http://smilebox.com/playBlog/4d6a67784d4455774f44673d0d0a&blogview=true

Landscaping, coming along...

Per Darren's request, outdoor photos/Summer/early Fall....(no snow!) :)

Please keep in mind, our landscaping has been focused on the front, (for now) due to the chickens & puppy in back yard...& 'cause we had to start somewhere! :) A lot of time has been spent by the ice cream widow just regaining control of the overgrown shrubs, plantings etc....from years of neglect....still working on grass growing in front, although much on that was accomplished out back.

Ignore the driveway, I keep hoping it disappears altogether...the eventual plan is to put in 2 tracks of pavers and grow grass in the center of the tracks.

This will look horrendous to you all, however when I began the rose hedge was out to the road on the left, and equally about 2' on the right, in the middle of the rose hedge were 2 holly bushes! (yes, Christmas in July around here!)  IT took me SO many days of cutting & digging and being scraped to bits by thorns! & they look HORRIBLE now!  But I am SURE that next year they will be grand! (there was brick landscaping strips outlining the original hedge, that I uncovered once I really got in there, so this is what I used as a guide to re-establishing the original hedge.) The spot in the middle where the holly once was, I had to transplant & will take some time to fill in.
The shrub on the right against the house, which is planted far to close to the house, and off center of the window (which drives me crazy), was out of control as well & grew off to one side, so we agreed to hack it down much smaller & see  how it grows back.

This front garden is a spring/summer garden, so much of its color has now disappeared...Will have to work on adding some fall perennials next year!

This area is all new, it has filled in very nicely this summer- will be even better next year we're sure!

There is so much more "front lawn" than before!  I am starting to create this bed on left, closest to front, took advantage of 40% off sale at local nursery just this week!

From across the street, Sept 2011

What oh what to do with the stairs...?

We debated this for quite some time, then left them as we tromped over them a gazillion times...finally I got up enough nerve to tackle what I thought I wanted to create.  Part of the hesitation, was due to the fact I knew well enough it would not be easy.

1) using painting tape has NEVER worked for me...this is the reason I learned to "cut in" w/out taping, well and because its MUCH quicker not to have to tape off!

2) There was no way those stairs were going to be level or even in any way shape or form, so trying to create a "straight" line on them...never mind many - was not going to be "fun".

3) I have NO patience for slow progress!  I want to see results- quickly- this is not a job I looked forward to!

In the end, the paint leaked under the blue painters tape (big surprise!) and the measurements ended up being "connect the line" & use your eye...! :)
Scott helped rescue me when I'd had enough..but here is the process: One day, we will splurge and put a beautiful oriental runner on the stairs...but paint for now will have to do!

Before wallpaper came down...it was a hard choice, it was SO pretty! (& clean)! (a year ago...)

After wallpaper came down, before skim coating of all walls...

Frannie posing on our newly painted stairs!

Complete, minus the adorable rascal dog!

This was the image I used as my inspiration....

A recipe for each day...

Careful what you "create"...

Another few posts, because our "following" doesn't seem to have had enough of Vanilla Farm.. & we've had some special requests for photos, I will indulge you all a bit more. (really!?)

For quite a few years, I have admired a 'saying' that Pottery Barn uses in some of its images.  It rarely shows the entire saying, and does not sell the item at all....I have for quite some time wanted to re-create it as mine.  We had some chalkboard paint left over from a task at the Scoop Deck, and so I painted the chalkboard part, and put Scott to work, using these awesome Chalk Ink markers that don't rub off like chalk, but do wash off w/ a wet rag...
I found the saying in its entirety fairly simply, by just entering into a Google search what I could make out from the latest image out of Pottery Barn.
Thank Goodness for Scott's skill, it's safe to say my penmanship is not quite so cool, and my patience not quite so long!!! :)

Some new developments at #64....

Frannie turned 5 months old & is taking after her mama...happy to sleep till 7am now! (& go to bed at 8!!) this is a huge improvement over 5:30- hallelujah!

She's getting much longer and "harder" as Scott describes it (which "harder" she is in more than just the muscle mass sort of way!)...a bit less "puppy"..she is now turning into a lean mean vizsla machine!

Frannie first couple days at home...2 months old. (March '11)

5 months old...
"I'm sitting ...really Mama...my butt just isn't actually touching....just in case I need to get up and chase something"

The pooch...

Frannie...practicing her hunting pose...tail up girl!

She also is losing things....regularly- TEETH.. that is!! we've found 2 just this week!  We imagine she may have lost others and swallowed them...but we have these 2- and yes Dad,...they ARE going in her baby book!

We also decided to "get serious" about parenting her this week...she got a new bed, which she is suppose to lie in and NOT on Sadie's bed...this is to protect Sadie from the annoying sharp toothed sister...and give them a bit of space....she spends most of her time doing the following with her bed...

if someone gave me a new bed/mattress full of orthopedic foam- I certainly wouldn't do that!  NOT a good citizen quite yet!

Just tonight she figured out if she dragged her bed over onto Sadie's, then she "technically" was following the rules because she WAS in fact "on" her own bed! oh my!  She did this all on her own- it was quite a laugh when I glanced up and saw this!!!  Too cute!

It finally happened....& a celebration followed!  After almost a year of attempting to finance our home, today it was done! 
At 3pm, in South Portland we were able to sign on many lines (none dotted by the way)...and made it official.  We now have a "real loan" as we call it...and we were able to pay our kind private lender back-finally! 
We went for a "snack" in downtown Portland, and after a bit of contemplating we decided to stay home at #64 instead of a fancy dinner out..and had a fancy dinner in...in the house we have worked so hard on, and worked so hard to have!

We celebrated the night w/ lobsters & steamers & a fine Eric Ross wine we've been keeping on hand for "something special" since our trip to Sonoma last spring...& today was certainly something special!!
Scott thought to dine al fresco, so he set us up on the front porch, and it really was quite lovely!  We have decided I think to screen in our porch and start to use it a bit more...Randy- are you listening...we need you AGAIN!! :)

Frannie meets her first lobster....totally scared! (not scared of the vacuum or lawn mower...but a lobster-lol!)

Sure you don't want to see this?

A little more interested now...

The celebratory setting....

no, it's not a ghost in the stain glass window...its Emily, who happened to be looking out at the wrong (or right) time when Scott snapped a shot!

yum!!! lobsters from a fish market in Arundel-very good & fresh!

diggin' in!

& outside we go!

Naturally the house being complete inside, the weather being beautiful....we have begun working outside.  I am thankful for having a "mature" property...although it has been years since anyone has cared for the property, we are blessed with having a lot of "established plantings" to work with, it just involves lots of digging and dragging...(ha-who needs the gym!) 
One of my first goals was to complete the front entry...which is really the side entry I guess, but the main entry for the house....the right side of the door is a very well established large bed of white hydrangea, we got to see this late last summer, and the blossoms were HUGE!  This bed needs some edging, new dirt/nourishment and has already been trimmed back drastically last fall to protect them for men walking all over the plantings while insulating, siding, plumbing and the like...

The left side was all new bare ground from the addition...so handy to have 3 Rhododendrons (not my fav, but readily available!), the fact is these were planted (ALL 3) on top of the azalea shrub in front of house- why in the world anyone would plant 4 shrubs even when small sprigs that close together is beyond me...but I have given up spending too much time wondering these things about the past residents of 64 High St...we moved these Rhodys when the ground was "just" unfrozen...really we had no business moving them that early, but we did, and they are hardy gals, and took! 

We chose to have no grass in this area, so have planted about 50 small Pachysandra (Japanese Spurge) plantings which will over the next 2-3 years fill the ground, along with 3 hostas that will grow to be 2' x 2' so now its water & wait for a few more years....the landscaping of this area has unfortunately made it that much more evident that our driveway will perhaps sooner than later, need some attention.

I wanted something tall by the doors in the fab pots I had scored at Marshalls late winter...I finally got to a garden center I had been wanting to visit, Focal Point, in Arundel and the gent kindly helped me select 2 white Mandevillas...I created a couple tee pees w/ branches from the yard & we'll see what happens!  While there I spotted some good looking "hens and chicks" which Scott had mentioned to me he loved...(of course) and had been thinking about "reclaiming" from the yard at Gendron Dr. where he grew up, because he had planted some of his Gram McNeff's there years ago...I purchased 2 of them without knowing where exactly I'd put them, just hoping this would appease Scott to not "reclaim" the others....although he does love a late night "mission".....!
I used some large stones I had purchased in Dover NH for stepping stones, which hadn't come to fruition, and beach stones we had left from our shower floor!  He was surprised when arriving home late from work to be greeted by hens & chicks at the door! :)

our Hens & Chicks....and beach stones...

Okay, so use your imagination here...it'll get better in time....!

This is what Pachysandra will eventually fill into....

This is a heart garden stone our friends and loyal blog followers, Fran & George, kindly gave to us!

What's that you say....a closing day?

To all of you, who have been privy to the painstakingly long process of getting ourselves "officially financed"...or I should say, getting "#64 officially financed" as she turned into being the problem child....it's official, we have a date and a time to close, all conditions & terms in our favor.

I continue to just say to myself and others aloud, "I cannot believe we are really closing"....it seems surreal as it has gone on so long.  I am realizing I was not sure it was ever actually going to happen!

Perhaps I will share the details of the "behind the scenes struggle" in future posts, but for today, I just want to celebrate!

Next Wednesday at 3pm, we will be able to pay our very kind and patient private lender back in full, and hold our heads high that the project was indeed a smart move, and equity is aplenty, and a beautiful house, (& soon to be yard) is ours to live & to love for many years to come!

Hope Cemetery

In the last few days, since Scott has been arriving home around midnight due to the Scoop Deck now being open, I've taken to escaping with Frannie early in the morning allowing Scott & Sadie to get their beauty sleep. Since moving to Kennebunk I have been drawn to the Hope Cemetery which sits just at the intersection of Rte 1 and rte 35/9A (to KPT).... It sounds strange perhaps to be "drawn" to a cemetery, but even from the road driving by it elicits this peace, quiet & beauty.  After passing it many times in the car wanting to walk in and look it over, I finally did yesterday morning.  It's an amazing place, there is nothing "tacky" or showy about it (actually a "rule" of the cemetery), there are these old well worn dirt tracks on grass roads weaving their way thru the very old stones & memorials, beautiful mature trees, and a sense of peace and shade, and quiet...all that a cemetery should be in my opinion.  I see the men working each morning and I keep thinking, no matter what this pays, this is a great job, to be able to be on this property all day long.  Now I know, some of you may be thinking I'm overlooking the obvious, there are "dead people" here!  Well, to some of you that may be your view, not mine...there are bodies decomposing, going back to the Earth, spirits have gone, and perhaps a new life in a new form has begun.  So to me, it is a beautiful, quiet, respectful place, where life is making its full circle.
This property has caused me to think about how beautiful a town we have moved to, I often appreciate it, as I think to myself how quaint the downtown is, and how much of a "community" feel there is about.  I am constantly amazed how often someone waves, or says hello or good morning while I am out walking (none of these folks do I know...).  There truly is a sense of friendliness about the town.  I have personally seen a downtown area fall to ruin due to many factors, a couple being lack of city government interest/vision, and another lack of community support.  It's been astounding to see such a dedication from both town gov't and residents using services & having interest in the short time we've been here.  I've made it a personal commitment to support and appreciate all the resources that exist now in our community.
I decided to snap a few photos to share my view of our community from our morning walk this am.

It's a bit blurry, but any of you that know Frannie, know she doesn't sit still too long for anything-especially a mother slow w/ camera! LOL!

A quiet morning downtown Kennebunk...

Frannie & I both appreciate the water bowl outside the yummy Perfectos Caffe each morning! (awesome place!!)

The beautiful side entry of the Kennebunk Inn & their Academe Brasserie & Tavern

The front lawn of the Kennebunk Free Library, beautiful inside & out, and very pleasant staff- the lawn looks so welcoming...

A beautiful arbor at the parsonage beside the library

Just found this picture...this is the church and the library...amazing how similar they both are today (the arbor pic (above) is on the left of the church, wonder if it was there then or is new?

The entry to Hope Cemetery, see how the road kind of draws you back in wonder of what is down this quaint road....

back to the library, these appeared when the weather got nice, I love the idea of having a place to sit and read outside.

These banners are up and change depending on seasons I believe...this one is marked w/ a name & "class of 2008" I think, perhaps there was a contest of sorts to submit ideas...

cool old pump, marked "do not drink" (um...no thanks!), outside the Kennebunk,K& W Water District building,
 The Horace House

the Mousam River ....taken from the temporary bridge, as the old bridge is under a complete replacement....

again, from the temporary bridge, Scott & I love this little house on the far left of pic, what a cool backyard.... and the sounds of the Mousam to sleep to....