Every Girl's Dream

So What’s Left? By Robbie Rhur

So What’s Left?

By Robbie Rhur

The screened in porch, the garden and the yard landscaping remained.  I think a few pictures of the yard when I moved in might help you see what it was like (overwhelming comes to mind).

This is the side yard, you can really see how crappy the house and yard looked.

In the 90-plus years this house has stood, no previous owner had done  many yard improvements.  …

A Wrench for the Works: Springtime Plumbing Tips

Running water is one of the most basic amenities/necessities of modern life. I shudder when I think of life without it. The plumber who comes to your aid is truly a HERO (think burst pipes underground or drains that are completely clogged). Men have traditionally dominated this field of work, but women have also undertaken these missions of mercy.

  Lillian Ann Baumbach Jacobs the First Woman…

READY FOR PRIMETIME PAVLOVA

Making desserts for someone who is diabetic is a daunting prospect, especially when they are also allergic to wheat. So, I’m always on the look out for ways to make a sweet that is sugar-free, wheat free and actually tastes good. I did try the red velvet cake, with questionable results (it looked good, but had the consistency and taste of a doorstop). I may try it again, but in the interim, I…

HISTORIC GARDEN WEEK IS HERE

  After a brutally cold winter, and chilly early spring, it is so good to see the trees budding and the flowers blossoming– truly the Gods of Gardening are smiling down upon us! So, the warming days and sunny rays welcome “Historic Garden Week in Virginia!”

    Every year the Garden Club of Virginia invites the world to come and tour lush gardens and beautiful homes throughout the Commonwealth.…

MAY THE PEEPS BE WITH YOU!

Celebrating Spring: May the Peeps Be With YOU!

    Get on a roll having fun with dessert! This was something my friend Susan made for me and it was almost too cute to eat. I managed to scarf it down, though!

Ingredients: Peeps,

Twinkies,

Chocolate covered mini pretzels,

Marshmallows,

Junior Mints

Viola! You have a masterpeep!

    ANOTHER TALE OF ESPIONAGE AND DERRING-DO

Since it’s the last week of March and Women’s History Month, I wanted to add another to our record of spy stories.

In 2002 Marthe Cohn, a holocaust survivor and French Jewish spy during World War II , published the story of her exploits and feats of bravery in her book, “Behind Enemy Lines.” Written with assistance from Wendy Holden, Ms. Cohn recounts…

      I have received scores of positive comments on Joan Garrabrandt’s marvelous article “Living The Symbolic Life.” Many of them are inquiries about finding resources for dream work or ways to approach dreams.

    In “Living The Symbolic Life,” Ms. Garrabrant takes a Jungian approach to dream analysis, which emphasizes the appearance and interpretation of symbols that show up in the dream and…

Traveling Light and Right

I have a number of friends who travel a lot for their jobs, and I am always amazed at their abilities to pack lightly and still look wonderful every place they go. It is an art, I think, to be able to anticipate the types of events that are on the itinerary and make sure you have enough clothing, shoes, etc. that will also accommodate the weather, and still look good.

Purchasing classic clothing…

“Year Three – The Upstairs” by Robbie Rhur

Year Three – The Upstairs

My upstairs to do list: install an upstairs heat pump; remodel the old Chucky Cheese bathroom, create a master bedroom in the back of the upstairs with a rebuilt deck, and build bookcases and repaint the middle section of the upstairs, which I call the library. Two rooms in the front of the upstairs were already done, my walk-in closet and the small room across from the…

Well, it’s been a long time, and, I don’t exactly know where to begin, except to say that I have had a lot of family matters fill up my life for the last few months. One of my parents has been very ill and has been in and out of the hospital numerous times since “The Holidays.” Because I am geographically convenient, I have been tasked with the lions’ share of the care-taking, appointment…

I am not a doctor and I don’t play one on TV

Well, it’s been a long time, and, I don’t exactly know where to begin, except to say that I have had a lot of family matters fill up my life for the last few months. One of my parents has been very ill and has been in and out of the hospital numerous times since “The Holidays.” Because I am geographically convenient, I have been tasked with the lions’ share of the care-taking, appointment…

Luxury Vinyl Plank Flooring Stands Up to the Test of Time

Judee Rudder Brann, who has extensive knowledge about hotels, specializing in operations, renovations, and new construction/design throughout the southeast is part of the duo that operates ABC Design. Martha Axford is her business partner in this venture. “ABC Design caters primarily to hotel owners that understand the benefits of an up-to-date appearance in order to attract guests. From small…

El Dia De Los Muertos

  El Dia de Los Muertos, Day of the Dead, is but one part of the Mexican creolization of the Great All Souls and All Saints Triduum that we know as Halloween. Halloween, or all Hallow’s Eve, marks the beginning of the Feasts of all Saints and all Souls and dates back centuries in Europe. It was modeled by The Church on the Celtic “Samhain,” an important Harvest Celebration and one that cites the…

Year Two by Robbie Rhur

It was time to tackle the exterior; here are a few pictures to illuminate the conditions that confronted me!

  Missing window-sill and peeling paint

            I think you can see that the exterior was a shambles and in equal need, to the interior, of a total revamp. While initially JW had been optimistic about the shape of the cedar shake shingles, after working at the house a year (and…

“The selective memory isn’t selective enough,” Blake Morrison, British Poet

    “The selective memory isn’t selective enough,” Blake Morrison, British Poet

    Well, maybe not….Can’t remember why you turned on your computer, or went into the next room …or maybe, where you put your keys? FAGEDDABOUTIT!!! There is comforting new research that will ease those fears of dementia or alzheimer’s disease that secretly stalk you as you go on a room-by-room search for those pesky…

It’s Reigning Pumpkins

Pumpkinicity, Gourdalicious,Ghostly,Goblin-Ridden are a few ways to describe the Snappy Season of Autumn. Here are some indoor and outdoor decorating ideas and a perfect pumpkin pie! Enjoy!

Let’s start indoors…

                                                  Now let’s go outside….

first to Ashwood….

                    Now to points beyond…

                                             Now,…