Four Years ago this Week...

Back in November 2011, four years ago this week, we were finishing up the ceramic tile on the kitchen floor and working on the installation of the pine butcherblock countertops in our vintage kitchen. Or should I say, formerly vintage. Now it's sort of a mix of vintage and retro. Here's the link where I blogged about it and posted more pics:

http://www.twosisters1930cottage.blogspot.com/2011/11/itchin-for-kitchen.html

BEFORE, when we bought the house in June 2011:

And AFTER, in February 2012:

 The 1930s style doors are original to the house, and were previously in between the two front rooms, which were used as a formal living room and huge dining room. We moved the doors and closed up the walls in between the two other rooms.

Every time I think we aren't making progress, all I have to do is wander back a bit in time. :-)

Happy trails!

bobbi c.

How to Dry Herbs in your Microwave

Dear friends,

Waaay back in 1999 and through 2001, I published an herbal newsletter, The Country Cottage Herb Gardener. I've recently found copies of those files on an old back-up disk (yippee!) and decided to share some of the short articles with you.

This one explains how to dry herbs in your microwave. It's timely because many of us have an over-abundance of things like basil and rosemary right now. It's a good time to harvest it and dry it for winter use.

A honeybee loves the blooming rosemary

When the weather just won't cooperate enough to let you dry your herbs outdoors, or when it is too humid indoors, you can dry some herbs in your microwave oven.

Some herbs that can be dried for cooking or crafts in the microwave include basil, dill, mint, rosemary, oregano, sage, thyme, lavender, tarragon and others. The basic instructions are simple. Simply place two paper towels or an old cotton towel on top of a flat microwave-proof plate or tray. Place the clean, dry, individual herb leaves flat on the paper towels in one layer. Cover the leaves with another paper towel.

Place the plate in the microwave and cook on high (100%) power for 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the plate from oven and allow to cool. Check to see if leaves are thoroughly dry by crumbling some between your fingers. If they won't crumble and still seem to be moist, microwave for an additional 30 seconds at a time until they are dry.

In our experience, a handful of herbs (or about 4 or 5 short stalks) of basil, rosemary or sage will dry in 3 minutes. Of course, allowing for differences in individual microwave ovens, yours may dry the herbs in more or less time. Experiment a little and see what happens!

Nice fresh rosemary, ready to be dried

This is certainly faster than the other drying methods, and the flavor seems to be consistently good. Try it sometime! Aunt Jewel, an imaginary friend who lives in Nameless, Texas, loves to use her microwave because she says it gives her more time to watch her soaps on TV! ;-)

Happy trails from HOT Texas!

bobbi c.

New Texas Garden Craft Novella Available!

My new novel, DYE, DYEING, DEAD has just been released in all e-book formats. Paperback is in the proof stage and will be coming soon!

I've finally combined a lot of my interests into one book---Texas gardening, natural dyes from plants, and a cast of quirky characters. 

You can purchase it on Amazon, Smashwords for all e-reader devices and the Apple store and can read free excerpts at each of those places.

Yes, rosemary is a dye plant!

CAST OF CHARACTERS in Alphabetical Order

* Buddy Byers – owner of Buddy's Hardware Store & Sundry Sundries –

somebody went nuts on him with the tattoo gun

* Buster Briggs – gruff, no-nonsense good ol' boy county sheriff, likes pie

* Mrs. Eula-Mae Bunch – Belligerent troublemaker and garden club president

* Flora Martin – mother of Oma and Alma Martin

* Pastor Garvey Holt – Pastor of the First Christian Baptist Free-Will Church

* Ginger Marshall – Kendra's friend, 30-something, a local art-quilter

* Harry Bunch – Eula-Mae's son

* Jack Adams – AKA Mr. Magoo, AKA Jack-of-all-Asses. Kendra's and Jewel's neighbor who says he witnessed the murder

* Jeremy Clifford – Kendra's best pal, late-20s, sidekick and partner in mayhem, theatrical, works at Do-Lolly's Diner in downtown Nameless

* Jewel Moore – 60-something, Kendra's aunt/roommate, avid gardener, fiesty,

widow for three years

* Deputy Jim Wyman – Kendra's love interest, smitten with her

* Kendra Louise Harper – 35-year old folklorist, author and sometimes sleuth, gardener,

divorced for five years

* Lolly Larue – owner of Do-Lolly's Diner; sassy, middle-aged, wise

* Nora Rogers – Nameless librarian, early 40s, studious

* Oma and Alma Martin – owners of a small organic farm outside town, hippy gals

* Sarah Wilson – owner of Sarah's Needles & Threads, small downtown yarn shop

* Verna Holt – Pastor Holt's devout wife, fond of classic fashion

* Virginia Marshall – Ginger's smart fourteen-year-old daughter

Kendra Louise Harper is a folklorist, avid gardener and accidental sleuth. All she wanted to do that nice fall day in September was to help her Aunt Jewel conduct a Natural Dyeing with Plants workshop for some ladies from the Nameless, Texas Garden Club. Before the workshop is over, a dead body lay face down in a pool of glass and indigo in Kendra's courtyard garden. The next door neighbor swears that he saw Aunt Jewel whack the victim over the head with a silver hammer.

        

No one else really believes Aunt Jewel killed Mrs. Bunch--that is, except maybe the sheriff. And he's the one who counts. He'd just as soon throw Jewel Moore in jail as look at her. But he has no solid proof; he's not going to waste his time trying to prove her innocent. He'd rather bide his time and wait for the murderer to slip up and come to him.

Kendra decides that if anything is going to be done to get her aunt off the hook, she'll have to do it.  Along with Kendra's friends---a very colorful waiter at Do-Lolly's Diner named Jeremy, Deputy Jim Wyman (Kendra's love interest), Ginger Marshall (a local art quilter) and her friends---she sets out to prove that her aunt is innocent.

The victim, Mrs. Eula Mae Bunch, was not a popular person in Nameless. As Kendra gathers information, she realizes that Mrs. Bunch was probably the most unpopular person in town---for good reason. As one resident said, "That old woman is meaner than a room full of peckish wolverines."

Why is Kendra's neighbor so sure that her aunt killed Mrs. Bunch? And if she didn't kill her, who did? And why?

And there are other mysteries in town. Who chopped down Jewel's indigo bush in her own yard? Who is the inebriated stranger that shows up to Eula-Mae's funeral? And what does an erotic romance novel have to do with all of it? Tongues are waggin' in Nameless! Things haven't been this exciting since George Leroy Johnson got the back of his britches caught in the revolving door at the old Railroad Hotel and was pitched out the middle of Main Street with his wherewithalls showing.

DYE, DYEING, DEAD is the first novella in the Nameless, TX mystery series and features Kendra Louise Harper, Folklorist.

Other short stories in the series feature Kendra, Aunt Jewel and the quirky residents of the small agricultural town located about 30-miles east of Austin.

My new Texas garden craft novella, DYE, DYEING, DEAD, is available to buy now on Amazon and Smashwords, and in the iBooks Apple Bookstore. - See more at: http://bobbichukran.blogspot.com/#sthash.t3Hurtx0.dpuf

My new Texas garden craft novella, DYE, DYEING, DEAD, is available to buy now on Amazon and Smashwords, and in the iBooks Apple Bookstore. - See more at: http://bobbichukran.blogspot.com/#sthash.t3Hurtx0.dpuf

My new Texas garden craft novella, DYE, DYEING, DEAD, is available to buy now on Amazon and Smashwords, and in the iBooks Apple Bookstore. - See more at: http://bobbichukran.blogspot.com/#sthash.t3Hurtx0.dpuf

In honor of Earth Day---our "recycled" house!

 Just a few in progress photos.  Other than a bit of touch-up and cleaning, the front is DONE!

On this one, you can really see the BEFORE and AFTER

Unfortunately, the white downspout (to be painted) and the strange green rosebush hide the awning from the front.  Time to give that rose a trim!

 

Awning before.  They just don't make them this well anymore!

Time to let Husband rest for a few days. :-)   Onward to the south side!

Happy trails,

bobbi c.

Getting there! More in-progress photos of painted cottage . . .

Just wanted to post a few more "in progress" photos of the house and garden.  Husband just finished up painting the front of the house (YAY!) although I don't have all the photos  yet because the scaffolding, etc. is still up and I need to wait til it's down.

We also had another huge repair to do---crumbling City of Taylor sewer lines have to be replaced and we had to pay the city to install a tap into their main line---something they should have required homeowners to do when they completely re-did the streets back in 2006, but didn't. Now anytime these old pipes have to be re-routed (and most of them will have to be sooner or later), they'll have to dig up the street-AGAIN.  Sigh.

When I write my book on how to buy an old house (and what NOT to do), there will be extensive issues about old plumbing in it---believe me! :-)

So, here they are, working hard at it:

Bright and early, at 7 am

The very efficient City of Taylor crew--got the job done fast

Now, house pics!

Almost finished---still needs more green on the window sashes and the front screen door re-do

LOVE that little attic window!

 It never occurred to me that Victorian houses are painted the way they are to show off every little bit of architectural detail.  So when I read that, I decided to do the same thing with this 1930s jewel.  In the original photos, you barely even notice the little attic window.  Using the two colors on it, and the third (brown) color for the brackets, really shows it off.

And while Husband was hard at work finishing up the front, I was in the back working on a "little" project---scraping and sanding the old paint from the original wooden awning that will go over the left-most windows on the front.

That's a lot of scraping and sanding!

More pics, added later:

 

Here's the amazing custom light fixture my sister and brother-in-law made for us.  LOVE it there over the front porch!

And here are a few pics from the garden, taken right before the April cold front and wind storm/hail came through:

Coral honeysuckle, hummingbird magnet grows on a re-purposed clothesline pole.  Wrought iron from the old greenhouse shed decorates one side of it.

Perennial onions are blooming, and are always a delight to bees, butterflies and people!

And the back porch garden. . .

And just for grins, another look at the BEFORE:

Happy trails from Texas!  Come on, spring!

bobbi c.

One step forward, two steps back. . .

Or maybe that should be TEN steps back.  Although the front of the house is ready for primer and Husband has done magic with hiding where the former second front door used to be (YAY!), other things have slowed down.

It's the amazing disappearing front door!

Since I last wrote, we've had a "spot of bother" as my Brit friends say.  First, during my garden shed re-do, I somehow managed to rip some of my organs and/or perhaps set some kidney stones loose.  The doctors are indecisive.  They suggested aspirin and rest. Riiiiight. 

I'm not sure HOW it happened, but if I had to guess, I'd say it had something to do with the behemoth clawfoot tub, antique wood doors that weigh 50-lbs. each, and my mule-headedness about not bothering Husband when trying to move them around. Yep, that could do it.

Gee, that thing can't be THAT heavy, can it?  I'll just give it a shove and get it outside!

So that project is temporarily on hold while my innards heal.  Hopefully.  Stay tuned, because there's more. . .

 I walked into the shed last week and the STANK  knocked me over.  We've had issues out there before with the ancient plumbing and the fact that some unnamed agent sold the place as a two-bathroom dwelling with nothing more than an toilet and a big hole in the floor out in the cottage.  The problem with cement slabs is that you have no clue what's under them. Surprise, surprise! as Gome would say. 

So.  Long story short.  Crumbling clay pipes.  Sewage from the Big House that flows downhill.  Underneath the cottage.  $1,000 to tap into the city sewer at the street.  Many bijillions of dollars more to get the pipes from the house to the street.

Not to mention the Likely Demolishment of the Garden.

So, maybe it's time to re-assess what I was going to do this spring, and concentrate on plants in pots out back where I KNOW they won't be digging.  Or I hope they don't be digging.  Maybe I'll get more writing done?  I'm a "glass-half-full-of-tequila" kinda gal.

But, if I EVER again speak the words "I want a house nobody else wants," just shoot me, 'K?

Happy trails from Texas!

bobbi c.

The back is done!

Mostly done.  All I need to do is finish the back door, which will be a totally different color.  Or not. LOL.

Before. . .

And After!

1930 Texas cottage remodel, in progress.

Stay tuned for more adventures in remodeling!

bobbi c.

And the answer is----Red!

Red, or more specifically, Brownstone Red (True Value Weatherall paint) has been chosen as the trim color for our Texas bungalow/cottage repainting project.  The window sashes, scallopy-things around the porch, shutters and awnings will be dark green.  The doors?  Undecided.

Funny thing, I dithered around with samples, test patches, etc. then choose the same colors that are on the curtains in the room facing the back----yellow, brown, green and red.  LOL.  Oh well. At least I'm consistent in my choices.

The brackets are dark chocolate brown, and the trim is the red.

Why are they painted only so high?  Because that's as far as I could reach.  LOL

Stay tuned for more progress!

bobbi c.

Fall is coming! Gettin' me some pumpkin love!

Dear friends,

I'm getting inspired to decorate for fall.  Thing is, it seems like every year at this time, our house is in a shambles.  This year, the siding is half off the front, and the back is ready for paint.  Oh well, maybe by Christmas.

Fall pumpkin sitting on antique bench

 In the meantime, I'm thinking about FALL and cooler weather.  And gettin' me some pumpkin love! I absolutely swoon when I see piles of pumpkins at the stores this time of year.  Although, I know they'll probably turn into pie filling in this heat.

I love pumpkins--can't get enough of that gorgeous orange color.  Maybe I should add some of that color to my house exterior?  Why not?  My kitchen wall behind the stove is pumpkin orange, after all.

These photos were all taken in Salado, Texas at Fletcher's Books and Antiques, a place we visit every time we're in the area.  They always have a pumpkin patch around Halloween there.

Line of pumpkins along a stone wall

More to come soon!  I have tons of amazing pumpkin photos in my files here.

Happy trails from Texas, y'all!

bobbi c.

City of Austin Green Neighbor Program...Making a Difference, one 'hood at a Time

Dear friends,

Sometimes we wish we'd never moved away from Austin. For one thing, that's where all the things we love are situated....museums, big libraries, the University, live music, art exhibits, great bookstores, great restaurants and what-not. There are advantages to living in a small town, but right now, the only two I can think of is our wonderful local O'Leander cafe and less traffic. OK, three....not having to enter a parking garage to buy groceries.

Here's a link I just discovered about the City of Austin Green Neighbor Program. Check out the "Green Neighbor, Green City Challenge" website, it's truly an inspiration to see how a large city can make a difference, one 'hood at a time.

Check it out! And don't forget to....

dig it!

bobbi c.