In Kentucky for the Summer

We have been back a week, and since the cottage sits empty seven months, there is always a lot of cleanup.

I amended soil in three beds, planted Zinnia seeds in one, perennials in one and my annual herb garden in another. The herbs seem to like their new home.

I touched up the paint on the back porch, we added the furniture and cushions, and hung an old window for interest. Ready for evening back porch sitting. 

Baby Sis Came For a Visit

My youngest sister, Jodi, came to Kentucky for a two week visit and we had a blast.

I didn't even give her a chance to unpack, because the morning after she arrived we went for a three day two night stay in Paducah, Ky - home to the National Quilt Museum.

National Quilt Museum - Paducah, KY

While we were in Paducah, we attended a class on Gelli Plate printing taught by Kristin at Ephemera.  We had never heard of Gelli Plates, but we are officially hooked.  The class was so much fun!  The class size was limited to six, and we had five ladies who took this Saturday morning class.  Now I want to take a mixed media class at Ephemera - maybe next year. I wish Paducah was closer.

Gelli Plate Printing Class at Ephemera - Kristin in Red & Blue

Inside Kristin's Shop

Paducah is a cute town and the old downtown buildings are being used for shops and restaurants.

Near the River

The old Coca Cola plant has a coffee shop in one end, and a craft brewery in the other end.

Everyone told us that we needed to stop at Patti's for lunch on the way back from Paducah.  It was delicious - we had pork chops and wonderful desserts - I had the six inch high meringue pie.

At Patti's


Of course Jodi and I had to buy Gelli Plates, and we set up our own craft tables in my sewing room. When I get better at printing, I'll share my prints with you.  But trust me, it's fun

Jodi Happily Gelli Printing

Jodi helped me host a luncheon for friends.

John and I took Jodi to the races at Churchill Down - Jodi was the winner that day.

Jodi - Twin Spires in the Background

Seeing the horses up close at the Paddock 

At Churchill Downs With a Gallopalooza

Front Porch / Deck Makeover

I have been wanting to make changes to the front porch on our Kentucky cottage for quite some time.  I just didn't know what I really wanted it to be. 

I decided to make it into a deck rather than a porch.  John removed the railings for me after I told him to trust me that I knew what I wanted to do.  I repainted the new deck with two coats of green porch paint.  I added outdoor chairs (used to be James) and colorful striped cushions, potted flowers, birdbath (also James) and a bird feeder.  Now it is a place where I enjoy sitting, and I think it makes a prettier entry for company.  I am going to paint the front door next summer - I'm thinking of doing it in a yellow, but not as bright of yellow as the flowers in the pots.

 















This is how the porch looked when we first bought the cottage.

We had a green metal roof installed, and we replaced the porch railings, and painted them white.  We also painted the decking green, and added a step to replace the cement blocks that were there before. It was like this for quite a while, but I wanted a change.  I decided it was the railings that I never liked.

 

Busy Summer at an End

I have been missing on my blog posts most of this summer, and thought I'd share some of the summer with you today.  There are also projects that I will share in other posts.

A trip to Lexington, KY and the Woodford Reserve bourbon distillery:

Also in Lexington, we visited Three Chimneys horse farm.  The farm where thoroughbred race horses are boarded and bred.  We were able to see Kentucky Derby winner Big Brown, as well as many other beautiful horses:

One of the Stables

Big Brown

 

 

We also went to the horse races at Churchill Downs (where the KY Derby runs), but I didn't take any pictures that evening.  I did win on a few races though.

 

Cruising the Heartland in Elizabethtown, KY was a blast.  Lots of old cars, food and live bands:

 

 

We took a trip to Oak Ridge, TN.  There we visited the science museum, and saw the Secret City Manhattan Project exhibit.  We've all heard of the Manhattan Project that produced the atom bomb, but were you aware that the city of Oak Ridge was a secret?  The city wasn't on any map, nor were its roads.  But at the height of the project, the city's population was 70,000.  Now that is some secret!

 

 

I have started reading a book titled: "The Girls of Atomic City" that documents the lives of some of the people who were there working on the project - they just didn't know what they were working on.

Photo used on the cover of the book - The Girls of Atomic City

There were many types of houses available to the workers, from temporary dwellings to more permanent ones.  This Flat Top house was set up at the museum and open for us to see.

 

We went to the airfield to watch Scott fly his ultra light plane:

 

 

Found a rabbit nest in the yard.  The mom moved them the next day - good thing because it was in a clearing, and not well protected.  Their eyes were not open, and they were just new babies.

 

 

I grew herbs again this year, in the small space at the bottom of the porch steps just off the kitchen:

This year I have Thyme, Rosemary, Greek Oregano, Marjoram, Sage, Sweet Basil and Spearmint:

 

 

 

I found places for the various things we brought home from John's parents home.  I posted the quilt earlier, and most of the other things are mostly sentimental.  I actually needed to bid on James' toolbox because I didn't see it until the day of the auction.  James was a carpenter, and was building barracks on Fort Knox in the early forties when he was called up to serve in WWII, and his homemade toolbox was with him. 

 

 

 

Butter Churn John's mom used, and his dad's lunch pail

Forties or Fifties Step Stool

Small Sharpening Stone

Large Sharpening Stone

Irene's Little Red Riding Hood Cookie and Candy Jar.  Hall bowels, and blue crock bowl.