KUDOS TO BAMBOO

    Hurricane Irene has now past Virginia leaving us here on Hawthorne Avenue relatively unscathed but for lost electricity and some downed limbs.  I find myself in the position of offering KUDOS to the bamboo (something I did not anticipate since we just spent time, effort, and money preventing it from taking over our yard). 

    A mammoth  tree came down in our neighbor's yard during the winds of Irene.  The bamboo prevented thousands of pounds of tree from destroying our new brick wall.

As seen from our yard

As seen from neighbor's yard

As seen from neighbor's yard

The fallen tree has caused no damage to us thus far.  It will, however, certainly prevent the fence folks from beginning  construction today.

FROM MACHINE SHOP TO DINING ROOM

 
     I just adore talented and creative people.  I've encountered a share of such people since embarking on this renovation project.  One of these persons is James.  We stumbled upon James Schmidt's work while searching online for antique farm tables.  Instead of dealing in antique furniture, James works with reclaimed antique wood and creates one-of-a-kind heirlooms.

    Let me take you back to our trip to Chicago, via a variety of salvage spots.  One of the treasures with which we returned was vintage machine shop table legs we discovered in Indiana.

Over 100 pounds of green painted iron used in a factory in the early 1900's.

We thought a wooden table top on this base might make for a unique piece. This is where James comes in.

    As it turns out, JDS Antique Wood is no more than 12 miles down the road from our current home on Warren Road.  We must have past it dozens of times and, though intrigued by the sign, I never had cause or took time to stop.  We arrived at his workshop with an idea, and James turned early 1900 floor joists reclaimed from a former home on route 301, ironically only 2 miles from Hawthorne Avenue, into a wonderful bread board end table top.  

 

We just love it!  Thanks James!

Please take a peak at what James can do.

ALL BUTTONED UP

Thanks to Donnie #2 and his framing crew, by the end of today, our Hawthorne house is all buttoned up and braced for hurricane Irene.

(side note: Our friend and general manager of this adventure since day 1, March 2011 is also a Donnie.  I have named him Donnie #1.  He has deservedly earned the title of Number 1)

Northside view

View from inside the butler's pantry

The new roof as seen from inside

We are comfortable now that all possible has been done to protect 

our new home-to-be here on Hawthorne Ave.

AARRRRRGH!

We returned to Hawthorne Avenue this morning to bail out the house and swab the deck.

Aarrrgh!

I was too close to the swill.

DEAL OR ORDEAL

 We are anticipating a significant amount of rain as hurricane Irene approaches the East Coast. 

 That the backside of our house is not yet under roof is of great concern. 

The framers assured me Thursday morning that we would be under roof and wrapped by the end of Friday.   And then Thursday evening we got a thunderstorm.....

Rain on new construction...not such a big deal.  Rain on heart pine flooring...

Ordeal.

The GOOD news is ...

Our new built-in gutters and downspouts work!

(See other ROOF postings here)

1/2 DAY'S PROGRESS

GOTTA LOVE THE NOISE

New construction began today.

Gotta love the noise of progress!

HAPPY BIRTHYEAR TO ME !

     My husband has always struggled with the exact day of my birthday such that years ago he declared we would celebrate birthday WEEK.    
    After purchasing this house,we agreed that this covered not only his 50th birthday gift, but also our 25th anniversary, father's and mother's days, my birthday, Christmas, Valentine's and every other potential gift giving occasion for the next year or more.  This is fine with me! 

 As it turns out,  each day yields a "gift" be it in the form of a new brick foundation, a load of lumber, a toilet, 5 pounds of glazing compound, or a light fixture.  I am frequently heard singing "We wish you a merry Christmas" or "Happy birthday to me."

Plumbing fixtures & bar stools

More plumbing fixtures and light fixture

     My actual birthday fell during this past week.  It has been as enjoyable as any other thanks to all the friends and family who remembered me in such nice ways.....

Architectural  Iron

Alice

Yellow bird cup

Origami flower

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

    

FROM UGLY TO BEAUTIFUL IN UNDER 2 DAYS

    We have had a great brick mason here on Hawthorne Avenue this past week.  (See yesterday's post )  He has worked so swiftly and well that we have hired him to construct a small brick wall to cap the concrete-filled ditch built to contain the aggressive bamboo.

An excavator dug a ditch 18 inches deep and 12 inches wide.  

After the ditch was filled with concrete it looked as if it were a lava trail.  Very UN-attractive. 

Using the garage foundation brick, a close match to the original, the mason has just completed a beautiful wall.

NEW BAYS

    Our basement has 6 windows....all in such disrepair that we have new windows on order.  We will soon rebuild the sills and replace the windows, vastly improving the look and security of the house.

If you can, look past the dilapidated windows and rotting sills, and take a gander at our new bays!

We excavated approximately 10 inches below ground level.  The mason leveled and laid  block upon which he laid 4 runs of the original brick  (  Remember the chimneys we took down  back in May? )  Each corner has been finished with 45 degree angle cuts.

The brick is purposely not pointed, mimicking the foundation on the original house.

The 3 bays on the south side of the house are so close together
 that they demanded a different brick configuration.

3  bays on the north side of the house

    We are thrilled with how they have turned out.  The use of the old brick makes such a noticeable difference.

JIGGETY FIG JAM

   Two days ago I had to severely trim my fig tree.  The tree grows on the south west corner of the house and, since April , it has been working on producing figs. (Yes, I realize producing fruit is a year-round process but the first visible fruit appeared back in April)  This made it difficult to cut the tree back so harshly.....and yet.....the brick mason had to build the new fireplace and chimney. My mom assured me that, in her experience, a fig tree can take some punishment from the loppers and be none worse for wear.  So, fingers crossed, prune it I did.

 
    Before I cut the tree back I picked all the ripe fruit.  I believe I harvested fruit before the local bird and squirrel population knew it was ready to eat because I got enough to make some preserves.

    Having never canned anything in my life I was a bit nervous about how and if it would turn out.  Searching the internet, I looked for a recipe that was touted not only tasty, but also fool-proof.  Recipes for strawberry fig preserves kept popping up.  Online comments about this type of preserve indicated it met my 2 top criteria (tasty & fool-proof) and, in addition, the seeds in the figs mimic strawberry seeds so the end product is more appealing to a, shall I say DISCERNING audience.

    The recipe I used yielded 6 cups of preserves and I used 4oz. jars so I have more small tastes to share with family and friends.  Those who know me also know I rarely follow a recipe 100%.  I have to admit I strayed, but only slightly.....adding approximately a tablespoon of fresh lemon juice while boiling and stirring.

The result......YUM !!!

   

DASHING ALL THE WAY

      Yesterday the excavator dug trenches for the addition and garage footings and the retaining wall for the bamboo.

Concrete was poured in preparation for the foundation and fireplace.

   When I stopped by Hawthorne today, between errands and meetings, I was reluctant to leave because so much was going on and I hated to miss out on any of the action.

The mason and his crew were speedily laying brick, 

and, though the stucco guy was busy throwing dash, he was game enough to let me try my hand at a few tosses.  










I must say, stucco work is WAY more difficult than it looks.  Lewis, here in the photograph, is perhaps the last of a dying breed here in this city.  He learned his trade from his father and he told me he was certainly the youngest person he knows of in this line of work.

    Our house here on Hawthorne requires a LOT of stucco repair and I'm glad we found him. 

PERMITS ARE POSTED

Up until now we have been doing demolition and repair work which is required but needs no permit.

Removing dilapidated roof and floorboards of screened porch

Removal of the butler's pantry and back wall   

Jacking up the north corner of the porch




Now with permits posted, the real work can begin.

PERMITS ARE HERE

NEW CONSTRUCTION BEGINS

 The butler's pantry on the northwest side of the house requires a new foundation and reconstruction  because of past water damage.  This necessitates tearing down and rebuilding.

So long old  butler's pantry

Because of all this necessary construction, we've had plans to move a wall to reconfigure the 2 bathrooms above the pantry to include a laundry space.

Hello sky

We've been watching the weather and crossing our fingers for NO RAIN.

WHILE IN CHICAGO....

    We spent some time browsing a unique store called Urban Remains .  Had I the place for some of their items, I would have made several purchases.  The prices were quite steep but looking is free.  "A cat can look at a queen," as my father is known to say.  So look we did.....

These owls reminded me of my nephew Gates.

Those were the days, my friend!

"John, the baby!" (Can anyone name the movie? the actress? credited with this line?) 

Looking was free and so was smiling and giggling.  We all had fun, and then Billye told us it was time to go. 

 So, we packed up our purchases and left.