On The Line: Eco-Friendly Clothes Drying

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So our first tiny home in Ralston had a clothesline and I miss it very much. I loved our house in Gretna but the neighborhood covenants forbade such an unsightly thing in the yard (and, to be fair, the yards were open for all to see – how’s that for airing dirty laundry?). Our new home’s neighborhood MAY have these types of rules but the backyard is so secluded that nobody could see…and I am excited to dry some of our clothes outside again…when it’s not so humid and they might actually dry! A few of the models at Line Dry It can be used indoors. There is nothing so good as freshly dried, crunchy cotton sheets on your bed! The smell is divine. If you have never tried it, give it a shot – it makes your clothes last longer and saves on energy. I also especially love to dry kitchen towels and tablecloths this way.

Houston Heights II

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So here are the Houston Heights shots I found online while I was searching for real estate. The smallest houses are a bit over $200K while the larger ones (3,000 to 4,000 square feet) are over a million. If you’re really into checking out the area, go to the Houston Association of Realtors website and choose “advanced search” and search for the whole neighborhood – just enter “Heights” into the dialog box. Have fun! Some of the interior pictures on these houses are really amazing.

Houston Heights I

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So I had a client meeting in The Heights on Monday morning and I had never been to the area. To be honest, I was afraid to go anywhere near downtown – small town chicken that I am – but it was a very fun, artsy, historic area. It reminded me of Dundee in Omaha. I left Spring around 8:15 and arrived in The Heights around 8:45 but my meeting wasn’t until 9:30 so I drove around taking pictures like a tourist.

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I also stopped at a cute bakery and took pictures of the oodles of goodies because they were so colorful! I have never seen such pink cookies in my whole life! The pastries were filled with pineapple filling. There was a sweet potato filled empanada. There was a cinnamon doughnut looking pastry filled with apples. I also bought some sugar cookies for my potential clients. I accidentally gave away the treats that I purchased for Don and brought home the sugar cookies. Oh well. After all that, the kids didn’t even like the cookies. They were dry and crumbly (okay by me) but not very sweet at all (even though some were coated in sugar) and tasted of cornmeal. Hmmm…I guess we’re too sugarified in the midwest. Would probably take some getting used to.

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I’m posting some of my random shots while driving and hanging out the window but I also found some shots of Heights houses for sale. One of these is for sale for $1.3 million. {cough, hack, cough} Trendy, indeed.

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One thing that I am excited to have found is a little shop called Sew Crafty – Houston. I haven’t looked it up online yet but it looks like they offer classes all week. They were closed when I got there but isn’t their logo really cute? I’ll link to them as soon as I find out a little more about them.

Farm Girl Barter Website

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I do love this magazine out of Idaho…Mary Jane’s Farm. She has a new addition to her extensive website where people can barter for really great things! Check out Farm Girl Barter and you’re sure to find something you would like to have or use it to simplify and clear your own {precious} clutter!

Great Quilting Ideas!

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Blogs continually inspire me. Here are a few great quilting ideas I ran across this morning. I cannot wait to get sewing again – even if I don’t quilt. I just might convert someday. The rag letters are adorable!

This Polka Dot Quilt Tutorial qfrom And Other Silly Things is beautiful!

What a great way to “plan” a random quilt by Oh Fransson.

Whip Up has listed some resources for free quilt patterns.

Oh So Happy Together had a great, easy tutorial for quilted rag letters.

Things to do in Houston for Families

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Okay, so I love that clown pic below but after really looking into it they want money and I hate that when you can do just a little research and get the information yourself. So….here is a basic list that I came up with for local Houston things to do for families. It’s easier and free to check out the websites yourself and get the information online. Hope this helps you as much as me – we have lots to do and discover!

Hot Sauce Festival – http://www.houstonhotsauce.com/

The Health Museum – http://www.mhms.org/

Brazos Bend State Park – www.brazosbend.org

Old Town Spring – www.oldtownspring.com

Houston Zoo – www.houstonzoo.com

Downtown Aquarium – http://www.aquariumrestaurants.com/downtownaquariumhouston/flash_content/index.html

Memorial Park Conservancy – http://www.memorialparkconservancy.org/default.aspx?menuitemid=221

288 Lake (formerly Tiki Lake) – www.288lake.net

Blue Bell Creamery – www.bluebell.com

Dewberry Farm – www.dewberryfarm.com

Armand Bayou Nature Center – www.abnc.org

Marq*E Entertainment Center – www.marquehouston.com

Bayou Wildlife Park – www.bayouwildlifepark.com

Miller Outdoor Theatre – www.milleroutdoortheatre.com

Theater Under the Stars – www.tuts.com

Kemah Boardwalk – www.kemahboardwalk.com

City of Houston Parks & Rec – http://www.houstontx.gov/parks/index.html

Mothers of the Woodlands (resourcel list) – http://www.mothersofthewoodlands.com/resources.html

Woodland’s Children Museum – www.woodlandschildrensmuseum.org

Holocaust Museum Houston – http://www.hmh.org/

Houston Travel & Visitors Center/Info – www.visithoustontexas.com

Houston Wilderness – http://www.houstonwilderness.org/default.asp?ID=1

Galveston Island Travel & Tourism – http://www.galveston.com/default.asp

Things To Do in Houston (for Families!)

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So the kids are bored. Up until now this vacation hasn’t been much of a vacation. Sure, we took a day off to go to Schlitterbahn and we’ve been swimming almost every day but I think the kids are itching to get out and explore their new city. I’ve been trying to research family oriented things to do online and the above pictures link to two of the sources I’ve found. We know nothing will compare to Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo so we’re looking for other substitutes. I’ve been to the children’s museum here and it compares to Omaha but surely there’s something else…we are anxious to try the aquarium as we’ve heard it’s wonderful. Are there any splash parks? I know there are other places out there that only locals know…if you live near Houston (we’re willing to drive!), please email me and let me know what you family enjoys.

In Progress – More House Pics!

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Contract pending and still in progress. The home inspection went well and there really were only a few things we’re requesting of the seller so fingers crossed that they’re willing to keep negotiating with us so we can move in soon! We went on a family walk on Sunday evening (it was still 100 degrees out at 7:30 at night) so we sweat like pigs and didn’t want to stalk/scare the family selling the house to us so we walked over to the street and back again. It’s about a mile away from Don’s parents’ home. The pool, school and rec center are just about halfway between – how fun! I posted a bunch of home pics over on our flickr account if you want to view more. Just be sure to select Sparkbark’s photostream and then slideshow – it’s the easiest way to view them. Hopefully more good information coming soon. I know you’re all sick of me and house subjects (selling AND buying) so I’ve got to get moved in so we can get back to family stories and knitting and sewing and school and giveaways and design and work and…real life. Real life sounds pretty good about right now, work and all!

House Pictures!

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If you look really closely you can see the owner has a FAITH sign hanging near the kitchen sink. So appropriate. I need more faith and if I’d had more while we were going through our trials this past year I wouldn’t feel so overwhelmed by this blessing. As a family, we had a big talk in the car about how all good blessings come from the Lord and how He paves a way when it looks like there is none. This house and contract acceptance are a huge blessing from the Lord and we have been on our knees in thanks many times this day. We accidentally met the owner and she was so kind – she told us that she chose our offer over the other because our realtor had told her about our family and where Don worked and that we had family in the neighborhood so that sealed the deal. Thank you Lord, thank you Corlas Pearsall (Coldwell Banker Buyers Agent only) and thank you to the Zellmer family (current owners).

Beautiful Moment: Offer Accepted!

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I was on the computer early this morning, checking out any brand new listings or price reductions because I was SURE we didn’t get the house we made an offer on yesterday (there was a competing offer) and it had only been on the market for 2 days.

Beautiful moment: Don came upstairs and asked if I’d checked email and when I saw his face, I knew that we had gotten the offer accepted!!! I wish I could freeze that moment in time.

After a long year of cleaning and showing and taking a huge loss on our home in Gretna, we finally found some good news! We found a beautiful home for a great price in a great neighborhood with great schools that is large enough for our family AND clean and in great condition (everything else we’ve looked at so far needed so much work for the same price). Now we just need the continued prayers for a smooth inspection, appraisal and closing!

Check back later today as I’ll post some more pics after we get back in to show the kids.

Galveston & Schlitterbahn for the 4th of July!

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We had a blast. It wasn’t quite as fun as Noah’s Ark in the Wisconsin Dells but it was really fun! Afterwards, we wanted to eat at Joe’s Crab Shack so we followed Lole’s directions (our GPS is named Lole) and she took us along Seawall which was crawling because of fireworks off the beaches of Galveston and it ended up we couldn’t get to the restaurant because it was blockaded so we went to the next nearest one and when we got there it was boarded up from hurricane Ike damage and hadn’t been repaired (probably never will be). You can see the mark on the wall is well above my hand where the water line was during the hurricane. There were a ton of cars in the parking lot, though, so we asked a kid what all the cars were for and he told us he worked at one of 3 restaurants nearby so we walked to one called Fisherman’s Wharf (next to Willie G’s Steakhouse) and we had a great time – it was right on the harbor and had a neat ship we could watch just outside our window. The kids thought it was really fun and great food.

Upside Down Boys

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The boys stretching after our first day out of the car. Thankfully, I think this couch has seen much worse but we’re trying to not let them treat it like a jungle gym. I read a quote somewhere that said, “Boys don’t sit on couches, they RIDE them.” So true. Nadine – don’t panic – we will hurry and clean everything before you come home and pretend like some things never happened (unless it slips, of course).

Swimming in Houston

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Just look at my man with his boys. What a sight! Do they look mischievous or what?! All the kids want to do is swim. I go back and forth between wanting to buy a house with a pool…and not wanting to buy a house with a pool. The kids would love it but I want to be sure there’s enough room for a garden. Plus I’m constantly worried about someone drowning. The yards in Houston are TINY until you get out to the country. Many of the houses we’ve seen have no back yard at all after they’ve put in a pool (seriously – NO grass at all). I guess, to some people, that would be a plus! It takes Don about 20 minutes max to mow his Dad’s yard. It’s like a postage stamp compared to our yard in Gretna which took an hour or two to mow. Crazy! I like having a yard and I’m looking forward to having a patio I can walk out to from my kitchen. If there isn’t one, I will be putting one in. We haven’t found the right house for us yet but I am hoping it is out there and we will find it soon!

Summer Car Trips “Carcations”

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We have coined the term car-cation. I have heard of a staycation but we’ve called most of our family trips carcations because we have too many kids to fly affordably. I just thought these were great carcation shots from somewhere along our travels from Omaha to Houston. We don’t have DVD players and only one child has an ipod and he didn’t even use it very much at all! We enjoyed four new cd-roms of music (I love Alison Krauss but thumbs down for that cd she made with Robert Plant – yuck) but we enjoyed listening to Zac Brown Band, Alan Jackson and Rascal Flatts. Some are a few years old but since we don’t listen to country very often and we haven’t bought a physical cd-rom for YEARS, this was a great way to kill time on a road trip! I think we’re going to make it a tradition to pick up some new cds every time we take a long car trip to discover many great songs we’ve missed over the last decade. Maybe next time we’ll do Billie Holiday – I never get sick of her songs. Or maybe show tunes! That would drive the kids nuts!!! If you have a favorite album – any genre – let us know and we’ll try it out on our next trip.

Old Friends in Gravette, Arkansas!

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Thanks so much to a very dear friend, Elaine Holmgren Brandli, and her family for providing us a much needed home cooked meal on our way to Shreveport, Louisiana. We loved Elaine’s home and what they’ve done on their acreage with a great gardens and chickens. My kids loved the dogs, bunnies and chicks. Arkansas is a beautiful place. We drove through Bentonville and have never seen so many Wal-Marts in our entire life (it’s the headquarters). I was so surprised at how green Arkansas is and the weather there was not bad at all. I really, really liked it there but most of all it was fun to see Elaine and her family – we have been friends a very long time and it is fun to see her kids – and they are all such good kids! Thanks, Elaine & Fred – we appreciate everything! Come and see us in Houston anytime!