Our house during a summer sunrise. No filter applied.
Ooh! Look at Pete writing lists and getting organized!
I've adopted some of Pete's bad habits over the years. I'm glad he's picked up one of my good ones.
Sometimes I Am Pleasantly Surprised
Pete bought a bunch of Andersen windows second hand on Facebook marketplace in November of 2021. They were removed from a house and stored in a garage for several years. In spite of all that they were in excellent shape. Pete was initially interested in just one, but it was an all or nothing situation, so he bought them all for $200. I was 100% unimpressed with the purchase at first. There were several different odd sizes, so I was sure we would be selling most of them in the future.
Pete and Joe installed four of them in the front windows, reframing just slightly to make them fit.
The only downside is that they are wood on the outside, so they will need more maintenance over time.
I didn't know windows could open like this! So acrobatic!
Pete wasted no time hanging curtains
The New Fern Room Windows Have Arrived!
I got nervous when I looked into ordering new windows. Due to the global supply chain shortages, I read that some people were waiting up to ten months for custom windows. Luckily, these took only three months.
Mmmm, come to mamma.
This is the first room being graced with all new windows. Other rooms so far have been a mix of new and reclaimed ones. Double paned wood with exterior aluminum cladding, for those of you who are asking.
The interior wood is unfinished. We are undecided if we are going to paint or stain the insides.
I like the view!
Starting the kitchen window replacement
Pete bought two more second hand Andersen windows specifically for the kitchen. Once again I was thinking "Meh" but trusted his window vision.
Joe cut the siding to fit the new/old windows.
"Make sure the windows are in front of the(washing machine) sink. I don't wanna wash dishes looking at a wall." I told them.
This is the lady in her underwear progress photo.
Cant wait to see that siding replaced! 133 years of sloppiness will soon be corrected.
We will be buying four more matching Andersen windows for the kitchen in the near future.
Porch-Part 7.5
Pete worked a wee bit on the side porch, painting some of the small details
It would have been easier to paint the little details, then nail them to the columns. I guess Pete got enthusiastic.
Restoring the Front Doors-Part 1
I can count the original details left inside the house on half of my hand. Wonky, neglected, and patchy, we started removing the paint on the front doors.
Removing the screws was a project before the project.
Mother nature has started the paint stripping for us.
This was the first time I really looked at the condition of these doors.
Why why why??!? What is the story behind this damage?
We laid her down on the operating room table before getting to work.
I love the snowy mountain range topography of paint stripper.
We found bright orange paint under the white. "This is where the county probably spray painted CONDEMNED on it," Pete said
Even more surprising was what appeared to be hand painted wood grain. Painting wood grain on wood furniture was a 19th century trend. I guess the nicer woods with the sexier grain patterns were out of price range for some, so the work around was to paint the grain pattern desired. Or maybe some species of lumber were not accessible.
Was painting wood grain patterns just a work around, or was this a sign of status? I never got the full story.
In practical terms this means this wood is probably low grade and not very pretty. We'll see.
Our intact bottles from this trip......
I understand why people hate groundhogs as much as rats.
As a further deterrent Pete added this plastic lattice and small rocks to discourage digging.
All seasons are represented in these prints. So far I have Spring and Autumn.
Unfortunately my July trip was short, we will have to continue the door restoration at a later time.
Another trip to Dead Horse Bay
What's summer without a trip to Brooklyn's Gilded Age garbage dump? Years ago I spent hours reading old newspaper clippings about Dead Horse Bay (aka Barren Island) from the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. There were articles about how bad it stunk, and that the stink could be smelled at Coney Island, four and a half miles away. Now its just a quaint little beach to go treasure hunting, depending on what you consider treasure, of course.
I have yet to take inventory of the amber glass Clorox bottle bottoms I have, but I don't think I have enough for my backsplash project.
We brought a shovel for the first time, and found this intact Clorox bottle right below the surface. It seems the sand is more imbedded with refuse than I previously realized.
.........and the Clorox bottle bottoms
Another bottle inspired by the skyscrapers of the 1920s and 30s.
This is the second piece of melted glass I found at Dead Horse Bay. There were two industrial explosions at the refuse rendering facility years ago. Could this be from one of those explosions?
Flora and Fauna
Our first berry from one of our berry bushes!
A pear from our pear tree!
Tomatoes are such a good plant to start with if you are new to gardening.
This freaky spider was spending time with Pete in the basement.
Wow, these baby birds are cute!
Is that a layer of bird poop in the nest? Ewwww!
In the ongoing battle between man and hog this little bastard (well, maybe not this particular little bastard) got the munchies and took a few good gnaws on our porch!
Here he/she is, having dessert on some wood shavings. Google says that rodents gnaw to keep their teeth healthy. Fine, but why on our porch? Should we set up a chewing station to try and keep them away from the house?
These two rocks are covering the filled in hole a groundhog dug under the porch.
After seeing the chew marks Pete added more rocks under the porch.
Like meat getting squeezed into a sausage casing Pete saw a hog squeeze him/herself between the slats! The next step was installing this steel grating behind the lattice.
Found
Our next door neighbor Kevin found this cannonball while planting a tree! He took it to a local museum, who identified it as being from the French and Indian War due to its size.
New Acquisitions
New Currier and Ives prints
I'm not a big fan of children's portraits, but I really like Little Jennie. There's another version of Jennie with blonde hair.
My Love and I
I found a short article about Currier and Ives ladies portraits I've been collecting.
click here if you are interested in reading it.
https://oldprintgallery.wordpress.com/2015/05/21/currier-and-ives-portraits/
The Sterling Collection
Philopena was the name of a biscuit made by the Loose Wiles Biscuit Company.
from Wikipedia :
philopena (plural philopenas)
- A game in which a person, on finding a double-kernelled almond or nut, may offer the second kernel to another person and demand a playful forfeit from that person to be paid on their next meeting. The forfeit may simply be to exchange the greeting "Good-day, Philopena" or it may be more elaborate. Philopenas were often played as a form of flirtation.
- The occasion on which a philopena is forfeited; the forfeit paid.
- A nut or almond with a double kernel, as used to set a philopena.
Confused? Yea, me too. Maybe the biscuits were shaped like a double kernel almond, that's the only way any of this would make sense.
Inspiration
Longhurst Lodge
It's obvious I enjoy learning about historical structures being restored, but seeing beautiful old buildings all modernized always fills me with sadness and disgust. I recently watched an interview with a couple who were restoring a 19th century railway water tower. " I like clean lines" The woman muttered, with a sad Stepford Wife inflection in her voice. They added glass panels in place of a banister rails and replaced wood doors with glass doors that looked like they came out of a 1980s shopping mall. I blame I.M. Pei, the man who designed the Louvre pyramid, and the dorks who commissioned it, for all this modern vomit built in/on/around historical structures.
That's right, I'm talking to you. Jerk
Thankfully, Longhurst Lodge, (the house I am actually featuring in this segment) is not one of those houses.
Longhurst Lodge was built as a gatehouse in Surry around 1850-1860 for the much older Tudor era Baynard Estate house.
Longhurst Lodge, photo probably taken in the 1950s or 1960s
Side track fun fact: After Sir Thomas More was beheaded by King Henry VIII for refusing to drink the Protestant Reformation Kool Aid, his head was displayed on a spike at London Bridge with the heads of other traitors to the crown.
Sir Thomas More with his loyal daughter Margaret. The Tudor Period was a great time to be poor and insignificant in England. King Hank really liked chopping heads of those who disagreed with him or made him angry.
After his execution Margaret bribed the bridgemaster and recovered her father's head. She preserved it and hid the head at Baynard house, being buried with it when she died in 1544.
There is not a lot of detail beyond this. Where exactly was the head for the 12 years between the deaths of father and daughter? A temporary grave? In the pantry? Under the bed?
Shockingly, Margaret's burial vault was opened in 1824 and her father's head put back on display! Its unclear if this was making his head into a Catholic relic or continuing with the head on a stick theme.
This image is hard to read. Is that the front of the skull? It looks like its hatching from a giant reptile egg. And why is this photo framed?
Fast forward 435 years, Baynard burned down in 1979.
All that old money up in smoke............
At this point we are left with the neglected itty bitty Longhurst gatehouse.
This is the state she's in by the1980s. The last residents moved out in 1961.
The house was purchased in 2009 by Vanessa Ford and Nik Huddy, who seemed to really enjoy the restoration process.
"I wouldn't mind if I die doing this because its the best thing I've ever done in my life." Said Nik.
This gatehouse has its own gate!
The birdhouse in the window with the ramp was never explained.
This couple made efforts few people make when they restore a house. Vanessa learned how to make stained glass and learned historical window construction for the project. Nik made the window frames and took a class on lime plastering, which doesn't sound like a big deal but traditional plaster walls have their own cult following.
This is the only time I've seen anyone installing lathe and not tearing it down!
Also in keeping with techniques of long ago, they used limewash to paint the exterior. Lime was used for painting before synthetic pigments.
Installing window frames made by Nik
I am so impressed with the end result!💖💖💖
They dug a small pond/ mini moat around the house!
These reliefs really add another level of enchantment to the house. They are so beautifully painted. Owls, rosettes, grapes and grape leaves, a unicorn, a lion, and a nautical star. I guess these symbols have significance to the architect or previous owner. Whatever it all means, its still beautiful today.
Currently they run a small shop selling wine, tea. and pastries and seem to be living a life as enchanted as their gingerbread cottage.
Poetry Corner
I have about a dozen of these left, for those of you who are amused by them.
