Rolling, Rolling, Rolling...

My home (the little house) used to look more like this:


But now, it has descended into this:

Yes. Boxville. In every room in the house. This is how I am living now. We are moving Monday, so I won't be posting much, if at all until late next week. I am still working at the barn and construction is still on-going at the Foursquare. It has all become a huge juggling act.

Now, granted, we are only moving five blocks down and two blocks over, but still... it is not exactly "easy as pie." Some of us are making the best of this box forest, though!

Say a prayer for our twenty feet or wish us moving mercies!

Head 'em up! Move 'em out! RAWHIDE!

Whew!

Not that we thought it wouldn't....
WE know that it is a great house. But now we know that come mid May we'll either have it sold to a good owner, or receive $1,500.00 in earnest money!
We're set to move April 28th! Anyone want to come help me babysit some movers?

Master of the Universe

No, Ella Bean has not nominated me for a very honorable award, this post is all about the master bedroom progress (Well, Ella helped model to put things to scale...)!

The master has been primed and is ready for painting. The 90-something-year-old water stains have been blocked (we hope!) and the mantle is up and ready for puttying and priming.

See? No stains under the window sills! We were even able to replace a rotten window sash with one of the old window sashes that had been taken out when a wall was added to create a family room area.

And below, here's the mantle! There used to be a huge crumbling hole where the fireplace was. All of the chimneys above the roof line have been removed (before we bought the house) and capped below the roof line (one even has AC duct work in it...weird). We also removed some old soot and ash from the fireplace as well as quite a few bricks that had fallen down probably during the demo. I did find an old postcard from the early to mid 1900's in between the wall and bricks. If my camera was charged I'd take a picture and post it. Most likely, it would not be impressive though. Sitting for over 80 years in a wall next to a fireplace took its toll. I will keep it and have it framed, however.

We were also able to keep all of the original plaster on the walls and ceiling, which was something I did not think at all possible (in the case of the ceiling), but our lovely neighbor and hired handyman, Carl, did wonders!

See? Doesn't that go very well in the master? It almost looks as if it had always been there.
I really like that we get to see the old bricks. We hope one day to have ventless gas logs put in (It will not be possible to use the fireplace as one normally would with the absence of a chimney and because it was a coal burning fireplace.), which will look (and feel!) wonderful!
Now we just have to work on trimming out the tile hearth and finding a decorative grate!!!

Everything But The Kitchen Sink!

Here they are - meet the kitchen cabinets!!!! TA-DA!!!!!!!!!

I am SO ready to put stuff in them!!!!

This wall runs parallel to the driveway. The infamous "Stove Placement Debate of 2007" took place in this very kitchen. A compromise was reached by both parties and the stove top/oven combo will be placed over 9 inches away from the window to meet code (the open place where the wires are coming from) and the kitchen sink will be placed in its desired spot so that the cook (me) may look out into the backyard while she works at the sink.

The fridge will go next to this little cabinet. We hope to have a little bar top area here as well so that you can pull up some little stools in the family room to it (that beige room is the family room).

Yes, I am keeping those little shutter things at the bottom half of the windows. I like them mostly because they remind me of my Grams's house. She has them in almost every room. It just makes me think of being there.
Here's another view of where the fridge will be. We hope to move this door to the outside where the screen door was and make this little room into a mud room (We are not sold on doing this yet. We are going to live here for a while and let the house "tell us" what to do). It used to house the water heater, but we are moving those underneath the house. No, we are not open to suggestions. The "Great Water Heater Debate of 2007-2008" also took place here and it was very traumatic and difficult to come to any resolution. It involved every plumber, sub-contractor, Gas Co. Personnel, Electric Co. Personnel, family member and friend that you can imagine. All possible options were considered and the discussion is closed.

OH! Did I mention that we will have a dishwasher?! And no, I don't mean myself, Sam or the dogs, I mean a machine one!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What are we going to do with ourselves?! I haven't had a dishwasher in 5 years!!! (it will go in that little empty space by the present back door).

So you aren't impressed, eh? Well, here's an older picture of the kitchen when we first looked at the house. This picture gives no indication of how FILTHY this kitchen was. Dead rats, onion skins, a jar of three-bean salad... Not to mention the 3 ceilings that the drop ceiling was concealing (say that 5 times really fast!) and the 5 or so layers of old flooring that was on top of the original hardwood floor. Oh, and we found a chimney pipe and tons of bricks from the original wood-burning stove. And the tar and soot.....OH the TAR and SOOT! I'll never forget it...

Here's the lovely built in which I am so very excited to have! I've always wanted one! The PO of the little house tore one out when she remodeled in the 60's. It broke my heart to find that out. But now I have one of my very own!!!! Isn't it grand?!

So, needless to say, I'm a happy girl. I even have pots and pans drawers by the future stove! And they have a really cool closing mechanism.... if I'm feeling really ambitious later I may take a video of it...

It's a Dog Eat Dog World...

... so I went riding with my favorite road trip buddy and bought her a corn dog.

She's not nearly as ferocious as she looks!

Yes, I know. I need to have children.

A family is a unit composed not only of children but of men, women, an occasional animal, and the common cold. ~Ogden Nash

Sunday Sermon

Well, sort of a sermon... It's not that I am a preacher or even a great thinker, but I often have to refresh my mind so that I can keep going from time to time. When you have two old houses, one of which was build about 98 years ago and has been neglected for a few years, it is easy to become downtrodden and want to give it all up and move to an overpriced new house (that will probably fall apart in a few years b/c it wasn't built by my dad) in the "better" part of town that has no sidewalks and very poor soil.

But, Sam and I do our best to remember why we are here in this part of town and why everything worked out so that we eventually bought the Foursquare and not the 3 other homes we tried for. There is a reason and a purpose for this house. When I stop to ponder these things, these events which have led me to this point in my life... when I stop to remember WHY I do anything and to what purpose it is for I am humbled and all of my selfish desires seem to blow away like petals in the wind.

It's not just the houses that cause me to become weighed down, nor are they the biggest concern in my life, but this is about 50 % a house blog, so that's why I mention it.

Sam and I have these song lyrics framed and hung in the Foursquare by the front door. The song is an upbeat one from the 80's I think (remember ELO?). It is used on some car commercial now. Sam and I usually get up and dance around (or make the dogs dance against their will) when it comes on. I looked up the words one day and realized they were quite relevant to several situation we find ourselves in in life, especially old house people, because we ALL know we are in it for the long haul and there will never be a day when the house will not need a repair or restoration of some kind. We will never get to it all and when we do have it done (or do it ourselves) it will not ever be done perfectly. Nonetheless, we hold o tight to our dreams relating to this house, our lives here on earth and what is to come. Without further delay, here it is:

Hold On Tight

Hold on tight to your dream

Hold on tight to your dream

When you see your ship go sailing

When you feel your heart is breaking

Hold on tight... to your dream

It's a long time to be gone

Time just rolls on and on

When you need a shoulder to cry on

When you get so sick of trying

Hold on tight to your dream

When you get so down that you can't get up

And you want so much but you're all out of luck

When you're so downhearted and misunderstood

Just over and over and over you could

Accroches-toi a ton reve

Accroches-toi a ton reve

Quand tu vois ton bateau partir

Quand tu sents ton coeur se briser

Accroches-toi a ton reve.

When you get so down that you can't get up

And you want so much but you're all out of luck

When you're so downhearted and misunderstood

Just over and over and over you could

Hold on tight to your dream

Hold on tight to your dream

When you see the shadows falling

When you hear that cold wind calling

Hold on tight to your dream

Hold on tight to your dream

Yeah...hold on tight...

To your dream

~ J. Lynne

Temper it with this:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.

~ Proverbs 3:5-6

Quickie

Just a quick update on the goings-on around here:

• The floor people have been called and warned (we noticed a few more big mistakes)


• Cabinets are here and checked in!


• Cabinet installer comes tomorrow


• Kitchen is fully painted -YAY!!! And it looks like the sky in Spring - just like I wanted.


• The mantle has been installed in the master and matches very well to the scale in the room. I am very pleased!


• It rained a lovely Spring rain here, allowing my allergies to calm down a bit.


• Nobody tricked me on April Fools Day.


• My arm is slowly healing.


• I think we'll actually be in the house by May!

Life is GOOD!

Happy Birthday, Ella Bella Bean!

I have had my beloved Bean for FIVE years now! She's been my sidekick and helper through so many things in life! I can't even imagine her not ever being by my side and her fur balls not being under every piece of furniture in the house!

Here are some reasons I love my Ella Bean!

• She's a great "road trip" buddy



• She keeps the stray cats out of the yard



• She keeps all of the delivery men at the new house in-line and on their toes



• She's a great walking buddy



• She keeps Lil' Henri from tearing up the rugs in the house



• She loves to take care of baby kittens!



• She is a good listener



• She never has an unkind word to say about anyone



• She's silly



• She's Ella!
  

Life is GOOD!

Aren't they beautiful?!

I'll be right here while you're working

How can I help?!

I'LL get it!!!!!!

Cheeeeeeeeeeeese!!!!