Sally's Place

It is dreary today.  I am not motivated to do anything but curl up on the sofa with a good book and drink lots of hot coffee and tea.  To make the day even more bleak, I saw August: Osage County yesterday.  I won't spoil the movie for the rest of you, but I found no redeeming virtue in the film.  I look for the bright side of life and I am guilty of wearing rose colored glasses, but I found none in this movie.  Every family dysfunction was portrayed in the movie.  The lemonade I guess is that when I compare my family to the movie family, we are all very normal and our dysfunction is minuscule in comparison thank goodness.

I will not start any new projects this week nor will I work on any old projects as I have too many obligations.  I have decided to find refuge at our lake home for a few days, so I am posting before and after pictures of the renovation of the home.  It took us about a year's worth of weekends to complete the renovation (although like any home remodeling, there is always something that needs done.)  Sadly, Texas has been in a three year drought and we are no longer lake side but lake view.  Happily we have wild life regularly, so my visits are rewarded even without the water.

Periodically I will post before and after pictures of the home so I begin with the outside of the property.

This is a view from the deck during a wet summer.  It is green and the temps were normal.

The home had been neglected for years after our mother passed.  Junk (not the good kind) was everywhere and had to be removed.

Many of the trees on the property had died and we would lose many others because of the drought.  It is so hard to cut down trees in this part of Texas as they are few and far between.

Very few structural changes were made to the outside of the home other than paint and a few new doors.  We added the deck a year later to help shade the kitchen after we had to remove trees.  WE have also added a barn to house our boats and other various water crafts as well as much of the left over  supplies from our remodel.  Our son built the swing that reflects his memory of his grandmother who was ever sitting in the swing watching the birds and deer.  Our mother, Sally, is fondly thought of every time we visit, and I have a dedicated corner in the home for her photos.  Small and large mementos of her are seen everywhere in the home.  This is Sally's Place.  I look forward to sharing the rest.