Posted: April 19, 2013 | Author: amiestjean | Filed under: Uncategorized |
On my last blog, I shared my excitement about my new parking lot. I also talked about plans for landscaping. The landscaping has begun, believe it or now with all the white stuff. As you can see, the pergola is almost together. I will have a matching pergola over my front door. It’s my plan to visually tie the two properties together. The front of my house will have a container flower garden. The landscaping around the large pergola will be raised flower beds containing flowers and veggies. I have been picking up eclectic garden items for both properties, and am still looking for more.
I will keep you updated on the progress.
Posted: November 7, 2012 | Author: amiestjean | Filed under: Uncategorized |
Maybe not paradise, but I did put in a parking lot. As I stated in a previous post, I bought the house across the alley from my B&B expressly for the purpose of providing a parking lot for my guests. I had planned to start it next spring, but when the contractor has the time, one jumps on the project. It’s amazing how quickly things get done with a Bob Cat, and someone who knows how to use it. (The contractor, not me)
The City of Rapid stated that the entrance to my lot needed to have alley access. The first thing that needed to be done was the removal of the lilacs (which I saved and replanted next to the sidewalk for privacy). The next step was to level the lot. The excess soil was placed in the remaining part of the yard. Next the gravel was delivered, and spread evenly. This was all accomplished within a few hours.
Upon surveying the results, it was obvious that a division was needed between the parking lot and the remaining yard. I decided on a split rail fence. I am now in the process of measuring the yard and coming up with a landscaping plan. At this point, I’m thinking of bordering the yard with gardens, both floral and veggies. I plan to have the center of the yard a grassy area with some kind of shading, perhaps a pergola. It should be a great place for picnics, or afternoon teas.
Posted: September 13, 2012 | Author: amiestjean | Filed under: Uncategorized |
Before I can get back to decorating the two remaining suites upstairs, I have been cleaning, dusting and rearranged my main floor, I’m so happy to rediscover old and new treasures. First old treasure is the Correra Marble Fruit that I purchased in Rome. I intentionally kept it packed to keep it dust free. It was a delight to see my old friends, a reminder of a great trip. My son says, “only old people display fake fruit) honestly, it absolutely looks real. It’s one of my favorite things.
Considering that I am a California Girl, I have a limited knowledge of the South Dakota past, so I have been boning up on the rich history, collecting books, and memorabilia. Through my friends at Dakota Planes Auctions, I have been fortunate to acquire quite a few historical items. One of those items is the “Joe Foss Collection”. Joe Foss is a former governor of South Dakota, a WWII Ace pilot and former president of the NRA. The collection consists of a 20” mounted trout signed on the back “Joe Foss Sand Creek 1976”, his Shakespeare fly reel and personal fishing creel with signed note. The last item in the collection is his autobiography “A Proud American” in which he autographed. As I skim this book, I am finding that he had many more accomplishments, an amazing man. I have to read this book!!
Another item I have is a 21” bronze entitled “Wisdom” by noted artist DC Lamphere. His life size sculpture is located in front of the CapitolBuilding in Pierre.
I have several more historic items that I will be posting on this blog.
Posted: August 28, 2012 | Author: amiestjean | Filed under: Uncategorized |
Great news, I’m all finished with my house across the alley. All cleaned,
painted and tenants tucked in. Bad news is that while I was busy working there,
much was neglected here. I have been dusting, cleaning and reorganizing so that next
week I can get back to work upstairs. During all this craziness the one thing I
didn’t neglect was my little garden. It makes me smile. My little English Style
garden is taking off. Roses are in bloom and the lavender is spreading. Now
for the first time in my life, this California girl is going to have to learn
how to winterize my garden.
My other pride is my herb garden, it brings me joy. I have parsley, sage, rosemary,thyme, savory, oregano, tarragon, dill, chives,mint and my favorite, basil. Lots and lots of basil.
I have enjoyed experimenting with the different flavors. Last night I made a fantastic pizza. It was a store bought crust, oven roasted vine ripened tomatoes covered with chives,fresh mozzarella, then slathered with (what else) basil.
Yumm
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Posted: June 26, 2012 | Author: amiestjean | Filed under: Uncategorized |
Wow, I knew that time has passed since my last blog, but I didn’t realize how much time. I’ll try to catch you up to what I’ve been doing. The last two suites and hall way of the Bed & Breakfast are finished, ready to be decorated, time for the real fun to begin. But then I got sidetracked. The house across the alley from the B&B went up for sale. It has a vacant lot between that house and mine which is ideal for parking. Then I found out from the City ofRapid that without that lot for parking, I couldn’t open. So it goes without saying, I bought the house.
The house is mid-century, and in dire need of a good cleaning, and paint. It has an attic apartment, basement apartment, then the main floor, so three units. I have all three units rented. I have finished the work on the attic and basement. Now I am working on the common areas, and the main floor (which are the larger areas.) Hopefully, that won’t take more than a couple of weeks, then I can continue the work on the B&B.
I am including pics of the house exterior so you can see what a vital part it is to the B&B. I won’t need the entire lot for parking, so I have visions of an English Garden with picnic/barbeque area. The yard at the B&B is cute, but small, so to have an overflow entertaining area is ideal. This will happen all in good time.
Posted: February 8, 2012 | Author: amiestjean | Filed under: Uncategorized |
I’ll give you a glimps of my most recent projects. I have been sanding the floor of my largest suite along with part of the hall way. They are almost ready for varnish. You can see the great pattern in the wood which is repeated throughout the house. It’s a pity that most of it will be covered with Persian Rugs.
I know that I said that my next post would be of my foyer, but the view is not so pretty since I removed the carpet from the staircase. My play is to finish the sides of the stairs and have a runner down the middle anchored with brass rails.
Posted: December 6, 2011 | Author: amiestjean | Filed under: Uncategorized |
Once I completed the library, the next room to be finished was the Ballroom. It was partly complete because of the work on the ceiling and fireplace in the library. The very first thing I did was to remove a door coming from the entry. It was pretty useless as there was a larger, nicer door from the foyer. The two doors were just a few feet apart which was redundant and cluttered.
Being an older house, the walls were less than perfect. I invented my own process that included applying colored mud to the walls, which I them painted. Afterwards I sanded the entire wall exposing both colors. I completed this with a frosted glaze. Next I tiled and finished the fireplace. Once this was complete, I had the floors in the Ballroom, Library and Dining room refinished.
Now I was able to decorate. I’m glad I had the foresight to purchase my fabric in California before I moved here. This town has a huge lack of fabric stores unless you do quilting. Most of my furniture and decorator items I purchased through my friends at Dakota Plains Auctions. I have some historic items to add once I decide exactly how to protect them. Except for the refining, most of the main floor is complete. I will next show you my foyer and entry.
