Life at the Little Blue Cottage is a Bowl of Cherries

Well... in a few short weeks things have changed a bit here. We've now purchased the little blue cottage, planted a vegetable garden & flowers and are making it more like a home than a storage unit with rooms.

Buying the cottage & living in the city (where we have to pay utilities) I am now discovering that there are not a lot of jobs out there. I recently interviewed with an employment agency and am encouraged to know that they have lots of job opportunities! I'm hoping & praying that the right job is out there waiting for me!

We'll be going to Colorado sometime in the near future to retrieve items from the cabin & the storage unit we have there and bring them back to the cottage. Some of the stuff we bring back may go on the Memorial Day garage sale. We participated in the MOTHER OF ALL GARAGE SALES that was held at the local Event Center. We sold quite a bit of stuff... unfortunately we bought more stuff from other vendors than we sold... but after bringing home the "leftovers" the garage is still pretty full. Hopefully the Memorial Day sale will empty out a LOT of that stuff.

We're looking forward to cooking out, sitting on the front porch in the mornings & the deck in the evenings, eating fresh veggies from our garden, attending outdoor music festivals & farmers' market.

Changes on the horizon??

This weekend Mr. C. & I put together a "proposal" of sorts that could allow us to purchase the little blue cottage. I called our friend/landlord and laid out the details of the "proposal"... and he said he thought it could work. NOW we have to put it in a contract & set the wheels in motion.

Of course, my decorating wheels have already been in motion - got a list of things I'd like to do to the cottage. We did a bit of window-shopping this weekend... Bed, Bath & Beyond is one of my FAVORTITE places - but only when they have BIG sales! I did get an electric/rechargeable wine bottle opener. Three of my girlfriends have them & they're wonderful - so I just HAD to get one! We looked at bedding & curtains, paint, showers (we have a clawfoot tub), carpet, furniture..... now.... we wait.

Little Blue Cottage

Sometimes when you think you have your life figured out... life changes the plan, the direction you were headed. We, Mr. C. & I, thought we had everything figured out - build an off-grid cabin & retire happily ever after to the mountain. With my father-in-law's health failing we have been discussing the possibility of staying closer to home. We've been renting a little blue cottage that belongs to friends. It's a nice place to come home to when we're not at the cabin - we don't have to stay in a motel (pricey) or shack up with any of the kids (not good for family relations). And - we don't have put the remainder of our furniture & "stuff" in storage (yet another expense).

Our friends/landlords have subtly mentioned that if we were interested in buying the cottage,they'd be happy to sell it to us. Wouldn't that be wonderful? Hmmmm. Our friends/landlords installed laminate floors in the kitchen & bathroom, painted all the rooms (contractor grade white), replaced the bathroom fixtures - restoring the clawfoot bathtub, replaced the kitchen counter & put in new appliances. There are some things that still need to be done, but it's a cute little place with character. It's homey. It's home.


Now... we just have to figure out some creative financing since we've not yet won the Lottery!

Absence makes the heart grow fonder...

Mr. C has been staying with his dad during the week leaving me here to fend for myself. Well... it's not quite that bad. I was telling a girlfriend one night last week that as a 40-something - I have NEVER lived alone. Never paid my own rent or utilities. Never. This, right now, is as close to living alone as I have ever come! Granted, I don't have the responsibility of paying my rent or utilities - but just spending time alone in the house has been kind of an awakening.

On the weekends Mr. C & I go out with friends to a local bar to listen to bands, have some food, maybe a couple drinks & just have a good time. Last Friday one of the couples we hang out with arranged to pick me up & take me with them - Mr. C would meet us there. We ordered our food & talked before the band started... I kept waiting for Mr. C to show up. Finally... I saw him looking in the front window of the bar! My heart skipped a beat! I was at the front door before he got completely in and gave him a big kiss right in front of the bouncer! I told Geno (the bouncer) that I hadn't seen him in a week... to which he replied, he hadn't seen Mr. C in a week either but he wasn't going to kiss him!

Absence does make the heart grow fonder I guess. As we sat at the table we held hands & smooched! We danced. We talked & laughed. I realized at some point, that his was much like dating. The anticipation of his arrival. There was a tingle of excitement holding hands & having his arm around my waist & nuzzling his neck as we danced. Without going into any more detail... you can imagine how the night ended.

We spent Saturday & Sunday catching up on the week's events and did some shopping & spent more time with friends. When he left on Sunday afternoon I was sad to see him leave - but you'd better believe I'm looking forward to Friday night again!

Spring is just around the corner...

.... I just know it!! And I'm ready!! By the weekend we're supposed to have temperatures in the low 50's! My daughter, who lives in North Carolina, is as antsy for spring as I am. She's got bulbs started in pots & has cleared out a space along the side of their home to plant bushes! Lucky her! I'm so jealous!

Here at the little blue cottage, along the backyard fence, there's a row of lilac bushes and the birds have been hanging out there the last couple weeks singing at the tops of their little voices! "Praise God from whom all blessings flow" - that's what I think they sing! A couple days ago there was a black squirrel about 20 feet from my deck - he was as big as a cat!

There are peony pushes along the front fence, a few irises planted near the front septs and a rose bush climbing up the lattice on the porch. I'd like to put another sheet of lattice on the other end of the porch as there's another bush that hangs over the railing. The front flower beds are over-run with weeds so as soon as the snow is gone I'll clean those out... and when we've had our last frost I'd like to put in some Lily of the Valley, fern & hostas - as soon as the "greenhouses" are up at local stores.

Yesterday I brought a couple of the patio chairs and a side table out onto the porch... a hint to Mother Nature that I'M READY to spend some time outside! I didn't bring in the wrought iron hanging basket last fall so it's still hanging on the porch just waiting for a beautiful pot of cascading flowers to be placed in it!



For those of us who are challenged by not having enough room to grow a "proper" garden... I thought this was a neat idea! Wonder if I can talk Mr. C into anything like this?

What do you like about spring?

A little Rest & Relaxation

I miss having Mr. C around... he's been spending weekdays with his dad who is recovering from a stroke. He lives about 90 miles from us. There's really no reason I have to be there other than to keep Mr. C company so I've opted to stay put in the little blue house. I've been quite productive during his time away. Last week at the thrift store I found a sheer leopard print shower curtain that I've repurposed into kitchen curtains. (The counter is a black and tan faux granite so the leopard print is perfect!) I've hung pictures on the walls, moved furniture, put the patio chairs on the front porch (there's still snow on the deck)and cleaned out his office. I have to tell you - I almost felt I'd been violated by the time I got done in there! Yikes! what a mess!!! That's what I get for letting him have a room for his stuff.

So now... it's time for a little R&R for me! Fluffy lavender scented bath towels, candles, some soft relaxing music & long soak in a nice hot bath. Ahhhhhh!

The LOVES of my life

These are the little girls in my life! Hayli - on her first day at pre-school. Kristin - building sand castles. And Madeline - on her first birthday!