Karl & Lisa's Victorian Home

Cherry Trees

2010-04-13T18:12:00.003-05:00

The cherry trees are approaching six years old. We've never had more than a handful of cherries but they sure put on a great flower show:

I've looked into many possibilities on why the trees don't produce. I think it could be any of these theories: One tree flowers too late in comparison to the other, no honeybees in the area, frost, or that the trees are still too young. This year, if there is an impending frost I will cover them with bedsheets over night to try and eliminate that theory. Stay tuned...

Garlic Mustard and the New Chimney

2010-04-12T09:38:00.003-05:00

Ok, so the chimney is complete. I can't tell you how happy I am to have that done. NOW can all the leaks can go away!?!?!

I recently read an article in the news about the invasive weed called "Garlic Mustard". The article went on to describe how it is destroying the local plant life on forest floors and how there is no natural fungus or parasites that kill it off. It is recommended that you pull it out and either burn it or throw it away because this plant is so hardy that it will re-root into the ground if you just leave it to wilt.

The name of the plant had me wondering. A short google search produced articles about how it was introduced by immigrants as a culinary herb. Adding "recipe" to garlic mustard produced many pages of recipes for pesto. I think the news article I read should have referenced how the roots are like a mild horseradish and that the entire plant is edible as a part of salads, pizza, etc... If it is anything we humans do best, it is consuming everything to the point of exploitation. Making this the hottest new item at your local restuarant should surely descimate this species, making it a "win win" for us and the native wildlife.

Here's a photo of a young garlic mustard plant in my yard:

I also picked this plant and will be making a pesto taken from "Bon Appegeek" after I publish the post.

Updates to the Blog

2010-04-10T08:57:00.002-05:00

I have been updating the links listed in the blog - in particular, in the "Tour Our Home" section. We have made many changes to the interior so please take a look at the new links. I will be dismantling the Geocities website since Yahoo has closed their hosting service and wants to charge $120/yr to allow me to edit my website. I moved all my photos from that website over to Flickr and the neat feature about Flickr is that I can link the room "sets" to the blog in a form of a slide show. Pretty cool.

It has been a while...

2010-04-09T10:41:00.006-05:00

It has been a l-o-n-g time since I have posted on our house blog but I assure you, we have done some major remodeling with more on the way! We are 99% finished with the interior and have just begun the exterior repairs.

Completed July 2009 was our new roof. We hired Advanced Roofing out of Yorkville, IL primarily because of their impressive work on suburban Chicago historical homes. We had them install GAF/ELK Camelot shingles and also the much needed gutters. It cost a fortune but considering Karl and I plan on dying here, I wanted quality materials and work that will outlast me before I needed to worry about it.

Before:

After (ignore the date, my old camera doesn't know what it's doing):

After a new roof one would assume all leaks would be taken care of. Not so! Once spring made its first showing about a month ago, I began seeing water spots on my ceilings on the second floor. I peeked into the attic and all the beams surrounding my chimney were black. Ugh. I had a few restoration specialists come out and was told my chimney need to be completely replaced. Bricks rot and turn into sponges over time. I had no idea, you learn something new every day!

As of this morning, I have a new chimney. As you can see in the old pictures above, some of the components missing on the chimney were a proper cap, flues, and their corresponding rain caps. This new chimney is all new brick, TWO new flues/rain caps, and of course a new cement cap. The guy says it will last another 150 years which fits in with my "anything I fix better outlast me" theme. Work was completed by Valley Chimney Sweep & Restoration.

Here's a close up of the new chimney:

Next, we will be rebuilding the front porch. We found out that it is supposed to be a two story "piazza" design and will be receiving the materials around the end of the month. In the mean time, I'm looking to reproduce my old columns which has not been easy.

The Summer Projects

2006-04-07T11:25:00.000-05:00

Well, as you may have noticed by the SEVERE lack of posting on this site, we've been on hiatus.

With the weather warming up, and the cabin fever overwhelming us, we came up with a list of projects to get done this summer:

1. Replace more windows and storm windows. Karl had two sets replaced already last fall, and they've been working out great. He's getting his groove on the technique and it's only costing us about $10-20 a window to replace it. Can you believe it?

2. Insulate the attic. I think the last time it was insulated with blown in cellulose was in the 1940's. It's only about 3" deep, and with the new stove upstairs, it was really obvious this needs to be a priority. I need to research the correct way to put new insulation over old blown in insulation. One question I have is whether I need to use a vapor barrier between the layers.

3. Probably the most fun project is putting in a stone wall. The fence around the property is temporary, and we'd like to have at least the front be a dry-fit sandstone wall, 3 feet high. It would cut down on the traffic noise, and look much nicer. We got quotes for $3 a ton, unbelievable pricing. We will also use this stone to patio out the north side of the house. It hardly gets any sun due to the house and mature trees, and after 3 years of bad luck with the grass, it's coming out!

4. Make a path to the wood pile. Since we officially converted to using solely wood heat, we made quite a mud path to where we dump the wood, and it would be nice to have a nicer pathway.

I have no photos as of yet, so I'll post when we get rolling

The Master Bedroom

2005-12-22T10:05:00.000-06:00

Here is another room I don't really care about. I know in most families, the parents usually take the largest room, but we opted to take the smallest, since the kids make more use of all the space in the other rooms. I also didn't want to spend too much money, so I did this on the cheap.

I'm obsessive when it comes to remodeling. This room has has three looks in three years.

When we moved in:

The first remodel:

How it looks now, although you can't see how it connects to the loft where the stove is:

Here's the new dressers I got.

They're teak, cool huh? Going for the "feng shui" look. I used Dutch Boy Granite paint in the room, a matte finish grainy sort of paint. I really like the texture. It's the texture of bar sugar. I want to make bamboo valances for the windows, and bamboo frames for the prints on the wall. I just haven't got there yet!

The Master Bath

2005-12-20T14:48:00.000-06:00

This is the last room we really need to work on. It's also the room I care the least about, so it's not taking priority attention!

But, it is from the late 30's or early 40's (toilet was marked 1932 or 1939), and is in desparate need of remodeling. This room I want to use alot of stone work, and with the stove and marble floor in the drawing room directly beneath it, I'm not so sure the house was meant for the weight load. I'll have to hire an engineer. The other thing is that the linen closet is almost large enough to be a bedroom (!) and I'd LOVE to tear it out and put the second floor lanudry in there. The room used to be a fifth bedroom, so it's very large.

Being as I can't really do what I want with the bathroom due to my overstretched finances being sucked by this house, I'm going for a "design on a dime" look, and keep it under $1000.

Here's the bathroom as it looked when we purchased the place. Keep in mind that half the room couldn't fit into this shot, so a 4x6 foot window isn't shown.

This is it now, so far keeping within budget:

I painted the tub with Rustoleum, and changed the clawfeet to silver. I installed new lights/fans, and painted the "wainscoting" (which is WAY cheap and fake, but it'll do for now), put in a new toilet, and put in a Victorian Delta faucet, granite undermount sink, and a cherry cabinet.

I still have to replace the vanity light, and put up new wallpaper. Then, I can at least live with the bathroom. I also have to tear out that mess by the radiator. Why did they cover it up? Why not just put a corner cabinet in above it?

Oh ya, remember this post about the central air conditioning leaking in the attic? Well, this what happens when water damage meets cold air:

Grrrr....

That #$!#%@$ Stove!

2005-12-20T14:40:00.000-06:00

We didn't have this problem with the first stove's chimney.

Our new stove has an "angle" to the projection into the house. It is like this because the "tee support" was an assmbled part, leaving room for error in the alignment when attaching the tee to the house. I mean, it actually SLIDES on purpose. I suppose it could be a benefit to some installers, but not to us.

If it wasn't for the fact it's -5 outside, I'd take a photo to show how the rest of the chimney looks. It's not going to affect the saftey, for everything's bolted, but it LOOKS BAD, both inside and out.

You can see the angle at the elbow.

So, that's our project to fix!

How did we ever survive?

2005-12-06T12:53:00.000-06:00

How did we; as a hairless species, ever survive? I mean, it's cold out here today! It's 10 degrees outside, and I can't finish putting in my stove! ARRRRGGGHHHH!

Here's the scoop:

Yes, we have "central heat". That is, if you count a radiant heat system put in around 1908. Don't get me wrong, we used it the first year in this place, but without ever having it inspected? I don't even want to bother.

I already have a wood stove in my drawing room but it is designed to heat only my downstairs. This summer I purchased another wood stove to go upstairs on the "loft" above the main staircase. I never put it in during the summer, well...uh... because I thought I'd do it in the fall.

Apparently, everyone felt the same way I did. I went to Menards, and they are backordered for MONTHS. So, I go online spend $500 more to have the chimney shipped in, and waited.

Then, we went to put it in this past weekend, and of course ran into problems. Karl's afraid of heights (working 35 feet up), there's a gutter where the ladder needs to rest, etc...

So, fed up at living downstairs, and NOT wanting to sleep in a 40 degree bedroom, I hiked up my skirt (kidding), flashed $200 (not kidding), and asked two guys to move my 400 pound stove upstairs, and put the effing chimney up. And, THEY DID IT!

I was so happy because my husband said I didn't "understand how hard this was to install" (because I'm using a horsewhip on him), and I thought that he doesn't understand that if he pushes me, I'LL get it done myself.

And I did. I moved the 400 pound stove from the landing, through my bedroom, and I widened the doorway, and set the stove into its final resting place. Yes, my back hurts.

Now the new problem. The one piece of chimney doesn't come into the house far enough for me to meet the heat clearances needed for either the stove or the stovepipe. Take a look, and yes, the window is covered in ice...

Dammit!

I was so close, and there's nothing I can do. I had to order another part, an 18" length instead of a 12" that's in there now. The good news? It should be here within two days. The bad news? The cold days are NOW, and it will be back into the 30's by the end of the week, and I don't care then.

So, back to freezing my dupa off and sleeping downstairs. I don't know how we survived way back when, because 40 degrees upstairs, and 52 downstairs is not cutting it for me, AT ALL. Think I'm joking? Here's the pics, taken today:

This one is out of focus because my Xmas tree is right there, so I had to take it really close.

And, 40 is warm, I took this in the middle of the day. God knows what it is at night.

Live-in Nanny Needed!

2005-10-22T19:44:00.000-05:00

Ugh, I'm tired of looking on au-pair & nanny websites to find a live-in "nanny". All the agencies want $200 (or more!) just to access a resume, and there's no guarantee! So, I figured I'd use my sites to "advertise" my position.

If you are interested, email me, and we can talk. You can find my email information in my profile. Or, if you know someone, also email me their contact info.

Here's the description:

We reside in Paw Paw, IL, it is a small village of 850 people. We are on the edge of town, in a wonderful quiet setting.

We are a family that loves living in a rural area. My husband has a small business in DeKalb, and has an extremely flexible work schedule. I work at his business, so one of us is almost always around. We live in a large Victorian home that we have been restoring for the last three years. It became listed in the National Register of Historical Places this past May. The half acre yard is fenced, and the kids LOVE to play outside. We also have two English Shepherd dogs that play all day also! :)

My son is 5 at the end of the month, and he attends pre-school four days a week. He has a language delay, but had greatly improved in the last year. He is very well behaved, and very social. He's also VERY "boy" because he enjoys playing army man, pretend hunting, and the like.

My daughter is two years old, and is the direct opposite of her brother. She loves all things Disney Princess, and can be quite shy. Once she gets to know you, she is a cuddle bunny! I just started potty training her yesterday, and she did very well!

Why we want a "nanny":

We love people. We have an extra room in the house that always sits empty. Karl and I do not regularly "need" someone to watch the kids during the day, but sometimes this is needed for various reasons. We decided that it would be mutually beneficial to have a responsible person who loves children live in our home. We thought taking care of all of your living expenses, including health & car insurance in exchange for a "here and there" babysitting situation would help not only us, but someone that is looking for a place to live and also desires to have a relationship with other people. We would also provide a small salary for spending money. You could expect to “work” an average of only 5 hours a week. You would also be able to pursue a part-time job, if you wished. You would have you own room furnished with a queen bedroom set, a secure wireless internet connection, a TV/VCR/DVD/MP3 player, and access to your own personal laptop, if you do not already own one. Your room is very large, and has two equally large windows! If you do not own your own vehicle, we will provide access to one for you.

We had our first experience this past summer with an au pair from Germany. She just left this past Saturday to return to college. It was a good experience for everyone. We are open to foreign nannies, so don't be shy. We speak fluent German, and moderate Spanish.

We are a politically active family, and I volunteer for various conservative causes. This is usually what will call me out of the house. We would prefer a person that is either not interested in politics, or is conservative in nature.

Thanks! :)

The New Project

2005-08-06T09:08:00.000-05:00

Well, as all of us old home owners know, original windows are awesome to have. Sorta. Let's face it, single pane glass held in place with most likely half-century old (or older in the case or ours) glazing isn't very economical insulation wise, and just plain looks bad.

Not only that, but our windows have sagged, panes cracked, and dry-rotted all on the north side of the house. It didn't help when previous owners retro-fitted aluminum storm windows without properly sealing them, rotting the sills, and keeping moisture close to the panes.

So, what do we do with this problem? With 22 windows and one out of three being different sizes, replacing them with WOOD windows would most likely run almost $100,000. I'd NEVER put in those vinyl windows. Low-E is nice, but what an indignation to a home that has just been placed in the National Register!

We've read some books about window making, took down a window, and started researching how we want to go about this. We've decided replacing the actual panes and sashes were the most important, and we'll so the sills later. We also have decided that dovetail construction would work best with the windows for durability. We're using pressure treated lumber for the upstairs, and haven't decided on a material for the first floor, since I don't want to refinish the molding around the windows from the inside. The second floor windows are worse off anyway.

Karl's completed the first window today. So far, the only obstacle we've come across is that they installed the windows, and custom fit all the trim pieces around them, so everything must come down to fit back together. Most of the windows we'll just use the original panes of glass, to preserve character, and we'll use salvage for panes that are cracked.

I'm excited because the first benefit is the cost. This is costing us almost nothing to do. We have the tools, and treated lumber isn't expensive. We'll prime and paint, and have lifetime windows, keeping in tune with the construction. The drawback is the insulation factor. We'll gain some energy savings from having windows that fit properly, but we'll never have the same savings as those who opt to install the vinyl Low-E. But, we heat our home with wood anyway, and last year our heating cost using wood was $150 for the whole season.

I'll get some pictures up when we complete more...

An Honor for Our Home

2005-07-04T20:21:00.000-05:00

Some of you may recall a post where I was researching to have our home listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Back in March, I made a presentation to the State, and I got the official nomination from the State Historic Preservation Officer. Then I had to wait to have the National Park Service accept the nomination, and place it officially on the register.

Our home was listed in the Register as the Stephen Wright House, and was entered on May 22nd, 2005.

It was alot of work, but it's worth it for obvious reasons.

Now I have to throw a party for it! :)

Winterizing in July

2005-06-30T09:09:00.000-05:00

One of the things that give me a chuckle over owning an old home is that you are always preparing a season in advance.

I really like my wood stove. I've mentioned it many times, and it was great to have heat our first floor in the winter. Unfortunately, it can't accomodate the whole house, so that left Karl and I sleeping/showering in 45 degree rooms. The kids had space heaters, so they were fine. Even then, on 0 degree days, I kicked in the radiant heat to get the home to 62 degrees in the mornings (then the stove took over just fine). The gas & electric cost to run the radiant heat was $300. Now, it WAS costing us $600 before the stove, so it was still a savings. It's seems like a waste.

It really go me thinking about the upstairs. We have a loft over the main stairwell, a little over four weet wide. It is inaccessable to kids, it's in a convienient location, because it doesn't take up room there, and it doesn't require modifying the room, to put in the stove. We could punch right through to the roof, a cost savings over running double wall chimneys up from the first floor. We already have a wood supply, we already have the equipment left over from the last installation, and I even have 30 sq feet of marble left over. That's a good sized hearth pad! The best part was that the cold air return for our central air is RIGHT THERE!. To me, that's nothing but a big blower! We have the UNICO system, so instead of several small returns dispersed through the rooms, it is one large 2x3 foot return, perfect for sucking up the heat from the stove and blowing it throughout the upstairs. I suppose now it's a hot air return.

I got a great deal on the stove (Napoleon 1400s), since I called all over the US for the price. It's not as pretty as the one downstairs, but it's convienient. It has a self-closing, large ash dump (pedestal model), with handles you just pull out, which is nice since it's upstairs. The soapstone model you have to shovel out, NOT fun when the stove has a 600 degree surface temp. And, we had to put the ashes in a large steel bucket and run to the outside, since it didn't have a lid. It has a front loading door, perfect for the narrow space it will sit on. Our other one loads from the side. This model only requires a 10 inch side clearance, which the other one has an 18. And, at this point, it was a bonus to have a viewing glass.

So, with our home being 2400 square feet, and between the two stoves covering 3600 square feet, maybe I'll get to enjoy a 72 degree home after all!

Here's a pic:

Scratch that item off my wishlist!

2005-06-20T10:39:00.000-05:00

A while back ago, I posted that it would be so awesome to put a taxidermy peacock in our home. I couldn't afford it, so I figured it was something that I'd dream about.

Well, my mother purchased it for me as an anniversary present (thanks Mom!!!), and I've rearranged my parlour to try to give this bird the room it needs to be showcased.

Now, I just have to ditch the very un-Victorian leather sofa, to make the room complete. But, that's for another wishlist, lolol.

You know your home consumes you when...

2005-06-17T09:17:00.000-05:00

You have damaged your wedding ring while working on the house, and had it repaired three times in two years.

Then, you get fed up and but a $15 gold band from Walmart to wear instead...

The boys' room

2005-06-13T17:07:00.000-05:00

I finally remodeled the boys' room. This is where the servant's staircase leads to. It used to be an open stair well at the top, with a rail, but given how boys are... Well, I figured it would be better to put a wall in. As a bonus with the addition of a wall, there was room for a real closet, something Victorian homes severly lack on.

Here's the before photo, when the boys got to destroy the room because I didn't care at the time (the room looked like poo anyways) Note the blue trim paint, that is what was covering ALL of the upstairs, yummy...:

And here's the after photo, believe it or not, just missing all that crap (sorry the color is off, the sun was REALLY bright)

Here's the other side of the room (it's a nice size), with the new wall and closet.

We still have some ceiling work to do in this room, but it's good enough for now.

Busy Bee

2005-06-09T13:38:00.000-05:00

Well, everytime I go through a bad time, I have to remodel something.

Our air conditioner (in which the blower is in the attic, a UNICO system) exhaust/drain had cracked over the winter with water freezing in it. Well, the blown in insulation had soaked it up like a sponge, effectively holding all this water until it coudln't take anymore.

So, needless to say, our ceilings damaged over night. Not only that, but that cute wallpaper I just put up in our daughter's room? RUINED!

I know people say to file a claim on this, but come on. We all know that those who work on their homes can handle the damage faster than any contractor, and do a better job. So, we'll eat the cost, because I don't want to wait to have it fixed, and just to have it all fixed wrong anyway!

Here's a pic of the damage to one room:

So, I've decided to get busy and fix up another room (I know, dumb, but I'm so mad at that room that we just made sure to pull out the bad insulation and fix the drain, and we'll get to that stuff later.)

I redid the guest bedroom, here's a before pic:

And the "now" pic:

I couldn't find a before pic of the servant's staircase, but it was blue. So, here's the "now" pic:

I'm painting the boys' room as well, so I'll post a photo when I'm finished.

The guest bedroom

2005-06-01T08:46:00.000-05:00

I've been working on the guest bedroom. We have a young lady from Germany spending July-October with us, and I'm having a blast remodeling it.

This week I have a cold, but I'm hoping to go out tomorrow to get the paint I need for the room. I usually frequent Menard's, but I have since discovered Behr paints at the Home Depot. I really like their enamels. It's true one coat coverage. I'm going to pick up a sade of lavender that compliments the bedding set I picked up.

I also want to spruce up the main bathroom a bit. That's the one room in the house we have not touched, and I think it would do some good to put up some new wallpaper (maybe) and a coat of paint. There's old laundry hook-ups in there, and I'm going to make a cover for them, so nobody has to stare at exposed plumbing. I don't want to take the pipes down, because I don't know what I want to do with the space yet.

The bathroom used to be a bedroom before indoor plumbing was installed. So, it's HUGE, with a HUGE closet. I don't need a large closet in a bathroom, so I'm toying with the idea of recessing the washer and dryer (currently in the creepy basement) in the extra space. Who wouldn't want second floor laundry!?!

I also get Architectural Digest (dream...), and I see the neatest bathrooms in there. I've been saving the pics I like, because I don't take baths (I'm a total shower person), and I'm thinking a REALLY large shower would be great.

Anyways, that's a long way off, unless I win the lottery sometime soon. Sigh...

Plea for help

2005-05-25T20:50:00.000-05:00

Some of you may know that my husband owns a State Farm agency. Well, we have a client that just lost her husband. She is 65, and doesn't even have the $4,000 to bury him. She will be moving into Section 8 housing a a couple months.

I know there isn't anything we can do about the housing situation, realistically. But, I do think that she should not have the stress of wondering how to pay for her husband's burial. There are no children involved. She has 8 step-children, and I don't know the entire situation about why they're not helping, I just know they are not involved with the funeral expenses, and will not be helping her.

So, I have set up a fund for her at the Paw Paw State Bank. I don't want to use her name, because there are alot of assholes out there, so the fund is named "Funeral Fund" with me as the custodian. I am aware that her husband will be buried before I can find all the money, but I can at least try to present her with a "reimbursement" type of gift.

Here's the address:

Paw Paw State Bank
Funeral Fund
235 Chicago Road
Paw Paw, IL 61353

I'm going there first thing tomorrow to tell them about this post. I came up with $200, so let's try to come up with $3800 more. If more comes in than expected, maybe this would be a good thing to keep going for other needy widows.

Picture time!

2005-05-20T06:34:00.000-05:00

Here's a couple pics of the kids, aren't they cute?

Some quiet time...

2005-05-10T08:45:00.000-05:00

Well, the appraiser has come and gone, and we've ejoyed a 30% increase in our property value over two years. Not too shabby, and a 50% increase over the original purchase price of the home. SO, I'm happy with that. It gives us a good idea about what our work is adding to a rural property, since rural areas have a hard time increasing in value.

The family and I have taken some time to relax. I've planted a bunch of perennials, including a banana tree. Ya, can you believe there is a variety that is hardy to zone 5? Weird! Also, I wanted to attract some birds to my newfound garden, so I put up an oriole feeder, and a hummingbird feeder, in the garden, next to our fountain. It didn't even take two days, and I had Baltimore orioles galore.

While taking photos (I took them on the "real" camera, with my zoom lens, so I have to get them developed), two came and started fighting over the feeder. I've never seen them before around here! I also have rose-breasted grosbeaks, indigo buntings, thrashers, and many other unusual birds. All of which I haven't seen before in my life before I moved here! I have to keep my birding book and camera ready at all times!

The weather's been great, so in the early mornings, Karl and I have snuck out onto the newly redone front porch to enjoy some coffee and watch the orioles come to the feeder. How relaxing!

We may cool it for a while on any further remodeling, just to let our wallets recover, lololol.

By Request: Puppy Photos!

2005-04-29T13:50:00.000-05:00

Ok, the puppy's name ended up being "Sparky" but only because I can't look into my four-year-old's brown eyes and say no.

Here's some pics. Dutch is one year old, and Sparky is 7 weeks on Saturday, so he's REALLY young. They are English Shepherds.

The Upstairs So Far

2005-04-27T13:36:00.000-05:00

Ok, here's some pics of the upstairs so far. I have two more rooms I'm finishing tonight, so I'll post those tomorrow. For you to get an accurate comparison on the room sizes the windows are 4x6 feet, and the ceiling height upstairs is 8.5 feet. Click the image to get the full description on the rooms

The somewhat before photo of our daughter's room:

The after photo:

The before photo of the master bedroom:

The after photo:

The somewhat before photo of the main staircase/foyer:

The after photo:

The somewhat before photo of the top of same staircase:

The after photo (sorry, the color is a little off):

SO, we've been REALLY busy for the appraiser! Hopefully these more cosmetic touches will help out.

Weekend Warrior!

2005-04-24T21:54:00.000-05:00

Holy Cats, we were busy! Thank God our appraiser chnaged his schedule to Thursday. We get a few extra days of work. The only injury that occured was Karl knocking himself out by hitting his head TWICE in the same spot. That cut Saturday night short! He reminds me of those cartoons where they get the bumps on their head. You can't miss his, and he's got quite a cut to mathc. Everytime I look at him, I start laughing, thinking of these cartoons. I probably would have taken him to the hospital, but I was roaring. I'm glad he understands!

This weekend we have accomplished (with a 6 week old puppy, a two year old daughter who thinks she is the QUEEN, and a four year old son):

Master Bedroom:
1. tore down the wallpaper, and rewallpapered it.
2. finally removed the jack that was holding our ceiling up, and repaired the plaster using really wide washers.
3. installed carpeting.
4. scraped and repainted the trim and windows.
5. fixed the central air duct that was misalligned
6. replaced the ceiling fan with a new light, and ceiling medallion
7. put up roller shades and sheer curtains to replace the heavy ones to make the room bigger. (It's the smallest room in the house: 12x14)

Guest Bedroom:
1. put in new carpet
2. finished building the closet

Cupcake's Bedroom:
1. wallpapered (used liner and wallpaper, because some idiot used sanded lead paint in there once upon a time, a LONG time ago)
2. repaired her ceiling from the roof leak
3. painted her new door

Kern's room:
1. finished building closet

General house:
1. painted dining room ceiling patch
2. touched up bad plaster areas
3. repaired porch, put up crown molding underneath, and stained
4. repaired roof
5. got rid of the extremely ugly boat disgracing our yard

What we'd like to have done by Thursday:
1. make stained glass door for side entry (although it might be tough to find the lockset we need)
2. paint master bathtub, and wainscoting
3. finish painting main stairwell
4. clean up basement

I'll post photos this week, when we get our camera back. I also added a sidebar of the finished first floor rooms of the home for your "viewing pleasure".

Old Roof Blues

2005-04-13T17:06:00.000-05:00

Go figure, just when you think you are done with any major projects, your roof decides to leak.

And, I found that I have tendonitis in my left wrist or carpal tunnel, whatever. I'm not supposed to use my left wrist (my dominant hand). How is that possible in this house with two kids? And now a leaky roof? I have this "bubble" underneath my wrist, and this aching pain up my arm. If I don't stop using it, I might have to have a "surgical release" to aleviate the pain and swelling. Nice.

Anyways, because of this new leak in the roof, our plaster ceilings were damaged. Yeah, NOT a small leak as you can gather. The plaster is coated in lead paint, and the one ceiling in in our daughter's bedroom. My stars are so not in alignment.

So, Karl and I will be working in shifts fixing the roof and the ceilings. There may be the option of just drywalling over the damage (after fixing the leak), but that's so cheap. We'll see. I'm having problems with the picture uploader, so I'll get some pics in later of the damage. It would be nice to just replace the roof, but it would also be nice to have the money to do so, lol.

Looking for comments/advice

2005-04-08T22:13:00.000-05:00

Ok, my friend found a puppy this afternoon, and I ended up with it. I have the fenced yard, and my dog loves everybody. This puppy looks about 12 weeks old. I called the Post Office (the big "hang out" in an 850 person village), the grocery store, and the school looking for the owners. I also made flyers for all the locations, and put an ad in the paper, although it won't be until Tuesday when it's published. So, that's the background.

Well, it looks like this puppy is ill. The belly looks swollen, and it's whining. So, I don't want to have it suffer until the owner shows up, if ever. The humane society has a bad reputation from what I understand, so I don't mind hanging on to it. I'm taking it to the vet tomorrow morning, as soon as it opens.

My question:

Is it ok that I require the owners to pay for the bill?

The Mind, The Body

2005-04-08T08:42:00.000-05:00

Ok, those who live in the Midwest have had an awsome weather week. It's been warm, sunny, and thanks to the clocks jumping ahead an hour, the sun is out longer.

My mind sees all the beautiful bulbs I planted last fall, the grass turning green, and the trees getting ready to leave out. This put my mind into gear to start the yardwork. This past week, I've accomplished:

1. Taking out the tree in the front yard. You can see in the photo at the top of the page title that the tree is ugly as sin, and only shades the ground beneath it, not the house. How useless. In it's 35 year life, it's only provided an ample breeding ground for creeping charlie and chiggers that hide underneath its leaves. So, down it came! We had a guy cut it down, because we had powerlines to the south of it, the east of it, the house to the north, and other trees to the west. They used ropes to "guide" it's fall, and while it missed the lines, it landed on my cherry trees. Luckily, I have the trees supported with a heavy duty support, so it didn't affect it. We kept the stump for fire wood for our woodstove.

2. Next, to move the stump out of the front yard, so it doesn't kill the new grass. That was HARD. I can move up to a 12" diameter log, (hey, I grew up in WI, all us northern chicks can do that), but anything over that, forget it. Frustrated, I, like any other WI girl, just took a fence panel down, tied a tow strap around the hitch of our truck, and the stump, and just dragged it around the corner. The strap broke, but at least it did it around the place I wanted it anyway. Our friends also took down their tree, and we got their stump also.

3. The rest of our tree was chipped. We had the dump truck dump the chips to the side of our driveway, because we couldn't get it to the side of the house. I want to chip the west side of the house because our neighbors have trees that hang over the property line, and NO grass grows there. I only have mud. I'm very tired of the kids, dog, and husband tracking it into the house. So. I grab the wheelbarrow, a shovel, and get to work. I've stayed home from Karl's office the last two days, and have been working, moving the chips from 9am to 7pm. I want the chips at least four inches deep so they can't get kicked up or moved around. I had a really nice guy offer to bring his bobcat over to do the work for me (did I look THAT bad?), but I need the exercise.

4. My new perrenials are coming in by the day, and the biggest order of plants, the hedge roses, came in a few days ago. They shipped bareroot, so they can't be stored very long. They came bigger than I expected, and that meant digging 24, two feet deep holes across the front yard. Ugh.

Now, here comes the body part. This has been going on all week, and my body isn't thinking this is so cool anymore. This morning, I think it went on strike because my mind had to coax it out of bed. Come on, I still have the last 15 feet of chipping to do! There's more plants to be planted! More work to be done! Man, I'm just out of shape. I hope I lose some weight in this deal, because then it's worth it.

The kids have done well. My four year old son has taken over the parenting of our younger daughter, and he has been doing an excellent job keeping her out of trouble and from getting hurt. I never thought I could trust a four year old to do such a good job. Our dog got out, and he called him back. Cupcake wanted water, and he went in a got it for her (somehow, I won't ask), without help from me. On his own initiative. That's so sweet. It also REALLY helps me out, while I'm trying to get through this last leg of hard work.

Hopefully that ends today, and we can all enjoy the wonderful weekend (which means ignoring ALL the other projects this stupid house needs done), mud free. Saturday I have my good friend coming over so we can take Cupcake out for her birthday, and Kern's surrogate uncle and Karl are taking him fishing. Did I mention margaritas are on the menu, lol?

The Time has Come

2005-04-04T10:25:00.000-05:00

Sigh... the moment every parent dreads has reared it's ugly head again in the Zeimetz household.

Our daughter is outgrowing her crib. Yesterday morning, she greeted me with a smile, and her leg over the top of her crib rail. Ugh.

Living in a newer home, I suppose this wouldn't be a problem to most, a few child proof latches, a toddler bed, and you're set. Not in an older home. Our windows drop to about 5 inches above the floor level, are single pane, barely set in by decades old glazing. That means reinforced shutters or bars. There is sanded (what were they thinking?) lead paint, and and that means lining the walls, and applying new wallpaper over it. Painting the baseboards, and checking for loose paint. Removing the space heater, and coming up with a different heat source for her room. We'll probably install a duct going from the parlour to her room, so she won't freeze, and then there's no electrical parts for her to touch. There's new locks on the closet door, and the two other doors in her room. We have to anchor her dresser to the studs, so she doesn't tip it, and then there's saftey latches so she can't climb the dresser.

Just what I wanted to do when the weather is getting warmer. Speaking of which, we had our first tornado warning last Wednesday, and I was able to finish the door to the shelter, and we had nothing to worry about, yay. That was a relief. The only bad thing that happened was that I was working on the door so fast (I had an hour time frame), I put a nail into the nail bed of my pinky. THAT hurt.

An Item on my Wish List

2005-03-25T12:45:00.000-06:00

In the Victorian Era, no proper upper-middle class home was complete without taxidermy. Whether it was exotic birds, or a trophy hunt, there was usually at least one "stuffed" animal somewhere in the well dressed parlour.

Well, of course my home no longer feels Victorian, devoid of the proper decorations! So, I asked myself, what kind of animal should I look for? Deer seem too "redneck" for me, and any kind of thing with fangs would probably give my small children nightmares for the rest of their lives. I love birds, so why can't I appreciate one that is still beautiful, but requires none of the care, lol?

So, I thought I would look for a "golden pheasant". The Victorian era was the birth of oriental trade in America, and it only seemed fitting. My problem was that I couldn't find one that really "popped" on quality. I fell back to my Ebay ways, and lo! There was a peacock! That would be PERFECT for my front room. I have four living peacocks in my yard, a peacock chandelier, and even the stained glass transom is a peacock fan.

I went to the website that is selling this beautiful bird, and this guy does a fantastic job. He has others, and all of them are beautiful. My problem is the price. My dh says no, *sniff*. And, he is not the kind of guy that showers the ladies with gifts, if you catch my drift. I'm stuck, peacockless, with an empty corner in my front room. I guess you can call me "crestfallen" (get it?)

If you have a Victorian home, and you are NOT a p.e.t.a. activist, check the site out, because your Victorian home deserves it! :) And, if anyone reading this has any extra $$$ feel free to help me out.

FEMA & "safe rooms"

2005-03-23T16:37:00.000-06:00

After researching tornado shelters AFTER the start of the construction, I found they have an official name: safe rooms.

FEMA's site had a pdf page about the construction of the "box". We were right in the placement and the material, but we underestimatated the power of "missles" (the flying objects flung around by the tornado). At 100 mph (and hitting square) a 2x4 15 pound piece of lumber can blast through a masonry wall. WOW...er...um...I'll go back to Menard's and get more wood.

So, to use plywood construction, you must either have:

a.) 11 gauge or heavier sheet metal on impact side, and finish the interior with .75" plywood, or...
b.) FOUR sheets of .75" plywood and cover with the same sheet metal.

The moral was that the sheet metal needs to flex on impact.

Karl and I are going to take down the plywood we put up, and replace it with sheet metal, since this is the easier route.

The door was a nightmare, you should check out FEMA's site for how it needed to be. UGH.

Now, these specs were meant for a room above ground, and we're in the basement, so we may be going overboard, but when it comes to your children, every bit counts. Do you think I'd care about tornados if I didn't have kids?

To cheer it up a bit, I purchased bright fabric from Walmart for $1/yard. I also picked up a fire extinguisher, touch lights, and bottled water, among other things. I put all the goods in an airtight box. and we're ready for spring! And, as a bonus, it is cheery to look at, lol.

The bad part? Our state. Illinois is the only tornado alley state that doesn't offer a reimbursement program or tax break for having these shelters. Just like there's no incentive for the National Register designation either. Leave it to IL to be the stingiest state, with being only second to CA in ridiculous laws. Sigh...

This weekend's project? Following the advice of one of the comments, and placing a shutoff valve on the gas line. Thanks for the tip!

Tornadoes

2005-03-17T19:55:00.000-06:00

Well, this weekend the kids and I are going to my parents' place so Karl can build a "tornado box"

I grew up in Kenosha, WI, and while I remember some wild storms, and having sirens, there was never any real worry about having an actual tornado. Heck, when I moved to Dekalb, IL, it seemed it never even rained, lol.

So, we move to Paw Paw, and by some freak thing of nature, I have never seen so many funnel clouds or tornados in my life! Geez, the first spring we were here, I remember the window frames creaking, and I got up and said to my dh: "I think we might be having a tornado". So, I jump onto the computer, and sure enough, there was a warning, specifically for my village of 850 people. So, we pack the kids, and RUN downstairs. I felt so vunerable in the middle of such a large basement. We could hear everything roaring, and even Karl was getting nervous.

At first, I thought this to be a fluke. But, after noticing the sirens never warned us in town, I purchased a NOAA radio. That didn't help me on the interstate however, my girlfriend and I were heading back from Menards, when the radio station told everyone to seek shelter for the tornado. I just decided to speed it up! I never saw anything though, and only minor damage was reported. We ended up with a couple other warnings again that year, and while I could see the wall clouds, nothing touched down.

So, the next year, our neighbors and us went to Milwaukee for a weekend of festivals with the kids, and when we came back, I looked around and wondered why the corn was "flat". Karl and I joked about crop circles, until we came up on the road block to the town. Trees that have stood for over 100 years were down, utility poles were down, and homes were damaged. So many trees were down, I thought our home was gone! The power was out for days for some people, and I think it took a month for the street to look "clean" again.

Anyways, this last year was the final straw. We could all stand outside watching one less than two miles from the house. Now, it was a puny thing, and it damaged a barn, but still, how many tornadoes ARE there in Northern Illinois? I guess alot. I went to a few internet sites, and there is this weird band, where this county alone can average five tornadoes a year.

Looking even further into this, there were two F5 tornadoes in Paw Paw. One in 1860, and one in 1890. Those made "national" news. There were a few F3's in the 1970's and 1980's, and then they get smaller from there. The tornado of Utica was only 20 miles from here, and I didn't even think it was supposed to rain that day!

So, needless to say, we are building a "box" for us. Our limestone foundation sits about three feet above ground, and if a tornado really wanted to wipe the house to ground level, we'd be in bog trouble. We also have several windows, which are a concern, and no real shelter from any of it.

Karl is going to use 4x4 construction, and drop the height below ground. We're also going to use surface bolts versus door knobs, and we're going to bolt the box to the side of the foundation (tricky), and to the floor. I also have supplies incase we get stuck in there for a day if we're under debris. I think as an insane measure, if we get a warning, I'll run outside and turn off the gas, because that would SUCK if we were stranded down there, and there was a gas leak. ALL of our appliances are gas, and we even have gas lines that go to nowhere!

So, Karl will have his work cut out for him, because the season starts in four weeks!

YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2005-03-13T22:31:00.000-06:00

Well, after a week of my husband having surgery, having a nasty cold, gathering things for my run for school board, Friday was my BIG day for the National Register.

I drove to Springfield, Illinois for the presentation. I brought my laptop, my runny nose and ringing ears, and my "back-up" disc of photos. I was fifth in line, which was nice, because I could see how other people were doing it before I had to. The council had about 13 people on it, and their professions ranged from historians, to architects, to archaeologists, to geologists. It was AWESOME (if I wasn't soooooo sick).

I had 10 minutes to show off my color photos, and after that the council asked me some pretty basic questions, and then they discussed among themselves, and voted.

So, in 30-60 days, the National Park Service makes it official, and our home is placed among the others that are recognized! I'm sooooooooo happy! :)

Darn it!

2005-03-07T10:31:00.000-06:00

Go figure, we go to work on the stained glass doors, and I didn't take into account the new entrance set.

The stained glass panels are actually too big for what we need, but I thought we could sink them further into the wood to accomodate that. Oops. I never thought about how much room the door handle was going to use.

So, this means I have to cut the glass down to what I need. I have no experience in stained glass, but I do have experience in ripping things apart, lol. I consulted a few online clubs for stained glass, and they told me to gather a cutter, flux, and a soldering iron, along with new caming for the edges. Ok, fair enough. At least the border design is a straight symmetrical pattern that I do not have to worry about the aesthetics of the pattern.

It just stinks that my project has been set back. It's never any fun doing the work you can't appreciate looking at (like re-sizing these panels). It's always more fun to work with the projects that you can see take shape.

Of course I had a "little" too much fun this weekend with our friends we haven't seen in a long time. So, Sunday was a total waste, where hubby had to watch the kids, while mom died up in bed swearing she will never have another mochatini in her life.

There's always next weekend.

Busy Weekend Ahead

2005-03-04T08:47:00.000-06:00

This weekend Karl and I will be working on replacing our side door (we use it as the main entrance) with one of the stained glass panels we got from Ebay. I think Karl may be able to work at the rate of one door a weekend.

To prepare for the fitting of a new door, I will have to chisel a new opening for a more modern lockset, replace the worn threshold, strip the paint off the hinges, and most likely tackling any new problems sure to come up during this. You know how it is, you think you're working on one simple project, and it explodes to an all out remodeling nighmare.

Also, I haven't received a call back yet, but I'll either desparately search for someone to make slides, or make a powerpoint presentation, or... if I get my way, make a slideshow presentation on my laptop to present to the National Register next Friday. Please keep your fingers crossed, it would be awesome to have this home go on the Register. Only one week left! That is a busy day, because after I go to Springfield in the morning for this, I have to be back, change clothes, and go to a fundraiser for Speaker Hastert where Zell Miller will be speaking.

Lastly, I have to work on my campaign for school board. Since this is my first run for public office, I'm going over the top with working on it. I have to speak at a PTA meeting, I'm holding a "meet the candidate" breakfeast, I have to order the voter list for Wyoming Township, and mail postcards. I also will be taking out ads in the local paper, and going door to door. The County Treasurer is my campaign manager, and another person from Speaker Hastert's campaign office is working on this with me.

Whew! I have to go take a nap now, lol.

The Dining Room: After

2005-03-03T10:44:00.000-06:00

This is the dining room now. The left wall used to be a pseudo-passthrough, which happened to be a loadbearing wall. We replaced it, and it made a nice spot for my mahagony sideboard that stands 8.75 feet tall (from Ebay, lol). The ceiling medallion is really plastic that I painted, and the HUGE chandelier is a find from...uh...EBAY. I replaced the crystals with swarovski french pendants. The curtains I made pinch pleated, and I thought of making a valance, but I'm not set on it. Oh, and another good deal is the clock, it was $50. Really! :)

The dining room completed!

The Dining Room: Before

2005-03-03T10:36:00.000-06:00

This is the dining room while we were tearing it apart. Left of the window, there was a bad "china cabinet" sitting on the radiator. High class, let me tell you! Anyways, if you look at the top of the photo, you can also see where we duct-taped drop cloth to the ceiling that kept dropping plaster into our coffee in the mornings, yummy!

We had already refinished the floors when this photo was taken.

The nasty dining room

Exterior Paint

2005-03-01T09:45:00.000-06:00

Well, considering the amount of debt we have from remodeling the place, we have decided that the roof and siding will have to wait about 10 years, so we can financially recover.

In the meantime, we figured we'd repair the really bad boards, and repaint to house to protect it. It's been stained about 15 years ago, so in some spots, the wood has become exposed. The roof will either stand as-is, or I might take a shot at re-roofing myself, since I'm not afraid of heights.

I was at behr and experimented with a few colors. I think I like this the best:

The paint scheme we want

Then, I may also add in some light beige accents, but that will be decided after the rest of the paint is up. The pink will go at the top (where is is brown right now), and to bring out the bands of saw-tooth shingles, I'll probably paint those the moss color.

We're lucky, this home was scraped and sand-blasted the last time it was painted. So, there's no scraping or peeling to deal with, just a thorough power-wash should do.

Geez, March just started, and I'm already planning the summer projects.

To Mailbox or Not to Mailbox

2005-02-28T10:46:00.000-06:00

I can't figure out if I want to put up a mailbox. At our old place, we had a mailbox, and it seemed that everyother week my my would be blown all over the neighborhood. So, when we moved to Paw Paw, and found no mailbox, we happily signed up for a box at the Post Office.

Thing is, I never go there to pick my mail up (it's mostly bills, so it's not like that's a motivator), and I can tend to run behind paying people, and picking my packages up. And, it seems like as the kids get older, it's getting harder to do. I thought it would be easier, but it's not.

So, I'm stuck with what to do. I'd like the convienience of getting my mail everyday, but I also like not having the stress of my mail being stolen, plows taking out the box, or the wind plastering all the letters down the road.

Hmmmm...

Random Ramblings

2005-02-25T20:00:00.000-06:00

Well, I have done too much for the house today, but I was busy in general. Lets see...

Today I built a cedar rocker/glider for our front porch.
I also picked up those leaded glass panels at the FedEx Freight facility in Peru, IL. I should've figured they would crate the panels vertically, and thank God I had the straps to secure it to the trailer. I pulled the panels out, and they are fantastic! I can't believe I got them for $10 apiece. Now, to find the time to make them into doors, lol.

Also, I put our SUPER UGLY boat on Ebay. It's turned into such a joke. I've had 3500 hits on it as of right now, and I still have it going until Monday. If you would like to see it go here. I should mention I was a very successful B2B exec before working for Karl, so this is something I'm doing for fun. Marketing is everything, even if what you're selling is junk, and you tell them that!

We have Karl's children over (from a previous marriage) for the weekend, so that means LOTS of mother-daughter time for me during the day, and computer time during the night, lol. They like playing video games, and weird role-playing games, and while I'm the first person they turn to to hook all the electronics up, I'm the last person to talk to about how to work a video game controller!

Oh, and Bambi comes out on DVD on March 1st! Yay!

Woodstick 2005!

2005-02-24T09:17:00.000-06:00

Ok, restorers, we have a date!

June 19th, 2005. We will all meet at the Sandwich Antiques Market starting at 8am. Starting at 2pm, we will have a party/bbq back at our home in Paw Paw, IL. We won't have an end time, we'll part until we drop.

This party is open to anyone who would like to make the trip. Our home is located 20 minutes from the market, and located a couple miles from both I-88 & I-39, in Northern Illinois.

If you think you are able to make it, email me at karlsgoddess@yahoo.com and I can provide my phone number to find each other at the market (if we arrive at different times), directions to the market, and our home, and possible hotels for staying overnight. Our home website is www.pawpawvictorian.com

The Parlour

2005-02-23T09:41:00.001-06:00

This is our parlour, located in the center of the house. The cage contains, Yoda, my african grey parrot. Someday we'll have better furniture, but for now we settle with what we brought from our old place.

Sorry I don't have a before photo, I lost a roll of film. This room had severla layers of wallpaper, and then someone painted it a lime green. There was also a lime green rug that spanned the entire room, and it SMELLED! It had been there so long that it faded the floor. Yuck!

The parlour

The Coal Fireplace

2005-02-23T09:41:00.000-06:00

This is a pic of the coal fireplace, located in our parlour. It is in good conditon, considering what they used it for! I only wish they had the more colorful majolica tiles on it! :(

The coal fireplace

Pre-Raphaelite Art

2005-02-23T09:39:00.001-06:00

Here's a pic of the reproduction canvas in our parlour. This is called the "Gates of Dawn", and the artist's name has slipped my mind! We have several paintings like this throughout the house. (Yes all semi-nude women, too). The frames I spray painted gold, and rubbed brown shoe polish on to antique.

The Gates of Dawn

Molding

2005-02-23T09:39:00.000-06:00

This is the detail of the molding found in the house

detail of molding throughout the house

The Party Idea

2005-02-22T11:04:00.000-06:00

Ok, I like the idea of the Sandwich Antiques Market. What does June 19th, 2005 sound for hosting Woodstick? We all could meet in Sandwich for the antique fair, and then have homemade beer and a bbq in the afternoon at our place. Sandwich is 20 minutes east of us, and it's an easy drive.

Yay Woodstick 2005! This sounds like it could be a yearly thing, so maybe we can rotate homes and see all of our um... progress.

Attention Illinois Restorers!

2005-02-21T10:13:00.000-06:00

My husband and I were thinking it would be fun to get other home renovators/restorers together for a summer picnic. Another idea we had was maybe doing once a month tours of other people's homes that are being worked on to trade disaster stories and ideas. It seems there are alot of people in Illinois doing this blog thing on their home.

So, I'm located 1.5 hours west of Chicago (although we visit all the time). If this sounds like a neat idea, or someone has a different idea, email me! karlsgoddess@yahoo.com

We're up for anything, because we host parties all summer, and any excuse we can come up with to have a good time with people who share our intrests sounds great to us!

The Front Room: After

2005-02-21T09:54:00.000-06:00

This is the new front room (without the stencils, its cloudy today, and I cant get a good picture). We put in a peacock ceiling light and medallion not pictured (because we have four peacocks in our yard), and I purchased the furniture and table custom from Magnolia Hall. The paintings are canvas reproductions of Waterhouse's pre-raphaelite works from the late 1800's (left painting: Hylas and the Water Nymphs; right painting: Circe Invidiosa). The statue is a marble rendition of Falconet's "The Bather" (from eBay, lol), and the sterling service is also new (I can't afford the antiques!). The rug is flokati (uh, from eBay!!!).

This is the room nobody but me is allowed in, not even the dog! The room is larger than pictured, it's just hard to capture all the angles. There's a large pocket door hall to the right, and to the left is a 48"x72" window.

The new front room

The Front Room: Before

2005-02-21T09:45:00.000-06:00

When we moved to this house, this room was the easiest to work on. It only had one layer of wallpaper that was easy to strip, and the ceiling wallpaper was easy as well, although it was painted over (lead of course) so we had to get the noish masks to do the work. I wish the photo was better, because the floors were badly faded and worn. The plastic you see on the window is the kind that covered ALL the windows of the house, and by the looks of the plastic, it had been there for YEARS. Man, that had to be so stuffy!

The original front room

The Kitchen: After

2005-02-20T12:02:00.000-06:00

The finished kitchen. We replaced most of the walls, and all of the wiring. Karl made the cabinets from oak boards, and the cabinet doors I got for $3-6 on eBay (did I mention I love eBay?). The stain is a gold oak oil rub, so we didn't polyurethane over it. I put in a slate backsplash, because although Karl is a wonderful cook, I swear no one is as messy as he is! In addition to the backsplash, we put in an exterior vented over the range microwave the moved 400 cubic feet of air a minute! Yes, no more greasy odors! The house STUNK when we first moved in, because there were no open windows or range hoods to get the grease out!

Other details that we put in to make life easier were a garbage disposal (had to replace galvanized steel plumbing, NOT fun!), a 9.5 inch deep sink with a high faucet for our large pots, over sized cabinets (we have 9 foot ceilings) for extra storage, and pull out shelves in the cabinet.

As for the "pass through" we discovered someone forgot to see if that was a load bearing wall (it was, and that's where that sag in the house came from!), and we had to put the wall back. It worked out ok, because then we had room for our huge refrigerator!

The kitchen is really small, because there is also a half bath (installed in the 40's), and a "new" (also 40's) stairwell to get into the basement. I guess the cellar doors were not convenient. But, it works for us, and since we started from scratch, it is tailored to what we need. One of the near future plans is to use one of the stained glass panels (yay eBay!) for the mudroom door to let in more light.

The finished kitchen

The Kitchen: Before

2005-02-20T11:56:00.000-06:00

This is the kitchen while we were gutting it. When we bought the place, it had plastic cabinets, a cheap radiator, and gold fleck white linoleum. There was also a "pass-through" between the kitchen and the dining room, but it was cheaply done. The light is new, because the old one stopped working about two days after we moved in.

The kitchen in the middle of us demolishing it

The Drawing Room: After

2005-02-20T11:16:00.000-06:00

This is the drawing now, just about completed. We want to put in a tin ceiling, and the shoe molding has to go in, but this is the room in a nutshell.

The woodstove is mage of soapstone from vermont castings, it readily heats 1600 square feet, and even though we are 2400, the home still stays very comfortable. It has a catalytic combuster on it, so it only emits 3 grams of smoke per hour. That ought to make the evironmentalist whackos happy. Maybe not... you can't ever make them happy, lol! The pipes are double walled insulated, since it burns so hot. The minimum clearance on that angle the stove sits at to the wall is 18"

The floors are green marble, or more properly named "serpentine stone", since marlbe can't technically be green. It was interesting installing this type of stone, since it's prone to spaulding. So, when grouting and mortaring, you really have to use an epoxy, not a mortar. To make it "code", we first used half inch cement board, then sheet metal, then the stone itself, which is 3/8" thick. We then had to resize the moulding to accomodate the new thickness in the floor.

The curtain is a roman shade, made by me. Since we have single pane glass, I used silk dupioni fabric, felt as the inside, and the backing fabric. I cut up some old curtains to make the stripes on the shade.

The wallpaper is just from Menards, nothing special! :)

We also have dragon wallbackets on the right side of of the photo, but I don't know how to post more than one photo per entry, any help?

With the ceiling fan, I purchased a wireless transmitter that could solve our two wire problem coming from the fan (so those pulls are now not there). The transmitter can work off the exsisting hot/neutral wires, and has a cell to replace the third (sometimes fourth) wires needing to connect a ceiling fan with a light. It does a great job with no interference, because I also have a wireless router for three computers in the same room.

Whew! I hope I explained the room well without boring anyone! :)

The "after" picture

The Drawing Room: Before

2005-02-20T11:11:00.000-06:00

I've decided to phase in the before & after photos into my blog from our website, so people do not have to junp around to see our home.

This photo is of the drawing room while we were laying in the floor. The room we started with had eight layers of wallpaper, a wood floor that was NOT original, and impossible to strip, and a collapsing ceiling.

The "before" of the drawing room

Exterior Photos: 2

2005-02-19T06:55:00.000-06:00

This is the East elevation to the house. Quite the monster, huh? The front view doesn't elude to how much space there is to the house, but this view does! BTW, that hydrangea bush is almost 10 feet in diameter, I ALWAYS have people requesting divisions from it.

I had John from http://www.lestercat.net/house/ request photos of my neighborhood. I'm a little hesistant on that, because for one, we all have very large lots, and don't have any close neighbors (I have a church behind me, set waaayyy back), and my East neighbor has to much work to do on the place, and never gets to it, and my West neighbor is busy renovating her place back to a single family. However, both homes are just as large, if not larger than this one!

The East elevation

Exterior Photos: 1

2005-02-19T06:46:00.000-06:00

I have had a request for exterior photos, I didn't know how many people were accessing the blog before coming to this site (where I have all the photos). I'll post the East elevation next. Just so everyone knows, we'll be replacing the roof and restaining the siding in the next feww years, we just wanted to renovate the interior first. And these porch supports are temporary until we have the original columns returned. The porch was collapsing from the rot affecting the posts. We'll also ditch those ugly second floor aluminum storms.

Also, now there is a lifesized marble statue of a semi-nude "Venus Daydreaming" in the front yard. Next to her are two dwarf cherry trees and two wisteria vines. We hope to build an arbor this year to go over the stature.

The view from the South elevation.

Ok, here's half the stencil

2005-02-18T20:44:00.000-06:00

Well, I decided to post a pic of what the stenciling looks like thus far. I still have the frieze to do, but as I mentioned a few posts ago, I can't seem to pick a combination of colors that I like. Any artists reading this, feel free to give me suggestions, because I need three colors for the frieze pattern. To see the pattern, look at the post "victorian stencils". My dh likes it the way it is, without having a frieze pattern, but it looks so pretty, that of course I want to use it!

The problem I ran into with stenciling the ceiling was that these patterns are made for 90 degree corners, and I don't have many (see below). Apparently, the guy who built the place wanted to stand out, by making these "reverse" corners, and that's not even the complicated part! This room also has 60 degree angles in four other places in the room, so the room sort of takes on a giant bay window type of "footprint", with the center window recessing in about 1.5 feet (see below again). That corner stencil in the photo is two feet square. Any home restorer sees this photo and gags with how those builders managed all those angles in plaster! Hopefully, I did an ok job modifying the stencil patterns to accomodate the angle problem!

This is the partially finished stencil project.

Spring is almost here!

2005-02-18T14:34:00.000-06:00

Today, I ventured outside to check the "grounds". Even though it's only 25 outside, the snow that had hung around for so long is gone, so I thought I would take a look around.

Much to my amazement, my "naked ladies" (yes, they really are called that), my tulips, daffodils, and hyacinths are all poking through the ground. Wow, that seems sooo early. I planted hundreds of pink and white bulbs in the fall, and I do not notice any of them, I sure hope they come up. I have to laugh because I'm already forcing all those bulbs from the basement inside, and here all my plants are coming up outside!

I'm sure everyone is also receiving TONS of plant catalogs like me, so I wonder who can resist not buying at least SOME plants? Last year, I got kiwi vines, dwarf cherry trees, roses, grapes, and wisteria vines, along with other perennials I can't remember. This year, I've aleady purchased a paw paw tree (I couldn't help it), begonias (picotee), and cascading begonias for the porch.

If I can get all these plants to survive, I just might have a botanical garden! :)

I LOVE Ebay!

2005-02-18T10:44:00.000-06:00

Wow, I have found the BEST deal ever on Ebay! Alot of my things in my home are finds on Ebay that I have modified to my liking. Some of those things that you'd find on my site are the sideboard in the dining room, the kitchen cabinet doors, the flokati rug in the front room, the marble statues, and the silk dupioni fabric on the curtains.

Last night I bid on a lot of six stained/beveled glass panels for doors. I got them for $60, brand new! HOLY COW! Karl and I have been wanting to replace some of the doors in the house, whether storm or main doors. Now, we can have SIX! Karl also wanted to make the doors himself, and he wanted me to do the stained glass. The problem was that I could not economically buy all that glass under the expense of just purchasing a pre-made door outright from Menards. And, those full stained glass doors are about $800 apiece. HAHAHA! I now can have SIX of those doors for under $300, including the wood and hardware! I'm soo excited. And, to give you an idea as to the size, the panels are 27x78 inches. AWESOME!

I can't even believe it, these panels are just what we needed, and we already have the tools and knowhow to turn them into doors! :)

The great deal on the stained glass

Update

2005-02-15T20:40:00.000-06:00

Well, I'm all set to present to the National Register of Historic Places on March 11th. Anyone who reads this, please keep your fingers crossed! I would very much love to have this home on the register, as I have worked soooo hard on it, and (almost in a psychotic fashion) consider it apart of our family. Too bad they don't offer grants in restoring properties they list, because I ran out of money to do anything else to it for at least five years! :)

Anyways, I'm going to be very busy. I'm also running for school board (as a republican), and the election in on April 5th. It's a contested election, so I really have to make an effort to be noticed, since I am the newbie to town.

I'm done with the stenciling, and hopefully I'll have the pictures up in about a week, I keep forgetting about the digital camera at the office, and it will take that long for me to remember to bring it home!

I also hired a lawn service to come to our lot during this year. The lawn has seen better days, and although I have spent two years "fixing" it, it could use some professional help. And, I found out that my bulbs I've been storing in the basement forced themselves, so right now I'm enjoying over a dozen pink and white hycinths, and it took no effort! Yay! Now, if all those plants I put in last year come back this spring, I'll think I have a green thumb! :)

So, that's it for now, I'll post again probably when I take pics of the stenciling, and with the verdict of the National Register.

The History Behind Our House

2005-02-02T13:22:00.000-06:00

For the past couple months I've had to research the previous (to the original) owners of this house for the National Register, and, as with everything I find in this house, there was more than I bargined for! I made a new page on our website to explain how all the history ties in, but I'll put it in here, in case anyone finds it useful!

Ever since I've started on the research of the history of our home, I've been facinated with every detail I find. Well, after months of research, and countless hours tracking down ancestors, I now have a complete picture of this house, and the settlers of Paw Paw, IL. I thought I would share a synopsis of what I found. There's so much more, but I don't want to bore you!Paw Paw is located on what used to be called Galena-Chicago Road. Now named Chicago Road, it is also known as "Old Chicago Trail". This trail was a stagecoach line from Chicago to Galena, IL. The road was founded on a well used indian route, and was discovered by General Winfield Scott while tracking the indians during the Black Hawk War. People found this area attractive, because there was a large forested area of about 2,000 acres (with a grove of Paw Paw trees), and little disease or hardship. So, Paw Paw it became, and we're located on the Western edge of the 850 person village.

We live in what is called Wyoming Township. This township was named for Wyoming Valley, in Pennsylvania, where the majority of the original settlers came from. For you history buffs, Wyoming Valley is an important piece of our American history. This was an influential battle during the Revolutionary War. The British allied with the Native Americans (called the Six Nations in that area), and used them as a tool to wipe out American settlers in the valley. What was so horrid about this battle, was not the battle itself, but what took place after the fact. After the settlers conceded to defeat, they drew up a treaty with the natives to stay on the land and farm, but not to draw up in arms again. The natives did not hold up their end. They came in, and no matter the age, sex, or abilities of the people of Wyoming, they captured and brutally tortured who they caught. There are tales of decaptitation, mutilation, and even eating infants alive by the savagery of the Iroquois. Even the indian "queen" danced around prisoners and smashed their heads in with a tomahawk. Who ever was able to flee the scene of carnage, had to make way through swamp land, where they were ambushed and tortured once again. Fewer than a dozen men survived. Hundreds of women and children perished from exhuastion and torture in the swamps. One of these women was Hannah Rogers, who collapsed from exhaustion, and she was documented as being buried under an upturned tree, with her epitaph written in charcoal.

The settlers that survived the massacre, wanted to return home, after hiding in neighboring settlements. One of the men, Josiah Rogers (Hannah's husband) is quoted to have said, "I will lay my bones in Wyoming". So, he and some of his neighbors attempted to return back to the valley, only to be persued again. These man fought the indians off, and while many minor battles occured for another couple years, the families remained. A generation later, the people of Wyoming Valley wanted to leave and forget the horrible memories. They traveled together, and headed West, eventually settling in Paw Paw.

Many of the surnames listed in the battle, are also listed in the censuses as settlers of Paw Paw (Wyoming Township), Illinois. There are two people from that area tied to this very home. One is William Sutton, Jr., grandson of James Sutton, who had a grist mill destroyed in the invasion of 1778. William Sutton is presumably the original builder of this house. The other is Francis Edwin (who later changed his name to Frank) Rogers, great-great-grandson of Hannah Rogers, the woman who died of exhaustion while fleeing the Iroquois. Francis's grandmother (Rhoda Drake) was the daughter of General Drake, who tried to defend the settlement, and was mortally wounded. Francis purchased this home from Mr. Sutton in 1878. I gathered this infomation through family trees on Ancestry.com, relatives of William Sutton, and through the Lee County Courthouse.

Other surnames from Pennsylvania, who also settled in Wyoming Township are: Jones, Keith, Roberts, Atkins, Hampton, Davis, Gorton, Benjamin, Siglin, Miller, Cole, Harding, Rosenkrans, and Marcus, taken from the 1860 & 1870 federal census.

Great link about the Wyoming Massacre: Durkees Men of Wyoming

S-L-O-W Progress

2005-01-31T15:05:00.000-06:00

Whew! Who would of thought stenciling was sooooooo time consuming? Well, I can't find a color combination I like for the frieze. I've tried a white/gold/rose, white/blue/gold, blue/rose/gold, white/silver/rose, blah blah blah...And in all patterns. I just can't find the right "pop" for that frieze. As for the ceiling, I'm doing a tone darker than the walls. The walls are an icy blue, and the ceiling is like a slate blue. I'm highlighting the corner pieces in antique gold. I might glaze over the tops of the ceiling border also, but I'm going to finish the room first before I adjust the borders.

I work at the pace of 36" an hour for ONE color. You have to dry brush the stencils to get the right effect, and that takes a great deal of arm strength and pinched nerves in your neck! I have no idea how Michaelagelo did it, because stenciling upside down has to be a form of torture in the Geneva convention. I'll post pictures when I'm finished, but at the rate of 3 feet a night, that's going to take a while!

I finally got the final revisions into the National Register. The person helping me is so good at her position. It's wonderful to know that this department really takes pride in their work, and will do what it takes to help get these beautiful (but often neglected) homes gain the historical recognition they deserve. I'm set to give a presentation in March to the panel. It'll be the National Park Service, archaeologists, historians, State Historic Preservation Officer. I think that's right. I can't remember who's all on the council. I have to drive to Springfield.

Old homes are such hard work, but the character that shines when you use some elbow grease is so gratifying. I was speaking with a "new home" person the other day, and they just didn't understand how a house can become apart of the family, when all you do is work on it. I can never imagine moving. I'd be heartbroken. I feel like nobody but me could ever own this house. Karl and I have done everything, and how can you leave that? New home owners can move and not bat an eye. I did that with our "new" place that we had before this one. This house is different. I know who's lived here. This home had a civil war veteran in it. This home was a parsonage. This home probably heard so many secrets. This home has seen so many things. My children seem to just "fit" in their rooms. I can't imagine not having a home with a separate staircase for the kids. I can't live without pocket doors. I use every detail in this home. There's something that warms your heart by the simplicity of a woodstove. There's comfort in knowing there's more than a vapor barrier and a sheet of vinyl separating you from the elements. This home is cedar sided, with 1x4 tongue and groove boards, lath and plaster. It's a tank!

I think you get it... I LOVE MY OLD HOME! :)

Victorian Stencils

2005-01-13T19:16:00.000-06:00

Well, after lying low for a while with a broken thumb, and rib contusion, I'm back to posting.

I'm completely devastated. Bradbury & Bradbury Wallpapers will be out of business, effective December of 2005. I've always wanted to use their wallpapers in my home, and now it will never happen. Reason: $$$. They are the real deal. To do my entire home, it would cost around $20,000. I don't have it! :( I'd have to hire someone to hang it because it is real paper, with the consistency of a wet lunch sack. So, I'll never get to have their beautiful designs grace my ceilings and walls. *sniff* Seriously, check out their website!

Completely crestfallen, I pick up my new issue of Victorian Homes magazine. And lo! they have a feature article about Victorian walls, complete with vendors! As I was reading, I came across the stencilng section. I already knew about the Victorians' love of stenciling, but I never thought about it for MY home, because all the stencils I see at the stores are ugly, and not very Victorian! Apparently, someone else felt the same and started a company called Epoch Designs Their entire site is dedicated to Victorian stenciling. They sell them in layers, so you can create masterpieces with multiple colors, and they also sell them in "room sets" so you can stencil your room, ceiling to floor, in multiple combinations. The possibilities for design are endless! Obviously, I bought a room set. I already know what colors I want, and what combinations I'm going to use. Can't wait to get them! This is the perfect solution for someone to jazz up the Victorian house, but without losing all their money! :)

The Kavanaugh Parlor, by Epoch Designs

Winter Weather

2005-01-04T13:12:00.000-06:00

Well, what a way to start out my second post. Yesterday, the weather people issued an ice storm warning, and we here in Paw Paw, IL were blasted with a layer of ice. Nothing to traumatic, but the problem was today.

They're calling for another winter storm, where we can get 12 inches of snow. Nuts, and I need to go shopping. I wasn't in the mood to go, but I certainly did NOT want to be snowed in with no food! Anyway, as I had the kids bundled up, I walked onto the steps, knowing full well they were icy, and I fell. WITH our 20 month old daughter in my arms. I broke her fall, no problem, but I broke my thumb, and bruised my back and elbow. My LEFT thumb, and I'm LEFT handed. I'm not sure if I should go to the doctor or not. What a pain it would be, the closest hospital is 30 minutes from here, and Karl's 45 minutes in the opposite direction right now. I can't move the stupid thing, and ya, it does hurt, but as any parent of small children would agree, it might be more of a pain to go get it fixed, lol! Sigh...

On a lighter note, one of the best things we've done for this home is get a soapstone woodstove. It heats the house wonderfully, and I could care less if the power goes out. Just think, if you are in Northern IL in winter, and your power goes out, throw your food outside, and it'll stay cold forever. Heck, we do it with soups in large stockpots now, so it doesn't take up space in the fridge. AND, your home stays warm because you rely on wood heat, not natural gas or electric. Those poor saps in new homes don't know what they're missing! :)

First Blog Post

2005-01-03T13:33:00.000-06:00

I'm new to this blogging concept, but I figured that with all of the remodeling we are doing in our home, this would be an excellent outlet for me to share our "trials and tribulations"

We've done so much to this home already, that I'm a tad disappointed I haven't developed a blog in the beginning. There's still plenty to do, and we're a busy family besides, so I'll get some use out of it! :)

Currently, we are trying to get this house on the National Register. It's really involved, and to me seems like a long shot. However, I've submitted some of the paperwork, and I'm waiting to hear from the SHPO's (state historic preservation officer) assistant, on how well/bad I did. I'm also waiting rather impatiently on some quadrangle maps I ordered from the state for the property. I also have to find a camera store that can specially develop black and white film, because the Register will not take "one hour photos".

The other thing that we've done in the past week is get an 8x11 foot flokati rug for the front room. I've repainted this room four times, and I've never been happy with the look. Perhaps I need therapy! Anyway, I like this new silver/blue color it is now, and I felt that the addition of this white rug would pull the room together. I've had compliments from people so far, so that's a good sign. Here's a pic:

Flokati rugs are made from wool, and were/are popular in Greece. I thought it would give a rich exotic look to the already semi-formal room.

See, I'm already blabbing away, I'll love this whole "blog" thing!