Repairing and rebuilding- a new place called home.

When we bought "Carnton Cottage", we had already lived in it for a year, and knew of a few of the
(cosmetic we thought) issues we would need to deal with. It had been a rental for quite a while, and sadly needed some TLC to restore her to her former glory.

First, we built Josh's garage- we missed our large garage we had in WA, and were eager to expand to make it easier for Josh ( and now Rowan) to work on projects- the former working on a car that doesn't want to stay on the road, and the latter on his latest passion, making knives. We also decided it would be beneficial to turn the old garage into a guest suite for visitors.

 More on that later.

Lets start at the beginning--
Our garage addition was meant to take 7-8 weeks to complete. It ended up taking 7 MONTHS and was over budget by 1/4 of original bid. We still need to paint it. All of our work has been inside projects.

it sat like this for months.

permit nightmare.

In July of last year ( on my birthday, no less) after our friends had visited for the weekend, we noticed a wet spot in the ceiling in the kitchen.
We thought for sure it was the plumbing.

Josh ripped out the ceiling.

Happy Birthday!

We tested it, and found that it wasn't the plumbing ( thankful!) but the AC unit hadn't been properly insulated, and the condensation dripped down the duct work and into the ceiling.

Josh spent the hottest day of the year in the attic repairing this.

what a trooper!

Life got busy and we embraced the "industrial" look of the exposed beams until we had the time to put sheetrock back up.
Since it was open,  Josh took the opportunity to plumb for a gas stove, and vent for a range hood over the new stove. Our friends came up from Atlanta for the holiday weekend and helped put sheetrock up. Things were looking like they were moving forward.

Now we're cooking with gas!

Then we discovered a leak in the slab under the powder room. our water bill went from $80 a month to over $200..

Our house is built on a cement slab. Translation- to fix this leak we would need to tear up floor and jackhammer the slab to get to the pipe- which is daisy chained in the slab, and could potentially spring other leaks in the future.
Mr. Plumber came to give us a large estimate- it was better to replumb the entire house than deal with the leak in the slab.

Thankfully we never got around to finishing the ceiling- and it was held up with sheetrocking screws.

after a few youtube videos and surveillance, Josh decided to replumb the house himself.

pex is our friend.

As and added bonus, after him replumbing, we can now run a dishwasher, washing machine, and flush a toilet all at the same time someone is showering- and nobody gets scalded. WIN!

When it was time to put the ceiling back together, Josh found that the water that had leaked from the AC condensation warped the beams. Next step was to jack up the house and add gusseting to support the beams where they should be, and reinstalling the sheetrock.
For Mother's Day I got ceiling tiles- hope my boys can install them in the near future.

jacking up the beams.

I am so thankful that the Lord has blessed Josh with these skills-- we save/saved thousands of dollars by him doing all of these projects by himself, and in the process, wisdom, and patience was gained!

until the next project...

Lost in translation, y'all.

besides the sunshine, one of my favorite things about living in Tennessee are the people.

Never have I met a warmer, friendlier group of folks.


Not a day goes by if you are in public that people walking by will greet you, and ask how you are doing, or if you get far enough into the conversation that you are from out of state, "Have you found a church yet?"

I am a very outgoing, social person, and I love this. However, it did take me a bit to get used to. Someone asks you how you are doing-- are you supposed to answer? Smile and nod?

I love hearing these phrases.

"How are you doin' today?"
"Sugar."
"Y'all."
"All Y'all."
"Fixin."



I meet the most interesting people during these exchanges, and often they turn into actually conversations.

I love these sweet little vignettes with others-- it gives me the feeling of a greater sense of community.

There is an elderly black gentleman that I see in downtown Franklin on a regular basis, that always says "How are ya doin'?" everytime I see him.
His name is Brother Henry. You can read about him, here:

http://www.southernexposuremagazine.com/past_issues/local-folk-brother-henry/article_de411895-7aa5-5998-a619-be7aa3f797b7.html


I enjoy listening to the exchange of pleasantries with locals that know each other-- there is truly an art form to the conversation- it isn't a quick conversation, it rolls melodically through checking on family members, and sharing the latest news. There may even be a "Bless her Heart" thrown in there for good measure.

I have found myself standing on the paint aisle at the store, lollygagging, just to hear two old codgers in overalls shoot the breeze.

I don't hear it on a regular basis, as there are many transplants to the area like us, and even some local friends, theirs is a soft lilting, not as much of a drawl.

Sometimes it throws me off completely, and I am not ready-- I have to pause, and rapidly try and translate in my head what they just said.

We got a new garbage can the other day, and the men that came to give me a new one were so nice, we stood on the curb discussing how "they just don't make things like they used to" and his accent was very thick.

Ricky came to my door to pour cement last summer, he sounded like 'Mater from Cars. Nicest man.  He showed me a video of his young grandson swinging in the backyard.

I get phone calls where I need to ask them to repeat themselves because it isn't clear to me what they are saying.

The Southern drawl isn't always slow-- I can understand the slower speech patterns more easily- even though my West Coast brain wants to finish their sentences for them.



I wonder if they feel the same about me, as we West Coasties talk really fast.....

Sophomore Year and going back.

I have written, rewritten and mulled over this post for months.

So. much. life.

This second year in Tennessee has run the gamut of emotions-

New beginnings and opportunities. Loss. Stress. Growth. Chronic Pain.  Depression. Daily lessons in trusting in the LORD in all things.

We have sadly said goodbye to wonderful new friends, moving away for all the right reasons, large home repairs. Construction. Health issues. Stress. Tears.

Above all, we have been loved on and blessed by the Lord through friends near and far, being the hands and feet of Jesus when we have needed it most. We are so thankful for the Lord's provisions,  including answered and unanswered prayers, even in the tiniest detail. He knows exactly what we NEED at all times, even when He doesn't give us what we think we need in that moment.

Looking forward-

The kids and I are heading back to Seattle for the month of July, Josh will join us near the end.

This will be the first time in 2 years since we have been back. I was back for a couple days in January for my grandmother's passing, but it was such a blip, it didn't really count. I crammed as much LIFE as possible in those few days-it was a whirlwind, but a blessing.

Bedside table flowers and See's chocolates, french press coffee waiting for me in the AM,  Teriyaki delivered late at night, Pike Place Market, Thai Food, connecting with family,  celebrating the life of my sweet Grandma and early morning breakfast dates with precious friends.

I am excited to go back. We have a list of things we want to do and see, planning get togethers with family, friends. Did I mention TERIYAKI?!


while I am away I will miss-

fireflies.
sitting on the front porch with Josh.
cardinals.
the cacophony of bird noises during the day.
the cacophony of bug noises at night.
the summer HEAT.
Franklin.
motorcycle rides on the trace with Josh.
walking the plantation.
my street.
my home.


Even with the challenges and trials we have endured the last two years, we have incredible peace, this is where we belong.
 I can't truly call Seattle "home"since it isn't anymore. Tennessee has my heart.

Bittersweet.

Micah 7:7

But as for me, I will watch expectantly for the LORD; 
  I will wait for the God of my salvation. 

            My God will hear me.

Have you moved away from the home of your youth? How do you feel about your new home vs where you came from? What was your experience the first time going back after moving away? Places change while we are away, how have you changed?

Where are you from?

I get this question often, and I never know quite how to answer.

I just had the privilege to travel to NYC for the first time, meeting my best friends from WA for a fun girls weekend.
As we toured the city, this question was asked of all the tourists "Where are you from?"  I feel torn as to what to answer. Even when I take family/friends places in Tennessee, I am unsure what to say. My girlfriends and family can confidently say "Seattle" or "Washington State".

I live in Tennessee. My drivers license is Tennessee. We are now homeowners in Tennessee. However, we still own a house in Washington as well.
I lived in Washington for 41 years---- so where am I "from"?

I absolutely LOVE the South, and love Tennessee.
 I wish I could be 'Southern', yet I still have this fierce loyalty towards Washington State and the West Coast in general-- there is a tug of war in my heart and mind-- the things and people I miss from the PNW, and the things I adore here in the South, yet I don't feel as if I can identify ( probably not ever) as as Southerner, and I am no longer in the PNW either.

 At what point can I truthfully say "I am from Tennessee?" Almost a year and a half in doesn't seem adequate, as the answer isn't really cut and dried in my mind.

Even though I have no plans to move back to Washington, when I see a WA state plate, my heart leaps, and I want to run over and meet that person-- maybe it is the common bond, a sense of 'home' that I miss- a sense of belonging as I navigate my way through this new life we have created in the South, as I don't feel fully assimilated here.  Even Oregon or California (!?) plates make me nostalgic.

 When I say 'home' people here correct me, because here is now 'home', yet what do I call Washington State where I spent nearly my entire life, where my immediate family, lifelong friends and the bulk of my extended family still reside?

At the Nashville airport, a native ( with a thick accent)  asked me if I was from Atlanta. I told her "no, I live here." yet I still felt the need to add that I am originally from Seattle.

 How do you answer this question?

One Year... plus

So much has happened since my last blog post, ( last year!)  it is hard to wrap my head around what to share.

Beginning about 6 months in,  guests started trickling in-- experiencing their first taste of the South- and of the wonderful state of Tennessee, which we now call home.

From the end of August through a few days before Christmas, our home was a revolving door of  family and friends. We had a wonderful time touring all of the Historic homes in Franklin, trips to downtown Nashville, Main Street Festival, Pumpkinfest and Dickens Christmas in downtown Franklin,  ate plate loads of wonderful Southern foods from places like the Loveless Cafe, Big Shakes Hot Chicken and Fish, Gray's on Main, Pucketts, Acme  and Saffire-- my waistline can tell you!

We also traveled with our guests-- to Chattanooga, TN, and Mammoth Caves, KY.


Some of our guests- 

Grandpa and I had a good time listening to some live tunes at Kimbro's pickin' Parlor

Theresa and I enjoyed the Fall colors both in Franklin and Nashville

3 generations enjoying the Loveless Cafe

Josh completed his first year of working at Lampo- now called Ramsey Solutions, in November-  with the Lords help, he has risen to the challenge and has grown immensely spiritually and professionally as he has navigated this new role. We know more growth is coming, and we welcome your prayers!

The kids have just completed yet another year with Classical Conversations- this year found us with a 7th grader, in the Challenge Program. To say it has been a "challenge" is putting it lightly. The first 6 weeks I was unsure that my firstborn was going to live to see another day let alone year... However, the Lord has been gracious, and we not only survived the first 6 weeks as we got into our 'groove' but He has allowed us to finish strong, and we are very proud of the maturing Rowan has exhibited through this process. Come August is Gavin's turn.... pray for us!

Fall 2014,  @ Carnton Plantation photo by Jerry Smith 

The most significant news we have to share, is that we BOUGHT a HOUSE! And not just any house... the cutest house in Franklin, Tennessee on the prettiest tree lined street...( in my humble opinion!)

we live in Leave it to Beavers house....

This adorable Cape Cod, dubbed "Carnton Cottage" by me, sits on Franklin's historic tree lined "Carnton Lane"-- the original lane that led Andrew Jackson, and other historical characters to the doorsteps of our beautiful neighbor- Carnton Plantation, former home of the Widow of the South, Carrie Winder McGavock and her family, This stately home served as a Civil War Hospital after the battle of Franklin. 

read about Carrie, and her home, here-

http://www.midtneyewitnesses.com/still-standing/franklin/carnton

Our road now dead ends, but we are able to walk down the street, and across Eastern Flank Battlefield Park, to stroll through the plantations beautiful grounds. We love to go for walks, runs, bike rides, and even just sit on the back porch of the plantation, watching fireflies, smelling the fragrant honeysuckle growing wild on the perimeter and rocking in one of the beautiful green rocking chairs on the expansive porch.

We can't imagine a better place to be-- well, except for Josh, who is missing his garage and tools...  However,we just hired a contractor to start building a detached garage in the next few weeks. We are hopeful it will be done before more guests arrive later this summer, but not sure if that will necessarily be the case. 

 The best news of all in all of this, is that we didn't have to move! The Lord provided the perfect house at the perfect time. The Landlords had mentioned they would like to sell, when we moved in February 2014. After living here for a year, we were well acquainted with the 'issues' the house has/had, and were willing to purchase it. Once the time came to negotiate price, it was over very quickly, and we closed on the house a few weeks later. It was a little anti climactic, not needing to get keys/ etc... but I am thankful for all of the Lords provisions and spiritual growth ( Patience, Perseverance!) opportunities this adventure has allowed.

Now we shift to being homeowners instead of tenants, bringing back this little jewel from the neglect she has suffered being a rental for 6 years. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed because there is so much work to be done, but  making lists and working slowly through it, remembering it is OURS now, helps!

Porch project

 I am sure our neighbors are relieved to see we are working on it, but are having to tolerate large piles of branches, many many bags of leaves, and a couple weeks ago, an old dishwasher by the curb.

one of many piles of brush/limbs ready for pick up.. 

Fortunately, Wednesdays are days of magic, as the city of Franklin whisks all of my yard waste, garbage, recycling, and even that dishwasher away lickety split......

18 bags of yardwaste ready to be picked up..

June bugs and Cicadas-- or crazy bugs that live in Tennessee

So, I thought it would be a great idea to take the kids to the Rec Center pool... I had been avoiding going there assuming that it would be super crowded on a hot day.
Well, turns out not to be the case  because
a) there are more sunny days in TN than in WA so the pool isn't as big of a deal, and
b) many people have neighborhood pools, so it was mostly empty.

Most importantly I am thinking-- the lack of people was due to a preponderance of green June beetles, or June bugs. I have never seen these at my house, or anywhere else other than this pool.

At first I thought it was crazy carpenter bees dive-bombing my head, over and over...making a loud buzzing noise. All I could think of  is 'what the heck has come over these bees?! They have never done that before..' Then I got a good look at what it was, and it wasn't a carpenter bee... *shudder*

Rowan getting a little too close for comfort to me with this fellow...

Getting ready to land on Dylan's forehead..

These crazy bugs run into EVERYTHING. Your head. Your ear. Your body. Walls. They get stuck in your hair.  They are the most ridiculous, clumsy beetles I have ever seen.  After running into something, they get stuck on their backs on the ground, only to finally get up and do it all over again, and they are loud! Not only is their buzzing loud, but when they run into things, they do so with a loud "Thwack" or "Ping" depending on what they run into. I hit one with my magazine and it made a loud "ker-ping!" as I batted that thing to far right field.

As the kids were going down the slides, they were swarming around and landing on kids' heads. Dylan was running around trying to catch them and naming them. (of course.) Rowan was trying to fling them on me (I know, shocking) 

Meanwhile, I was doing my own interpretive dance in the sun chair, waving my arms wildly as 2 June bugs and a rogue butterfly carried out their attack.

I have never seen these bugs anywhere but at this pool.  Next time I think I need to bring a tennis racket. PING!

Our next runner up in the creepy bug pageant  is the Cicada. I have never heard this noise before. It sounds almost like a rattle snake in the trees. We first heard it when we went to Atlanta for the 4th of July. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWWyC-7AeDs

They totally creep me out... I haven't seen on yet, but you can hear them in the trees, and if one ever comes near me, it  will be pulverized- YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED CICADAS!

 There are not too many at my house, but there are other places around town that they are more prevalent and noisy. 

 the sounds of crickets complete the sultry Southern summer nights--but we  know why people have screened in porches.... 

SNAKENADO

 Poisonous Snakes. Tornadoes.
These are the two things that concerned me the most  in moving to the South.
In the early weeks, I was pretty paranoid working in the yard, worried there were legions of deadly snakes lurking in every pile of leaves I encountered.
We have been here a few months now, and I haven't seen a single snake. Until now.  I had become rather complacent in working in the yard, weeding, trimming plants and tidying up.

Last week, we had new friends from Lampo over for a BBQ-- I was sitting outside and realized something smelled really bad. First thing I thought of was that the garbage can was open-- it has been warm ( mid to high 80's)  lately, and having the can open could possibly be the issue. It was closed. There was some picnic garbage nearby, which I took care of, and it seemed to be better.
Fast forward about an hour, and while some of us were chatting in the house, Dylan and a friend burst through the door screaming "THERE'S A DEAD SNAKE IN THE BUSHES!" Now, anyone that knows this girl knows that she does tend to step over the 'drama' line just a teensy bit... We kind of poo poo-ed it, but when we went outside, we found this--- a FIVE FOOT LONG DEAD COPPERHEAD SNAKE, that stunk to high heaven.

The next day, while the kids were playing, they watched a man run over a 5 ft long  rat snake with his truck, on our street. It didn't kill it, so it was dispatched with a shovel in the neighbors yard, bagged and chucked in the garbage. We own 2 snakes, so this was disturbing to us. It wasn't poisonous ( like the copperhead) but we are learning that folks in South don't take chances, and it is better to be safe than sorry. We still feel sad, but I am sure with time we will get over it. Last week, a  friend caught a snake eating a bird in their yard, someone else had a snake stuck in their garden netting, and we have seen lots of dead ones on the roads. Apparently it is snake season here in Middle Tennessee.

A few weeks ago, there was some severe weather going through our area. I joined twitter so that I could follow this guy-- @nashseverewx, he also has a website. (www.nashseverewx.com) He lives about a mile away and is an amateur meteorologist, and along with some meteorologist interns do a really good job of tweeting the weather-- down to the neighborhood.
I was a nervous wreck watching the forecast which called for possible Tornadoes, golf ball sized hail, winds, and buckets, no GALLONS of rain.  We didn't get any tornadoes ( Pray for OK, AR, and MS  who are still recovering.) We did get 3 inches of rain in about 2 hours. It. Was. Crazy.  WA rain has nothing on 'Southern Rain'.

People in this area are pretty nonchalant when it comes to the 'severe weather'. Right now we are on 'watch' for severe weather potential tonight/early in the AM. It is likened to storm lottery-- if it happens to land on you, bad, but who knows where it will land. We have had "watches" in the past and had the sun shine all day with nary a cloud in the sky. Today is set to be 90 degrees, with a heat index of 93, but no rain until late tonight.  "Watch" means it may or may not happen.. and "warning"  means it is imminent, or likely to happen and you need to take cover.

The Nashville area sits in a bowl in the middle north of the state. Tennessee is  divided into three regions- West, Middle and East. We live in Middle Tennessee. Tennessee has 95 (!) counties. The weather reports will call watches and warnings by county as storms move through. We live in the CITY of Franklin, but the COUNTY of Williamson.

 this is from www.tnhistoryforkids.com

Here, where Rutherford County meets Coffee County, the Central Basin begins to climb into the Highland Rim.

* Highland Rim and Central Basin.

Middle Tennessee is divided into two regions. The outer ring of Middle Tennessee is called the Highland Rim. It is dominated by rolling hills and valleys. Some of the hills are gradual, while some are quite steep.

The Central Basin is lower than and completely surrounded by the Highland Rim. You might think of the Central Basin as a bowl, surrounded by the Highland Rim.

In this era of the interstate superhighway, it can be hard to distinguish between the Central Basin and the Highland Rim. But it you look for it, you'll notice the change. The next time you ride southeast on Interstate 24 (from Nashville to Chattanooga), notice how flat it is in Rutherford County. But when you get to Coffee County you go slightly uphill for a few miles. That, you see, is where the Central Basin becomes the Highland Rim.

If you look up the elevations of cities that are in the Central Basin and those that are in the Highland Rim, you will notice a slight difference. Nashville (600 feet), Franklin (650 feet) and Murfreesboro (620 feet) are in the Central Basin. Lawrenceburg (900 feet), Manchester (1,060 feet) and Cookeville (1,140 feet) are in the Highland Rim.

West Tennessee's proximity to  the Gulf Coastal States, makes it more susceptible to remnants of tropical storms and hurricanes which collide with the colder air from the North, causing severe weather. Our being in a 'bowl'  protects us somewhat from the more serious weather many times.

It doesn't mean that we wont see any severe weather or Tornadoes in Middle Tennessee, however this information hopefully will ease your minds...