One of the things I enjoy most is working in my back yard garden. I have many dependable perennials that I look forward to each year. Yet I look for change…to add something new.
Last fall I ordered 12 David Austen English Roses in varying shades of pink to be shipped in 2021. This May they arrived all packed together in a box…bare-rooted. Instructions said to soak the rose roots in water for a few hours to re-hydrate them before planting.
I ordered three different shades of pink for my new rose garden…three “Munstead Wood” (deep crimson), three “Princess Anne” (rich pink), and six “Gertrude Jekyll” (bright pink).
Once planted it took awhile for the roses to get growing but I happy to report they are all growing and starting to show some beautiful blooms. It will take a few years for them to grow to their mature sizes and fill their space. In the meantime I added a few pots of annuals to the new rose garden area to add some color and height for this year.
The box containing my order of 12 David Austen roses arriving in mid-MayAll 12 roses packed tight within the box, each with their own identifying tagThe bare rooted roses in pans of water to re-hydrate before plantingI dug holes in advance of the arrival of the roses in the area designated for the new rose gardenA view of the new rose garden just off of my back door patio area along the fenceRoses planted and area mulched…each rose now showing some green leavesAs the summer progressed each rose plant put on more growthA picture of the first bloom on one of the rose plants…“Munstead Wood”Success…green leaves and blooming roses!A more recent view of the rose garden…next year I hope the roses will fill in more
The theme for July at the Sweet Shalom Tea Room was “Tripping on Tea in Toledo”. Here is a quote the owners used in their newsletter about Toledo…
“Toledo is better than exciting, it’s happy. Because nothing is more conductive to unhappiness than taking yourself seriously, and taking yourself seriously is difficult when your baseball team is the Mud Hens.” (P. J. O’Rourke)
Pictorial recap of our July visit at the Sweet Shalom Tea Room…
My place setting with my personalized menu for July’s theme “Tripping on Tea in Toledo”David looking over the menu at our table for two in the gift shop roomFirst course…Cream Scone with Jam and Butter…yum!Second course…Zesty Chicken Salad on Boston LettuceThird course…the beautiful tiered server full of savories and sweetsSavory Onion Tart, Cucumber Tea Sandwiches, Spinach Nibble, Fresh Tomato Tea Sandwich, Honey Nut Bar, Orange Blueberry Crumb MuffinFourth course with finale dessert…Chocolate Mousse
For my May 2021 post of the Sweet Shalom Tea Room I wrote that the dear owners, Chris Kruse and Sara Velasquez, had made the decision to close their tea room by the end of summer after 20 years of business. In their latest and probably last official newsletter they mentioned that “we have made conservatively 96,000 cucumber tea sandwiches and brewed 240,000 cups of tea!” David and I are so grateful to have been able to join them each month over many years to enjoy their gracious hospitality, warm ambiance, tasty food and hot tea.
Here is our June visit…
My place setting with personalized menu…June’s theme was “Celebrating National Iced Tea Month”But I always prefer a hot cup of black tea!Almond Cream Scone (with Almond Ambrosia Cream Spread – not pictured)Summery Spinach Orange SaladTiered server of assorted savories and sweets.Top tier sweets…Wild Blueberry Bars and Pineapple Upside Down CakeLower tier of savories…Pimento Cheese Boats, Teriyaki Chicken Tea Sandwiches, Cucumber Tea Sandwiches, Zucchini PuffsMy plate filled with the tiered server delicacies!Finial dessert…Lemon Ice Box Pie with Strawberries
I am going to devote the next three posts to the Sweet Shalom Tea Room…our visits for May, June and July. Earlier this summer the dear owners of Sweet Shalom Tea Room, Chris Kruse and Sara Velasquez, made the announcement they will be closing their tea room after 20 years of doing their wonderful themed teas by the end of this summer 2021. Reasons given are due to health, age, energy and that it seems to be a good time to put their beautiful tea room house on the market. David and I have so many happy memories with Sweet Shalom…definitely going to miss going to tea there and seeing our special friends. As I put together this post my emotions are weepy.
Here is our May visit…
Our table for two in the gift shop room.The bright and lovely centerpiece.My personalized menu with May’s theme…”In Honor of the Ladies – Our Mothers, Sisters, Aunts, and Daughters”.Warm cream scones with jam and butter.Always a refreshing cup of black tea for me!Broccoli Cheese SoupTiered server of savories and sweets.Egg Salad Tea Sandwich, Cucumber Tea Sandwiches, Veggie Confetti Puff Tea Sandwich, Spring Fruit Salad, Irish Lace CookieDaffodil Cake ParfaitDecadent Chocolate Cream PieThe decorated fireplace mantle in the main parlor room.Seasonal favorites of Harney & Sons Teas decorate the left side of the mantle.A beautiful floral teapot decorates the right side of the mantle.
After the holidays I started to work with a general contractor to figure out what our “new” kitchen would look like, in particular fixing the damaged ceiling. After several weeks of meetings and discussions that continued through the winter, the contractor presented his bid for the whole project.
Unfortunately I felt his bid was too high, especially since I planned to do several of the finishing parts myself…painting, wallpapering, floor and wall tile. So I said “sorry” and we parted our ways.
I will admit I was a bit upset but instead of looking for another company to handle the kitchen re-do I decided to become my own “general contractor” and find professionals who can do the parts David and I can’t. I have the plumbing and electrical covered…and a potential drywaller. Home Depot is handling the cabinets and countertop.
One of the things that seemed daunting even to the original general contractor was the removal of the old built-in wood kitchen cabinets. To vent my frustration over the high bid, I found some tools in our stash (a hammer and bee-hive tool) and started to pry away the overhead cabinets. To my surprise and elation, I was able to break away the cabinets from the wall!!
My hammer and bee hive tool.The overhead cabinets that were located on the right side of the kitchen now removed by me using only two tools!Over head cabinets and the pantry that was in the corner…no more!The cabinets around the refrigerator taken out too!All the cabinet pieces waiting to be taken to the dump!
One of the things I want most is to have the feeling of a bigger kitchen. I can’t expand the square footage without tearing out and moving walls so removing the upper cabinets is my way to achieve a more spacious feeling. I will not be replacing the upper cabinets.
Instead the wall above the counter area will be tiled in a gorgeous “mother-of-pearl” mosaic tile…from the new counter to the new ceiling. On the refrigerator side of the kitchen will be a beautiful and colorful wallpaper. All new lighting will be added…three wall sconces, a pendent light over the sink, and a ceiling track light fixture. Did I tell you…it will be all GLAM!! I have ALL the new decorative details worked out.
I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this wallpaper!!!The “mother-of-pearl” mosaic wall tile…gorgeous!Other design features for the new kitchen – off-white pressed tin ceiling tile, marbled patterned floor tile, off-white lower cabinets, off-white solid surface counter, off-white molding…and glam chrome light fixtures.
I’m working with Home Depot for the lower cabinets and counter. I have ordered these components and the cabinets are expected to be delivered directly to our home in early August. The counter will come later after the cabinets are installed. Here is the computer generated layout of the main wall of the new kitchen that Home Depot created for me. I have penciled in some additional details.
I will keep you posted as things progress with our kitchen re-do!
Before last Christmas I discovered that the kitchen ceiling was starting to change shape…starting to sag and break open!
I added a plastic barrier with duct (duck) tape to contain the kitchen ceiling as best as possible.
First I called my insurance agent who then told me to promptly call in a plumber. Once I settled on a plumber to come see the situation (I had called three plumbing companies but one in particular became my choice), they were there quickly enough.
They proceeded to open up the ceiling to determine the cause of the ceiling change. The problem was a slow leak from one of the hot/cold water lines from the upstairs bathroom which is over the kitchen.
The kitchen ceiling cut open by the plumbers to determine where the leak was coming from.
The house was built in 1942 and still had all of its original plumbing. The old iron pipes, in this case the water lines, were on the brink of total breakdown at any time! As the plumbers worked at taking out the old pipes, the pipes were crumbling in their hands.
The ceiling opened up enough to see the leak coming from the upstairs water lines.
The day the plumbers came to start their work of replacing ALL the water lines throughout the house was a messy day to say the least. The ceiling had to be opened all the way to the walls to access the plumbing.
One of the plumbers cutting open the ceiling to access the plumbing since all the water lines were going to be replaced. The plumbers wrapped the kitchen in plastic sheeting.The ceiling material is not just plain drywall…it is a combination of “cement and metal mesh” materials which were very damaging to the plumber’s cutting tools as they were cutting through the ceiling.
When the work was completed we were left with a very altered kitchen. David and I decided that maybe this was a “good” time to make some changes to the kitchen so I contacted a general contractor to explore the possibilities. But Christmas was approaching and I did not want any more kitchen demolition during the holidays…so things were put on hold until after the holidays.
At what point during this demolition process do you think I started crying?New hot and cold water lines replacing the old iron pipes.
Since we were going to put off any further work to the kitchen until after the holidays, I decided to take off the doors of the upper kitchen cabinets and fill them with Christmas to take my mind off the wrecked ceiling and walls. It was a fun and lovely distraction which I totally enjoyed! It was especially pretty at night with the battery lit candles.
