Silent Night

Go ahead, take a tour! You can search individual rooms by clicking on the labels list in the sidebar on the right.

Please check out my other blogs at:
Thyme for Herbs
An Herbal Bedfellow
Tickling the Ivories

Christmas at Happenstance House

This is the scene out my back door today. The weather man says it will continue to snow through at least Dec 20th. What an early start we've had on the winter weather! Some years we don't see snow until Christmas Eve.



My Christmas quilt is at the front door entrance. It's a Bethlehem Star. I hand piece and hand quilt. This was a fun quilt to do. It's about 15 years old and is carefully packed away each year.




This little guy greets visitors at the back door. Isn't he cute? A Walgreen's special last year!




The dining room table. My father made the sleigh. There's nothing like a photo to show up the wrinkles in the tablecloth, is there?



The snowman is another favorite of ours. He's an oversized, handblown, glass ornament. We got this at Cracker Barrel a few years ago, 50 percent off. My favorite way to shop. Have you ever shopped at Cracker Barrel at Christmas time? It's an awesome place for gifts!




A view into the dining room. The greens have white lights woven in so at night everything sparkles.



A look into the foyer. The sofa has to stick into the doorway but with a large family gathering or party we need the sitting space and really can't move it out.





We're pretty traditional with the tree decorations. We especially like hand-blown glass ornaments. I don't follow trends and fashion, or do a Victorian tree. I've kept a journal with a list of ornaments that goes back to 1966. I can tell you who gave me what for over 40 years.



This little girl was an anniversary gift years ago. She waves her candle as she welcomes you into our home.



I've been trying to cut back on the decorations and clutter at Christmastime. I like a clean, classy look, but my husband likes whimsical. He brought home this dog last year and proudly hung him on the banister after I had spent hours with the greens and lights. The dog sings carols, while his cheeks flash and his mouth moves. Tacky, but what can you do? Of course, my grandson loves him.

Next we will get a peek into the attic, so stick around.

If you're new to this blog and wish to see the individual rooms, click on the labels list in the sidebar on the right.


Please check out my other blogs at:
Thyme for Herbs
An Herbal Bedfellow
Tickling the Ivories

Kitchen

It's finally time to show you the kitchen. I held off for a while because we were in the middle of painting cupboards and as you can see in the first picture, we are now working on the ceiling but had to stop to get ready for all of the Christmas activity. Whew, so much going on!





I love this shelf above the window. Although it is a dust catcher, I had kitchen antiques up there. Many have been taken down and sold. I just kept a few favorites.

One of the best things about this kitchen is the cupboard and counter space. There's plenty of room for all of my dishes -- and I have a lot. I like to have different place settings for different holidays and seasons.


We put these shelves in so I could grow African violets which I had done in a previous home. But it just wasn't the right window. So I started to keep my dried herbs in jars on the shelves and it worked very well. They are so easy to reach when I am cooking, and they look pretty, too.


The island is topped with thick knotty pine boards, then covered in polyurethane. A previous owner built this and I have truly loved it. It's one of the first things women admire when they come into the kitchen. The beadboard is around the island and also on the lower half of all the walls.


This is the view out my back yard. Another look into my garden. I can watch the birds and squirrels while I cook and bake.


There's no explanation needed here. It's my cookbook shelves, holding all of the recipes I use for An Herbal Bedfellow.


Another small collection next to the refrigerator. I actually use most of them, but not the pig. Any guesses what it is? It's a cast iron headcheese mold. Now, that's kind of disgusting to me (head cheese is a sausage or jellied loaf made from the meat of the head of the hog or calf) but he was so cute I couldn't resist.


Just some more knickknacks on the baker's rack. There's no end to them. How will I ever get rid of it all?


And cupboards and more shelves above the stove.

This room was the original master bedroom when the house was first built. It was converted to a kitchen in the '40s when doctor number three moved in. It has seen many families come and go with loads of children begging snacks from Mom. There has been a lot of activity around the island while preparing Thanksgiving dinners, Christmas cookies, birthday cakes, and special dinners. I like to think of all the happiness there has been in this room, including my own.

Next time I think we'll see the living room in it's Christmas garb, so please come again. It was nice to see you!



Please check out my other blogs at:
Thyme for Herbs
An Herbal Bedfellow
Tickling the Ivories

A Happenstance Winner

The deadline for my giveaway is over, and just by Happenstance I chose a winner.

First of all, I want to thank you for all of your wonderful comments. You have complimented my rooms, and I can see that many of you love this house as much as I do. It has given me encouragement that maybe I can do it all over again in a new home. Sometimes I get the feeling that after 4 houses, I have used up all of my ideas. So now, I am encouraged, fortified, and ready to move on (literally.)

The winner I chose was registered as "ww11," so I will only announce her as that name. She has been contacted and has already responded with a mailing address.
So, ww11, your beautiful antique flow blue plate is on the way. I hope you enjoy it as I have over the years.

I also hope the rest of you may have found my newest blog through this giveaway and will stay with me. There will be more reviews and giveaways to come, some of which will be sponsored, either here or at Thyme for Herbs or An Herbal Bedfellow.

I really appreciate your wonderful comments even before this contest began. You are true blogging friends, and I am thankful for you all.



Please check out my other blogs at:
Thyme for Herbs
An Herbal Bedfellow
Tickling the Ivories

A Trifecta Giveaway

I have reached some fantastic milestones at my blog called Thyme for Herbs, so I am hosting a giveaway on all three blogs at the same time. I call it a Trifecta!!

Here I am offering this wonderful antique Flow Blue Plate. It's in perfect condition. The back is stamped Phoenix China, England. If you're a blue and white lover, this is the giveaway for you!!!



After entering here, pop over to Thyme for Herbs and
An Herbal Bedfellow to enter there. An Herbal Bedfellow is giving away a wonderful cookbook, and Thyme for Herbs is offering a 12-piece tea light candle set from Yankee Candle Company.

All you have to do here is leave a comment telling me what is your favorite room of my house and why.
The winner will be chosen by Random.org.
Please write something more than just "bedroom."
In case I am unable to contact the winner, I will then choose my favorite story.

For a second entry, blog about my giveaway, and then come back and tell me about it in a separate comment window.

For a third entry, subscribe to my blog with Feedburner and tell me about it in a separate comment window; make sure you verify your subscription! All current active members will automatically be entered.

Make sure you include your email address with the comment if it is not showing on your blog so I can contact you. If you are NOT a blogger, you must leave a contact email address or you will be disqualified.

This contest ends on Thursday, November 20th, Noon EST.







Please check out my other blogs at:
Thyme for Herbs
An Herbal Bedfellow
Tickling the Ivories

Another Bedroom

Post #13



We'll continue with the last room on the second floor that I plan on showing you. I guess the bathroom isn't that important; although it is cute, every one has one.

You enter this room by going through and to the left of the room with the dollhouses. This is the view as you go through the door. I spent many hours stripping the woodwork with a heat gun and scraper. All of the woodwork upstairs is douglas fir, a beautiful pine that you don't find anymore. The closets in my bedroom, the dark red one, are like brand new, still shiny and varnished. But as it turned out, this room had never been varnished or sealed. After all of this back breaking work, we discovered that the paint that was used at one time (probably oil-based) actually soaked deep into the wood. No amount of stripper would bring it up. So I had to paint all of the woodwork over again!
I was very pleased with my choice of wallpaper and carpeting. We call it the "Rose Room."


This picture is dark because I'm shooting at the door on a bright day. The door goes onto the overhead porch. I enjoy sitting up there in the spring or summer. My girls liked to go there to tan and read.
Did you notice there are no windows in this room? This door used to be the window and the door to the porch was where the bathroom window is now. The door with the hat goes into the bathroom. At some point in time, they switched them around. I think this was done so the recovering patients could have easy access to the porch and fresh air. The bathroom was not added until the 40s; that area used to be part of the wraparound stairwell and then was enclosed, maybe when it was turned into apartments. If you study a picture on the header you can get a feeling of what you are looking at. The middle window is the bathroom and the window on the left is the lavender bedroom.



I'm showing this little stand because of the little lamb on display. It has been in my husband's family since he was a little boy. There is a black one like it on the dresser, but we found that one at an antique shop.



This bed was previously in the room that is now my sewing room. When I moved all of my quilting supplies and fabrics in there we moved this bed in here and sold the "Jenny Lind" spindle bed that was here originally. I think I like this bed here better.
On the bed is a whole-cloth quilt that I made. If you're not a quilter that means it's made from one solid piece of fabric and then heavily quilted. I bought it pre-stenciled and hand quilted it. It was a lot of fun to do, and I was very happy with the finished product. I'd like to make another one someday.

That's it for today. There's only a few more places to show you.

If you're new to this site, it's best if you start at the beginning and work your way forward.


Please check out my other blogs at:
Thyme for Herbs
An Herbal Bedfellow
Tickling the Ivories

The Sitting Room

Post #12


Let's get on with the tour. We've still got a way to go!

I wish I had taken pictures of the sitting room when it was set up as a sitting room, but for quite a while it has been a place to hold the dollhouses and other items that are too bulky for the rest of the house. This room is at the top of the stairs and to the right of the library. It is in the center of two bedrooms. There's no hallway; it's placed in the old style of doing things where to get to one room you have to go through another. We believe that the room to the left was part of this room originally and there wasn't a wall going into what is my sewing room now. It looks like the doorway is newer than the rest of the house.


This is the wing of the house that was used as a surgical area and recovery room for the small surgeries that were performed here and maybe even some baby deliveries (although I'm sure most were born at home.) An 80-year-old-neighbor remembers playing upstairs with the doctor's children when there were beds lined up along the outside wall, ready for the patients or maybe in anticipation of an epidemic.
This particular doctor had children who were quite undisciplined and were allowed to run and scream throughout the house. The children would often jump from bed to bed and even jump from the attic pull-down stairs onto the beds. The housekeeper would be the one to chastise them. The doctor's wife never raised her voice, I was told.



This is a diamond disk player. My husband has always loved music players of all kinds. This one plays the thick Edison records. We have quite a collection. This particular disk player is for sale, It's very heavy and we really don't want to move it. If you know of anyone who is looking for one, please have them contact me.



Here you can see the thickness of the 78 records that were used in this time period.
Duane says the quality is far superior to the Victrolas that play the regular thickness record. And you don't have to worry about damage when playing it.



My husband also has quite a collection of Al Jolsen records, Helen Kane records (the voice of Betty Boop) and Uncle Josh cyclinder disks. We don't plan on parting with any of those. We keep this old sheet music hanging above the disk player.





This dollhouse was built by my father at age 80. This is not a kit but each piece of siding and roofing is individually cut. He made this house to sell for a little extra income while feeding his hobby at the same time.


I recently sold this one to one of my best friends. She is already decorating it and furnishing it and tells me she is having a ball.



This dolllhouse was made when Dad was in his 60s. He made it for my 35th birthday. I loved it and cherished it, and then later when my daughters were old enough to play with it responsibly, I allowed them to help in the decorating. They spent many dollars of their allowance money on small items, and we handcrafted others.
My youngest daughter, Taylor, has taken this one into her home and is redecorating and making new items to furnish it as the farmhouse that it is.
You can see stories about this dollhouse on my daughter's blog called Dollhouse Adventures.

The small lighthouse next to it is another one of my Dad's projects. It will pass on to my grandson.

It's been difficult finding new homes for these items that I love, but it's much easier knowing they will stay with family and friends.

Please check out my other blogs at:
Thyme for Herbs
An Herbal Bedfellow
Tickling the Ivories

Playing tag

Post #10


Back in September Jeannie at Dreamer Jean tagged me for a meme listing 7 things about myself. I have done this on another blog, but I figured there are always more than 7 things that a person does not know about you, so I will attempt to come up with some new things.

1. I can't whistle. I can get a little airy sound out with a weak pitch, but that's it. I've tired to learn since I was a child. No Luck.

2. I tend to hold my anger back with strangers or new acquaintances, but there is a point when, if pushed too far, I will just explode and the words come flying out. People are often shocked because it doesn't seem to go with my perceived personality.

3. I don't like malls. I don't really like crowds at all, and I find malls a waste of my time. Too much walking from place to place. I prefer small stores.

4. I only like children one or two at a time, and then sometimes I don't like them then, either. I loved my own children when they were small with a fierce passion and my grandson makes my heart sing. I was a piano teacher for years and the perception was that I loved kids; I didn't, but recently as I get older, I am softening.

5. I love sweets, maybe too much. Candy, cookies, pie and cake. Especially if it's chocolate.

6. I have ESP. I quite often sense things before they happen and lots of times know who's on the other end of the phone before I answer. I like to think I have avoided car accidents because of following my instincts, but then we'll never know, will we? After seeing some close calls, my husband has learned to trust my judgement.

7. I dream in color and often times can read signs or letters and do math, which I guess is rare. I also can sometimes speak in another language in my dreams and am able to fully understand myself and others. I always think I'll be able to continue when I wake up, but then it's gone.

There you have it. Now you know for sure how weird I really am!

I'm not going to tag anyone since I have done a lot of that. But if anyone cares to join in and just list a few things about themselves in the comments, I'd like to hear it. I love knowing more about you.


Playing tag was always a fun game and I remember it fondly. I don't see children outside playing games like we used to. I hear the voices from the nearby school at recess and it's a nice sound -- laughter, squeals, and yelling. I know my house was filled with those same sounds with all of the children of the different families and they ran through these rooms playing games and getting into trouble.
I have a few stories to tell about that subject on a future post.


Please check out my other blogs at:
Thyme for Herbs
An Herbal Bedfellow
Tickling the Ivories

It's Not So Pretty!

Post #9

The next part of my tour is not so pretty, in more ways than one. Two of the rooms have not been re-decorated, and the story it is not very pretty, either.

I neglected to take pictures of the library before we started to sell things, so the shelves are a little bare. I've sold almost all of my antique books now, except for a few left on the shelf in the sale area.
The library is the room at the end of the hall behind the white door in a previous picture. It has floor to ceiling shelves on all four sides. The shelves were added in the fifties or sixties, we're guessing by looking at the way the shelves are constructed. Before that it might have just been part of the bathroom. We're not sure.





At the back of the library is what used to be a bathroom. This is the part that's not so pretty. We have taken the door down for ease in moving things out of storage. To the left of the bathroom door is another door that leads to what was once a bedroom.



Click here, for my other blog,Thyme for Herbs, where I wrote a post about the back bedroom/kitchen which I had used as a sewing room. Then I moved my sewing room into another bedroom. There's no sense in retelling it here.


Now for the story about why that bathroom is stripped of all plumbing. I'm warning you, it's a sad tale.

In 1947, when Doctor # 3 moved in, there were apartments in the house. He needed to use all of the space for what would soon be his 5 children, so he asked the tenants to leave. A woman (we will call her Mrs. S.) was living alone and did not want to move, so he let her live upstairs in her area. She used the bathroom at the other end of the hallway, which we will call the front bathroom. She was elderly, I believe in her 70s, so they checked on her daily.
One day, he came home and asked his wife if she had heard Mrs. S moving around and she said no. When he went upstairs, he found Mrs. S. in the front bathroom. She had hanged herself from the shower stall. She must have been depressed about something, I don't know anything about that part of the story.

In 1977, when the Doctor sold the house to the R's, he told the story. As soon as they bought the house, they stripped the front bathroom of the plumbing and put in a new tub and shower.
In 1990, when the R's sold it to the C's, the story was once again told, along with how difficult it was to get the old tub out. It had to be lowered over the balcony.
Upon a meeting with the doctor's son, he told them they had it wrong; the incident had happened in the back bathroom. So, you guessed it, they stripped the back bathroom of all its plumbing. They never finished remodeling the bathroom. They only lived here for a total of two years when we bought the house in 1992.
In 1999, our town had a sesquicentennial(150 years), and I was on the committee. I volunteered to organize a home tour, and of course my home was on the tour. Doctor #3 was in his 80s then, and he came through the tour. He was the celebrity of the day. Everyone had to say hello, saying I remember when ---
It was at that time that he told us the story of the suicide and that it had taken place in the front bathroom. So now I know what is accurate, sad but true. May Mrs. S. rest in peace.
Ghost stories have been told by at least two previous residents. I myself have had some strange happenings, but I'll save that for later. I highly doubt the ghost was Mrs. S., but there were many births, deaths, and traumas in this house over the last 100 years, so I never discount what I've heard.
And there you have it, not pretty, but all true.


Please check out my other blogs at:
Thyme for Herbs
An Herbal Bedfellow
Tickling the Ivories

Next, Please.

Post #8

If you're a regular follower, you've been wondering where the next post is. I've been so busy with this sale business, I can hardly see straight. But now I'm ready to continue the tour.
On the last post, I showed you a picture of the upstairs hallway. The doorway on the left at the end is our bedroom, which we call the Red Room. It's the only bedroom upstairs without a floral name, even though there is a floral quilt and wallpaper border.


I have showed this quilt before on Thyme for Herbs. It is one of the few quilts that I have totally designed by myself. I named it "Eye of the Iris." At the time irises were my favorite flower. I still love them, but daylilies have taken over my passion for the last 15-16 years. When I made this quilt it was just an inspiration. I didn't have any of these colors in my other house. I actually finished it shortly after we moved in. So I painted my room based on the colors in the fabric. I think it always intended to go in this room. Do you think quilts can have personalities? I do.


I had to take the picture with the shades down or the photo would be washed out. The windows have the same diamond pattern as the front bedroom.
This little settee was in the sitting room until a few years ago. I am uncomfortable moving furniture around. I work real hard to find a piece for a certain spot and it usually stays there for years. But in this case, after painting this room, it seemed as if it needed to be here.
My mother always moved her furniture to give the room a new look. When I came home from school, I never knew where the couch would be. I guess I'm looking for more familiarity and stability.
The curtains were a JC Penney find. Once again, as in the last room, the flowers on the fabric perfectly matched the colors of the quilt.

This serpentine highboy dresser was something we brought with us from the previous house. It's my husband's favorite piece of furniture.

The quilt rack is at the foot of the bed. The pink and blue lap quilt is the first quilt I made in 1991. The green and yellow quilt was made by Duane's grandmother for his parents. She didn't put labels on her quilts but I know she always gave one to each child and grandchild when they got married. So I think it's from the 30s. Duane is the baby of his family so Grandma was having trouble with her vision by the time we got married. We didn't received a quilt so it was very meaningful that the rest of the family gave it to us when Mom and Dad passed on.

We bought the bed and dresser set in Florida. We had been looking for an oak set but thought they were too expensive for our budget. On a visit to Florida, we went into an antique shop and discovered the owners were from Michigan. They had hauled this set down with them for their new shop, but no one in Florida cares for oak and they couldn't sell it. We got it so cheap that we could afford to rent a U-Haul and take it back North with us on our return trip. Oak is the wood of choice in Michigan. Don't forget, in the 1800s, we were the lumber capital of the world and Grand Rapids was the furniture capital.

I found this wonderful water color, which is signed and marked 1900, on a barn floor in an antique sale. I was looking for a frame. It was stacked with a bunch of others and all dusty. When I asked how much, he said, "well, you know that's only a print." I didn't think so but I was in love with the little girl and so it didn't really matter anyway. He charged me for the frame only and even that was reasonable. When I got home, I found the markings: N.A. Ward. Has anyone heard of this person? I've done extensive research and never found the name. I think it might have been a local artist. She haunts me, she makes me think of Les Miserable, and reminds me to be thankful for all I've have. When I look at her, I realize I don't do enough to help those less fortunate.

I had planned to show you the library and an additional room today, but along with that comes the long story I was telling you about. So I'll end here. Tomorrow's another day.

Please check out my other blogs at:
Thyme for Herbs
An Herbal Bedfellow
Tickling the Ivories

Let's Go Upstairs.

Post #7

I think today I'll take you upstairs. On the second floor there are 6 bedrooms, (we only use three at the moment) a sitting room, a library, and two bathrooms. Only one bathroom is working; the shower and toilet in the second bathroom were taken out by a previous owner -- another long story -- and we never got around to redoing it. It's used for storage now.





As you come to the top of the stairs, you'll see an antique clock that my father-in-law had. He took it with him to every house and even the last move to Florida. We don't know for sure where he got it, but he always liked it and wanted us to have it. I think he knew it would look good here.
The light fixture is original to the house but I am not sure which doctor hung it there. The house had gas fixtures when it was first built, unless this was converted.





This is a view looking down the hall from the bathroom toward the top of the stairs. The door on the left is my bedroom. Straight ahead is the library. (sorry, about the blurry picture!
We brought the large teak Buddha with us from Taiwan. We bought it in our first year of marriage, so it's always been in our house. It's said to bring good luck when you rub his belly. Children always love to test out that story. (giggle, giggle)


To the left of the hallway picture is what we call the Lilac Room, the most recently decorated of all the rooms upstairs. It's one of our favorite guest rooms. I am selling all of the furniture in here. I had planned to cover the walls with quilt wall hangings so the walls are bare because I never got started on any before making the decision to leave.

I made this quilt and then matched the paint to the colors. It always seems so spring-like in here.


I found these curtains at Walmart! You can't see the fabric, but it's a sheer with small flowers the exact same colors as the quilt. They're even stitched in a cross-hatching pattern just like the quilt. You can see the window design through the light. I've always loved the bedroom windows. In the book that Hilda wrote she says this room was used as a guest room, also.



A pleasant and restful corner. The radio is from the 30s and still works. I always expect old-time music to play when I turn it on.
Now that you're in the guest room, would you like to stay a while? Sit back and relax or take a nap. I'll call you for dinner!


Please check out my other blogs at:
Thyme for Herbs
An Herbal Bedfellow
Tickling the Ivories