August First Week

There are quite a few photos in this week’s update as we have progress on the garage and a few other projects (a couple of which were unexpected).

Garage Addition

This continues to be the major activity here at 702. This week the siding arrived and was installed, as was the back door, and the roofing was completed.

Pam and I painted some of the new siding before it was put up. This way I will not have to paint the high east end gable from ladders or hire a lift to get into that peak.

We painted more than is shown in the above photo; I did not want to run short.

Pam also helped clean up some molding corner pieces, as these are no longer manufactured and Bob the Builder wanted to re-use them. (They had been taken off the original garage when construction began.)

Siding installation moved right along on the east wall but was a bit slower on the north and alley sides, as there is more detail to fit the siding around. Here is a shot of the east wall getting siding:

Note the painted siding getting put up in the gable! Below is a shot of the garage as it was as of Friday, August 7th.

Note the addition of the barn ventilator on the roof! There is a story behind that.

Many barns in the area sport ventilators of some type and we have seen them used as yard art. We had agreed it would be kind of cool to have one on the garage addition, but the ones we had seen at antique stores were very large and expensive.

I was out on a rare Sunday motorcycle ride and traveled past another antique store and there it was, sitting outside.

I took a few photos and showed them to Pam when I arrived home. We decided to buy this one, so I went back on Monday, negotiated a better price, and brought the ventilator home.

Pam gave it a new coat of white paint and decided it needed some dark blue detail around the top to set it off a bit.

The builder installed the unit on the roof just before he finished installing the last of the shingles.

The garage is beginning to look quite fine and the ventilator sets it off. Although quite a lot was done on the garage addition, the overhead garage door has not arrived. I hope it comes in this week.

Also MIA so far are the three windows to be installed in the original windowless garage. Another door, a 60-inch wide “pass through,” will get installed this week. This door will go between the old garage and the new addition so I can get between the sections and move stuff around as needed.

New Display Case

Pam had been looking for a display case to show off some of her doll collection, which has been in boxes for months. The same antique store [mentioned previously] had a reasonably priced case that I thought would fit the bill. Another trip and it was home. Here are the photos:

(Remember, you can click on any of these photos to open up a larger version that will reveal more details.)

Elmo The Kitten

Elmo seems to be adapting to home life and the other cats are getting used to him. He must grow an inch each week. So far, Elmo is a pretty laid-back feline.

“Mystery” Flower Identified

Pam identified a bush growing on the NW corner of the house as an older variety of hydrangea. We are delighted with this as Pam had purchased a hydrangea this spring, at one of the Mennonite greenhouses, and she was wondering where to plant it. (It is currently potted.) The two hydrangeas next to each other will be quite attractive – planting problem solved.

The flowers start out white and with almost no aroma, but develop into a pinkish color with a very light and aromatic fragrance.

Transplanting hostas and peonies from their original locations to near the north dog fence has begun. Photos I took of this activity had sun flare in them so I will have to get a couple new shots this week.

Other Projects

A milestone of sorts…all three doors, and their screen doors, now open and close with latches and door knobs. When we moved in none of the doors worked as they should. The screen doors were held closed with eye hooks and the three main doors were held closed with deadbolts, one even during the day so it would not blow open in the wind.

I had worked on the front door some time back and got it opening and closing OK, but did not get to the front screen door until this last week. It received a new latch which makes it easier to actually use.

The main work was on the back and side doors. I removed, repaired, and re-installed the antique lock sets. The side door works well but the back door is still sticking due to, I think, multiple layers of paint that have been applied over the years. I will have to take the door off to work on it a bit more, but it does open and close when you turn the knob. We do not have keys for any of the antique lock sets; added-on deadbolts remain in place for security but these repairs make it much easier to get in and out of the house. Just part of the joys of fixing up an old Victorian…

So, as usual, it was a week full of projects, a few surprises, and a few more items checked off the “to do” list. (To-Do lists never get shorter; new projects get added as soon as some are marked off.) We are making progress but there’s so much more to get done before the weather starts turning cold.

While cold weather seems a bit far off, I plan to spend a couple of September weeks at The Lot in Colorado, then it will be October and getting cold. In reality, we have about 4 – 5 weeks to finish the projects we had hoped to complete this year. That includes getting started on painting the house, a project that will span years.

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Photo Archive

Pam’s Penny

It’s August already. Wow.

I’ve actually been calling the ventilator a cupola. I think cupola has more class than ventilator.

Anybody else noticing how much earlier we are losing the evening light? Bummer. I’ve been out nightly in the twilight, watering plants and shrubs planted this year. NE Iowa is having a run of no rain (still humid, though).

Happy Trails.