A few weeks ago, I started messing around with my mantle, and I put a vase up there with sticks. It was so sad. Here it is…
My cousin and forever friend Terri McCroskey came to the rescue. Very tactfully, she offered me some of her willow branches. I very gratefully accepted and went up to her house this week and picked them up. If you like this type of thing, you’re going to be jealous….here they are…I would almost call them “majestic” especially when comparing them to my sticks!!
I enjoy them every time I walk by…and I think of her sweetness in giving them to me.
I went shopping around the house and added a few other things. Mostly gourds and some blocks I already had. I think they look pretty good. Gourds from the garden…I didn’t have too many this year, but I did have a few.
I have an ivy topiary in my RiverCliff Cottage header. It’s dried up, died down and come back. It doesn’t look like a topiary any more but I think it’s still pretty. It was outside most of the summer recovering. I love a live plant on the mantle.
The blocks are kind of shabby….
Also on the mantle is one of last year’s pumpkins that cost me nothing. It’s full of Walmart bags and pinto beans!!
I also made a little vignette for the foyer with blocks and gourds. I made these upstairs in the loft when I swore to Mike I was cleaning. I really like them.
And here they are again…
Hope you have a wonderful fall weekend. I’m off to finish cleaning the house!!
I got lucky this week and got a wagon load of “story” information about my paternal grandfather, Peter Livingston Barker. A whole wagon load…
The following was written by the late Jack Nickels and Mary Faye Dougherty Taggart, Peter’s nephew and great niece. I’ve inserted a picture here and there with my notes in italics. I enjoyed reading this and could not wait to share it. I first wrote about Peter Livingston Barker early in the year. You can read that here.
Peter L., as he was called, was born in July of 1858 in Washington County, Virginia, and he lived his whole life in Mendota, a little town in Washington County, Virginia. According to the 1900 census, he lived as a boarder in 1900 with his brother Abe (Abraham Forest) Barker. At the age of 46, he married Mattie Kaylor.
You’ve seen this picture before on an earlier post. He’s pictured with his sisters..
There are many old family stories about Peter L. Barker. He was an inventor and exhibited a creative streak. He went to Washington to get patents on his inventions. Once Peter L. went to Washington with Roy Nickels, his brother-in-law, and he saw a big parade. John Pershing was in the parade. Peter L. recounted the experience and said, “I saluted him (John Pershing) and he saluted me back.” As a result of this experience, Peter L. named one of his sons John Pershing Barker (who lived at the foot of Clinch Mountain).
Some of Peter L.’s inventions include a washing machine made of a wooden barrel and railroad spikes which resulted in all of the clothes being torn up and a fly swatter over the dining room table that was powered by a treadmill on which a pig ran after an ear of corn which was suspended above the pig’s head. Peter. L made a mix master of some type. He also made a merry-go-round by putting a hole through a plank and putting a cardboard box on each end. He put a railroad spike through the center of the plank. It turned like a merry-go-round, but it threw everybody out. Once, Peter L. had a grand piano which he sawed off the legs to make legs for a dining room table.
Jack Nickles of Mendota, Virginia told of the time Peter L. found some blue clay-like material on his property. He accidentally got some on his hands, and when he washed off the clay, his hands were so white and smooth that he decided to put the clay all over his body. He did so and went to bed. His wife, Mattie Kaylor Barker, had a fit because he ruined the sheets. However, he was really ahead of his time. We now use clay packs on our faces to remove impurities.
This barn belonged to Roy Nickels, Jack’s father. It is now owned by John Larson, and it sits near the property owned by the Barkers for many years. I wonder if that clay was nearby in the swampy area across the road from the barn? Look at Clinch Mountain in the background. It’s hard to take a picture in Mendota without the mountain peeking through. I take it for granted until I look at pictures.
According to Jack Nickles, Peter L. kept a supply of law books back in the woods behind his house. He had a hammock back there, and he would frequently go to his hammock in the woods to read law books. Vernon C. Barker, his nephew was attending law school at the time, and whenever he needed help with his law studies, he would seek out his Uncle Peter in the woods. Jack Nickels said that is how Vernon got through law school.
Jack Nickels also told of the time that Peter L. Barker’s nephews, Vernon C. Barker and Abram Forest Barker, Jr. were in a boat. Pete and Vernon decided to play a trick on A. F. and tell him to jump overboard because they had just seen a snake in the boat. A. F. jumped in the river. Then Vernon jumped in because, as it turned out, there really was a snake in the boat.
Same river that we live on today…
Peter L. also was responsible for the Mendota Hotel. The Mendota Hotel was owned by Scott Stickly and his wife around the 1890’s. Peter L.’s father and mother, William Barker and Lucinda Barnhart, had charge of the Mendota Toll Gate built at the foot of Clinch Mountain in Mendota. The proceeds were used to maintain the road over the mountain to Russell County. After the death of his parents, Peter L. and his wife, Mattie Kaylor, continued the operation of the gate until it closed in 1910. Source: Neal, J. A. (1977) Bicentennial history of Washington County, Virginia: 1715-1976, p. 455. Dallas , TX. Taylor Publishing Company.
It was told that Peter L. was to give a speech somewhere. Someone was supposed to introduce him, but that person did not show up, so Peter L. got up and said “I’m going to introduce you to the greatest orator of all times. It is I, Peter L. Barker.”
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There’s more which I’ll add in a day or so. Hope you enjoyed. I’ll close with this picture of blocks made by William Thomas Barker, Peter’s son and my father, when he was a young man. I sometimes look over in their direction when I pass by. They are haunting in a pleasant way.
In my “Before” picture of the bathroom, you’ll see the old Hollywood light strip. We removed it and updated it with something I like much better.
Before…
And After…
And that left us with one old Hollywood light strip that no one wanted. I thought it would eventually end up in the landfill, but Mike saw it differently.
After his very low score on moving the bathroom along (see that post here), I believe he has redeemed himself. I’d give him a definite +1 for this idea.
Here’s the base looking more “mirror like” than “candle-base like”. He put pads on to keep it from scratching the table.
Here it is with a quick pass of spray paint…waiting on tea candles. Those chairs in the yard are what I’m currently working on…cleaning the porch and working in the shrubbery. There is always something to do at this place.
I thought this was one “Smokin’ Hot” idea!
As mentioned above, we’re starting to get the house ready for fall and winter. I worked in the yard yesterday for several hours, and next I’ll be cleaning windows. I searched on the internet for the easiest way to clean my outside windows. I’ll let you know how this works out in a day or two!
Today was the Mendota Heritage Festival. It was such a beautiful fall day, and I think things went well. I was not involved other than to make a cake, eat a hotdog, and walk thru taking pictures. It was nice.
Helene, aka. Dr. Helene Holbrook, was at the Mendota Medical Clinic taking blood pressures, etc. Here we are…
Helene: “Eva your blood pressure is very normal, but how about those chipmunk cheeks? Have you been eating walnuts and storing them for the winter…in your cheeks?”
Here we are playing “Mendota Clinic!”
So many hours of work and dreams brought this clinic into the world and now it’s closed. I think it will open again. I do not know when or under what circumstances, but I just have that feeling. Meanwhile, this little lady waits…
And the Mendota Community Association keeps the birdhouses “bird ready” waiting on that special family to move in…
And those of us who believe lift this clinic up in a more effective manner than texting…
I love my Little Bathroom now. It’s so fresh and clean. The gold walls are gone, the builder-grade unframed mirror is framed, the faucette is now a brushed nickle, and I have new lights. At one time we’d talked about swapping out the sink to granite, but I didn’t want the added expense, and I like this one just fine. I’m going to write a post on things we learned from other bloggers and also from our experience in framing out this mirror.
Like that pop of red in there? Yep, I do!
I wish I took better pictures…
If there was only one thing I could have done in this bathroom after painting it, it would be to change out the lights. I really like them.
I wanted to make all of the little “decor” things to save money. I’m going to add something else, but for right now, it’s just blackbirds on plates. The yellow towels are the same color as the entry hall coming into the bathroom so they are my “transition” pieces along with a bit of black and a bit of red which is in every room in my house.
Here was my “before” photo…I hope you like this one better.
This was a change that Mike and I were both ready for. Except for swapping out the plumbing, which my brother-in-law Gerald helped with, Mike or I did everything ourselves. It was much harder to do than I anticipated because of the confined space. Glad it’s over now, and I’m very happy with the way it looks.
Mike did not like the color of this room. How about you? What do you think? I was sure surprised when he said he did not like it.
If you read my last post, you know that our Little Bathroom Project had turned into an evil, twisted ordeal! Everything went awry! I sat on the couch laughing while I was writing it, and Mike went into a deep sulk. If you didn’t read it, here it is. We’ve turned this all around. It’s not done, but progress has been made.
Here’s the bathroom when we started…this was when I was taking the mirror down and had it all taped. We decided not to take the mirror down so I later removed the tape. Yes.No.Yes.No…finally it really was no. This room was like a little dark cave.
The Benjamin Moore “Eternity” paint really opened the room up, and the paint covers so well. The gallon of paint was $62 and I only used one quart. Expensive, and now I have this pretty paint that I do not know what to do with. The room is small so it’s hard to get a “whole” picture, but in this picture which has the black wood surround on the mirror gives you some idea..
We swapped out the dated “Hollywood” lights that I liked about 20 years ago. I like these so much better..
We’re changing out the plumbing fixtures in this room. Those that you can see in this picture are now gone, but we haven’t installed the new ones. Everything will be a brushed stainless steel. Very clean and subtle. Here’s Mike on the floor working tonight on the swap.
We’re close to having this complete.
While Mike was working on this, I was cleaning the den which has a pantry in it. It’s a pantry that I organized last year that I still enjoy. If things are organized, it’s easier to put things away. Here it is this year…and it’s perfect for me to store our onions. We’ve eaten most of the onions, so I need to remember to put out lots more next year. These used to hang on the back porch but we have to move them before winter, so when Mike washed the porch recently, I went ahead and put them in the pantry. I like the way they look hanging up like this.
We have had the best day. Mike felt better because he made progress on the bathroom. I felt good because I “deep cleaned” our den, completed treating the bees for “nosema apis”, and washed a few windows. This was all followed by an amazing BLT at the Rally Mart in Hiltons and a long nap this afternoon. A perfect day.
All of the very successful bloggers have a “wrap up” at the onset of a new month. They list their accomplishments and posts in the prior month. I thought I’d follow along suit. For me, it’s more of an unraveling. Several of this month’s posts have involved our “Little Bathroom Project”. It was conceptually just a simple “redo”.
I droned on and on in numerous posts about the Little Bathroom Project, and allow me to tell you, I don’t think we’ll ever get that bathroom finished.
The successful part of this bathroom redo is in the pot. Seriously. The Saran Wrap about the commode did keep it from getting paint on it. Score 1 for Eva.
It’s moved so slow that the cat mistook the drop cloth for a litter box and peed on it. It really smelled bad, and I think this is who gets that score. Score 1 for Sam.
Now, here’s where it all gets tricky, and honestly, goes downhill for poor Mike.
I’m not much of a painter, but Mike informed me that he was and would have no problem trimming the wall’s blue paint out to meet the ceiling’s white paint. I asked him…”are you sure you can climb around on that ladder to paint with your not-so-awesome new knee?” “Are you kidding?” was his reply. No, honey, I’m not. You’re sort of gimpy. He can paint, but he can’t climb.
The blue paint that got on the white ceiling doesn’t look too bad, and we’re now just going to paint it blue, too. Score -1 for Mike.
Mike was going to remove the mirror but we decided this would be too hard, so with the shop that he has, he was going to put trim up around the mirror for the look I wanted. He almost scored 1 here, but the Liquid Nails he used did not adhere to the mirror and the trim all fell down. It chipped and broke, so he now has to remake it. Score another -1 for Mike.
And then..he insisted he could change out the light fixture. This required turning off the breaker to make sure he did not electrocute himself with very specific instructions for me not to flip it back to the “on” position as he was going to tackle that light change at any moment. It’s been one.full.week with no lights on in the kitchen as the ceiling lights and the bathroom lights are apparently on the same circuit. Everything else works in the kitchen–just not the lights. I’ve got an extension cord and lamp dimly illuminating the counter. Just for timing alone…let’s score Mike with another -1.
The crap all over the dining room table is now on the countertop and kitchen table. It’s multiplied. There are tools everywhere. Is he building a house or doing a few things in a bathroom that has only a commode and a sink? Thankfully, because of the no-light situation, it’s too dark to see all the crap on the counters and table so no worries for me. I’m going to quit wearing my contact lense in this house. What’s the use? I can’t see anything in the dark.
Today, he started looking at this realistically. He needed some help, so he called an electrician. The only problem that occurred in this, however, is that he dialed the wrong number and left a message on our neighbor’s phone about an electrical job. She called and said she wanted to be a good neighbor, had been glad to help on the “I’ll Fly Away” quilt, but she just didn’t have the knowledge to help him swap out a light, a fan and rewire our gate. I’d score another -1 for Mike for that one.
So…I came up to him today telling him all of this and we both cracked up laughing. I think I said (sort of cheered as in cheerleading) “L” (as in Loser). He looked a little puzzled. I added a big “O”. He caught on (or so I thought)and said “V”. I said “what are you spelling?” He said “aren’t’ you spelling “Lover”? I’m giving him another -1 Score on this one.
Not until that bathroom is all complete.
He is being such a good sport about this. Score a 10 for that! 🙂
Look what is hanging up as part of my Little Bathroom Project…isn’t that plate sweet? Did you see something wrong? I do. The vinyl wire does not align with the horizontal stripes on the plate. I’ll fix that before I finish the bathroom. If I ever finish the bathroom. Man..is it ever going slow.
I got this idea…this birds on a wire idea… from the blogger Karianne at Thistlewood Farms (www.thistlewoodfarms.com) She has a zillion projects, and I could not find the specific link to this project. However, if you have some time, you might want to visit her and look through the many, many projects she does. Every.Day. The girl is a project machine.
At any rate, Karianne said this was really easy, and she was right. It takes only two things — plates and the vinyl which you apply to the plates.
1) Take a plain plate. I used white. You can get these at the Dollar Tree.
2) The next step is applying the vinyl. I got this vinyl kit at Hobby Lobby for $10. It was $18.99 but marked down 50 percent. Everything is marked up..and then marked down…at Hobby Lobby. I also saw some kits at Walmart for under $6 but they were not birds. It’s a no brainer to apply the vinyl. Peel and stick. The downside is that I have all these birds left behind. Oh well.
3) I decided not to add wire to this plate. I have four plates and this is the only one with the bird soaring. Ta da!!
Mike is currently working on the bathroom. It’s like watching paint dry.
Well, we are still working on our Little Bathroom Project. We’ve made progress but it’s not picture takin’ time yet. I will tell you that the commode no longer is wrapped up in red Saran Wrap.
We would have made faster progress, but we’ve had interruptions…such as searching for things on the dining room table.
Or taking a bath. As in Luckie taking a bath. Do you ever put a towel on your head when your hair is wet? What a coincidence! Luckie does too!!
I’m organizing, painting trim and working outside. It is the busiest time of year here as we transition into fall. How about you? Are you washing your windows, pulling weeds, etc.?
It was a weekend where we watched a lot of football. We listened to the high school games (Gate City, John Battle and North Stafford) on the iPad on Friday night; and then Saturday, Mike followed a couple of his favorite teams on tv. He loves the Ohio State Buckeyes since he attended school there, so he always watches them. Following that was the Virginia Tech Hokies.
I was b.o.r.e.d. out of my mind. The house was clean, it was raining too much to go anywhere, the internet was down, I had no book on hand that I wanted to read, and I hate watching television. In addition, Gracie was in a needy mood where she barked when I left the room. She and I were confined to the living room.
I decided to work on a project that accompanies our Little Bathroom Project. I want to make things for the walls of this little room versus buy things. Mike always has some plywood in the shop so I asked him if he had any small pieces. He did, and he painted it white for me. I’d planned on something with Chevron stripes and a big initial B but I scaled down the work involved.
I decided on horizontal stripes. I spaced then with a yardstick and taped them with green painter’s tape.
Here’s the whole thing taped and ready to go. I actually liked it this way, but the green doesn’t go in my bathroom.
Couldn’t spray paint this because I was in the living room, but I was able to sponge on the paint. It meant that the look would not be quite as crisp, but I’m good with that. Sort of scary looking.
I’m pretty happy with the outcome pictured below. I’m going to put a small nail in it and hang this “birds on a wire” plate that is very easy to make. I’ll tell you about it in another post.
I’m actually working on the bathroom today. We’re going to get it done sooner than I thought. I hope I can take a picture that shows how good it looks. If not, well, you’ll just have to stop by and use the bathroom. 🙂
