On to Quimper

Part 3 - France 2010

 Still raining and still lost. No one at the tourist information office – who would have thought that there might be travelers on a national holiday?  No idea where the hotel was and the lady at the hotel had no idea where we were.  Apparently she was unfamiliar with the main tourist office. She kept saying go to the Cathedral and go two stop lights.  “In what direction?”  “Just go two stop lights.” She seemed to think this clear enough.

Off we went with absolutely no idea where to go. No one to ask. Nothing open. Finally found a boulangerie open where the French were buying their evening bread. Believe it or not, the first guy I asked knew the hotel and asked us to wait while he got his bread.  Then, he drove to the hotel with us following.  We only got lost three more times trying to get back and forth after that.

The hotel was an old manor house in the country resembling the opening scene from the movie Halloween.  It would have been complete if Debbie had done to me what Michael Myers did to the nurse. No French jury would have convicted her.

Dark shadows over our hotel.The blue tarp over the front door was needed after
high winds blew out the glass while we were staying there.

The next day broke cold and wet so a visit to the Cathedral seemed like a good bet. In an old abbey just by the Cathedral was a Brittany museum we deemed worth a visit. We got there about 11 a.m. and shortly thereafter there was an announcement in French – le musee blah blah blah in dix minutes. Now surely the museum wouldn’t close in the middle of the day.  Anyway in any museum they give you plenty of warning and then send a grumpy guard to shoo you out. So we moved quickly and finished our visit at about 12:05. Guess what? – the museum was locked up tighter than Dick’s hat band. "Don’t worry," I said, "I’ll find someone in the office to let us out." I forgot that was lunch time and no French person worth his sel is going to stay in the work place. Debbie and I looked at each other not knowing when, if ever, the museum might reopen.

A quick survey of the reception area revealed a weak link in museum security: a chest-high window locked only by a bar from the inside and shutters that were jimmiable.  Fortunately, the museum was eaten up with stone age tools.  An old raggedy spearpoint I found lying around was perfect for forcing the shutter.  A head stuck out into the courtyard showed no guards or police; in fact there was no one else about. Did I mention that it was lunch time?  And there was a bench outside just below the window. In a moment Debbie had boosted herself up and was out. She looked around nonchalantly and gave me the high sign. Liberte! I followed, at long last breathing the air of a free man.  A better (worse?) might have helped himself to a handful of souvenirs before the breakout but I left empty handed. – just kidding about the spear point.

Planning an escape

Up

and out.

And did we hightail it out of there. Don’t say anything about this. I imagine there’s still an outstanding warrant on us.

Brittany: Lost, Wet, Lost, Wet...

Part 2 - France 2010

The next day we rented a car and headed for the provinces. Still raining, of course. Fortunately we had two sets of highly detailed driving instructions. So, we were lost within 10 minutes. It’s easy to drive in Paris if you know where you’re going. If you don’t, good luck to you because you will recognize the street you need to turn on only after you’ve gone past it. From then on, all the streets are one way – the wrong way.  

Finally, you reach the Peripherique, the Waterson Expressway of Paris -- a diabolically designed multilane highway which requires more attention to detail than heart surgery. We were on it and then next thing I knew, we were lost in a McDonald’s parking lot.

Ultimately, we broke free and headed to Chartres on that cold rainy day. For the first time since the late Middle Ages there were only a handful of people in that most magnificent medieval cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres.  

The Cathedral Spire at Chartre

Got lost again leaving Chartres. Ultimately to the walled city of Dinan and lost again.  Eventually found our hotel – a charming old pile on a cobblestone street almost wide enough for one car. “You can’t go up there," a lady told us. "It’s a pedestrian street!” Watch me. The hotel had a lovely garden which looked beautiful even in the pouring rain.

Debbie, in the rain, at Dinan's market.

The only other guests came down for breakfast – two French young people, a shaggy rooster-haired boy with wispy side burns and a blonde girl, both gaping and rubbing their eyes.  They must have been worn out  by their nights sleep (or lack thereof). The girl, a slight beauty, was so dazed that she forgot her bra. They sat by us and talked to each other in that peculiar way that the French have – like sitting by a quiet running stream.  As Emogene used to say about foreigners, they just "jabber, jabber, jabber".

The next day we drove to Roscof on Brittany's northern coast where the driving rain was accompanied by a driving wind which nearly blew us off the pier. Since it was 11/11, the Musee des Oignons Roses was closed, thereby depriving us of the rare opportunity to see how you can build a museum on pink onions – not all onions, but only the pink kind. Anyway, that area is the artichoke and cauliflower capital of France – reason enough to visit that part of the world.

Roscof, home to the Musee du Oignons Roses

From there we went Carnac to see the ancient fields of stones.  Since Carnac is only about the size of Shelbyville, we were only lost for about half an hour before stumbling on the field.  This is the ancient stomping ground of Asterix – one of the best comic book series ever – where Asterix and his Gaul comrades outsmart the Romans at ever turn – think French cowboys and Indians – worth a look even if you only have minimal French.

Stones at Carnac

Luckily the rain let up to a steady drizzle which allowed us to walk among the stones, all oriented in long lines east and west, and speculate on what they were for.  I suppose it’s the prehistory equivalent to graffiti “Hey, everyone, I was here”.

Hey everyone, I was here.

 to be continued...

Innocents Abroad!

Last month, Ed and I headed to France in celebration of our 25th wedding anniversary. It had been a very long time since we were last there and both of us had forgotten how much we love certain things about France (most having to do with food and wine!). 

Most every day I would find Ed scribbling on a scrap of paper. When asked, he admitted that he was just making some notes for our blog. We got back to Louisville three days before Thanksgiving; now it is three weeks after and we are just now getting around to publishing his notes. As a service to our readers I've mercifully broken his entries up into four posts. I'll put one up every couple of days so that you will have something to read on multiple occasions. So, here are the first of his "bons mots".

Paris: City of Light and Rain

In keeping with our goal of reducing our possessions, we decided to take a trip to France and thereby lighten our load by several pounds of US dollars, a currency that would have to strengthen up to be a laughingstock.

We took the train into Paris from the airport, the first and last smart decision we made for a while.  It was raining. I told Debbie that before we left the Gare du Nord train station we would put on our coats and hats and check the map. Cunningly the French had installed an escalator that went directly outside. No chance to consult a map or put on our coats or hats. 

Outside in the driving rain we tried to orient ourselves. We found ourselves directly in front of a large church which I couldn’t place. Turns out it was Notre Dame Cathedral which was hard to recognize without scaffolding in front of it. I understand that they taken the scaffolding for repairs and should have it back up in a few months for the spring tourist season.

Notre Dame, without the telltale scaffolding

The info lady at the airport had said that we would be only two minutes walk from the station to our hotel. Since there were no cabs in the rain, we walked and were immediately lost, which became clear when Debbie pointed out that we passed the same café several times. I tried for directions in a book store. The clerk said that there was no Rue de l’Universite anywhere in the city.  Either that or "Beat it" –  my French was still a little rusty.

Eventually, like most bad experiences, it came to an end (except for the one’s that don’t). We reached our hotel looking like drowned rats – which interestingly is the same word in French, only without pronouncing the “t”, so drowned ra’s.   

God bless whoever invented rollers on suit cases.  On the plus side, our room was ready.  Of course it was so small that they could get it ready in a Paris minute. You could clean it by getting in one corner and blowing toward the door.

Our hotel was near the church St. Germaine des Pres.  Like many others, I suppose, I was surprised to learn that St. Germaine was not Presbyterian.  Maybe they should think about changing the name to St. Germaine des Catholic to avoid confusion. 

Stupid with jet lag (at least I’d like that think that’s the explanation) – we managed a meal and a walk.  We ended up sitting for a bit at Notre Dame praying that the jet lag wasn’t terminal and that we could stay up til 8:30.  Both prayers were answered.  Anyway, if we died of jet lag, we would be in a state of grace.

Ed. standing in the rain, looking very Parisian

The next morning we dejeunered at the Café du Flore where I managed to pay $40 for two coffees and croissants.  Wait, wait – I forgot that I also ordered jam and butter.  Of course, no refills on the coffee. Well, I guess you could get a refill if you wanted to part with another $7.  Anyway, Café du Flore was a favorite of Hemmingway’s.  Papa might still recognize the place, but the prices would drive him to suicide.

In general the prices in Paris were on the far side of breathtaking.  Dinner for two cost about what my parents paid for their first house. Good thing we weren’t in the pricy part of town.

to be continued...

Aunt Gladys: You are My Inspiration

I love the Christmas season. But I don't love decorating the house for the holidays. Red and green have never been my colors and our house decor doesn't really benefit from the few fairly pathetic decorations that I pull out year after year.

The children know that spreading this kind of Christmas cheer around the house is not my forte. In fact, when Jack was about eight, he got so fed up with my humbuggedness that he stomped up to the attic and hauled all the decorations down to his room and created his own version of a winter wonderland. He staged wooden nutcrackers on his dresser, arranged snow globes on his bedside table, hung the Santa Claus made from panty hose and the reindeer made from a brown sock on his walls, and strung strands of colored Christmas lights from his ceiling, held in place with scotch tape. Years later, the lights were gone, but the tape remained. 

This year posed a special challenge for me. The Christmas decorations were packed away in boxes piled high in the basement of the house we are renting. The house is much smaller than our Rainbow Drive house, with not an extra cubic foot of space for a tree. I was hoping no one would notice that I had "forgotten" to get in the spirit...that my heart was too small.

But then sister-in-law Gay sent me a photo of Aunt Gladys (age 96) who already had figured out a way to decorate her walker and is looking forward to a car ride around Owensboro to look at all the lights. With Gladys as my inspiration, my heart grew three sizes today. I got busy  and put up the tree, strung it with lights and then hauled it out onto the terrace.

Deck the halls and the walkers

I unpacked our 1940's-era manger scene and carefully placed Baby Jesus up in the loft to await his arrival on Christmas Eve.

I pulled the spear out of St. Patrick's hand and replaced it with a evergreen sprig, removed the snake at his feet, and placed him on our mantle posed as the Christmas Angel, ready to bring the glad tidings of great joy to anyone who is willing to listen.

Peace on earth, good will to all.

Am I Designing a House? Or a Lifestyle?

One of the things about designing and building a house from the ground up is that it can be anything you want. The sky's the limit (well, maybe tempered by the budget). What I really love most about the process is imagining our life on the farm. I wonder if I will take on the characteristics of the house or if I will just putter along being who I've always been. For example, I wonder if I design a house that is smart and authentic, will I become smart and authentic? If I live on a farm, will I become a farmer? And if I design a beautiful and well organized pantry, will I become beautiful and well organized?

Ahh! a pantry -- one that is large enough to walk into and designed so that I can see all the items on the shelves -- that's the stuff of my dreams. I think I'm as excited about our new pantry as I am about our guest cottage. Just as I imagine friends and family coming for visits and loving a stay in the cottage, I imagine a pantry, well stocked and organized. Rows of jars of green beans and tomatoes home-grown and canned; a dozen kind of Rancho Gordo beans displayed in antique mason jars; a collection of Fiestaware pitchers in a variety of colors all lined up on an open shelf. Rather than close the door and hope that nobody will peek inside, I want to have a pantry that I can leave the door open and it looks like a work of art.

Here are three photos that I found on my favorite design site: houzz.com that illustrate this dream of mine.

Dream pantry #1

Dream pantry #2

Dream pantry #3

No harm in dreaming...right?

Autumn

My guest blogger today is none other than Ed, who reflects on another farm in another time. And so it goes....

As Townes Van Zandt used to say, time flies like an arrow, but fruit flies like a banana.  This is never more true than in the fall when you realize that tempus has indeed fuged with so many dies still uncarped. 

This dry autumn was remarkably missing the pageant of changing trees -- only a few yellow maples made up some color. Otherwise, it seemed the trees just changed from dusty green to rust and waited for winter:

To the darksome hollows where the frosts of winter lie.  – Wordsworth.

Mama Fitts

This fall reminded me of a long ago fall when I went to visit my grandmother.  My grandfather had died some years before and she was barely hanging onto the old family farm.  It was just a little dirt farm on a road from nowhere to nowhere else, but it was the home place that we called “out home”, where they had made a life for 55 years of marriage and hard work.  Now she was sticking it out there by herself, rattling around in the big pile of a house which echoed with the distant noises of long ago.

It was dry-as-dust September.  The sunset across the fields that day had every orange and yellow in it.  Shadows grew long and black.  I sat in the old kitchen.  A light bulb hung from the ceiling, turned on by a pull cord.  I could remember where the wood stove – the milk pail – the lava soap with pumice – had set. 

My grandmother stood at the window looking out into the gathering dark.  “You know,” she said, “even after all this time, I still expect to see Dad coming back from the stable.”

The falling night changed the window to a mirror reflecting her face.  I soon returned to my own life taking me far away.  My grandmother held on for a while, but gravity and age had their way and she moved to town to live out her days.  The old house was rented out and burned down by drug-dealer tenants.  Today, the barns, stables, stripping room and granary have been torn down so you’re hard pressed to even find the place.

And so it goes…

Dancing with the Daffodils

It was cold, gray and windy today.  But it was warm and sunny last month, prompting me to order a large box full of daffodil and tulip bulbs from White Flower Farm. A long rain on Thanksgiving day and the promise of free labor was all I needed to decide that today was the day to get started on planting the bulbs. With a fair amount of cajoling, I talked all three of the kids into going out to the farm with me to plant daffodil bulbs.

Once we figured out four pair of mud boots, we were on our way. Maggie and Mary had not been out to the farm since before we broke ground so I was anxious to show them the progress on the house.

Did I mention that it was cold, gray and windy today?

Jack did most of the digging; Mary did most of the planting; and Maggie announced that she was on "vacation." A promise of a Blizzard stop at Dairy Queen was made to keep the pace up. We planted about 100 bulbs beside the lake, beneath the trees. Jack has committed to coming back out with me later this week to plant the remaining bulbs at the front entrance. Hard work? Yes. But, there is nothing more joyful than seeing "a crowd, a host, of golden daffodils."

Daffodils

I WANDER'D lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o'er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host, of golden daffodils;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine

And twinkle on the Milky Way,

They stretch'd in never-ending line

Along the margin of a bay:

Ten thousand saw I at a glance,

Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they

Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:

A poet could not but be gay,

In such a jocund company:

I gazed -- and gazed -- but little thought

What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie

In vacant or in pensive mood,

They flash upon that inward eye

Which is the bliss of solitude;

And then my heart with pleasure fills,

And dances with the daffodils.

              – William Wordsworth

100 Things

I'm trying hard to streamline our possessions -- keeping only the things we will need in our new house. I've written about this before, whining loudly that it is hard for me to do. I'm intrigued by the very thought of participating in the A Guy Named Dave's 100 Things Challenge. No, I'm not yet willing to pare down our possessions to 100 things but I would like to live a life of simplicity with less.

This weekend posed two situations that illustrate why it is so hard for me to follow through on this concept. Both involved Mary, our youngest.

Thanksgiving morning Mary came up from the basement wearing Grandmommy's mink jacket and proclaiming it "a perfect addition" to her art-school wardrobe. I then convinced her to go back down and find Ree's fur jacket that I thought she might like even better. Both suited her to a T and looked fabulous on her. Both were items that I was planning on finding new homes for before our move to the farm. Mary has dressed up her manikin dress form with one of the coats, adding a rhinestone pin, for a "winter look." I suggested that we add a strand of Christmas lights around it and declare it our Christmas tree -- which only earned me an intense scowl from her.

Ree's fur coat, now found on Mary's manikin

Mary then convinced Maggie (who hates to shop and only buys things she really needs) and me (who is trying to pare down our things) that we needed to head to Shepherdsville on Friday morning to check out the Zappos Shoe Outlet. To brace ourselves for the expedition, we ate left-over Derby Pie for breakfast and packed a water bottle and three clementines. We headed 26 miles south on I-65 to join hundreds of other bargain-seeking shoppers for the world's largest shoe store's after-Thanksgiving sale. Mary immediately found a pair of Dansko Clog shoes -- the only one in her size in the very color she wanted. She joyfully claimed that "it was meant to be." While she waited in a-very-long-line she chatted with the woman in front of her who explained that today only all shoes were 70% off! Maggie and I immediately headed back to the size 11 and 8 aisles to take a second look, both finding a pair that we couldn't pass up. We all left happy. Santa would have something for each of us. (But then I looked down at Mary's feet and discovered that she was already wearing her find!)

So instead of reducing our possessions, I've now added two fur coats and three pair of shoes to our household's custody. I think that the Guy Named Dave (noted above) would gently remind me that only allows for 95 other things.

Gratitude

For travels to faraway places and warm homecomings, 
For quiet moments and happy chaotic ones, 
For future plans and present moments,  
For memory keeping and memory making,  
For family gatherings and friendship laughter,

for these things – and a thousand more – I am grateful.

St. Jean-de-Cole, the French village we called home last week

Adieu Pour le Moment

It's Not Easy Being Green

When Maggie was a toddler she loved to watch Sesame Street. (Okay, so maybe I really liked to watch Sesame Street with her.) Perhaps that show was the impetus for her commitment to being green, which she does so well these days. You see, Kermit the Frog would sing "Bein' Green" and Maggie would watch with rapt attention.

It's not that easy being green
Having to spend each day the color of the leaves
When I think it could be nicer being red, or yellow or gold
Or something much more colorful like that

It's not easy being green
It seems you blend in with so many other ordinary things
And people tend to pass you over 'cause you're
Not standing out like flashy sparkles in the water
Or stars in the sky

But green's the color of Spring
And green can be cool and friendly-like
And green can be big like an ocean, or important
Like a mountain, or tall like a tree

When green is all there is to be
It could make you wonder why, but why wonder why
Wonder, I am green and it'll do fine, it's beautiful
And I think it's what I want to be

When we began planning our new house we made a real commitment to "bein' green". But, like Kermit, I'm finding it not all that easy. Green options are often much more expensive and I have to push and push just to get green options on the table.

Here's some of the ways our new house will be eco-friendly:

• geothermal heating and cooling system
• insulated windows with low-e glass
• screens in all the windows and fans in all the rooms
• spray foam insulation in the walls, craw and as a cap in the ceiling
• rain barrels
• cork floors
• bamboo floors in the cottage
• non-toxic carpet pads
• Energy Star appliances
• hybrid water heater
• tankless water heater in the cottage
• CFL light bulbs in all the fixtures 

So it is my hope that with these measures and more,  
I am green and it'll do fine, 
it's beautiful 
And I think it's what I want to be.

In the Deep Heart's Core

I read a lot of blogs. They range in subject matter from cooking to home design to gardening to creativity -- and lots in between.

One of the blogs that I've been following for a while is written by Margaret Roach and is called: A Way to Garden, horicultural how to and woo woo.  (Other than what I read, I know almost nothing about gardening -- but I'm hoping to learn much once we move to the farm.) Anyway, in a recent post, the author writes about the source of her creativity. She notes that often her creativity must compete with louder voices. And she writes about how she is learning to live with quiet as she cultivates a new life within her rural garden, far away from her former life as Editorial Director for Martha Stewart. She claims she has "traded in the fast lane for my own dirt road." She has been writing a book about the experience and it is to be released early next year. She has titled the book: and I shall have some peace there.

The title comes from a poem by William Butler Yeats, The Lake Isle of Innisfree. It goes like this:

I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,

And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made:

Nine bean-rows will I have there, a hive for the honey-bee,

And live alone in the bee-loud glade.

And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,

Dropping from the veils of the mourning to where the cricket sings;

There midnight's all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow,

And evening full of the linnet's wings.

I will arise and go now, for always night and day

I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;

While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey,

I hear it in the deep heart's core.  

William Butler Yates

For me, creativity requires space. And usually demands quiet time. Building a house is proving to be one of the most creative projects that I've ever undertaken. I'm making a conscious effort to pare down my work assignments so that I can create the space and time for the creative process to happen. For like Yates' peace, I am coming to understand that I experience creativity in my deep heart's core.

Art and More Art

Art. People who know us, know that we love art and love having it on every wall, mantle and bookcase in our home. We've been buying art for a very long time – mostly by regional artists, many of whom we have gotten to know. Ed's first piece was a Jim Cantrell that he bought for three installments of $25 in 1977. Our wedding gift to each other was two Beatriz Candioti pieces and every birthday, anniversary, child's birth and any other occasion that Ed could think of was celebrated with a gift of art. And so not only does our art define our home, it is indelibly connected to all the milestones of our lives together.

I've been thinking a lot about our art collection and how it might work in our new home. Because the new house is an open floor plan, there is not a lot of wall space from which to display it. I am hoping to hang our Truth and Justice glass art above the fireplace in our family room.

Maybe our Golden Goose will work perfectly in the entryway.

And, thanks to a suggestion by sister Julie, I'm thinking of hanging a collection of pieces on the two-story wall above the book cases. It's really high up and so not likely to get dusted on a regular basis, but could be stunning in its complexity.

Of course, we'll find a place for Art Snake's Galloway Family Portrait.

And I'm thinking our Carl McKenzie Statue of Liberty deserves a space on our mantle.

I'll find a little nook to hang Aunt Melta's Portrait of a Little Red-haired Girl.

It will be great fun to bring our art into our new home and figure out a way to curate it for the new space.

But the art that I'm most excited about will be right outside our windows. The views from the porch will provide an ever-changing canvas. As Andy Warhol once wrote: "I think having land and not ruining it is the most beautiful art that anybody could ever want to own."

"Did You Hear That?"

If you show up at the house during the day, it is a bee-hive of activity: framers hammering, heating guys sawing through metal, the electricians drilling. But last night, we drove out just before sundown with some friends. We were standing in the family room and Ed asked: "Did you hear that?" We all listened carefully but shook our heads and said "No, we don't hear a thing." "Exactly, my point," he responded.

Yes, it is very quiet out there, just a bit of wind rustling through the house.

As you can see, progress is being made.

Front of house

Back of house

The cottage (my favorite)

Decisions, Decisions

Building a house is really just a series of decisions -- lots of them. Some will be great decisions. Some maybe not so good. But, no time to be wishy-washy.

Hundreds of light figures to chose from...

Eat a Lot of Peaches

At the Palace Theatre on Friday night folk singer/songwriter John Prine put into song a description of what I hope our life on the farm will be like. In his Spanish Pipedream, he sang:

Blow up your TV,
Throw away your paper,
Go to the country,
Build you a home,
Plant a little garden,
Eat a lot of peaches,
Try an find Jesus on your own 

The song goes on to talk about a topless dancer doing the hoochy-coo, which sounds kinda kinky.  And I'm also not sure Ed would be willing to blow up our TV as he is quite fond of Jeopardy, college football, golf and Modern Family. But I really like the part about planting a little garden and eating a lot of peaches.

John Prine in concert on Friday night

John Prine also sang about the glory of true love, which seemed especially poignant to me as Ed and I celebrated our 25th anniversary earlier in the week.

Oh the glory of true love
Is a wild and precious thing
It don’t grow on old magnolias
Or only blossom in the spring
No the glory of true love
Is it will last your whole life through
Never will go out of fashion
Always will look good on you

You can climb the highest mountain
Touch the moon and stars above
But Old Faithful’s just a fountain
Compared to the glory of true love

So here's to my true love. May we move to the country. Plant a little garden and eat a lot of peaches. Check out that hoochy-coo thing. And, who knows, maybe even find Jesus on our own...

Together Again

This weekend all the Galloways congregated in Madison, WI. – the first time we were all together in too long a time. So, dear readers, you will get a break from the farm and catch up with the family.

Ed, Jack and I drove up on Friday, arriving in Madison just as Maggie got off from work at JenErh Farm. Mary was enjoying fall break from MICA by flying to Chicago to visit Jeananne, Katie and Catherine, and then by taking the bus from the Loop to Madison on Saturday afternoon.

Our Saturday morning started with café au laits at Barriques’s coffee shop, following by a stroll around the Capitol farmers’ market, lunch at the newly opened Graze on the Capitol square and then a walk up State Street to the University of Wisconsin’s campus in time to see Mary get off the bus at the Student Union. We sat out on the terrace of the Union watching the boats sail on Lake Menota and the crowds of Badger fans partake in pre-game celebrations of UW’s football game against #1-ranked Ohio State (Final score: UW 31, OS 18). Nate joined us for dinner at Lao Laan Xang, a tiny Laotian restaurant on Willy Street.

After breakfast this morning at Sardine's and a walk around Madison’s arboretum, we are now headed to Lincoln Park in Chicago to take Louisville’s DePaul girls out for a Sunday night dinner and to meet our friend Julie for a post-work nightcap. We head home tomorrow and Mary jets back to MICA on Tuesday morning.

My heart always hurts just a bit when we part. Already looking forward to Thanksgiving and being together again.

Style Statement

A couple of years ago, two Canadian women published a book called Style Statement. Part workbook, part inspirational narrative, their premise was that with some soul searching every person can come up with their own style statement, a two-word compass that helps you make more confident choices in life. Carrie and Danielle (the authors) claimed Refined/Treasure and Sacred/Dramatic as their style statements. I was intrigued by their version of personal branding, but never managed to actually come up with my two-word "brand."

When trying to design our house, I was accused by sister Julie of being bi-polar. One minute I claimed I wanted our house to be smart and sophisticated and in the next breath I proclaimed that I wanted it to be simple and farmhouse-like. I struggle with "branding" our house and until I could work it out, every design decision was difficult and fraught with paradox.  Would it be spa-like or shabby chic? Would it be industrial or bohemian? Would it be contemporary or country?

I'm not sure I'm totally there yet, but I'm using the style statement: Modern Farmhouse to describe our home design. In my mind, it will be simple in design and execution, modern in layout and detail, and yet have some nostalgic elements of an old farmhouse. My test is to imagine if Aunt Gladys or Grandmommy were standing in the kitchen, would they feel at home or would they feel like they are part of some George Jetson movie set? From the layout to the outside siding to the lighting to the paint colors, I'm trying to stay true to my Modern Farmhouse. Only time will tell if I've been able to successfully execute the brand.

A Room of One's Own

Since Day 1, my wish list for our new home included a cottage. There is something  enchanted about a little, separate space set in the woods –  something a bit Hanzel and Gretal-ly.

I became especially enamored of the cottage idea after spending a week in Colordo at Lee and Beth's ranch, which featured a main house with a big dining area and wonderful kitchen. Set around the main house in a semi-circle was a series of cabins -- each with its own bedroom and bath. The kids were younger when we visited and Maggie and Mary thought it was great fun to have their own cabin, for Jack to share one with Chase and of course, Ed and I thought it was great fun to have our own separate cabin.

Teen-aged Jack at ranch cabin

Our first go-around of the house design proved out of our budget to build, so we simply simplified it. I kept getting advice to nix the cottage and kept resisting the very thought of it. I REALLY wanted a cottage. I wanted friends to come visit and stay the night (or two) and I wanted it to be a space where our children could visit (or live for a time) and still have some privacy.

The final plans called for a 16'x18' space that is just large enough for a bed, small sitting area, closet and bath. A climb up a ladder will take you to small loft -- perhaps just large enough for a futon, or an artist's easel, or a writer's desk. At Maggie's suggestion, the back of the cottage features a garden shed. We are planning to put the vegetable garden in the "front yard" of the cottage and perhaps an apple tree or two in the "side yard." One won't have to drop breadcrumbs to find it; a stone path will lead from the main house to the cottage.

I can't wait for the cottage to be built and I hope you can't wait to check in for a night or two (although you may have to share it with Jack!).

Thumbs Up? Or Thumbs Down?

One of the items that I did NOT bring back from Aunt Gladys' yard sale was a mid-century-modern outdoor chaise lounge. It's been in her basement for at least the last 25 years, maybe longer. (Ed remembers laying on it as a kid, so that makes it at least 50 years!) She remembers buying it in 1960 from a friend who lived "over by the library." I can't quite decide if it is really cool and would make a great addition to our farm house or if it would look "junky."

So, I need your help. Please tell me if you give it a "thumbs up," or a "thumbs down.' If I brought it to our new home, I'd put it on our screened-in porch. I had planned to put a cot of some sort in that space so we could use it as a sleeping porch on hot summer nights. This lounge chair could fill that role, as it can be adjusted to lay flat. It is in good condition and I even like the existing vinyl cushions.

So tell, do you like it? Or not? Be honest.

Stuff

I have been working hard to get rid of the "stuff" that we won't need on our farm. It was harder to do than I thought  as I tend to get attached to things, and, if I were going to get rid of it, I wanted to make sure it was going to a good home.  As we packed up our Rainbow home, we made at least a dozen trips to the Goodwill;  hauled half-empty cans of oil paint out to the hazardous waste site; donated artwork to a fundraiser for Haiti;  left a lawnmower at the curb overnight; delivered art supplies to The Cabbage Patch; and foisted a bunch of stuff off on friends and family.

I still ended up with a basement full of boxes, filled with stuff that I'm not sure we need. I kept a fair amount of furniture that I thought Maggie, Jack or Mary might need someday, although all three are exhibiting signs of not wanting extra "stuff" in their lives.  I've sold a couple of larger pieces of furniture (yellow couch and grand piano) and have a few more items that I am hoping to sell before we move again.

So when Ed mentioned that his sister Gay was having a yard sale this weekend of stuff from 96-year-old Aunt Gladys' house and that we needed to head down to Owensboro to help, I gave him a look that very clearly said, "Great, I'm glad to help, but I don't want to bring a bunch of stuff back here." I'm pretty sure he clearly understood me. Unfortunately, he wasn't the problem. I was.

Aunt Gladys supervised the yard sale.

I couldn't resist some patchwork quilts that I am sure will work perfectly on four little bunk beds.

And Aunt Gladys talked me into not one, but two, large metal trays that she convinced me would be perfect for backyard barbecues on the farm.

All Ed was planning on sneaking into his pocket was a small reading light until I joked that a metal magazine rack placed strategically in our lake would make a great fish hangout and a dolly that I found out in the shed would be helpful as we moved heavy items. So...we headed back to Louisville with a car full of stuff. Darn it!

Couple Discovers New Tree Species

Shortly after we bought our farm property, we headed into Carmichael's Bookstore to purchase a copy of National Audubon Society's Field Guide to Trees: Eastern Region. We wanted to be able to identify the trees on our property and figure out what other trees that we might want to plant.

While hiking around the property last week, we kept stumbling upon a beautiful species of tree that we couldn't quite identity. We thought it was some kind of crab apple tree as it's branches had little clumps of "tiny apples." The tree was perfectly cone shaped with shiny dark green leaves -- with no sign of the leaves turning fall colors. I snapped off a small branch to bring home so we could consult our guide and figure out exactly what tree this was.

I looked and couldn't find anything that resembled it in our trusty guide. Ed took over. Was it a Common Chokecherry? Nope. What about a Sweet Crab Apple? Nope. Perhaps some sort of a pear tree? Nope. A Buckthorn? Not that either.

Given our lack of progress, I turned to Google and clicked on "What is a Tree?" billed as a few simple questions to help one identify any unknown tree. I worked my way through the questions starting with "Identify by Fruit." Dead end.

I then did what any self-respecting scientist would do. I ate one of the fruit. Distinctly apple -- perhaps more like an Asian Pear. We were stumped.

So I've concluded that we have discovered a new species. I think I'm going to call it Gapploway Pear. Who knows, perhaps you'll get a jar of Gapploway Pear Butter for Christmas.

Is a Lake Really a Lake If It Doesn't Have Any Water In it?

I never gave much thought to how lakes come into being. My knowledge of lakes is limited; the only times that I've had close encounters with these bodies of water is on our canoe trips in Ontario or fishing on Lake George in Florida. I guess I always assumed that all lakes were carved by glaciers eons ago or created by damming up an existing river.

So when Ed suggested that we build a lake next to our farm house, I was totally baffled. How in the world does one go about building a lake? How does it fill up? How does one keep it from turning green with algae? How do fish get in it? Where in the world does one begin?

That's where the Allan, Stevie and Teddy come in. They are wonderful good old boys who run an excavation company in Shelby County. Stevie (son of Allan) met Ed at the property and assured him that he thought a lake could be dug in a low spot on the property and it most probably would even hold water. An hour and half later (as no conversation moves to a conclusion quickly with Stevie) Ed agreed that they should build us a lake. And build us one they did....

Our lake: waiting for rain...

 Make no mistake that just because they use a bulldozer as their primary tool, they are nevertheless fine artists with their creations. Each time I ventured out to look at the progress, they showed me their latest formation, each of which they thought up as they worked on the lake. The "boys" created a dam at one end just high enough for the lake to stretch a football length or so ending just in time to save some beautiful trees at the far end. Because they knew we wanted to fish in our lake, they strategically placed some tree stumps and rocks to provide fish hangouts. And when they heard we wanted to swim, they created a stairway in and out of the lake with large limestone rocks they uncovered. A rock bridge they build at the far end and they even designed a Flintstone bench for us to sit a spell. With a fallen walnut tree, they fashioned stump stools and placed them in a campfire circle under some shade trees on the far side -- the perfect place for roasting marshmallows on a starry night. I could tell they were enjoying making these features as much as I was delighting in seeing what they were going to come up with next.

Just before they loaded up their equipment to head to their next job, they seeded the area around the lake so we would have beautiful green grass on its banks. That was nearly three months ago and we have not had a 1/4" of rain since then. So right now, we have an amazing dirt bowl that we are confident will someday turn into a beautiful lake -- one where we can fish, and swim, and build a campfire next to. One that we can enjoy with friends and family for years to come.

Now, if I can just be patient and wait for the rain to come....

After You Leave the Paved Road

 Ed asked if he could be a guest blogger. And so it goes...

The comments about how over the years we have come to cherish places at the end of the road got me thinking about the two characteristics of a true Kentuckian.

First, you’re not really a Kentuckian unless you understand this joke:

An old fellow was driving a country road and got pulled over by the state police.  The trooper noticed that he didn’t have a license on the back of his car.

Where’s your license plate,” the trooper asked.

“I ain’t got one”.

Well, let me see your driver’s license

I ain’t got one of them neither.

You got any i.d.?

The old fellow thought for a minute and asked, “About what?”

Second, you’re not a real Kentuckian unless the directions to your house have to include the phrase, “after you leave the paved road”.

Now, that's us.

And so it goes....

Go Outside and Play!

Ed and I spent Sunday afternoon at the farm. It was a beautiful October day, cool with a few puffy clouds in a bright blue sky.  We pulled up the drive, and all of a sudden there arose our house -- with all of the first floor and most of a second floor and roof framed. Whoa! Our house had leapt from a paper plan to a three-dimensional space. We entered the front doorway up a little makeshift gang plank and suddenly we could envision our living space. Here is where the fireplace will be and here is the kitchen with a nice big pantry. Here's our study and look at the view from the windows! Room by room we walked through the house, imagining the finished space and our lives in it.

Front of house – almost framed

Back of house – almost framed

Afterward we we walked the boundaries of the property, hacking our way through head-high brambles, stick tights, golden rod and thistle. Ed led the way, whacking away with the machete that Mary gave him for his birthday last month. It felt like we were 10-year-olds playing fort in the back fields, keeping our eye out for Indians Native Americans lurking behind the sycamore trees in the creek bottom.

It felt good to go outside and play.