Monday, June 1, 2020

Tales of the Traveling Totes #23 & A Giveaway, 6.1.20

Welcome to the Tales of the Traveling Totes, where my fellow travelers and I share our latest adventures, projects, and current events. At the end of my post you will find links to visit our other members and learn about how to register for our giveaway. I'm so glad you've stopped to visit.

 Well, I think we all have to admit that the first quarter of 2020, has been quite the experience for everyone of us. Few of us have ventured far from home, and last week I went  to the grocery store for the first time since January.  Sweet Mister has been my knight in shining armor. He has been very protective of my asthma and chronic bronchitis; he has done just about everything that involves leaving the house. That's not to say that I've been lackadaisical. Come see what's been going on since last September and continues to go on at our house . I call it "An Anatomy of a Renovation. A bit heavy on pictures, I'll try to keep my gab to a minimum. Come on in and take a look at our latest adventure...

It had been an easy going summer, and September found everything slowing down for just a moment. 

Miss Carrie Ann Hall and I had made just about our last run for the lovely blooms to be used on our summer tablescapes. And then Sweet Mister came up with an idea. We had been looking at property to buy a new home for months, and we had found a house just a little over a mile from us. We decided to make an offer.  The night before we planned to make our offer,  Mister said, "When I think about spending that much money on a house, I get sick at my stomach. What would you think about trying to do the things that you'd like to see done at our house, and we'll just stay here?" "Fine by me; let's do it," I said. And that's how our latest adventure began. Come on in and take a look at a few of our projects...

 The last of our giant trees was at the end of its life. It had been losing limbs out of the center of the tree, and it was also leaning more and more toward our home.

I shed more than a few tears, but it needed to be done.

The root ball left quite a hole! Just kidding. This became...

...This.


   This comfortable old porch where I entertained so many friends...


Started anew like this...


...and is still on its way to its final destination as our new back porch.


The area I had always envisioned as my lovely sunken garden and lawn...


...is now our new Pickle Ball Court. I have to admit that there has already been a whole bunch of fun take place here, and we're not even through with our project. There's more going on in the front yard, and I now call the inside of our home "Pandemonium City. We've totally moved out of our master bedroom and bath and currently reside in a guest room and the hall bath. One of the guest rooms and the living room have also been emptied. It's crazy, but we have a saying in our family, "No sympathy for self-inflicted wounds." We have the typical POD in the front drive and the ubiquitous porta potty on the curb. I asked Sweet Mister if he thought that should we have a new appraisal, would those count as an extra bath and bedroom? 

So although much of our world seemed to come to a stop, the action at our house has not stopped at all. In our city, construction work was deemed essential. The work has continued all the way through from September, and it continues today. At least I have had something of a show to watch outside my windows. It definitely hasn't been boring...messy, but not boring! We anticipate completion in the next 30-60 days. I'll invite you back when all is back in order. "Back in order?" That should take a bit longer.


Now for our giveaway!

 

Just leave a comment with Linda of Life and Linda for a chance to win a four piece set of Feather Canape Knives from MacKenzie-Childs.


You'll want to be sure to see what's been going on with the rest of the ladies of the Traveling Totes. Click on each of the links below, and you'll find posts from each of my lovely fellow travelers. You're going to love all of them!

                      Debbie with Miss Aurora @ Mountain Breaths                   
Emily with Miss Courtney ChildsThe French Hutch
Jenna with Miss Coquille @The Painted Apron
Linda P with Miss Lola @ Life and Linda
 Patti with Miss Kenzie @ Pandora's Box
Rita with Miss Luna C Panoply 
Sarah with Miss Merri Mac @ Hyacinths for the Soul
Jackie and Miss Madi K @ Purple Chocolat Home
Ricki Jill and Countess De Monet @ The Sketchy Reader
Cherry Kay and Carrie Ann Hall @ Entertaining Women  



I'll look forward to seeing all of you again in September. It will be interesting to find out where all of the tote ladies head, once travel becomes more realistic. I know they'll all have some amazing things to share with you once they're let loose to travel!

Tablescape Thursday w/ Susan @ Between Naps on the Porch

We'll hope to see you when the Tales of the Traveling Totes publishes our next adventures. Please, come again often.

This week I'll be joining:
Tablescape Thursday w/ Susan@Between Naps on the Porch.

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