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Friday, July 6, 2018

Be still my heart........

I just got a new pantry! I'm so excited! What can I say??? I'm easy to please? Doesn't take much to make me happy?  I must live a pretty dull life? You're right! ..... on all three counts......... what woman/cook/housekeeper/collector of kitchen things, doesn't need some room to store her more than ample "stuff"?


What's this you say? You're looking up towards the top from the floor.

This is not your everyday, hole in the wall, pantry. This is a pantry extrordinaire....... freestanding, white, decorated, baskets inside, little shelves in back, custom, handmade.......... the size of our fridge but taller..... made about 11 years ago by my ex husband. Yes... my ex! At that time, my current husband and I lived in Washougal, WA and we were neighbors with my ex of 20 years and his wife. (Never planned for that to happen, but it just turned out that the house and 5 acres we loved so much was that close to my ex!) We were somewhat "friends" after many years of ups and downs with our kids.... many years of having to work together for the good of our kids.. of learning to compromise and work together.


Ex had made this pantry for our house there... it had a specific area he fit it to, a skinny area but tall, so he made it "custom" to fit there and we paid him a good price for it. It's made of 3/4 inch plywood and painted with oil based paint, many many coats, plus wait until you see the inside! (Note.. we never asked him to do what he did on the inside.. but he's very creative and artistic, and did it on his own).


What??????? .... the artist within I guess. My ex made pine furniture (and I helped) when we were first married (our "hippie" days in the 70's)... and  his signature carving was a tulip. Everything he made had tulips and vines carved in it.  So............ of course I needed more tulips, not carved this time, but painted!


Can anyone have too many tulips?

This had been sitting (stored) in my ex's barn since we moved here to Madras 6 years ago. We didn't have room for it in our moving van, plus it was WAY TOO HEAVY for us to load. My son used it in his little apartment off the barn so we left it, with the plea from me that someday I wanted it back.

Ex so kindly brought this pantry down to us a few weeks ago (with the help of my son loading it into the truck - and the help here of a neighbor and a dolly). He's finally selling the house that he and I built in the 70's and 80's, and that he has been totally remodeling for the last 3 years. Everything he did in that house was unique and original. In the remodeling process, due to codes, etc., some of the wood art, carvings, unusual beams made from Alders off the property, had to go in order to meet with the inspectors' approval. He did manage to save some of the original quirkiness.

NOTE: I hadn't meant to make this post so long.. but in the telling of the "pantry story", I decided I just NEEDED to show some of the beautiful custom work that my ex completed over his 35 years of living at that house (that by the way, has just sold after only 10 days on the market.)


The house I lived in (and helped build) from 1975 to 1989 - after extensive remodeling.... the original house was covered entirely in cedar shakes. Same GORGEOUS 9 acres though!

Some of my ex's craftsman style:

Wood stove with river rock from the Washougal River in back... surrounded by alder logs from the property.... stone hearth with wood edging.. I'm surprised there aren't any tulips carved in that wood edging!

Carved custom door he made.. with carving (of course!) on the inside.

Rock fountain... again using river rock..... which has a "switch" to turn it on or off..... which comes from the pond over to the right, which pond comes from an underground spring... which underground spring also results in the waterfall he built (shown below).. all custom cement work, carvings, and river rock from the Washougal River.


Log (Alder) beams in the kitchen.. from the property... oops! There's the tulips!

More Alder beams in the dining room...... that  fencelike looking door on the top has a loft behind it, and that door/gate  hinges downward so a person can get a bed or furniture up into the loft! Because... to get to said loft, you had to climb up a ladder on the wall, which ladder I climbed up and down until I was 8 months pregnant with my first child)!

BACK TO THE PANTRY STORY:

I'm afraid the pantry got kind of "musty".... as that area is a very damp climate. But I'm working on trying to get that musty smell out. I'm about halfway there.


Look at those baskets that pull out...... the little shelves in the back.....the huge storage area at the top (behind the door- first picture up above shows more tulips on that door on the inside!).......the large area on the "floor" for spuds, onions, veggies, etc. ........ swoon.........


And after all these years... it's a perfect fit in our new (old) house. Who would have thought?  I'm so glad to have it back!

How do I love thee pantry??? Let me count the ways...........


~Marilyn~





11 comments:

  1. That is going to provide you with lots of extra storage space . . . a girl can never have too much of that, especially in the kitchen :) Your old home was beautiful and the grounds were amazing, I love the river rock fountain and the waterfall.
    Regarding the comment you left on my blog: Your ladder sounds adorable. I love nasturtiums, but i've never had good luck with them. Everyone says how easy they are to grow . . . just not for me, LOL. Thanks for stopping my to visit.
    Connie :)

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    1. Hi Connie, yes we all need extra storage if possible! I haven't even filled up this pantry yet... too used to everything crammed in the other cupboards so have to remedy that soon. I love nasturtiums as my mom always grew them and they were so profuse! Sometimes I have good luck, and other times the bugs seem to eat them all! The ones I started here from seed this year are doing quite well... I found some climbers and hope they'll climb up my ladder. I've taken a recent pix that I'm going to post on my blog... and "before" and then hope in another month or so they'll be climbing! My others are not climbers and they are doing great.. no flowers yet but pretty soon. They're supposed to do well in poor soil, little water and the hot sunshine all day. That's what mine have! Happy Monday! Marilyn

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  2. Marilyn: There are not too many artisans of the old school left, but it sounds like your ex was one. Beautiful work and the grounds around your old home are so pretty. The pantry will give you lots of extra storage space, as, all we collectors have need of..Thanks for your visit. We had beautiful hydrangeas on the coast also. Everything seems to grow better in that situation..Happy Weekend..xxoJudy

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    1. Hi Judy, I know... a craftsman is hard to find these days. My old home and 9 acres was the love of my life! Hard to compete with that now, but I try to take what I learned and apply it to my little town lot. I did alot of the building too, but with instructions that I followed. I wish I could build something on my own but so far haven't attempted it. I think I could.. just not much a woodworker, though would like to be. I see all these DIY projects and think "I could do that"!!! but never do as we really don't have the space to do DIY projects. Yes... hydrangeas do love the coastal weather.. the cooler weather, the mist, the rain, etc. My ones here aren't doing much at all... very stunted even though I water them and mist them every day! Take care and enjoy this week! Marilyn

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    2. Thanks, Marilyn. I used to be way more creative than I am now. Now, I tend to buy other people's good work..I did order a nice size stencil for autumn that I am going to try to make happen. Hope my hands can do what my mind sees! Thank you for asking about the little birds. I was so proud of them and it was such fun to see them leaving the nest and the adults urging them on. Believe it or not, I have never seen that in all my years. I wish I had a better camera so that I could have recorded it..Happy Thursday..xxoJudy

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  3. In regard to the comment you left on my blog:
    Hi Marilyn, well we are both in the same stew pot when it comes to weather. Our weather is hot, hot and hotter :) I water all day long and move the sprinklers around the yard many times a day. We are blessed with a very good well, or I wouldn't be able to do that. I have been having a problem with earwigs . . . I hate those little devils. I do have things in the garden that are not doing that well. I planted five watermelon vines and I have one watermelon growing:) I have a huge pumpkin vine that is just gorgeous and growing so fast that you can almost watch it grow, but so far no pumpkins, LOL. Don't be envious, I get up early and start watering and don't stop until bedtime, then I'm hoeing, weeding and deadheading in between that. It's a lot of work and it does tie you down. Have you googled your worms and looked for any organic remedies to get rid of them. I know that I use bananas on my roses or anything that I think has aphids. Sometimes it's as easy as hot pepper or little bowls of beer set out. I do hope you find the answer. Better yet call your courthouse and speak to the master gardener. Every county has one and their job is to help you with your gardening questions. Let me know how it goes. I am always looking for health solutions . . . I do not want a garden sprayed with chemicals. I want to eat this stuff, right?
    I hope there is something here that helps you. Keep smiling sweet sister, summer will pass and we can start complaining about how cold it is, LOL.
    Here's to better seasons,
    Connie :)

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    1. Thank yo Connie for all your advice and suggestions. I have looked up alot of natural things for pests.. and for fertilizing, etc. Then it gets almost overwhelming as to which one to try. I tried a lot of different natural things the last 2 summers for getting rid of the ear wigs. Not much worked. They don't seem as bad this year, but instead have those moth larvae that hatch out on my plants and then the worms eat the leaves and cause a "rust" on them. I do have some natural stuff I got last year after searching YouTube but haven't used it this year as my sprayer was full of weed killer, and I just didn't get around to emptying it out and cleaning it so I could spray for pests. I just can't seem to keep up this year! I know what you mean.. on acreage like yours, it's CONTINUOUS as to keeping everything nice, watered, weeded, deadheaded, etc. like you said. I've always had organic gardens.. did companion planting and just didn't spray at all. I"ll keep on truckin'''..... I'll still be trying by the time Fall comes! Oh well...... take care...... Marilyn

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  4. Boy, what an artisan your hub is and gorgeous workmanship. The grounds around your old home are so pretty. The pantry offers so much extra storage space. I'm always looking for storage sapce which is rare in old houses.

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    1. Cathy, I agree.. old homes are short on closet and storage space unless they have an attic. That house I showed, the grounds and workmanship were from my "ex" hub and an "ex" place that I used to live, from 1977 to 1990. It was a wonderful place to raise my boys. Marilyn

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  5. My goodness, how exciting to finally get the pantry into your home! You will soon find all kinds of uses for it :) It is amazing the craftmanship that went into it! And oh my, I see what you mean when you talk about the beautiful home and area that you used to live in. Such incredible beauty and craftmanship in all the work you both did! And the tulips, what a unique style he has, just lovely! Hopefully the new owner of the home will take loving care of all his hard work! I enjoyed your sharing of the pantry and your old home today. Glad that you have a piece of it with you now to enjoy :)

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    1. Hi Marilyn... yes I'm glad I have something from the old home.... and the old ex! I also have a "hope chest" he made me lay back in about 1973.. it is being stored at my son-in-law's house as we don't have room for it here. I need to make room! It has his signature tulips on it. I do so hope the new owners of the "homestead" love it as much as I did and take good care of it all. The 9 acres of grounds are just so unique and wonderful. When I lived there, we had two horses with a coral around that neat barn (probably didn't show pictures of it) and they could go from the barn, up a trail that was fenced on both sides, to a pasture up on the "high meadow"... and have access to the underground spring.. so we never had to worry about frozen water in the winter! It was ideal for that. I so miss those times of having my horses... and miss having property with creeks running through it. Hope your weekend was good! xoxoxo Marilyn

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