OUR 1900 FOLK VICTORIAN FIXER UPPER COTTAGE

OUR SMALL TOWN COTTAGE perked up when 10 Baby Gem Boxwoods were planted out front.  Makes me smile that these were planted so quickly by my Hubby.  He made quick work out of it.  A brick border was already there in place and it will remain.  

Lilacs are one of my favorite bushes of all times.  
This pic is from a previous property of ours.

On the grounds is a large Lilac bush that hasn't flowered very well this year.  It will be pruned in May.  The bush will be shaped into a tree.  Hoping the pruning encourages next years flowering.  I will be checking into when to fertilize, etc.  The bush seems to have been stunted this year.  Very few blooms.  Not enough for making jelly.  sigh.

https://www.almanac.com/plant/lilacs

~Irises at the COTTAGE~

Along the side yard is a flowerbed full of white Irises plus a few of purple with white blooms.  This one is called Mariposa Skies Reblooming Bearded Iris.  The coloring reminds me of a stormy Kansas sky.

In the backyard, there are two long flowerbeds that Hubby created during the Summer heat of 2021.  He worked on it during THE DOG DAYS OF SUMMER during the HOT month of AUGUST making the flowerbeds a reality.  Hot and sweaty, the beds came to fruition.  We were pretty sure we'd be relocating to the COTTAGE from our larger house, so I was adamant about bringing our Irises with us.  The flowerbeds had to be prepared before relocating the Irises.  

He prepared three large flowerbeds and planted close to 700 Iris bulbs.  They'd be waiting for us when we finally arrived at the COTTAGE in October 2023.  This is the forth year that the beds have been present.  The third year of  blooming Irises.

One bed beside the house is basically all white Irises, another one next to the chain link fence is full of colorful ones of a variety of various shades of beauty.  Then there is one along the backyard sidewalk that is four rows deep with Heirloom Purple Irises that smell like BUBBLE GUM.  What a treat.  We have moved the Heirloom Irises from the 1885 Rock house we lived in then moved them to the 1883 house we recently sold.  Now they have migrated to our COTTAGE.  

Our love for Irises started at the Rock house that we moved into back in December 2006.  It took 4 years for my Husband to plant Irises along a fence we had there.  The collection has grown since then.  We've been at this for 17 years.  This is something the two of us have bonded on making it even more special as a married couple.     

The chain-linked fence flowerbed is starting to develop blooms that will be very colorful when they open up showing off their beauty.  I'll have to mark each one so I can identify them in case we move them elsewhere in the yard next Autumn when planting Iris bulbs is ideal.  

Not trying to grow dandelions, but we sure have them this year.  Even with the yellow dandelion flowers being edible when they bloom as well as the leaves, we don't eat them.  Maybe we should as they are very nutritious.  Yummers.  Dandelion Tea.  Greens for fresh salads.  

Please excuse the mess in the backyard.  When we eventually get to cleaning up the place it will look so much better.   Much to do.  This long flowerbed by the sidewalk has the Heirloom Purple Irises that will more than likely bloom next week.  Once again the dandelions are present. 

 

Afterward when the Irises are dormant, I think we will thin the bed out and line the other side of the sidewalk with two rows of Heirloom Irises on both sides of the walk then the sidewalk will be in between two flowerbeds.  It will be lovely.  

We have collected bricks for a future PATIO outside the back door.  Scheduled for 2025. Nothing is in concrete so it can all change in a blink.

The area to the left will become a raised vegetable garden along a fence that I'd like to use for a long Vegetable and Herb Garden.  We're thinking about fencing the yard in.  This would clean up the backyard for the better creating some privacy, but until then we can groom the lawn and tend to the flowers.  

It is one of the best ways to LIVE LIFE and have something to show for it. 

The 1900 COTTAGE is our HOME for now as we slowly work on her.  Each day, something gets done which is a BLESSING.
  

I am beyond pleased that SPRING is here.  We moved into our RETIREMENT COTTAGE the last part of October 2023.  At the end of April, we will have been here half a year.  Six months.  This time has been one of unpacking, trying to get settled and resting.  Making plans on what to do on the COTTAGE and living DEBT FREE for the first time in nearly 50 years.  Praise the LORD.

How to stay out of DEBT is a work all its own.  How do you stay out of debt?  By living below your means, rethinking how one's money is saved and spent.  Spend NOTHING if possible. Don't keep up with the Joneses, buy 2nd hand, trade with others, do without, look for bargains when something is truly needed.  WANT and NEED are not the same thing at all.  God can show you the way you are to go.  Amen.    

A modest lifestyle is to be admired and coveted.

~d

DISCOMBOBULATED WITH AN AMAZING DAY !!!

I HAD AN AMAZING DAY THAT LEFT ME ABIT DISCOMBOBULATED.  Perhaps the two shouldn't go together.  After the banking was completed for the day, I didn't feel a sense of relief.  Instead I felt something altogether different than I anticipated and so did my sweet Hubby who was with me the entire time we were taking care of business.  

My stomach talked to me about what we had just done by paying off large amounts of debt.  A uneasiness took hold and I questioned why this happened with my stomach when I should be rejoicing with the FACT that the debt is paid off.  By evening I WAS ALL BETTER and ate a hotdog at a Basketball Game.  Comfort FOOD isn't always healthy is it?

I topped the dog with mustard instead of ketchup which is one of my favorite things to eat in all the world...Catsup/Ketchup.  Maybe I'm stretching out with some adventures in the FOOD WORLD, but Hot Dogs are pretty well an AMERICAN staple when it comes to fast foods.  AND I like eating Hot Dogs every now and then.  They don't even have to be all beef.  The buns aren't healthy either.  WHITE FLOUR, SALT, FAT and of course SUGAR.  I won't be watching videos about the gross ways that Hot Dogs are made.  It's alright this time to avoid being so educated about this.  Turn a blind eye and forget about it.

AND POPCORN.  At least 4 cups of popcorn with a butter substitute plus lots of salt in a paper bag.  All mine.  Every kernel in the bag.  

I can brag that I drank water instead of a cold soda pop.  I am doing far better about drinking only water.  I do like my green tea, though.  Second on the list.

Having debt for so long began to be the new norm over time that I tried to adjust to having it hanging over my head.  Trying to justify it wasn't satisfying.  It was sickening to have so much. With paying it off, I think it's going to take a little time to accept that it is gone.  The debt never was like a good friend hanging around.  It was more like someone that wore their welcome out long ago and I was held captive not being able to do anything about them being there.

This is the birth of a new creature that I have ahold of by the tail.  I mustn't let go of him.  He has to stay around so I can live as I should.  I LOVE thrifting when I go to town.  I'll continue this within reason.  I think we will be far better off living LIFE differently than we have for so many years.  It seems foreign to me.  

Perhaps the bad case of the nerves comes from the thought that we might not stay out of debt.  It truly is going to be a new way of living for us as a married couple.  We're old now.  Getting closer to 70 every day.  God bless the old ones.  We need HIS blessings as much as anyone. 

I don't feel discombobulated at the moment.  PRAISE THE LORD. 

~d  

    

DEBT IS AWFUL

NATURE CALLED MY NAME waking me at 4:11.  Toilet breaks are ever so important. Instead of returning to bed, I sat in my blue wing chair and read.  I could hear cars passing by in the street outside my front door traveling to wherever.  The sound of water being splashed by their rubber tires confirmed it had rained during the night hours.  Wet pavement.  Chilly weather.  Rain plus freezing weather causes icey conditions.  Not safe to travel on.

I wasn't expecting rain until later in the day.  This for sure changes my plans.  I'll have to wait until it stops raining before carrying cardboard boxes to the cellar for storage.  Not a biggie as I have plenty to do inside.  I continue to make headway with unpacking.

The Bathroom is nearly vacant of all the boxes that were stacked about.  I can work in the Kitchen.  

BANKING BUSINESS.  Early morning phone calls were made to check on credit card balances because today is the day that they will be seriously paid down.  I'll leave a $50 balance on the cards so a paper statement for my records is mailed to me next month providing proof the cards are paid way down.  This has been a hellish ride in my marriage with carrying such high balances.  It has been a burden to carry.  One that I have not wanted to have.  Juggling bills is awfully tiring.  I have hated it.  With debt, one eventually has to pay the piper with interest. Credit cards are like an addictive drug of finances.  Like being a meth addict that is at the mercy of the horrible drug.  It is so very unhealthy to run up the balances of credit cards and carry debt. It can break your back to where you cannot move about freely and cripple your emotions.  A prisoner to the lender.

What is it the Bible says about debt?

The credit card companies are like a mafia.  Once you have a high balance that was put there when carrying a low percentage rate, it disappears and they have you on a hook.  You still have a balance to pay off and they have done a switch.er.roo on the percentage rate.  The low interest rates disappear and a much ridiculously higher rate kicks in.  Our cards have interest rates in the double digits now.  I stared at the interest rates and screamed with anxiety that we are carrying balances with these rates.  I swore years ago, I would never use a card or take out a loan with a interest rate higher than 10%.  Will excuse me...10% was a long time ago.   

Hubby and I are finally on the same page about NOT having debt.  I pray it stays this way as we have not always been singing the same tune when it came to the finances.  I confess, over the years, I found myself crying out loud with desperation that I was alone with my feelings of frustration with this journey paved with a plastic road that should be forbidden to go down. 

With having moved, our 2024 finances will be different.  I pray we heal and can be much healthier in the financial realm.

I will stay HOME today and work about our tiny COTTAGE giving God praises we have this roof over our heads and it's paid for.  After 49 years of marriage, we have no mortgage payment nor rent.  Yes, there are taxes to pay, insurance, utilities and upkeep, but we have some cushion now to live like we should...out of debt after a lifetime of owing others so much money.  Honoring one's debt is a honest way to live.  It is wicked to not pay your debt.  

Frugal living is a must.    

Dear Lord, I pray you will help us stay debt free.

~D