HONEYSUCKLE

Today I lopped, sawed and pruned.  My scratched up arms, neck and legs estimate that the honeysuckle that was planted in Ginter Park in the early 1900's  has not been pruned since perhaps the 1950's.  Since then, a healthy crop of brambles has joined the honeysuckle.  In just an hour's time I could see the space looking better.  A little Neosporin and I am none the worse for wear.

WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE?

RANDOM 'TREASURES'

Just a few random "treasures"...

MY LATEST LOVE

I like tools.  To be specific, I like power tools.  This must be part of my genetic makeup passed down to me from my Daddy.  None of my friends (excluding Taylor and perhaps Julie) would have been excited to receive a power washer for her 20th anniversary and an angle grinder for a recent birthday (Thank you Lucius for the tip about that spark throwing tool).

I must say that my latest love is the reciprocating saw.  Not only is it moving this demolition project along more quickly, but I spent this sunny afternoon with it taking down monster bamboo.

THE MOST AWESOME CREW

This demoliton crew works so hard.  They are just awesome.

Hauling heavy plaster from the 1st floor

Waiting for the dust to clear

Dumping debris from the 3rd floor

Making more room in the dumpster

JUST CHILLIN'

Just chillin' during today's lunch break.... Soaking up some sun.

Just chillin' after being excavated from a 3rd story wall....Exposed to the sun for the first time in years.

A BIG JOB AHEAD

   While the guys smash and crash and tear down the walls, I am the detail girl pulling trim.  I've taken the baseboards to the local specialty lumber yard to attempt a match.....NO SUCH  LUCK.  The baseboards are tongue in groove, 8 inches wide, and made by the carpenters living in those cottages I mentioned previously.  I have a big job ahead of me.

COTTAGE AVENUE

Delving into the history of this house I have discovered a map of the neighborhood that was published in the local newspaper in 1908.
http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85038615/1908-05-03/ed-1/seq-34/

Hawthorne Avenue was originally named COTTAGE AVENUE because Lewis Ginter first built 6 cottages in which the carpenters lived while the other larger homes in Ginter Park were being built.  Five of the cottages are below...

 

 

The largest of the 6 cottages, on the corner of Hawthorne and Walton, served as quarters for the supervisor of Ginter’s land company.

The Ginter Park Community Center, which is just down the block on the corner from our Hawthorne house, has served as a community center, a library, and a church (among other things). The community center has SWIMMING POOLS !!!  Billye has been asking for a pool for 2 months now.  I know that this is where she will spend much of the hot summer.

I have yet to discover when and why the name was changed from Cottage to Hawthorne.

TOOLS OF THE TRADE

OH WHAT FUN

With Michael home from college for spring break, Wallace has enlisted several young men to help with demolition and heavy lifting this weekend.  By the end of the first day, we could see from Michael's room, through the hall and stairwell into Billye's room.

And my beautiful bedroom-to-be looked like this...

THIS OLD HOUSE

Upon seeing the house for the first time, and realizing all the work that needs to go into making it a home, Michael said, " Mom, should I contact This Old House on your behalf?"

Having done a little research into the house's history, I have learned..... This house on Hawthorne Ave. was among the first homes built in Ginter Park in 1906.  The neighborhood,  developed by the Lewis Ginter Land Development Company, advertised this way in the August 1906 Times Dispatch...

 There is no Malaria and no Typhoid
in Beautiful Ginter Park

HEALTHY LOCATION is one
of the greatest points to consider
 in selecting a home. Avoid heavy
doctors' bills by going to Ginter Park.
The lots average over half an acre in size.
The water is pure and as clear as crystal.
The drainage and sewerage systems are
perfect. The avenues are wide, macadam
ized, and are never muddy. Thousands
of beauttful shade trees and miles of
privet and honeysuckle hedges.
Good trolley service for one fare.
The neighborhood is all that can be
desired.

 Do not neglect this opportunlty
to secure a lot at Present Low Prices.
Call and get a map. We will be glad to
show you the property at any time.
Lewis Ginter Land & Improvement Company

Our house is the first house on the left with the circular drive. [ Photo from the Valentine Museum collection, circa early 1900, taken from Richmond A Pictorial History by Hale and Manarin]

NEIGHBORHOOD BEAUTIFICATION

Eager to make the house a bit homey and inhabited looking, I planted some pansies in some pots for the front steps.  When I searched the side yard for broken clay tiles to place in the bottom of the pots, I came across this iron frog partially buried in the mud.

With several pansies left over, I scrounged up some old slate from the yard, made a simple border, and planted a half dozen plants by the sidewalk.  Just a small effort to pretty up the place.

Not 12 hours later, a dumpster was delivered......
So much for my neighborhood beautification efforts!

HOBBY, PASSION, OBSESSION, MISTRESS, MASTER

After working all day at JRHS, Wallace then works into the night at Hawthorne house.

He has a new hobby, passion, obsession, mistress, master.....

RENOVATE VS. RESTORE

We come to the conclusion that, while we love the history that comes with our 'new' home, we are not historical restoration purists.  Much of the house we will preserve, however, since our tastes are not solely those of 1906, we plan to renovate in order to make our house more airtight and healthy, and the systems more efficient.  This effort will require a tearing down of all exterior and most interior walls.

To this end, today I finished removing all interior doors (18 in all not including the kitchen, the basement, 2 bathrooms and 4 crawl spaces) and Wallace and Donnie continue demo of the kitchen.

ME OL' BAMBOO

While the mature bamboo provides some privacy

and a lot of entertainment,

 we require a fence, so I meet Bill this morning for an estimate to enclose the back yard.

IF WALLS COULD TALK

We pack the car again and arrive at Hawthorne House to find Donnie has appeared 2 hours before us.  How fortunate we are to have such a knowledgeable and devoted friend and worker.  Finding a complete woodpecker skeleton in one wall and later a 1950's era Pinocchio doll in another wall causes us to wonder what else is in store for us behind the drywall, plaster and concrete.

Wallace and Donnie work steadily to completely gut the kitchen area.  I work to remove interior doors and label hardware while simultaneously keeping Billye safe from the demolition and content with movies, computer games, and diet soda.

It is all so exciting.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY WALLACE!

Wallace turns 50 today.  We celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary in May.  We have just bought a 100+ year old house.  Poetry....of sorts.

Eagerly and enthusiastically we pack the car and drive to Hawthorne Avenue.  The previous night's party is only slightly evident.  There is beer, wine, soda and bottled water to last 2 weeks or more which is a nice perk.






The work begins.  A magnolia is trimmed back to allow a dumpster to be delivered.

The side porch gets cleared off, and the kitchen cabinets and appliances are removed revealing unimagined filth.  I decide to prune bushes and clear out brush instead.  My stomach will settle eventually, I hope.

CHEERS !

Closing day arrived and went off with out a hitch.  Wallace and I now own the house on Hawthorne Avenue. Picking up Stuffy’s sandwiches and driving together to picnic on the front porch was a unique Friday treat. For a portion of the 10 minute drive, a maroon Ford Explorer was in front of us. The license plate read CHRLIE. An odd coincidence?

Getting into the house with the key but freezing up the deadbolt in the locked position, then using the toilet and having to flush with 3 gallons of distilled water made me think, “What have we done?!”

We find champagne and a note in the leaky refrigerator, the seller's realtor and a Northside neighbor arrives to give us a book in which this house is pictured, and a walk around the yard together soon dismiss the whispers of doubt.  "This is right."

Friends and new neighbors arrive a few hours later surprising Wallace and congratulating the two of us on our new purchase.  This is both welcoming and confirming, “We are home.”

YES, REALLY !

And these are just some of the reasons why........

You either see it or you don't.