I am always curious as to why there are times in life where “things” happen in multiples. And not good things. Well, I seem to be in one of those downpours lately. As I mentioned in Saturday’s blog post, the 75 gallon water tank in the basement split and flooded two rooms. A plumber, two helpers and $1200 later, the problem is fixed. But my nice, neat organized basement spaces are in a state of disarray as everything needs to be put back in its place.

Yesterday, I stepped into another flood of water coming from our dishwasher. Yep! All over the hardwood floor in the kitchen. This appliance didn’t drain and I removed a few gallons of standing water with a turkey baster. Sigh.

Last night, my daughter came home from a week at our mountain cabin and let us know the clothes dryer stopped working. The burnt rubber smell part of the story is concerning. Sigh again.

For me, I guess I am a believer of things happening in threes. So hopefully this will be the end of all things breaking down for awhile. But this is the nature of owning an old home, or living in a home for a long time. My guess is that our dishwasher finally needs replacing as does the belt to the clothes dryer at the cabin. Just wish it all didn’t happen at the same time. Cha-ching.

Does this happen to you, too? Do you believe in things happening in threes?

Onto Other Things

On a brighter note, as I am the eternal optimist, it is 62 degrees outside this morning! Whaaat?? A few days ago it was over 100 degrees, however, the forecast for the next few days is perfect Spring weather with highs in the 70s. Crystal clear blue skies, sunny and very cool evenings. Lovely.

We are supposed to head up to the mountains for Memorial Day but I almost don’t want to leave this gorgeous weather. Do you have plans for Memorial Day weekend? I’ve been so distracted with this pandemic it’s hard to believe it is the holiday weekend already.

Update on the Back Staircase Project

We are slowly removing the gross glue and old paint from the stairs. There are some disappointing surprises. One of the treads is broken and one of the risers has been poorly patched. A few setbacks but there are four more steps to uncover so who knows what we will find. Lately, nothing seems to be going as planned.

All Things Peaches

We are still picking peaches off the trees. The peach pie I made is truly one of the first ones that wasn’t swimming in juice with a soggy bottom crust. I blended two recipes~~the all butter crust is from Stella Parks New York Times Bestseller, Bravetart. The filling is from the Country Peach Pie recipe from the Food Network Kitchen. By far, one of the best peach pies yet!

Elisabeth is on a homemade ice cream kick. Last week it was fresh strawberry ice cream.

This week, fresh peach ice cream. With the leftover peach puree from the peach ice cream recipe (yes, we are getting fat over here!), we are enjoying peach margaritas!

Front Porch is Finished!

The new welcome mat from Wayfair arrived yesterday. The mat is 24″ x 36″, substantially larger than the previous one. It is non-slip, made from coconut fibers and is an elegant addition to the spruced up front entry. All for $43.99. This project is finally DONE.

Vegetable Consumption

We are eating so many good things from the garden. This is the first year I planted shishito peppers. Flash frying in hot olive oil, served with salt and a squeeze of lemon, these peppers are just delicious. If you haven’t had these peppers before, check to see if your grocery store carries them. I know Safeway does and this is a very quick, yummy appetizer. Occasionally you may get a hot one, but the all the ones from our garden have a mild flavor.

Artichokes are ready to harvest too. We typically par-boil them, cut them in half and basted them on the grill with olive oil and garlic. The Houston’s Restaurant recipe with remoulade sauce is a family favorite.

Hoping your Wednesday is filled with joy and beautiful weather! Pray that no more appliances break this week!

It has been an interesting week. What started with a lovely, relaxing Mother’s Day and ended with a flooded basement. The good news is the governor’s quarantine is over and life in Arizona is slowly getting back to the new normal.

Garden Update

The garden is abundant with artichokes, eggplant, fennel, cherry tomatoes, shishito peppers and fresh herbs ready to harvest. However, I have a garden mystery and hope someone can help me solve it.

Kale usually does very well here, even during the warmer months. We enjoyed one green and two purple healthy and producing kale plants over the last several months. But last month, my gorgeous kale plants went from this….

To this, literally overnight.

What kind of creature would have done this amount of damage? None of the other plants have been touched, just the kale.

This week, my husband created a fortress around the green kale plant, in hopes it may produce again.

Another, very big and disappointing discovery this week occurred in the bulb garden. You may recall that last fall, I planted hundreds of bulbs and rhizomes. This spring we enjoyed the fruits of my efforts.

During my walkabout, I was shocked and stunned to see that someTHING has stolen/eaten? all my tulip and hyacinth bulbs! There are hundreds of little holes with nothing in them. The bulbs have vanished!

I’ve have never seen anything like this! The irises have not been attacked, I hope, but maybe this critter is eating everything from below ground? Help.

New Projects

Well, this one is not so new, but we are finally making some progress on the back staircase. I posted about this last August (click here), but the project obviously stalled. The sisal carpeting is past its prime and what a dirty and smelly job it is to remove the rug and the excessive amounts of dried glue underneath. Not to mention, possibly old lead paint too.

Using a heat gun to get rid of the glue is nasty business, but the most time consuming part is taking out hundreds of carpet staples. Since I never want to glue down a rug here again, I’m debating what to do. Perhaps just staining and finishing the treads and painting the risers? We still have the final 6 steps to go. Ugh.

So excited about receiving this gorgeous green tile from Home Depot. We will use it as a backsplash behind the outdoor barbecue. It is 9 3/4″ x 9 3/4″ porcelain Monteca Encaustic tile. Quite surprising, but Home Depot has many beautiful tile selections online. Click here for link. It also comes in blue.

It was easy to order online and then curbside pickup at the store. My favorite tile man, Rick, will be doing this project in June for us.

After a rather significant meeting at City Hall yesterday morning, I had hoped to spend Friday afternoon relaxing or painting or just having “me” time. Well, that didn’t last long. While washing the lunch dishes, we suddenly ran out of hot water. Taking my daughter to the basement to show her how to re-light the water heater, we discovered a flood in progress. One of the 75 gallon water heaters split. What a mess!

I am SOOOO happy I cleaned the basement last year (click here to read that post) or this would have been much worse. Fortunately the Christmas room items were off the floor and on shelves so we did avoid a bigger disaster. To see our Christmas room, click here.

We will be spending the weekend cleaning up and replacing the water heater. These are the moments when living in an apartment sounds attractive. Sigh.

Wishing you a stress-less weekend.

After a very stressful week meeting unpleasant deadlines, I jumped at the chance to join my husband in his annual “take the geraniums to the mountain” trip. The high temperatures in Phoenix are distressing the many potted geraniums we have. Each spring we pile them in the back of the pickup and drive them to moderate temperatures for the summer.

We arrived late last night to a cool and windy 65 degrees. This morning, the skies are clear and blue and sunny.

Since we haven’t been here since November today will be cobweb cleaning and opening up all the windows. One of the first things I check is the basket of geraniums hanging outside the front door. A few years back, a momma bird built a nest and has been returning each spring.

Here is a picture of the nest this morning. No eggs, but the photo with eggs was taken at the end of May 2019.

Though it will be a day of chores, there is something cathartic about letting in the fresh air and getting rid of the dust and winter staleness. We will unveil Gandalf, our carved pine tree. The tree died a few years ago and a talented wood carver created our one of a kind yard art piece.

The pear and apple trees have blooms on them~a good sign that we will have fruit again this year. I still find it so strange that we didn’t even know we had a pear tree until last year, as it did not bear fruit for the last 7 years.

As I wrap up the last of my coffee, I hope my stress less vibes reach all of you today! Have a glorious weekend and happy May! If you would like to see more pictures of our cabin, please click here.

Building the Pool House

Welcome to Chapter 4 of The Restoration Chronicles! I love a good Before and After story and we have many of those here at Bella Terra. I hope you have read the previous chapters where construction of the kitchen/basement, back terrace, and master suite additions to our historic 1912 home have started.

Quite frankly, I have no recollection of making the decision that we needed a new building by the pool. But with two toddlers and a baby on the way, there is much during that time that I don’t remember.

However, there was an existing ramada hidden under all the foliage to the west of the pool. Initially we didn’t even know it was there. It was so rotted and overgrown that it had to be demolished.

Working with an experienced architect (Cathy Hayes of Hayes Studios), we designed the building with the same architectural elements as the main house~~green tile roof, window accents, and overhanging eaves. Again, we used Marvin Windows and Ludowici historical roof tile.

Since we already had a guest cottage, the City of Phoenix doesn’t allow you to have additional guest quarters. Therefore, the architect listed the rooms as Game Room, Exercise Room, and Hall with two covered patios. There is a total of 845 livable square feet and 345 square feet of covered patios.

I don’t have any pictures of early construction, but here you can see the pool house prior to stucco and paint. Much of the new construction was occurring simultaneously and I am assuming I was off solving other problems vs. taking photos.

Family Life

In the middle of all of this, we welcomed our third child into the world, a baby girl, Elisabeth! Unfortunately, her clavicle broke during birth, but she’s healthy and has a sweet nature . We are all still living in the double wide trailer. Sigh.

For the most part the pool house has been for guest. But when the children were teens, we splurged and made it their space. It is heavily used when the children come home as it is still a gathering place with their friends.

Pool House Details

There is an outdoor shower, which I just love. There is something about showering outside in the privacy of all the foliage. Plus a great stop to rinse off after swimming in the pool.

Where the “Hall” is located, there is plumbing for a full kitchen if one is required in the future. I put primitive pine cabinets in place for storage and also to hide the plumbing. Hardwood flooring is throughout. The window over the sink overlooks the hen house and garden.

Here is a glimpse of the bedroom. There are two antique beds that can be pushed together for a king-size one if needed. We had the walls faux painted back in the day when that was in style. Not sure if I will re-paint, but I’ve held off doing a detailed post on the interior until I decide.

The bathroom is a good size and has access to the outdoor shower.

Here is the view out of the pool house’s front French doors.

The pool house is the perfect place for our out-of-town guests. It is completely private with a spacious living area to relax. During this quarantine, I may just spend a weekend out there to feel like I am getting away!

I hope you enjoyed the latest edition of our home restoration journey. If you haven’t read the previous chapters of The Restoration Chronicles, click here for Chapter 1; here for Chapter 2 and here for Chapter 3.

My goal this week is to finish some already started projects. I need to have sense of completion……on something!

What projects are you working on? I really miss painting and hope to get some art time in this week too. Have a wonderful Tuesday.

Here are some random thoughts for this beautiful Saturday morning. Yesterday, I completed cleaning the other half of the first floor to the well tower. If you missed Tuesday’s post about the potting shed, click here.

Some fun discoveries in the well tower. I found a box full of old love letters and photos. A lovely trip down memory lane. I often wonder how we will capture the same slices of life with technology? Remember the days when you rushed to the mailbox to see if someone had written to you? Texts and emails don’t seem to hold the same allure.

I also found a batch of mail from November 2015, unopened. Apparently someone picked up the mail from the mailbox, detoured into the well tower and left it there. Fortunately it was mostly junk mail.

An unexpected well tower project

It is true that starting one project inevitably leads to another. During my well tower cleaning yesterday, I found more wreaths. Tired of having wreaths in multiple places (basement, garage, well tower), I gathered a few of them up. Protecting them in big black garbage bags, I made labels for each and hung them on a blank wall in the well tower.

Garden Update

The poppies are EVERYWHERE! During the day, their purple blooms are wide open. I didn’t realize that poppies close their blossoms at night. Wish I knew how to do time-lapsed photography to capture this.

It is a hollyhock jungle out there. These perennials have spread all over the yard and are in various stages of blooming.

Primroses are another perennial that provide such an elegant display of pink happiness.

Preserved Lemons

I’ve made a 2nd batch of these delectable, delicious morsels. We are using them in nearly everything~~from tuna fish salad to roasted vegetables, fish, and pasta dishes. I cannot believe I have gone through most of my life without these. If you haven’t made them yet, please do so. You will not be disappointed and they are super easy to make. Click here for the recipe.

Moving Forward?

I am excited that Arizona may be one of the states in Phase 1 of opening up our economy! My roll of elastic finally arrived so I am well equipped with masks. The best pattern can be found on the YouTube video from Hobby Lobby. This mask fits my face perfectly. I add pipe cleaners in the top seam so you can mold the mask to your face. It is two layers of 100% cotton fabric with a hole in the back to add a filter if necessary. Masks may become common in the future, so I’m happy I have a few to wear, just in case.

Still Washing Windows

Yes, I am still washing windows. My next big challenge is how to wash the windows at the top of the well tower. I will try Windex Outdoor where you attach the cleanser to a garden hose. The directions state you need to be within 5′ to apply it. Perhaps if I hang out of one of the windows and aim the hose at the adjacent ones?

Birthday Gift

My sweet 99-year old aunt (yes, 99!) sent me a check for my birthday. Typically I just deposit something like this, but I decided I wanted to buy something special to remind me of her. My Instagram friend, Tanya Lochridge makes beautiful jewelry. I ordered the bracelet above. I think this is a very nice gift to myself.

To Do List Completion

This week went by so quickly. I almost feel like I did too much. Keeping busy is my way of coping with the lockdown and we accomplished many projects. But I am pooped and hopefully tomorrow, will be my day of rest.

I was so excited to receive this photo from one of my followers. I have rose envy!! Thank you so much for sharing!

Happy Saturday! Enjoy the weekend. Any special plans?

What started out as cleaning the windows to the well tower, turned into a full day of cleaning out the potting shed. The potting shed occupies the first level of the well tower. If you are new to the blog, the well tower is just that, it houses the well, which we re-activated when we restored this property. To see a previous post about the well tower, click here.

In order to get to the windows, however, I came across this mess. Most of it was my fault, as I recently have been searching for paint to do touch up for both the interior and exterior.

I am still trying to understand how things get so messy. But with many people using this space, it becomes a great dumping spot. The good news is I tackled it yesterday and decided to share it with you today.

When we restored the well tower, this was an empty space. An old tub and sink were “leftover” renovation items and we decided to repurpose them here.

This fabulous porcelain cast iron sink is BIG. One side is very deep and the other shallow. It’s a bit banged up but perfect for washing my garden tools and pots.

Leftover tile from Waterworks was used for the countertop and backsplash. The casement windows provide ventilation and a lush, green view right into the hollyhocks.

Washing the exterior window was a bit of a chore as I had to negotiate my way through the hollyhock jungle!

The bathtub is on a raised platform and is used as a dog bathtub. It’s impossible to get Cooper in there, but it is perfect for the smaller dogs.

The curtain panels cover 3 separate storage areas. I’m not wild about how they look but they are a Waverly old rose fabric and serve a purpose. Maybe they need a shorter hem?

One section is where we put all the paint cans. We have a local hazardous waste area where you can take old paint cans annually. This year I am committed to sorting through all these cans, labeling the good paint and tossing the old.

The other sections have numerous pots and gardening items. An old chippy wire basket keeps miscellaneous pots and supplies on the counter. Garden boxes hold seeds that I will need to sort through to see which ones are still viable.

I found these cute French hooks and put them up to hold my gardening bags. This way I can fill them with my tools and head out to the garden.

After removing two huge black garbage bags of trash, the potting shed is clean. I still have the other side to organize as I approach the final window on the first level.

Here is a larger view of the space. The well tower has 2 sets of spiral staircases that lead to the top. I don’t look forward to scrubbing that.

Entry into the well tower is through these gorgeous Dutch doors on the north and south side.

I am hoping to clean the rest of the room today, however, my back is aching.

Are you tackling any big projects during this lockdown? Some days I feel like it and other days, not so much. I don’t know about you but I am really ready for this virus thing to be OVER.

Have a wonderful and productive Tuesday!