Poppa's Wicker

Check out this wicker!

These wicker chairs are from the 1920's and belonged to my grandfather, Poppa.

They were kind of old and grey. I spray painted them and had the material on the covers changed. They are SO beautiful. I've got these chairs on the porch off of my office and plan to host many teleseminars from this little nook.

Stay tuned...

They Scooped Our Poop

Yes, that's right.

Today the septic tank cleaners came to our home to pump the poo. Now, how's that for alliteration?

Why am I telling you this? Because I wanted to write a blog post with that headline. Because I wanted you to know that I appreciate potty humor. Because I can be puerile...and after all, Everyone Poops! Oh yeah, that book has already been written...

OK, no more poop posts! At least for now...

Yesterday's Post...

Ooooops. I goofed. I wasn't referring to a "crap" pot. It was really a "crab" pot.

Here's the crap pot. Sorry for the potty humor. I couldn't resist.


How do you like the black toilet against the cayenne colored walls? More on painting later...

Jeff Shearouse is in the house!

Well, actually, he is outside the house. He is our new landscaping person.

I love Jeff. I love him because he loves what he does. He is a Master Gardener, Arborist and Horticulturist. Oh, yes, and he is a single dad raising two girls.

I met Jeff when I was taking some guests, young teen-age girls from Namibia, daughters of the couple who owns the hunting camp where Landon hunts in Africa, for a walk around the plantation. We wanted to check out the new house that was going up so that we could short-cut over the dike. There were lots of workmen on location, putting down grass sod at this new house. The yard, the trees, all the plantings, looked great. As we were admiring the lawn and view, a man in overalls came ambling over. It was Jeff -- we got to talking and I asked him whether he would be interested in coming over to see our yard because I'd like to hear what suggestions he might have for us.

A week later, he came over and we walked our property. If you have been reading my blog, you know that I am very intent on wanting to cherish this house and grounds and turn it into a home. So much had been neglected, not the least of which was the yard.

And, our previous landscapers charged a lot for what they did and I didn't like the results. They are not bad people, but it's a company where the head gardener is spread very thin and the people working for her do not have the proper training. If you look at the picture at the top of the page, you'll see that they never trimmed the tops of our Nellie Stevens trees so that they had all these funny spikes growing out of the top -- up to 2 1/2 feet. That looked ridiculous. Compare what they look like here. You see how the tops are all trimmed up?

Check out this before and after:

Jeff and I have a vision for our yard. We are going to consciously recreate, reshape, reform, replant, tend, cherish and nurture the plants that we have and add new ones. All according to our plan.

I am very excited by the prospect of investing my love into and caring for our grounds -- and to know that they will reflect back that investment. I am excited to to see how we, Landon and I, can transform our living environment -- inside and out -- so that it reflects "us" and so that it will be embracing and inviting to all of those we choose to welcome into our space.

Finally, here is a video of Jeff at work:

Miss Flo-isms

AS you'll read in my upcoming book about my early days moving from New York City to the Low Country of South Carolina, "Miss Flo" is a critical part of our household. She's does many things: she's the one who keeps me from "looking like an unmade bed"; she makes sure everything is neat and tidy and clean, the kitchen, the house, our clothes, the laundry; she tends the plants and she knows everything that happens in this house. But, most of all, Miss Flo is willing to share her wisdom. Like this morning when she said:

"The first cup of coffee is the best cup. After that, you're just drinking..."

Redecorating

While my husband is busy hunting, I'm busy with redecorating plans for the house. We recently got married and I moved into his house, which he shared with his former wife. I would like to find a way to make the house feel more like my home.

Any advice for me?