Union Springs, Al (Lots of old houses) Part 2 of 4

This is summer and we are working on the homeplace.  Sometimes
you have to get away and renew.  That is what DH and I did.  We
visited a small town, Union Springs, about halfway between
Montgomery and Eufaula.  Here are some pictures.

     

        

This house is getting some repair work done. 

This is the side view of the above house.  A truck was parked in front.

I think this is the courthouse (above) in town.  And right in the middle

of the street is this.......

I think it is a bird dog.  Anyway, you have to drive around it.

I have a dear friend and colleague, Susan, who is from Union Springs.

I think of her every time I drive through.  After all, it is the people,

not the houses, that make the town.

Remember to love the house you're in.  Have a great week!

Love,

Lottie

Fendall Hall, Eufaula, AL Part 1 of 4

DH and I have done our share of camping and adventure type
vacations when our two sons were growing up.  We both loved
to tour old houses, but the boys absolutely hated it!  Can you
imagine two little blond haired boys having to keep their hands
by their sides, listen politely to a tour guide, not run, not talk,
not scream, not, not, not..... so we stopped going on house tours.
Now, in our golden years, we are trying to do what we love.

Would you like to go along with us today? We woud love to
have your company.  Remember, no running, no screaming, no:-)

The houses in Eufaula, AL, have been on our wish list for many years.
Here we are visiting Fendall Hall, which was built in 1860.  It is
restored and interpreted to the 1880 - 1916 occupancy of the home.

The Young family was rich enough to have murals painted in their
foyer.  It was 1860, cotton was king, and this family regularly
traveled by boat from Alabama to New York City!

Ladies' Parlor

Pocket Doors into Formal Dining Room

Dining Room Ceiling

Next is the Informal Family Dining Room

(I love this room!)

and on the opposite wall is the china cabinet.

Let's go into the Gentleman's Parlor next.

I think I like it better than the ladies' parlor.  Let's go upstairs and see the bedrooms.

DH is looking at the picture rail next to the ceiling.

This is a beautiful house with beautiful antiques!
As we were walking through, we saw
something very, very valuable!

Yes, look at that gutter system!  I asked
DH why we didn't put a metal gutter like
this on our internal gutters and he said
because we couldn't afford it.  (DH has
been painstakingly laboring to repair
our internal gutters for two summers.)
So of all the beautiful rooms, and furniture,
the one thing I wish I could take home is the
new metal gutters on Fendall Hall.

I have to remember the rules......
no running and no screaming!

I hope you enjoyed getting ideas from our little trip.  Thank you for
joining us!  We are back at the old homepace today and DH is
painting the front hall.  Have a good week and always remember,
love the house you're in!

Love,

Lottie

Shopping for a New/Old Couch

Well, we went shopping for a new/old couch for the living room.  Since
our old homeplace was built in 1907, I needed something that fit the
style of a  house over 100 years old, but not falling apart.  I went
shopping in all the wrong places, two house museums in Eufaula, AL.
I'll post more about them at another time.  Would you like to join us!
We would love your company and of course, your ideas, too.

Here we go.  I need something in the range of 1880 to 1910.  This is
beautiful but DH would never go for it:-)

This color is very nice, but what if we have three people who want
to sit down?  Who sits in the middle?  Might be me, so this is a no.

Now we are talking!  I love this one.  I wonder if they would give
me a discount if I take the marble floor, too :-)

This is DH's favorite.  I liked it, too!  It was actually very comfortable,
firm, but comfortable.  This may be the one.

Very masculine, very dark, and probably the best fit for the style
of the old homeplace.  Would look better in the hall than the
front room.

This was absolutely beautiful, but the museum director wouldn't
let us sit on it.  Buyer beware!

Now that same said director literally pushed us into this sofa!
Boy, was it like sitting on a rock!  Comfort is important to us, too.
The pushy director was ready to throw it on our truck!

Then I saw this beauty!  I love it!  This would fit!  I could line
up all my men folk on it while they watch Alabama football!

I think this will be the one.  The style goes perfectly with the
house and I have another settee with matching chairs in this color.

Then I showed DH this beautiful curved sofa that would fit
perfectly.  He stood there a  minute and looked at it hard.
Then he said, "Get the green one."

So we are sleeping on the decision.  Of course, all of these
sofas belong to the museums and are not for sale, but it was
the most fun to pretend shop. 


Hope you have a great week ahead of you.   Thank you for
joining us today!  We enjoyed your company.
Love,
Lottie

We visited Shorter Mansion and Fendal Hall
to find furniture of the style we needed.  Visit both anytime you
are in Eufaula, Al.  You will be amazed:-)

Pink Saturday - Crepe Myrtle

Welcome to Pink Saturday!

 A watermelon pink crepe myrtle in front 

of my neighbor's house.

  
Visit Sweet Beverly at How Sweet the Sound. for more pinks!
 Love,
Lottie

Kitchen Unveiled - Part 2

After I posted the built-in cupboard in the 1907 homeplace, some
sweet bloggers have emailed me for more pictures of my kitchen.  I
want to be honest in all things I post, so I feel the need to show you
the rest of the kitchen that has been updated by previous owners. We
didn't update it, but we sure love it!

On the left is the back door that leads to a large screened-in
back porch. The transom over the door has all the original
hardware and we open it quite often.  On the counter across
the back of the kitchen, we have our mini-fridge (which is our
only refrigerator) and food prep area.  We also have a large
window that was modified in the update.

I have plenty of drawers and cabinet space for storing pots and
pans.  The counter tops are large solid blocks of heart pine wood
with a poly coat for protection.

The kitchen had a gas stove with a rather large vent hood.

All the men folk in my family have claimed this stove and some
great meals have been cooked here.  I have a pan of corn
bread on it right now that I made for lunch (thanks Jiffy).
Last New Year's Holiday, we had eight cooks in this kitchen all
working comfortably.  The high ceiling make it so comfortable.

This is the other side of the kitchen with another window and
dishwasher and sink.  Then there is a big open space where a
refrigerator would normally be.  DH and I are working on the
house this summer and it is just the two of us, so we haven't
seen a  need for a big refrigerator so far.  We enjoy simple meals,
mostly vegetables from our families' gardens.  We try to eat
what we have before buying new. 

On this wall, I have lots of drawers, also.  On the counter is our
styrofoam ice chest that we fill with ice everyday.  It costs $1.35
a day to buy ice for our iced tea.

Now, about the windows.... Lots of older homes have long
windows in the kitchen.  Some owners build around the windows
and some close up half a window.  The previous owners chose
to close up half the window and have a long counter for food
prep.

The window still looks the same on the outside with glass both
top and bottom.  But inside the bottom half is black wall.  It looks
fine from the outside.  I  wondered before we bought this house if
I would like having a kitchen where you couldn't see out.  Well,
I love it!  I can SEE the SKY!  One window looks upon trees.

Our neighbor has a big yard light that lights up the inside of
these branches at night.  It is a beautiful sight!  Also, in the
fall, the colors of the leaves are incredible!

The other window, I call the window on heaven.

Sometimes DH will move his chair around at the kitchen table
so we can sit together and watch this window while we are taking
a meal.  Sometimes we are just silent, watching a cloud go by.
Other times, we get right excited as big black clouds move in
our direction.  We love our windows on the sky!


This is what is going on the outside of my kitchen right now.    

That's DH up on the scaffolding. That man is not afraid of anything!
I better run get him a glass of ice tea!

Thank you for staying with me on this post.  I didn't want to present
a country kitchen in my last post, when in fact the kitchen is
very modern, and I hope, a little trendy.

Hope you all are having a great week!
Love,
Lottie!