The first part of the house tour!
The front of the house from across the street.
And the front of the house, from closer. The upstairs windows are the foster room. The downstairs windows are the front room.
Resident greeter Maxi would like you to know that she disapproves of this “house tour” nonsense.
Front door, plant stand, the house Fred made for Maxi and Newt so they wouldn’t freeze to death in the winter. They used it the first winter, and then decided they’d rather huddle in misery on the side porch than snooze in luxury on the front.
The right side of the porch. Yes, this is a lovely place to sit and talk – but we never sit out here.
Left side of the porch. I sit in that swing and stalk the hummingbirds.
Standing just inside the front door. After living here for 3 1/2 years, I finally got pictures hung on that wall. Which I’ve been planning to do… for about 3 1/2 years.
The right side of the front room. That table to the far right of the picture is where my sewing machine sits, ignored. On the bookcase is all my material and sewing supplies. Those are also ignored.
Left side of the front room – the living room section, if you will. Where we spend most of our evenings.
Same side of the room, from the hallway. The couch under the windows is Fred’s; the other one is mine. Yes, we COULD share a couch, but I like to lay down and stretch out while we’re watching TV. And there are usually 43 cats on the couch with Fred. These couches used to belong to Fred’s father and stepmother, and they are the MOST comfortable couches ever. Fred’s couch, you might have noticed, has a slipcover on it. I need to order one for my couch (I just ordered the one to make sure it was going to work out before I ordered a second). These couches are TORN UP. Stupid cats.
And from the hallway, to the left.
Another shot of the TV area. The table next to Fred’s couch (over there in the corner) drives me NUTS because it’s always got a ton of shit piled up on it.
Dodger, atop the bookcase in the front room.
That’s it for the tour for this week. NEXT week, we’ll go down the hallway and see the bathroom and guest bedroom! Can you stand the excitement?
Scenes from around Crooked Acres.
Do you see what those fucking chickens did to my little herb garden? They hollowed out beds and took dust baths and fucked it all up. Fuckers. Now that I’ve made it so they can’t get out of the back forty, I pulled up the herbs, added some soil, and planted radishes in this bed, and carrots in the bed next to it. Then I covered the beds with chicken wire so Maxi and Newt can’t dig in the beds and use them as a litter box.
Come on, habaneros, ripen! I’m running out!
Baby bell peppers.
Grrr.
Have I mentioned my love for Morning Glories?
The okra are just about done for the season. Fred is sad (but I have two bags of sliced okra in the freezer, so we’ll have plenty of roasted okra between now and next summer!).
Volunteer squash plants. I don’t know that we’ll actually get anything from these, but it’ll be interesting to see.
Autumn Clematis.
I was surprised to find a Rose of Sharon growing among the shrubbery in the back yard. Purty.
One of the chickens, back when they were able to wander out of the back forty. They always came running when I was picking tomatoes. There’s nothing chickens love as much as tomatoes!
Okay, Georgie’s looking at me. Gracie, look at me! Over here, Gracie. Graaaacie! Gracie?
Damnit, George, look at ME, not over there! George!
Good Georgie! Good boy. Ugh. GRACIE! Everyone look at ME.
You guys, come on. AT me, I said! AT ME. Not away from me!
UGH. Brats. Well, at least they’re both looking at me!
The Reacher creature.
Reacher, sneaking in the cat door before I spot him and yell at him.
He has such gorgeous eyes. All my Bookworms do.
Oh, how Marty loves the Skinneeez teaser.
These kittens have the prettiest markings.
I love the two light brown stripes down Hutch’s back.
Hutch, skeptical.
I don’t know what Starsky’s looking at, but it appears to be pretty amazing.
Starsky. Who does little Starsky remind me of? He reminds me SO MUCH of Bolitar, not only in looks, but also in temperament.
Bolitar, back in March:
Anyway, here’s the story behind Starsky and Hutch. I got a call from the shelter manager Sunday evening. Another Challenger’s House foster mom had gotten these two little kittens from a friend who found them. They’d been tossed out of a car along with a third kitten. The third kitten was in such bad shape and hurt so badly that there was nothing that could be done for it, and it had to be euthanized.
Since all my little guys are going to Petsmart on Friday, I knew I’d have the room, so I was more than willing to take them.
These two were LOADED with fleas when I got them, and so the first night we bedded them down in a big carrier in the blue coop with a heating pad.
On a side note, I have been REALLY lucky as far as fleas go. The only time I ever spotted fleas on fosters is when we got the Cookies last Fall, and they only had a few fleas. When I say these two were loaded with fleas, I’m not kidding. They had fleas crawling in their eyes. It was awful.
By mid-day Monday, the fleas were eradicated, and I bathed them and set them up in a cage in the guest bedroom.
They’re doing well and are pretty healthy. They’re a little bony, but they’re both eating well and putting on the ounces. They’ve been using the litter box I put in their cage, Starsky has been eating a little of the bowl of Babycat kibble I left in their cage, and last night Hutch lapped some formula off a plate.
They’re sweet and snuggly and friendly. They’re at that age I love so much, where they’re just figuring out how to play with toys and how to play-fight with each other, where everything is AMAZING, and their favorite thing to do is climb into my lap, purring and kneading.
VERY MUCH do Kara, Sugarbutt and Tommy disapprove when we have the nerve to leave the back yard. Look at the judgmental faces on those three!
Previously
2009: Flat Holly
2008: “Paul Newman is dead too! What are the chances that… Oh.”
2007: No entry.
2006: No entry.
2005: I’m a badass, that’s right.
2004: I
2003: In adults, I am anti-”bye-bye”.
2002: Day in the life.
2001: No entry.
2000: No entry.
It amazes me that someone could throw a kitten out of a car…. I’d like to throw their ass out of a moving vehicle and leave them on the side of the road to die!!!
Well, Christine, you said it better than I could because I’m too filled with rage about it.
Me, too. All I can think is RAGERAGERAGE.
Loved the house tour. I really like how you decorated the front outside. And it was fun looking at each picture and trying to spot a kitty!
We have a couch and a recliner, but we both want the couch. I can’t wait to get more space so we can at least have a loveseat. It sounds sweet to snuggle on a couch, but it really isn’t that comfortable!
The George and Gracie pictures were absolutely hilarious!
Your house is beautiful. I love the brick porch, and that crisp white moulding at the top and bottom/painted walls/hardwood floors look indoors.
And don’t feel bad about the pictures. We’ve lived here 5 years now and I’m still trying to get the walls decorated. We’re still ‘renovating.’ Sh’yeah.
Was that a Feliway dispenser I saw plugged in near the cat tree? If it was, do you think they work?
I had three going for a while after we adopted Skinny Jim because even the diabetic toothless 18 year old attacks him. Then we adopted a kitten, and she muscled her way up the ladder and now harasses Jim more than anybody else.
I don’t really know if the Feliway made any difference, but I kept them going until the diffuser tops melted out just in case.
Jim used to rub his cheeks on them so at least one of them noticed!
Robyn, what great house pics! Look how clean your windows are! Impressive.
We’ve been in our house almost eleven years and it’s still not exactly the way I want it. Changing my mind every so often doesn’t help, either.
Love, LOVE the photos of George and Gracie! I was just trying to get photos of my doggie yesterday and she flatly refused to look at the camera, that spoiled brat of a little fiend.
Love Hutch’s racing stripes. 🙂
Loving the housetour pics. Once again I have porch envy. Your porch is Huge-it’s so nice and deep the way a porch should be! I wonder when builders forgot how to make proper porches? My Aunt and Uncle’s house had two-a sreened in one out front and an open one on the side-the best of both worlds!
Starsky and Hutch are adorable. I can’t imagine how someone could throw them out on the road either-scuh little defenseless babies. There are some mean mothers in this world.
What on earth is that green tube thingie by the front door?! I’m guessing a cat toy of some kind.
I cannot imagine throwing kittens out of a car. (Or any animal for that matter.) I only hope that what goes around, comes around for the jerks who did that.
I love your front porch! So very southern and welcoming. I couldn’t have a porch, because even though I am Southern, I hates the people.
If Newt and Maxie like the side porch, why not move the house there?
Also, if you ever have fleas – Capstar is the greatest invention. Kills fleas in 30 minutes, safe for Cats and Dogs even when used with Frontline, etc. Not certain about kittens though.
I gotta say that I absolutely LOOOOVE your house! Can’t wait to see more pictures next week. I also have to comment about how clean your home is and the fact that there is no clutter. My house is a clutter magnet but that’s only because I got two small boys (4 & 11 mo) and one big one (40+), heh. Oh, and one curmudgeon girly cat.
I always share your pictures and videos with Hubby, who loves cats as much as I do. Today, as I started to tell him about the poor kitties being thrown out of someone’s car, I burst into tears. If there is a hell, there will be a special place for people like that!
What IS IT with men and their tons of shit piled everywhere? My husband does the same damn thing.
Is throwing animals out of cars the new thing???? I live in Louisville, KY and on the news the other day, someone threw a dog out of their car on I-65 and it was hit by another car. Lucky the dog lived but they’re raising money for many surgeries. There are some evil people out there. Makes me sick.
Loved the pics! Makes me want to attack my house this fall and get some walls painted.
You and Fred did a great job with the place!!
Hi, Robyn.
Do you plant your vegetables from seed or from little plants (baby plants?) from the nursery? I am finally getting a little vegetable garden plot and I want to plant a few items, like okra, zucchini, tomatoes and maybe an eggplant and corn? As you can tell, I’ve never planted before so I thought I’d ask since you’ve seemed to have great success with your garden Thanks!
I’m no expert so please take this little bit of advice with a grain of salt. I’ve just read our Gardening 1-2-3 book like 3 times through while working the Outside Garden register this summer.
Depending on where you live, you may want to start from seeds or baby plants inside and then transplant them outside. If you’re north or have a late last-frost date, you can do this so the plants have a head start and you can get the most out of a growing season. Also starting inside allows you to start from seed if you wish, which can be cheaper than the baby plants.
Robyn’s so far south that either method, either transplanting or starting from seed outside probably works for her.
What say you, Robyn?
Thank you! I’m in San Diego, so I don’t have to worry about frost. I’m clueless when it comes to gardening; I never enjoyed digging in dirt as an adult. But the thought of picking my own vegetables sounds wonderful so I’m going to give it a try. I’ll have to read up on planting from seeds to get an idea on how to do it.
BTW, love the warm look and feel of your house. I, too, love the white baseboards (and moldings) against the wood floor. You have a beautiful house! (P.S. I sent you an email a long time ago, maybe 4 years, asking you about painting indoors. Thanks!)