What If???????

Friend Wanda over at Watered Soul participated in this simple list of Ifs.  I like it and want to play too!   You play along as well on your blog:

IF I were a month, it would be October:  love the colors and cool days, still mixed with warm.  And no    allergies in October!

IF I were a day, it would be Monday:  Get to move slow and line up the week

IF I were a time of day, it would be early!: Love the freshness and quiet of the morning

IF I were a season, definitely fall:  See month above.

IF I were a planet, definitely earth:  Not sure about living on the others!

IF I were a direction, it would be up:  It speaks to the possibilities!

IF I were a tree, I would be a cedar elm:  I like them.

IF I were an animal, I would be a daschund puppy

IF I were a musical instrument, I would be a piano 'cause that is what I want to play.

IF I were a fruit, probably watermelon - my favorite summer treat.

IF I were a food, definitely filet steak!

IF I were a color, green.  It soothes me.

IF I were a book, it would be a journal to write down things I love.

IF I were a song, it would be Dave Crowder's song I can't remember the name of

IF I were a movie, I would want to be an extra in "Spitfire Grill"

IF I were a flower, I would want to be a yellow rose of Texas

IF I were a facial expression, let it be a smile to bring joy to others.

Now it is your turn!

The Other Favorite House

This is my other favorite house because of the back story.  The house was going to be lost to a renovation of a near by hospital when the owners purchased it for $10.  Yes, you read that correctly.  They moved it to the current location at a cost of $29,000.  Then they lovingly and meticulously put it back together and restored this beautiful example of Arts and Crafts.

Edited: There is no logical reason why the sentance looks like that.  Hopefully you can still read it!





































The fireplace is fabulous.  The lettering above the mantel reads:

By hammer and hand do all things stand





The kitchen cabinets are original - carved open work with green glass handles.  The rest of the kitchen was also beautiful, including the high open shelves to show off the owner's glass juicers and reemers.



The breakfast nook - built in and so Arts and Crafts.  Just lovely.


This was just so cute - antique mirrors hanging above the tub.  I want to do this too!  But I only have one - oh well, at least I have something to look for at the antique stores!



If I knew how to do a contest, I would give a prize to the first person who could tell me what this is.  I wanted to put these in my house when we built but DH said no.

So there you have it.  My second favorite house.


If you are interested in learning more about Arts and Crafts style, check out this book on how to create the style in your home!

My first favorite house

I actually had two favorite houses from the home tour.  This is the first house we visited.  It is under restoration, not to be confused with renovation.  It is being stripped back to the beginning and restored the way it was built.  Fascinating.  The walls were lath and plaster.  The plaster was taken off the walls and the lath that had deteriorated is being replaced.  With the plaster torn off, it was easy to see how well made the house was!  The old floors are being restored as well.  The original bathroom fixtures are still in the house and hopefully will be used - they are beautiful! The basement (yes, a basement in Texas!) is being finished out as well.  Oh and the windows - double hung wood windows with ropes and weights to open and close them!  Too cool!  I could move into this house so easily. . .

Oh Bud, by the way, there were no snacks on our 2 hour walk.  And we had forgotten to grab water bottles!  Thankfully as we went through the houses some had water for us.  We had eaten at a Vegan restaurant - though neither of us is even vegetarian.  It was quite good - we knew that neither of our respective husbands would ever agree to try a vegan place - and we liked it.

I wonder what stories this house could tell.  Even more interesting was the quality of the old building.  Is there something to be learned?  If all the "pretty stuff" (plaster) was stripped from my life, would there be quality underneath?  Is there a solid structure?  Not by anything I have done - but only because my Savior is the quality.  He is the solid structure.

Home Tour

My daughter and I love to go on home tours.  Not the new house builder kind of tours, no.  We like the established neighborhood, historic home kind of tours.  So for Mother's Day, since we are both mothers, we gave ourselves a present and went on the Fairmount Historical Home Tour in Ft. Worth.  Here are four of the houses we saw.  Later I will discuss my favorite house with additional pictures:

When we picked up our tickets, the nice ticket person told us that it would be easy to walk this tour.  The very farthest house, said she, was only 8 blocks away, and everything else was closer.  As we began to walk. . .and walk. . .and walk, we wondered what counting system she used cause it was a lot more than 8 blocks!  By then we were committed and we carried on.  Certainly got our exercise for the day.  More tomorrow.

AmaZing Month - Blogging from A-Z

I accidentally fell into the A-Z challenge. It sounded like fun - sounded interesting. It wasn't intimidating at first - ignorance is bliss. Then I realized it was a challenge for writers! Real writers! Oh my! What was I doing here? Sheer stubbornness kept me going. I hate quitting!

It was a real surprise to find that I really enjoyed the writing! The words I chose were whatever came to mind for that letter on the day of the posting, or maybe the day before. Not a lot of advance thought - very random and spur of the moment.

What I did not expect from this challenge, the real blessing behind it all, were the new friends I have made. Wanda, Ellie, Bud, Lee, Sock Monkey, Dee the Red Head, Chris, Dragon's Muse, Shannon, Gregg, Stacey, Lorena, Grammie, and Tori. Our bond of Jesus is so strong - it was a joy to log in each day and see what the gang had written and what I would learn that day. Their wisdom challenged me to think about what a word meant - how the meaning or the story affected my life and the lives of others. I am actually going to miss the every day writing though every day checking on the gang will continue!

Now this thought is taking hold. Have you seen the "journals" where someone would write memories to pass on to their children and grandchildren? I generally do not care for the format of the pre-made journals. What if I wrote those memories from A-Z? Sounds more interesting than "What did you do in 1968?" There might be more than one word for a letter - but who cares - it would be fun! So gang, what do you think?

Will I blog more? Probably. Definitely with more confidence and greater anticipation of visiting with the gang.

Cars

My beautiful niece is in the market for her first car. Thinking about her car hunt brought back memories of my first few vehicles. The first car I had access to was a 1962 Chevy station wagon similar to the one on the right. Ours was gold. I got my driver's license a year before my friend Nancy who lived across the street. We were thrilled that one day a week I could have the wagon to drive to school. It meant that mother could not go anywhere that day, so the sacrafice was hers. When Nancy got her license the following year, she was allowed to drive her mother's Oldsmobile 98 to school one day a week. That meant that 2 days a week we could drive our "own" cars! Oh, the bliss!

After my first year of college, (no, I was not allowed to take a car to school my freshman year) daddy helped me find my own first car - a 1967 Pontiac LeMans. It was darker than the one pictured, and had a black vinyl roof and a white leather interior. It was something - I was crazy about that car - until some girl ran a stop sign, hit me broadside, and totaled my car.


Then the real love of my life entered the picture: a pale yellow 1969 Mustang! Best car ever! Same color as the car in the picture but did not have the intake on the hood. It was actually pretty basic. But it was a wonderful car! Black leather interior. It was not a big engine or anything like that, but it was mine. DH never loved that car like I did. Eventually we were transferred overseas and taking a '69 Mustang was not part of the deal. I have since looked for a '69 Mustang to purchase but apparently they are pretty rare - and honestly I guess I am not looking that hard.
So, sweet niece, your car is out there. And I hope you have as much fun, laughter, and good memories as I do of the gold wagon, the LeMans, and my dear lovely Mustang!