Category: THOUGHTS

Charleston Photo: WHAT’S THAT SMELL? Whew!

On By Barbara StroudIn HOME, THOUGHTS2 Comments

Wisteria, Charleston SC

On my daily walk along the greenway in Charleston, SC I could see the wisteria beginning to bloom… no scent… yet. Then one morning on our walk we could smell it. There is no mistaking the scent of Wisteria, it’s heavenly. Especially when it’s all the way down a stretch of our walking path. What a nice spring treat! Smells nice and is beautiful with its pops of lavender peeking through the green vegetation… Oh, I love spring!

I have company in town, so I will get back to normal posting next week! Enjoy your day and I’ll catch you back here tomorrow!

Chicken Coops & How To Raise Chickens – THE Hot Thing…

On By Barbara StroudIn THOUGHTS7 Comments
BriarExtendedChickenCoop WmSonoma

Briar Extended Chicken Coop and Run / Image: Williams-Sonoma

Who knew that raising chickens would be the hot new thing? Well, it is. First you need to check to see if it’s OK to raise chickens where you live. If it is… they say before the chicken OR the egg is the COOP! You know raising chickens is the hot trend if Williams-Sonoma is now selling the coops! These are sweet. I would love this green one. Throw a chicken in it and it’s a deal breaker… the fear of having my hand pecked for reaching in to steal an egg is more than I would bargain for… (do you know a healthy chicken will lay one egg a day?) – I think I found us a retirement job! Fred wants chickens. I don’t… BUT, I want Fred to be happy ;) so we can get a cool coop, he can have his chickens (away from the house) and I will put them in pretty cartons and sell them!

WmSonomaChickenCoop2 ws

This one is cool for whoever has to be the one to go get the eggs… you don’t even have to bend down!

And even Moser Design Group (who comes up with many of those awesome house plans I feature) has a chicken coop. HOT I’m telling ya!

ChickenCoop at CarltonLanding MoserDesignGroup MDGfb

{Image: from Moser Design Group Facebook, who received their image from Carlton Landing folks from Eufaula, OK}

I found a cool bit of info from Williams-Sonoma: Learn more about coops, chickens and the benefits of farm-fresh eggs!

Whew, I’m glad we found something to do when we retire. I’m pumped! Lots to think about, hee hee… Gotta run, I have big plans to make!

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Hiking the Appalachian Trail… do you know what a JUJU is?

On By Barbara StroudIn THOUGHTS, TRAVEL4 Comments

Jessie An Extraordinary Hike

An image from Jessie Campbell’s blog “AN EXTRAORDINARY HIKE“

Jessie Campbell, this former Monhegan one-room school house teacher is currently hiking the Appalachian Trail (AT). WHAT??!! I know! Holy Cow!

We ran across Jessie’s blog and have been addicted to it ever since. Jessie is a gutsy girl who has done lots of research to determine exactly what to pack, how much weight to carry, etc. Her story is fascinating. Her blog has lots of photos and videos, she talks about the different people that she meets along the way. And let me tell you…. this has restored my faith in humanity. People ARE good. You wouldn’t believe it! I highly encourage you to check it out, I think you will quickly become as addicted to this blog as I am! This is a serious exercise in patience, strength and faith for sure! This is a six month adventure. Can you imagine??

Jessie frozen hair

Another photo from Jessie’s blog… these aren’t easy conditions that she’s hiking in… I mean LOOK AT HER HAIR… IT’S FROZEN! She has run into some cool people that are so wonderful! Check it out!

Hey, before Jessie left, she asked if people would send a JUJU… (this is so neat, JUJU is a gypsie or jungle word for LUCK or MAGIC) – If you could write Jessie an email (islandteach@gmail.com) filled with words of encouragement, support, jokes or a simple YOU CAN DO IT. She says to feel free to include photos, song files or anything that would lift her spirits in case of bad weather, blisters or whatever else may come up in this six month period. In the SUBJECT line of your email put AT JUJU (Appalachian Trail Juju).

Then simply type your words of encouragement and/or attach anything that you think may help. She’ll save these AT JUJU email’s for when she really needs them. Talk about words of encouragement! This is so cool and only takes you a minute. Also, if you include your address she’ll send you a postcard and let you know how she’s doing! (Read Jessie’s post about JUJU HERE)

Here’s a short blip about Jessie from her blog:

I am a former one-room school house teacher who spent the last five years living ona kick ass island off the coast to Maine. I love my life, my family, my friends… and most of all… my dog. I have been planning this AT hike for the last six years so this adventure will literally be a dream come true and I plan on making the most of it.

Personally, I’m looking forward to the book as well ;) Catch you back here tomorrow!

Dogwood tree’s and Easter… Happy Easter!

On By Barbara StroudIn HOME, THOUGHTS2 Comments

dogwood

HAPPY EASTER to you!

I thought this photo was fitting for today… it’s the dogwood tree in our front yard, here’s a little blip I found interesting (from a past post):

Many Christians consider the flowering dogwood’s showy cross-like inflorescences (“flowers”) to be religious symbols, due to their four white petal-like bracts bearing red dots on their tips; these trees are often in flower during the springtime Easter season in the Northern Hemisphere. Christian tradition claims the dogwood as the tree used to make the cross on which Jesus was crucified, and further, that dogwoods grew taller and broader until the 1st Century AD, making them suitable for use as crosses. In response to Jesus’s death on one, God permanently stunted the growth of the dogwood species to prevent them ever again being used for the same purpose. Today, very few dogwood specimens would provide sufficient wood to manufacture a cross by the primitive means of the 1st Century AD.

single dogwood

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Meeting for coffee…

On By Barbara StroudIn HOME, THOUGHTS2 Comments

Kate!

Meet my new friend and fellow blogger, Kate Mura. Kate has an interesting daily photo blog (it’s not easy to post something daily!), VISUAL ST. PAUL, check it out if you get a moment!

What a nice lady! We met at Cafe Medley on Sullivan’s Island. What a cool place! Hint, hint… GREAT coffee! They had some good looking food, bottles of wine, all kinds of delicious treats! I see a future post for sure! Fred and I will have to go back in the name of research ;)

Kate is cool. She is so interesting and full of wise words. I hope that I’ll be like that one day! It was nice to meet you Kate! I look forward to meeting you again next time you’re in Charleston!!

Kate and Barbara

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Introducing House Plan Thursday! Cottage of the Year (SL 593) by Moser Design Group for Southern Living!

On By Barbara StroudIn HOME, House Plans, THOUGHTS4 Comments
CoastalLvngHousePLans-593
Cottage of the Year (SL593) | Moser Design Group

House Plans. Fred and I have looked at house plans since we first met. Matter-of-fact one of our first dates was a home tour… we’ve always loved design, furniture, and great homes… Fred has safely tucked away so many wonderful house plans that it boggles the mind. Our affinity for house plans is the reason I’ve decided to make a weekly post dedicated to house plans… I might as well pass along the oh-so-great-ones to you, right?

Continue reading “Introducing House Plan Thursday! Cottage of the Year (SL 593) by Moser Design Group for Southern Living!” →

Yesterday the preview… today the GOLOGIC 1,000 sq ft awesome floor plan, photos included…

On By Barbara StroudIn HOME, House Plans, Maine, THOUGHTS10 Comments
GOLOGIC.US house plan, one story house plan, porch with front door on left side, three windows together in the center, cedar look siding, trees

Are you looking for a gorgeous, well built home that has a passive home design? This is a home that has the ability to make your heating bills = zero. Net zero. Can you imagine? Exciting information below with links to more info!

Continue reading “Yesterday the preview… today the GOLOGIC 1,000 sq ft awesome floor plan, photos included…” →

GOLOGIC 1,000 sq ft plan, too cute!

On By Barbara StroudIn HOME, House Plans, THOUGHTS8 Comments

This post is from GOLOGIC Homes blog (click HERE)… what great design vision and thought for the environment. These plans are amazing! So sharp!

Build Like This: A Simple Approach to Building a Super-efficient House

by GOLOGIC HOMES
Mar 5, 2013

This month GO Logic is featured on the cover of Fine Homebuilding Magazine’s special winter issue focusing on Energy Smart Homes.

GO Logic’s 1,000-square foot, one-bedroom, two-bath residence, House on a Knoll, in Bath, Maine – completed back in 2011 – was among the homes featured in the publication.

The article discusses six key elements to building a super-efficient home: insulation, ventilation, windows, air-sealing, thermal bridging, and thermal mass.

The highlighted pre-designed home demonstrates how this approach toward high performance works hand-in-hand with comfort, flexibility and aesthetics at a low cost.

To read the entire article, check out Fine Homebuilding Magazine’s Winter special issue on Energy-Smart Homes, or get a preview of the article here.

Photos courtesy of Brian Vanden Brink.

This post was from the GOLOGIC Homes blog (click HERE)…

FACEBOOK: Who knows about “Other” Messages?? Do you!?

On By Barbara StroudIn THOUGHTS2 Comments

Facebook OTHER messages

Facebook. Ahhhh. Parts of it are to love… reconnecting with old friends, keeping up with artists and their work, hearing about deals at the local store… but THEN there are parts of Facebook that are beyond aggravating… for instance…

I went to send a message to an artist that I had featured. I was not yet “friends” with them on Facebook. I have sent messages via Facebook before to people who were not yet friends, this time it told me there was a $1 charge for the message to be delivered to their INBOX, or I could send the message (free) to the OTHER box.

The OTHER box? Since when? Apparently since a looong time ago! I checked (go to Facebook, click on the little icon for messages (in between the people and the world icons above), then you’ll see it defaults to your INBOX. Click on OTHER. Hmmmm, see some old messages? Perhaps from friends that you would have liked to receive the message from in the first place?

Just know it’s there and check it periodically. Have a tip about Facebook? Let me know!

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Charleston Photo: Boat at Bowens Island… peace…

On By Barbara StroudIn THOUGHTS1 Comment

Boat at Bowen's Island...

What comes to mind when you see this photo? Peace. I think it would be nice to be floating around in a simple boat, with an iced tea, on a sunny day… no worries, just nice day full of calm, quiet, and peace.

Whew, I feel better already!

And if the calm, quiet and peace doesn’t work, you can always shoot for one of Bowens Island Restaurants fabulous dinners… not health food, but I think it’s good for the soul… there isn’t another place quite like it!

Catch you back here tomorrow!