The Front Porch Back Story

Today my husband finished replacing the steps on our front porch - and there was much rejoicing.  Ostensibly, this was the completion of a 2 year project - started July 2012 - when we prepared to replace the decking on our front porch, realized the porch was rotted through, and ended up tearing out the porch AND the concrete steps AND the entire front sidewalk.

True to our usual style, we jumped in to DIY mode and figured it all out - or so we thought.

The porch was rebuilt the first season - but we ran out of warmer temperatures here in western NY and could not pour the new concrete for the sidewalk in time... and the stairs could not be replaced until the new concrete was down.

The concrete took us ALL of last summer.  Granted we ran into a few snags - like the mold we used to make our cobblestone looking walkway only held 40 lbs of concrete - but the instructions had said 60 - so we had extra from every batch that had to be cast into something or thrown away (no - not that!) - so birdbaths and stepping stones and more were made... it was a slow process.

And again - we ran out of good weather before we could stain and seal the concrete.

Finally - this spring, after ridding the sidewalk of thousands of baby maple tress, we got it cleaned and stained and sealed - and the step replacement began.

The true significance, however, is not the steps.. or the porch... or the sidewalk...

It is that during this time, hubby also replaced the front door AND installed a new lockset.

See - when we purchased our house in 2001, it came complete with a gumwood door and the original 1929 lockset - which was broken.  Because it was vintage - the door was cut differently than you would for a modern lockset - so it was either get that lock fixed ($$), buy another vintage lock ($$$), or replace the entire door ($$$$).  We opted to keep the door deadbolted (with blue painters tape holding the latch open) and come and go through the side door - which was the cost-free option.   We had never been able to use our front door as our main portal - we'd go in and out when we were home -but never had we come home and unlocked the front door to go inside.

Finally, after having a home heating assessment done, we realized that the old door was a liability and opted for the total replacement.  Finally - a lock that worked... but that happened while we were still without steps...

... so today was a first.  We left the house to go out for a Memorial Day picnic - exiting out the front and closing and locking it behind us - then coming home, up the steps, and opening up our front door to go inside.

It felt really really really good!

Step by Step

Our first weekend at home in quite a while involved a bit of "spring fever" and a bit of "spring cleaning" - ongoing studio renovations in the attic, carpet removal in the master bedroom, egg dying and other Eastery activities in the living/dining/kitchen area, and laundry in the basement.  Lots of stair climbing!

And activities even spilled out into the backyard... more to follow on that later this week when I get the photos out of the camera.

For now I will enjoy the Cadbury Egg and black jellybean coma.

The "Studio" or the "Sty"...?

So Jill has asked me about my work space.... and I finally got brave and brought the camera upstairs to "the Studio"... or perhaps "the Sty"???

So I am not going to make any excuses for the mess -this is the normal state of things up here - controlled chaos. As you can probably guess from the slanted ceilings -we are in the attic - it is mostly finished, although the floors are a bit rough, so I have an area rug, foam squares and a chair mat on the floor. I don't do floor layout of quilts up here - I go downstairs for that.

When you come up the stairs (steep stairs) you run down the "gauntlet" of storage tubs - this is the main storage area for the household, so not all these bins contain sewing/crafting items. I did have them well labeled at one point, but we need to go through and consolidate, purge, and relabel a few. My biggest problem is dumping things on top of the bins when I bring it upstairs.

So when you run down the "gauntlet" towards the big double window (curtains closed as I took these photos at night) you will see off to the right the TV -and just in front of it is the play space for the Munchkin - including a play kitchen and an easel, play table and chairs. These get moved around a lot, although I have used the easel as a mini design wall. On a good day I can get the Munchkin playing up here while I "play," too.
When I sit at my table, I can look over my work to the TV and whatever the Munchkin is doing (that is if my pile of projects does not get too high).
My main work space runs down the left side of the room. There is a big closet on one side of the stairs (opposite the bin storage area) and my table is just next to the door. I have some items stored in there, but can close the door to keep the cat out. When I am working I can just pull supplies out as needed (I did not take pictures in there.) I have storage along the wall behind me in various cabinets and dressers, and the ironing board towards one end near the window. One challenge is where the outlets are - and the other is light - or lack of it. Note all that beautiful paneling - it just sucks up the light. I want to paint it - but it is so old and dry it would just suck up the paint, too. Long term plan -but low on the priority list (the house is a 1929 -we have a long priority list!)
So this is looking back from the ironing board into my work corner. You can see the closet door behind my chair.
I have storage tucked everywhere. My table is a recycled door from the house with a glass top - but the top is longer than the door, so I have this small white bookcase tucked under the overhang. It is piled pretty high with projects and scraps right now, and in front of the bookcase are the leftover props from the Munchkin's jungle birthday party. Need to find a home for - or a recycling purpose for - all of those.
And last but not least - here is sewing central. I try to keep the cutting mats as uncovered as possible while working, and do pretty well.

My wish list for this space? A drop-in sewing table so I have more flat surface to wrangle large quilts under the throat of my machine. Storage areas underneath that are not broken up by funky old wrought iron legs at a strange angle (family hand me downs - they work for holding up the table but are not ideal). Storage cabinets built into the knee walls so that they are moved back further and give more open space for me and the Munchkin. Whiter/brighter walls to maximize all the good lamps I have up there. An extra wide ironing board. Pergo. Central air conditioning... oh and a maid?

But for now - this works... and it works pretty well. We have fun - we get things done - and I can walk away and leave half done projects on the table and not have to worry about cleaning them off to serve dinner.

Good Help

Doesn't every carpet layer have a miniature, pajama wearing assistant???

And then stick around to play cards with his assistant (in different jammies)
on the new carpet???

Thanks guys! I love it!!! And by the looks of the toy sprawl, you do, too!!!

Flashback Fridays - Regina the Constructor

Lest you think from last week's Flashback that all I can do is destruct, here's me showing of my wild nail gun skills laying the sub-floor in our kitchen.

Now this was a wild project - involving many hours, three dumpsters, removal of 4 layers of wall, 2 layers of ceiling, and 7 layers of floor, dropping the last of the ceilings on Thanksgiving Day and kicking up dust so thick Hubby at the top of the ladder could not see me at the bottom. Christmas found us putting up insulation, and this flooring job followed not too long afterwards.

Can you tell we like to do things ourselves??
One of these days I will post the "before" and "after" pics of this kitchen (but that means I need to clean up the kitchen to take an "after" pic... I will get back to you on that one)

Saturday bliss

This was a wonderful Saturday a few years back - Hubby on the porch, power and hand tools at the ready, flag flying, saw dust blowing.

Then we sat on the front step, drink and picnic lunch in hand, and watched the cars go by.

And then we both got back to work on the house.

Flashback Friday - Regina the Destructor

Hubby and I recently purchased a new laptop, and in preparation for transferring a lot of documents from our old computer to our new, I have "unearthed" a bunch of photos that had been stored on the old computer, and kind of pushed by the wayside after the rapid influx of Munchkin photos.

Little bit of backstory on these (because you will see more) - in 2001 Hubby and I purchased our first home - a 1929 modified American Four Square. It was an estate sale, and the home had been empty for a few months, and neglected a bit before that. It was livable, but there were a few projects we planned to do...over time.

And then Hubby let me into the bathroom to take off the shower doors and put up a rod... and then next thing we knew... this full gut of the bathroom was happening.

The renovation adventures are fodder for a whole other blog, - and I won't get into them in too much detail. Suffice it to say that I wield a mean crowbar and sledgehammer - and that this bathroom is now 'mostly' back together, new and improved.

Watch for more renovation flashbacks to come! You will soon see even more of my hidden talents!!

Life in the Landscape

I am definitely a child of the hills, a product of the environment of my childhood in Alfred, NY. Alfred is part of the Allegheny Plateau, at the northern part of the Appalachian Mountain chain. I always used to tell people that Alfred was a main street in a deep valley, with two colleges (Alfred University and SUNY at Alfred) terraced up on either side. My home was on one of the roads that led up and out of town, just below one of the highest points of elevation in the county, well over 2200'.

Still today I can recall certain hills and twists and turns in the road where suddenly the whole valley vista would open before you - those were, and still are, some of my favorite places.

And nothing is better than a sunny day with scattered clouds, when you can see the shadows formed by the clouds moving across the green trees that covered the hills. Or a fall day when the hills explode into a hundred different shades of red and orange and yellow and green - with the brilliant clear high blue sky above them.

Hillsides dotted with sheep and cows and hay bales, barns nestled in little hollows in the valleys.

I miss these things - although I live in farm country, my home is in a different topography and our highest hill is laughable in comparison to the hills of my childhood, topping out around 650'. Other places I have lived have been somewhat hilly, but nothing like those rolling hills of childhood. The vistas just don't take my breath away like those Allegheny hills.

Last week's Shop Hop took me back towards those hills - on a sunny day with scattered clouds. I didn't think to pull out the camera on the way down to capture the landscape, and by the time I was headed home the sun was setting, one of those wondrous long sunsets that came and went as the car traveled from valley to hilltop, opening up vistas of valleys in shadow while the hilltops were kissed by that late day orange light. Two hot air balloons drifted high above the valley in the late lingering light, and I envied their view. I snapped a photo out the car window as I drove - but it just does not do it justice (the dirty car windows don't help, either).

Although I was stopping at new destinations, I was actually on roads well known and often traveled. My second shop stop came on a route that, had I continued on, would have led me back to Alfred. With the sun and the puffy clouds and the blue sky above - my heart and soul were tempted to head in that direction and let my eyes soak in the hills.

Alas, commitments (and quilt shops) called me in another direction. Which was again over often traveled roads, roads that used to take me from my childhood home to my grandparents, or to visit a school friend in another town. Roads that marked the start and end of nearly every family vacation I remember. It was actually odd to get off this highway to visit a quilt shop, as it was a region that was always a "pass through" and never a destination.

I did squeeze in a stop at an old "destination" - a McDonald's in Bath, NY - halfway between my home and the home of that old school friend. Parents used to drive us to this McD's to meet for pick up or drop off for a weekend visit, eliminating the need for either family to make that long drive twice.

Although I had never actually done the driving myself, there was something comfortable in coming off the highway exit, making that left turn, and turning into the parking lot. Even the on-ramp to get back on the highway, westbound towards homes both old and new, felt familiar and just so right, like I had just done it yesterday, or last week, or 23 years ago.

Again I reached a crossroads, west towards Alfred or north towards home.

This time there was no temptation - home isn't in the hills anymore, it is where the Munchkin and Hubby are waiting.

But I will visit those hills again - and bring them along to enjoy the views.