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Chambord Castle
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This February was the fifth anniversary of the birth of my house. They
say your home is your castle. I can agree with that. My home needed
a name, and I thought Windsor was a bit obvious, so I chose Chambord (to be more
subtle), partly because it's French. Grandma's and Aunt Grace's maiden
names were Mercure. That's French. I figure it qualifies me to name
my home after a French castle...doesn't it?
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Here are some of my favorite photos of my castle. (That would be Chambord.)
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Here I am on the "front stoop" when all there was
to the house was that very stoop. |
My house in 1997
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My newly transformed front door. What a difference the
Colonial Blue makes!
And haven't the trees grown? |
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I try to do red-white-and-blue pots on either side of the
front doors each Summer. This photo was taken the year before I
painted the doors Colonial Blue. |
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The path down the "Yellow Brick Road." The
Blue Star Creeper is creeping into the lawn, as you can see. I'm
taking Kevin's "survival of the fittest" approach. What
will be, will be.
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My Living Room has a lighthouse theme 10 months out of the year. That
came about when I was dismayed about the name of the street on which I
live. My friend, Tony, enlightened me that it was the name of a very
famous lighthouse off the coast of Great Britain. Those were the magic
words, because I have always loved lighthouses. What began as an empty
room, suddenly took on shape and meaning. I hauled out all my indigo blue
glass, the shells Grandma Cook had collected, shells I had collected, and
decorating had begun. Five years later, it has a real feeling. You
can almost believe you could look out the window and see the ocean instead of
the Mitten's house. (I don't care who moves in next door, it will always
be Herm and Connie's house to me.)
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Here is a photo of the model of the original Eddystone
Light. Looks like no lighthouse you've ever seen before, doesn't it? |
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Part of the Living Room
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The leaves turn, and suddenly it's Fall.
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Just one corner of the Living Room. My
Great-Grandfather's clock is on the table, along with a crystal vase given
to Aunt Grace by Mrs. Peters in Pasadena. |
Of course, if there's a better way to do
something, I'm not above changing. Jeanne sent me a wonderful
painting for my birthday, and I thought this corner was much better suited
to the new picture and a cute little shelf.
If you're worried about the window-frame pictures above,
they migrated up to the museum level above my Great-grandmother's radio
cabinet. They look great up there.
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A close-up of the fireplace and my Great-Grandmother's
chair.
The pillow is one I embroidered and cross-stitched for my Grandfather
on his 71st birthday. It says, "Count your age by friends not
years, Count your life by smiles not tears." |
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The art gallery on the stairs was added with the help
and inspiration of my neighbor, Kim, who is really good at thinking
"outside the box."
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The question is: How many neighbors does it take to
hang those pictures waaaaay up there?
Well, on this particular night, it took Kim (holding on to Ron) and Ron
(wielding the hammer and hanging the picture) and Beth (holding up one
side of the table Ron is standing on that only has two legs on the
stair). I was bravely shooting the picture.
Thanks, everybody! |
I've created some little vignettes in the Great Room, too.
This one is in memory of my friend from
Eagle Rock High School, George Franklin Myrick, who was killed in Vietnam.
The pressing is his name from the Vietnam Memorial Wall
in Washington, DC. The painting is of a rose called "Veterans
Honor," painted by my talented neighbor, Jenita. (She won a
blue ribbon for it at the Lane County Fair this year.)
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Isn't this shelf perfect for my little collection?
It's a gift from my friends Kathy and Imy. |
Then there's the back yard...
Turn the page for more photos
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