Legion hall, the proceeds of which benefit the Three Oaks Flag Day Parade. Flag Day in Three Oaks is a very, very big deal. If you were taking your ACT, the correct answer would be, "Flag Day is to Three Oaks as the Tournament of Roses is to Pasadena." Or possibly, "Flag Day is to Three Oaks as Mardi Gras is to New Orleans." It's part of the life force -- the spirit of the place.
Sunday I made my favorite coffee cake. In the cookbook put out by the Women's Axillary of the Three Oaks American Legion it is called the Walton's Mountain Coffee Cake. Paula Dean has a variation -- which is really just the Walton's Mountain recipe without the 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon. (And, to be totally honest, it is better with the cinnamon.) I also increase the nuts and mess with the brown sugar, so I guess this is MY version, and I'm going to call it the Three Oaks Coffee Cake.
Three Oaks Coffee Cake
Gotta run.
Work. Work. Work. Work. That pretty much tells the story of Monday to Thursday.
Friday. Worked -- a little bit longer than planned, but still out of the office in time to run home, throw the dog and the food into the (already packed) car, drive back downtown to pick up Myfanwe, and make it Norbert's school by 2:30.
We arrive at Shell Cottage in late afternoon, and I immediately started mowing the lawn because I wanted to get it cut before it started raining. I got the front law mowed before the rain came down, and it rained the whole rest of the weekend, so I never got to finish the back. It's going to be a bear to mow next Friday.
We had chicken, onions, mushrooms and sweet potatoes roasted with white wine and rosemary for dinner. It was ok. Norbert loved it. The boy is ALL about the mushrooms.
Saturday I woke with a migraine. Lots of meds and an ice bag later it was manageable, and coffee helped keep it at bay for the rest of the day. Which was good, as I had a lot to do. The rain was nice, soothing, and I loved knowing that the roses were being watered by G-d. That way I don't have to tote buckets. (Have I failed to mention that this house has no spigot to take water to the outside? No. Really! None.)
Mitzi had an appointment with the vet in Three Oaks. Mitzi needed her rabies vaccine and she desperately needed to have her nails trimmed. (Click Click Click all through the house!) It's so much easier to walk her over to the vet in Three Oaks than to drive downtown and park. The vet in Three Oaks is a quiet, pleasant man and I really liked that he apologized to Mitzi when he stuck his thermometer up her Hoopdeedoo. I also liked that the bill was half as much as in Chicago. We will definitely be repeat customers.
After the vet, we decided that Mitzi stank and needed a bath, so we drove a few miles to the town of Bridgman, which has a do-it-yourself dog was and feed store. Plastic aprons donned, we proceeded to wash and condition, rinse and dry poor Mitzi. She is such a good dog. I'm sure if I'd been poked and pinched and stuck with a needle, had something stuck up my folderol and then been dunked in water, well, let's just say that I wouldn't be happy about it. Mitzi is, above all, forgiving.
Saturday night there was a hog roast at the American Legion hall, the proceeds of which benefit the Three Oaks Flag Day Parade. Flag Day in Three Oaks is a very, very big deal. If you were taking your ACT, the correct answer would be, "Flag Day is to Three Oaks as the Tournament of Roses is to Pasadena." Or possibly, "Flag Day is to Three Oaks as Mardi Gras is to New Orleans." It's part of the life force -- the spirit of the place.
Sunday I made my favorite coffee cake. In the cookbook put out by the Women's Axillary of the Three Oaks American Legion it is called the Walton's Mountain Coffee Cake. Paula Dean has a variation -- which is really just the Walton's Mountain recipe without the 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon. (And, to be totally honest, it is better with the cinnamon.) I also increase the nuts and mess with the brown sugar, so I guess this is MY version, and I'm going to call it the Three Oaks Coffee Cake.
Three Oaks Coffee Cake
- 3/4 cup chopped pecans, divided
- 18 knobs of frozen white dinner roll dough
- 1 pack (4 serving-size) NON-instant butterscotch pudding mix
- 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 stick butter, melted
- Generously grease a 10 in fluted tube pan.
- Sprinkle 1/2 cup pecans in the bottom of the pan.
- Arrange the frozen dough balls on top of the pecans.
- Sprinkle pudding mix over dough balls.
- Sprinkle brown sugars and cinnamon over the pudding.
- Sprinkle remaining nuts.
- Drizzle with melted butter.
- Cover with plastic wrap and leave to rise on the counter for 8 to 10 hours or refrigerate for 12 to 24 hrs.
- Uncover and bake 350 degree oven about 35 minutes or till top is golden brown.
- Let cool 5 minutes before inverting coffee cake onto a good size serving tray.
- Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.
Gotta run.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
I've Been Really, Really Busy
But that is really no excuse.
I've been doing the job of two people. Well, except for the 7 weeks when I had help. But he got a better offer and his last day was Good Friday. So I'm back to the job of two people.
When not at work, I've been enjoying Shell Cottage every possible moment. We try to go three weekends out of the month. I've done quite a bit of gardening and can't wait for high season so I can see everything going wild and blooming! I've discovered an absolutely huge..um...vine doesn't seem immense enough, but that's what we'll call it for now -- vine of wisteria growing through/over/in a spray of pine trees in the back yard.! My neighbor, DeeDee, says it is gorgeous in bloom.
One of the trees in the side yard is blooming! I don't know what kind of a tree it is, but it is beautiful!
The other tree in the side yard is the bottle tree. We are up to 12 bottles. Norbert gave me an early Fathers' Day present -- three unusual bottles, including red and yellow, which are unusual colors. You can just see the red bottle near the top of the pic above. DeeDee says the tree will bloom soon, as well, and that the blooms are white. If you have any weird bottles -- unusual colors, shapes, etc. -- send them to me! Nothing makes me quite as happy as adding another bottle to the tree.
We also have a shrub, above, blooming in the back yard. Again, I don't know what it is, but it is pretty.As for the front yard, all of the raggedy bushes have been pulled, the roots dug up, and 6 hedge roses planted in their place. It looks like six twigs have been stuck in the ground, but give it two or three years and they will be spectacular with blooms of pinkish red. (And in the fall, brilliant orange hips!) This past weekend Myfanwe and I put down landscape fabric around the roses and then a good, thick layer of mulch.
Knitting
I'm a little bitter about knitting, but trying to get past it.
I hated the Rose Leaf curtains (more than I can say) and ripped back almost to the beginning and decided to design my own using stitch patterns from books. It's only through one repeat and I already know I like it more.
More later. Please don't forget me!
I will not have the Cathedral Window Shawl finished in time for the State Fair. Early in the year I had scheduled to take a class at an LYS on knit-on lace edging, since it seems fairly difficult to learn from written instructions. But then, four days before the class, the LYS called, mortified, to say that the teacher's "scheduler" had inadvertently scheduled two events in two different states for the same day. The class was rescheduled, but -- such is my luck -- for a date I couldn't be there. So I'm going to have to put it on the back burner for a bit until I can find a teacher who can teach me.
I hated the Rose Leaf curtains (more than I can say) and ripped back almost to the beginning and decided to design my own using stitch patterns from books. It's only through one repeat and I already know I like it more.
More later. Please don't forget me!
Sunday, February 28, 2010
5.5!
We spent the weekend at Shell Cottage, where I was able -- for the first time in weeks -- to have genuine, guilt-free knitting time! And the result?
5.5 rows in 36 hours! That's 6347 stitches! And -- given work demands and the rigors of planning for the bar mitzvah -- I had been averaging half a row a day!
I have 8 rows left before the edging. And I can't begin the (1154 rows) edging until after I learn how to do it. And I won't learn how to do it until April 10th, when I am taking a class on Knitted Lace Edging from Franklin Habit at Loopy Yarns.
So when the body of the shawl is done, I am going to break my "One Project At A Time" rule and cast on a curtain for the front door of Shell Cottage. I have decided to knit Marianne Kinzel's Rose Leaf Curtain (above) in a butter-yellow cotton yarn that will take to starching. Mine will be probably a foot longer than that pictured, but I am going to stick with three repeats of the motif at the bottom. I don't want anything too fussy.
5.5 rows in 36 hours! That's 6347 stitches! And -- given work demands and the rigors of planning for the bar mitzvah -- I had been averaging half a row a day!
I have 8 rows left before the edging. And I can't begin the (1154 rows) edging until after I learn how to do it. And I won't learn how to do it until April 10th, when I am taking a class on Knitted Lace Edging from Franklin Habit at Loopy Yarns.
So when the body of the shawl is done, I am going to break my "One Project At A Time" rule and cast on a curtain for the front door of Shell Cottage. I have decided to knit Marianne Kinzel's Rose Leaf Curtain (above) in a butter-yellow cotton yarn that will take to starching. Mine will be probably a foot longer than that pictured, but I am going to stick with three repeats of the motif at the bottom. I don't want anything too fussy.
Sunday, January 03, 2010
You Never Forget Your First Time
Myfanwe, Norbert and I enjoyed our first visit to Shell Cottage. We did a little rearranging, a little cleaning, a little cooking, and a LOT of lounging. (Lounging being a family favorite!) We were at the cottage from Thursday the 31st until early this afternoon, so we celebrated our first New Years Eve, our first Shabbat, and my 46th birthday boom! boom! boom!
We also enjoyed the 18 inches of snow we received over the long weekend!
We found a veritable treasure trove of furniture in the basement! You may note that the only items of substance in the picture below that were NOT left behind by the previous owner are the lamp, the rocking chair, and Mitzi, the dog!
This cabinet, in particular, made Myfanwe very happy. It doesn't have any interior shelves, although it clearly had them at one time, so I am going to have shelving cut to size.
This six-sided table was my favorite piece left behind. I love the claw feet and the Greek key motif. I'm not terribly big on the silk flowers, but they add visual interest until we are able to replace them with a lamp.
See this tree? I own this tree! I have absolutely no idea what kind of tree it is, but I believe it is from the genus mine mine mine mine mine!
I don't own this tree -- at least not directly. It is in Dewey Cannon Park in Three Oaks, Michigan, just a couple blocks from Shell Cottage. In the summer there are band concerts in the band shell every Saturday night.
This is the Dewey Cannon.
After a couple of nights of (restlessly) sleeping on the air mattresses, Myfanwe wanted to make sure this was not a long-term arrangement. So we went to a mattress outlet in Michigan City and ordered three beds -- all very high quality -- a twin for Norbert, a surprisingly comfortable futon sofa for the loft/guest room, and a queen size for us. We wanted a king, but realized that it would a) be too big for the room, and b) that a king mattress would never fit up the tight little stairway. A queen mattress can be bent enough to get up, but not so a king. We then realized that a queen box spring wouldn't make it up, either, so we bought a split box spring. They all will be delivered next weekend! We weren't going to buy beds so quickly, but I'm glad we did. Now we can have people come to stay.
It just hit me that, since we have a king size and a twin at home, we have now have a queen size bed and a full size bed in Michigan and do not own a single set of queen or full sheets! Oh, well. If people want to come, they can bring their own sheets!
MORE EXCITEMENT!
Today I spoke with my cousin Katie who lives in Piney Flats, Tennessee. She is going to be coming up to the Chicago area to help her parents pack up and move house to be nearer their other daughter near South Bend, Indiana/Notre Dame University.
Katie is one of my favorite cousins. She's so good and kind and gentle. She looks a lot like our cousin, Sister Clemente, who is also good and kind and gentle.
When Katie comes up, she is going to bring me a present. A spectacular, heartbreaking, wonderful present. She is bringing me a set of china which had been my grandmother's which, when Katie got married, my grandmother gave to her. It is beautiful china. I plan to take it to Shell Cottage and make it our Shabbat china. I can't wait.
We also enjoyed the 18 inches of snow we received over the long weekend!
We found a veritable treasure trove of furniture in the basement! You may note that the only items of substance in the picture below that were NOT left behind by the previous owner are the lamp, the rocking chair, and Mitzi, the dog!
This cabinet, in particular, made Myfanwe very happy. It doesn't have any interior shelves, although it clearly had them at one time, so I am going to have shelving cut to size.
This six-sided table was my favorite piece left behind. I love the claw feet and the Greek key motif. I'm not terribly big on the silk flowers, but they add visual interest until we are able to replace them with a lamp.
See this tree? I own this tree! I have absolutely no idea what kind of tree it is, but I believe it is from the genus mine mine mine mine mine!
I don't own this tree -- at least not directly. It is in Dewey Cannon Park in Three Oaks, Michigan, just a couple blocks from Shell Cottage. In the summer there are band concerts in the band shell every Saturday night.
This is the Dewey Cannon.
After a couple of nights of (restlessly) sleeping on the air mattresses, Myfanwe wanted to make sure this was not a long-term arrangement. So we went to a mattress outlet in Michigan City and ordered three beds -- all very high quality -- a twin for Norbert, a surprisingly comfortable futon sofa for the loft/guest room, and a queen size for us. We wanted a king, but realized that it would a) be too big for the room, and b) that a king mattress would never fit up the tight little stairway. A queen mattress can be bent enough to get up, but not so a king. We then realized that a queen box spring wouldn't make it up, either, so we bought a split box spring. They all will be delivered next weekend! We weren't going to buy beds so quickly, but I'm glad we did. Now we can have people come to stay.
It just hit me that, since we have a king size and a twin at home, we have now have a queen size bed and a full size bed in Michigan and do not own a single set of queen or full sheets! Oh, well. If people want to come, they can bring their own sheets!
MORE EXCITEMENT!
Today I spoke with my cousin Katie who lives in Piney Flats, Tennessee. She is going to be coming up to the Chicago area to help her parents pack up and move house to be nearer their other daughter near South Bend, Indiana/Notre Dame University.
Katie is one of my favorite cousins. She's so good and kind and gentle. She looks a lot like our cousin, Sister Clemente, who is also good and kind and gentle.
When Katie comes up, she is going to bring me a present. A spectacular, heartbreaking, wonderful present. She is bringing me a set of china which had been my grandmother's which, when Katie got married, my grandmother gave to her. It is beautiful china. I plan to take it to Shell Cottage and make it our Shabbat china. I can't wait.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
CLOSURE!
We went for the walk through this morning. Uneventful. Except that we didn't have a key. It seems our real estate agent lost the only key while traipsing through the snow with the roof inspector. (The roof has been certified for the next 5 years, and the one little iffy spot has been patched.)
Never let it be said that I let something as insignificant as a key stand in my way. (I once got a job in Illinois Government because I knew how to pick a lock. I kid you not.) I didn't have the proper tools to pick the lock, but I was able to open a small window and send Norbert through to open the door. The walk-through proceeded right on schedule. (And a locksmith will have everything straightened out tomorrow morning.)
I can't be upset with her -- she has been so helpful during this process. And she gave us a wonderful housewarming present -- a $100 gift certificate to Driers Butcher Shop! Smoked meats, here I come!
Some of the furniture we loved stayed, and some left. Ah well. We shouldn't be greedy. We have a sofa. We having a dining table. We have dressers and some glass-fronted cabinets. We do not have any beds, but we have inflatable mattresses which will work for now!
I cleaned the kitchen -- all but the floor -- and got the cabinets lined, the dishes unpacked and washed and put away, and all of the boxes we brought today unpacked. Tomorrow Norbert and I are taking another load, and I plan to sweep and wash all of the floors. Then Thursday he and I will go out and Myfanwe will join us after work and we will spend a relaxing 4 day weekend!
Myfanwe and I have talked about having a place of our own in Michigan for 17 years. It often made us sad, since we always thought it would be out of our reach. We hate to think we took advantage of the state of the economy, but in some respects, we did. We never could have afforded to purchase the house if the real estate market hadn't taken a serious dip. (I think it's on the rebound, by the way.) In another respect, the seller needed to sell the house, the realtors needed commissions to pay their bills, the bank needs to make money off of mortgages...we were sort of doing what we were supposed to do, right?
I'm tired, and I still have a van to pack. There will be pictures soon, but I don't know when. We won't have the interwebz in Michigan, so I probably won't post pics from there.
Thank you to all of my friends, both near and far, for their stalwart support and for never once telling me that I had grown tedious with all this talk about a stupid summer home.
After the closing we stopped for lunch
Never let it be said that I let something as insignificant as a key stand in my way. (I once got a job in Illinois Government because I knew how to pick a lock. I kid you not.) I didn't have the proper tools to pick the lock, but I was able to open a small window and send Norbert through to open the door. The walk-through proceeded right on schedule. (And a locksmith will have everything straightened out tomorrow morning.)
I can't be upset with her -- she has been so helpful during this process. And she gave us a wonderful housewarming present -- a $100 gift certificate to Driers Butcher Shop! Smoked meats, here I come!
Some of the furniture we loved stayed, and some left. Ah well. We shouldn't be greedy. We have a sofa. We having a dining table. We have dressers and some glass-fronted cabinets. We do not have any beds, but we have inflatable mattresses which will work for now!
I cleaned the kitchen -- all but the floor -- and got the cabinets lined, the dishes unpacked and washed and put away, and all of the boxes we brought today unpacked. Tomorrow Norbert and I are taking another load, and I plan to sweep and wash all of the floors. Then Thursday he and I will go out and Myfanwe will join us after work and we will spend a relaxing 4 day weekend!
Myfanwe and I have talked about having a place of our own in Michigan for 17 years. It often made us sad, since we always thought it would be out of our reach. We hate to think we took advantage of the state of the economy, but in some respects, we did. We never could have afforded to purchase the house if the real estate market hadn't taken a serious dip. (I think it's on the rebound, by the way.) In another respect, the seller needed to sell the house, the realtors needed commissions to pay their bills, the bank needs to make money off of mortgages...we were sort of doing what we were supposed to do, right?
I'm tired, and I still have a van to pack. There will be pictures soon, but I don't know when. We won't have the interwebz in Michigan, so I probably won't post pics from there.
Thank you to all of my friends, both near and far, for their stalwart support and for never once telling me that I had grown tedious with all this talk about a stupid summer home.
After the closing we stopped for lunch
Sunday, December 27, 2009
ENTERING THE HOME STRETCH
We close on Shell Cottage on Tuesday.
We have packed dishes and pans, sheets and pillows, flatware and utensils, a down comforter and the extra coffeemaker.
We have purchased towels and shampoo, inflatable beds and a dish rack, glassware and dish towels.
You will notice that there isn't a lot of furniture on that list. That would be because we don't have any. Our plan has been, at least for the present time, to sleep on the inflatable beds in our respective bedrooms, then carry them to the living room or family room to lounge -- just until we can afford to purchase more, um, substantial furniture.
Yesterday, however, the phone rang. It was our real estate agent, Jaye -- who is really spectacular, so if you are in the market, you should really use her -- calling to say that the owner's agent had called because the owner was going out to Shell Cottage to get some personal items and wanted to know if it would be ok if she left some of the furniture! I nearly cried.
The only thing we know for certain she is leaving is the dining room set -- which makes us happy because now we can leave the Arts & Crafts set that we bought at an estate sale in our Chicago condo which actually IS Arts & Crafts! (Myfanwe wanted to all along, and I love being able to make her happy!) I would be so happy if the owner were to leave one of the couches. But I shan't get my hopes up. I also love all of the end tables -- they are all old 40's and 50's pieces painted white. But again, I shan't get my hopes up. We will know for sure when we arrive at the cottage for the walk through on Tuesday.
I'm going to bake some cookies for the owner tonight. And maybe some more tomorrow. She's been so very, very good to us and helped to make a long-held dream come true.
We have packed dishes and pans, sheets and pillows, flatware and utensils, a down comforter and the extra coffeemaker.
We have purchased towels and shampoo, inflatable beds and a dish rack, glassware and dish towels.
You will notice that there isn't a lot of furniture on that list. That would be because we don't have any. Our plan has been, at least for the present time, to sleep on the inflatable beds in our respective bedrooms, then carry them to the living room or family room to lounge -- just until we can afford to purchase more, um, substantial furniture.
Yesterday, however, the phone rang. It was our real estate agent, Jaye -- who is really spectacular, so if you are in the market, you should really use her -- calling to say that the owner's agent had called because the owner was going out to Shell Cottage to get some personal items and wanted to know if it would be ok if she left some of the furniture! I nearly cried.
The only thing we know for certain she is leaving is the dining room set -- which makes us happy because now we can leave the Arts & Crafts set that we bought at an estate sale in our Chicago condo which actually IS Arts & Crafts! (Myfanwe wanted to all along, and I love being able to make her happy!) I would be so happy if the owner were to leave one of the couches. But I shan't get my hopes up. I also love all of the end tables -- they are all old 40's and 50's pieces painted white. But again, I shan't get my hopes up. We will know for sure when we arrive at the cottage for the walk through on Tuesday.
I'm going to bake some cookies for the owner tonight. And maybe some more tomorrow. She's been so very, very good to us and helped to make a long-held dream come true.
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