Priming: What a Project!

We are still plugging along at the house in Hooterville, making progress, little by little.

This past week, we’ve been busy priming.

And priming.

And priming some more!  

I think we went through 6 GALLONS of  Zinsser Bullseye 123 primer!  And 2 gallons of Gripper.

But the priming is finally DONE!

And boy, what a different just one  coat of primer has made in lightening, brightening and changing the atmosphere in some of the rooms!

Would you like to see?

The dining room wall went from this…

to this.

 

The “teal room” went from this…

to this!  (Wow, that carpet actually doesn’t look half bad when it’s not fighting with aqua walls, does it?  But it will still be replaced with something more neutral.)

 

The blah brown master bedroom before…

is already looking a little less dreary with just primer on the walls and baseboards. 

 

The wallpapered office before…

and after wallpaper removal.

 

There are 13 wood doors in this house. Each and every one of  those doors and all of the 5,000 miles of wood baseboards and door moldings needed priming. 

Well…I’ll admit 5,000 miles of molding might be a slight exaggeration but, at my age, it sure FEELS like 5,000 miles when I am sitting on the floor with my legs curled up underneath me as  I paint…and paint…and paint.  

 

Now that the priming is done,  I get to scoot around the house  on my hands and knees a second time, applying crisp, white semi-gloss paint to all the  baseboards and moldings. 

After we got all the doors and moldings primed,  I started to  feel like we have finally turned a huge corner.  In reality, there is  a lot more painting ahead  but now I can actually see we’ve made progress!

If all goes according to schedule, I hope to  start putting color on the walls the day after Thanksgiving!  I’m really looking forward to seeing how much “my” colors change the look and feel of each room.

At some point this week, I will try to take a break from working inside so I can take a few photos of all the progress outside. 

Tractor & Carpet Shopping

Hubby has been looking for a BIG used tractor with a BIG scoop on the front  to use at our property  in Hooterville so today he and I took a  drive a couple hours north of the Tampa Bay area to Ocala, Florida to preview some used farm equipment that will be auctioned off this Friday.

The lobby of the auction house had several of these floor to ceiling display cases filled with all types of model tractors.  I bet little (and big) boys go nuts when they see all those tractors.

Hubby only found one tractor that would meet his needs but unfortunately, it was already sold  so he will continue shopping.

 

Meanwhile, I’m trying to decide on carpet and wood laminate flooring.   I find it so darn difficult to chose a color because the colors always look so much different on a larger scale than they do in the little display swatches in the store. 

Hopefully, I’ll have some more photos of the progress on the house in Hooterville in a few days.

An Apology To Those Who Leave Comments

It has been almost 6 months since I started my blog and up until this week, I had  received only a couple spam comments during that time.  However,  for some reason, I have received 3 or 4 spam comments in this past week alone, primarily on older posts.  I don’t understand why all of a sudden I am now getting a rash of these  unsavory comments but I don’t want links for male “enhancement” products etc.  “dirtying” up my blog.  If possible, I’d like to nip this in the bud so,  for now,  I have decided to enable the Word Verification feature for comments.

It really saddens me to have to resort to this because I know most people dislike having to type those Word Verification letters when they want to leave a comment.   As you probably know, another option would be for me to turn on the “Comment Moderation” feature instead of the Word Verification  but if I use the Comment Moderation,  your comments would not appear until I had a chance to approve them.  With me running back and forth to the house in Hooterville, I might not get a chance to approve your comments right away and I’d really like for  comments to appear as soon as you leave them.

If you have a preference… Word Verification or Comment Moderation…please feel free to let me know.  (To use both would be redundant so it would be either one or the other.)

Again, I apologize for this inconvenience to you.    Please know I only plan on  using one of these features for a short time, in an effort to  see if it will encourage the spammers to go elsewhere.

Ooooops! We Weren’t Expecting THAT!

I guess when you buy a house it’s normal  for unexpected problems  to pop up.

Even if you have the house inspected by a certified house inspector prior to purchase, like we did,  there are bound to be a few surprises.

Our first surprise at the house in Hooterville arose a mere 24 hours after we became the new owners. 

No water! 

Oooops!  We weren’t expecting THAT!

This city girl is accustomed to turning on the faucets and getting city water any time of the day or night.  Now that I’m going to be living in the country, I guess I have to get use to our water coming from a well…and apparently a problem with the well pump can  affect my ability to have water whenever I want it.   Hmmm…who knew? 

Hubby made his first trip (of about 6 since Friday)  to Lowe’s to buy a pressure switch to fix the well pump.

Then one of the toilets started leaking. 

Oooops!    We weren’t expecting THAT!

Hubby went back to Lowes for more parts but ultimately decided that since there are two other bathrooms in the house, he would just turn the leaking toilet off and repair it later.

Once I started stripping the wallpaper in the breakfast room, I discovered a second wallpaper pattern (stripes) under the solid blue paper. 

Oooops!  I wasn’t expecting THAT!

Since stripping wallpaper is one of my favorite projects  (NOT!), I was a little disheartened  to find TWO layers needed removing instead of just one.

Then we removed some decorative wood “shingles” under the bay window and found mildew and rotted wallboard. 

Oooops!  We weren’t expecting THAT!

Apparently the window just needs more caulk outside.  Caulking and replacing wallboard have now been added to the “To Do” list.

On the positive side, all the chair rail has been removed and about half the wallpaper is down.

This wall has gone from this…

to this.

 

And the hallway to the bedrooms has gone from this…

 

to this!

 

All the windows got measured for plantation shutters today but for now,  I just ordered the one for the bay window, since covering that window is a priority for privacy and to reduce the amount of sun (and heat) that comes in that big expanse of  glass.  The ceilings got a fresh coat of paint today too. 

Outside, things are equally busy.  The property has been mowed with a “bush hog.”  All of the overgrown plants and bushes around the house have been cleared away.  (I was absolutely adamant  nothing be left that could harbor snakes!) 

After only 2 days of use, Hubby’s new “farm tough” chain saw already died, which meant another trip back to Lowe’s to return it and get a new one!

The 4500 feet of new fencing (6,000 pounds)  has been delivered and we are waiting for the fence posts to be delivered so the fence installer can begin.  And the big barn got pressure washed today.

Slowly but surely things are happening at the house in Hooterville!

It’s a Done Deal

 

It’s officially a done deal.

We now own a horse farm.

We signed the papers on the Hooterville house this afternoon.

I’m still somewhat shell-shocked because it all happened so fast.  Approximately 6 weeks from start to finish!

After the closing, we spent more than three hours in Lowe’s loading up two carts with our first round of supplies…paint, tools,  a chain saw, new door locks, etc.

 

I don’t know why this makes me laugh so much…  Hubby has his first “farm tough” toy!

Tomorrow we’re off to WalMart to purchase a load of cleaning supplies.

Then the hard work begins.

I will be  updating you as often as possible on the progress.

You Never Know Who You Will Meet Via Craigslist

Recently, I saw this dining table and chairs advertised for sale on my local Craigslist.  I thought it might work for the breakfast room at the house in Hooterville so I contacted the seller and asked to come see it.

 

Interestingly, the seller lives only minutes from me.  And even more interesting…she is a real estate stager/interior designer.   She gave me a tour of her home and it is cottage cute!  Just my style.

As it turned out, her table was much  too big for my breakfast room but in the course of our conversation, I told her how overwhelmed I have been with all the decorating decisions I need to make at the house in Hooterville and  I asked her if she would be willing to  help me with some decisions.  She said she would be glad to and she even offered to give me a very affordable discounted hourly rate. 

She wanted me to email her some photos of my current house, the new house, inspiration photos of rooms or furniture, and a list of things I liked and didn’t like with regard to decorating.  Once she saw the pictures of my current decorating style, she said she was really excited to work on this project with me because our tastes are so similar.

Today, she and her business partner drove all the way over to the new house and we spent three hours walking through each room,  talking about flooring options, the furniture I’m bringing with me from my current house, furniture pieces I need to buy, placement of furniture,  etc.     Overall, their ideas for the house are almost identical to what I had envisioned. 

They did suggest  some interesting paint colors that I would not have selected on my own.   However, they pointed out the new house does not get a lot of natural light so my choices in paint need to be different than what I would use in my current home, which is flooded with natural light, especially in the afternoons.

I think I’m going to step outside my comfort zone and try these colors  anyway because, after all, it’s just paint. 

Having her as a resource has really taken some of the stress of decision-making off of me.  What would be the chances that  I would answer an ad on Craigslist and end up meeting a decorator who shares my love of cottage style?  I think she was heaven sent.

Creamy Crock Pot Chicken with Pasta

Now that the weather is turning cooler, this very easy  recipe will be on the menu a little more often at my house.  Although it is certainly not low calorie or low fat, it is “stick-to-your-ribs” comfort food at its  best!  My family loves it, especially my daughter.   I always invite her over for  dinner when I know I’m going to be making this recipe.

The ingredients and preparation are really simple…

boneless chicken breasts or strips, cream of chicken soup, chicken broth, cream cheese, Good Seasons Italian seasoning, parsley, and your favorite pasta or rice (which I forgot to photograph).

 

Arrange cubed chicken breasts (or strips…my preference) in the bottom of the crock pot.

 

Sprinkle with the Good Seasonings Italian seasoning.

 

Spoon Cream of Chicken soup over the chicken.

 

Pour 1  10 ounce can of chicken broth over that.

 

Cut 8 ounces of cream cheese into small chunks and layer over chicken mixture.  The original recipe called for the cream cheese to be added during the last hour of cooking but I found adding it at the end did not allow enough time for it to cook down and blend well with the sauce.  It always remained lumpy.  Now I add it at the beginning and I am happier with the end result. 

 

Sprinkle with parsley.

 

Cover and cook on low in the crock pot for 4 to 6 hours.  Whisk “gravy” to thoroughly blend before serving over your favorite style of pasta or rice.  Don’t forget the “dippin’ bread” to sop up all that delicious gravy! 

Yum!

 

Creamy Crock Pot Chicken with Pasta

• 4 boneless chicken breasts, cubed (or boneless chicken strips)

• 1 can (10 ounces) cream of chicken soup

• 1 can (10 ounces) chicken broth

• 1 envelope Good Seasons Italian Dressing seasoning

• 8 ounces of cream cheese

• Parsley flakes

• Pasta or rice

Put chicken in the bottom of crock pot.  Sprinkle chicken with seasoning mix, add Cream of Chicken soup, chicken broth, cream cheese cut into small chunks, and parsley.  Cover and cook on low for 4 to 6 hours.  Serve over pasta or rice.

 

I’m linking up with the

Recipe Exchange Party at Southern Hospitality

and

Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum

I’m Late!

I hate to be late.

For anything.

I pride myself in trying hard to be timely in everything I do so I’m so sorry I’m late announcing the winner of my giveaway.  

I have a really good excuse though.  Monday the Hooterville house deal almost went off in the ditch…permanently.  The reason completely blindsided us and  threw us for a loop.   My husband and I did a lot of talking, crying, praying, and more talking.  It was intense and stressful.  We kept wishing we had a crystal ball.

But we’re back on track now and we’re  ready to move forward…just hoping and praying  we made the right decision.

The response to this giveaway was great!    Thank you all so much for your wonderful enthusiasm over  the book, Blogging For Bliss. 

The winner, as selected by the Random Number Generator “thingy”  was…..

#11…...  Marty @ A Stroll Thru Life

Congratulations Marty!  Even though you are a very seasoned blogger with many followers, I’m sure  you will enjoy adding this book to your library.  I will be in touch with you to get your address.