A Year in the House

Actually it’s a little over a year since we moved into the house and we still love the place! Is there anything we would have done differently? Beyond minor things like adding another electrical outlet in the bathroom and putting the sump pump on the generator, I think the only thing I would have wanted would be a front porch. We were concentrating so much on the views out back to the water that we never considered that we would also have a beautiful view out the front. There have been a few days where we just sat on the front steps just enjoying the view. A covered porch where we could put a couple of chairs would have been nice. We may put a brick or tile porch in the front at a later date.

We have done very little inside the house other than unpacking the odd box or two. Our main focus is getting the retaining wall done. What a project! And the county inspectors have not forgotten about it either! They popped in a couple of weeks ago to see how we were coming along. As you can see in the photos we still have a long way to go! That will be the tallest that layer of blocks will go, then we will cut into the hill and add another terrace and possibly a third in the middle. Since that is all clay it is easier said than done! I have also started a garden and a couple of flower beds. There will be more gardens in the future but we are taking it a step at a time. Eventually we want to finish out the basement and we are working on the plans for that now but that is a few years in the future. We also painted the back deck - a big improvement!

 The newly painted deck! The small flower bed is actually where the flower pots are at the foot of the deck, against the house.

 We have knock-out roses behind the lilies. There were blooming like crazy a couple of weeks ago and I’m sure they will again real soon. This is in front of the dining room window. We plan to build another planter and wall in front of the turret - maybe next year.

Below is the back garden. I have planted basil, peppers, tomatoes, lavender, mint, a gardenia (in memory of my mom who passed away in January), lamb’s ear and a few others I can’t remember right now. I had a lot of friends who were kind enough to bring us gifts of plants - a big thank you to all of you!

Holidays at Home

 We are really excited about spending this Holiday season in our new home! There is so much more room here - more storage, kitchen space, etc. No more trying to wrangle the Christmas decorations out of the attic on a rickety ladder! And this year we have TWO trees! One in the great room and one in the turret area of the master bedroom. Of course I had to go out and get decorations for the second tree. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for the after Christmas decoration sales! The main tree is all gold and the second one is done in reds. The kitty cats are really happy to have the Christmas trees up - they’ve been camping out underneath the main one and have been acting extremely good. They really get into the whole present opening ritual on Christmas morning! Right now the little kitty, Chaghi, is stitting on my lap supervising.

Thanksgiving we stayed home and made a traditional dinner for just the 2 of us - not something we ususally do but we wanted to really put the kitchen through it’s paces. I think we used every burner on the Wolf range - all 6 of them! Only used one oven though.

We are also enjoying the gas fireplace. No more lugging firewood into the house and having to not go anywhere once we build the fire. If I want a fire for an hour or two it’s just a flick of a switch, then turn it off if I have to go somewhere.

 Tree in great room above. Tree in master bedroom sitting area below.

 Below, the new sideboard in the dining room complete with Christmas decorations.

Six Months in the House

It’s been a while since my last post but we really haven’t done a lot except explore our new county. New Kent County, Va has a lot of history associated with it! For instance it is where Martha Washington, wife of our first President, was born and raised. Martha also married her first husband in a church not far from here, which is still standing and holding services. We’ve also discovered Saude' Creek Winery, which is 10 miles from the house. A lovely place with outstanding wines. You can bring a picnic, buy a glass or bottle of wine and enjoy the breathtaking scenery out on the patios and decks. On weekends they also have live music.

Thanks to my mom and dad, we have a lovely new sideboard in the dining room! All I need to complete this room is an area rug under the table and maybe some wall scones on either side of the painting over the sideboard. With fall here we’ve been attempting to plant grass. Of course we’ll have to mow said grass when it comes up!

Peter is doing much better after his surgery and is eager to get back to the retaining wall project.

 Taken on our morning walk. Our house is back in the trees on the right - you can’t see it from the road.

 Afternoon visitors. I’m thinking of hiring them to weed the lawn - they were doing such a good job! As long as they keep out of my azaleas!

 New side board in the dining room.

Yang chilling out at Saude' Creek Winery.

Until next time....

Three Months in the House

Well, we have been here for 3 months already and it really feels like home. We had our pastor come over and do a house blessing, which was wonderful (sorry, I forgot to take photos)!

We moved the love seat out of the living room and into the den, creating a really cozy room in the den. Now we need to get a chair to replace the love seat in the living room. I love the extra space in the living room now that the love seat is out of there - helps with the traffic flow as well. I also want to get area rugs for the living room and dining room. The dining room chairs have arrived - Thank You Mom and Dad! They look great! I also have been spending a lot of time in the basement painting the bookcases. They are now finished and are in their respective rooms upstairs. I spent one day unpacking boxes of books and arranging them in the bookcases - what a workout! I still have a lot more books to unpack but I am slowly whittling away at the pile of boxes in the basement.

Peter is still working on the wall but will have to take a break due to his upcoming surgery next week. Not sure when he’ll be able to resume work on it but his health comes first!

 The den. We plan on getting a small desk to put where the 2 chairs are now.

 The Wall! The plan is to build it to a height of 3 feet, then cut into the hill and terrace it back. (Yang has to supervise!)

Some Interior Photos

Just thought I’d post some photos of the inside. We still have lots to do and more furniture to purchase but all in good time. We still want to get an area rug for the living room and chairs for the dining room. Also there is no furniture in the den at the moment but we want to get a desk and setee for that room. Still undecided about curtains. I think it would make the living room and bedroom cozier.

Grounds Keeping

We have a LOT of lawn! Between the 2 of us (mostly Pete) we managed to mow the back yard today. We still have the side and front to do but ran out of gas - us and the lawn mower! That riding lawn mower is getting pushed up the list, along with the shed to keep it in! It is a good work out - I just think of all the money I’m saving on gym memberships. Any how, here are some pics of the front and back yard with a few inside photos thrown in for good measure.

 Front yard. That’s our driveway on the far side of the lawn.

 Front planting bed. Still haven’t figured out what to put next to the house. Sculpture, fountain, more plants?

 Back deck and yard. See what I mean about mowing?

 Living room with our new entertainment cabinet.

Below, the main floor guest bath.

Unpacking

Well we are all moved in, though there are a lot of boxes to unpack in the basement. Our idea is if there is something we don’t need or want to not bring it upstairs but give it to Goodwill. Right now my goal is to unpack 2 boxes a day. Once we paint the 3 large bookcases we can unpack all the books - by far the largest quantity of boxes. We also have boxes of vinyl records - remember them? Not sure what we’ll do with them.
The other major project we have to do is build a retaining wall opposite the garage. Our county inspector says we have to have it done by the fall, so Pete has been doing a little bit on it each week. As you can see in the photos, this will take A LOT of blocks! The plan is to terrace it back. I’ve also been planting some flowers along the front walkway - I’ll post pictures of this later on.

 A view of the breakfast nook from the den, above. And the breakfast nook looking out onto the deck, below.