Last night it was cold enough that we built our first fire. Darn it . . I forgot to get marshmallows to roast. The gas lighter was still on but I was ready to sit down and enjoy the fire myself so I took a picture before the fire really got going. Notice it’s dark outside and all our blinds are open! I knew we’d never close them here. The TV is not staying there so don’t even think it is!
Four more days til our sofa and beds get moved over here. You can imagine how happy I will be to have a real bed and have a dresser and a comfy place to sit while I knit.
Yesterday just at dusk, I was cooking and Vince was doing something and Speck started barking and barking. I looked up and there was a car way down the driveway but Speck was sitting in the chair looking out the window and I guess he’s already gotten used to the solitude. It was the guy we bought the place from and he still owns the big ranch house that’s for sale. He had come over to put the covers on the outside water faucets at the big house. They are the nicest people! I had talked to his daughter about getting a deer stand for Vince for Christmas and she had mentioned it to her dad. He has a nice stand that he left in our implement shed and he called me aside and asked if I had bought a deer stand yet. I told him no and he said “Come see this one!” He took me back there and we looked at it. He showed me how it all works and said he’d give it to Vince and I could get Vince something else for Christmas. How nice is that? The guy has a foundation for needy children where they give scholarships for college and they give a lot of food baskets at Thanksgiving. In the spring they have a big golf tournament and an auction to raise money for the foundation and I told him I would donate a quilt in exchange for the deer blind .. though I know the quilt will not start to bring in anywhere near as much as the deer blind cost.
We took him out and showed him what we had done in the shop. He liked it but he kept shaking his head and saying “You took HALF the shop!” You never know what someone thinks .. even though it’s no longer HIS shop . . he built it and had big plans about what he was going to do out there. I remember how aggravated I was when the folks in Lake Charles painted my purple house a different color. So, he’s seen it and I’m sure he went and told his wife “You won’t believe what they did to the shop!” and I’m betting she comes by this afternoon or tomorrow to look at it.
Back to my sewing . . I have packages to finish, you know!
Karin says
I was hoping you meant a deer blind when you said ‘stand’ (a stand goes up in a tree, yikes!). I was thinking about getting my hubby a deer blind for Christmas too though! (he already has a stand and I don’t want him using it!!!)
JudyL says
Some of the stands here they come out and build and they’re pretty darned nice. We looked at some that looked safer to me than some of the blinds but the one the neighbor is giving us is a blind.
Linda in NE says
In that first pic it looks like Vince has claimed both chairs…. and that TV is a bit small…you want one of those 65 inch flat-screens like I saw in just about every house on the Tour of Homes last night. 🙂
That’s funny about the previous owner being amazed that you’re getting half the shop for your studio. When my son bought his big old house in town everyone kept driving by to see the progress of his remodel & stopping to tell him “how it used to be.” This spring he & DDIL bought an acreage with a house that needed/needs a lot of work and the neighbors all stop by to see how it’s going….with beer during the summer. Also offers of garden plowing last spring and snow plowing this winter. DDIL got invited to join the neighborhood women’s club right away. I’m so glad they, and you, have good neighbors.
JudyL says
That TV is as big as we’ll ever have I hope. If I had my way, it would be smaller and less noticeable.
Karen says
LOL, you might have taken half the shop but you need the space with the long arm! We live in the country too and rarely shut our blinds the back windows face the woods and we don’t even have blinds on them, north side so we don’t get strong sun in and no one is back there!
Karen
Laura says
I have a very nice sewing room, about 14 x 20, but reading about and watching the progress on your studio makes me dream of how wonderful it would be to have that much space. Clearly, the nice man does not understand the needs of quilters! 😉
pdudgeon says
Oh, that fire looks SOOOOO NICE! Can’t wait until you get all your furniture and quilts and books in there. it will look so homey that Vince will never want to move again!
Sue H says
When we moved away from our house of 22 years, the new owners cut down our “Christmas Tree” shrub that we always loaded up with lights for the holidays. We got calls from neighbors that “they” cut down “our” tree! I was a little sad to see it gone though. And they replaced it with a big ugly hose reel!
Mary C in WA says
Looks good. Just 4 more days to see the TV in there by the Fire. Where will you put your Christmas Tree? Hope you’ll blog about that too. LOL on the Neighbor! Glad it’s getting done for you!
JudyL says
We kept out one tree but it got soaked in the first basement flood at the rental. We figured it would be moldy and icky so we tossed it. Our bigger tree is in storage and I doubt we find it or the decorations before Christmas so . . no tree for us this year.
Linda says
I’m pretty sure that in the last picture of your family room, Vince was in the same spot…in the same shirt!! LOL
JudyL says
Definitely not the same shirt but probably the same colored shirt and yes . . same spot. That’s where you’ll find him every night.
Pat says
I love to have a fire…of course, we now have converted our wood-burning to gas. We didn’t want to do it, but there was some problem with the location of the fireplace in relationship to the vents for the regular furnace and the fireplace interfering with the efficient operation of the furnace, so……we pretty much had to convert or else not USE the fireplace. I can’t recall why the gas fireplace made a difference, but…it did and at least now I get to use it AND it is easy for me to get it going myself!!! 🙂 ENJOY your fires…sounds like you are having nippy weather now….great nights for fireplaces!
SarahB says
*SIGH* I long for a fireplace… or rather a wood burning stove but in a pinch I would take a fireplace! It looks so cozy, even without the sofa, because of how close you two are sitting.
JudyL says
I’d rather have a wood stove too but the fireplace is here and there’s no room for a wood stove. We could put an insert in that generates more heat but we’ll see how much heat we really need here. I think it’s not normal for it to be this cold here but . . we’ll see.
CJ says
Judy, take the blinds down! Then you don’t have to dust them!
JudyL says
I’m sure when Vince is gone away for a night here and a night there, I’ll appreciate having them.
Sharon Spingler says
I would love to have a fire but John makes the fires so hot, he cracked the box…….again.
Linda says
Ok you got me! Deer stand?Deer blind? Please what are these
obviously very Texan things?
Cheers
Linda
Susan says
Glad to see you are getting settled…….
It is so necessary to do a bit of sewing while unpacking and such.
I still have to unpack what is in the garage……. Now I have a deadline. It must be done by Valentine’s Day. Then someone is coming to hand the clocks and pictures and rods over the doors in the bedrooms……….. (they are double glass doors that open onto the porch……)