Heavnehill Updates

Lots of wonderful things are happening at 620 e. bridge.
Heavenhill is transforming weekly and it is so much fun to see the progress.

Folks laugh at my giddiness but it really is a long time coming.
I am so thankful to be part of this journey.

I wanted to cry when I first saw water flow out of the spigot.
But I had to be strong in front of the plumbers!

I also had to do a little jig when I saw the green tag. A major step forward!
Insulation is going up right now and will be done by Monday.

Goal: Sheetrock on Tuesday!

My first paying customer is a gal I went to high school with that is a photographer. She is having a photo session with a client there and I made sure the living room was in proper order and even washed the windows to make the experience as easy as possible.

I am so excited to start seeing HH take shape...
who will be my first overnight guest (besides me of course!)?!







I had to put a container and a sign together after all the cigarette butts
I picked up off the ground. Everyone has been obedient ever since.

Wistful Spring

We have been working here and there around the house this weekend. It is amazing what a little (really a lot) of mowing can do to a place. My hands are dry and crackly with all the weeding and digging in the dirt.

I love it.

Now if you told my 16 year old self that I would enjoy doing these types of tasks, I never woulda thunk it. My dad still laughs at my lifestyle ways...growing up I was sooo messy it was ridiculous. He would joke that a bomb went off in my closet or in the bathroom...clothes were EVERYWHERE. Now I'm pretty tidy and a little OCD about where everything goes. On occasion I will lax a bit, but my 16 year old self (while rolling my eyes at him after he tells me to clean my room, the cleaning lady is coming tomorrow!) would never think I would be more
like my dad 12 years later

But when I turned 18, I started dreaming of having a garden and growing 'things' (yes things..wasn't real sure what you could grow in your own dirt...) and maybe even tending a kitty farm and the like. Where did this come from?
I believe it came from traveling across Europe and experiencing and shadowing the Europeans' lifestyle. When I was 21, I remember distinctly telling my best friend/roommate that I cannot wait to give up paper towels and begin my daily use of linen napkins and never look back! She looked at me like I was crazy.

Well, now at 28 this ol' gal has achieved a lot of her naive dreams. I now know you can grow a lot of things in your own dirt (carrots! beets! Swiss Chard!)
and I definitely use my linen napkins every day.
I'm still working on a kitty farm...it gives Farmer a severe headache thinking about it for Eleanor had herself a cat ranch (yes! I read letters from the 60s referring the farm as the cat ranch).

It's a wistful kind of life and if you are smart about your next move, the wistful can become reality. It may be small or people may look at you like you are crazy...but if you accept your crazy ideas and they make you happy, then does it really matter?

Nope.

Now and Then

The farm back in the 1960s and now what it looks like in 2012!

Little Helper

I'm here sitting at the desk in my "office" at the house trying to finalize finishes for Heavenhill. Oskie likes to lay on top of the desk while I work but I guess he needed something soft today and snuggled in behind me on the director's chair. I have to sit on the edge in order for both of us to fit. He loves it when I work. He's becoming a pretty good kitty...

Happy First Day of Spring

This Spring is full of many blessings.
What a wonderful winter we had for there were only a handful of shivering days.

Not only has she come early but the rain has been bountiful.

It's going to be a BEAUTIFUL season and everyday is a gift.

Bluebonnets from my dad are taking center stage.
Sowing zinnias and bachelor buttons for a May wedding.
Water rushing in places I never knew existed.
Out in the fields the bright green grass is as tall as my knee cap and
the mustard comes straight up to my belt loops.

The trees in the yard have awakened from their winter nap
stretching and yawning while they crawl out of bed.
The filtered light is back to cast the green mystery on the home place.

Cheers to the first day of Spring.
It looks like it's going to be a great year for the farm.

Missing My Buddy

Today marks a year since I lost my soul kitty.
I loved him with all my heart.
We had been through a lot together and I knew I could always count on him for
love and companionship.
It has been a tough and unbelievably fast year. I think of him everyday and my
heart seems to heal a little bit each day.

You were a little comedian and I know you loved to see us laugh at your jokes and tricks.
Farmer and I would laugh so much with you.
I know we will meet again and that is a nice feeling to have.

I love you Riely.

Old Bridge

Back in the day, we had a fantastic iron bridge. I was very young, about 7 years old, but I do remember when "they" tore it down and replaced it with a concrete-boring-bridge and being very disgruntled about the whole thing. I know it was probably too narrow for the growing city but why not keep it for foot traffic? Can't do anything about it now but it should be a warning for future progressions, don't you think?

Back in 2002

My mother sits in front of a house she bought for investment reasons. It backed up to Witherspoons. Can you recognize this house? Yep, it's Heavenhill. Just got lots of coats and jackets on. While playing musical lumber (the game where you keep moving piles of lumber to different rooms to try to get it out of your way while you work) I found a envelope of pictures of HH back in her heyday..well 10 years ago and really not her heyday. Enjoy a blast from the past!

We miss our Emmy. I was just talking about her the other day and
then found these great pictures.