Next Up - the Hall Bathroom

Original Wall

Original Ceiling

Posted by Les

The Hall Bath - Formerly Known as

the Back Porch

    With the living room now finished, it's time to zero in and get that pesky bathroom finished. I call it pesky     because this room was completely gutted down to the floor joists back in January.   After all the plumbing was replaced under the house, the new sub floor, toilet drain and bath tub were installed.  The water lines for the toilet and vanity have been stubbed in as well, just waiting for the fixtures.

      Back in June, I began tearing out the old sheetrock on the walls and ceiling with intentions to replace it with new, but never was happy with that plan.  This room actually was the back porch when the house was built in 1909.  Houses typically didn't have indoor plumbing and bathrooms back then.  Somewhere along the way (I'm guessing in the 20's or 30's), the house was modernized when the back porch was enclosed and converted to a bathroom.
   
      As I removed the old sheetrock, to my delight the original outside clapboard wall and beadboard ceiling came into play. It just seemed such a shame to cover them back up only to hide all that history captured in every blemish, nail hole, and imperfection.  So, I decided to do a little cleanup, caulk a whole bunch, and leave them as original as possible for the sake of character.

    In addition, I had to build a new wall opposite the original wall, and instead of settling for sheetrock there, I decided to panel the wall with new clapboard to match the old.  I'm telling you, this
bathroom is going to be a really neat place when it's done.





     Unrelated to the bathroom, but just to let you know, I was able to sell all 22 original windows and the counter weights.
     They were really in bad shape, so I was glad to get them out
of my way.  I had hoped to do something fun with them but let's face it . . . I'd probably never get around to doing anything creative with them, and knowing someone else will makes me happy.

 Gone.  :)

Update on the House Project

Posted by Les

Living Room Finished.  Oh What a Relief It Is!

    Refinishing the hardwood floors took about 6 weeks.  (That was the longest 6 months of my life).  Then it was time to start working on the cosmetics of the living room, beginning with re-taping the 20 or so cracks in        the walls and ceiling.  The ceiling had a big area of damaged sheetrock from a leaky roof years ago.
I had to remove a 2' x 3' area, which exposed another problem . . . sagging boards that had separated from       the ceiling joists.  I'd been putting this job off as long as possible, but the day of judgement had arrived,
             so up in the attic I went.  Wouldn't you know it . . . it was one of those 103 degree days.

Wallah!  Complete Transformation. 

 

                            These original light fixtures from the 30's have turned out spectacular.

     And remember the little table lamp we bought back in March at an antique store, and how I mounted
                                   it upside down over the kitchen sink?  Now you know why.

     We found this antique glass shade at Old Home Supply in fort Worth, and with a little ingenuity and
                                 some old-fashioned finagling, I think it turned out cute as a button!

Insert Pictures from iPhone

Posted by Les

Time to Back Track a Little with Pics from My iPhone

     I know . . . this blog is becoming a moving target, what with pictures from our vacation and the work on      this old house going simultaneously.  So thanks for cooperating as you zig zag back and forth.  I needed to     insert some beautiful photos from the vacation in their respective blog postss, but that's a lot of trouble to        edit them.  Besides, you might not care to scroll back to see those blog post revisions.  Hopefully, your

                               brain is clever enough to paste these photos together for continuity.

Rocky Mountain National Park - Estes Park, Colorado

Panoramic coffee break at 12,500 feet elevation

             

          

                         

       

 Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

The Grand Teton

          This stretch of mountains is called the Tetons, but this particular peak is the highest and therefore
       referred to as the Grand Teton.  In case you didn't know this, the word "teton" literally means "bre_st."
                                                                I'm blushing as I type.  :)

Exploring Yellowstone West

Posted by Les

                                                      The West Loop Geyser Basin

We pretty much covered the sights coming up the East Loop in Yellowstone on our way to Gardiner (sort of  like going counter clockwise from 6:00 to 12:00).  The next day we set out to work our way from the north    entrance to the south entrance (going counter clockwise from 12:00 to 6:00).  Then of course, we had to        back track north to our cottage in Gardiner.  The western half of the park is mostly about the geysers,        boiling mud pits and sulpher ponds.  They were colorful and mysterious - but really stinky, unless you like
     the smell of rotten eggs.  Actually, these geological wonders were all over the park, even in the big lake,
           though the western half was highly concentrated with them in every shape, size and description.
    

The Roosevelt Arch, built in 1903, was the first and only entrance for many years.

     The construction of Fort Yellowstone was funded early on by Congress, and the US Army dispatched            a unit of soldiers who were commissioned with the task of protecting the park from wildlife poaching,
                            and the careless use of the landscape, its minerals and natural wonders.

                         

       

                         

       

  The town of Yellowstone, Wyoming is also the site of the iconic Mammouth Springs, where underground           volcanic activity forces boiling mineral water to the surface.  The result over thousands of years is the                                                                 formation of travertine deposits.

                           

     

                          

      

The old Fort nestled below the springs.

                                         
                                  

Got a close up of a local resident having lunch.

                           

   

These formations were all over the place and too many to photograph.
They look like giant layer cakes that flopped and had really bad icing jobs.

Yellowstone Park - East Loop (cont.)

Posted by Les

                                           Forward Ho!  And the Pioneers Move Onward

      Yellowstone Canyon was certainly worth a much longer visit, but we had to get just outside the north   entrance into the park before darkness fell.  It was already mid afternoon and those unfamiliar mountainous
     roads would not be safe for night driving.  We estimated that our lodging was about 3 hours further.
 

Yellowstone Canyon from the rear view mirror.

Oh look . . . we have spectators.

Guess who has the right of way on all the park roads?

At last we reach the north entrance with about 1 hour of daylight left.

Just outside the gate is the famous Roosevelt Arch.

                  

                           Beautiful downtown Gardiner, Montana.   

   

                        

             

                      

                             Here's our little cottage for 3 nights.

         

     

                   Another cascading river just outside our door.

   
   

Yellowstone Canyon

Posted by Les

                                               Yellowstone Canyon is Eye Candy

     Proceeding north from Yellowstone Lake we came to the Yellowstone Canyon which takes your breath        away.  We've both seen the Grand Canyon in Arizona which is humongous and majestic. . . but not very            pretty.  This canyon is much smaller and compact but radiates with a heaven inspired color palette.

            

         

              

                  The canyon walls are a menagerie of earthy colors:  copper, terra cotta, yellow ochre, and beige.
They'd make a beautiful palette of colors for a home makeover.

    

           

This patch of ice on the canyon wall is a big as a football field and 50 feet deep. 

   

              

 The water is pure emerald green.

1200 - 1500 feet down to the river.

    God, You are an Amazing Artist.