Newest Addition

curiously listening to Roomba's beeps

We welcomed the newest addition to our household this weekend. Say hello to Roomba 770. We love her already. Not only does she clean, but she provides golden retriever entertainment!



not so sure about this thing... gonna bark!

  
 


Roomba chasing Oliver

    


attack stance!

  

1940 Census

So, if any of you family tree climbers out there have been paying attention, we are just days away from the release of the long-awaited 1940 census.

For my generation, this means I'll get to see a little more about my grandparents and maybe their parents. I'm lucky because I've had the opportunity to know all of my grandparents in my lifetime. Some better than others, but still. But it's funny, you know, because I seem to get the same stories out of my grandparents every time I ask, tell me about your childhood, your family when you were young.

For me, going back through the 1930 and 1920 census have given me little tidbits to take back to my grandparents. Prompts, if you will. I can ask them about this certain thing I found, do they remember that. It seems to open the floodgates. Then I get new stories. This is one of the things I love most about genealogy.

So for myself, I know right where to go to find my grandparents when the 1940 census pages for Pennsylvania are made available on ancestry.com. Hopefully sooner, rather than later!

The deal is, that Ancestry.com will be seeing these pages they day they are released - April 2nd - for the first time. So, don't expect to be able to log onto Ancestry on Monday and snap! find your ancestors. It just isn't possible. Ancestry is going to have to scan all the pages. They will make them available as they are finished. But we still won't have searching capabilities. But it isn't the end of the world, we'll just have to treat it like the microfilm versions of previous census, before the days of Ancestry.com. We'll have to use Enumeration District maps.

This will make things pretty easy for people with small town families, and help narrow things down for families from large cities.

So, while things will be very busy at work, with the end of semester, and busy at home with all the construction, I'm still planning to keep up on the latest with Ancestry's 1940 census offerings.

Stay tuned, and feel free to ask me questions! I love to help fellow genealogists!

Siding Mock-Up

You may recall that I mentioned before that we are going to be getting new siding this spring. Yes, it is finally happening! My mom's cousin Bill is our wonderful carpenter and he says siding is his favourite job. We'll see if he still feels that way after he is done with the bungalow!

Anyway, right now we are just waiting for the siding to come in. Bill ordered it and we expect it in about another two weeks. I think Bill is planning to start deconstruction next week, weather permitting of course. We will be recycling the heavy-gauge aluminum siding, not only because it is the right thing to do, but we may get a bit of money back. That would be a nice bonus.

We will be getting brand new James Hardie siding. I know it is more expensive than vinyl, but I'm against adding anything plastic to my house if I can help it. I also think it will pay for itself in the long run. See yesterday's post regarding the hail damage!

The bottom half of the bungalow will be getting lap siding in Mountain Sage. I honestly don't know what we settled on. Beaded, not beaded, smooth or wood grain. Doesn't really matter. I like them all. That may surprise you that I don't haven't agonized over every detail. It surprises me. Maybe I'm growing, letting go of control. Maybe I trust that it'll turn out beautifully no matter what. Maybe I'm just too tired. Probably a bit of all those!

The top half will get the straight edge shingles in Heathered Moss. Normally I like a randomized look, but after living with my first mock up for a while, I decided I would prefer the straight edge over the staggered shingles for the bungalow.

All trim that will be replaced, or newly created, will be in Artic White. There will be a "belly band" around the middle of the bungalow, dividing the shingles from the lap siding.

We are also going to add knee braces. Yup. I don't really know if my house originally had them or not, but I like the way they look. Some houses in my area have them, some don't. We already have some supporting the little roof overhang over the side basement door, and supporting the kitchen window. Just for my piece of mind, Bill is going to install real, structural knee braces under the dining room window overhang. It does sort of dip down there, and while I suspect that happened a long time ago and the house is now stable, I'd still feel better with some support there. Plus they will look cool.

Last Year's Hail Damage

Last spring we had a wicked, nasty storm. Lewis was at home, but I stayed put at work because we weren't sure it was really safe to travel. Better to stay in safe shelter than risk getting caught in a bad storm in the little VW, blowing all over the highway.

Anyway, when Lewis first called to tell me how bad it was at home, I couldn't really understand him. I thought he was going through the automatic car wash!

When things subsided a bit he went outside with the camera.

big hail

hail-littered lawn

poor posies

garden recovered, but zucchini leaves took a beating

When the skies cleared, Lewis realized that we were very lucky. No broken windows, only some broken tree branches, no downed trees. But the siding, oh the siding...

that arc to the left of Oliver isn't dirt



those streaks aren't dirt, either



 



The hail actually struck the house so hard that the paint has been scraped away, right down to the bare metal. When you run your hands over the siding, you can feel all the pits and dents caused by the hail.

pits, dents and no paint

So, a project we though we were going to put off for several more years got bumped to the top of the list. And, you know, it isn't such a bad thing. While we have the siding off, we can remove all the old, unknown layers and we will be insulating from the outside in. While we have all the walls open, we are getting air conditioning (yay!), and replacing a few damaged windows. Also we are going to be getting the roof scraped and re-painted and we are getting new gutters. Gee, is that all... it seems like there is something else...

All you old house owners out there know what it is like. One task leads to another and another. This spring's project is turning out to be a big tangled mess of things that overlap. We're in for a fun ride!

Bathroom Knobs - Vote Now!

3 drawers on the left, 2 doors and a bottom drawer on the right

Remember our downstairs bathroom? You know, the one where Oliver hangs out in the cool shower during the hot summer?

Well, it has been finished for, oh, about five years now, and I've decided it is about time we get some knobs on those cabinets!

I've been eyeing the knobs from Van Dyke's for some time, and I've narrowed it down to an old favourite and something new that might fit the bill. Trouble is, I can't decide... what do you all think?



topaz glass knob, $9.99 each



satin nickle knob, $3.79 each



On a Happier Note

a sun-dappled Oli-dog

lilac sprouting on both sides this year!

daffodils and tulips and hyacinth, oh my!

forsythia and purple leaf plum in full bloom - at the same time!

Bleak Back Yard

Well, up until now I wasn't completely unhappy to see so many trees come down. Most of the pines were planted way too close together and were all unhealthy because they were too crowded. We thinned those out. They took down the junky poplar tree. No big loss there.

Then they "trimmed" my apple trees. My antique Grimes Golden apple trees. They are now about 1/4 the height they were. Yes, I know they definitely needed some maintenance. But I'm not running an orchard, either. I was less concerned with the productivity of the crop than with the overall health of the trees. I believe they are nearly as old as the house.

I was going to have my friend's grandfather come in and take a look at them. He is a forrester with much passion and knowledge of apple trees. Well, all trees. But he was very excited to hear that I had two Grimes Golden trees. Before they were just allowed to go wild for at least a decade. Now I'm embarrassed to show him what has just happened to them.

sad apple trees and yucky view of the factory's tanks and parking lot

The real tragedy of the day was my mighty elm tree. You may recall that it took quite a hit from a storm a few years back. The top 1/3 of the tree came down. Took out a nearby pine. Thankfully it didn't fall toward the house.

It got a good trimming after that and many people told me to just take it down. I wanted my forrester friend to tell me if it could be saved, and if we could work around it when we went to regrade. Sadly, I woke up to this sight this morning.



previously disguised view of the factory



mighty elm, reduced to its parts

Now it is too late to save it. I'll admit that I cried. I really loved that giant shade tree. It protected the back of the house from the sun. And wind and rain. I believe it is very old and it did not have Dutch Elm Disease. What a gem. The yard looks really different now. Bleak and barren. Maybe I'll get a picture of the whole yard later.



Winter Recap

Oh, no. Seriously? No, no, no. This can't be. Really? I haven't posted since November? Bad blogger!

Let's get caught up.

As you may know, we got the back bedroom done and now we are just down to accessorizing. And we need a headboard. And maybe nightstands. They can all wait until the perfect things come along.

King size bed!

It is a good thing we got this room ready because we had house guests for three weeks over the holidays.

Oli loves to leap on and off the new bed

Oli really loves the view!

We got digital in December, too! We now have a home wireless set up thingie. We upgraded to a blu-ray player, and I reworked our Verizon home services. By changing our outdated home phone plan, we were able add Dish TV and increase our Internet speed and it is now only about $10 more per month.

And we all got sick. So we got to make good use of the new tv service. (Remember, I haven't had broadcast tv in over two years, so I'm like a kid in a candy store.) I fought off multiple infections, including strep throat, double ear infections, fluid in the right ear that didn't want to go away on its own until threatened with tubes (yes tubes! at my age!), an upper respiratory infection that kicked my behind, and a bunch of stuff I'm probably forgetting. I missed a lot of work, but there were days I could hardly move for lack of energy. Mom and Lewis took good care of me. So now, almost three months, three rounds of strong antibiotics and a round of predinsone later, I'm finally feeling like myself again.

On top of all that, I'm playing wedding planner for my cousin's June wedding, advising mom on her new counter top selections, and still helping my aunt find things for her house. Everything is finally rebuilt from the fire and they were able to move back in just a few weeks ago.

Plus, get ready for this, Oliver's Bungalow is gearing up for a major face lift. I'll get into the details later, but here's the short list, slated to begin any day now:

new siding
4 new windows (side and back bedrooms)
insulation
roof painted
mini split system installed
re-grading the yard
long term yardscaping plan
fence for Oliver

It is just one of those projects where one thing overlaps another and suddenly you find yourself in the middle of another massive project and a major investment.

Some of the old trees have already been taken down. I'll have to get a couple of good pictures together, but in the meantime, Oliver has been having a blast tearing up root balls and sticks.

tear 'em up!

Oli, is that dirt on your nose?

and your tongue too? silly, happy doggie

Clear Out Craze

So, I woke up this morning with every intention of clearing a wide path through the dining room and living room. On Monday the piano movers are coming to take my piano- which I do not have the talent to play- to my grandmother's house. Nanny enjoys playing and my teenage cousin is a natural on the piano, so this will give both of them the opportunity to play. After all, it has just been sitting there looking pretty in my dining room these past few years.

But I got sidetracked. See, my linen closet has been driving me crazy for the last few weeks. Not that it was very disorganized, but I didn't have a designated space for the new king size bedding. So instead of working downstairs, I tore everything out of the linen closet, made neat stacks all over the beds, vacuumed, dusted, then began to put everything back.

And even though it looks almost the same as before, I'm pleased with the result:



Three hours well spent? Maybe. I worked on several other things at the same time. I have a large pile of clothes for my friend Sheri's daughters. I had a big clear out of winter clothes last weekend. Now I just need to get them to her.

I've been getting my exercise running up and down the stairs to check on laundry every 45 minutes. I still have a small stack of boxes to go to the basement. I decided that there is really no need to store extra tiles, grout mix, robe hook and replacement toilet seat in the linen closet! Those things belong in the basement. I've kept the tiles up here so long because I wanted them handy for when we make the final repairs to the bathroom walls, but since that has already been about 5 years, I think I'll take the risk by moving them farther away. Ha! Maybe some great tile layer will magically  knock on my door this week. Let's not hold our breath.

Meanwhile, things are really coming together in the back bedroom. As I mentioned, I had a big clear out last weekend, making lots of extra drawer space, so I was able to make more room for Lewis to store stuff. I've been feeling kind of guilty of late. I have clothes filling two closets, with a few winter coats stored in the third. And, until last weekend, I had clothes in dressers in all three bedrooms. Really.

I've also been gearing up to make some major changes to the side bedroom, which I am very excited about. Soon I'll show you my plans! Stay tuned.

Projects on the Horizon

Wow. It has been so long since I posted that blogger has changed!

Well, I thought I'd get caught up a bit. We've been pretty preoccupied with family issues the past few months, but I think things are going to get back to normal soon.

I have been working hard behind the scenes, doing some major clear out and de-cluttering. I feel very good about this. When I'm done, I can reward myself by redecorating the side bedroom. Very much looking forward to that!

We are also going to start working on a few new big projects around the house. Sometime this spring there will be new siding and insulation, a few new windows, hopefully a new sofa, and finally a fence for Oliver. I can't wait to see him romp around his yard!

Currently, I'm interested in the James Hardie siding products. I'll most likely go with the greens as pictured above. I am waiting for a couple more color samples that caught my interest before I make my final decision. It will be a color. I've always been happy with the green siding, crisp white trim and black accents.

We will not be installing any stone, though, because damage to non-structural stone or brick is not covered under my earthquake insurance. Those areas will probably get a fresh coat of stucco, but I'm not sure yet. There could be other options out there that I'm not aware of.

While we have the house torn up outside, the plan is to install insulation from the outside in. At some time, several decades ago, someone had fluffy blown-in insulation installed. We found out when we were restoring the interior that fluffy stuff settles down to about knee level! Well, if we had walls open, Bill put insulation in, but there were plenty of places we didn't get to. At the time we had no idea just how much of a mistake that would be.

I've always joked that I didn't ever want to see my house in one of those infrared photos, because it would just be a big, glowing blob of red. You may have heard me refer to the house as a sieve? Many of you old house owners know just what I'm talking about. Those mysterious breezes you feel on your ankles in the winter? Yeah. Good times.

Anyway, I'll tell you more about the windows when I have more details. In the meantime, I'm open to comments or suggestions about siding.