Could it be love? November 24, 2010

While driving around our target area, we searched for “for sale” signs, but as life would have it, we found the house we want. And it’s not for sale. Darn. That didn’t stop us from poking around. I mean, we didn’t break in, but we did walk around the sides of the property and peek in the front window. She is very much vacant and starting to fall asleep….

Built in 1909.

We have actually been stalking the house for a little while on google street view. When we got into town, we knew exactly where to go to see her in person. And she was every bit as glorious stansing tall in front of us, just as she presented herself on the streetview image. Sadly, she has been neglected. No one values her now that she has become old and tired.

Standing on the front porch, zooming in on the porch roof details. Perfect example of a Neoclassic Revival.

Another view of her soaring columns. They are magnificent when you are close up.

So after we tresspassed, we went to the courthouse to get every piece of info we could on the property. We found out that who the owner was and some other things like the lots size, the history, taxes owned, etc. Did we leave it at that? Of course not. It was now an adventure. We went straight to the old owner’s house and there was the guy, sitting on his front porch smoking. I did all the talking. We chatted for about 30 minutes about the old days and what we wanted to do with that glorious house. And if he would consider letting it go. I told him to not give us an answer right now, but to think about it a little while. I left my name and number. I don’t want to go into all the details of the conversation, but I will say that it looks promising. It *might* be the new homestead one day. No telling how many hoops we will have to jump through, because it will have to be sold through succession. That means lawyers and heirs, but it is worth it. We will see where it goes and keep everyone updated.

I should also add that we are still looking for a big yard and a place that I could run my business out of. This property is an half acre, and it includes a giant workbuilding in the back with 4 skylights in it. It was originally an art studio. How perfect! And there is plenty of room left over to grow all the veggies and fruits we want and of course, add a chicken coop. All in all, it seems to have everything on our wishlist and more.

We also looked at a few other places such as these:

We like this old foursquare too, but I'm not sure why someone would have spray painted it salmon pink??

Interior shot of a house we toured with a realtor. The house was 3 stories high with almost 5000sq ft. The yard was great. The house was crooked. Every room slanted to a different side. Fantastic woodwork throughout.

Cute attic bedroom with beadboard walls. This was one of the 7 bedrooms. Crazy!

The best feature of this house, besides the yard, was this grand staircase that wrapped up into the second story. From there, was another simpler staircase that ascended to the 3rd floor. Try to ignore the sinful red carpet.

We learned alot from this experience so far. Like, when a realtor comes into the picture, expect to pay way more for a house. And what one person deems as “great” shape is another person’s dump hole…

We’ll keep you posted, but I have a sneaking suspicion that this will be a long process since we will most likely take the unconventional route. Would you expect any less from us??

A hike by the old mill October 22, 2010

Near our town is an old mill that was once in operation before the Civil War. The area surrounding it is now a park that is working hard to preserve the ruins and create display in their museum that educate the people about old culture. The park has several little trails that wind through the hills, woods and a very rocky creek.

No hesistation to just abandon the trail and climb up a giant pile of rocks.

We had to take lots of breaks because of #3. It was really rocky!

Ruins of the mill. Apparently, the mill workers all lived immediately around the mill and walked to work. However, there are no log cabins or other structures still standing today.

Mill close up.

Looking upstream. Remember our big flash flood last year? Well, this area of the metro got it bad. Real bad. This creek was all over the place!

North Georgia Eye Candy January 17, 2010

Husband and #1 went camping this weekend in the cold rainy slop with the boyscouts. Not even gross weather can make north GA look bad. Sigh. Absolutely a beautiful place to be.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Freezing and wet ALL weekend long...

 

Snug as a bug in a rug here at home.

11 Hour Drive December 9, 2009

Yes, 11 hours in a Honda Accord with three children. Ain’t life grand? Actually, to my surprise, they did very well this year since Husband bought them two little movie screens to hang on the back of the seats. They must have watched 6 or 7 movies on the way there. Most of the time I was watching the scenery out the window. Most people think I-20 is boring, but I am fascinated to see how the little towns along the route are expanding. Unfortunately, I’m guessing that their cute little downtown areas aren’t thriving anymore  since Old Navy/Target/Barnes & Noble came to the service road…sad. Anyways, we had a great Thanksgiving with Husband’s family!

Are we in Louisiana yet?? Yeah, right after this big ole bridge.

 

We took this same shot last year.

 

Best BBQ place ever. period.

 

Cousins were playing t-ball. Sorta.

 

The little ones were very busy.

First Thanksgiving for our newest cousin.

You can tell I am getting old, because all the pictures are of the kids. Here is their Thanksgiving table.

 

#3, under the slide with her cousin born one month before her.

 

#2 on the swings

 

#1 with his cousin.

 

Husband was playing "keep-away" and the kids never could catch him.

 

Don't worry, #1. You will definitely catch him next year. He is slowwwwwing down. Getting old, you know.

 

We took this right before heading back to Georgia.

 

Our college campus. "Lady of the Mist" I must admit, I was a little surprised that she had her nose and that no one had drawn black marks on her chest (if you know what I mean)

#2 and #3 crawled around the Lady of the Mist about 100 times. I just knew one of them would fall in, but no one did. I know, I don't believe it either!

I spent MANY hours in this building, singing my heart out.

 

It was almost midnight when we pulled into the garage. Amen for safe trips.

 

Also, I have to tell y’all about our new “almost” addition. And no, we didn’t build onto the house. Here is a little preview:

I know, I know November 12, 2009

Not much blogging going on. I guess we have been swamped with fall activities. Everything is coming along fine with the floors. We are at a stopping point in the foyer though. We have to build a plank to get from the stairs to the dining room so that the foyer floor finish won’t have little footprints on it. That is on the aganda for this weekend and will most likely become a cubscout project. Speaking of cubscouts, Husband and the boys went on a camping trip this past weekend and thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

They made these catapults and launched raw eggs at the older boyscouts.

Technically, #2 is too young to be in cubscouts, but they let him participate anyway.

 

#1 makes careful aim. This will come in handy when we start shooting at squirrels together. Ah, good times.

 

While they were sleeping out in a tent, I was finishing up the last coats of tung oil in the dining room.

La Fayette June 21, 2009

Down the road from Cloudland is a little mountain town called La Fayette. We stopped in for some barbeque on the way home and found the city park to play in. There was a hot rod event going on, but it was a charming town with lots of Civil War history.

 

Can you feel the 90 degree heat?

 

Playing in squirters at city park

 

#3 was VERY unsure of the squirters at first. It took a good 15 minutes before she would even touch the water with her finger. After that, she was drenched.

 

#1 had a water fight with a local kid. Very fun to watch.

 

The park was built entirely through donations. Every lightpost, chair, bench, brick, etc is in someone's memory.

 

House in city park that was built in the 1830's served as a meeting place during the Civil War.

 

Another old house in the park that was part of Tennessee brigade during Civil War

 

Barbeque on a bench.

 

These plaques were all along the highway.

Saturday in Cloudland June 21, 2009

This was another impromptu day trip that everyone loved. A couple hours up the road is the most pristine and gorgeous place called Cloudland. Within minutes you will know how this place acquired its name- you feel like you can touch the clouds from where you are standing. Absolutely breath-taking. Warning: This post may make you want to pack up all your things and put your house on the market.

 

Standing on the lookout point into Cloudland Canyon

 

Some passerby snapped our picture.

 

Husband completely greased #3 's hair down with sunblock.

 

The view looking to the left was untouchable. You could see clear to Tennessee.

 

They left no rock unclimbed.

 

I just had to sit in this tree. It was hanging on the side of the mountain trail.

 

#2 kept exclaiming how this rock "has to be 1000 pounds!!"

 

After hiking all the way down that trail and stepping about 500 stairs, you just have to take a picture of the waterfall.

 

The waterfall emptied into a pool that cascaded into a creek. The kids were climbing on all the rocks. #2 asked me who put all this stuff here. I said "God did." #2 says "God must be really strong."

 

This giant rock formation was probably 100 feet high. Amazing!

 

Taking a rest in the little cave.

 

The littlest hiker made it up many flights of stairs by herself...and many flights of stairs NOT by herself. Look close and you can see the boys way up ahead.

 

Swinging at the Cloudland Canyon State Park

 

My kids seem to have lots of upper body strength- and lots of energy even though we just hiked mountains.

 

Spider monkey

 

Spider monkey in-training.

 

Not-so-spider monkey these days...

 

#3 was seriously trying to do everything the boys were doing.

Memorial Day in the South June 4, 2009

What do you do with your kids on Memorial Day when it has rained for many days in a row. No, not build an ark…

Take them on a day trip! So we decided to drive out to a little hole-in-the-wall town near the Alabama border just to see what it was all about. I have actaully read about it on the internet and found the town to be quite charming. Cave Spring is a little place known for their natural spring water that gushes out from a cave. The town itself is a sleepy place that nestles in the Coosa Valley with historic houses and rolling farm land. We went to the park that is on the center of town. As soon as we got there, a little church congregation was gathered around for a baptism at the creek that wound through the park. After watching, we walked over to the cave and then played in the water.

 

Part of Main Street

 

#2 posing inside the pavillion at town center

 

Historic bed and breakfast in the middle of Rolater Park

 

Scary little cave dwellers

 

Inside the cave, looking out

 

#1 on the playground

 

#3 has decided that "swings" are on her most wanted list.

 

More playground.

 

I'm not sure that you can see from the pic, but the spring empties into a large outdoor swimming pool shaped like the state of Georgia. I think it is the largest spring fed pool in the state.

 

These ducks were more domesticated than my dog. They would walk right up to people.

 

Wading in the spring. Can you guess who "accidently" fell in twice?

 

She was very pleased with herself that she got wet up to her stomach. Well, until she had to get back in her stroller in wet pants. That part was not so good...

Thoughts on Camping April 22, 2009

I have been thinking alot about the topic of camping. As a kid, nothing was more exciting (to me anyway) than hearing Dad mention how me might go camping this weekend. The week would drag like a giant bag of bricks until Friday. when we hitched the pop-up camper to the wagon and got ready to head out for the property in Mississippi. Oh the memories…. Lots of those trips incorporated other family members or church friends and their families. I really loved camping and amazingly, I still do! We have tent camped with our kids a handful of times and most of the experiences have been good- even with rain and wind. After this last trip and the positive reaction of #3, who was our biggest worry, we intend to make a habit of camping. Which got me to thinking….

How long do I really want to be in a tent on the ground? I am not by any means knocking tent camping. I like it. But it is a little hard with three kids for a long term solution. So after surfing the web for a bit, I found my perfect match. Here she is-

A vintage Shasta travel trailer

I even like the color.

 

Another view of the front.

 

Love the interior.

 

But you know I can’t buy one. I swore I wouldn’t bring home anymore orphans. Bummer. I’m a girl of my word.

High on a Mountain of Love April 11, 2009

Yeah, that’s where we were. We camped on a mountain that was well loved. My aunt’s land is fantastic. She has a view to Missouri and stars that hover over in the millions. And a constant 30 to 40 mile an hour wind that blows. Well, that could be the downside in the winter time, but it sure is beautiful there. After what seemed to be hours of driving around curbs and bends, ridgetops and valleys, we finally reached her cabin on the mountain. Husband and the boys pitched the tent and slept out there even though temps dropped to 26 degrees that night with a strong windchill. They huddled together under several sleeping bags, but managed to escape pneumonia and frostbite. #3 and I slept in my aunt’s loft on the Memory foam mattress (and boy do I remember how comfy that was). Here are a few pictures of her place.

#1 took this shot as we were driving up through the mountains.

 

I love the winding road that leads to the house. So picturesque.

My aunt has recently started a goat herd and they have put a lot of work into fencing off several pastures and wiring the fence to keep out predators and such. She bought a herding dog to watch over them. And lucky, lucky, us to be there while some of her does were giving birth to the most adorable little fuzzy creatures you have EVER seen.

The "goatie girls" as my aunt calls them.

 

This little guy was born at about 2 lbs (which is low birth weight) and was soooo adorable. I got to hold him and I wish you could have heard the little sounds he made.

The next day we went hiking down in Lost Valley. The boys loved it. #3 ate it UP!! #2 did OK, especially since he was drugged on Dramamine for carsick and Benadryl for severe allergies (pollen and stuff). But he walked the whole two miles through the rocky ups and downs. #3 didn’t. It was like having a big heavy tumor hanging on your side…

Old cabin from the 1850's in Boxley Valley. Now this was roughing it.

 

Me and #1.

 

Yes, he climbed on everything.

 

More rock climbing

 

This is how #3 "hikes."

 

They found a little cave they could cram into. Sorta feels like the Honda...

Well, I’m kinda nostalgic this way, in that I didn’t realize that I was retracing my steps from vacations’ past. But I have a desire to go back to all the places I visited as a kid to see what it looks like now. And memories come rushing back about my childhood- things I couldn’t remember on any other given day, but put me in in the place where something happened, and the memory is clear as mountain water. We couldn’t go to north AR and NOT go to Branson. So we drove north across the state line and saw Table Rock lake.

 

The bridge over Table Rock Lake. The water was so blue.

And if you are a member of my family, you know where we were going next, right???? Silver Dollar City. Yep, that’s right. It warranted the rip-off $200 price tag for just a mere few hours of entry. I had to see it. Had to ride the train with the stick-up and the silly little “Fire in the Hole” ride and of course, watch someone blow glass- just like I did when I was about 7 yrs old. Well. let’s just say that Silver Dollar City is a tad more commercialized these days, but it was still so fun for the kids.

Standing at the entrance after riding the little bus from parking lot 5. Yes, there are now 5 lots which reminded me a little of National Lampoon's Vacation...

 

You see alot of signs like this through the park.

 

We were waiting for the steam engine train at the station. It takes you around the park where there is a planned out train robbery, performed by some shady looking actors. But these guys were so tickled, that everytime they made eye contact with each other, they lost it and laughed like crazy. They picked the one black lady on our train (a few seats in front of us) to be their "Ma" (even though they were both white guys). She said she was with the "Yankee" next to her, and her husband sure enough, had on a Yankees hat. Everyone was dying laughing as these guys came up with dialogue on the fly.

 

#3 couldn't ride many rides. While I'm sure she would meet the weight requirement, she was not tall enough yet. #2 now makes the height requirement and went on a scary roller coaster with me and #1. He was terrified while we were flying down the drops and curbs, but wanted to ride it again when it was over.

 

On our way back through TN, we stopped here at Loretta Lynn's Kitchen for brunch. This giant buffalo was out front and the boys were fascinated by it. #3 was scared to death of the thing and kept squealing every time you brought her near it.

Well, I am done posting pics for now. I forgot to tell y’all that we took a special photo at Silver Dollar City- the kind where they dress you up in Civil War costumes and put you in a historic parlor for a sepia print. It came out adorable. All the kids loved being dressed up with hats and weaponry, but #3 took the cake on this one. She loved wearing a big princess style gown and kept touching it and looking at it. I will have to scan in the picture later, because I have been on here way too long this morning. Hope you enjoy our vacation as much as we did!