Not Afraid of Color: home and garden

Showing posts with label home and garden. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 20, 2018

A Home of our own

We found a house, hooray!

Nothing about this move from Maryland to Colorado has gone as planned but it seems we finally have a place to call home in Aurora.

We thought we had a home last fall but the deal fell through because the sellers had not disclosed it was owned by a trust and would not release the trust info. We thought we had the rental as long as needed but the owners decided to sell in this hot market. We soon found out how hot it was.

We looked at so many homes trying to find the right one. When we lost bid after bid to cash, 30K over value, appraisal bridges, multiple offers, our agent said, stop looking for the right house and take any house.

Then this one came back on market because interest rates went up and the buyer had to back out. We were looking at it when the call came in the house we bid on the night before, had three offers over our bid at asking price.

I wrote a note to the owners, "we love it, we'll take it, please choose us, leave the elephant" and put in a bid at asking price.
They accepted!

They had lovely artwork including a 220 lb ceramic elephant from India.
We were nervous through each stage of negotiating, appraisal (it was priced right!) inspection (the usual things including radon mitigation so we chose a few items to request and they agreed to some) loan and interest rates, taking a loss on the MD home to sell quickly, and all the paperwork to close the deal. After losing the other house one week before closing, I didn't want to discuss this until it was a done deal.

Our home may not be our dream house, but it's pretty, close to work, there is a lot of walking nearby, a porch on the front and back, and a larger yard waiting for us to make it into a haven.

We are all uneasy in it at the moment. I've been trying to clean it so I can put away my possessions. I need to make lots of decisions about where to store things differently than I have in the last 18 years.

The studio situation is two small bedrooms side by side, one for tables and design wall, one for supplies. Not optimum but with a bit of mountain view on a clear day.

I realized my old systems may not work in this house, so I have to open my mind to designing new ways to store things. Big changes might be stimulating but they are also tiring.

Right now it's empty with big running places for Milo, who is scared and staying right next to me.

He goes off to explore the yard, then quickly returns to stick to at least one of us. We are trying to figure out what the trees and bushes are so we know how to care for them

The movers will bring our possessions to the house and we'll find places for them in the days to follow. We'll need to put up wire mesh first to keep Milo inside the yard! And learn how to keep the lawn alive with watering.

That's a big deal here.

The sky has not been blue in a while, with forest fires in Utah coming over, and rain, and hail.

We are so tired. But we are grateful not to be looking for another rental. We hope this will be a good home for us, a place to learn and grow, a place of happiness and joy, a base from which to explore the area, a place for friends to gather and for me to create.

I've been bringing over flamingos, cows and mermaids, to make it look like home. Just wait til these Coloradoans realize a Flamingo is moving into the 'hood.

We even have a mailbox in front of the house, pretty unusual these days...

The past year has been so stressful and the housing market in Denver is so cut throat for buyers, that we fell into despair with the looming deadline to vacate the rental. It's not over by a long shot...

This may not be our dream house, but it's a good house and we are grateful to have it.

I have been supported by many of you through this ordeal, giving me hope when mine had run out, encouraging me to keep trying.

I love you and appreciate the connection we've shared, it's what life is about to me.

Friday, May 18, 2018

Mountain towns tour

While we can see the mountain range from our neighborhood, we decided to see them up close and personal last weekend. (First post on that is found HERE)

the towns we visited, Evergreen in this post ( HERE) Frisco and Breckenridge started as mining towns with all that implies. Log cabins, banks, saloons, brothels, rooming houses, etc.

Frisco was named after the vice president in 1878 as a sort of homage and to entice the country into allowing them to be a post office town! It worked!

Over time, the buildings have been covered over, and this showed some of the layers of one wall

Frisco has collected original buildings and placed them in the town green as a historical center. There are about 15 such buildings here, and to join history with current life, there are many activities held here annually. We hope to go back for some of them although getting across the mountains to this area takes us about 2 hours. I liked that on the plaque next to the history, there is a sign that says this person "adopted" this cabin! Way to save history for us all!! Thanks!

there are existing houses still inhabited too.

The town is nestled in a dip of the mountain peaks but is still at 9800 feet! Woozy...

Amid the historical collection is this beautiful pavilion where events can be held

My attempt at artsy shots of the fairy lights in the ceiling. How magical it would feel to dance here with the wood floors, the mountains right there, and music playing.

I'd like to do an art quilt based on this!
I'd like to eat at this cajun food restaurant! I like gumbo! I like beignets!

that cajun must be lost if they are from New Orleans. (Nawlins as my friends say it)

Breckenridge

look at this shop in Breckenridge. I was too busy shopping looking and panting to take many pictures. Milo was hyper too, and is just learning what shopping with mama and daddy means. He actually calmed down enough toward the end to look at stuff.

I looked at stuff, and got a sale sweater in this cool store but oooo lalala that cow head and tractor!

Have you heard of the small house movement? Crazy! We want more space! Well we saw this little house in Frisco

Apparently someone fits into it. Note the chairs out front for perspective.
Note the poodle out front for perspective

it seems to even have a SMALLER house behind it, for what I don't know!!!

As goldilocks said, "this house is TOO small"

So the hope is once we find and move into our own house, we can concentrate on exploration of the area, and you know I'll show you too! Wonder what's going on this weekend?

Saturday, May 12, 2018

Spring's Rainbow, continued

Yesterday we covered the rainbow from blue to purple to red to orange to yellow and today we'll show green to white, to neutrals. Spring is coming out with color! Yea!

There are so many varieties of green from yellow green

to grass green

to deep dark forest green

Isn't it funny how you can hear "spring green" and know what shade that is?
How about white...

yes white is a color, and so pretty next to green and browns

then there is brown mulch, trunks, and dirt, next to black and white

The sun here is no joke!

Neutrals. Brown, tan, black and white, cream, all blend together as a background to the color popping up all over. Scroll down to see the previous post on bright colors seen on one walk.

If you were to do a landscape quilt/painting would you try to capture one color? Could you do one all in neutrals? How do you see color? Are you color blind in some frequencies? I took this test and found I was not perfect... https://www.xrite.com/hue-test