Wednesday, December 10, 2014

A VISIT TO AMELIA ISLAND: LA DEUXIEME PARTIE

Gentle Readers . . . and Maxwell,

I have lost two followers, but you escapees from the insane asylum can't ruin my Christmas spirit.

On with the Eighth Annual Amelia Island Museum of History Holiday Home Tour. To read PRIMERA PARTE, please click HERE.

These are the five houses we visited on Saturday:





Photography was not allowed inside the homes, and neither were high heels. We had to cover our shoes with booties before going in some of the houses. Carol and I laughed that we needed some scrubs and masks to go with our booties so we could provide medical care to other visitors on the tour. Not a life was lost on the home tour with Carol and Janie Junebug at the ready.

If you're impressed by size, then the house at the top in the middle of the photo is the place for you. We were not allowed to visit the second story of this house, and I don't think we saw all of the first floor. This house is on the edge of the historic district, but it's not vintage. Although it has the look of a plantation house, it was completed earlier this year. The house itself is nine thousand square feet. If you add in the porches, decks, and patios, it's twelve thousand square feet.

I enjoyed the antiques and Christmas decorations, but do I want to live in such a large house?

No, thank you. Carol and I wondered how many people it takes to clean the house and care for the grounds.

This place also had the one item on the tour that made more than one person shudder. A doll that belonged to the owner's mother lounged in an antique cradle. The doll's face wore out, so the owner added a photo on fabric of her daughter's face to the doll. I swear to you, this doll is the kind that will creep around at 2 a.m., on the prowl for her next victim.

The view from one side of the house:




The best shot I could get of the second story porch:




I was surprised that we didn't see a single screened-in porch. The mosquitoes would make it impossible to sit outside. Carol opined that everyone stays inside with the AC running.

Let's move clockwise around the circle of homes in the photo. The next house was the smallest, and it was my favorite because the owner has put in ten years of do-it-yourself work to expand it and create unusual storage spaces. The kitchen is brilliant. Cabinets have been added under the stairs, and other cabinets slide out instead of having doors that open. A bump out provides a place for the large sink. The lovely island has the range on the top, and cabinets and shelves below.

This Old House magazine awarded this house a Best Redo of Living Space in 2012 for the attic that has been turned into a master bedroom and bathroom. We were allowed to see this house in its entirety, though it was a bit of a squeeze to get visitors up and down the staircase to the bedroom (the attic used to be accessed by pull-down stairs). I also love the house because it's cozy. It looks as if someone actually lives there. The owner added traditional Swedish stenciling on the walls throughout the house, and her mother's woven art works (made me think of the talented JoAnne Noragon, who has an Etsy shop now) hang on the walls or grace some shelves and tables. We even visited the guest cottage in the back, which is so beautiful that I want to figure out a way to make friends with the owner so she'll invite me to stay a while--or forever.

The owner now works as a consultant for people who need to solve storage space problems.

The third house in the circle was built in 1857 and is known as the Railway House because railroad employees once lived there. The owners also own the house next door, which they intend to turn into a restaurant called Indulgence. Carol and I hope to return next spring to indulge in Indulgence.

House Number Four was built in about 1873, and five generations of a family have maintained the house and added to it. It has beautiful glass panels in the doors. Someone pointed out how tiny the closet was in one of the bedrooms, but to have a closet in the original house would have been unusual for that time. People had to use wardrobes or hang clothes behind a curtain or sheet.

The final house, the yellow home on the left of our circle, was built in about 1903 and is owned by one of the first female tugboat captains, who is now retired. She and her husband raised and home schooled their five children on a tugboat. Items from their voyages around the world are on view. The family was featured in New Yorker magazine and pictured on the cover, a framed copy of which hangs in the house. The family still owns two tugboats, which are managed by some of the children who grew up on a tugboat.

Carol and I loved this tree. Instead of cutting it down, someone had the smarts to build a narrow road on each side of it:


And finally, I had to take a photo of this house that's for sale. I love the carousel horses on the porch:


It has eight bedrooms, so if you need a little more room for family and guests, cough up a mere two million dollars and it's yours.

I have a thought about the major difference between the houses on the tour and my humble bungalow: throw pillows. All of those houses have a ton of throw pillows on the bed. Some throw pillows came with my comforter. Those babies are on the top shelf of the linen closet because I won't spend my valuable time placing throw pillows on the bed. Thus, my house will never be part of a holiday home tour.

Although I'm disheartened by the loss of two followers, I'm heartened by the folks who have signed up to participate in the



If you haven't added the title of your blog yet, you can do so in the linky thingy below my infinities of love.


Infinities of love,

Janie Junebug


35 comments:

  1. It's amazing how they built a road on each side of the tree! I loved both of your tour posts! Did you find your Certs yet? I much prefer them to tiny Tic-Tacs! Your bloghop sounds wonderful! Sadly, I don't celebrate Christmas, so I'll have to live vicariously through everyone else. Maybe that will be a good time to track down the idiots who unfollowed you. They have no idea what they're missing.

    Julie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love that beautiful old tree. It makes me ridiculously happy that it wasn't cut down. It's okay if you don't celebrate Christmas. If you'd like to join us, then write about a happy memory from any time of the year. When you find the losers who stopped following me, cuff 'em and book 'em, Danno. It's weird, though. I was down to 240 and now I'm up to 250, but I don't see any new followers. I suspect Google can't count.

      Delete
  2. Hi Janie - sorry about the loss of your followers - their loss, I say. How lovely to have a good look round at some houses from time gone by ... and that doll - now that's got me thinking ... hopefully my brains will have forgotten it by tonight! I'll be on a break come the 22nd .. but enjoy those memories .. cheers Hilary

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hope you enjoy your break, Hilary. Try not to think about the doll. It's here in the U.S. on Amelia Island. It can't get to you.

      Delete
  3. Don't worry about the followers. I have been plunking along for years, gaining a few here and there, losing a few here and there. Lots of times, I think it's just folks who delete their Google account.
    Love the tree in the middle of the road! Too cool!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The tree was one of my favorite parts of the day. Strangely, I'm suddenly up by ten followers. I don't know whence they came. Perhaps someone took pity on me because of my loss and invented ten pseudonyms to follow me.

      Delete
  4. My motto in life and decorating is: DEATH TO ALL THROW PILLOWS! I hate them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's an excellent motto. Throw pillows are useless and time consuming.

      Delete
  5. People sometimes get tired of blogging and shut down their blogs that might explain the loss.
    And what a wonderful tour you went on. I want to walk our little main st in town because they have the Dickens characters all over. How much do you want to bet that I won't have time to do something that I want this season? And everyone around here wonders why I'm a Scrooge.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My dear Sonya Ann, you must take the time to do something you enjoy. I haven't decorated my tree yet. I'm not sure I'll get around to it. Going to Amelia Island was much more important.

      Delete
  6. Janie, thanks for the tour. I'm like you, I wouldn't want a big big house with all the maintenance that is involved. Nice to visit, but not live there. The doll creeps me out, especially if it's face is replaced with a picture? Ewwww

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. All those old houses that have been renovated are money pits, too.

      Delete
  7. Hopefully the followers I have lost didn't start a parade that led to your followers joining them!

    I love these older homes and their wonderful decor. What I wouldn't love, on the other hand, would be having to clean it all! There would be dust in places I am not able to reach, and I'm not that fond of using a ladder just to climb on it to clean!

    I'm missing a few throw pillows, too.:-) They are expensive! Also, they eventually have a bit of dust that covers them.

    I'm with you. Our home will never be on a holiday tour.

    xo Nellie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Here's to us for not being on the holiday tour! I'm quite certain that every one of those houses is cleaned by a housekeeper or a cleaning service. Carol said she wished her house could be so clean. I said, If it makes you feel any better, that grand piano over there has dust on it.

      Delete
  8. I loose a few followers every year and have come to accept it as part of the blogging world. But like you, I took it personally the first time it happened.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, Stephen, don't loose your followers. It's not wise to set them free. They will create all sorts of havoc.

      Delete
  9. You lost two followers? It wasn't me, was it?
    NOTE: Al Penwasser has never been accused of being terribly bright.
    On an unrelated note.......Amelia Island....ahhhhhhhhh

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes . . . ahhhhhhhh. I want to go there to stay in a B&B. Not likely to happen.

      Delete
  10. It's funny - before I even read your commentaries on the houses, I was drawn to the picture of the second house. I bet I'd like that one best, too. Thanks for sharing the pictures and telling us about your tour.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're welcome, and thank you for commenting (as always), Mama. I also call Carol "Mama." On Saturday she kept telling people I am one of her daughters, to which I would state "I'm the pretty one" or "I'm the smart one."

      Delete
  11. I do have porch envy, and would be slapping screening across those vintage porches in a heartbeat.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Absolutely. I can't believe those people don't use their second stories as sleeping porches when it's isn't too hot. Screens are a must.

      Delete
  12. Oh wow. You sound like you had a spectacular visit.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hello, dear Janie Junebug! I'm sorry you lost two followers. Might it have anything to do with the fact that Shecky Shady, the life of the party, was absent the last two days?

    Those lovely homes? Marry me, dear girl, and they can all be yours! (Yes, size matters!) That creepy doll? We will adopt her and raise her as our own. Shirley, we will name her Gretchen.

    Swedish stenciling on the walls? My man cave has a similar theme - murals of ABBA and the Swedish Bikini Team.

    Mrs. Shady and I love to tour houses. if you ever get a chance, go see the John Ringling estate in Sarasota, tour the circus museum and the magnificent art museum and gardens.

    Please don't be disheartened by the loss of two followers. If my number dwindled to two, you and Cherdo, I would still be ecstatic because you are my best buds, my playmates. Quality trumps quantity any old day.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, I imagine some followers left me when they didn't see comments from you, but you've returned and I'm up ten followers. Don't call me Shirley. I think Mrs. Shady might object to our marriage, so find a way to get rid of her. I've visited some great estates on the East coast, and I'll keep the Ringling estate in mind. I love play dates with you and Cherdo. If Cherdo shows you hers, then will you show me mine? Wait. That doesn't seem right.

      Delete
  14. I'd love to have a carousel on my porch. It would be so magical. If we weren't hitting the road on the 22nd, I'd enter your blog hop. (Hard to believe Christmas is soooo close!)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You can always write a post for the bloghop and schedule it in advance. I know we'll enjoy your favorite memory.

      Delete
  15. What a beautiful place. I love, love, love the porches. Imagine sitting there, fanning yourself, taking in the view. That would be heavenly. Save me a chair and we'll have a tall iced tea, slice of lemon and a wee bit of sugar.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. First, we have to buy one of the houses. Carol and I have decided on the one with the carousel horses. You find the two million to make the purchase and I'll serve iced tea to you every day.

      Delete
  16. The photo with the tree look like a place in Pennsylvania where I have friends. Small world. Hey, I joined the hop - now I gotta go think!!

    ReplyDelete
  17. I love house tours. I went on one recently that was for new build multi-million dollar homes. So not interesting history-wise, but was fascinating to see what the inside of those types of homes looks like. I remember thinking that if you were married, you could literally go a week without seeing each other in some of these homes. And also, how would you decide what room you were going to hang out in on a particular night? So, obviously not something I would want to live in for my own home, but was definitely fascinating to tour.

    But I especially love touring historic homes. It is just so rich and fascinating.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sometimes maybe houses are too big. When Robin Williams died, his wife hadn't seen for quite a few hours. When John Travolta's son died, it was a while before they found him. One of the things I didn't like about our house in Illinois was wandering around, looking for my husband, only to discover that his car wasn't in the garage.

      Delete

Got your panties in a bunch? Dig 'em out, get comfortable, and let's chat.