Garden Friday

This week's Garden Friday comes to you for the last time
from our rental here in Sherrills Ford, North Carolina.
The move to our new property is scheduled for next week,
where we will begin a new adventure as a family.

Our "tin can garden" will be making the trip with us.
The beauty of growing in containers
is that you can, indeed, take it with you.
Much of what we started here on this property
will be restarted for the new growing season.
We still haven't figured out the logistics of where the veggie garden will end up,
but it's wonderful to have this time for planning and designing.

Two of our tomato plants will be readying fruit for the next tenants.
The variety on the left is the Arkansas Traveler
and on the right is the San Marzano type.

 These are sometimes called "paste" tomatoes,
because they are used for making gravy (pasta sauce).
Their shape is more oblong than standard tomatoes.

 The first Arkansas Traveler was spied yesterday.
Fortunately, we have more transplants to take with us,
so we hope to be able to sample these crimson gems later in the season.

 The six months we have spent here has been challenging.
There is just no getting used to renting
when you are homebodies like us.
We are so looking forward to nestling into our new home.

 Having been in a temporary residence for this short time
will allow us to truly appreciate having our own space.

 The garden here was planted by someone else,
and it has been thrilling to watch all of the changes
from December through the late spring.

It's almost like a new beginning,
discovering about growing in a less mild climate than I was used to.
Nothing tropical here,
so I am hopeful to visit some local botanical gardens
to  explore what does best in our region.
There's always something new to uncover.

I can't say we'll miss this place,
as wonderful as it looks in pictures,
it's been a trying experience.
Maybe we'll share that sometime in the future.
For now,
we choose to focus our attention on what is,
and that means a brand new start in our state of choice.
Hoping that you are feeling blessed on this late spring weekend.

Recent Revelations

Sleeping in your clothes won't kill you.

Living in your pjs won't kill you.

My new best friends:  slippers, space heaters and hot water.

If you're tired enough, sleep will come.

 

Any room can be a bedroom.

Any room can be a yoga studio.

Lizards travel.

It pays to prepare for the worst. 
There are nice folks everywhere.

The Magic of Snow

The last time I saw snow was in my 20's.

On vacation in California, we happened upon it

and took full advantage of playing in it.

I remember thinking as a kid how magical it seemed.

Growing up in Illinois, I saw mountains of it every winter.

Then we moved to Florida,

and that was the end of my love affair with the perplexing precipitation.

Or so I thought.

This past weekend marked the first full week living in North Carolina.

And the onset of our first winter storm.

It got downright frigid,

with temperatures in our area dipping into the single digits.

With it, came about 8 inches of snow.

It was amazingly beautiful.

Although our garden gnome didn't quite know what to make of it,
I was absolutely transfixed.

The blanket of snow that covered the grounds

created a sense of tranquility and wonder within myself.
What an astonishing transformation!

Our two Elements, Ginger and Kale,

have never seen the likes of this before.

Slow in starting, they were not likely a fan of the drop in temperatures.

An unexpected and outstanding activity was tracking these footprints near the house.
Each day, I would trek outside to see what critters may have been visiting overnight.
Absolutely fascinating!

Here's my boot print next to a set of tracks.
I think it's a bunny, by the way the tracks are laid out.
What do you think? 

I wasn't expecting this overwhelming sense of peace.
It somehow feels right.
There is no doubt in my mind that we are following our path
by living a more seasonal life.
We made it through our first snowstorm a week after landing here.
I'd say we've been initiated!

Of course, it was too tempting to build a snowman,
so we fashioned ours with a little twist.
An homage to the life we left behind,
while embracing our new lifestyle.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend,
wherever you are!

The House

We're starting our new life in North Carolina in this rental.

The house is over 100 years old
and part of the historic district in our area.
We're here for 6 months until we find our dream home,
or our dream piece of acreage.
Come and take a look at our new digs.

The kitchen is quite expansive, 
considering the age of the home.
The house came with no refrigerator, no dishwasher and no microwave.

 It does have a wonderful farmhouse sink 
with double drain boards
and lots of storage.

This was one of the first rooms set up.
A functional kitchen is vital to the welfare of family.

The pantry door is tucked into the corner of the kitchen.

No doubt it would have held all of the cook's
homemade canned goods.

It is roomy enough for our needs.

Even my daisy totes fit inside.

We are using jars for storing everything.

Thankfully, we have plenty.

As I decided not to use most of the cupboards,

we set up this rack for our daily dishes

and pots and pans.

We have unpacked just what we need to get by.

Keepin' it simple.

One of the first things I cooked once the kitchen was set up,

was some of Lynn and Faye's homegrown eggplant 

that they gifted me with before we left Florida.

The first bathroom has lots of storage,
but it is so cold, we won't be using it much.

Adding a few of our own things makes it more livable.

We'll be using the second bathroom most of the time.
We added a small space heater, which makes all the difference.

The first day we were so tired from driving,
that we just set up the beds in the living room.
It was kind of fun sleeping in the same room,
kind of like camp night!
Most things were left in the rental truck,
until our helpers from Wooten's Movers came the second day.

We've rearranged things and C now sleeps in his own room.
We still have boxes in a few places,
although many have been placed upstairs in one of the two bedrooms.
No sense to unpack everything when we'll be moving again.

The first of two bedrooms downstairs was the initial drop-off spot
for the movers helping us.
We weren't sure how we would use the spaces, so a lot of miscellaneous items were left here.

We ended up putting Big K's radio cabinet in here,
along with the master bed.
We can't use it right now,
but hoping to be able to move in there when the weather is warmer.

As you can see, most of the boxes are gone.
This long hallway is the side entrance to the house.
There is a double sink and the hook-ups for the washer and dryer.

This cleaning cabinet is handy to have so close to the kitchen.

Our shoe rack and hall tree have a spot next to the door that we are using most often.

 Upstairs sit two bedrooms being used for storage
until the weather gets a bit warmer.
Then we may use them for C's Lego room or my sewing room.

Love all the original elements to this house.
Many of the interior doors are original.

Look at the hardware.

Here's a quirky door in one of the upstairs bedrooms.

 I never knew I'd be so fascinated with locks and bolts!

Here's what's inside.
So much storage in this house!

 

The whole house was at some point retrofitted with electricity.

There are on average, two outlets per room.

It makes for interesting use of electricity.

We have to prioritize what we use

so that we don't constantly trip the breakers.

We have three fireplaces, all closed off.
One is in the living room, one in the upstairs bedroom,
and one in the kitchen.
I can imagine someone cooking over an open fire in that kitchen.
I sure wish this house could talk to me.
It must have a fascinating history.

The grounds are beautiful.
The house sits on almost an acre.

There is a wooded area to the south,
which I hope to explore soon.

The side porch has a large deck,
on which I hope to place an abundance of flowers, come spring.

But for now, we are enjoying the magic of the snow.
Hope you enjoyed the tour.
There will be plenty of new things to share 
in the coming weeks.

In this series:

The Sale and The Big Move
We Made It
The Neighborhood