A series of essays....
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| 'LITTLE YELLOW COTTAGE' IN WINTER'S EMBRACE |
....as seen through my eyes!
By: Jacqueline E. Hughes
It all began by placing the first stone.....
Since returning from our last major trip which included Scotland and Ireland in October, Dan and I have been working on our new kitchen in the ‘Little Yellow Cottage.’ For the most part, our interaction has been highly congenial due to the fact that we’ve been planning this new space for a very long time....since purchasing this home three-and-a-half years ago.
I would like to think that the distraction of working on our kitchen has somehow lightened the burden of some personal problems that I claim stem from having moved nearer to our children, placed our current political burdens in a semblance of an 'out-of-sight and out-of-mind' order (even if only for a few hours every day), and opened-up our hearts to the amazing people living here in Michigan whom I am so proud to call my ‘friends who are like family!’ In our spare time away from kitchen duty, these friends exemplify the true meaning of Love and welcome Dan and me into their fold with open arms. All of you know who you are and how much you are appreciated and loved right back!
With the intensity of wanting to build this wall (I do apologize if this has a familiar ring to it!), we set forth on a two week journey along the rugged terrain of our exposed western wall that Dan had recently covered in extended metal lath. The stationary transom window we’d inserted into the wall could not exist without a wooden lintel, even if it is intended for looks alone rather than structural support. Our friends, Janis and Fred, had taken us on an exhibition of their grand farm located on the outskirts of Jackson to look for the perfect piece of wood for our lintel. We found it serving a previous thirty-five year old working life as a fence rail separating the big, red barn from the sheep barns and other out buildings. What a fun and successful treasure hunt that was!
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| JAN AND FRED'S BEAUTIFUL FARM! |
Our cottage, built before World War II in 1941, has many stories to tell. I’ve always wished that walls could talk and living in this cottage has reinforced that desire. I’m sitting here thinking that someone had just built their new home here in Kalamazoo and moved in just as the war broke out. How were they affected by this outcome? Were tears shed as the young man, head of the household, left shortly afterwards to defend his country? Was he fortunate enough to return to his family in Kalamazoo and be happy in this little cottage? Perhaps it was built by an older couple whose child or grandchild donned a uniform and was shipped overseas after basic training! How they must have hoped and prayed for their safe return.
My imagination runs wild as I recall stepping into our ‘Little Yellow Cottage’ for the very first time only to discover its beauty, inadequacies, quirks, and exhilarating potential. Stepping into the minute back kitchen was a claustrophobic and disheartening experience. However, the basic ‘triangle’ existed with sink, range, and refrigerator. Looking beyond this small space, there existed a glassed-in porch that led out to a large outdoor deck. The good-sized porch was closed off from the kitchen by a six-foot sliding glass door. This is where potential slipped in right before my eyes.
Dan, my personal contractor and builder (husband), reasoned that since the porch was approximately the same size as the existing kitchen, incorporating it into the footprint of the original home seemed a logical idea. We would be doubling the size of the kitchen while introducing it to the new millennium! We believed we could do this...so, we did!
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| LAVENDER, SUNFLOWERS, AND LOTS OF SUNSHINE |
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| THE BEAUTY OF A LAVENDER FIELD |
www.thegoodlifefrance.com
Courtesy of Laure Roux
Okay, so my idea of upgrades might be a little different from those of others in the fact that I realize that modern functionality can coexist with another century, another place. I envision a land of stone walls and fences, homemade cheese, lavender fields bathed in sunlight, and vineyards that rest along the fertile valleys of mountainous terrain and lofty stone terraces far above the azure blue Mediterranean Sea.
France....
This country has captured my heart and rejuvenated my soul since I was a little girl. My desire to be French, speak the language, live in a peaceful, Provençal village and say bonjour to everyone each morning while walking to the local boulangèrie to purchase croissants and several baguettes for the day has always consumed me. So, for me, making my new kitchen ‘Français Amical’ was a no-brainer. Fortunately, Dan understands and concurs.
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| SITTING ON MY GRANDMA'S LAP |
All of my daydreaming and collected desires has led me to building this kitchen wall; imitating so many French, Irish, Scottish....European features of a quintessential, cozy, country cottage. Looking at such a wall while I cook and entertain friends will always make me feel safe and warm. Who knows, if I could see back into my Grandmother’s childhood kitchen in the Ukraine, it may have had walls that reflected the exterior of her family cottage and brought it inside where chickens and domesticated furry friends lived harmoniously as one happy family.
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| IT ALL BEGAN BY PLACING THAT FIRST STONE... |
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| STONE WALL GROWING WITH LINTEL RIGHT IN PLACE |
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| ONWARD AND UPWARD!!! |
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| COMPLETED STONE PLACEMENT WITHOUT MORTAR |
It all began by placing that first stone solidly along the bottom of the kitchen wall. Hanging there in all its glory with no visible sign of slippage, Dan lathered another stone with mortar and prepared for its positioning near the first. Stone after stone followed as we channeled our imagination and gut feelings until, several hours later, our stones clung to the wall like giant, hard shelled insects grasping desperately to a large screen door.
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| SPONGING THE MORTAR INTO PLACE |
The time consuming and challenging next step stood between our wall and its completion. Never having filled-in the rather large spaces between the stones with colored mortar before, my work was cut out for me. White mortar, lightly colored with powdered concrete dye, mixed with water, and placed in a large, cloth mortar bag was the recipe of the day! The process made me feel like a little kid decorating free-style cupcakes on a baking sheet turned vertically.
As it turned out, the giant pastry bag worked amazingly well (even though I still can’t see myself decorating cakes or cookies anytime soon). Sponging off excess mortar gently with a damp sponge while pushing, prodding, and manipulating the mortar with my fingers until it was settled in perfectly took up most of the time. Scraping skin off of my fingertips because I believed I was smarter than having to wear a thin, rubber glove for protection from the sand, masonry cement, and lime that comprised the harsh mixture was a lesson quickly accepted.
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| FINALLY....THE WALL IS COMPLETED!!! |
The wall, at least, is done now. We have become semi-prideful individuals who revel in our accomplishments. We did it! And, I believe it could be a stone wall to be admired by anyone who has ever seen, touched, enjoyed, or desired having such a feature wall in their own homes.
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| TRAVERTINE FLOOR IN PROGRESS |
The kitchen itself remains a work in progress. Dan is in the process of grouting the travertine floor as we await the shipment of our white cabinetry. And, choosing the right style and color of countertop remains a mystery....and, usually, I am such a plan ahead kind of person!
What I do know is this: Call it an homage to my sweet, immigrant Grandmother and her youthful lifestyle and memories, or attribute it to feeding a simplistic, country feeling for life that has dwelled within me for many years but, when I turn-on the lights in my kitchen and see our stone wall for the first time each day, my heart sings and my step is as light as a feather. It makes me feel loved and fills me with the joy and desire to bake cookies with my grandchildren and teach them how to make pierogy (filled dumplings) and filled cabbage rolls (golubtsi) just like Grandma made for her family. I’m all about keeping important traditions alive.
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| FILLED CABBAGE ROLLS (GOLUBTSI) |
Copyright © 2019 by Jacqueline E. Hughes
Photo Copyright © 2019 by Jacqueline E. Hughes
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