NEW YEAR

We are now into January and it's exciting to be say, "We'll be retiring next year"; granted, it's November of next year but still...

Christmas 2014 has come and gone, decorations have been sorted and packed up, so now time to start thinking of my April trip. This will be my third April trip since we bought the house in August of 2012 and once again, I will load up the conversion van to overflowing and begin the LONG 1,800+ mile trip! I will take up some furniture, books and most, if not all of my crafting supplies. I've not had much opportunity to do my scrapbooking lately so I will go ahead and transition stuff up there. They will be stored off to the side until the workshop over the garage is remodeled the summer after we make our final move, transforming it into my studio. If money were no object, I would have loved to remodel the space over the garage into guest quarters, a sort of "bunkhouse"; but plumbing alone would have been a huge cost. I can't say I'm all that disappointed since I will have my very own creative space to feed my soul. While it's still two years off until it's remodeled, I've been pouring over ideas and doing some day dreaming...

The view from the driveway

These are the stairs leading up to my future "playroom"

Standing in the doorway and looking down the length of the room, window faces the driveway. The room measure 12x28 so I will have a great work area.

Standing at the opposite end of the room, looking back towards the door.

Last month, I went to the Square in McKinney, Texas about an hour's drive from here to have lunch with my best friend and to enjoy the Christmas decor. I stopped at an antique store where I struck up a conversation with the owner and we chatted about mounted animal heads, the Montana house and so forth. This shop was the kind we really like, a little bit of everything so you never know what kind of a treasure is awaiting you! (Unlike some of those foo foo ones where you look at the window and quickly deduce that this will not have anything of interest!) I wandered up the stairs and saw a beautiful antique vanity, really well built, in great shape and at a reasonable price. I've been wanting an antique vanity to use since the upstairs bathroom only has one sink and I am spoiled with having my own space. I mentioned it to Dave later that evening but never said anything more.

A few days later I told him that I might have to go back to that shop after the first of the year and see if it's still there. To which he responded, "Why don't we go this morning?" I was kind of stunned to be honest! I mean, it was not only a Saturday, but the Saturday BEFORE Christmas! We arrived at the shop and this time the owners husband was there; when Dave saw it upstairs he could tell why I had admired it. The owner came up and told us that it was from the Crouch Estate (a lot of McKinney history which I have researched) and they had bought the contents of the estate, including the chest, bed and nightstand. We turned around and when Dave saw the chest, HE was sold on it!!

These beautiful pieces were made for this lady when she was a young girl by her grandfather, who was a McKinney furniture maker. The contents of the estate were up for sale when this lady, now in her 90's, was moved into Assisted Living. While it's a bit sad, these pieces will be taken care of and cherished. If we hadn't already furnished the guest bedroom, we would have considered adding the bed and nightstand.

Dave and I went last weekend to McKinney and brought them home whereupon, I cleaned and conditioned them and will haul them up in April to the house. I love antiques but I also enjoy a personal connection. I will probably contact the Historical Society in McKinney to see if there are any photos of this lady when she was younger so I can put it with all of the information I have already discovered...

CHINA HUTCH AND BUFFET

Our latest trip to the Mountainview Hideaway was another success. We had guests stay with us, received our log china hutch, hosted another "dinner party", got work done, made flooring decisions and we even played a little! In August, I wrote how Dave and I took a road trip adventure up to Glenpool, OK and met Jason Hunt of JHE Log Furniture. At that time, we ordered the new china hutch for the dining room. We have been so pleased with the furniture that we have gotten from them that I'm a bit saddened to know that we only have maybe one or two more small purchases from them down the road.

Dave's brother Trace and his wife Pam visited us during our first week and we were grateful for all of the work they helped us with! The new hutch was delivered on October 13th and surprisingly, despite its size and weight, everything went smoothly! We used our heavy duty furniture dolly to get it onto the porch and then after the packing was removed, we put it on furniture coasters and slid it into position!

I had went home to St Louis for a visit right before our Montana trip and I brought back a couple of things that had belonged to my Mom. The carved stag candelabra was a fixture in our home from my earliest memories. My Mom brought it from Germany with her when she came to the United States after marrying my father. Who would've known that when she brought it over, it would fit so fabulously in our rustic home!? I used furniture oil on it and now it has a really nice shine to it. I added the green tapers and it's a perfect fit on the new hutch! I placed some of my Mom's green glass treasures in the hutch portion along with some other sentimental things that came from Germany. For many reasons now, whenever I see this hutch, I automatically think of my Mom and my Pop!

It's exciting to see how in two years time, this dining room underwent a MAJOR transformation!! We couldn't be more thrilled with the end result!

From this:

To this!

Another view of our remodeled dining room!

SOON AND VERY SOON

It's hard to believe that in just fifteen more days, Dave and I are bound for the Mountainview Hideaway once more. We are driving straight through to Yellowstone and will spend a day there, seeing Charlie who will soon be wrapping up his work tenure. I am bringing up a cookie cake for him so we can celebrate his birthday that evening. The next morning, Dave and I will hit the road early and drive the last * four hundred miles to the house. Once Charlie and his friend Sean check out from Yellowstone, they will join us at the house. I plan on having them break down the fence I toppled over on our last visit so we can either haul it to the landfill or maybe have a bonfire one evening. We will have them do a bit of staining on the house as well.

From the very beginning when we knew without a shadow of a doubt that God had blessed us with our home, we wanted to use the house as a blessing to others. So much of the guest bedroom remodeling project was done with our future guests in mind. I have joked that we will be like a Bed and Breakfast, pampering visitors and playing tour guide. Dave's younger brother Trace and his wife Pam are joining us during our first week up at the Hideaway and we will play hosts as well as task masters since they are willing to help do a little work with us. It won't be all work, there will be some play time as well.

The new china hutch should arrive during the first few days at the house so I have been gathering a few special items to take up with us that I can store inside. We are driving our car and not the van so it's a much smaller load we'll be taking, unlike my April trips where the van is overflowing with boxes and smaller furniture items. We will take up the wood blinds I ordered for the library window and I might be able to bring up a box of books. Other projects besides staining the house will be cleaning and staining the back concrete patio off the french doors in the family room and possibly working on interior doors.

Our contractor just finished a structural project for us on the detached garage. It doesn't have the "WOW FACTOR" that room remodeling transformations do but it was something that needed to be addressed. This past winter with the heavier than normal snowfall caused ice dams near the garage's foundation, resulting in bulging and bowing. The last thing we want is to lose our garage when it could have been prevented. Once again the previous owners and their quirky way of doing things had to be corrected. Our contractor dug down next to the foundation and reinforced it with rebar and concrete.

He also added a drain tile to divert water away from the garage and reinforced the support posts for the stairs leading up to the workshop over the garage, this will eventually be my work studio.

We will also be applying new stain to these garage steps and supports in order to make them last as long as possible. We have already picked up the BEHR DECK OVER products we intend to use.

Our Contractor will start our next interior project this winter. We are having new hardwood floors laid in the upstairs master bedroom, adding trim work (baseboards and crown molding) and having a new door and frame installed. We have already painted the walls but we need to consult with him on my closet which is lacking doors and a practical layout for storage. The first step however is that he will lift the support beam downstairs in the kitchen/dining room which is directly underneath in order to level the bedroom floor.

(Painting the master bedroom, September 2013.)

(My unfinished closet.)

(Looking at Dave's closet from the doorway.)

(Looking towards the balcony room from the doorway.)

(From the master bedroom looking toward the smaller room which holds my closet.)

ALL WORK AND NO PLAY...AVALANCHE LAKE AND ROCKWELL FALLS

We enjoyed two other hikes while we were on our latest trip up to the Hideaway. Avalanche Lake is an easier hike, six miles round trip and is a popular spot. The trail begins at "The Trail Of The Cedars" which is a wheelchair accessible, self-guided nature trail and then branches off once the boardwalk ends.

Dave photographing Avalanche Gorge and spider webs.

The hike is mostly through wooded areas, then opens up into this bowl. We realized that the best time to photograph Avalanche Lake is later in the afternoon otherwise it gets bleached out.

As we approached the lake from the trail, there was a black bear nearby. Someone in the group ahead had discharged some bear spray because the effects were still lingering in the air when I saw the bear; suddenly my throat was burning and dry and my nose started running. I've never had to discharge my bear spray but we plan to practice, using our expired canisters. Now I know why that stuff is so effective!!Dave and I hiked down a little ways, past the people who were hanging near the trail

Hiking back out, past Avalanche Gorge, one of my favorite shots!

A couple of days later, we hiked to Rockwell Falls which is in the Two Medicine area of Glacier National Park. Crossing the suspension bridge and photographing the vast amounts of wildflowers!.

The falls is a nice place to stop and soak in the quiet around you!

We left Rockwell Falls after an hour and made our way back. With only a mile left to hike, we ran across this gentleman...

How cool is that!?

ALL WORK AND NO PLAY...MANY GLACIER HOTEL AND ICEBERG LAKE HIKE

One of my favorite hikes inside Glacier National Park is the hike to Iceberg Lake which starts in the Many Glacier area. While the Mountainview Hideaway is only eleven miles from the West Entrance, it takes over 2.5 hours to drive the "Going To The Sun Road" to the East Entrance and up to the Trailhead in Many Glacier. We like to be out on the trails by 7 AM so that translates to the alarm clock going off way too EARLY for my taste! We made the decision to spend two nights at the Many Glacier Hotel, which has the most magnificent setting of all the National Park Lodges that we have stayed at! In 2015 the hotel will be celebrating its centennial and they completed all of their renovations within the last couple of years in preparation for it.

Moose in Swiftcurrent Lake looking towards the Many Glacier Hotel.

Amazing views, looking west from the Many Glacier Hotel!

Before getting an early start on the trail up to Iceberg Lake, almost a ten mile day hike, round trip, we spotted this Bull Moose feeding next to the hotel.

Grouse hen with her chick.

There are a lot of grizzly bears and black bears in the Many Glacier area and it's not unusual to see one fairly close to the trail; but seeing this young, brown-colored, black bear actually ON the trail, that was a first!!

The Iceberg Lake hike is a pretty popular one so we do tend to see other people but going really early in the morning, weeds out some of the people; they are hiking in as we are hiking out...

When we arrive at Iceberg Lake, which had the most ice we've ever seen in all of our hikes, we usually take a nice hour long break, soaking up the views, photographing, having a snack and enjoying the entertainment provided by other people!

Dave thought he could stand on the ice sheets as well but had to content himself with standing in the freezing cold lake!

After a long day of hiking, there's something about eating a big huckleberry ice cream cone and soaking in the tub. Then it's off to a nice dinner in the dining room and a little game of Yahtzee...

Watching the sun go down and saying goodbye to another day in paradise...