Anniversary Trip: Olympia

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On our way from Delphi to Olympia we saw some beautiful scenery.

The scenery was ever changing.

Coming down the mountain we passed miles and miles of olive groves.

We passed over and beside lakes, inlets, and olive groves.  I was happy to be the passenger taking it all in while Charlie drove.

A unique bridge in the distance which we were destined to cross.

Charilaos Trikoupis Rio – Antirrio Bridge

We crossed over the Gulf of Corinth on the Charilaos Trikoupis Rio – Antirrio Bridge, one of the largest in Europe.

It’s difficult to coral this many unruly goats.

The goats were fun to watch and they didn’t hold us up for very long.

We saw something we don’t usually see in the US — a herd of goats stopping traffic to cross the road.

The view from our deluxe accommodations at the Hotel Europa.

When we finally arrived at Hotel Europa in Olympia we were in first class territory.  We could have toured the local ruins but decided to take full advantage of our overnight stay at the hotel.

Charlie tried a chocolate cream concoction served by the pool bar.

For an incredibly reasonable price he also enjoyed a grilled sandwich and frites.

We snacked by the pool.

Every bit of food in this on-site restaurant was delicious and served with style.

We did not leave the premises for dinner either as we found a lovely alfresco table and ordered our evening meal as the sun set.  The wait staff was lots of fun especially teaching Charlie how to say “thank you” in Greek — “Efcharisto” .  We all laughed and laughed.

On the breakfast buffet — real Greek yogurt among other fresh foods.

Try making a choice here at the condiments bar.

If dinner was excellent and well-priced, the included breakfast the next morning was out of this world.

A few fresh pastries from which to choose.  Who am I kidding — two full tables of goodies.

Last but certainly not least — hot offerings.

We could have stayed to eat for hours.

My favorite was bougatsa — essentially warm custard pie with phyllo dough.

We were really sorry to leave Olympia even though we hadn’t stepped from the hotel.  It was a much needed sojourn in the middle of a busy trip.  We should have scheduled at least 2 days here.

This was a highlight of our tour through the Peloponnese.

Next we’re on to Nafplio for a couple of days.

Jo

The Downstairs Bathroom

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Charlie has all but dismantled both the powder room and ensuite full bath on the first floor.

The full bath was tiny.

We’re hoping to redesign this area into a more usable space.  After all, the shower was the size of a telephone booth — remember them?

For now the space is as open as we can make it and still be able to use it.

It is my task to decide on possible  finishes for this area which will also include a closet for the bedroom.

I have chosen  the Nanterre 49 in. Single Sink Desert Birch Bath Vanity with White Natural Carrara Marble Top

A light colored vanity that comes with its own hardware in both silver and gold should easily fit into the space where the powder room sink had been.

Delta’s Saylor Champagne bronze wide spaced faucet has matching shower fixtures.

I plan to use brass/gold colored Delta fixtures in the shower and on the sink.

The former closet is about the right size for a shower.

I also have designated the space that used to be the closet as a walk-in shower, hopefully without a threshold but we’ll have to wait for a contractor to determine that detail.

The wall between the bedroom and former closet will be closed and the shower entered from inside the bathroom.

If, in fact, there is no threshold  then the floor tile will need to flow from the room into the shower and be a small mosaic.

I’m considering this tile for the shower walls and vanity backsplash.

I have  tentatively chosen allen + roth white 10-in x 11-in Polished Glass/Stone Patterned Mosaic Wall Tile from Lowes.  Since the bathroom has no natural light I believe this tile will keep things bright.  I will probably choose to use this tile as the backsplash to the vanity as well.

Since we are removing 2 toilets I’m planning to save the ADA height Toto model to reuse.

Something simple and smart — on the hunt to find a look-alike bargain here.

I would also like a bright, simple lighting fixture — perhaps with a little touch of brass.

Angorra Geometric floor mosaic picks up the sand in my sea, sky, sand color triad and will influence my paint color.

And finally I need a wall paint color to coordinate with the pale gray Yarn by Magnolia Home that is in the adjoining bedroom and a mosaic tile for the floor.

Mood board for the downstairs bathroom.

Next step is to select a contractor who will say what can and cannot be accomplished. Then I’ll start ordering the above items starting with paint.

Jo

Light in the Dining Room

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When we first saw the house on the bay we were excited by the view but knew we would need to change a few things.

The dining room was originally decorated with a table, chairs, buffet, and a chandelier that had been swagged to let it hang over the table.

The dining room, for instance, had been set up for AirBnB renters but not for home use.

The living room and dining room are all one large room.

The first design element in the dining room that I amended was the color of the wall — now Alabaster by Sherwin WIlliams since the dining room area is connected to the living room in an open plan.

There is really only one wall in the open plan dining room.

Next I laid the carpet that had been in the primary bedroom at our former residence.

Dining room curtain area is open plan with the living room.

I also hung some curtains on the sliding door that match the others in the connected living room.

This fixture is down and banished.

Since I have been changing lighting fixtures in the entire house including removing  fluorescent units I was eager to get rid of the black and white hanging fixture in the dining room.

I really loved the look of this giclee shade but I couldn’t find it with brass details.

I was headed in one direction with an over-table chandelier.  Then I started thinking about a mural on the wall which would be a little busy with this multi-colored fixture.

This 20″ shade holds four 60-watt light bulbs.

Then I saw this one which I hoped would go with the one in the kitchen colorwise.

The dining room and kitchen fixtures complement each other.

When it arrived I was actually surprised how well it went with the burnished brass ceiling fixture in the kitchen but was more dramatic — something I would want for the dining room.

When lit the fixture casts a warm glow on the ceiling and, eventually, the dining table.

The lighting fixture is centered in the dining area and the rug medallion needs to be centered under the light.

I’m awaiting a wallpaper sample to be sure of the color tint before I purchase.

While we are still waiting to move our furniture I have made a mood board to “picture” the finished dining room.

Jo

January, 2025: Aims

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Here we are at the beginning of a new year in a new home with renewed spirit and energy.

We are awed on a daily basis by sunset.

We have no concrete plans for travel but we still have places we want to visit.

I’m going to try an adventurous bronze chandelier for the dining room which I’ve decided to differentiate from the living room with color.

My 10-point plan for the month of January:

  1.  Decide on interior door color.

    The interior doors all have an orangey colored stain. I want something more neutral.

  2.  Decide on finishes — tile, furniture, paint — for future downstairs bathroom.

    I’m considering this tile for the shower walls.

  3.  Put away all Christmas decorations.  Hoping to downsize our collection yet again.

    Everything goes back into bins and is stored in the backroom closet.

  4.  Decide on a secondary paint color for the primary bedroom to go with the one in the sleeping alcove which I painted last month.

    I’m using this pillow cover and a new piece of art as my color inspirations.

    Some shade of sky, sea, or sand.

  5.  Read a book. Still working on Chesapeake along with rereading of Outliers.  
  6.  Hem living room curtains.

    Time to pull out the sewing machine.

  7.  Plan future travel.

    I’m thinking of an exotic trip like Portugal to Morocco.

    Maybe New England or Morocco.

  8.  Review possible contractors for home upgrade projects.  First project new bathroom/closet.
  9. Pick a word to focus on for the month. My word: VISION.
  10.  Write a goal list for February, 2025.

Jo

December, 2024: Did It

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Charlie and I were very busy in December not only decorating and celebrating the holidays but also traveling and continuing projects at the Bay House.

Maybe next year I’ll add lights.

I worked on making the house, without furniture, a little Christmassy. Along with our traditional Christmas decorations around the house, I also put together a dog-themed driftwood tree.

End of November at The Glade

Beginning of December at The Glade

In addition to the numbered list below:

  • I cleaned the grimy hanging lights in the living room with a Magic Eraser.  It worked a charm.

    Before

    After

  • Charlie continued gutting the 2 downstairs bathrooms.

    The closet, toilet, and vanity are gone.

  • I visited a local train garden.

    The local train garden was enormous and detailed in many ways I’d never seen before.

  • Charlie harvested some fresh mistletoe.

    This big wad of mistletoe is just waiting for the right couple.

  • Charlie built me a compost bin in the enclosed yard near the shed.

    I started clearing this area last month and now I have a place to throw my used coffee grounds.

  • I painted half of the primary bedroom and put together a new bed frame.

    Riviera Azure by Benjamin Moore in eggshell finish.

Here’s the 10-point plan I had for the month of December:

  1.  Celebrate Christmas.  We were happy to celebrate almost the entire month while visiting with different members of the family.

    Sister applies her creativity to my theme (Greek Christmas) with custom ordered wrapping paper.

    We opened gifts and oohed and aahed while together.

  2.  Work on a project at the Bay House.  I continued to work on the curtains and tile around the base of the hearth.

    A tad unconventional but I’m not finished yet.

    Charlie continued demolishing the downstairs bathrooms so we can build a big modern one.

  3.  Measure the vanities in the Bay House and search for reasonably priced replacements.  Primary ensuite:  78″ will become 60″; Secondary ensuite:  43″ will become 48″; Downstairs ensuite: 24″ + 60″ will become 49″.

    I’m thinking of something like this for the downstairs bathroom.

  4.  Attend a Christmas Market.

    The first market gave us all kinds of inspiration of things we could make ourselves.

    Charlie and I met son and daughter-in-law at a local market.  We also attended one at the art gallery then joined the crowd to watch a traditional nighttime parade in the freezing weather.

  5.  Read a book.  I’m enjoying Chesapeake by James Michener which deals with the history and culture of our new neighborhood.

    We live on the edge of the brackish bay waters of the Chesapeake. The long dock is ours.

  6.  Visit Florida.  We traveled to both coasts to meet and celebrate with both of our families.

    We visited a peanut farm so Charlie could get some fresh boiled peanuts — them’s eats.

  7.  See a movie.  Naturally I viewed Wicked which is very popular. We saw the Broadway show a few years ago.

    The grand drape on Broadway for Wicked was a map of The Emerald City and surrounding Land of Oz.

    The film is visually beautiful and engaging but a little long for me. Warning:  This is not like the Broadway musical and is only Part 1 of a 2-part series.  Part 2 will come out next December I think.

  8.  Pack up Glade pantry and move to Bay House.  I packed up everything I could in the pantry as well as my beloved coffee cupboard.

    Emptying kitchen cupboards is not an easy task.

  9. Pick a word to focus on for the month. My word: GRATITUDE.
  10.  Write a goal list for January, 2025.

Jo

Just a Little Cleaning

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I wanted to clean the area around and under the king-sized bed in the primary bedroom.

The king-sized mattress is extremely heavy and unwieldy for one person to manage.

I pulled the very heavy mattress off of the bed frame along with 2 box springs.

Everything was put together with multiple long nails.

That’s when I discovered the bed had actually been built into the room. (We had been told that the former owners were leaving the bed because it was bolted to the wall.)

That’s quite a pile of lumber for a bed.

I started knocking the bed apart but made slow progress because the frame had been fastened with long (20d maybe) nails instead of screws.  With Charlie’s help I finally got the whole thing apart only to find out that the wall-to-wall carpet did not go under the bed.  I had been planning to also remove the shelving behind the bed but was fairly sure it would have also left a gap in the carpet.

Since cleaning was my original intention I vacuumed the area very well then shampooed the carpet.

With the bed cleared out and the carpet cleaned I decided to paint the walls.

I painted this alcove section of the bedroom including the shelves Riviera Azure by Benjamin Moore — a deep periwinkle blue.

The bed frame came with 2 sets of instructions — both in French.

I also ordered a simple bed frame from Lowes which was delivered the next day.

I like that there is space under the bed for some storage.

I put the bed together while waiting for the first coat of paint to dry.  I always give at least 2 coats.

My inspiration watercolor looks good over the bookcase centered under the window.

I was not sure about painting the bookcase but in the end I wanted to erase as much brown from the room as I could.

The sleep alcove in periwinkle is ready to be fully furnished.

When I put the room back together I was happy with the transformation.  I’ll have to wait until our furniture arrives from The Glade before I can properly make up the bed with a mattress and box springs.

Riviera Azure by Benjamin Moore in eggshell finish.

In the meantime the set that had been on this bed is now in the second bedroom.

Jo

Merry Christmas and Some New-to-Me Stuff

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As I’ve been furnishing and painting the new house before our own furniture arrives I have been gifted a number of really nice stuff in addition to buying a few things on my own.

This is a large piece (18″ by 24″ plus matte and frame) by Seymour Thomas.

My sister gave me two pieces of original art inherited from my mother.

The colors of the painting tie in with the ones already in this room.

The first is a large waterfront scene which I have hung in the downstairs bedroom.

I love the ochre sky.

The second piece is a watercolor (by Hilt) she took right off of her guest room wall.  I have hung it in the primary bedroom and am using the vibrant colors as inspiration for that room.

The Christmas mantel is filled with Greek ceramics.

Charlie’s mother gifted us a bunch of Greek souvenirs which had been given to her by Charlie’s grandparents.

The porcelain vase was ours. It formerly graced the kitchen at The Glade — 3 Graces??

Since We are celebrating a Greek Christmas this year I have temporarily lined then up on the new mantel.

I almost bought white stools at twice the price. I like these sand colored ones better.

I had been looking for 2 counter height stools with a coastal vibe so we could sit up to the kitchen island.  I found cream colored rattan stools on Ebay that had originally been sold by Target.  They were both new-in-box and priced at well under the original selling price.

The brass screen picks up details in the rest of the decor.

I also bought a brass fireplace screen from Facebook Marketplace for $20.  The size is not quite right and I think it had been painted but in the meantime I’m deciding if I like it enough to keep it.  Perhaps its function will prove valuable.

We have multiple small trees all over the house.

As I write this I haven’t yet opened what’s under the Christmas tree so perhaps I’ll have something else to report later.

Jo

 

 

Anniversary Trip: Delphi

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One of my chief reasons for wanting to visit Greece was to see the Charioteer which I had learned about 50 years prior in art history class.

The Charioteer of Delphi

My professor had described this bronze sculpture in such a way to make me want to experience it/him in person.

Although Greece is hilly the roads are easy to navigate.

The Charioteer is in a small museum in Delphi, about a 2-hour drive from Athens.  After leaving the ship in Piraeus Port we took a cab to Athens Airport where we rented a car that we would use for the next 5 days to tour around the Peloponnese unaccompanied.

The view from our hotel room was spectacular.

Our first stop was Delphi where we stayed at the small Nidimos Hotel. Parking was included in a tiny underground lot which we did not leave until our final departure since the town is very walkable.

Charlie on the main street of Delphi in front of the museum.

We walked to the museum that held the celebrated statue.  It was not necessary to buy advance tickets online since there was no wait for entrance.

Statuary in the small Delphi museum.

The ticket covered both the museum and ruins.  I had seen enough rubble so we only toured the museum.

This is more the color I remember of the statue — photography generally turns it more green.

The Charioteer is one of only a handful of bronze statues that exist from the ancient time period since much of the artistic bronze had been melted down to make weapons.

A model of the Severe style of the early Hellenic Classical period, the Charioteer has the characteristic fixed stare, heavy chin, and regular folds of drapery.

The athlete was so handsome.

The entire original must have been prodigious.

Once upon a time the total sculpture had been the charioteer and his chariot, 4 horses, and 2 grooms.  Only the principal player and a few bits of horse have been found.

Restaurants spilled out onto public walkways.

Delphi is a totally walkable town in the mountains. I found it not very touristy although tour buses do arrive on a daily basis to see the museum and grounds.

Our balcony was well-equipped for leisure.

We stayed overnight in a room with a balcony and a view.

Breakfast included with the room was fabulous — Greek yogurt in Greece is delicious.

Breakfast at the hotel was spectacular.

The scenery coming down the mountain was beautiful — we passed miles and miles of olive groves.

After breakfast we headed down the mountain to Olympia.

Jo

Jo

Hanging a Wood Mantel

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After I painted the terra cotta tile on the front of the fireplace I decided to hang a simple, modern-style mantel.

A modern mantel — 72″ x 5.5″ x 9″

I scanned lots of mail order mantels, read the reviews, and finally chose this Aged Oak Poplar Hollow Farmhouse Fireplace Mantel from Lowes.  Since all the mantels online had mixed reviews from chips and cracks to streakiness of finish, I ordered from Lowes so I could return it if necessary without mailing it. The one I received, however, was beautiful.

Centerline marked on the wall would eventually be covered by the mantel.

I planned to hang the top of the mantel 5 feet above the hearth which meant it would be 3″ above the tile on the face of the fireplace.  I marked a centerline on the wall above the fireplace.

Lined up centerline on wall with same on batten.

I also marked a centerline on the batten that holds the hollow mantel.

Located studs and drove screws through the batten and into the wall.

I located 4 studs and screwed the supportive wood bracket  into the studs with long screws that are supplied.

I amended the directions that came with the mantel so I could complete the task and  kept my eye on the level supplied with the mantel to make sure it was totally horizontal.

The instructions said to use a 1/16 inch drill bit to start the screws but I was forced to use one about 3 times larger so I could actually screw it to the wall.

The bracket is secure and level.

The bracket should be centered under the decorative part of the mantel but there is a little room for play if necessary.

Screwed in from top with 5 screws.

Although hollow, the mantel is heavy.  Both Charlie and I lifted it and he pressed it to the wall while I drilled through the predrilled holes in the mantel then into the top of the batten.  I drove in the screws which were supplied and once they were all the way in the mantel was very secure.  Plastic caps which came with the mantel cover the recessed screw heads.

The mantel finishes the look.

I couldn’t be more pleased with the color and finish.

The fireplace has been painted and the mantel has been hung.

I plan to add some Greek objects for Christmas decorations this year. Love it when a plan comes together.

Jo

A Driftwood Project

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While we were on our Viking cruise Charlie and I investigated every corner of the ship including the gift shop.

When I saw this in the Viking cruise gift shop I thought “I can make that.”

We didn’t buy anything but I saw  a rugged yet simple twig tree in the Norwegian style but which could express any person’s terroir.

When the tide comes in it often deposits driftwood and other treasures in the marsh.

I began by collecting pieces of relatively small driftwood which had washed up into our marsh.

Any pile of twigs should work — don’t look for perfection.

When I had a good pile of various size pieces I decided I might be able to make a twig tree.

Wood pieces arranged from longest to shortest saving a spectacularly shaped one for the top.

I laid out all the pieces according to length not being too picky about their shapes, widths, and bends.

I had a rigid piece of metal to build the tree on but I believe a piece of hanger would work just as well.

My original plan was to stack the wood in the little wooden box  but I found a heavy piece of wood shaped like a dolphin that laid flat on the table so I used that instead.  I drilled a hole partly through the dolphin and stuck in the metal rod.

The tree was leaning a little off vertical so I just bent it to straighten it.

While collecting the wood took a few days, actually assembling the tree took about 15 minutes.  I drilled a hole in the approximate center of each piece of wood then slid it onto the thin metal rod. I did not glue or nail anything.

I left the metal rod longer than the finished tree so I could add a few decorations.

I continued drilling the sticks and threading them onto the wire until it looked like a tree.

This year the tree is a tribute to Dash with dog ornaments and some shiny blue balls. Don’t forget the star on top.

So simple.  So fast. This tree reflects where I live.

Jo