Moving Right Along

L-R: 3 of the 7 doors - Basement door, hall and into the den. And now there are 2!

We tried to save the trim but it was just too solidly built, cut from at least a 2" thick piece of wood, they don't make trim like that anymore. Thankfully the other doors still have the same trim.

L-R: the Pantry cupboard used to be back stairs going up to the "Maid's room". The stairs are gone but apparently the hatch in the floor in the bedroom is still there. The window will be half the size and the stove moves to the right so there will be a range hood over it.

Some of the old charming wallpaper - 1940's maybe?

This seems to be the bottom layer of wallpaper, I peeled it off, it is very brittle. I have no idea how old it is.

Another sample of old paper, perhaps 60's, that wonderful avocado green and orange that my Mom was so fond of! The plaster is full of horsehair! I must look that up on Google!

So, the kitchen renovations are moving right along after one day they have made great progress. The last of the old flooring is gone, the old cupboards and tile are gone. We have moved everyting out, spread through the diningroom and livingroom. We'll be 2 weeks without the stove but I have my slow cooker, electric frying pan and the bbq - and the Pub is in walking distance!

We have a good schedule, we have till the 20th to do all the repairs, get the walls ready, the new window in then the floor gets sanded and varnished starting on the 20th. The new cabinets (fingers crossed) will be installed on the 26th. 

Once the cupboards were gone we discovered several layers of old wallpaper and wide planks on the walls plus some of that lovely 60's "wood" panelling. I forgot to take a picture of that, I wonder why? Maybe I should for posterity! 

We have been thrilled so far with the guys who are doing the work. Wonderful to live in a small community where you can call the plumber and he is here in 10 minutes! Same with the electrician and the building supply store is 5 minutes away. 

There are more pictures in my Flickr Photostream here.

Let The Renos Begin!

The joy of buying a 150 year old house is that there is always something to do, something needs fixing, something needs changing/updating. We have been lucky, we have been quite comfortable and feeling settled in our "new" house here in Mahone Bay. Given the amount of snow we have had this year we are very glad not to have to shovel the long driveway we had in Fox Point! Here we don't even have a sidewalk to shovel, just the back parking for the cars!

Another Wednesday, another snowstorm with up to 30cm expected. This is the view from the mudroom window looking out to the side garden past the deck and grape arbour. It had just begun to snow.

We decided to start with the kitchen. Our kitchen in the Fox Point house was small and narrow, like a galley kitchen. We got used to it, this one has 7 doors and a window! Another challenge. We can get rid of two doors, the one jut to Peter's left and one in the right corner which was a second staircase and is no a pantry cupboard. We have a great design (we hope!) we didn't have a whole lot of choice about where things would go. One thing is for sure it will be better than it is now. The final measurements have been done, the main demolition of the cabinets will happen next week, then the floors will be sanded and varnished. Peter has cut away and torn up 6 layers of old floor coverings. We had no idea what was underneath...

So far so good! The boards are all different widths from 6" - 14". We aren't sure yet what wood they are, perhaps hemlock or spruce. We shall see, can't wait!

Quilt Mafia - January 2014

The view from the kitchen window, an exciting location!

The weather cooperated (except for the fog!) and about 14 of us gathered at Linda's house for the day. A wonderful day of sharing, stitching, talking and eating (and great coffee!). We are such a varied group with interests wide ranging in the fibre arts/quilting field. We all do something with a needle and thread and we all love to share. And if you need advice, this is a great group for that.

The Mummers - Margi Hennen

It is always an inspiration, always wonderful to see what everyone has accomplished no matter how big or small. It is all important. It seemed like everyone had something in their hands whether it was knitting needles or sewing needles, we were a busy lot!

We come from all over though we missed our Valley girls this time, Deb did make it from Tatamagouche as well as quite a few from the South Shore and cities.

We talked about having a bit of a "retreat", going somewhere where we can stay overnight for a few days and let someone else do the cooking. Should be fun. Plans are in the works.

Uta's beautiful sari but I love the colours that come from her socks, the basket and her scarf! Great for a foggy day.

Laureen's stitching on cheesecloth.

Our "show and tell" was inspiring from Margi's dolls to Laureen's delicate stitching to Uta's sari. And there were quilts too. I forgot to take a picture of Polly's latest "Tumbler" quilt in beautiful shades of pinks, burgundys and browns, very traditional yet very contemporary. 

Jamie shared her collection of fibre art postcards that she has collected. This one is one I gave her for her birthday, since loves loves all things Japanese it was made using contemporary Japanese fabrics.