HAPPY ST PATRICK'S DAY...SEE YA AT THE PARADE

2011 St Patrick's Day Parade and Arts and Crafts Festival

Erin Go Braugh! The time to celebrate all things Green, Irish and Dublin, GA's history. As you drive down historic Bellevue Ave into the downtown area, you will notice huge green bows adorning homes and businesses. Are you ready to go 'Green'? We are. Come on down to Dublin with your family and friends and enjoy some good, old fashioned Irish fun with a Southern Twist. You will be glad you did. Bring cash for purchase of St Patrick's beads, toys and drinks because most mobile vendors moving through the crowds only accept cash. The mobile vendors will be easily accessible before, during and after the parade but selection is the best before the parade starts.

So get ready! Only 5 days to the 2011 St Patrick's Day Parade to be held in downtown Dublin. Parking is free and is on a first come, first serve basis. Parking fills up fast so be sure to get here in plenty of time before the parade starts at 10:30am. Seeing the parade is free. There will be about 100 entrants in the 2011 parade. Enjoy marching bands to various dignitaries to beauty queens and many beautiful and decorative floats representative of various community organizations in Dublin and Laurens County as well as other cities in Georgia.

Right mouse click on this link for all events happening this week: The Ultimate Dublin, GA St Patrick's Festival Guide2011  Once you click (one time) on the link, you will see the actual link. If you have trouble with the link, copy and paste this link to your browser:                  http://issuu.com/thecourierherald/docs/big_green_guide_2011_issuu/1

If you cannot see the link while viewing my blog,  position your mouse over the blank spot (after the words: '...for all events happening this week: ..') when it changes from a hand to a cross then click it.

A quick highlight of major events this week. The parade. Plan to get your spot on the parade route by 10:00am. From the courthouse to the history museum on Jackson street, on both sides, are good places to watch and enjoy the parade. Plan about 1 hr and 45 minutes from start to finish of the parade.

The arts and crafts events. After the parade, jump in your car and head out GA-441 towards I-16 to Southern Pines Rec Center Complex and enjoy the arts and crafts festivities. The arts and crafts festivities start at 9am and end at 7pm on March 19th. The entry fee is $5.00 for adults and children $3.00. Children 6 years and under get in free. Important tip: If you like to collect lapel pins, you can buy the 2011 Dublin St Patrick's pin for $5.00 which will get you into the arts and crafts festival for free. You must wear your pin upon entry. To purchase a pin, subject to availability, contact Andrea Payne at (478) 272-5202 or (478) 277-1500. The pin for 2011 is pictured to the right. For information about the parade, contact Civitan Club member Robert Drew at 478-277-5030. Be sure to check out the guide for other events you and your family and friends may be interested in. It is a .PDF file, so make sure you have Adobe on your computer to print out the guide to take with you.

Enjoy the Dublin St Patrick's Festivities this week. Thanks for reading my blog and check back often for things going on around Dublin and at the Capt Hardy Smith House.

Ten truckloads later

A beautiful sunny and warm day in Dublin, GA today. The temperatures got into the 70s. We worked in the yard this past weekend in preparation for new topsoil that will be added  for the new grass to fill in the bare areas. We removed about ten truckloads of leaves and debris from the yard and put it in a huge pile on the street for the city to pick up tomorrow. We raked most of the yard by hand using a rake and an electric leaf blower. Doing an 1/2 acre by hand like this is very hard. A riding lawnmower would sure come in handy. The city is charging us $19.00 to remove it. Isn't that what city and or property taxes are used for, to pay for debris removal?


For the first time in my life, I used an old bedding top sheet to rake the leaves onto to carry to the curb. I don't know if that is a southern way of how to remove a pile of leaves. Growing up on the family farm, we used the tractors for most of the hard work of leaf removal. I remember dad having a push leaf mower that had a catcher with a brush in front that would pick up stuff in the yard. We could sure use one of those now with the year around shedding of magnolia leaves and those black things that look like hand grenades that they drop.


The 'Gone With The Wind' room is now officially ready for the trim work (ie: crown molding, corner molding and the gold leaf molding) to go up. We will be making a trip to our hardware store probably this week to select the appropriate trim to complete the task. Then we will select the paint for the room. We will have at least two types of color on the walls. The final color selection has yet to be finalized. We are getting closer though.


The bee's and mosquitoes are out. Ick. I have my zapper nearby in case they try to want to bite me. My bug zapper looks like a miniature tennis racket with an electric string like pattern on the face. The zapper will take out wasps and hornets flying through the air. The best $10.00 ever spent. You can buy them at a gardening store. I got mine at Base Pro Shop in Macon. Kept the doors open with the ceiling fans running to let the warm, spring air come in. Since Day Light Saving Time began sunday, yesterday, my body is still on slow time. In a few days, it will catch up. The first day of Spring officially arrives on March 20th at 7:21 EST. The days and nights are 12 hours long and the sun is at a midpoint in the sky. As summer equinox approaches, the sun will rise higher and higher in the sky. On June 21st, the sun will be directly overhead, at around the 12 o'clock position. 


The day is done, another beautiful spring like day has come to an end. Tomorrow is another day. 

Looking forward to the official start of spring after a long winter for most of my northern friends. Thanks for stopping by and check back for continual updates on the Capt Hardy Smith House and the latest of what is going on around Dublin, GA. 

Dublin, GA: Signs of Spring

Good Afternoon All. A cool, sunny, windy day in Dublin, GA. This past week, the signs of spring were in full bloom. The Dogwood and Bradford Pear trees are in bloom, even the weeping willow tree in Stubbs Park is bursting out its green leaves. There are bee mounds all over the yard. They are starting to come out of hibernation. Come to think of it, those may be fire ant mounds. Fire ants here in middle GA are very aggressive.
Just nasty critters. I am looking forward to getting in the yard before it gets too hot.

Spring cleaning is in full swing. The kitchen is completely cleaned. It smells like Pinesol on the floor. A good thing. Went to our local home improvement store and bought a much needed freezer to store food and ICE in. Ice cold drinks will come in handy very soon as the weather will turn hot quickly. Spring is short in Dublin or Georgia for that matter. John racked the backyard of the leaves from last season by hand. It was too windy today to finish racking so he will finish another day. One day, we WILL get a riding lawn mower to mulch the grass and leaves. It won't be a 'Grasshopper' like my dad had on the farm to mow around the house but I will settle for a little riding lawn mower. Our leaf blower is about gone. We got it from a garage sale. Oh the supplies and equipment we need to keep our house and yard in good shape. John does not mind racking the leaves now nor do I, but was we get older, it will become more difficult physically. The tree directly behind John is our 300 year old cedar tree. Check out the trunk. Just to his left or to the right in the picture is part of the oldest graveyard in Dublin so you can get some perspective how close we are to it. That is where the dogs like to run and play. The church next door took down the fence in front of the graveyard. I presume a replacement fence will be going back up sometime in the near future.

To learn more about Dublin, GA, click on the link below. Keep checking back for updates for the latest in Dublin and the Capt Hardy Smith house. Thanks for stopping by. Erin Go Braugh!

We dodged a bullet in Dublin

Erin Go Braugh! Another beautiful although cooler day in Dublin, GA. It is 65 degrees. After a series of severe thunderstorms yesterday afternoon and last night throughout Georgia, March for the Dublin area came in like a lamb. We got moderate rain and some wind but no thunder that I could hear. We got lucky.

March 20th is the first day of spring. I am already thinking about getting out into the yard and begin my planting. Until spring officially arrives, we could get a few more freezing nights. Banners and giant green bows have sprung up around town in preparation for a month long celebration of St Patrick.

Masterbedroom window at the
HSH looking out at the first
Methodist Church. The
windows have a wave look.
Photo courtesy of: Scott Thompson

Get excited....March is here and spring is a little more than 2 weeks away! 

My Life in Dublin, GA blog has a new look

The front porch/entryway
 at the Hardy Smith House

Good Afternoon All. After almost two years working on 'My Life in Dublin, GA' blog, I decided it was time to update the appearance to more accurately reflect Dublin life, history and my life living in the oldest home in town, The Capt Hardy Smith House. I hope you enjoy the new look. If there is anything you like for me to add to make the blog more enjoyable to read, please send your comments along.

The metal bucket from the well at the
Hardy Smith House. Photo courtesy of:
Scott Thompson

As the month of February draws to a close, it is time to get ready for March and the St Patrick's Day festivities planned for the entire month in celebration of Dublin's Irish heritage. Check the local newspaper, The Courier Herald for the most up to date events.
For your convenience, copy/paste this link:
http://matchbin- assets.s3.amazonaws.com/public/sites/654/assets/4T2A_Big_Green_Guide_2011_WEBSITE.pdf
to your browser.
It is a .PDF file that you can save to your computer and print out). Be sure to bring your family and friends for a fun month of all things green and Irish. Don't forget to wear green or you may get a friendly pinch.

Spring is definitely in the air here in Dublin. Today was the second day the temperature actually hit 80 degrees. The Bradford Pear Trees with their white blooms are abundant all over town. Daffodils in white and yellow are blooming in the yard and at Stubbs Park where I played tennis today. Tomorrow will be sunny and in the low 80s. I am ready for spring! 

Since my last blog entry, all has been quiet at the Capt Hardy Smith House. We have a lot of projects planned for the spring and into the summer, so be sure to check my blog frequently. One of the first things planned is to add more seeding of the grass to fill in bare spots in the yard with a completion date by the end of April. Last year, we planted grass seed into May, but found it was too hot for roots to take hold. A lesson learned. Don't plant seed after April if you live in the Deep South or there is a high probability it will burn up in the day time heat. Spring officially arrives on March 20th, so the work will begin in the yard around that time. The weeds are coming up in abundance in the yard so weed killer will fix that quickly.

Once the weather gets consistently hot, around the end of April, we will return to the inside of the house and resume work in 'The Gone With The Wind' room. Happy spring everyone!

• 

Spring is in the air at the Hardy Smith House

With most of the cold, chilly nights at the Hardy Smith House behind us, we can now enjoy the birth of new life that welcomes the start of spring. This has been the first week where days have been in the 70s with sunshine. Time to think about planting and preparing the yard for the long, hot summer season ahead.

We are making slow but steady progress inside the Hardy Smith House. The 'Gone With The Wind' room is almost ready for painting! All the priming, caulking and repairs are nearing completion. We decided on Victorian era colors..deep, rich and vibrant. We are almost decided on the color scheme but will withhold speculation until we are 100% decided. Once the painting is completed, work will begin on the flooring. Wallpapering of the room will be done at sometime in the future. Window treatments in the room will be going up this season.

The next room on our to do list will be John's office. The walls are in excellent condition. The flooring, windows and trim need work. Thanks for visiting my blog and keep checking back as the restoration effort continues on the Hardy Smith House.

Ice Storm of 2011

Happy New Year from the Capt Hardy Smith House. Today is January 10th. Our first but a rare winter weather maker of the year, an ice storm. A major storm slammed the state of Georgia overnight Sunday and Dublin did not escape mother natures wrath. The city of Dublin basically shut down due to its inability to clear roads due to lack of snow removal equipment. Because winter events like this not to mention the 12/26/2010 snow Dublin received, are unusual, this holiday and post holiday season has turned out to be interesting indeed. 


We are keeping warm at the Hardy Smith house. The 'Gone With The Wind' room or 'Parlor room' priming is finished, except for the ceiling. Cold air was coming into the room so John located the problem areas and used foam insulation to seal them. Once the 3 remaining walls are caulked, final touch-up repairs on the windows completed, then the painting begins. We have not decided on colors yet. Because there is so much light that comes into the room during the day, the color of the walls will be much darker/cooler  than other rooms in the house. This will be the most formal of the rooms in the front part of the house to be completed. 


That is all that is happening at the Hardy Smith house. Keep checking back for updates. 

Day after Christmas Snow in Dublin, GA

Welcome! Christmas Eve at the Capt Hardy Smith House. I love to decorate for Christmas. A tradition passed down from my mom. White candle lights in each window with Christmas music echoed throughout the house. The day was quiet, our dogs were happy and the house toasty warm. We went to Christmas Eve service at Christ Episcopal Church in Dublin at 11:30pm. Christ Episcopal Church is the only Episcopal church in Dublin and Laurens County. The church is the oldest public building in continuous use for its original purpose. It was built in 1898. Check out their website for more information on the church and its history.

http://www.christepiscopaldublin.org/

It was a fitting time to reflect about the past year and to those we love and hold near and dear to us. Both of us had recent family events that compelled us to worship at this little church Christmas Eve night. As the rest of the upper East Coast got buried in up to two feet of snow, such as NYC, on Christmas day, Dublin, got a dusting of the white stuff a day after Christmas. We will take it. Close enough. The last recorded 'White Christmas' in Dublin was Christmas eve 1994. Unfortunately, the snow melted before Christmas day.

In this picture, Max, John's dog, enjoyed post Christmas day fun by playing in the oldest graveyard in the City of Dublin. I believe 1819 was the first burial at the location. It is located behind the First Methodist Church, the land that was donated by Capt Hardy Smith, his family and descendants, over the years, that is also next to the house and the 1/2 acre of what remains of the Hardy Smith farm.

In other developments at the Hardy Smith house, the renovations continue. The second wall of the 'Gone With The Wind' room has been primed. The front facing wall (fireplace) has been primed and caulked. Only two more walls and the ceiling need to be primed and caulked then we paint the walls! The room will soon come alive with beautiful color. Keep checking back for developments.

Happy New Year from the Capt Hardy Smith House

A VERY COLD DAY in Dublin but a VERY WARM day at the Hardy Smith House

By looking outside it would appear sunny and WARM. Mother Nature has thrown us a loop here in Dublin, GA. It is COLD and it is WINDY. What do I mean by COLD? Mid 30s with a wind chill index of 26 degrees! The high gusty winds are making it undesirable to be outside. Even Wi- Fi access is limited because of the windy conditions. INSIDE the Hardy Smith House, it is sunny and WARM. We are in the process of designing our 2010 Christmas card to be sent out to family and friends.

The Christmas decorating is done. John has completed priming of the front facing wall in the 'Gone With The Wind' room. He is working on sealing the wall with chaulk as he will do with the remaining walls in the room after priming. The windows in the room are repaired and ready to be painted. We are deciding if we should paint the walls first then wallpaper later or just wallpaper after priming. We want the room to look as period as possible as if it were a scene taken out of the 1939 classic movie with the name the room is named after. The walls will be adorned with beautiful pictures and furniture. Shopping for period furniture will be a treasure hunt in and of itself but we look forward to it. We want everything to be just right however long it takes to find just what we are looking for.

That is the latest on what is going on at the Hardy Smith house. Keep checking back for updates.

The very latest developments at the Hardy Smith House

Our 24/7 Security, Max

 Hello All.  It has been a busy two months since my last entry. Now that I have a working computer with web access, I will make a great effort to keep the world updated with our renovation progress on a more frequent basis. It has been a lot of fun and work. As more work gets done to the house, the beauty becomes more evident. 

Two days ago, I started Christmas decorating. The outside of the house is adorned with beautiful white lights and red bows. I even put a red bow on our beautiful mailbox. John and I are hoping that we make front page news in the Christmas decorating contest for the local newspaper, The Courier Herald. We have three Christmas trees up in the house. Today, I plan to put the final 'beautifying' touch on the decorating by placing a white electric candle in each window in the front part of the house just as I did last year. Decorating for Christmas is one of my favorite activities to do. It is a family tradition. Because the days are shorter this time of year, we have to move fast in getting everything up so everyone who drives by on Gaines St can see how beautiful this home is. Even our dogs delight in taking part in the decorating. Lady, my dog, loves to be by my side every moment. If she cannot see me, she gets very nervous. Max, John's dog, keeps watch on our prized possessions. 

The 2010 Christmas Parade in downtown Dublin was yesterday. Check out my Facebook page for 2 short videos on the event. It was a lot of fun. It was sunny, windy and relatively warm for this time of year. It was in the 60s. Very comfortable and pleasant. Both sides of the main route on Bellevue Ave were lined with onlookers. So a very good crowd showed up to enjoy the parade. The parade started like just about any other, lasting about an hour, with the police, then the bagpipers with the local elementary and middle school children displaying their various talents. The 3 local high school marching bands showcased their strength with West Laurens HS being the largest and most impressive in my opinion. The kids loved candy being thrown to them by float participants. Even John could not resist in partaking in the activity. The parade had fun for everyone to enjoy. The clowns, local politicians, businesses and even 'Mr. Pig' from our Piggly Wiggly grocery store stopped by to say hello to the crowd. Of course, John wanted me to take his picture with 'Mr. Pig' since we do a lot of our grocery shopping there. Check out John's blog or Facebook page for that happy moment. 

Master BR closet, Before. That is bat/rat/squirrel poo.

Master BR closet, After. All poo gone.

As for developments at the Hardy Smith House, John has been working hard on cleaning, painting and restoring/enlarging two closets, cleaning behind fireplaces/putting them back together, repairing the huge windows in the 'Gone With The Wind' room and sealing walls, windows and flooring from cold drafts.

All this found behind 3 fireplaces.

When John took apart 3 fireplaces (the master bedroom, the 'Gone With The Wind room' and upstairs bedroom), what a treasure trove or time capsule of letters, buttons, stamps, cards and some old bills that he found. Check out John's blog for more pictures and detailed information on the finds. 

Hidden behind master BR closet, Christmas stamps along with a signature on the wall.

When John is not working on CPA stuff, he is working on the house. Sealing the drafts has made a noticeable improvement on our electric bill. Next, on our house things to do list, is the 'Gone With The Wind' room. We plan to either wallpaper it with to as close to the original as possible or paint the room in colors reminiscent of themes from the movie. The furniture will be period, most likely Victorian, with pictures depicting the history of the 'War Between The States' or what the Northerners or Yankees refer to as 'The Civil War' as well as other related, interesting history of the house and the South. Looks like we will be doing a lot of antique shopping. There are a lot of antique places within a 100 mile radius of Dublin. I have already checked out some of them to get some ideas. 

The sun is getting low in the sky, the light is dimming and day is about to end. Time to finish decorating for Christmas. Thanks again for stopping by and reading my blog today. Keep checking back for updates. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. 

HSH: Summer 2010 Update

Hello All. You may have thought I have dropped off the face of the earth for the past 3 months. I am alive, well and continuing to make progress with John on the restoration efforts at the Hardy Smith House. We are down to one computer at the moment which is why my entries have been few and far between lately.This summer has flown by so quickly and it was a hot one, not to mention one of the hottest on record for middle Georgia. During the day in June, July and August, it was just too darn hot to get outside to do much during the heat of the day. I was struggling to keep our newly planted azaleas from dying. Unfortuateley, the two smaller bushes succumbed to the elements. I am not an expert when it comes to plants. I learn as I go. The grass on the east side of the yard was planted late so next year, John plans to add more seed to make it nice and full for next summer. At least we won the war of the weeds!

All the river rocks are out of the basement and are now lining the driveway, walkway or in the backyard, waiting to be used for whatever future project we choose. We need just a few more bricks to complete the walkway. John had to redo the front stairs but they look beautiful now. 1 coat of stain and 3 coats of polyurenthene should keep them shining for many years to come.




            The walls are covered in a inviting yellow, similar to what was used previously by another family living in the house. All of the bottles that John unearthed in the basement this spring are on display on a ledge at the top of the stairs. A small railing needs to be built across the ledge to keep the bottles from falling off and breaking which one did unfortunately.

John repaired the west side windows in the 'Gone With The Wind' room yesterday. Being that the windows were very large and heavy, 5-7 lb weights, four total, two for the top window and two for the bottom window were used in raising and lowering them. The rope snapped on one side so John repaired it and we are back in business. Before the cold sets in, the floor needs to be sealed again. The wood putty cracked from the change in temperatures the start of this year. The master bedroom and John's office need to be sealed up to eliminate the drafts and reduce our electric bill.

Near the garden, a couple of weeks ago, we had a bunch of Red Spider Lillies bloom. I had no idea what they were until I researched them. They bloom shortly after fall begins and after the first cool rain, They are an herb, native of Asia, are toxic however they are an effective rodent deterrent. These lovely flowers were introduced in the 1800s in Georgia and are seen around old homes in the south. In Japan, the Red Spider Lily symbolizes death and mourning. It is better to leave them in the garden than to pick them. Well, I picked them before I did my research to make sure they were not toxic to animals and oops, bad luck has not come to me yet.

September and Oct so far have been quiet months here at the HSH. Since the first guest bedroom is complete, we had a few friends and family stay with us for a few days and left with nothing but memorable impressions of their stay. Thanks for your interest in the HSH restoration effort and keep checking back for updates.