Your Cat Should Match Your House

OK, so we all know that your art does not have to match your sofa, but I do believe your cat should match your house. Or at least he or she should coordinate!

We are dog people. Actually, I guess we are both, but the dog reins supreme – or is at least allowed to live in the house. Let me go ahead and apologize to all the cat lovers out there now. One of our best friends is a passionate cat lover and has issues with us that our cats are outdoor only. Sorry about that, but my partner is insanely alergic to felines. Also, the cats have a job to do. They must protect the exterior of the house and the surrounding yard from farm varmints. Every farm needs a few mousers.

Over the years we have always had a couple of farm cats around. Actually, if I were a cat, I think I would like living here. It is really like kitty Disneyland. Lots of birds, chipmunks and field mice to harass and plenty of protected places to lounge.

Over the years there’s been a couple of cat groups. First there was the ‘Rat Pack’. Four kittens donated to the farm from an unwanted home – Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr, Dean Martin, & Liza Minelli. Frank and Dean decided to leave the farm early on, but Sammy and Liza lived on the farm for years.

After the ‘Rat Pack’ came the Zoolander phase

- the twins, Harrycat and Alliecat. They were

aesthetically purfect, but probably not the smartest

cats in town. Actually, I should retract that statement.

Harry Cat managed to have a very long life here on

the farm, and certainly earned his keep. He lived over

8 years, and 8 years, as an outside farm cat is like

200 in human years. But, unfortunately last spring

we found him peacefully ‘asleep’ under a pecan tree.

So this time around, I had decided that I wanted an orange cat so I could name it Pinestraw. And yes, I understand that sometimes my priorities are not in order.

There is only one Vet in our county. His office cares for everything from the family pet, to farm pigs, to riding horses so there is always some abandon animal there who is looking for a home. If you are willing to provide a good home for a needy animal, the Vet is always willing to discount treatment. But, It’s not like going to the pet store and getting the pick of the litter. So you take what you can get. Upon my recent visit my options were 3 gray & white kittens. All 3 had been either abandoned at the Vet’s office or dropped off to be put to sleep. One was 4 weeks old and had been mauled by a dog. One was 4 weeks old and had lost its mother, suffering from malnutrition, eyes matted shut, and the other left at the Vet’s doorstep in a cardboard box. When I brought them home they were a motley crew at best.


“But at least they matched the house”, says Partner.

Pinestraw would have clashed.

This time we went with a ‘B’ theme for the names, do not ask me why!
Bandit, Biscuit, & Beauregard.

Now, weeks later, they are actually turning out to be attractive enough cats, call me shallow, but that is important! (Actually I am still a little concerned about Biscuit. She still looks pretty goofy.) But, I am sure this new group will also become mighty hunters, once they decide to leave the back porch!

 

Got Recipes?

We were ‘foodies’ long before The Food Network or Top Chef came along. In fact we were ‘foodies’ even before the term ‘foodies’ was coined. My Partner started collecting cookbooks from the time we set up household. At first the need was based on the premise of a cookbook. We needed it to know how to make a particular dish, generally for either complicated items or to try and reproduce a family favorite. Quickly we had mastered the basics.

The beginning of the collection came about due to me being from the south and having a God fearing mother. She often provided numerous editions of ‘church lady’ cookbooks. From there we advanced to the Junior League. After becoming great friends with a ‘junior leaguer’ who was a neighbor of our first house, my partner began collecting Junior League cookbooks from every city we visited – more as a novelty than as cooking inspiration – beside you only need so many casserole recipes and the Church Ladies had that covered!

As our taste and abilities expanded so did our library. Then along came the Food Network and a plethora of online recipe sites which left us with hundreds of pages of printed recipes that we had tested. And the collection does not end there. We are also magazine whores. We collect (hoard); which means we still have every copy of years of subscriptions of Food & Wine, Gourmet, and all the others.

So, periodically we will post the best or in most cases our re-adaptation of our favorites.

Bon’ Appetite!

American Modern

A very close friend called me last week.  She had just left Aero, Thomas O'Brien's studio and shop in Manhattan and wanted to tell me how much it reminded her of A.J.Barnes.  O'Brien has always been one of my favorite 'go to' designers.  His rooms and homes seem to so closely follow my aesthetic...well...maybe that's the other way around!  But either way, I like what he does. 

His new book is titled 'American Modern'.  If I had thought of that first, this blog could very well have had another name!  Here are some images from the book and a few previous O'Brien rooms.  Book photos are by photographer Laura Resen.

Lake Martin Garden

Last summer a landscaper friend of yours asked if we would join her on a garden tour she had planned.  She promised it would be truly magical.  The garden is owned by a gentleman named Jim Scott, who is gracious enough to open up this amazing place for private tours - if you know the right person!  Last month's Southern Living magazine featured an article on the garden which is located on Lake Martin outside of  Montgomery, Alabama.  The SL article reminded me how magical this garden is, so I though I would post some of my own photos from June of 2009. 

The Growth of a Garden

I remember the first planting season on the farm.  We had actually moved into the house in April of that year.  Most of our time that Spring was consumed by the house - patching mouse holes, eliminating vinyl wall paper, and removing pink shag carpet - but after a few months we were itching to get outside.  One of our key goals was to garden on a larger scale - and compared to our small plot in our downtown Atlanta house's backyard, anything would have been on a larger scale. 

1996.  This was about year 3. 
The single rows had become a tilled square
patch surrounded by an electric fence to ward
off the herds of deers!

By the time we got the interior of the house settled it was really far to late in the summer to be planting, but the desire to play in the dirty won out.  My partner had bought a new tiller and had groomed a couple of rows in the middle of the field next to the house and the main road.   I vividly remember sitting on a freshly tilled row of rocky Georgia clay in the middle of the field.  It was a hot Saturday afternoon and I was planting carrots.  "What am I doing here?", I thought.  It just all seemed so overwhelming.  Looking around there was nothing but acres of grass to the north, south and east and west  nothing blocked my view of the road,  and the world's ablity to see me!  At one point I looked up and saw my partner padding across the field with a cold bottle of water for me.  I remember raising my hand and while hold a package of carrot seeds I shouted, "As God as my witness, I'll never go hungry again!"

2005
Taken from the same spot about 10 years later.  The road is nowhere to be found!

summer 2009

Today when I stand in the same place the road is completely hidden by layers of hollies and Lombardy poplars hedges.  The garden is now surround by a tall fence covered with seasonal gourds, kiwi, grapes, and evergreen vines.  Its symmetrical layout is defined by white pea gravel paths with modern aluminium edging.  So whenever I get overwhelmed by the amount of work it takes to maintain the garden, I think back on that day 17 years ago and realized that I'm not hungry indeed!

And, I don't remember, but I'm pretty certain that we did not get any carrots that year!

The electric fence with replaced with a 'stockade' fence about 8 years ago,
after we decided it was the only way to win the war against the deer.  Much of the fence is now a living green wall.
The apple trees (to the left) were planted in our early years on the farm and are always loaded with apples,
unfortunately the deer get most of them.

The Here and Now

So, what's the best way to start this blog experience?  That's the question I have been asking myself.  The Answer...well let's start with the here and now!  I don't want to give away too much too soon and ruin the punch line, so in future post I'll show the long (and expensive) journey of the Jordan Barnes House.  You'll see all the befores, in-betweens, and afters. But for now how about few teaser pics to start off.