What am I Doing Here????

Since it's against the law to strangle cats, I am up and about by 4am...My darling Raisenette Funicello Buttafuco (he head butts everything, including me) was screaming for me to get up and feed him, but I refuse to reinforce his behaviour by doing so. So, he goes into the powder room, and pees on my hand-painted floorcloth. So, I get out of my wonderful, Country French pine bed, (it is still dark out), get the 409, and scrub my floor and my floorcloth. The 409 gives me an asthma attack, so use my inhaler, and am wide awake....What does one do at 4 am, when the rest of the world is asleep....one blogs. Who would think this beautiful cat (Raisen is in front, Gussie behind) could be such a pain....

Gussie never gives us a problem...but he is our problem child.

This is Shadow...in the shadows..She shows up everyday, and follows me about...then, she comes to my back door, and looks wistful, until I cut up an apple (don't tell my husband, as he says they are too expensive to feed to the deer)..and take it out to her.

I just finished drawing her, and am transferring it onto a giant canvas - 5ftx40", and am going to paint her. I have a one-woman show coming in September, and had better add to my "body of work"...

This is "Zoomy" and her mama....we now have three other fawns, who along with their herd, are camping in our back yard...It hasn't rained for a month, it's triple digit temps, and I haul about 8 gallons of water out a day for them, along with corn...everything is dried up..The grass is toast, and the soil is now dust....Gotta love Texas. What does this have to do with Interior Design...not a thing...I am reinventing these days....Being a Gemini, I have an excuse....

It's now 5:18 am, and I've made coffee, and the British Open will be televised at 6 am...life is good...

I know I will be taking a nap by noon.....oh well...such is life.

ETC. ETC.ETC.ETC.

It's mid-July, and hotternthehingesofhell in Texas..and here I am, posting photos of my home last Christmas...Why, you ask? (actually, I am not sure anyone is even reading this, but I am going to assume someone will, maybe)...Because I am gearing up to decorate over 100 trees for Macy's - Austin, San Antonio, Corpus Christi, and Temple.....I won't start until September, but need a few days off to assemble a crew. I will be surpervising, but also, decorating....

Before I was an Interior Designer, I was in Visual Merchandising...for suchs stores as Bloomindale's, in Boston, Filene's on Cape Cod, and various other Federated Department Stores thoughout the midwest. I loved it, but moved on.....

My interior design business is "Jessica Schatz, Interiors, Etc."....this is just another Etc...

Deer, Scorpions, and My Bathroom

What do these three things have in common, you ask; well, you didn't ask, but I'll tell you anyway...They are all very "Texan", at least they are to me.
This morning, just as dawn was breaking, Miss Gussie jumped up on my bed, and I noticed she was staring intently over the edge at the floor below....then, I noticed she seemed to be "tracking"...I turned on the light, peered over the edge, and there it was...a nasty scorpion...Now, I have been known to catch and release harmless insects - but scorpions, not so much..in fact, I pound them over-and-over, just to make sure they are dead. We spray for them, but they still keep coming....hate them.. Gussie finds them, but she makes sure she doesn't get too close..smart girl. Since I was wide awake and alert after the scorpion attack, I began the day the way I always do - put water out for the deer, feed them a bit of corn (I know, I am not supposed to, as they say it will stop them from foraging, but everything has dried up...besides, a handful of corn a day isn't going to change much for them...it's their treat).., put water and food out for the birds, and water our plants. We haven't had rain for weeks, and triple-digit temperatures are brutal on the flora and fauna...which brings me to the photo below. Two, new fawns...one of which was trailing "Mama", across our property. Click on the photo to enlarge it, and see how sweet they are!

When I first saw our house, it wasn't finished....But, since I specialize in new construction, I could tell that it was well-built, and that, for a spec house, it had "custom home" touches...as in beautiful doors (not the horrible hollow-core doors we had at our last "spec house" in Wisconsin), lovely oiled-bronze fixtures in throughout the house, arches, granite counters...beautiful light fixtures...I was sold. Okay, I'm not wild about the glass block in the bathroom, but one can't have everything. Also, the tub and the vanity tops are "cultured marble", but that can be changed out with time and money.

The bathtub has been used only once..as we prefer showers. Also, the placement of the jets just doesn't make sense. None at the back or at the feet, but just at the sides...not good...I find that I have to vacuum the tub, as it does collect dust...

I found the cross towel/robe hooks at good old "Hobby Lobby"...I much prefer them to towel bars, as there is one across from them, on the other side of the tub, and there are never enough places to hang damp towels. We never even touch the ones on the other side..just for looks...

I don't mind the glass block on the shower, as it lets in more light, but I wish it were a bit larger. I actually don't use the shower all that often, as I have taken over the guest bath as my domain. Having separate bathrooms has saved many a marriage.

Eventually, I want to change out the "cultured marble" vanity top...I would like soapstone or granite...

I do love the lighting over the tub....I also like to hang chandeliers over a tub, but code dictates it to be 10 feet over the water Texan's love stained concrete floors...as do I...other than an occasional divit here and there, they are great for hot climates..

We also have a ceiling fan in the master bath, and in every other room, other than the kitchen and dining room.. Even with air conditioning, the fans are on most of the time in this weather. Another wonderful touch is the way the mirror is "framed out"...I have every intention of one day, doing a faux finish on it, as we are both ready to start changing out the "builder's beige". My builder has become a friend, and he asked me what he should have done differently, and I didn't have many things to critisize, other than placing a window facing the bathroom mirror...it creates a backlight, and it's difficult to see. I just open my closet door, and dry my hair that way...Oh yes, two, large cedar-lined walkin his-and-hers closets flank the tub.....

I have found there to be three, main styles of decor and architecture in Texas; Tuscan, Texan (such as my house), and ultra-contemporary....I love all three, but am drawn to the Texas-style..I didn't move to Texas to live the way I lived in Wisconsin, so I have to take the Scorpions along with the good stuff.