A Tour of Our Home



This one's going to be long, but you don't want to miss it. If you've got time now, grab a cup of tea (or whatever strikes your fancy at the moment), sit back and enjoy. If your in a rush, come back later today when you have time for a lengthy visit!


 I was going to post pictures last week and give you a tour of our new home. However, with the holiday, I just didn't get to it. I'm sure you can all understand. But I've had several people asking me for pictures of the place, and I told them to be watching for the post. So I'd better follow through with the promise!


When we started house hunting, we had a short list of "must haves" for the new place.
We were determined to find exactly what we needed no matter how long it took. And we were prepared for it to take a L.O.N.G. time because we knew our needs were a little out of the ordinary.

We knew our new place needed:
- most importantly to have room for the truck to get in and out, as well as a place for Malcolm to keep his tools.
- some acreage (the more the sweeter) for our horses and farming hobbies.
-to be within a reasonable price range, something not too easy to come by if your wanting acreage too.
-to be close to our family in Chattanooga. Also not so easy to do if your wanting acreage as well.

We did a lot of internet hunting before we ever went to Chattanooga to look in person, and we found some pieces that interested us, but each one was going to need some tweaking, and nothing was going to be any closer to my parents than 45 miles. It's that hard to get acreage in the right price range that close to Chattanooga.

And then we got to Tennessee in September and took a week off to go look at the properties we were interested in , as well as some Dad had heard about, and each one got vetoed for various reasons. One was just too far from Mom and Dad. Another one was too much money for what it was. The next one, and the next one, and the next one you couldn't get the truck in without major ground moving/tree cutting work. And by Friday, we'd exhausted our list and our motivation. We had found a place we liked. It was going to be an exhausting awesome long term (3+ years) project to get it livable, but it came with 56 acres(!) and was only 25 miles from my parents. We had decided that was the place, because we like a project, we had a lot of fun renovating our little farmhouse in Georgia years ago, and, well, being as we live in the truck anyway, we could live in a camper or something until the house was ready, and shoot! 56 acres! Need I say more?
 We actually did put an offer in on that one, and thought we had it in the bag. The realtor had assured us it was ours. He just had to get the owners to sign on it. And he procrastinated by one day, just enough time for another offer to come in. We had a one day bidding war, and in the end the other people got it, and I hope they are happy with it. It will be a really neat place! I pray they aren't going to make it a neighborhood!

So on Saturday night, a day after exhausting our list of hopefuls and having just found out we'd lost the only one we were even slightly interested in, we weren't feeling too good about the whole situation, and we knew we needed to get back to work on Monday. But we were also feeling pressured to find something even though we had promised ourselves we weren't going to rush into anything and we were going to take our time and find the PERFECT place.

It's been said for ages that when God closes a door, he opens another one, and it is so true. We'd had our heart set on that 56 acre project. It would have been, eventually, beyond what we'd thought of possibly having, after a lot of time and money invested. And after that, it was hard to think of anything else even coming close to being as good. But God sees beyond what we see. He sees what's better!

So that Saturday evening, when Malcolm called me into Mom's living room to look at a house Dad had found on CraigsList, I wasn't feeling much like looking. But I was also trying to keep my spirits up and trying to lift Malcolm's too, so I went to look.


How we missed it in all our internet searching I don't know. It was listed on all our websites we'd been using to look and had been on the market for almost a year! It was within our price range. It was, from all appearances on the computer screen, practically perfect in every way. It was, honestly, a little too good to be true, and made one wonder...."what's the catch?"

And so on Sunday, after lunch, we set out to do a drive by, just to see if this place really existed.

And on Monday, after taking a look at the inside of the house and walking the property, we put an offer in on it.

And on Tuesday we had a contract for a closing in October.

We moved in a few weeks ago. I still pinch myself nearly every morning to make sure I didn't dream this all up.

I didn't.


It sits nestled into a secluded valley only 20 miles from my parents house. It feels like you drive quite a ways out into the country. It is so quiet and peaceful and yet just 10 minutes from every convenience you could dream of.

Down a two lane highway that meanders along the banks of Chickamauga Lake and the Tennessee River...

...you turn onto a tree shaded one lane road...

 

...and arrive at Redbud Farm.

picture taken in September when we were viewing the property





The house was built in 1915. We know very little of it's history, but I'm making it one of my projects to find out. One of the benefits of my home town is that, as large as it's gotten, it's still one of those places where you always know someone who knows someone, and it turns out my cousin used to work with the guy whose grandparents farmed this land and lived in this house. So I have a contact already!

 

 

We're thinking of calling it Redbud farm because of this tree that grows next to the house.

None of us have ever, EVER, seen a redbed get this big! It has to be ancient, by redbud standards. I almost wonder if it's as old as the house. You should have seen it with leaves in September! Amazing! And I can't WAIT till spring when it's covered in those dark pink blossoms that redbuds are famous for! Can you picture it in your mind? Don't worry! You'll get to see pictures!

 

There are redbud sprouts coming up all over the place, and I remarked to Mom, as she and I were walking around the yards and noting which shrubs and plants were there, that "well at least we know the place will grow redbuds." to which she replied, "Redbud Farm!" And the name stuck.

 

There are a number of barns and outbuildings. A creek babbles it's way through part of the front of the property. Year round water for the horses and whatever other animals join us in the years to come. An answer to prayer because now my dad doesn't have to go over there during our absence to water our critters for us! And behind the house and buildings, there is a gently rising hill that is covered in thick green grass, that in September was taller than Malcolm's head because no one had cut it this year! There are at least 5 walnut trees, and in the back yard this massive pecan tree. I'm in love!

There are 10 acres in all, and though that's small by some western standards, in Tennessee that's enough for us to be a farm, and so we are! Very happily! Those ten acres are holding a passel of dreams and possibilities for us. So many dreams that are going to come true on that ground!

 

I'll give you a tour of the barns and property in another post, but for this time, I promised those folks a look inside the house, and so lets get to it.

 

I just have to say, I am still, even after a month and a half of happy home ownership, absolutely amazed that in the past 97 years no one ruined this house! Someone (or multiple someones), bless their souls and love them, loved this house and maintained it enough to so that it didn't fall into disrepair beyond saving. And then a few years ago, another angel of a someone bought it and renovated it. RENOVATED! not remodeled! The first time I stepped through the front door, I thought I could have walked into one of those historical home tours. Praise God for people who love history and old farm houses!

the front living room as you enter from the front door

 

It's been updated beatifully. The walls may not have originally been sheet rocked, but now that they are, the paint colors that were chosen are complimentary to the age of the house. Care was taken in selection of light fixtures (I still want to know where they got them because I love their choices, and I've never seen anything like some of them!), and the original floors are still in place.

this one's kind of dark, but gives a feel for how large the room actually is, something I find odd in a house this old. The rooms are huge, relatively speaking!

There was love and care in that renovation project. Care to make updates that didn't clash with the ambiance, and care to preserve what could be preserved. One of the original fireplaces and mantels, now equipped with gas logs.

From the front living room, you can head down the hallway that passes through the center of the house...

  











...or you can turn to your right and enter the other front room. We're still debating what this room's original purpose was. We're leaning towards office or parlor. But now it serves as the guest bedroom.

And no sheet rock here. Original tongue-in-groove pine board walls, floor and ceiling! Makes for a dark room, but a lovely one. And some brightly colored quilts and rugs will snap the gloom right out of the room.

This room has two doorways. One goes out to the front living room, where we just left, and the other goes into the other living room. Guess we'll call it the den.

note not one, but TWO closets flanking each side of the doorway. Another unusual feature for a house of this period.

The other living room, or den, is where most of my library has landed. It's also where your most likely to find the girls, if they aren't shadowing you.

"Why is that you ask?" says Carlie Jean.

 "Do we really need to explain?" says Paris.

 

Because this room houses the second fire place in the house, now equipped with a very effect wood burning stove. Plus it's just got that cozy cabin feel to it with the woodwork. Plus, (and this is the biggy!) it's the only carpeted room, and the girls LOVE carpet!



From this room, you have three options other than the way we came in. You can go left into the hallway, right into the laundry room and then exit the house, or...

 

... straight ahead and into the kitchen.

Nooks and crannies abound, which I love! I wasn't digging the black and white linoleum, but it's growing on me quickly. The light fixture in the kitchen is awesome and unique, as is the one in the breakfast nook...

....which sits at one end of the kitchen and looks out onto that lovely redbud tree, and now several of my bird feeders.

 

I have only one complaint about this kitchen, but it's nothing that can't be fixed. And so it's my "think on it" project and it involves the lack of counter space, and this wall.

I'm wondering about getting an antique stove. But the more practical solution would be to get some kind of table of counter. We'll see what happens. In the mean time this wall looks really bland and barren, all except for that awesome built in cupboard. It's one of two and I just adore them! I've always loved built ins!

 

 

The other door leaving the kitchen leads into that central hallway you saw from the front room, but now your at the back of the house. Right outside the kitchen door is a doorway to underneath the stairs, and the most awesome storage space ever! If I lack counter space in the kitchen, the house has made it up to me by providing abounding storage space, which is something Malcolm and I have never ever had! It's awesome!

And heading back down the hall towards the front of the house, brings you to the two other bed rooms. We think perhaps it was originally one large room. Or maybe it was two rooms. Hard to tell. We're calling it the master suite because they are smallish, and so we're using them both as our bedroom.

Enters the third and final fireplace of the house, complete with original mantel. This one is non-functioning. We're toying with the idea of putting in gas logs.  Functioning or not, the colors are lovely!

Note the little cupboard above the mantel. It has two shelves in it and is about 6 inches deep. Interesting.

In fact, there are two more similar cupboards in the den, one on each side of the door, and so high on the wall you have to have a ladder of chair to climb on. They are deeper and one contains an old straw hat and a newspaper scrap from 1920. They are clearly original to the house, and also very mystifying. Never really seen anything like them before.

 

And back out in the hallway, is the stairs to the attic.



A little over 800 square feet of fairly easily finishable living space but right now completely awesome storage!

previous owners stuff. Not ours. It's much more cluttered now as we stacked boxes here and have been unpacking from that point. Made the rest of the house much more livable!



There are dormer windows on three sides, and even if we finished it, we'd still have TONS of storage! Each dormer has attic space on the sides that have been closed in to create 4 massive closets, one in each corner. I'm thinking what an awesome space this will be for Malcolm and me! We want to lay some carpet and bring up our wood pellet stove. He has set up his gun reloading stuff in one corner. I can just see my sewing space in one of those dormer window alcoves, and a  table for working puzzles under another window, a comfy sofa and chair for relaxing...just loads of possibilities. And the girls can lay by the stove while Malcolm works on his guns and I quilt. It will be so cozy!

 

There are so many different little features, small details, that add so much charm to this house, right down to the doorknobs.

And no matter which window you look out, there is a lovely a view that gives the feeling of being secluded and very far out in the country....

out the back (the pool is probably going by by in the spring. Anyone in the market for one?

the master bedroom windows look out onto the screened in porch and across into the soybean fields of the farm that borders us on two sides

out the front windows and from my porch swing I can enjoy the views of a wooded forest

from the other side of the house I can the barns and look down to the creek there at the far end of that small pasture

....even though we have neighbors. No one is right on our doorstep. No where near that! We can only actually see one of the houses clearly and it is still set back down the road a ways from our house. We've met our three closest neighbors, and another neighbor that lives down the road. All amazingly nice, helpful, and generous people. We feel so blessed and fortunate. One always wonders and worries abit about having good neighbors (or nightmare neighbors) when moving to a new place! It just adds to the "too good to be true" question that seems to linger about the place in my mind.

 

 

The porch wraps around three sides of the house. I've dreamed of, and longed for an old farmhouse for years and years and years. And if I ever expected that dream to come true, I thought surely it would be dilapidated and in need of lots of work. So to get handed one that is so old, and already "fixed" and landscaped beautifully, and nearly perfect in every sense of the word, at least nearly perfect according to the standards of those years I've spent dreaming....well I can't help but wonder if I'm still dreaming.

 

But then we ended up going  past the house for Thanksgiving weekend, and I walked in the door and all our stuff was there in that dream house, and our horses were there to greet us, and our mail had been delivered to that address. So I guess it really is a real place! And I really do live there!

 





The Great Migration

Fall is the time of year when some of the greatest migrations on the planet take place.

 

Malcolm and I have been off the road and, for the most part off line, for a little over a month now. While we were off, our time was consumed with gathering, packing, loading, and then the reverse of all those actions.

 

One chilly evening we were down by the water working on getting some things loaded before dark, when a familiar but seldom heard sound reached our ears. And sure enough, when we looked, way off on the horizon we could see a long wavering line of sand hill cranes making their way towards us. Have you ever watched them in flight? They do not fly with the organization of geese and ducks. It always looks to me as if they are constantly trying to straighten their line, and failing time and time again. This particular group made their way to the lake behind the house and were well into their circling (which takes a while) and landing routine, when we noticed another line off on the horizon. And behind them, another line, and once they were landing, another line, and it went on like this for an hour or more! By the time they were finished, there must have been hundreds of them up on the lake, and it was all I could do not to abandon Malcolm to the work and sneak up there with the camera. If not for the fact that it was too dark for decent pictures and that I didn't want to risk disturbing them, I would have done it.

 

As it was I did end up with a picture of their great migration. The next morning, Malcolm and I had to run an errand and we left pretty early, just as the cranes were gathering into their various groups and heading on east.



Birds are not the only creatures that migrated south this year.

On a frosty morning in early October, we loaded up and headed out...

...to deliver Dawn and Gemma to their new owners. We had decided to sell Gemma as I already have my hands full with Sky and Reba, and also she is such a gorgeous girl with so much to offer. I was thrilled when I was contacted by a couple that wanted to purchase both Gemma and Dawn! I am so happy that they were able to stay together and that Gemma didn't have to go off to her new life all by herself.

The new owners are really nice and I believe they love the girls as much as I do. Dawn and Gemma had started growing their thick winter coats getting ready for a Montana winter, but I told them to slow down on that and wait a bit. They are now living in Arizona, and I don't think they'll need much winter furr down there.

After that, there was just one more migration to get taken care of.  It involved a lot of early EARLY  mornings,

2 vehicles, and lots of miles. I drove the pickup and Malcolm drove the big truck. The girls generally road with me. We started out with everyone in the pickup with me.

Some "people" are good pickup travelers.

Some...not so much.

So there we were, going back and forth across the country. Montana to Tennessee...

...and back....

...and forth...

...and back...

...and forth...

..and back...

...and finally I'd had all I could take of Carlie Jean. So she got the boot and had to ride in the Peterbuilt with Malcolm.

After that, we were able to lay back, relax, and enjoy the ride.

All those crazy Carlie Jean pictures are actually from the first three hours of our first trip. Which should be enough explanation as to why I kicked her out into the Peterbuilt. I thought I was going to go crazy. Apparently our Carlie Jean, the big truckin' dog, is not so much of a little truckin' dog. It was a lot quieter once she was moved, but really not that much more pleasant.

It was tiring and long and tedious because it was the same trip, same scenery, and driving a pickup is actually a lot more tiring than driving the big truck. Can't explain why. It just is.

It took three trips.
Trip one was pickup and Peterbuilt and then the Pete stayed in TN and the pickup went back to MT.
Trip two I hauled the horses down with the pickup while Malcolm took the Kenworth down with the hopper. Our broker actually got us loaded for that one, so we got paid to move our stuff more or less.
Malcolm got there a day after me and the horses, but all ran smoothly and we didn't have any problems. The horses were relieved to get off the trailer and their eyes about popped out of their heads when they saw all that green grass. I don't think they came up for air for at least three days!

Ok, so I'm exagerating a bit. We kept them in stalls for the first night with hay, and then the next few days we kept them in a corral while they recovered from their long ride and adjusted to the new surroundings. And then we let them have the run of the pasture. They are now settled in, quite content, and making friends with all the neighbors. They are quite popular, which works great all the way around. All our neighbors enjoy visiting with them, the horses get lots of attention and treats, and we know we have a number of people keeping an eye on them while we are away from home!

Back to migrating:

Then there was trip three. We had moved the trucking business and our horses and tractor, but we still had to go back for our household things. We also needed to haul a couple more things with our pickup. But why drive two vehicles back empty. So, Malcolm, ingenios problem solver that he is....

...figured out how to save fuel costs on that return trip.

We loaded up in some cold windy weather, turned around, and got back to balmy Tennessee. We decided to take a couple weeks to unload, unpack, and do some relaxing before we hit the road again.

That couple of weeks is up now and we're loading this morning. Time to get back to work. We got nearly everything in the house unpacked and put into place in our new home. It's a good feeling. We got started on putting Malcolm's shop things away too, and will work some more on that when we come home for our next break.

We had not expected to be leaving Montana. It's amazing how much the road of life can turn so drastically in such a short amount of time. But we've landed solidly on both feet in a wonderful place, where we're surrounded by lots of family and have already had encounters where we've been able to get reaquainted with old friends and already began to form the bonds for new friendships. We love our new home, and are excited about our life here in my sweet home state of Tennessee!

A Fair Time

We've been home for a couple weeks. It's been nice to be off the road.

We've both been staying busy with home and trucking chores, but despite the work, it's still been a fair time.

A few of the things we've been up to:

Aren't these gorgeous? Makes me think of Christmas. Know what they are?

They are called Buffalo Berries and Malcolm and I went and picked a couple of quarts. That's all we got because we weren't sure we'd even like the jelly, plus the bushes have some lethal thorns and we got tired of being pricked and scratched up. But it turns out I LOVE the way the jelly tastes! Strange berries! When you boil them and then squeeze out the juice, you get a bowl of milky white liquid that smells kind of odd. But then you add sugar and cook it and it turns a pretty shade of orangy pink and taste sweet and tart. I spent an afternoon in the kitchen and ended up with three pretty jars....

...of very runny jelly, even after a second round in the pot and adding more fruit pectin. Oh well. It was fun making it, even if it is too runny (even for syrup).

I also spent a couple afternoons working on a quilting project, trying to rebuild my confidence to attack the Civil War quilt again. I've been wary of triangles and piece work ever since my catastrophe with that one block, over a year ago, and haven't touched it sense. But I felt like working on something so I pulled out a table runner pattern that I'd been collecting fabrics for and decided to give it a whirl. It was fun, and easy, and my corners don't meet up perfectly in a couple places, but it still turned out pretty good. I have a little more confidence now. It helped that my mother-in-law loaned me her sewing machine, which is better than mine. I think I might need an upgrade.

I've spent a lot of time in the kitchen these past couple weeks. We've been eating pretty good, and I've had fun cooking. I went through my cabinets and freezer and listed all the things I had on hand because some of my stock needs to be used. I figured out some menu plans that I had everything for (only needed a handful of ingredients from the store to make it all work). Some things were just so-so, and some was really good. These mashed potato patties were one of the good things.

I've been missing my family and old home in Tennessee a lot lately, so I've been going for comfort food that reminds me of home there. One of the things I've learned to enjoy a lot is some tea my mom starting making a couple years ago and I enjoyed it so much I started making it at home. I make a pitcher of green tea, and throw in a couple tea bags of some flavored black tea. My current favorite is blackberry sage. I like it unsweetened, but I also like to add a half cup of honey (I make 2 quarts of tea) to it to give it just a bit of sweetness, and the honey compliments the blackberry nicely. It's cool and refreshing.

While I've been doing all this, Malcolm was helping with haying and then went to work on the truck. The truck needed a better radiator because it was having trouble staying cool. So we put the new radiator in and he's done some other things too. Also been at work on our two trailers that needed some work. Just like in any business, our equipment is in constant need of maintenance and such. Wish it didn't take up so much of his time, but I'm glad he enjoys mechanic work so much. It's a good thing. I've been helping him a lot this last week on his jobs, and took on a project all by myself. I disassembled the old radiator so we could take it in for scrap. You get more credit if they are already disassembled.

Work, work, work, and stressing a bit over the gray truck. It's been on the lot in Billings trying to find a new owner. We were a little bit on pins and needles because the payoff was coming up fast and we didn't want to have to make it. So we were just beside ourselves when we got a call Thursday and the dealership informed us that the truck was sold! ONE day before the payout was going to have to be sent in! Talk about cutting it close, but we're not complaining!

To celebrate, we went to town on Friday and visited the Fallon County Fair! OK, I was celebrating and Malcolm was indulging me. He's not a big fair kind of guy, but he is good about taking me and enjoying it with me.

We went to the fair last year, on Sunday, for the rodeo, but at that point, being the last day, most people had packed up their exhibits and gone home, so I wanted to make sure I got in to see them this year.

The Fallon County Fair is not big by some standards, but it's a nice fair. The advantage of not being huge is that you don't get jostled around by a lot of people, and yet it's still big enough to draw in some nice performers and stuff. We were there at lunch time on Friday so it wasn't very crowded at all. Perfect conditions for me!
First stop, LUNCH! Fair food around here means these really yummy Indian Tacos...

...but I didn't think I could eat a whole one at the time, so I had a Spartan Taco, which is basically a taco in a Doritos bag...with the Doritos. Yum!

Then it was on to the exhibit hall to see what people had brought in.

They had brought in a lot of stuff! There was quite a variety of things! I enjoyed seeing all the vegetables from area gardens.

And of course I was drawn to all the flowers.

 This was my favorite arrangement. I thought it was very creative, bright, and cheerful!

Quilts! You'd never guess I'd have found my way to this corner, would you?

After the exhibit hall, it was on to the building with the animals. And on the way, we paused to look over the machinery they had on display.

I never get tired of the farm animals! The sounds, the sights, even the smells, which I know many people find unappealing. But I've never minded the odor of cattle and horses, and just farm smells in general.

The goats drew me in first, not just because they were the first group we came across, but because they are goats and they just have a way of demanding attention.

Goats never fail to entertain me...and make Malcolm groan. I think he dreads the day I get mine...

 as he frequently points out goats along the roadside that have escaped their confines, and others who are standing on things they probably shouldn't be (like cars).

But he does this with a smile and a laugh in his voice, so I know he's not going to deny me the fun of having a couple of dairy goats when the time comes.

Malcolm is always drawn to the sheep. He harbors a deep love for sheep, and often tells stories of long cold nights in the lambing barn, or makes references to one sheep related adventure or another.

 He spent quite a bit of time admiring the sheep, and talking to different ones, and judging their personalities by their reaction to having a visitor.

 A quick glance at the pigs....

...and then it was on to poultry!!!

 Quite a variety of chickens, ducks, and rabbits. It was fun to walk through and see them all. And then we ran across these three geese who were taking a nap, balanced on one foot and with their heads tucked in. So peaceful...

...until we arrived. Malcolm was saying something about how geese don't like him, and as we paused by their cage, the front one suddenly looked up at him, and the next thing we knew, the three were raising cane and making the biggest racket, I'm sure everyone in the building thought we'd done something to them!

After that, we were pretty much done. We'd seen some neat things, run into some people we knew, and had a good time. But it was time to say goodbye to the fair for another year...

...and head home to do some more chores, like laundry!

Today and tomorrow is "gather things together and pack the truck" time because we're hitting the road again Monday morning. We've been home two weeks, but it feels like longer than that. I feel like it's been a good long break, and I'm actually looking forward to going back to work. I feel rejuvenated and ready to tackle the road and go back with a force and drive hard and make money! Hope it works that way!

I've neglected reading blogs while I was home and I just discovered this morning that a friend of mine is doing a giveaway, and it's a pretty neat one! It's her blog anniversary and to celebrate she's got a pretty nifty little package put together. All that's required is a comment, but I thought I'd go ahead and share it, even though it means more competition for me. You can check out the possibilities at A Life on Dreams and a Prayer.