This is an awsome find

John just showed me a silver like coin that he found while digging in 'basement' in the back part of the house a few minutes ago. The find is one of the most unique items John has found because it gives us an idea that perhaps Capt Hardy Smith had a lumber business and used the coin to attract new customers.

Enjoy the pictures.

The 2010 St Patrick's Day Festival Incident

Hello all.  Good afternoon. My blog entry is about my experience attending my first community service meeting at Dublin City Hall last night with regard to the incident at Stubbs Park last Saturday afternoon. What I am about to say is my opinion only. I found out about this meeting on moments notice. By going to the meeting, it helped me understand what the City of Dublin and what the community plans to do to insure patron safety at future events such as the St Patrick's Day Festival. It helped ease the confusion that I had along with countless others who felt the decision to close the park early was the right thing to do.  Attending the meeting gave me a  inside look as to how the community and the decision makers think and work.  Before the meeting started, there was a prayer and pledge of allegiance. To me it was a breath of fresh air.

Living just a couple of blocks from Stubbs Park, this incident, no doubt brought safety concerns to my mind again.  About a year ago, I moved from a city of nearly 4 million people to a town of 17 thousand. For those who lived in Dublin their entire lives, it is easy to become insulated, complacent and comfortable, thinking, it cannot happen here, but at the same time, we are in the 21st century, you have to be realistic and adjust to the times we are living in.

Living in the Atlanta metro area for 14 years, had taught me a lot about safety, most of which is common sense. No matter where you go, you can never entirely let your guard down. Wherever there is a sizable population of people, there is potential for crime. My impression, at the meeting, what happened at Stubbs Park, woke up those in authority to the gravity of the situation, in that it needs to be addressed and resolved in a proactive manner so that an incident like this does not happen again nor become something that could spiral out of control at other events.

With the large number of patrons attending the festival, only 3 police officers were inside the fencing and 2 were outside, with one patrol car driving around for crowd control and traffic. There was a sheriff trailer within short distance of where the incident took place. Those officers were off duty conducting some sort of training. Nevertheless, having more police presence at future events, will send a strong signal to those who want to start trouble, that acts of stupidity will not be tolerated and that they will be dealt with in a swift and expedient manner. Relocating the event is not an option. By doing so, it sends the wrong signal and is unfair to the community.

What happened even took the police by surprise. I was in the park when the incident happened. I saw a man be led away in handcuffs. We sat down under a tree to enjoy our meal then the next thing I saw was a kid jump across the creek, which made me to believe something was up but I did not pay too much attention to it until the police told everyone to leave the park immediately.

Being a new resident of Dublin has not changed my overall impression of the town itself, it just reminds me to be alert, remain vigilant, pay attention when it comes to safety, while at the same time, enjoy what Dublin has to offer. Moving from Atlanta to Dublin has definitely deceased my overall stress and enhanced my health. I am becoming more comfortable as I get to know  people and become involved in the community.

The bottom line is that I feel keeping the event where it belongs is where it should stay. I don't feel any less safe because of what happened. Times we live in are different now and this incident is a wake up call to adjust because Dublin cannot afford it economically.  So for all of those visitors who came but had to witness or experience this unfortunate incident and have any lingering doubts about Dublin's ability to handle large scale events in the future, don't let that stop you from visiting this beautiful little town. Please continue to come to Dublin and support our community. Just my 2 cents.

Thanks for reading my blog today. Continue to check back on what I am doing in Dublin and with the Hardy Smith House.

St Patrick's Parade and Festival- Dublin, GA

Today, March 20th, marks the official start of the Spring season. The first day of Spring occurs when the sun passes above the equator (in the northern hemisphere) and begins to rise higher and higher in the sky as each day in the season progresses towards summer. The days lengthen, the sun's rays get stronger, the birds, bees and bugs come out of hibernation, marking the start of a new birth of all living things. The bees at the Capt Hardy Smith House know Spring is here. Check out all the mounds they are making in the front yard!  I noticed those mounds in the front yard on March 18th, so the bees were off by 2 days, hah!

Don't forget the sunscreen when heading out at this time of the year because the strength of the sun can be deceptive.

It was a sunny, warm and beautiful day for a St Patrick's Parade and Festival in Dublin, GA today. The weather couldn't be more perfect. The sky was blue and the winds light. A few clouds showed up later in the day. The month long celebration is nearing a close with the climax of today being 'Super Saturday' on the calendar of events.

I could not sleep last night because vendors were setting up shop, one of which had a loud generator in the parking lot I could hear from the bathroom. Around, 4am, the street cleaners came past the house and woke me up. Then around 8am, activity from the vendors making their last minute preparations to open before 9am caused Max, the doberman, to bark as people were walking through the parking lot. I thought, I am getting up, no more sleep for me today. The vendor with the camper and loud generator had a little Chihuahua dog that got loose and ran around the house. Max was going crazy barking at it. Of course, Lady, my dog, was still in the bedroom with me, oblivious to what was going on outside. So I got up and got dressed in my St Patrick's Day shirt and accessories to prepare to head over to Stubbs Park to check out the vendors before the crowd would come after the parade.

There were a lot of vendors displaying varying creations and works of art from  Hummingbird feeders and wind chimes made out of bottles, beautiful jewelry to beautiful wooden furniture carved from driftwood in combination with other native timbers of Georgia.

There was plenty of food and drinks to munch on so nobody would go home hungry..No alcohol at this event! There was music, singing and dancing too. At the entrance to the park, there was a rock climbing wall, slides in different sizes, bungee

jumping, a mechanical bull and other carnival type rides.

The parade started around 11:30am and ended around 1:15pm. The flow of entrants were continuous. Marching bands from all the local schools showcased their talent. Local politicians running for office came to drum up support from the crowd along with area businesses, civic groups and community churches displaying their floats in creative splashes of spring color. The police came through displaying their fancy cars, cute ATV's and mobile two wheeled sidewalk riders as I call them.

 Elle Mae (Donna Douglas) from the Beverly Hillbillies came to the parade this year as well as last year.


A new float this year that I personally liked was 'The is no place like Dublin' float. The theme was of the Emerald City in the 'Wizard Of Oz'. Dorothy, The Scarecrow, TinMan and Cowardly Lion, and Toto came.

 

Mr. Pig from Piggy Wiggly along with the KFC Big Chicken, the Chick Fila Cow and a stray roaming clown were visiting with the younger members of the crowd. Candy was being tossed in all directions like a Mardi Gras bead throwing conquest.  Quarter horses and riders in full western wear came parading through to finish up the long, nearly 2 hour entertainment extravaganza. The parade was free and so was the parking! All John and I did was walk a couple of blocks, set up our chairs and we were good to go. The sun was warm and I forgot the sunscreen, so I got a little sunburn. Compared to last year, the parade seemed longer and several thousand people lined the streets and attended the festival afterward. 

All the parking lots within a few blocks of the house were jammed pack full of cars from all over Georgia and even out of state visitors too.  The picture to the left was taken of cars parked on the lot on the west side of the Capt Hardy Smith House. The blue house in the picture in the above right is the Capt Hardy Smith House.  Parking was at such a premium for the parade and festival that cars were found parked at the drive through window areas at Morris Bank across the street from the house! No one parked in our yard except me.  I found a few bits of trash that people threw in the yard after everything was over. The festival at Stubbs Park unfortunately had to close early, around 3:15pm or so, because a couple of fights broke out causing a stir. The police thought it best to close the park and end the festival early for safety of all patrons visiting. Unfortunately for the vendors, they had to pack up and go home with two and a half hours of lost revenue. Almost all the vendors were gone by 6pm and downtown Dublin was almost completely quiet again.

All in all, it was a fun and full day. I look forward to it next year.

Enjoy some pictures from today's event. Keep checking my blog for things going on around Dublin and continuing projects at the Hardy Smith House.

 

St. Patrick's Festival in Dublin, GA

Sunny, pleasant day in Dublin, GA. The temperature reached in the low to mid 60s. John and I went to the St. Patrick's Festival Balloon Fest balloon glow at dusk tonight.  From what I understand the balloon glow marks the official start of the nearly month long celebration of everything green and Irish. Check out the below link for all details:
 http://www.saintpatricksfestival.com

Not only does the St Patrick's Festival remind Dubliners and visitors that spring is around the corner, so do the sounds of crickets and frogs coming out of hibernation. 

After the balloon glow, we went to out dinner then home to relax for the evening.  John is nearly the end of his excavating activities at the back part of the house. Check out his blog for his latest finds. We plan to use some of the bricks and river rocks to build a front walkway and other yard accents.

Today marks the end of another quiet day at the Hardy Smith house.  Activity will be picking up once the warm weather comes and stays awhile so keep checking my blog for the latest new projects. 

River Rock Removal Day at the Hardy Smith House

A beautiful, sunny day in Dublin.  The high temperature reached 60 degrees, maybe slightly warmer than that. Did laundry, put together my new shop dry/vet vac, cleaned out my car and upstairs guest bedroom, swept the front porch, the breezeway, checked emails and of course this blog entry :)

The main event of the day was helping John remove the largest of the river rocks out of the back part of the house. They have been under mud, dirt, sand and other sediment for well over 100 years. John put a chain around each rock and tied the other end to the truck and we pulled each out one by one.  I drove the truck and John made sure the rocks did not fall off our makeshift ramp. We got out about 8 huge rocks weighing no less than 30-40 lbs. John has spent the past two months digging and removing river rocks and finding interesting objects that would look great in a shadow box. There is one last section John has to dig out that no doubt contain a few more river rocks and bricks.

We have enjoyed our day, one day after returning from the hustle and bustle of metro Atlanta. It is tax season and John is busy with preparing tax returns for clients and teaching at the technical school. So, in his down time, he has been playing 'Dr. Jones'. Excavating rocks, bricks and whatever else in the back part of the house. He loves to play in the mud!

Not much else to report. Just mainly a quiet, peaceful day at the house.

Spring cleaning has begun at the Hardy Smith House

Sunny, cool, windy day at the Hardy Smith House. The northeast coast is about to get socked with another round of punishing snowstorms. I read in the news they just finished cleaning up from the monster storms two weeks ago.  Philadelphia is about to add another foot or two to the 70" inches they got so far this February! I had to mention that weather tidbit because it is such an amazing statistic.

Last night, I did some painting in the bathroom. The perfecting continues.  I even added some greenery at the top of the linen closet. I will add some spring color to that soon :) The full length mirror leaning on the side of the closet will be hung on that side. Just have to get the right hanging hardware for it. The greenery with a touch of spring color adds a nice accent to the top of the closet.

Tonight, a few church members from next door came over take away an old sofa left in the house when John bought it and a queen sized mattress-box-spring set for a 'garage-yard sale' tomorrow.  My patience finally paid off, that sofa and mattress set is GONE! Spring cleaning has started at the Hardy Smith House!  In the picture with the chandelier, you see the back window is boarded up. The other two windows out of view of the photograph are boarded up also. All three windows were blown out from the strong winds recently. I plan to paint the outside of the boarded up windows with a cute, floral design of some sort. I am no artist. Once the warm weather comes and stays, I will be out there painting :)

I look forward to seeing the formal dining room clean again. John plans to build a 'trap door' in the corner of the room that will lead to the downstairs area that John plans to utilize as additional storage space or possibility a recreation room once the area has been cleared of flint rocks, bricks, access dirt and sealed to prevent and or minimize water runoff damage from flooding rains.  So far John has excavated about 50 or so large flint rocks.  There are a few rocks he could not get out of the area due to their size. So we will have to put a chain around them and pull them out with the truck.

Yard work will begin soon. First, John plans to take down a dead water oak tree in the back yard with a chain saw, cut up and store the wood for burning in our beautiful fireplaces. We plan to use some of the bricks and flint rocks to build a walkway and short driveway in the front yard. Then tilling and reseeding the front and side yards with new grass will start. I am excited about getting outside to play in the dirt for awhile!

That is all to report today. Keep checking my blog for updates on the non stop improvements at the Hardy Smith House.

HSH Renovation Update: Bathroom 95% completed

A sunny, cool day in Dublin today. The bathroom linen closet has been painted, trim perfected and the shelving papered. That project is completely done! John has been playing in the mud again. He found a few more buried flint rocks. The elusive Confederate gold has not been located yet. It is probably in the bottom of the well.  I have no plans to repel down a 35 foot well then dive under 5-6 feet of water to dig for something that may not be there. We will leave that to the experts.

It has been a quiet day here at the Hardy Smith house. Time for bed. Pictures of a lived in bathroom.

Evening at SajeWinds Plantation and dinner at Fritters

Today, I painted the inside of the linen closet. Yesterday, I painted the outside, with the exception of the blue trim, which I will complete tomorrow. John will correct/perfect the 'boo boo's' and the paint the tan rope trim. I am anxious to complete the bathroom.  Most of the accessorizing is done with the exception of the area near the claw bathroom. Pictures are forthcoming.

On sunday, Feb 14th, Valentines Day, John and I visited SajeWinds Plantation, an equestrian bed and breakfast located in Montrose, GA, about 20 miles NE of Dublin. We dined inside the house at 'Fritters', a southern style comfort foods eatery for dinner. Before dinner, we took a short horse drawn carriage ride. The house was built in 1842 and is home to the Gypsy Vanner Horses. 'Jackson', the grey gypsey vanner horse pulled the carriage. He was very laid back and personable. His buddy, 'Adrian', the beautiful black gypsey vanner, was out in the pasture, enjoying his 'time off' and came to me when I called him. He had a beautiful mane and flowing long black tail. The plantation had a miniature horse and donkey.

Not much else has happened at the Capt Hardy Smith house since the snowstorm Friday. Keep checking back for any new developments. Some pictures for your enjoyment.

Blizzard of 2010 in Dublin, GA

Hello, everyone!  I did not drop off the face of the earth.  I am back with a new entry to my blog! With the major interior renovation (electric, heat/air, plumbing upgrades) complete at the Hardy Smith house, not much has gone on except John's excavating activities in the rear part of the house. Check out his blog for his narrative on some unique and interesting finds. I took a few pictures of him in action. He is like a little boy, playing in the mud looking for that elusive Confederate gold! Those huge white rocks you see in the top left picture are flint rocks from the Oconee River. Apparently, upon discovering piles of these large rocks after being buried for a little over a 100 years, John is removing them and plans to use them in his split rail fence project. Looks as if Capt Smith brought these rocks up from the river, piled them up and built the house around them so he did not have to move them again. I won't tell you what John has found. Go visit his blog and view the pictures there. Scroll to the bottom of the main page of my blog til you find the Capt Hardy Smith house link.

Today, here in Dublin, GA, it snowed, it stuck, it was heavy, wet and the flakes big and beautiful!  It came down at a pretty good clip for about an hour and half or so.  I believe the snow started around 4 or 430pm and continued to about 7:30pm.  The forecast called for 2-4 inches. Even Savannah is forecast to get 3-6 inches of snow! The last measurable snow in Dublin I believe was back in 2002. It is very rare for snow to fall much less stick and accumulate this far south. This is my first February living in Dublin, GA. I thought I would NEVER see another significant snow event unless I went home to Indiana in the winter. Wrong!!

I was working at the computer when I heard a pecking on the window. What?! I opened the curtains, it was John alerting me to the snow coming down! He was walking Max. Excited, I jumped out of my chair, I could barely get my gloves, hat, camera, thinking I was going to miss something rare and unique..oh..and I grabbed my dog, Lady. She loves to play in snow. At first she was not sure what to do but then it came back to her. The last snow event she experienced was back in 2004, when the Midwest had that paralyzing snowstorm that left my hometown of Columbus, Indiana with 2 feet of the white stuff on the ground. Lady was out frolicking in the snow! She loved it! She did a repeat of that today! It was so cute.  I made a snowman in the front yard. Max made a few attempts of trying to knock it over! I had to throw a few snowballs at John. He did not return the favor. I wanted to make a snow angel but I thought..nah..ground too wet and muddy...John went around downtown and took a few rare pictures which no doubt he will post to his blog shortly.  

Snow has been in the national news a lot these past few days, so I guess Dublin had to get in on the East Coast action too! My sister lives in the Baltimore, MD area. She has not been able to get to work or the kids to school for about a week because of the 4 FEET OF SNOW they received last weekend and about 10 inches received on Wednesday of this week.

I just came back from being in Atlanta for the over night yesterday. I got back just in time before the weather got bad here. It was very windy driving up Wednesday. I am still working on the bathroom painting/trim work. The ceiling needs to be painted and the crown molding trim work completed. The last month, we have been doing a little bit of painting here and there. We have a few pictures and towel holders up to make it look done. We are close to completion.

So....time for a nice relaxing, WARM shower in MY new bathroom! Enjoy the pictures of today!