Saturday morning I decided to treat myself to breakfast. We have 4 diners in Front Royal, all of which I want to have first hand knowledge of, and this will be my second. I'd heard that Mom's Kitchen served a superb breakfast and since I had a busy day of tree shopping and gardening ahead of me I decided to fuel myself for the hard work ahead.
They were extremely busy when I arrived about 10am. I had hoped the breakfast rush might be over but the restaurant was packed so I sat at the counter. I had to wait a good 15 minutes or so for my food but it was worth the wait. I enjoyed watching the staff at work, noting the teamwork in all departments, and my food was fabulous. I'd been hungrily eyeing the huge pile of bacon on the grill and requested a side be added to my sausage and cheese omelette. Unfortunately I have no photos of my meal. The thought of taking photos was instantly forgotten as my steaming plate arrived, and I became another happy customer chowing down on my fodder. The bacon was perfectly cooked, not too crispy, and the potatoes had a wonderful earthy taste. I barely had room for my rye toast but when I saw they had marmalade, which is a rarity at diners, I persevered in finishing the whole meal.
A short time later I staggered to my car and with both my belly and the fuel tank filled up, I set off on my mission to find a ginkgo tree to plant in memory of Kota Kat Supreme. I often marvel at how I had tried to find one last year so I could plant it opposite Meadow House and been unsuccessful at every garden center I'd visited. Somehow, someone must have been watching over me because I would have been distraught if I'd planted one only to find out that just a few months later I'd be buying my own house and having to leave Kota's memorial and ashes behind.
I stopped first at the garden center in Front Royal but they didn't have any ginkgos. But I did spot some beautiful, and cheap, forsythia shrubs. I'd be back for one of those. Unperturbed, I made my way to Woodstock. Bill had visited the Fort Valley Nursery the day before and sent me photos of the 2 gingkos they had there.
I passed this burned out house on the way to Woodstock. Offering a $5K reward, the owner was certain the blaze had been arson. The confederate flags I remembered from before, and today these were brand new. I wondered if these were partially to blame for the fire...
Arriving at the nursery I quickly walked among the numerous trees on sale, using the photo Bill sent me to try and find the exact placement of the ginkgo trees. I found one and was elated to discover that it was the taller one of the two trees that was left; the smaller one was sold. I held on to the trunk and refused to move. It was mine. The only problem was that I couldn't see a sales person and there was no way I could carry the tree, it was in a 10 gallon bucket. Eventually a saleslady walked over to me and wrapped a red strip of tape around the trunk with my name on it. I had my ginkgo!
This is a photo of a young version in autumn. It is a Shandri-La, a compact fast growing tree that will only grow to max 55ft with a spread of 30ft. It will be perfect on the corner of my front garden.
I walked about the garden center, picking up a hellebores, which had always been a favorite plant of mine in England. There were many garden sculptures and winter planting shrubs but they were also very expensive.
Inside was laid out very prettily, many plant and pottery arrangements with Easter bunnies and garden ornaments on sale, but I wasn't tempted. Bill had raved about the cafe yet obviously that was not on the cards for today, I was still stuffed from breakfast. I admired everything and then paid for my plants. 2 guys carried the tree for me, which had been trussed up, and miraculously fit in the back of Stanley.
I stopped at a flea market on the way home, another recommendation from Bill, and bought a couple of bits. But not the cookie caddy above, it scared the life out of me. No way would I want to walk bleary-eyed into the kitchen one morning and come face to face with that on the counter! But I did buy this wooden cat to hang on the house under the front porch and I had to have these figurines. They are old wedding cake toppers from England with magnetic heads which are drawn to each other. Hideous, but in a comical way, and I wondered if they really had stood on the top of an unfortunate couple's wedding cake.
I stopped again at the garden center in Front Royal. I had to have one of their beautiful forsythias, and after seeing how costly, and small, they had been at Woodstock, I knew this would be a bargain.
Back home, I grabbed my garden tools and set about digging holes. I started with the forsythia which I placed by the white picket fence leading up the steps to my front door. It was a beautiful warm day, sunny with a light breeze, perfect for garden work. and it felt good to be working in my own garden. Whenever I do anything around the house, even after 5 months, I still experience a thrill knowing that I don't need permission from a landlord to make changes, it's all for my own pleasure. The soil in my front garden is the standard red clay that's dominant in Virginia but I kept digging. The forsythia plopped into the hole and looked magnificent as I released the long branches from their string constraints, buds about to burst into flower any day.
Next I planted my hellebores in front of the hydrangeas, hoping the squirrels wouldn't dig up the fresh earth, and then I started on Kota's tree. I couldn't lift it so had to dump it from the back of the car into my little red wagon and then haul it across to the corner of the garden. It would grow on the top of the bank in a prime position where it would be visible from the kitchen and also to anyone coming down the street. It took a while to dig down deep and wide enough to fit the huge root ball, but I wanted to ensure I got it right first time. I would have a hard time dropping the tree in and then having to pull it out again if I hadn't made a big enough hole. As I got close to finishing the kids across the street asked if I wanted any help. They are so incredibly polite and always greeting me with a wave and a 'hello'. I thanked them but declined their help. I wanted to do this all by myself since it would be a special memorial.
When the digging was done, I gently sprinkled Kota's ashes at the bottom, making sure none were blown away. I had a little quiet time thinking about my dear and very precious friend and then dragged the tree into the ground after loosening the roots. It fit perfectly, all I had to do was cover the base. It stood firm and erect, its branches barely moving in the spring breeze. I patted the trunk and set about watering in all of my new additions. Later I will make a little tag to hang from the tree. I'm really looking forward to seeing the leaves come out, tiny fans spreading across the branches. And I feel so relieved that I finally have a resting place for Kota.
On Sunday I went with Carmen to view an old potential property near Warrenton for 2 of her clients in CA. It's listed for just under $1,000,000 so I was curious to see what that would buy out here in the countryside.
I had no opportunity to make the bed before I left. Tricksie Treat and Rosie Lee decided they would sleep in and made themselves comfortable as soon as I headed to the shower. Rosie Lee is under the covers...
The house appeared a little smaller than I'd imagined, I think I was expecting to see a country mansion. But then I'm so used to seeing old properties in England, I was likely assuming it would be something similar. Although the sun
was shining the winds had picked up and turned cold so we didn't linger
for long outside. There was a lovely deep front porch with rockers but the wind howled through as if it was a tunnel so we rushed to get inside.
I'm afraid all I could think when I saw the dining room and kitchen was, 'blah'. There wasn't a welcoming feel to the place, it felt cold and unlived in despite the furniture and decor. That stone tile countertop would be hell to keep clean too...
The TV room looked to be more set up for a slumber party than watching movies, and the basement was a chilly dark room with another seating area and a treadmill which was difficult to access, wedged into a narrow stone hallway.
I did like this superb bath with its gorgeous view and no neighbors that could see in. I imagined it would be wonderful on a winter afternoon to sit there with the hot jets blasting while sipping a glass of red and watching rain or a snowstorm. I was amazed to discover that the house had only 2 bedrooms, both of which had annex rooms that were offices, but these were no ideal spaces for guests, and there were certainly no bathrooms that could be accessed by guests, unless they shared the ones attached to the existing bedrooms. The bath above was part of a 'jack and jill' bathroom shared by both bedrooms.
It was a disjointed layout and although some folks might be impressed by the old sturdy structure and wide wooden oak planks on the floors I was disappointed, and really didn't think Carmen's clients would be interested in moving from California for this. I was glad to leave. And once again I had looked at a house and thought my little home was better. I really did land on my feet with The Blue House. No mansions for me!
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