From The Ground Up



"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord,

"plans to prosper you and not to harm you,

plans to give you hope and a future." ~ Jeremiah 29:11

 



My absence from the blog has been lengthy because we have been B.U.S.Y.!!!  Hopefully, I can portray just what we've been up to with some before and after photos, showing the progression of our farm build.  In four short years we have accomplished many things and tackled many hurdles. We still have a ways to go and I'm quite certain there will be many more hurdles, but with determination and faith we will persevere!

 

Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you

the desires of your heart. ~ Psalm 37:4



I've written several posts here, here, and here, chronicling our progress from clearing trees, to building our home.  There are some posts that never happened like clearing pastures and putting in fences.  I'll introduce those phases to you through the photos in this post.  I'm so glad I took so many pictures of each stage. It's amazing to look back and see the huge changes we've made!

Through it all, we give all the glory to God above, and thank Him continually for our many blessings.

For I am the Lord, your God,

who takes hold of your right hand and says to you,

 Do not fear; I will help you. ~ Isaiah 41:13 





 



the back yard - BEFORE

the back yard - AFTER

 

the back yard - BEFORE 

the back yard - AFTER

the old pasture - BEFORE

 

the old pasture - AFTER

 



the entrance - BEFORE

the entrance - AFTER

 



the new pasture - BEFORE

 



the new pasture - AFTER

 



the new pasture - AFTER

 



the new pasture - BEFORE

 



the new pasture - AFTER

 



the old pasture - BEFORE

 



the old pasture - AFTER

from the front door of the house - BEFORE

 



from the front door of the house - AFTER

 

 



from the front door of the house - AFTER

 



from the front door looking toward the new pasture - BEFORE

 





from the front door looking toward the new pasture - AFTER

 

front of house - BEFORE

 



front of house - AFTER

 



laying sod - BEFORE

 



laying sod - AFTER

 



from the driveway toward the new pasture - BEFORE

 

from the driveway toward the new pasture - AFTER

 

 

We expect there will be many more changes going forward, and I will do my best to share our progress with you here.

 

I am also debating a name change for the blog to go along with our endeavor and our website.  Not to mention, it's likely that travel will be rare once we get our cattle.  So what do you think? Should I change the name of the blog to Rogers Creek Farm? Leave your comments below, please.





Is It Ever Going to End?

In the last year, I have tried my best to realize the good in each and every day.  To find something of beauty to marvel at, something that caused me to take notice, be grateful, be humbled.

I've had plenty to keep me busy around the house and farm, and, personally, I think I've done a pretty good job of holding it all together and pushing through both large and small jobs.

 

 

But the darkness of loneliness, depression, and despair were never far away.  Even though I never let myself fall into that pit, I admit there have been plenty of days of self pity.

My husband, my very best friend, left for a one year assignment in February 2014.  He should be back by now......  But he's not.  I know I've got to be strong, and I know I've got to be patient, and I know he's coming home, but by golly, I'm tired of waiting!!!

This is just a part of what it means to be married to the military.  The separations, the unknown, the indefinite answers, the Army being in control of our lives.

Winter has been extreme this year for much of the country.  And I've always found this part of winter to be the ugliest.  Everything is so dead and drab it makes you wonder how any of it could still have life in it!  This provides the perfect correlation to my situation:  will it ever end?

Thankfully, the promise of spring is always there, just like it's been in years and centuries past.  I see leaf and flower buds on trees and spring flowers pushing up from the dirt.  It provides comfort and an undeniable invigorating energy.  Even the increase in daylight hours has a positive impact!

 

 

So all that being said, what better time for my beloved to come home... during Spring!  A time for renewal, a time for new beginnings, a time for recommitment to each other and the vows we spoke so long ago, renewed enthusiasm and determination as we continue building our farm.

I still don't know the exact day he will return, but I just know it's going to be soon.  It just has to be! 

So I'll close with a picture that pretty much sums it all up: 

The Dining Room Furniture, Before and After

As a follow up to my previous post, Moving Day, here are before and after photos of our antique Louis XIV china cabinet and dessert buffet that was damaged in the move.

It still amazes me, that after 22 years of military service and moving all over the world, we've never had damage to our household goods like we incurred this time.  "This time" being a move within the same state, less than 100 miles from the point of origin!  I guess there's no such thing as a perfect track record!  And on the bright side, it could have been much worse, as some of our military friends have experienced complete nightmares with their moves.

And to chalk it up to the moving company, Coastal Moving and Storage, they took full responsibility of the damage of our furniture and various items, taking care of all cleaning, repairs, and compensation.  In a timely manner, to boot!  While I probably wouldn't recommend them for handling a job that includes high risk, irreplaceable items, their response and rapid settlement of our claim was impressive.

 

The moving company took care of transporting these pieces to Colonial Woodworks in Columbia, SC.  They were the moving company's choice and we knew nothing about them.  While the job took a good amount of time, we couldn't be more pleased with the work they did and the care they displayed in bringing these special pieces back to life.  I have to admit, after the first month came and went and we still didn't have our furniture, I became extremely skeptical.  Of course my mind was going through all the "what-ifs" and I wasn't thinking very positively.

 

Finally the day for delivery came, and I honestly think I gasped when the pieces were placed in our dining room.  Having not seen the before photos, I wasn't positive of where the work was done, and to my unknowing eyes it was difficult to guess.  Once I was able to store away all our linens, china, crystal and serving pieces, I had the moving company send the "before" photos to me.   

 

As you can see in the photos below the work is impeccable!  Sincere gratitude go out to Steve and Laurie at Colonial Woodworks.  We HIGHLY recommend them for all your furniture refinishing needs!

We love our dining room and look forward to many many years of enjoyment, sharing meals and good times with dear family and precious friends.  Come visit us!!!

The Dessert Buffet

Before and After



 

 

 

The China Cabinet

Before and After

 



 











The Summer Cover

Among the many decisions Travelin' BRITS and I had to make during the build of our home was what type of tile or design we would incorporate as the back splash in the kitchen, mainly the area over the cooktop, as it would be the focal point in the center of our kitchen.

We knew we wanted a stucco-style vent surround, but the verdict was out on what the feature would be on the wall below.

 

At one of our favorite stores in Columbia, SC, Southeastern Salvage,  we found beautiful tumbled, raw travertine tiles.  And because of the type of store, we bought all they had not knowing, or caring, if it would be enough to cover the back splash areas in our kitchen.  Based out of Chattanooga, TN, Southeastern Salvage is a store that sells overstocks of all sorts of builders' materials, as well as imported furniture items, at prices that are truly unbeatable! 

I'm a firm believer of web surfing, magazine flipping, and HGTV viewing for inspiration and ideas for various projects, whether it be DIY or done by professionals.  It's just helpful to be able to bring the vision in your head to life through pictures.  That said, Travelin' BRITS and I have become avid browsers of the pages of Tuscan Style Magazine.  A bi-annual periodical that truly makes you say ooh and aah with each page turn.  It was in this magazine that I started paying special attention to the back splash in so many of the featured homes' kitchens, magnificent kitchens with unbelievable features and furnishings.  In one particular kitchen I noticed an interesting cook top back splash.  On closer inspection and reading the caption that accompanied the photo, I discovered the home owners had used a gorgeous repurposed summer fireplace cover.

Architectural salvage?  Repurposing something cool from an old house?  Now we're talking!  But what is a summer cover, you ask? 

"A Summer Cover was 1 of the 3 components commonly used on small coal fireplaces. The surround served as a frame for the fireplace opening. There were usually tabs on the lower portion of the surround onto which the coal grate hung inside of the fireplace. The cover door also mounted onto this surround frame, attaching from the outside.

The door was completely removable and was taken off when there was a fire burning. When the fireplace was not in use then the door, or cover, was mounted back onto the frame, keeping warm air from the house from rising up the chimney and in the summer keeping the cooler and often smelly air in the chimney from dropping down into the house.

The cover doors were made from a variety of materials. A fair number were heavy, cast iron doors but  frequently they are made of tin and also some in brass. They were always made of a fireproof metal, as it was common to put the cover on when the coals burnt down low so the family didn't wake up to a completely cold house in the morning, by which time the fire had burned out.

The design of the cover was most often a bit ornate, and matched the design elements found in the frame."

Many covers, as mentioned above are a bit ornate, but many are on the plain side. Many tell a story, while others are designed with something special for the owner.

Ok, enough with the history lesson.  Rewind to a  beautiful sunny October day.  I stopped in my favorite flea market/antique mall in Florence, SC, Thieves Market.  I LOVE that place!  I'm always able to find cool stuff in there, and often get side-tracked from what I'm looking for by all the amazing treasures they have in there.  Even the front porch is loaded with interesting treasures, weather-exposed and all!

After poking around on the front porch and not finding any fireplace covers I headed inside.  Mind you, Thieves Market covers a huge area, packed with both junk and treasure.  So as I passed the front counter the kind proprietor asked if she could help me.  So I asked if they had any summer covers.  "Why, yes, as a matter of fact, there's one booth that has several.  But did you see the one on the front porch?"  What?  No!  Where?  So she led me to it.  It was a rusty mess, but worth keeping in mind while I went to see the others all located further in the expanse of this treasure trove of goodies. 

None of them were what I was looking for, so back to the front porch I went.  Incredible, so fitting, and in a word perfect!  SOLD!  And I even got it for less than the ticketed price... even better!

It was a rusty, gross mess, but I was determined to make it work and to get Travelin' BRITS to love it too.  Which he did.  He even helped with the cleaning.
  

 

 

I had read somewhere that apple cider vinegar and steel wool do wonders together in removing rust.  So that's what I started out with.  While it did remove a large amount of oxidation, I needed to step up my efforts a couple notches, not to mention the old paint and soot that needed to be removed.  In came the heavy duty paint removal Jasco Premium Paint and Epoxy Remover.  That is some powerful stuff!  I poured it on the cover, worked it into all the nooks and crannies and left it for several hours.

When I returned, not much had changed until I started scrubbing with my steel bristle brush.  All that old paint and rust just started disappearing!  It was amazing!  All the details of the design started popping out before my eyes!  I was so excited I could barely contain myself!  I rinsed it off and left it to dry.

I came back to it after about 30 minutes and knew I was looking at our cooktop back splash!   Even though our kitchen fixtures are all bronze finish, I chose to paint the back splash with a Rustoleum copper spray paint.  It turned out beautifully, and blends perfectly with all the other special features of our kitchen. 

 

 

 

Cooking is a necessary hobby that is now a great pleasure realizing I repurposed a unique thing of the past into our 21st century home.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Moving Day!

December 2, 2013.  After months of decisions, dreaming, budget busting, and anticipation the day finally arrived for us to move into our beautiful home!  We were so excited the night before we could hardly sleep!

I had every intention of snapping several photos on this monumental day, but never had the opportunity to do so.  For the first time E.V.E.R. TravelinBRITS was left in charge of the movers while I had to travel to the airport 2 hours away to collect our son who had been away at basic training in San Antonio, TX, with the SC Air National Guard.  I had every confidence that my husband could handle the task at hand.... and he did!

When our son and I returned, things seemed under control.  Six moving crates had been unloaded, and the five remaining were almost done.  Almost immediately I noticed the anxious look on my husband's face...... several furniture items had not been off loaded, but we held out hope that they were in the final crate yet to be opened.  Alas, they were not, commencing phone calls to the dispatch office, notifying the office manager we were missing a crate.

Search for the missing crate began immediately, while we began the task of unpacking over 400 boxes!  Our task became rather tedious as certain boxes could not be unpacked due to not having the furniture that would hold the items (mainly our Louis XIV china cabinet and dessert buffet, bookcase, master bedroom dresser and chest of drawers).  Needless to say, anxiety set in like the persistent buzz of a mosquito, annoying and troubling!

Two days after delivery we received a call from the moving and storage company regional manager with good news and bad news.  Good news:  crate was found.  Bad news: contents of the crate had suffered severe water damage due to the items sitting on a leaky truck during the continuous summer storms we endured last July.  Uggghhh!  I had answered the call, but had to hand the phone off to my husband before I went completely ballistic on the guy! 

Water damage, severe mold, and possibly total loss on some of our most high dollar items!  Why is it that the high dollar/irreplaceable items are the things to suffer the most damage whenever we move.  The stuff made of particle board or items we'd just as soon send to the curb are NEVER damaged!  Riddle me that, Batman!

The manager's next question was, "Would you like us to deliver these items and you set up the appraisals and repair contacts?". Are you nuts???  NOOOO!!!  You did this so you are responsible.  You get the appraisals and assessments on the items and go from there, especially since you're in a metro region where the resources are available!  We don't want these items delivered until all damage has been repaired or replaced.

Along with the furniture items mentioned above, ALL my beautiful Moroccan pillows, poufs, and cushions were covered in mold, ALL our Civil War prints (Mort Kunstler, Don Stivers, etc), a Civil War sabre replica, my husband's military dress sabre, and one very special award presented to my husband by His Royal Highness, Mohammed VI, Kingdom of Morocco, suffered water and mold damage.  To date, all repairs and/or restoration is in progress with one item being declared a total loss, but we've not had any visual on the items so not sure if we will be 100% satisfied.  We won't take delivery until all has been completed.

The hardest thing about the whole ordeal is the fact that we have moved 16 times across continents and oceans, and have never experienced damage like this.  These items were in storage for less than 6 months and traveled less than 100 miles from the warehouse to their destination.... and for the FINAL TIME!  Our last move and we suffer losses like never before!!!

I don't have a moral to this story.  All of this could have been avoided if the moving company put a little more effort into caring for our stuff.  Yeah, it's just stuff, but it's a military career's worth of collecting special things from around the world.  Things that can't be replaced.  Things that have extraordinary sentimental value.  Things that were heavily considered when planning and building our new home.

Coastal Moving and Storage Their motto: Moving You Like Family.  What a joke!!!!!!!  They are no family of mine!

Once these items have been delivered and things have been put away, I look forward to sharing photos of our home.  We are extremely happy with all the special features and love being there, calling it HOME!

The Stencil Project

OK.  I've had a busy week, and finished the "trial" attempts using variations of color combinations a few days ago.  Travelin BRITS came home over the weekend.  I was able to explain to and show him my trail run for this project.  We were also able to place the board on the stairs at the house to get a feel of how it would look.  I was sent to another level of anticipation and excitement, he was a bit less enthusiastic, but was willing to give me the go ahead for the project!!!   WOO HOO!!!

Please keep in mind, this is not the design I plan to use.  I painstakingly chose 3 different patterns from the wide selection at Royal Design Studio, and placed my order TODAY!  I hope to finalize our color palette for the entire house sometime this week, so that when my order arrives from RDS, I'll be able to jump right in to giving our home a very unique look.  But I'm still thinking the risers will be painted the same color as whatever color the trim work will be (most likely a creamy off-white color) and for the stencil design, I'll go with a very subtle shade darker than the riser.

I was able to pick up a long piece of plywood that would allow me to try several different variations of background and pattern colors.

I measured it out and then sectioned off 1-foot areas for each of the variations of color and pattern.

Paint, brush, tape, pencil, and one photo-bombing dog wanting to play......

Still not definitive on our paint colors for the house, but here are 3 varying Valspar paint colors.  From left to right:  Courtyard Tan, Mediterranean Caramel, and Cafe Miel...

....all shown here on the plywood board.

Here I've got everything laid out and ready to go... stencil in place, paper towels, paper plate, brush and paint.

The neat thing about stenciling is you don't have to use a lot of paint to get the look you're going for.  Just a small amount applied to your brush, which is then rubbed off onto a paper towel.  Then, in circular strokes, you're going over the surface of the stencil, careful not to apply too much pressure for fear of resulting in bleeding under the stencil...

This is the result of the first section I worked on, with the background done in Valspar Courtyard Tan.  Unfortunately, the design on the left is not quite what I envisioned due to my not completely cleaning the brown paint from the brush.  However, I sorta like the light creamy color that resulted using Americana Light Buttermilk and a not-completely-clean brush! :)  The design on the right was done with a darker paint, Americana Toffee.

An action photo, showing the daubing on the paper towel, the paper plate palette, and the result using much darker paint, Americana Cocoa and Honey Brown on Valspar Courtyard Tan.

This section is shown with the Valspar Mediterranean Caramel background and the Cocoa and Honey Brown stencil paints.  As you can see, or maybe can't see, the Cocoa is virtually the same color as the Mediterranean Caramel.  I want to go subtle, but this is a little too subtle considering all the work this project entails! 

Lastly, the background using Valspar Cafe Miel and Americana Honey Brown on the left and Stencil Magic Paint Creme in Warm Brown on the right.

I still think my favorite result is the Valspar Courtyard Tan with the stencil design done in Light Buttermilk.

Keep in mind, I'm still perfecting the technique and hope that when I start the project for the stair risers, I'll be a lot more confident with my technique, knowing just how little paint it takes to achieve the look I'm going for.

All Valspar paints from Lowe's.  All Americana paints from Hobby Lobby.

So...what do you think?