suebee12

"I have seen the whole show now...no severe weather breaks this time, thank goodness! Overall the house turned out really well. Just think, books facing binding out, a television, and some color in the little girl's room, which I thought was adorable! And if there was ever a kitchen that needed to be "gutted", this surely was the one. That was one of the ugliest kitchens I have ever seen...were those plywood cabinets? I liked this one quite a lot BUT and this is a big but...what was with the microwave being in the mud/laundry room? Not a real handy place to reheat things,etc. I admit to being old but I usually have at least heard of someone who is supposed to be famous and I have never heard of Mike Herrera or MXPX so I checked them out on YouTube. Found Don't Walk Away and liked it(there were quite a few posts by people who had done the same thing as me...checking them out because of Fixer Upper). I do wonder if Chip had ever heard of them before though.

I started reading her blog a long time ago and then didn't keep going probably during a break between seasons. I think most people who blog strive for "perfection" in their writing, at least as far as how we appear to others which sometimes is not what things are really like! That is one of the reasons I use Facebook very sparingly...only to keep up with family! I cannot understand how someone can post very personal things where many can read them. I can not post things like that which is why my blog is only about sewing...sometimes a family mention but who wants "everyone" in the world to know your business! I have started reading again and am trying to dash through it because if all goes well, my daughter-in-law are heading to Laurel next Wednesday. I'm trying to pick where we will go and what we should look for. Will let you know if the trip happens and if it doesn't , my son promised to take me there at the end of the school year.

I have seen bits and pieces of tonight's show because we kept having weather alerts(am taping it again tonight to see what I missed) BUT I did see the segment with the landscaping and I want to know what the heck Chip and Joanna were thinking of! A magnolia is a huge tree and they planted it right next to the house! My son built my grandchildren's treehouse in their magnolia and like I said, they are huge and have a pretty large root system. Magnolias, like the glorious southern magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora), the state tree of Mississippi, can grow to 80 feet tall. These trees can have a 40-foot spread and a trunk diameter of 36 inches. ... The magnolia root system is quite different, and the trees grow large, flexible, rope-like roots. Size is also considered when planting shade or other trees, because they vary in height and spread. Large trees, up to 70 feet or more should be planted at least 20 feet from the home, medium-sized trees up to 70 feet tall, 15 feet from the home, and small trees 30 feet tall or less, 8 to 10 feet from the home. I can see many, many problems with that tree, that close to the house!

I had not checked recently to see what is happening at that shopping center who's address btw is 170 Shopping Avenue. More gated homes! Here are the new plans: The result is a planned four-story, gated apartment complex with 222 units, a courtyard area, clubhouse, fitness center and coffee bar, according to the plans. It also will include a “resort style” swimming pool with seating areas and outdoor barbecue and kitchen. A future phase of the project calls for two, one-story commercial buildings on Ringling Boulevard. Wonder if they will change the name of the street?

I really don't know the answer, but I would imagine $$$$$ for the land. But I will tell you what recently happened where I used to live(Sarasota, FL). There is an old shopping center(the first one ever in town begun in the '50's). It is almost completely empty and has become an eyesore....a huge eyesore(Trash, homeless, drug-dealing, etc). So along comes Walmart wanting to buy the shopping center to build a new Walmart. This area is only a couple of blocks from Main St. So what happened you ask? The neighbors were aghast that this would happen in their neighborhood. Walmart even made many concessions about lighting, traffic, etc. Still no go. The last I heard before moving was they still didn't want "them" in their neighborhood even though shopping would be very easy...walk-able for several nearby neighborhoods and the trashy area cleaned up. Maybe this happens when the big box stores want near downtown?

Just watched the April Fool's show and I was so glad that Justin won. I think he was truly surprised he won since the other two seem to always be the winners in the judges contest! He has really grown on me since he was on the Food Network Star...he has grown up but still has interesting twists in his cooking. He also can come up with great dishes no matter what is thrown at him. I truly enjoyed the show tonight.

I am someone who scrapes the icing off of a cake! My favorite cake of all time is a Mayonnaise cake! It is so chocolatey and moist, so no icing is needed. I usually put a doily on top and sprinkle confectionery sugar over it to make a pretty pattern! If you have never had one, look up the recipe and try it! YUM!

Just as aside, has anyone had a Potassium drip? I have and it was horrible. They have to have the drip extremely slow because the Potassium burns like fire! They started my drip around 5 one evening and it took until around 8 the next night to get my level where it belonged. They changed the drip many times until it didn't burn so it was a really long 27 hours. And yes, those puppies were so cute and I am not a dog person...give me a kitten anytime!

I didn't like her, but I liked that she was using her $10,000 to build a youth ballpark in Santa Rosa...was a bit surprised Guy didn't say something about it since he is from there also.

I really enjoy Jet Tila as a judge...I love bacon but that bacon challenge was really over the top. I am not sure I could eat all of that bacon! That was definitely bacon overload!

When I saw what this week's show was, I was going to skip it BUT then I decided I could FF through what I didn't want to watch...ie. the funny faces, talking heads, etc. What I did enjoy was seeing the kids from the start and how much they have grown! They all looked happy in the videos. It was also interesting to see what the exteriors of the houses look like now. This! Watching him from the beginning did show what a nice looking man he is without all of the greasy hair and shaggy beard. It will be fun to see where he has his head shaved(I think I read that he went all the way when he had his hair cut for charity.) One thing I wondered was if he was doing it for Locks of Love because I thought you had to have at least 10" of hair to donate.(Now Jo would be a great contributor). One of my friends used to grow her hair out and donate and then start growing again. She is an awesome person!

And think of what an heirloom it will become! He does beautiful work and his love really showed in that piece of furniture! The one thing that he made that he maybe didn't research enough was the chicken coop...or rather the fact that he used chicken wire for the fencing. That will keep out foxes, etc. but if there are raccoons around, it won't work, they can chew through it. He should have used hardware cloth and anchored it in the ground. If anyone saw the FU with the garden shed and chicken run that Chip built, will remember that hardware cloth is what he used. It is to keep rodents out...they cannot chew through it. If someone comes to take care of rats, again, it is hardware cloth that is used.

I caught up on several of the last few games since I was watching the Olympics when they first aired. I cannot tell you how much I have been enjoying the new Wednesday night shows. The challenges are new and the chefs have been mostly fantastic! How they can come up with some of the dishes they do with what they are given and the time constraints they face is sometimes almost unbelievable! And last night's episode was amazing. I didn't want any of them to have to leave...so who cares if the chicken leg was raw....the rest was fantastic! I have one more show in my marathon...think it is the frying one...off to watch now.

Just a quick post before the Olympics start...they are sure making me late watching some of my shows but what the heck, they are only every 4 years! I love, love, love Miss Pearl's house! The perfect size for her and the kitchen was great! If I had a house, I would like the built-up garden...no kneeling or too much bending.(One thing, there would be no hot peppers in my garden!) I liked how they put the trellis around it so that one could plant beans and other vining plants. We are planning a trip(or maybe two) to Laurel this spring and I am pretty sure where we are going to eat!!! Her house should be pretty easy to find with that big church just across the street. I thought that the trim they added to the front was a great addition and those rockers were wonderful....especially since at least one of them was built a bit lower to make it easier for her to sit in it 'cause she really looked short. I would love to have that house..perfect size for one person, and the colors were just right! Great work Erin and Ben(I don't think I have seen Ben build anything that I didn't like!

LOL! That was the first thing I thought about when she was setting up the shelves! COLORFUL book spines! Yes, that is a fancy gardening shed but they can afford it so why not? They already had that beautiful window and the doors so I am glad they can enjoy them. This is the first show on HGTV that I think my son will watch and enjoy. Why, the chickens! He and his family have 4 chickens and a rooster that are free range and he really enjoys them. The chicken family is about to grow since my grandson wants some hens that lay "colored" eggs...I have a friend who has some and the eggs are beautiful...light green, pale blue, etc. I can't wait til he sees the chicken run....I think he will be amazed! I know Jo had a lot of help with setting up the garden but it was beautiful and I think she truly enjoys gardening and it is a great teaching aid for the children. Good luck to all of them with this new project! I think I enjoyed this episode of FU the most of any of them!

I did, I did! The style made them look like they belonged to that kitchen! What a find! Because we rented when we were first married, I have had avocado and autumn gold....remember the 70's! Then my mother-in-law redid her kitchen and she got black appliances....I hated them because they showed everything(mostly the sticky fingerprints of my two sons!) Finally when I finally got my own house, what was in it? That horrible dark copper color...don't remember the name and really don't remember the stove and dishwasher all that well because they were gone in a flash! Since then only white which means you can change the kitchen colors and not worry about changing the appliances! And no, stainless steel never crossed my mind...again, too many fingerprints and smudges.(I know they are supposed to be better now but I also think stainless steel looks cold and uninviting!)

You are right about that! These must be non-readers. When I moved, I had to clear out my books because I had so many and I think my son, book lover that is, my son might not have wanted all of those boxes and the weight to move. I donated them to the Little Free Library.https://littlefreelibrary.org/. If you have a box in your town, you might avail yourself of this service. Then I realized that since I worked in a small family type store, I made my own "give away" library. The books went to good homes which made me happy! I, of course, kept my favorites and signed books but since all of my reading is now on a Kindle, it didn't hurt quite as much. I must say though, all the bindings of my books showed!

I'm not sure but maybe this is it. This is in her post about decorating baby Helen's room. https://www.laurelmercantile.com/blogs/journal/2-522-nursery-progress

Just a quick post about the Country Club house. I'm still not sure where the basketball/tennis court is in relationship to the house? Is it in the front hiding the house from the street? I did love the sidelights and transoms that Jo added between the two rooms...felt right. And what the heck is point in putting books in a bookcase backwards? She has done this before and I still don't get it!L last but not least, I love Shorty! I bet he would be fun to work with.

Yes, you heard that. The kitchen table that she and her friend refinished was his and was just perfect for that kitchen. She said that he had lots of antiques in storage and he told them to use what they needed. We know that all of the things in his study in the built-ins were things he had collected so I am hoping some(lots) of the other pieces were from his things in storage also. Such a great renovation! Edited to add: Just found this on the Laurel Mercantile site. "Erin & Ben wanted the living room to be an ode to Luke’s love for the outdoors and antiques. Erin noted that almost all of the furniture was his, as his family were antiques dealers and it fit his new home so well!" Here is the link to the site with all of the photos! Really impressive! https://www.laurelmercantile.com/blogs/journal/the-ponder-house

I have been a bit slack posting in this thread but after last night's show, I have to post! I loved, loved, loved what Ben and Erin did with the house for the minister! It was absolutely beautiful and I thought that it was great that they got him the glasses that "fix" color-blindness.(Had to laugh when he said he couldn't wait to look at his wardrobe to see what colors it was). It was such a cute little house and I thought it was decorated just right...hope he gets to keep the things they added! The study will be used so much more than a dining room would have been and he still has a nice dining area in the kitchen. Now he has a place for all of collectibles. Moving the laundry inside was a great idea(it is so humid and muggy down here so an inside area is a good idea) and now he has a place to work on his plants. Ben is so handy designing things from what they have available. The front porch was the highlight for me. I love the show and Ben and Erin but I hate the open porches that everyone seems to want. I live two hours from Laurel and the mosquitoes are the size of huge planes! I want screens to protect me! I loved when the new owner pointed outside and said "Mosquitoes", and then to the porch and said "Me"! I wasn't sure I was going to like the colors on the outside but when done it looked great. Not sure about the walkway but I could live with it. All in all, this was one of my favorite episodes ever and I have basically liked them all.

I thought the same thing when I watched the reveal and then wondered if they were planning on letting the boys "grow into the areas"? I found several interesting articles to go along with the show. http://www.kwtx.com/content/news/Fixer-Upper-fans-pay-off-mortgage-for-local-couple-with-disabled-sons-472190853.html https://magnoliamarket.com/design-tips-copp-house/ https://www.southernliving.com/news/tim-tebow-guest-star-fixer-upper

I wonder how many writers HH and HHI have because I am starting to hear every other homeowner(mostly the men) say, "Now that is what I mean......"! There cannot be that many people who say that spontaneously upon entering a room! I have been noticing this statement more and more(and it is driving me crazy more and more!)

I grew up outside of Richmond and attended Virginia Commonwealth University(VCU) back in the day. VCU is located at the beginning of the fan district and I loved being in the area because of the great houses. The first house that was shown(the rowhouse) was definitely in the fan but the house they chose is not in the fan and the second house was as advertised in the Museum District. One of the biggest problems finding a row house in the fan is that many, many of them have been converted into apartments for students since the school is in the middle of the fan! I had several friends who had apartments in such rowhouses and they were amazing. It was fun to try to imagine what they were like when they were single family homes. Also many of the old homes are being used by the university. There are loads of bars and restaurants in the area but most are aimed at students(or at least they were when I was there.) I really enjoyed seeing the houses because they brought back many, many great memories! Found this article about the couple and they must have enjoyed acting because it seems as though they were not as "flighty" as they were represented! http://www.richmond.com/entertainment/television/update-this-is-the-house-the-richmond-couple-on-hgtv/article_23ecd169-c233-5078-9bbe-6488b6c62a0c.html And if anyone else is from Richmond, there will be another Richmond episode next week. Supposedly the house that the couple chose is in Church Hill, another up and coming area that includes St. John's Church where Patrick Henry gave his famous "Give me liberty or give me death" speech. Looking forward to this episode, too!

I finally watched this version of Flip or Flop and I surprising liked it. That was a tiny house when they started but when they finished, it seemed so much bigger. Moving the laundry was a great move and vaulting the ceiling made such an impact! I loved adding the porch(and I hated that they had to take the tree down, but it was for safety so I understood.) One thing I was wondering about was the remediation of the siding. I thought if you didn't chop it up, it was safe or did cutting around the windows make it unsafe? One nice thing tho', when Ron got the bad news, he accepted it and just had it fixed and then went on with the renovation. All in all, not a bad version of Flip or Flop and I do love the houses they are doing.