An Accidental Arranged Marriage

I have no excuses. School has been out for a week. I have had the time, but I have not used it to blog. I was kind of in decompression mode. Kinda getting back to normal mode. December and May seem to be crazy busy in education. If you have children, you realize that. It is nice to have some time off. I also tell myself each day, "Who really cares if I write this blog or not?" Now I am not saying that to get responses, but I really mean that. So, I talk myself out of writing. Again and again. Now here it is 2 a.m. and I am writing. Go figure.

Today's post involves my hometown of Cleveland (as in Oklahoma, not Ohio).

For years there was an oil refinery just west of town.

It was owned by the Johnson family.

When I was in grade school we moved across town

(you realize this is a small town, so moving "across town" is just another 5 minutes or so)

and our new neighbor across the street was
Mrs. Johnson

of the Johnson Oil Refinery.

She was old. Somewhat frail. And very reclusive.

She hired my brother and I to mow her enormous yard (with out push mower).

She spoke if we spoke to her. 

There seemed to always be an air of mystery about her.

She lived in her big old house alone.

Fast forward 15 or so years and my dad and I were out and about and we came upon a 

Johnson Gasolene

 (yes, that is the correct spelling)

sign and I knew I had to have it.

I had to have that sign despite it was orange in color.

(NOT my favorite color!)

It is a big porcelain sign.

Old school heavy.

For years I have carted this sign around to each of my houses.

It has hung in three different states.

Notice I said 'hung'.

I always hung it somewhere in our previous homes.

In addition, I have moved this round table to each home I have lived in. The table, in its first life, was Early American  maple (??). It was not my style, but I liked the lines, the top spins, (which makes it a great game table),

and it had been my grandparents since I could remember.

Long ago I painted the table black and distressed it....

(much to my mother's chagrin!!!!)

When we moved back to Oklahoma several years ago,

my boys were unloading the U-Hauls ( yes, multiple).

The table was sitting out in the grass waiting for its 

new room assignment.

One of the boys unloaded the sign and just

randomly sat the sign on top of the table.

Oh my gosh.

Why had I never thought of that?

The sign and the table have been married ever since.

I have since painted the table with 

Annie Sloan gray and distressed it again.

I am not sure I will keep it that way.

I might put 

Annie Sloan old white over it.

We'll see.

In the meantime, the old 

Johnson Gasolene sign and my grandparent's table

continue to be happily married.

I mean they should....they fit perfectly together.

(So does that make this an 

arranged marriage....or

a happy accident?)

Every day I see that table I am reminded

of our neighbor,

Mrs. Johnson,

and the scary stories my brother and I were

convinced went on in her house!

By the way,

the sign is a double sided sign....(meaning it is 

exactly the same on the front as it is the back.)

BUT...

the Johnson family sold their refinery to

Kerr-McGee Oil back in the 60's.

So on the other side of the sign you can still see the 

Johnson Gasolene embossing,

but the whole sign has been painted over in gray paint

and it has 

Kerr McGee's blue and yellow logo in the middle.

I guess if I ever hate the orange too much

I can always turn it over and have the 

gray side....

But then I wouldn't think of 

Mrs. Johnson and all those mysterious thoughts!

(Actually, there are enough stories about Mrs. Johnson and her family and 

Kerr McGee and their company to write a book...or make a movie! Wait. Both have been done!! I will have to tell you more about Mrs. Johnson and her family one day.)

Now that I think about it, maybe I should turn off all the lights and see if my sign

"glows" in the dark from its Kerr McGee days!!

Just kidding Kerr McGee...(and Mrs. Johnson)!

Linking to:
Open House Party
WOW Us Wednesday's
Furniture Friday's
Feathered Nest Friday's

Tell All Tuesday--defROCKed

We have lived in our new (old) house for almost a year now. I have tried to figure out if we got more done in a year than we figured we could...or less.  I still haven't decided. I do know that I am not disappointed in what we have accomplished. And I do know that I look forward to turning many, many more of my ideas into reality. It's funny how we made a (giant) list last year when we moved in about things we wanted to do. In our minds we prioritized that (giant) list.  THIS (the picture below) was not on the hard copy list, or the list that runs through my mind!

This is my son Coulter taking the rocks (or boulders) off of our garage.  Here's the deal:  Our house is a big two-story white farmhouse. To the south of us is a small sandstone rock house. To the east of us (we sit on a corner lot) is a small sandstone rock house. The realtor told us that 100 years ago the two rock houses and our house were all part of the same property. We are guessing that hired help lived in the two small rock houses. 

In between the rock house that is behind ours (to the east) is our rock garage. (Pictured above). People always assumed that our garage went with the little rock house, since they were clad in the same sandstone. (Notice we also had a who-know-what-for-rock-halfwall in the middle of the yard as well. That is long gone now too.) 

(Yes, he is trying to poke me with that for taking his picture!) Anyway, one day when we were outside I casually mentioned that Hubster and I had pulled some of the cement out from between the sandstone on the garage and looked to see what was underneath. We found wooden clapboard under the heavy (and huge) sandstone.

The next thing I know my son has a shovel, a sledgehammer, a crowbar, a metal pole and a regular hammer and he is taking down the rock on the garage. I go inside and get the Hubs to get outside before Coulter kills himself hauling the rock. (Look at the size of the rock in the pic above.) So, we are in the midst of a very unplanned renovation. Obviously the garage will have to be power washed and then we will paint it this summer. There will be no mistaking which house it belongs to after that!  And all that rock....(literally TONS of it)...Well it is destined to line flowerbeds, a mini vegie garden and hopefully a (very rustic) flagstone sandstone patio out back.  The big rock above is going to be a bench.....We even found one rock in the shape of Oklahoma! 

This cute little piece will find its way to one of the flower gardens at the front of the house. When Coulter gets on a roll (he rocks and rolls...get it????) there is no stopping him. Sometimes the best laid plans...are interrupted..and rocked!
p.s. The garage really does look so much better defrocked!

Grazing....

One day in the early spring

we were having a 

couple of friends 

over to eat.

 I pulled out the Blue Willow and other blue and white pieces we have collected over the years

to put together a quick welcoming table.

 All the pieces, except for a few Blue Willow pieces have been bought at auctions over the years. The exception to the rule is a stash of Blue Willow my mom bought for me in Europe. (It (obviously!!) is second (or third or fourth!!) hand too, just not purchased at auctions).

 I pulled out yellow place mats and napkins that we received as wedding gifts. That makes them pretty darn close to being antiques! ha!

The blue crystal are wedding gifts as well.

 My Blue Willow is all from different years, eras, and places, which makes it a wonderful blue and white smorgasbord. The big octagon shaped plate is part of an incomplete set we bought at a Kansas auction. We got about 50 pieces for $12. It is one of my favorites! The back of the plate has a picture of Independence Hall and a bunch of stars. It says "Independence Ironstone" by Castleton China....and then Made in Japan!! (What!!!!!!!!!!!!???????????????????????)

 Since it was springtime I pulled out my blue and white new (as in 7 or 8 years ago new) pitcher and filled it with red and yellow tulips for contrast. And since I had the cute pitcher with cows, I added in my own hand-carved (very rustic) cows I bought in Switzerland when I was 17!!

 Isn't this the cutest pitcher? I love the blue and white and cows. The cows had to come home....!

I purchased this at Nell Hill's in Atchison, Kansas.

 I had several squares of the faux grass that I use at Easter (or golf tablescapes...or football tablescapes...or cow tablescapes!), so I put it on the middle of the table for the cows to graze. 

 Since I had out my blue and white, I had to add my blue and white creamer cow to guard the dessert napkins. He was glad to be out of the china hutch too.

Really, a tablescape could not get easier to put together quickly. It was just perfect for a spring afternoon.

I am linking with: Wow Us Wednesday, Tablescape Thursday and Open House Party. 

Tell All Tuesday--The Marathon

Sometime after 2012 was underway (I do not remember the exact day, but I wish I did!) my middle son came home one day and announced that he was going to run the Memorial Marathon.  I acknowledged it by saying something like, "That's great Coulter, but you should really just try for the half marathon."

You know if you have read this blog at all, that through the years I have gone to literally thousands of ballgames for my five children. We are huge proponents of organized extra-curricular activities, but I thought the idea of announcing one was going to run a 26.2 mile marathon a few months before doing so was a little preposterous. Especially since it was Coulter. 

Don't get me wrong. Coulter is an athlete. One look at him and there is no denying that. .....BUT Coulter is a former college football offensive lineman. For those of you that are not sure about what that means, picture the big brutes. The huge ones. The ones that their sole purpose is to protect the quarterback. (i.e. Michael in the Blind Side) Now you're getting the picture, right? Big, huge, strong body. Not the typical long, lean, lithe runners one imagines running marathons.

As the weeks of training went on, I still insisted to Coulter that he should try for the half marathon. I told him that 26.2 miles was WAY too much pounding on his body. I told him his knees and ankles and feet and back would never hold up to the training OR the real race. He kept training.

 I should never have been surprised. Coulter is a determined kid. (He turned 24 the week of the Marathon, does that still qualify him as a kid?) When he was finally through playing football, he took it upon himself to shed his football-bulk. He dieted on his own, the true healthy-eating way and shed 90 pounds. He is still massive, but it is pure muscle. When he was in high school he had his shoulder operated on and during the (very long) operation, something with the anaesthesia went awry and he lost complete hearing in one ear. It damaged the nerves in that ear and he will never be able to hear out of that ear again. While that is tragic for anyone, it happened to be the ear that was closest to the (football) center (the one that hikes the ball to the quarterback), so that Coulter was no longer able to hear the hiking count. That isn't good. Coaches don't tend to like it if the offense jumps before the play begins. So since he could not hear the quarterback barking the hiking count anymore, he taught himself another way to know when to shoot off the line. Clearly, the boy is determined. "Where there's a will there's a way." "You've got to have heart." "It's in your head." All cliche's for Coulter. 

I didn't even mention that during his baseball and football days he (medically) overheated twice. We had to watch him like a hawk for years about overheating. And this spring (so far) in Oklahoma has been very, very summeresque. (Hot and humid). As luck would have it, it was mostly overcast that day and the heat did not set in till the end of his race.

But there he was, six hours after he began, running (yes, still running) across the finish line after 26.2 miles. He had predicted to us that it would take him six hours. Really. Can you imagine running continuously for six straight hours?

Oh my gosh. I thought my heart would melt with pride. 

My sister, who runs the OKC National Memorial, was at the finish line to present him his metal. She was bursting with pride too. One of my daughters, a couple of nephews and a niece have run the half-marathon before, but no one in our family had ever run the full. 

The medical team that waits at the end of the race, iced his joints up. (The very ones I thought would get so pounded.) Other than that, he was fine. 

Pointing at the word FINISHER (not the ice pack!!)

This is just part of the fan club he had waiting for him at the end. In fact, my niece (in the black tee) found him at the 30K (18.5 mile) mark and ran beside him for a couple of miles. He said it was just the encouragement he needed!

After the race, he sat in the swimming pool for a while. He said the cold pool felt great. We then took him out for a late lunch. The next day he had work and semester finals at school. He made it to both. 

It was a wonderful day. 

It has been a week since the race, and I asked him now that he has had a week to reflect if he would do it again next year. I assumed it would be an emphatic NO!!!....

But you've heard that other cliche' before haven't you?  The one about assuming?  Well that one applies as well. Coulter is thinking about doing it all....again!

The phone app that let me keep track of Coulter during the race.

Peak-A-Boo-We See In!!!

I have shown you many times our 

large fireplace and mantel.

 (And just for the record,

YES,

I did spell it wrong again, before I fixed it. 

What is it with me and the word mantel/mantle???)

 It is what you see when you walk in to our front door. OR if you are foot (or trolley) traffic and you (slowly) walk (or ride) by our house. I have explained that we live in a historic district of a historic town. We have lots of traffic. And LOTS of people looking for glimpses into the house. (Admit it, you do that too if you are out and the lights are on, or you can see inside.) 

 We do not mind it, but it certainly keeps us on our toes. The front room is the big living room that we don't use constantly. It is such a big nice room that we will all go in there to sit around and talk, but if someone wants to watch TV, there are other rooms for that. Because of that, this room stays relatively clean. Except for Abe and his constant need to bring in all his toys to put on the rug in front of the fireplace....(in a pile)!

 We have glass front doors, and I try to keep it peekable (new word) if we are home. With that in mind, I also try to keep the fireplace mantel ever-changing.

 This time I got a piece of old ceiling tin from my good friend that found the 5's for me. 

It is over 4 feet long.

She had it out in her barn

and was going to take it to a sale,

but luckily I got to shop the barn before the sale!

 She thought that maybe I would paint it old white or my duck egg chalk paint. And I did think about it.

Then one night (well about 3ish in the morning, because that's how I roll) I took off the Easter decor and just sat the tin across the mantel. 

The old gold looked scrumptious up against the old brass from the light fixtures on the fireplace. It even made the old wood mirror look more gold. And it made the brass (crooked in the picture two above) look like it matched as well. I was happy with the look. Simple and clean. I took a phone pic and text it to my friend (yes, at 3ish in the morning). She was sleeping soundly getting ready for her early wake-up call to start her barn sale. But, being the good friend and junker that she is, she understood the importance of my texted picture. She too agreed that the old gold tin was perfect on the fireplace.  So if you (slowly) amble by, or take the local trolley tour (while you sit in front of the house f-o-r-e-v-e-r), look in on the fireplace and this is what you will see!