Not the usual blog post. Before and after, more home improvements

What's this?

Large boxes on the porch

This is the beginning of our bathroom replacement. 

This particular project has been in work for quite a while now.

Let me show you what we started with.

Since our lovely antebellum home was built in the 1830's

It did not originally come with bathrooms.

Not to worry, one of the previous owner's took care of that. 

This is (or was) the downstairs bathroom. The Shower Tub was one of those combinations all molded together.  I do not know when it was put in, but it was a long time ago. It was also difficult to clean.

Here is a view  through the door, the bathroom is in what used to be part of the hall. 

Messy counter tops

I have to admit, it was a little cluttered.......

 Bathroom cabinets waiting to go back in.

The only thing we reused was the cabinets as they are still in great shape. 

 Down to the floor boards

They had to cut the old tub up to get it out. Here it is down to the bare floor. I wonder if this is original or replacement? 

 What a mess

 Progress, shower is in place.

 Almost done

At this point, we still had to put the rest of the drawers back and seal everything before it could be used.

Welcome

All done, come on in and check it out. 

New door as well.

Shower interior

Those are reproduction William DeMorgan Ship tiles. We got them before the project started and we ended up having exactly enough. The white tiles are called Subway tiles.

 Shower with doors closed

You can see the new light fixture reflected in the glass. 

 Here is a closeup of that new counter top.

As you can see the tiles go all across the back there as well. 

Once the sealant dried, I got to be the first to use the new shower.

It works wonderfully! 

So, what do you think?

Spontaneous is just glad the dust and noise are done.

Cheers,

Kat

Shadow and Hope. Time Machine.

In late summer, I start to dream of Autumn.

Then I look forward to the holidays.

Here in our part of the South, if we get any snow at all, it is likely to be in late January or February.

When we do it is pretty for a few days.

By this point in the winter, the snow is gone, my bones are cold, and I am looking forward to spring. 

Are you?

If so, grab a cup of something warm to drink (I have a lovely cup of PG Tips tea with milk), and step into my time machine.

 Antebellum with Azaleas

These are my favorite photos of Spring here at home.

All were taken in March but over several springs (2008 to 2013)

Bumble Bee in the Azaleas

 The warm colors are making me happy already.

 Spring time Fluff

Dandelions are one of the first flowers to pop up. I don't pull them Mother Nature seems to do a good job of keeping them in check. They always make me think of Fairy wands.

 Early Dogwood Blossoms

We have a dogwood tree in the front yard, it is beautiful year round.

When it is bare, it is graceful. The early blossoms with soft fuzzy leaf buds pop up, and then,,,,

Dogwood Blossoms and Gargoyles

The brick path leads to our door.  When I see it, I know I am home safe and loved (My Sweet Family put it in our first summer in the house).

 Elm with buds and Antebellum

Our back yard. You can also see the smoke house (closest to the house) and the summer kitchen (I always get them mixed up and labeled the smoke house incorrectly last week). This was taken with my back to the barn. Here the time machine really works, you can't see the power lines or street lamp. It looks much as it might have looked at any time in the last 180 or so years since it was built.

Forsythia and Summer Kitchen 

Is it possible to feel cold when you look at this one?

Forsythia Close-up 

Iris in Lavender

Two of my favorite flowers together. They were not planted that way, they both spread. My usual method of gardening involves planting things, then mostly leaving them alone. That works well in this climate.  

Iris Blossoms

The Iris and Daffodils were here before us. There are patches of both growing wild in the woods. Makes you wonder how many years ago they escaped. 

Mary in the Camellias

She looks much more comfortable here than in the last post.

Miniature Roses?

The blossoms are tiny, but profuse. 

Narcissus and Daffodils

There is a very short time when both are in bloom, some years they miss each other completely. Lucky for us, our time machine has paused at just the right moment. 

Narcissus

A lovely way to harvest sunshine to bring inside. 

Old Barn and Well-house

 I would love to walk outside to all this green! 

Vinca

Lovely little purple wildflower. 

Sedum Patch

Yellow Narcissus

Sunshine on a stem. 

Pink Blossoms in our woods 

 Elm Buds and Smokehouse 

Tiny Yellow Wildflower

I love the little heart shaped petals. 

Oak and Ivey

These have lived together a long time. They stand proudly in our front yard. 

Waiting

Anticipation! It really won't be long. According to that silly ground hog, only five more weeks (ground hogs day was 1 week ago, of course, he saw his shadow). 

Wild Bunny

I almost wish I had a lovely soft fur coat like hers while we wait for spring. 

My Mother used to tell me to enjoy NOW. When you wish for time to go by swiftly, you wish your life away. 

So I will confine myself to peaking out the door of the time machine, without actually leaving the time where I am. I do feel warmer, how about you?

Cheers, 

Kat

I must admit, if that silly groundhog lived near me, I would build a permanent shade over his home, so he would not see his shadow.

Saturday Morning at home

I am feeling particularly well loved and spoiled this morning.

 Home made, cheese and mushroom pizza.

 Hungry yet?

and you know I did not make it.

This masterpiece represents quite a bit of work.

My Sweet Husband even stuffs the crust with cheese,

just for me.

Know what is even better?

I get most of the left overs.

I got to spend time on the balcony with a lovely cup of tea while I waited too.

Isn't that a nice way to start a weekend.

 

Cheers,

Kat



Wordless Wednesday



Catching up at kat's corner.

I have some catching up to do.

Kat's corner is changing rapidly with the season now, autumn has arrived.

I am a bit behind with posting pictures so there are extras in this post.

Here is my lovely old antebellum with a serving of autumn leaves on the side.

 Did you have any visitors at thanksgiving? We did.
This guy stopped by for a while.

 This picture shows the smokehouse, the summer kitchen and in the distance, the barn.
The leaves on this tree were just starting to turn in this photo.
They have all changed now.

See the color on the middle tree, looks like gold.
I love that the trees don't all change at the same time.

Another view of the yard.
Everywhere I look it is pretty right now.

 I thought the dogwood was lovely when I posted the earlier photo,
just look at it now.

 This is one of the places we like to walk.
The road runs past our house.

 Along the way, look at all the color.

 On a different note,
we lost an old friend.
About ten days before Thanksgiving, the broiler element burned out,
(literally burned out, I saw flames in the oven for just a second, and I wasn't even the one cooking)
The poor old thing just gave up.
So,

 Ta dah! A new friend has arrived.
It looks like the kitchen got a make over.
I love the big window on the door.

Can it bake a pumpkin pie?
Oh yes, it can, with a little help from my Sweet Hubby.
It bakes it nicely.

As you can see, it did a marvelous job with the turkey too.
Our Thanksgiving dinner was just right.

 These guys came by for a visit too.
I don't know what kind of bird they are but there were a lot of them, just for the one morning.
Just to brag a little on my camera, this photo was taken from about thirty feet away without a tripod.
I use a Fuji Fine pix.

 This silly old thing prefers fish to turkey.
As you can see, she was not left out of the festivities.

I hope you are as content as our silly cat.
November was wonderful,
I'm looking forward to December.
Cheers,
Kat