We live in Mississippi, only a few miles from the Okatoma
Creek in Sanford. We moved from College Station, TX, in 2001. We love
living in the country and often see wildlife in the surrounding area including
deer, turkey, bobcats, snakes, rabbits, foxes, etc. The dogs love to chase them,
so they don't usually come too close to the house. We even saw what
appeared to be an albino deer (buck) Nov. 2003! He was about 3 miles
from our house and was with 6 other deer. On January 16, 2006 Sara saw a
feral emu not too far from where we saw the albino deer.
This house is on land that my great great grandfather (on my mother's
mother's side of the family) homesteaded in the 1800s.
We are slowly but surely getting our house together. First, we
tackled the kitchen. We removed old wallpaper and painted the walls a pale warm
yellow. The tiles on the backsplash are painted on the wall--they are not real
tiles. Visitors want to touch the wall to prove to themselves that it is only
painted sheetrock! And the tapestry on the wall is a Venice scene painted
directly on the sheet rock. We will add more details to it later.
I collect tea cups and displayed my collection in the china
cabinets. I have been collecting these for over 10 years.
We painted both light fixtures a rust color. I didn't like the shiny brass
look.
What's been completed outside the house: Replaced roof
(architectural shingles), replaced front
door, replaced rotten laundry room door and frame, painted upstairs exterior, replaced
rotten window mouldings, put in pea gravel driveway and parking area, started
transplanting monkey grass for edge of driveway in back, spread topsoil in
immediate backyard and planted Centipede seed, painted outside steps.
What's left outside the house: paint
front porch, replace porch railings, put new casings up around
porch posts, put up picket fence in front yard, paint downstairs and replace light
fixtures.
What's been completed inside the house: Master bathroom-
painted walls, installed new toilet. Master bedroom- painted ceiling and
walls, put in new carpet. Living room- painted walls and ceiling, installed
carpet over hardwood, installed digital
thermostat, Kitchen- new dishwasher, new sink, new refrigerator. Dining Room- painted ceiling and walls,
installed chandelier. Office- created. Madi's room- removed wallpaper, painted and put up
curtains. Red room- removed wallpaper and painted and put up curtains. Hallway- painted,
Upstairs bathroom- painted and replaced toilet. Middle room- removed wallpaper,
put up curtains.
What's left inside the house: master bathroom- put up crown
moulding, put up curtains. Master bedroom- put up curtains and crown moulding. Living room- put up
stained glass above doors, put up curtains, crown moulding. Kitchen- crown
moulding, new stove and oven. Dining room- put up
curtains, paint trim. Foyer- paint walls, finish stairs,
replace light fixtures, fix outlets. 1/2 Bath- Fix ceiling/paint, remove
wallpaper, paint walls, replace toilet and countertop/sink. UPSTAIRS- Madison's
room- crown moulding, paint ceiling, install new carpet upstairs. Middle Room-
paint walls, crown moulding. Red room- crown moulding.
