Happy Endings

The woman who took our pool just wrote me the nicest email and included photos of her fabulously restyled pool. Talk about an ugly duckling turning into a swan!
I'm so happy. I placed a really touchy feel-y ad on craigslist that talked all about how I wanted it to go to a family who would enjoy it.
How cool is it that it actually happened?
I hope her kids have an amazing summer!
Here's to giving away everything that you aren't currently using.

Weekend Yard Project

Even though I should be blogging for one of my paying gigs right now. I'd rather show off a little proj progress from the long weekend. It was such a nice break. We worked like crazy in the yard, but also had some awesome home cooked dinners with friends, and walked to a gorgeous double waterfall nearby. But I digress.

Here's the deal. I snapped up this table and chair set at my favorite affordably priced Warren Street haunt (there are a few I promise!) Carousel.
When I bought it, the chairs were white vinyl.
Ick.
Sticky summer legs, where do I sign up. Right?
Anyway - I'll probably put a clear coat over them so they don't continue to chip and rust. I like the current ratio.
Before...


After (one is an armchair and one is a side)
I'm not super awesome with the upholstery projects yet - I don't suggest starting with stripes btw - but I'm happy with it even if they are a little wiggly.



The cuteness comes together.



The over all sitation:
What you don't see is the huge pile of crappola including but not limited to posts with huge concrete globs on them (deck carcass), tons of rotten wood, three (why) rusty propane tanks, snarled metal fencing etc. etc. etc. that was piled up directly behind this little patch of concrete paradise. That's cause we lugged it outa there!



The yellowish grass is where it lurked.



Ok so maybe this IS too many pictures.
Whatever. It took a long friggin time people, so please humor me.




Bernie loves it - so there.



I made a little DIY firepit out of some of the pretty antique bricks we had. I salvaged these from one of the "chimneys to nowhere" that we took down from the roof when we had it repaired. Note to self, find out city fire laws.
I've seen other neighbors with firepits but God knows I live my life in fear of a scolding, so I'll have to check.



Here's where all the stuff is now - cause I know you wondered.
Note: Alleys are rad!



Here's more of it.
Sometimes things take a long time around here becaue Rainman loves him some organization. But I look the other way because I have found over time that his methods generally pay off.



Anyway - we will probably lay flagstone on top of the little cement patch - or box it in and pour pea gravel. Either of those would be preferable to cement. And both will be fairly simple to do since we don't have to level anything.
But this will do for now.

And after all that Joe mowed


So there's the dirt patchy, former pool area on the right and the cement island on the left. The former home owners sure loved to break up flow. If you are wondering what the heck's up with the rusty pole center frame, why it's half of the gigantic clothes line that diagonally cuts across the lawn.
We know.
It's next on the chopping block.
Joe's totally looking forward to digging out the concrete pilings holding it in place.

More soon!

Mary Doesn't Like To Talk About the Asteroid

We finally broke down and listed the WT pool on craigslist for free. We figured that if any family was willing to show up and spend the day dissembling it, then they kinda deserved to leave with the spoils, know what I'm sayin?
We did not anticipate the 150 replies we got. But being a true skeptic I was sure that no one would actually show up. I finally chose the woman who was willing to drive 2+ hours to get it - though again... skeptical.
Here's the deal - we just sort of never felt like spending the $1,000 or so that it would take to get it up, running and de-grossified.
Especially since we only considered keeping it until the renovation was finished. Believe it or not, my homeowner dreams never included an above ground pool. They also never included a Mary in the half shell, but whatevs. Mary stays put.

Partially because she is one of the only post 1900's additions to the property that appears to be well constructed and thus - sound, and partially because I'm kinda superstitious and I feel like she's good juju.
Sorry Catholicism at large, I mean thee no offense.
Here's a nice before:



And a few durings. This is after the family drove away with all the pool parts. What you see left behind is tarp detritus and pool scum.
ps: it was a freezing day. The family that came to get it were total troupers!

This is a grouchy Joe attempting to appease me with an action shot. So lifelike!

Yeah, so it kind of looked like a depressing pond for a few days. Till it dried up and began looking alike an asteroid crash site guarded by the Virgin Mother.

It looks so much better now can't even take it. We also ditched the "deck."
Mary really fancies up a yard don't she now?
We plan to fill it in and plant grass and flowers. Yay!

The House as a Psychiatric Diagnostic Tool

You know how sometimes a simple drive by can tell you all kinds of fascinating information about the inhabitants of a particularly house?
Here are a few around town that I snapped on a recent walk.
In my mind, I see a psychiatrist with a stick drawing of a house rather than a Rorschach blot. He makes notes on the image (i.e.) gaudy flower pots speak to impending dementia...
You dig?

Let's play!

House # 1:
a. a clear case of ADD
b. a simple case of the fuck-its no meds required.

Another view for the people. I can't say that the color scheme isn't brilliant, because it manages to be all dressed up and waiting for flag day way way way in advance.
But I kinda think the owners need to take a good hard look in the mirror and admit to their inner-most selves that the 30 minute beer break they took in 2004 is officially over, and now it's time to finish painting that sum bitch.

House # 2
House #2 has so much going on that I need to feed it to you in teensie bite-size pieces lest you stop finding this exercise entertaining and start shaking your head and calling me a heartless bitch.
note 1: the use of unconventional materials as porch support. This could be a sign of:

a. an artistic spirit and/or rich Appalachian heritage
b. Schizophrenia (OK, I'm stretching a bit but note the semi-visible political sign)

note 2: A variety of exciting trim colors on the porch mouldings
a. A super artistic spirit, JEEZ! Why are you so judgmental?
b. Bipolar disorder - Happy Paul likes green, Sad Paul likes blue.

note 3: Roofing Is Fun - a still life.
a. Bipolar - (mania) I'm going to re-roof the porch! No, wait, I'm going to make my own yogurt! No, wait, I'm going skiing (note waiting skis)
b. Schizophrenia - voices told him to re-tar the roof or else the President would die.


Talk amongst yourselves. Leave your votes in the comment section s'il vous plait.


You can only see a bit of it in these shots - but the next door neighbor's house is f'n immaculate. I feel for them, whoever they are. Sorry folks, all the white picket fences in the world can't draw the eye away from the fact that you live Pippi Longstocking adjacent.

Post Backlog

here's the thing, in real time if you rarely have the dough to hire help, renovations are super slow and snorey.
I find myself wondering if anyone really wants to hear about me spending three hours picking the wallpaper flakes out from between the wall and a door casing with a fork on Saturday and that there's still more to do.
Or that two full weekends have now been spent painting the kitchen but is still looks pretty much the same in photos.
I think we all know that the answer is a big fat nope. But regardless, I'm kicking out the jams y'all. here are a few entries that have been clogging up my outbox for far too long.
xx
Hallie.

Mouldings and Such

Member how I was obsessed with achieving the perfect shade of gray flooring? And how I did the steel wool in vinegar experiment and absolutely nothing happened. Then Door 16 blogged about a similar floor and through her I discovered this (for your drooling pleasure) which drove me insane and made me want it even more.
Well then I read THIS and decided to try again.

This time I used some of the hand cut iron nails that I'd collected from the house and cooked them in a jar of vinegar over night with the lid on (ahem controversial).

If you're still interested here's some more info on a similar process.

I only had a teensie area to test on so forgive the weirdness - but I finally got it!
This is the oak floor that's in the living, dining and hall. I stripped and sanded a small test area that will be covered in moulding.

It's not super revealing I realize, but when you enlarge it you will see that I think I've finally got the look I was going for. I've been dreaming of old, dried-out, silvery barn wood.
It's the most peaceful, relaxing color I can imagine and damned if I don't wanna live in it.


Oh we finally got casings inside this doorway. Thanks for bringing that to my attention Bernie.

Nuther view.
Man! I hate that front door. But whatever, focus on the good, focus on the good.

This is what's going on moulding-wise around the door. Almost done!
We have those salvaged rosettes stripped and primered now - I'll do a photo update as soon as they are up. They really make the new boring mouldings look more custom and less sterile.

The wall is pretty much ready for it's finish-pretty coat too. Can't wait to have time for that proj. It'll be so satisfying.
All for now.

Kitchen Floor Part Dos

So then over the weekend, Joe and finessed that sum bitch.
This delightful photo shows the Zinzer shellac that I hit all the knots with so they wont bleed through the paint - and the puttying that Joe did to fill all the obvious machine made dings and staple marks.


If I had a dollar for every meal this guy eats sitting down I would have like three dollars a month. Ka-ching!

Yeah, the Kid still has a lot to learn about how to relax. It's true.
But it's on his five year plan, swear to God.
Yep there it is, #127, learn to relax more.
Right after #126 - finish the book Guns Germs and Steel.
(Side note: goals 1 through 100 are pretty much all house related)
So anyway, yeah - then we primered the whole shebang.

More delectable views. Now that it's primered we really see that it needs some distressing and face nailing because it's way way too pristine. But it looks nice, no?

Here it is put back together so we can use it this week.
Bad kitty!

We didn't primer under the stove and the fridge, we have so many other little things to do to the floor before we start the epic paint job - so we kind of want to put off moving everything out of the kitchen until the last possible minute.
I still have camping memories from October when I moved up here and lived off microwavable nastiness for months.
Good times. Good high sodium times.

Ooh that's a bad kitty!
Dunno if you noticed, but I knocked the middle moulding bits off the cabinets. Not only was it very satisfying - it's one less unnecessary dust-collecting ledge in house full of dust collecting crevices. So there's that.