Umbrella

On a grey and rainy day here in the Pacific Northwest, our collection of antique umbrellas await their most anticipated season. But their wait will be a long one because one, we never remember to bring an umbrella, and two, even if we do remember, we choose to use the most common Pacific North West strategy for a rainy day - run for it. 

My Grandmother, who was born and raised in Los Angeles, was the kind of person who would never forget her umbrella. Of course rain was not as abundant so in the rare event that rain washed their sun warmed landscape, it was a festive celebration to don ones umbrella. 

Do you use an umbrella? 

Our household is in the throes of our first autumn sniffles. After several days of foggy heads and runny noses, raspy voices and restless nights, we are hopefully on the mend soon. 

On a side note, in my influenza lethargy I was only mildly excited when I saw that my new camera arrived yesterday - a sure sign that I was feeling under the weather. 

Look forward to taking some pictures soon...

The Photo Shoot

Here is a small glimpse into our guest house/barn renovation. The Country Living feature focuses on the interior renovation so I thought I'd post a little peek on the exterior (more photos inside and out after the feature is published). The window that's shown here is in fact an original window, and is the only window that we did not replace.

 The photo shoot took place on Halloween. Unfortunately I don't have any behind the scenes glimpses as my Canon Rebel has expired, and I inadvertently misplaced my point and shoot. But it went really well, and I had the extreme pleasure of meeting someone I have admired for quite some time - Heather Bullard. 

Heather was the stylist for the shoot - she did such an amazing job! Everything turned out so beautiful. I am so excited to see the feature when it comes out in the February issue. 

The photographer for the shoot was the reknowned James Baigrie. He was also such a wonderful pleasure to meet. Heather came Tuesday to prep everything, and then James arrived early Wednesday morning. Shooting began soon afterward. 

Mike took those two days off to watch the babies so that I could be up at the guest house helping as much as possible (ironing linens, fetching props, etc.). Just as the previous photo shoot, it was insanely fascinating to watch the process of creating photo-ready spaces. 

Heather took this photo of Mike on her iPhone. I was with the babies while he ran up to deliver some morning necessities... like fresh brewed coffee. 

After the shoot, Heather and I had a chance to relax and socialize a bit more. She gave me some tips, using my iPhone, on styling this pumpkin bread that Mike made. I think that she may have even taken this photo. 

It was wonderful to stand in the kitchen and talk about everything design. 

Due to the business of the shoot being on Halloween, and also due to the abundance of rain we had that week, we didn't dress the babies up in their Halloween costumes until this past weekend. They thought it was a hoot to look like some of their favorite critters. Graham only tolerated the lion's mane for about 60 seconds (he's never been a hat boy). 

I hope that all had a wonderful weekend, over the last days of October. I also hope that for those of you who were affected by Sandy are with power, and safe and sound. Our thoughts have been with you from afar. 

Autumn Scenes and Some News!

We were on a little autumn getaway! 

Wellies had to be purchased for puddle splashing and leaf kicking. The store was sold out of every color but yellow, but it was a good thing as they looked so cute in their matching boots. 

There was farm equipment to play on. 

Our little Graham was especially thrilled about that. 

Margaret was enthusiastic about taking the wheel too. 

Are they the happiest boys you've ever seen or what?

Graham let out a lot of enthusiastic, "Baaaaahs." 

The sheep thought that it was darn cute. 

I had to grab the camera when Margaret decided to get comfortable and catch up on some important reading! 

In other news, Country Living magazine is featuring our guest house renovation, which will come out in their February issue! The shoot is scheduled for October 31st so we're super busy getting things ready. More details on that to follow!

Also, my Canon Rebel has expired. It had a good life, served me well for over four years. I don't have time to shop for a new camera right now so my little point and shoot is all I have for the time being.  

Happy October days to you! 

Will you plant those hydrangeas...?

Here is a photo of our old oil tank from a few years back. It took us several years until we switched from the original in-floor oil furnace (heated one spot really well, really noisily, rest of the house not so much) over to electric baseboards. It was another year before we got around to having the old tank hauled off (as scrap metal). 

I took this right before the scrap metal guy picked up the tank. Mike had tipped it up to drain the remaining oil so that we could dispose of it properly. 

What instigated the next photo is something I wrote on one of my infamous 'to do' lists one weekend, shortly after the oil tank got hauled away. 

It read, "Plant hydrangeas by basement door." 

This task was aimed at Mike for one very good reason...

A thick concrete slab had to come out before the hydrangeas were planted! Loud and heavy machinery had to be rented. 

After he broke up the concrete,  he hauled it away for recycling.

Concrete removed. There was a foot of gravel under the concrete, so next up was an infusion of soil and compost. Eventually the siding will need some touching up (on another 'to do' list). Those  vents you see in the two photos above are from the old California Cooler. This was the only section of the house that didn't get resided, thus the old vents are still in place. 

Endless Summer hydrangeas planted. xo. This is the best hydrangea bed in the whole yard. They love the full shade. I was lucky to find these at our local nursery for just $17 each, which I thought was a great deal considering their size.

 The only original windows left in the house are the basement windows, of which the laundry room window is shown here. These basement windows were an old blue for a long time until we had the chance to paint them white one day. They look much crisper now. 

Here is a photo from that day...

My loves. xoxo

More blossoms are on their way. 

They'll keep the limelight hydrangeas on the patio company. The limelight are getting bigger each year. I'll do a patio post on them soon (it's on my 'to do' list). 

This fall I'll prune them back as they are getting a tad overgrown around the stairs and reaching out into patio a bit too much. 

A New Painting

A few months ago I came across this very large (40" x 23 1/2") antique landscape oil painting in one of my favorite antique stores in Portland. I was looking for a table for the guest house, and of course, found a painting instead. 

I love antique paintings, especially landscapes, and thought that its antique frame (another passion of mine) was in fairly good condition considering its age. 

The painting was extremely dirty however. A heavy layer of black dust (or most likely soot) covered the canvas, so I knew it would require a good professional cleaning. 

Although I've considered having some of my other paintings cleaned, it is something I have yet to do. So I was actually quite excited to go through that process. I was extremely curious to see just how much of a transformation would result. 

Here is the painting after the cleaning. The process involved removing the many layers of dirt down to and including the old varnish...and then re-varnishing. This is a process best left for professionals, particularly if the piece is of value (sentimental or otherwise). 

The Cultured Pearl in downtown Portland cleaned this piece for me. Their gallery makes my heart flutter. Not only do they do painting and frame restorations, but they specialize in antique art from around the world and have a collection that will make you wish you had a special art 'fund' set aside (I need one of those). 

Steve was able to tell me that this landscape was most likely from New Hampshire. He explained that the deer are a regional detail typical to certain parts of the country, which often reflect where the artist is from (this piece of art work is not signed). When combined with the canoe and the scale of the mountain range, the scene was narrowed even more specifically to the New Hampshire region. 

Their wealth of knowledge at The Cultured Pearl is extensive. I could stand in their beautiful gallery all day listening to their every word. 

It's just so fascinating. 

A Few More Hydrangeas...

The north-facing hydrangea bed whose blossoms I highlighted last time does get direct afternoon to early evening sun. During the hottest days, the blossoms will wilt by the end of the day. On these days, I'm sure to give them an extra drink of water and thankfully, they do recover just fine. 

I received a lot of inquiries after the last post regarding which mountain we see in our north view. It is Mt. Adams, which is located just across the Columbia River from us in Washington state (we are in Oregon). The trailheads which lead up the mountain are about two hours drive from our porch. 

The ridges which you see in the middle of the frame are also in Washington state. The state line runs between the farmland in the foreground and those riges, along the deep canyon of the Columbia River Gorge. 

The Little Lamb hydrangea are doing well this year, their third growing season. Their blossoms are very similar in shape as the Limelight, but are much more creamy in hue. Even though they do receive lots of morning to mid-day sun on the east side of the house, they do great. I chose this variety because they are more sun tolerant than a lot of the other hydrangea varieties, who prefer mostly shade. 

So far, I haven't really been able to figure out how to better capture the mountain with my camera. It always seems to end up washed out. 

Bombshell hydrangea are proving to be a good choice for this south-facing bed. They receive full sun and fare very well, even through the hottest days. 

I planted these last spring (five bushes). I look forward to when they grow even taller and create more of a singular-looking hydrangea plume under the dining room windows. 

Hydrangeas

Our corner hydrangea bed is in full bloom. 

This bed consists of three Endless Summer plants and three Nikko Blue plants (along the chimney and under window).

This little guy is not a hydrangea at all, but he scampered by while I was taking pictures. We call him Peter Rabbit although he is wild so we won't be dressing him up in a cute blue coat.  

The Endless Summer hydrangea are a mix of colors. Some are pink. 

Some are a light lavender. 

Some are a mix of blue and lavender. 

This collage shows the variety in the Endless Summer blossoms. They are in their third growing season (planted as one gallon pots). 

Here is another Endless Summer example. 

And one more. 

The Nikko Blue have a more consistent hue from blossom to blossom.

Their view in the early morning light. 

Chirping Orchids

Some of our feathered friends decided to use our fireplace chimney to nest this year. The eggs have hatched and the nestlings are chirp, chirp, chirping. The babies walk over to the fireplace and look up at the orchids...Is it you that is chirping? 

Our living play room. 

Play, play, play...it's our favorite thing to do. 

xo 

Wicker furniture...

...for wee ones. 

I saw this little wicker love seat a while ago in one of my favorite antique stores. In a quiet moment several days later, I thought the babies would have so much fun with that.  

Recently, we were back in that neck of the woods and I decided that if the little wicker love seat still happened to be there, we should get it for the babies. And when I say 'we' I mean myself and my other self who supports such ideas. 

The love seat was indeed still there but as I looked more closely, I saw that there was also a matching rocking chair and table to go with it. 

So the little love seat ended up becoming a set.  

After setting up the tiny wicker furniture on our porch, we showed it to the babies. Margaret immediately began re-arranging everything, which made me laugh. And Graham, well he glanced at it for a half second, and then he was off and running (with Mike at his heels). 

xo

Building Our Fence

We gained two extra living spaces with the renovation of our farmhouse. The first of these outdoor 'rooms' is the wraparound porch, which provides a transition between indoors and out. The second is the yard we created around the house with picket fence, which transitions from the house to the rest of our property.

To address some long standing drainage issues, we excavated to slope the ground away from the front of the house. After we excavated this area, there was a transition in elevation up to the rest of the yard. We decided to take advantage of this break in grade to create planter beds, which also disguises the varied ground elevations. Choices we mulled over included lots plantings associated with either a retaining wall or a fence line. We decided on the latter. 

Here, Mike has staked out the proposed fence line. The gravel border to the left of the future fence is a french drain, which we installed to help collect and convey water away from the house (and basement). 

Mike and my Dad dug the holes one weekend, while Mike and his Dad set the posts the next. They are set in concrete so that they remain straight through rain, wind and snow. 

This is an old photo so the file is small. Both being engineers, you can be sure that our fence is strong. 

Here is the yard today. There is of course always more planting to do, but each year the beds get fuller and fuller. 

We have held off on plantings around the porch so far. We can't decide if we prefer it left open, or if a line of low-growing shrubs or flowers may add a nice touch. It is a challenging spot to pick plants for. The area receives direct sun all summer long, and occasional piles of snow coming off the roof in the winter. 

The grass outside of the fence line has started to yellow, as it does around this time every summer. We've opted to only irrigate the yard inside the fence line, and let Mother Nature take care of the rest. 

Here's the side yard just after we completed the fence. 

Here is the side yard today. 

There are a few more posts on the fence here, here and here.

P.S.

Where's Graham?

Hmm, where could he be?