Mary Tyler Moore house

This spring I decided to introduce my kids to some of the classic TV shows I grew up with. They are clean, safe and still just as funny. We started with the Dick Van Dyke show. My 9yo was the only kid in her class that knew the significance of the a phrase "Oh rob!". Naturally the MTM show was the next choice given her presence in the DVD show. My daughter LOVES it. Now being the old house collector than I am. I had to see and learn more about the MTM house. I found a few pictures and as luck would have it the real estate listing. As I do when I find a cool houses I forwarded them to my friend Julia over at Hookedonhouses.net. She supplies my house habit so I supply hers. We may never rehabilitate. (there are worse habits we could have) Julia has done a full spread on the MTM house this week, go and check it out.

The Bagpiper

As a bagpiper, I was asked by a funeral director to play at a graveside service for a homeless man who had no family or friends. The funeral was to be held at a cemetery in the remote countryside and this man would be the first to be laid to rest there.As I was not familiar with the backwoods area, I became lost and being a typical man, did not stop for directions. I finally arrived an hour late. I saw the backhoe and the crew who were eating lunch but the hearse was nowhere in sight.I apologized to the workers for my tardiness and stepped to the side of the open grave where I saw the vault lid already in place.I assured the workers I would not hold them up for long but this was the proper thing to do. The workers gathered around, still eating their lunch. I played out my heart and soul.
As I played the workers began to weep. I played and I played like I'd never played before, from Going Home and The Lord is My Shepherd to Flowers of the Forest . I closed the lengthy session with Amazing Grace and walked to my car.As I was opening the door and taking off my coat, I overheard one of the workers saying to another, "Sweet Jeezuz, Mary 'n Joseph, I never seen nothin' like that before and I've been putting in septic tanks for twenty years."

Bar stools in a historic style kitchen?

I have received some responses to my historic kitchen post. People who are confused by an island that the bar stools do not actually go under the bar. Surprise! this was intentional not just some oversite. I designed the freestanding island myself and had it manufactured in central America and shipped here. It was designed after the large work tables found in some of the larger historic home kitchens. In these historic home the work table was never intended to be an area for seating. That is a modern kitchen thing. The point of this entire kitchen design was to make it look like it had existed for nearly a century. No Islands with bar stools, no visible microwaves, all signs of modern conveniences gone. Even the sub zero was disguised. The choice of an AGA range, despite its weight, price and many special requirements was completely worth it to achieve this timeless look. Yes there are those of you who will look at bar stools pushed up to what appears to be an island and think its odd and inconvenient. I say nay, and more importantly so does the home owner. Every aspect of this house has been planned, and scrutinized, with one goal in mind. To fool the eye into thinking this home is much older than it is.

Hooked on old Kitchens

As part of the Hooked on Fridays over at Hooked on Houses. I decided to share my fixation..... I'm passionate about recreating the past. My on going project (two years now) of recreating a Gothic Revival home for my client is coming to a close and all the pieces are falling into place. Here is one of my big fixations on that project. A Kitchen that look like it belongs in an old home. This is actually in a new home but I think we hit the nail right on head and created something that looks like it has a history all ready.

view into the dining nook
view from the dining nook
Sub Zero, disguised as an icebox

You can see more photos and update from this house by clicking the Gothic Revival Update link in the sidebar.

MAGNOLIAS

MAGNOLIAS

I spent the week before my daughter's June wedding running last-minute trips to the caterer, florist, tuxedo shop, and the church about forty miles away.

As happy as I was that Patsy was marrying a good Christian young man, I felt laden with responsibilities as I watched my budget dwindle . . . So many details, so many bills, and so little time.

My son Jack was away at college, but he said he would be there to walk his younger sister down the aisle, taking the place of his dad who had died a few years before. He teased Patsy, saying he'd wanted to give her away since she was about three years old!

To save money, I gathered blossoms from several friends who had large magnolia trees. Their luscious, creamy-white blooms and slick green leaves would make beautiful arrangements against the rich dark wood inside the church.

After the rehearsal dinner the night before the wedding, we banked the podium area and choir loft with magnolias. As we left just before midnight, I felt tired but satisfied this would be the best wedding any bride had ever had! The music, the ceremony, the reception - and especially the flowers - would be remembered for years.

The big day arrived - the busiest day of my life - and while her bridesmaids helped Patsy to dress, her fianc? Tim walked with me to the sanctuary to do a final check. When we opened the door and felt a rush of hot air, I almost fainted; and then I saw them - all the beautiful white flowers were black. Funeral black. An electrical storm during the night had knocked out the air conditioning system, and on that hot summer day, the flowers had wilted and died.

I panicked, knowing I didn't have time to drive back to our hometown, gather more flowers, and return in time for the wedding.

Tim turned to me. "Edna, can you get more flowers? I'll throw away these dead ones and put fresh flowers in these arrangements."

I mumbled, "Sure," as he be-bopped down the hall to put on his cuff links.

Alone in the large sanctuary, I looked up at the dark wooden beams in the arched ceiling.

"Lord," I prayed, "please help me. I don't know anyone in this town. Help me find someone willing to give me flowers - in a hurry!"

I scurried out praying for four things: the blessing of white magnolias, courage to find them in an unfamiliar yard, safety from any dog that may bite my leg, and a nice person who would not get out a shotgun when I asked to cut his tree to shreds.

As I left the chur ch, I saw magnolia trees in the distance. I approached a house...No dog in sight. I knocked on the door and an older man answered. So far so good..... No shotgun.

When I stated my plea the man beamed, "I'd be happy to!"

He climbed a stepladder and cut large boughs and handed them down to me. Minutes later, as I lifted the last armload into my car trunk, I said, "Sir, you've made the mother of a bride happy today."

"No, Ma'am," he said. "You don't understand what's happening here." "What?" I asked. "You see, my wife of sixty-seven years died on Monday, on Tuesday I received friends at the funeral home, and on Wednesday. He paused. I saw tears welling up in his eyes. "On Wednesday I buried her." He! looked away. "On Thursday most of my out-of-town relatives went back home, and on Friday - yesterday - my children left."

"This morning, he continued, I was sitting in my den crying out loud. I miss her so much. For the last sixteen years, as her health got worse, she needed me. But now nobody needs me. This morning I cried, Who needs an eighty-six-year-old wore-out man? Nobody! I began to cry louder. Nobody needs me!"

"About that time, you knocked, and said, 'Sir, I need you'." I stood with my mouth open. He asked, "Are you an angel? T he way the light shone around your head into my dark living room..."

I assured him I was no angel. He smiled. "Do you know what I was thinking when I handed you those magnolias?"

"No. I decided I'm needed. My flowers are needed. Why, I might have a flower ministry! I could give them to everyone! Some caskets at the funeral home have no flowers. People need flowers at times like that and I have lots of them. They're all over the backyard! I can give them to hospitals, churches - all sorts of places. You know what I'm going to do? I'm going to serve the Lord until the day He calls me home!"

I drove back to the church, filled with wonder. On Patsy's wedding day, if anyone had asked me to encourage someone who was hurting, I would have said, "Forget it!" It's my only daughter's wedding, for goodness' sake! There is no way I can minister to anyone today. But God found a way through dead flowers.

100 Abandoned houses

See the collection of over 100 photographs of abandoned homes. It is a sad thing to see. I can't help but think about these homes in there prime. When they were loved an cared for. The families that called them home. The people that lived, loved an died there. Our grand architecture is disappearing never to be seen again.

I don't know whether to laugh or cry

See other strange houses here

Curb appeal

Julia, over at Hooked on Houses, offered a creative challenge that I couldn't pass up. One of her readers asked for help with the curb appeal of this house. Rev up the photoshop boys I'm goin in.

Before

After

• Changed the garage door. White was just to dominate. The bronze color links the garage with the rest of the house.
• Larger light fixtures. The mass of the brick pillars by the door screamed for a bulkier fixture.
• Front walk. The shrubbery between the door and the street feels like a barrier, and not very welcoming. Post or plantings down the walk helps too.
• Gable vents should be the same bronze color as the windows. Before, you barely notice them. now they tie in with the arch of the door. Repeting shapes...Goood!
• Precast stone crown on the columns. Cuts the tall verticals into managable portions.
• Landscaping. You could go wild here. It's odviously fall in the before shot. The trees and grasses have been trimmed for the winter. Cluttering up the front with pots and trellises is going to far. Somtimes more is just more. There is a fine line when the landscaping begins to out shine the house. Some deeper and taller planting at the foundation would do alot to soften this house. The tree by the door is going to out grow that spot soon. It really need trees out in the yard closer to the street. More room to spread. Flowers in soft colors work best with this color of home.

The world needs more spontaneous dancing.

Talk about to much house....get real....

Watch CBS Videos Online

You have to see this to believe it...

Thank you Kristen, and your friend Elizabeth for sharing this with me.

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