Closing set...

My Closing is scheduled for this Thursday at 1 PM...I feel like I've been waiting forever and all of a sudden it's only 4 days away! Yikes! I'd better get back to packing...

Restoration vs. Renovation...

While the Riverstone House is quite livable on the inside, it is a fixer-upper in that I plan on either restoring or updating every single room. I love that many aspects of the interior are not just original to the home, but that there are also antique pieces within. For example, almost all the doors, counting both exterior as well as interior, are either original to the house or over 100 years old. The floors, woodwork, fireplaces, and most of the windows are all original. In the kitchen is a functioning antique gas and coal-burning stove and, in what I’m considering the ‘master bath’, there is a usable copper bathtub dating back to the Civil War:

I happen to absolutely love both of the above pieces, but I have to admit that after going through the model homes again yesterday with my parents, the modernized kitchens and updated baths do have their appeal:

Take the tub, for example. The thought of a whirlpool tub with a half-dozen massage jets soothing away my aches and pains – while I sip a nice glass of Jack’s Mountain Red and read some bubble-gum-for-the-brain historical romance novel – after a day of stripping wallpaper, spackling, painting, pulling up old carpeting, sanding and waxing wood floors, cleaning, gardening, running errands, sewing curtains, unpacking, feeding chickens, making time for Sammy, and focusing on my business so that I can actually afford to pay for a Jacuzzi tub…well, you get the idea.

Then again, would the loud cauldron-bubbling of the Jacuzzi take away from the simple ease that soft music (or even silence), a steamy bath, and a glass of wine can give? Would the mechanical hum of the tub’s motor distract the imagination from immersing itself in a good book?

Then there’s the kitchen where I’m already imagining cooking up a storm! I’ll have the room to prepare and serve big meals, something I haven’t done in years. And a professional grade stove with grill and griddle surfaces and an extra large oven – maybe even a convection oven or second conventional oven – would be wonderful. I could simultaneously prepare Cornish game hens, grilled fennel and Brussels sprouts, mashed sweet potatoes, venison stew, a thickly crusted loaf of rosemary bread, and a honey apple pie. Mmm…I can almost smell it!

Then again, a wise man once told me that a truly good cook can make a delicious meal over a campfire…and he’s actually a very good cook.

While I’m already pretty much set on which way to go with regards to renovation versus restoration – and it’s kind of a moot point right now since I think it will be a while before I have to decide on any major work in the kitchen or master bath anyway – it’s still always interesting and helpful to hear people's differing opinions on the subject.

Decorating espionage...

It was a dark and stormy night...well, actually, it was a cold and overcast Saturday afternoon. With local newspapers in hand and subterfuge in our hearts, mom, Sammy, and I set off to view some model homes.

Now, I have to admit, with only a week-and-a-half to go before I close on the homestead, I have been caught up in a frenzy of restoration books, decorating magazines, curtain and upholstery fabrics, interior and exterior paint chips, and philosophical discussions surrounding my desire to upgrade and modernize my new home while still being true to it's historic roots.

The culmination of this new home frenzy took place yesterday. Armed with a tale about looking for a house on Long Island for myself, Sammy, and my (imaginary!) fiance, mom and I snooped about several model homes to get remodeling and decorating ideas. Distracting the unsuspecting realtors with false new homeowner naivete, the 'mom', and my oh-so-cute Yorkie, we got a lot of great ideas for kitchen layouts, state-of-the-art appliances, window treatments, wainscoting, and color schemes.

One of the realtors we met was very sweet. She told us about her husband, their upcoming vacation plans, her sadness over losing her 2 yellow labs last year to old age. We actually felt a little bad about deceiving her...but I suppose not that bad since we're planning on going back there tomorrow with a camera...

Not so pesky pests...

Well, had the house inspection done and all's well. No problem with the water or septic, no wood rot, roof is sound, no termites...but there are honey bees.

While I am told that honey bee hives do not pose any threat to a structure, they do however pose a threat to my friends who are allergic to their sting. So, here's what I'm thinking...have the hive moved to the other side of my main field, not destroyed or taken away. And maybe I can even learn how to harvest the honey!

True, I'm totally clueless as to how to go about doing this, but I'm open to learning. I've already contacted a local beekeeper about maybe doing some volunteer work this spring so that I can get some hands on experience. Anyway, I'm giving this serious thought because of the recent epidemic that has been devastating our bee colonies.

As I'm sure many of you had heard on the news this past summer, Colony Collapse Disorder has killed millions of bees in the United States. A cnn.com article from September 6th stated that that's up to 90% of colonies in some U.S. beekeeping operations. According to the article, honey bees are responsible for pollinating $15 billion worth of crops each year in the U.S. and more than 90 fruits and vegetables worldwide depend on them for pollination.

But forget about our suffering from dwindling harvests of some of our fave fruits and nuts (like oranges, apples, blueberries, and almonds)...think about the honey bees! Apparently the disorder mainly attacks the poor worker bees who are responsible for pollination. They leave their hives, their queen, a few newly hatched adults, and their supply of food to simply wander off to die of paralysis...!

With such a sad tale as that, is it any surprise that I can't bring myself to have them destroyed? Even the thought of moving them far from the homestead worries me...what if I give them to a beekeeper and they develop the disorder from another hive? Either way, I'll be sure to keep those of you who I know are allergic to bee stings posted on where my honey bees end up...

Thanks, by the way, to Suzanne of www.BugladyConsulting.com for letting me use the cool adult carniolan (honey) bee pic above, and for helping me connect with a very helpful beekeeper in my area!