Our Blog

Living Room

2012-01-26T17:45:00.001-05:00

Posting this from my iPhone as a test...

The Living Room

2011-11-04T18:18:00.002-04:00

BEFORE: look at that big bare wall! We looked at it for 2 years, but I finally figured out what to do with it...

DURING: Here are the shelves up. It still looked a little bare, but I like being able to see the wall color through the shelves. We got the shelves at IKEA :)

AFTER: Here it is all decorated and with the rug and everything (we ended up using the rug we already had). All of the decor is stuff that we packed away when we first put our last house up for sale, so it has been in boxes for three years!! It was a lot of fun unpacking and arranging everything! Gonna have to re-do it with some holiday decor pretty soon...

My Hypertufa Containers!

2011-11-04T18:09:00.002-04:00

I took a class at the NC Arboretum on Tuesday about how to make hypertufa containers. These are outdoor (or indoor) planters that are lighter in weight than concrete. They look natural-ish. The round one is the one I made in class. I had enough material left over to make up two more small ones when I got home. These are just out of their molds today. They will be in the garage "curing" for another week, then they will sit out in the yard for a month or two before they are ready for plants. I'm excited to see the final products!

A Little More

2011-10-03T11:51:00.000-04:00

We added a little IKEA action to the foyer to spruce it up a bit. :)

Apple Pickin'

2011-09-30T13:19:00.003-04:00

I went apple picking with the Harriman gals in Vermont. We got some delicious Macintosh apples!

Kolbie was eating as she picked :)

Mackenzie enjoyed her apple, as you can see :)

The Vermont Harriman gals...Kristen, Mackenzie and Kolbie

We've been painting!

2011-09-30T12:59:00.000-04:00

Here is our lovely "new" foyer, painted in "Thunderstorm". Finally got SO done with the white walls and got out the paintbrushes and rollers and got busy! We've been painting as our time allows and over a couple weeks have gotten the trim and walls in the foyer and great room sanded, cleaned and double-coated! It looks so much nicer in here now! What a difference! And now, on to decorating...

Paint

2011-09-30T12:52:00.001-04:00

The color in the living room is "Misty Summer Day". I can't believe how much better this room looks now!

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

Paint

2011-09-30T12:49:00.001-04:00

BEFORE

AFTER

You can see that the paint stops at the kitchen for now, but that will be getting some too over this next week or two :)

Some of our Flowers

2011-07-06T15:21:00.000-04:00

Dave is in France Again...

2011-06-26T15:12:00.000-04:00

Lac Annecy

Dave went parasailing on Saturday!

The old town (Albertville)

The view from his hotel window!

Geocaching

2011-05-01T14:32:00.001-04:00

So, we got this Geocaching app on our iPods and we've been hunting down a few in the last few days. Might have to be a bit more selective if we don't want to get poison ivy! It's fun to see what people have left and how many people have found the caches. Today we found one at Lake Julian when we went there for our picnic lunch. I left a little fortune-teller fish and took these glittery stars :)
We're thinking we might have to start our own cache somewhere....

Adriana

2011-04-18T10:48:00.000-04:00

Pictures Taken with my New Camera

2011-04-18T10:47:00.000-04:00

More Pics with new Camera

2011-04-18T10:42:00.000-04:00

Golden Moon, Silver Moon

2011-03-18T12:24:00.000-04:00

These were taken exactly 1 month apart, 2/17 and 3/17

Cats

2011-03-15T17:14:00.000-04:00

I think he likes being in there.

Genealogy Progress

2011-03-07T12:12:00.000-05:00

Spent a few days in Waterbury, VT working on the genealogy. Got to look up some records and visit some of the old homesteads and churches, etc. This little nativity is in the Waterbury Historical Society Museum. It was whittled by my Great-Great-Grandfather, Napoleon DeGuise!

Visiting Great Grandma Mary

2011-03-07T12:09:00.000-05:00

Got to spend a little bit of time with Great Grandma Mary while I've been here up north.

It's Frozen!

2010-12-07T17:14:00.000-05:00

Gotta stand on the ice to get a good drink these days!

Some Animals at Riverbanks Zoo

2010-12-07T17:13:00.000-05:00

Lights at Riverbanks Zoo

2010-12-07T17:12:00.000-05:00

Delilah with Light Animals

2010-12-07T17:09:00.000-05:00

Delilah had fun posing with the light animals at the zoo on Sunday...these are only SOME of them...

What it looks like now...

2010-12-07T17:04:00.000-05:00

This is what our room looks like now...took me a long time to get this picture up.

Thanksgiving Day

2010-12-07T17:01:00.000-05:00

Fun and food with a house full...

The Pippin

2010-11-11T13:39:00.000-05:00

Jordan in Scout Uniform

2010-11-11T13:28:00.000-05:00

Tae Kwon Do!

2010-11-11T13:19:00.000-05:00

Got to go and watch Jordan's Tae Kwon Do class during my visit to Georgia :)

Chocolate Mocha Mummies!

2010-11-11T13:15:00.000-05:00

Made these for Halloween. They were very tasty!

More Children's Museum

2010-11-11T13:14:00.000-05:00

Flowers at the Children's Museum

2010-11-11T13:11:00.000-05:00

Greensboro Children's Museum

2010-11-11T13:08:00.000-05:00

October 30 we went to Greensboro and visited the Children's Museum with Wyatt and Oliver. That place was lots of fun! Although, kinda like the City Museum in St.Louis, it was more "playground" than "museum"!

Caterpillar, Caterpillar on my Walk!

2010-09-04T18:52:00.000-04:00

Adventure on the Black Raven!

2010-08-21T07:41:00.001-04:00

Yarrr Mateys! We went sailin' with pirates on our last day here! Their ship were the Black Raven and weren't she a beaut? That there ship in the bottom left be the schooner Freedom. We shouted our battle cry (Yo ho! Cowabunga! Shiver me timbers! Aiouou! ARGH!) when she passed, but decided not to pillage and plunder! We sang piratey songs, heard some tales of the sea, and even had a share in the booty! All in all, she were a successful voyage! Afterward, we walked next door to the Santa Maria restaurant ...where you can feed the fish while ye eats.

Creepy Wax Museum!

2010-08-21T07:33:00.000-04:00

Ok, so walking around in this place was uber creepy...the wax figures look just real enough that you expect one of them to be a real person waiting to scare the bajeebees out of you...

Pictures from our Evening Walk on the Beach

2010-08-19T22:25:00.000-04:00

Wednesday Wanderings...

2010-08-18T22:16:00.000-04:00

First today, we went to the St.Augustine Mission...home of the world's tallest cross. Apparently the squirrels there are very friendly and used to people and they came right up to us. Unfortunately we didn't have anything to feed them. I did get a picture of one of them lounging on one of the tombstones.

Second, we went to the Castillo de San Marco, the oldest fort in the US. A man in costume gave a demonstration about the uniforms the Spanish soldiers wore in the 18th century. Whew, it was hot out!

Next we went to Ripley's Believe it or Not. Lots of cool stuff there! It was pretty fun AND air-conditioned!

Last we went to The Fountain of Youth. I have to say...the water from it was less than palatable. They had a planetarium where they talked about how the sailors used the stars for navigation. There was a giant globe that showed the courses that Ponce de Leon and Columbus took to America. The guy in the bottom right picture was in Spanish costume and shot off a cannon every hour. Also there were lots of peacocks roaming the grounds and they even ate peanuts right out of my hand!

Wednesday Night Sky

2010-08-18T22:03:00.000-04:00

The sky tonight was so fabulous! These pictures don't do it justice. There were rainbow colors all up in the clouds as a storm rolled in. There was lightning and and all sorts of colors in the sky. Then the storm blew right out over the ocean and the sky cleared up again...so we went down to the pool :)

St Augustine Sunrise

2010-08-18T08:11:00.000-04:00

St Augustine Alligator Farm

2010-08-17T17:01:00.000-04:00

Today we went to the St Augustine Alligator Farm. Wow- there were SO MANY gators! There were tiny ones up to huge ones. We had a good time walking around looking at all of them and the other animals that were there. Before we left, we got to see some of them be fed. It was WARM out, but there were a few air conditioned places, so it wasn't TOO bad.
Here Dave and I posed with the "greeter gator" at the entrance :)

Alligator Farm

2010-08-17T16:56:00.000-04:00

Some other critters we saw at the alligator farm.

Pictures from the Alligator Farm...

2010-08-17T16:52:00.001-04:00

Gators...

Close-ups on gator parts, plus a snake and a tortoise...

Groups of gators...

Fake gators...

Beach

2010-08-16T20:51:00.000-04:00

Rachael pictures from our evening walk on the beach

Tonight

2010-08-16T20:48:00.000-04:00

Dave pictures from our evening walk on the beach

A Few of Dave's Pictures...

2010-08-16T20:43:00.000-04:00

Some that Dave took in St.Augustine today...

Some pics from St Augustine...

2010-08-16T20:38:00.000-04:00

The water wheel was on the street...the rest of the pictures are from the little 1790's village dealy.

My Artistic Shot For Today...

2010-08-16T20:35:00.000-04:00

Dave's lighthouse pictures...

2010-08-15T22:19:00.000-04:00

My Pics at the Lighthouse

2010-08-15T22:17:00.000-04:00

We are amidst our Florida vacation here in St Augustine. Yesterday we arrived, walked around the beach some and had a nice dinner out. Today we went out to the St Augustine Lighthouse (pictured) and then out for some lunch. We came back to the condo and spent some time in the pool, then decided to go see a movie. Now we are sitting here watching some Mythbusters most memorable moments and enjoying having nothing to do :)

The Size of the Spider

2010-08-15T22:12:00.001-04:00

Saw this spider up above when we went to the lighthouse today. I zoomed in on him, but you can see him in my pic of the lighthouse too...to the right of the light there. Crazy

School Shopping!

2010-08-08T20:44:00.000-04:00

I got to go back-to-school shopping with Delilah today! She tried on lots of clothes and modeled them all for us. Look out, first grade!

Finally Remembered!

2010-08-08T20:38:00.000-04:00

Seems like I always see these flowers after they have closed up in the evening, but today I remembered to go get a pic with them open. These are on a tree in our front yard.

Teeny Tiny Grasshoppers!

2010-08-05T20:21:00.003-04:00

So, we were walking back up from checking the mail when we noticed that one of our little solar lights was covered with these tiny little grasshoppers! They look like little aliens...freaky!

Raindrops on Roses...

2010-08-05T20:20:00.000-04:00

Butterflies

2010-07-27T19:56:00.000-04:00

Dave took this set of pics and I took the next set...these were all snacking on our Butterfly Bush out back.

Visitors to the Butterfly Bush in our Back Yard

2010-07-27T19:53:00.000-04:00

Jump

2010-06-25T21:39:00.000-04:00

Nice form!

Turtle

2010-06-25T21:23:00.000-04:00

Can you find the turtle?

Fish

2010-06-19T21:14:00.000-04:00

We started putting some fish food in our pond a few days ago. Tonight we were able to get a picture.

Moon Glow

2010-06-19T21:12:00.000-04:00

Pond Cam

2010-06-06T08:47:00.000-04:00

Could this be a fish?

Teeny Tiny Frogs

2010-06-01T10:10:00.000-04:00

We have these little bitty frogs in our yard. The first pic is kinda blurry, but it will give you an idea of their size. That's a blade of grass next to him... The second pic is a little more clear. Teeny little things!

Another Step Complete...

2010-05-25T22:30:00.000-04:00

Here it is with the "Filigree" on the walls, and the "Satin Weave" on the trim!

Pond CAM

2010-05-22T08:12:00.000-04:00

A curious dove.

Pond CAM

2010-05-20T21:06:00.000-04:00

The pond cam catches a few intersting pictures every now and then. Here is Pippen getting a morning drink.

Orchid Display!

2010-05-17T11:16:00.000-04:00

They had a special display at the zoo with all kinds of Orchids. They were beautiful!

A Little More Paint...

2010-05-03T16:33:00.000-04:00

Lovin' this color! It's called "Purplicious". I know you're probably wondering now...but it will all make sense when you see the finished product :)

Part One Complete!

2010-04-15T17:36:00.000-04:00

We finished painting the ceiling last night! I think it looks great! The color is called "Serenity"...beautiful!!!!

Bedroom Remodel: Day 1

2010-04-13T19:21:00.000-04:00

Here it is...the "BEFORE" picture. We have paper taped to cover the floor and Dave covered the ceiling fan up before we started. Will post more pics as the work progresses....

Lotsa Little Tadpoles!

2010-04-09T11:40:00.000-04:00

The aftermath of all those frog eggs...

Baking

2010-03-30T17:29:00.000-04:00

Did some baking today to help out with a bake sale. I tried three new recipes! This first one is Chocolate Chip Orange Shortbread. This is the only one I've tasted so far and they are delicious! This recipe is definitely a keeper!

These next ones are called Peanut Butter Knock-Outs! They look good, but I haven't tasted one yet. Ben sampled one for me when he stopped by and he gave them a thumbs up. They were pretty easy and they look fancy, so this one is probably a keeper too.

The last one is Sugar Cookie Pizza. This one was super easy and it looks so festive! Good to make if you need something quick...

Frog Eggs and Slime!

2010-03-25T14:25:00.000-04:00

So, Dave discovered these in the water at the top of our "water feature" on Saturday. We have been keeping an eye on them the last few days. Mama frog has been up there hanging out today, but she keeps ducking under the water when I go up so I haven't been able to get her picture.

And Then This Morning...

2010-03-25T14:21:00.000-04:00

Here are 2 of our little frogs that I caught (on camera) out on the rocks this morning. Below is their handiwork of last night. SO now we have MORE frog eggs!

This guy has been sitting out there chirping like mad all day. Doesn't he get tired?

Self assembling snowmen

2010-03-02T20:48:00.000-05:00

This latest snow event surprised me when I looked out the front door and saw this. Snowmen are assembling themselves. I can't wait to see how big they are in the morning.

More Snow?! Really!?

2010-03-02T14:01:00.000-05:00

Here it is...it seems a little redundant...we're up to almost 3 inches so far today...

More Crocheted Food...

2010-02-24T22:10:00.000-05:00

Here is the taco I made today! I like it! I took another pic of it with the chips and salsa I made....

And here we have a donut and a strawberry pop tart! I found the perfect yarn for the icing on the pop tart- the colors are all exactly like a real one!

Oh Yeah, And Here's Our New House...

2010-02-23T12:38:00.000-05:00

This is our new place that we bought at the end of October! It's a nice, big, open house. We're enjoying it so far. Still working on getting things arranged and situated and getting the last of everything unpacked. We'll be putting up some paint soon. I'll try to get some "before and after" pictures.
The top left is the front of the house. Top right is the "water feature" in the back yard. Bottom left is a view of the upstairs, middle is the downstairs great room and right is the kitchen.

They Like the Sun Here

2010-02-23T12:29:00.000-05:00

Here are some of the flowers that have been showing up on my various houseplants lately. I have had the African Violet and that little orange one for about 4 years, and they never bloomed at the old house. Well, I guess I got them in some good light here in the new house and they are loving it! And so am I!

Snow!

2009-12-19T09:44:00.000-05:00

A beautiful snow for December.

Morning Glory!

2009-08-28T11:15:00.000-04:00

I took these pictures a couple mornings ago at the house in Asheville. The centers look like they are glowing almost. No wonder they are called Morning Glory...these are some of my favorite flowers!

The Whole Gang

2009-08-10T22:28:00.001-04:00

Grampa, Gramma, Uncle Greg, Kristen, Kolbie
Me, Ryley, Kaylie, Taryn and Mackenzie

Some Black and Whites...

2009-08-10T22:21:00.000-04:00

Just figured out how to do this with my camera...

Sunday Morning

2009-08-10T22:18:00.000-04:00

Mackenzie and Kolbie getting ready for church.

I Can Feed Myself, Mom!

2009-08-08T22:33:00.005-04:00

Kolbie eating yogurt all by herself!
The shirt was removed before further mauling...the spoon actually did make it to the mouth a few times!
But a spoon is an awfully roundabout way of eating...haha!

Saturday at the Park

2009-08-08T22:12:00.006-04:00

Kolbie on the swing
Kolbie taking a break from crawling through the "maze"
Mackenzie, this shot totally made me think "Laura Ingalls"
Mackenzie coming down the slide

August Report

2009-08-03T20:09:00.005-04:00

July 4th in Gaffney

2009-07-28T08:17:00.000-04:00

Lots of fun again this year! Camping out, swimming in the pool, eating lots of delicious food!
Top Left: Aunt Sandy sharpening up a marshmallow stick for making S'mores. I got my marshmallow slow-roasted and it was perfect!
Bottom Left: Dad and Uncle Gary chatting by the fire
Top Middle: Megan and Hannah in the pool
Top Right: Kiya, Matt, Megan and Hannah watching a movie...below that is the view from our tent
And the 4 on the bottom right are: Close-up of the camp fire, the traditional foot pic, us girls doing some knitting, and Uncle Gary grillin' while talking on his cell phone-haha!

New Camera...

2009-07-28T08:05:00.000-04:00

Dave was playing witht the settings on his new camera, and then I had to try it too. The first pic is from Dave's camera...the second 2 are from mine.
Someone's Sparkler...

Double Dave!

Heather times two!

Birthday Party!

2009-07-28T07:59:00.000-04:00

Kolbie turned 1 year old! First pic is her taste-testing her cupcake. Second pic is what was left of it a few minutes later!
3- Courtney and Kristen
4- Mackenzie eating watermelon
5- Mackenzie being silly!
6- Kolbie's birthday present...she was more fascinated with the box and the tissue paper, haha
7 & 8- Mackenzie got Dave to play phone!

Visit from Vermonters!

2009-07-28T07:51:00.000-04:00

Greg, Mackenzie, Kristen and Kolbie

Kolbie and Greg at the restaurant

Silly face!

See The Savings

2009-07-15T14:37:00.001-04:00

Hey, check out www.couponchallenge30.blogspot.com to see what we've been saving by using coupons!

A Midsummer Night's Dream

2009-06-27T12:23:00.001-04:00

We went to see A Midsummer Night's Dream put on by the Montford Park Players in Asheville. It was so good, we went back again this Friday and got some pictures!
Hermia's father wants her to marry Demetrius (in red), but she loves Lysander (in orange).

Hermia and Lysander make a plan to run away at night and leave Athens so they can marry.

The couple tells Helena (who loves Demetrius) of their plans...

The actors plan a play for Theseus and Hippolyta's wedding day.

Cupid's Flower

2009-06-27T12:17:00.000-04:00

Oberon witnesses Helena's pleas for Demtrius' love.

He sends Puck to use the flower on the sleeping eyes of Demetrius, just as he will use it on Titania. The effect will be that the one who is touched by it will love the first creature they see upon waking.

Oberon applies the flower to the eyes of Titania...

But Puck mistakenly applies the flower to Lysander, instead of Demetrius.

Confusion!

2009-06-27T12:11:00.000-04:00

Helena finds Lysander sleeping in the woods and when he wakes, he finds her irresistable.

But she thinks he is playing a joke on her, and reminds him that Hermia is his love!

Meanwhile, Puck plays a trick on one of the actors...

And Titania sees him first upon waking and dotes on him, even having her fairies attend him.

Fortunately, through the efforts of Oberon and Puck, all is put to rights by the end and each couple ends up as intended: Hermia with Lysander, Helena with Demetrius, and Titania with Oberon.

The Actors Put on Their Play

2009-06-27T12:01:00.000-04:00

Theseus and his new bride choose the play they want to see.

"Pyramus" and "Thisbe" talk through a chink in the wall, discussing their plans to meet at night.

Upon coming to the meeting place and finding Thisbe's bloody mantle, Pyramus assumes she has been killed by a lion, and uses his sword on himself...

Theseus tells the actors their performance was..."notable"

Beach Trip

2009-05-13T10:15:00.000-04:00

Playing in the sand, Dave style

Beach Trip

2009-05-13T10:13:00.001-04:00

Racing Delilah to the water!

The shells were still alive and kept trying to burrow into my hand. It tickled!

Dave got his Chinese kite to fly- it was quite something!

That's Dave out there ...

Beach Trip

2009-05-13T10:08:00.001-04:00

Some trees that were burned by the "coastal wildfire"

The fountain outside the back door.

Me and Delilah rode the carousel.

Searching for wireless internet signal...

Beach Trip

2009-05-13T10:03:00.001-04:00

Swimming in the pool

Me and Delilah at Barefoot Landing

The tigers were very active!

We got a good laugh from the "funhouse mirrors"

Alliance Women's Retreat 2009

2009-04-21T15:06:00.001-04:00

Here I am at Women's Retreat (Ok, in that particular picture I'm actually shopping in Black Mountain during the Saturday break...). The theme this year is "Thirst Quenchers". Barb Meier was the speaker, and she was great! It was fun getting out of the house for the weekend and hanging out with the other ladies. The weather was beautiful for us...well, until Sunday when we got a little rain. We were able to raise some money for the Missionaries by selling crafts. The picture in the upper right corner is the Congolese Ladies Choir- they were really good! Bottom middle is a missionary from Russia, and above that is Jennifer singing during the communion service.

Easter and a Visit from Maggie

2009-04-21T14:53:00.001-04:00

Maggie, Bob, Oliver and Wyatt came on Sunday for Easter lunch and some egg hunting. The kids all had fun playing together, and all the adults had fun taking pictures of the kids playing together! Haha The weather was beautiful- it was a nice day! We fit in a little birthday celebration for Delilah too, who turned 5!