Perhaps they are not stars, but rather openings in Heaven where the love of our lost ones pours through and shines down upon us to let us know they are happy. Eskimo proverb

Our HoMe

Pennys, Towels, & Rolling pin Covers..I do custom work..made to order :>)

I don't have an attitude,
I have a personality you can't handle.

Friday, July 2, 2010

A TriP DoWn MeMoRy LaNe & GarDenInG.

Hey there!!! I searched and searched for some early photos of our home and how it has evolved to where it is today..and apparently I didn't take alot of photos of the inside decor...But I found a few to show you how it all started..This is our home being built in March of 1994...They had used all cedar on the house but we chose to have it painted almond with green trim and green where the cedar shakes are..wish we had left the cedar shakes back then..but we didn't know what they were using...and we also lived 3 hours from where this house was..so it was a jaunt to get here to peek at the progress..in fact Hubby moved up on the boat as he had been transferred 1 month prior to deploying...so he took most of these early photos...(these are not good photos cause this was before digital cameras..so these are photos of photos)...

This above photo was taken on my birthday May 12th 1994..my friend drove up with me to close on our home...I moved in in June of 94..Hubby was still gone to sea so I unpacked pictures on the wall in 7 days..I was speedy..I had nothing better to do and I didn't know a soul..in fact they were a day late with the shipment of my household goods..so I slept in a sleeping bag on an air matteress and lived out of a cooler...those were the days..
here is now June 2010


june 2010
Here is the old kitchen still hadn't moved in yet..but you get to see the lovely cabinets..that now reside in the garage and look fabulous out there..lol..builder beige walls no less.;)
after, june 2010
our back yard about a year after we moved in..we had a huge maple branch from the tree in front of me with all the green on it..fall on top of our house bounce off and land on the other side of the house..we thought it was an earthquake...squared us to death..we were in the early stages of putting in the brick patio and you notice the garbage can that is where our back porch deck is now..
the back porch patio..and Amy this is for you..see the Sunflowers..they were huge..won't be this year..
a photo looking into the living room..see the blue carpet...
The living room and the sectional couch..we got that sucker in 1987 and got rid of it in 2003...we loved the couch for the comfort..but it sure made the living room look small..it traveled with us to Italy and looked puny in the rooms there..but when we got back..oh it just took over the room..This room has the builder beige walls and then went to a pepto bismal tan/pink undertones color..to a martha stewart light yellow..I love it..to the current colors it is now..it also went through its americana stage, amish stage to its current phase shown below..Noticd the house lamp in the back there..our friend made us a replica of our home into a lamp..the windows open and it had the same red gingham check curtains in the front windows..we still have it upstairs in the garage..we just don't have any room for it..but it is made to scale..the trunk now lives in my bedroom..
We now have the hardwood floors and curtains..
this is the old bathroom downstairs...the cabinets are the same as the kitchen and the upstairs bathroom still has them..gotta paint them black and redo the up stairs bathroom..hopefully this month..after my show..it is time..cause it is sooo dated..that is Bear bum in the sink..he loved being in the sink..favorite place to get a drink..love the blue counter tops..that was also in the kitchen too...
here is the bathroom today..the toilet is opposite the sink now..
this is the very first thing we built when Mike got home from Sea..we built this retaining wall to keep the dirt from running into our house when winter hit..you see there is only a few ferns etc..we put in the walkways around the house too..
not sure what I planted there...
and here it is today..and you can see the landscape has filled out as well..we only purchased a few plants the rest came from a wonderful neighbor down the way that would divide up her plants and give them to me to plant..I have since divided up my plants and shared them with neighbors up our street...That is the tour of our home..wish I had more inside decor photos..I have alot of film that needs to be developed..wonder if that is it..and now I don't know where all the film is..oh well..I have my memories.;)
Okay this is what I did yesterday..I transferred the lavender plants to the big tree by the shed..above is the before photo...
and this is after..I spread out bark to fill it in...it looks so much better there now..
This is where the lavendar plants came from..this is the before photo..you see the lilac bush still in the pot and severely root bound..it was starting to die...it is in bloom here this year...
Hubby built me this box on monday and I spent 2 hours wheelbarrowing dirt into this hole..a 1/4 yard to be exact...and then I planted the lilac bush and some bulbs that you seen the little flowers above and added my trinkets to it..
it turned out so cute..much easier to mow around now..I gotta take some stain to cover the cut edges but it is done..I also mowed the lawn..and glad I did cause it rained about an hour after we came in for the night..
this was our garden in july of 1998...Hubby had built it out of railroad ties...it was small but we loved it..we had also planted photenia bushes along the fence line for privacy from our neighbors..when we got back from Italy they were so tall and over grown that you couldn't get to the back portion of the garden..so we ripped them out a couple of years ago..still gotta cut up the wood for our wood stove and haul off the rest of it..that is a project for another day..hopefully next week..that fence was to keep out our rottweiler...
here it is today..hubby rebuilt it with cinder block and painted the brick red, cause its my favorite color...we extended it as well..so we have a bigger garden..
my nastursims are blooming..I love them..and you will notice the whole garden is now fenced off to keep all the babys out of it..don't want them using it as their personal litter box or the dog trampling everything..
I had to share this photo..this little guy was trying to follow his mama into the garage kitty door this morning..he finally got in and then came right back out..they are so cute..but we don't want them around here...you say the word Raccoon around the dog and he goes balistic!!! and he has tangled with the mama twice now...and luckily it was all talk and no action..so we have to figure out a way to get rid of her...but they are sure cute...Well I am waiting to get my new fridge is should get here between 1:30-3:30pm...and hoping it gets here okay..so I won't be doing the strawberrys today like I had planned..but I am going grocery shopping today....Well I hope you enjoyed the tour of our early beginnings...Have a wonderful weekend..and a safe 4th of July..I am getting my hair done tomorrow..and sunday hubby works on the 4th..so I will go to church and come home and relax with the babies and or sew..depends on the weather...come tuesday though they are saying 80 degrees..so summer is finally coming to my neck of the woods..:)Oh I almost forgot..I sold the little beeskep towel last night on Etsy...
have a wonderful day..;>)

17 comments:

  1. WOW, what a transformation! I love your house and yard and gardens, it just looks so peaceful:) I too went through the different decorating stages, I think the country/prim is my favorite though so far:) Enjoy the holiday weekend!

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  2. Your home is beautiful. Absolutely stunning. I love each and every photo!

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  3. WOW! Gina you have done a LOT with your darling house. I loved the tour. I LOVE the picture of your darling yellow house at the top of your blog, too! Your house & garden should be in some home/garden magazine-- it's so cute.

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  4. thanks for the tour and trip down memory lane. Hope you enjoying THE SUN, yes that is what it is called!!! lets hope it sticks around

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  5. Thanks for the tour. LOVED it... can't believe you built that home and did all that landscaping yourself.Dang girl!!
    At first I thought the raccoon was one of your kitties and I was all..."aww how precious..." until I got a better look. YIKES!
    Enjoy the "warm" weather this weekend. I think if we only hit 80, we would be in sweaters. HA HA HA...

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  6. You have done wonders with it, sugar, and I think it's adorable. Love the gardens too...
    xoxo,
    Connie

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  7. Thanks so much for the wonderful tour Gina! Your home has always looked very nice but it is really neat to see what you have done with it over the years. I do love the yellow color now with your vines climbing... I love that old carrier basket that is on your new lilac box. I bet that lilac is happy to be able to stretch and grow now! Hope you have a great 4th!
    Jayne

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  8. Loved the tour of your home and gardens. Now the real question is did the refrigerator get delivered?

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  9. Very nice what you have done with your home, yard and garden. You all sure have done a lot of work and everything is just beautiful. Thanks, for sharing the before and after. Hugs

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  10. So neat to see the transformation of your home over the years, Gina. You two have done lots of work, through the years. Very nice! Love the picture with the bunts over the rails.

    And that lil coon, so very sweet, but very wicked when they get older.

    Have a happy and safe 4th.
    Hugs,
    ~Tonya

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  11. Ok im back... I don't know HOW I missed it the first time but OMG... those sunflowers???!!! How big are those beauties!!! What did you feed them to get them to touch the sky??? and did you need to support them?? I couldn't tell by the pictures. Just AMAZING!!
    =)

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  12. Gina,
    Love the before and after photos!! Not sure that I knew you guys had built you home...I can tell that it was a labor of love!! You have lived there about as long as we have here...we moved in here June of 1993.
    Your surprise is on it's way. The lady at the post said you should get it on Tuesday.
    Have a wonderful weekend.
    ~Cindy~

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  13. Gina,
    Love the before and after photos!! Not sure that I knew you guys had built you home...I can tell that it was a labor of love!! You have lived there about as long as we have here...we moved in here June of 1993.
    Your surprise is on it's way. The lady at the post said you should get it on Tuesday.
    Have a wonderful weekend.
    ~Cindy~

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  14. Sorry, not sure why that went through twice.

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  15. Wow! You have come a long way! Everything looks wonderful! I hope you have a fantastic 4th of July!

    ~Dan~

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  16. WOW!!! What a wonderful post!!!
    Just stoppin' in to wish you and your hubs a very happy and safe Fourth of July!! ♥
    ~Peanut

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  17. Loved your tour Gina and your gardens!
    Hugs,
    Lynn

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