The 1890s Festival: The Day Before

Today is the day before the one-day festival that ascends on sleepy, old McIntosh each year.

The street in front of the McIntosh Hotel is usually quiet, even with the Post Office situated just catty-corner from it.

Today, instead of being able to leisurely roll down Avenue G toward Harmony Learning Center to pick up Dominic, I found myself having to park three blocks away and walk into the heart of town because the roads were blocked with vendors setting up for the big event.

And, as you read that, it may feel like a complaint, but I was absolutely tickled.

There is something about the bustle of Festival Day that just thrills me. In the two short years we've lived in McIntosh, I've grown accustomed to its sleepiness, but I still very much relish the juxtaposition of this one day each year.

Here are some scenes from today for your enjoyment. Naturally, they do little to convey the excitement, but hopefully they demonstrate the proximity of the festival to the Hotel.

DIY: Reupholstering Chairs

Today, the Inn Keeper (LOL) decided to try reupholstering chairs.

We bought these chairs and the cute, glass-top table that matches in 2013 for our home in Dunnellon. It was a super cheap Craigslist find. Even back then, BC (before child), we knew we'd need to recover these seats though. off-white is just not a good look for upholstered kitchen chairs.

So, you may recognize the material from the dressing screen project a couple months back. I'm all about using up my materials AND tying common threads (pun intended!) throughout the house.

This was a relatively easy project considering I haven't ever reupholstered anything. Granted, a seat cushion is pretty easy to tackle; there isn't much learning curve.

I turned the chairs upside down on the table, unscrewed the seat cushions, draped and tightened the new fabric over the old (yes, I know), and then screwed them back on.

Now, here's the thing, I still need to trim a little bit of the excess off. Plus I want to add a few furniture staples to secure it all. But all in all this was an easy, fast way to get a fresh new look in our kitchen!

UPDATE: now that I've had all the chairs recovered and I've had time to really look them over and get used to the new printed fabric, I'm starting to feel like a fresh, new color on the metal would be a great idea. And would most likely better suit the fabric choice than the metallic grey/black with gold accents. Repainting them would require taking the cushions off again, but I considering how easy that is, it'd be so worth it if the color is spot on.

Anyone have any suggestions?

Little One.

I've got my eyes on you, Little One.

Be fearless. Be truthful. Be kind.

I want the Hotel to be a beacon for you as you grow up in this mostly dark world. I want you to gain strength from this icon, this home. I want you to gain confidence that you too can be unique, and powerful, and warm, and inviting.

I want to read you Shel Silverstein books like my mom did with me.

Your Best
If you always try your best
Then you'll never have to wonder
About what you could have done
If you'd summoned all your thunder.

And if your best
Was not as good
As you hoped it would be,
You still could say,
"I gave today
All that I had in me."

"Nice to meet you," said the frog.

We have so many tree frogs here.

They're always in the same places too. Like, these guys each have their own turfs. This one is always on my office window. There are three others who hang out on and around the porch light. And there was one who lingered in the downstairs shower for a good three weeks or more.

I don't know if they inhabit other houses in McIntosh like they do the Hotel. I'm hoping so as that would make me feel less odd. I have to imagine they're so prolific around here because of our proximity to water. These aren't water frogs, but they do thrive on the mosquitoes and whatnot that are abundant around here because of Orange Lake.

We enjoy spotting them when to pop up in new locations. It's become a game over the last year or so.

Do you like frogs?

Life of the Trees

For nearly the last two years, I've been searching for the best adjective to describe the trees of McIntosh.

And it seems to me that the adjective changes with the seasons, the time of day, the mood I'm in.

It seems to me the trees here are majestic and graceful, but also creepy AF.

This one is on the corner across from the Hotel.

And you can't tell it from this photo, but there's a giant gaping hole in the other side of it. A hole big enough to reach your arm down into if you're crazy like that. A hole so big a small child could jump down into it. A hole so big kind, tree-loving people like myself have to reach into to get trash out of from time to time, sadly.

This tree, especially in the golden hour of the day, is most lively. All those ferns growing on her are lush and green and angling for the most sun and rain. And everything has this beautiful golden hue to it. And no matter how I try, I can never capture the essence of that hour in a photograph.

But tonight, out walking the dogs, I saw it in the light from the street lamp and this tree looked so different. Tonight, she looks too still - asleep maybe - eerie for sure.

There's something about daylight hours on these trees that really accentuates the life of them all. There is a sense of movement in the daylight that, in this moment tonight, is completely gone.

Although, I don't know why that makes the trees eerie. I'm devoid of movement at night when I sleep too. Perhaps what I'm witnessing is actually just the tree and the ecosystem thriving on it getting a full night's rest for the busy day ahead.

Speaking of rest, I ought to do the same.

Late Night Decorating.

That's it. I've finally hit the point where I just can't take it any longer.

I cannot continue living here with no things on the walls - no mementos, no trinkets on shelves. I've got to finally unpack some boxes. With Dom tucked in and fast asleep, I creep downstairs to sort through memories bound up in bubble wrap. Nostalgia and excitement waft into the air as I open the boxes and begin deciding where things should go.

I took out pictures and laid them out across the floor, trying to envision them in their new homes on the walls.

Arrange and rearrange.
Picture them in new places.
Try and try again.

The butterfly collection was a wedding gift from JM's cousin, Susan. She found it fitting because we were married in the Florida Museum of Natural History's Butterfly Garden and Atrium. It was a beautiful wedding (not that I'm biased) and a wonderful gift to commemorate it. No matter where we move, I'll always want this piece on display somewhere common so it can be appreciated by all.

So anyway, this is the arrangement I settled on. I like it, I do, especially the large collage. But I'm still not convinced everything is where it ought to stay.

Take the two paintings on the stairs for example. Neither of these feels like the right fit in this location, but I can't decide what else to put there. Maybe it should be nothing. Maybe I should just paint that wall a glorious, funky, vibrant color. We'll see. For now, this is it. And I love what it is ... so far.

Hotel Guest: No. 1

We had a guest this week. Her name is Jillian and she came from Chicago. It was wonderful to have her stay at the Hotel. While her visit was short, it had a tremendous impact. She worked from the kitchen, picked Dominic up from school for me, and even took him grocery shopping. 

You see, Jillian came to stay for a few days so that I could focus on my family - my sister was admitted to the hospital and I needed someone to assist with the parenting while I did my best to get through my work days and then hustle up to see my sister in the hospital.

While Jill was here, I made a couple jokes to her that the Hotel is haunted. Well, quasi-jokes. I'm not sure whether it's haunted or not, but I'll tell you this much, if it is - it's by good, friendly, old ghosts. And I don't mind at all.