Tell City 1940 Chairs

Close to 20 years ago, I acquired a set of well used dinning chairs, 6 side chairs and two end chairs with arms.  I loved everything about them except the nasty seat covering and the grime and dings in the wood.  Especially did I love the rose carving at the top back.  I did cover the seats with new fabric and scrubbed the grim with a rag loaded with ivory soap.  And every year since then, I have wanted to refinish the wood.  I even went to a local restorer to see what it would cost.  It was something like $150 for a side chair and $200 for an arm chair.  Needless to say I went no farther.

Until now.......

Well worn arms.

Legs were chipped and banged.

With some encouragement from Steve and Mary Lynn, I began undressing the wood, using a gel stripper.  My work station was the patio with lots of ventilation.  It didn't take long to understand the professional's prices, especially when it came to cleaning the carving.    I did the 6 side chairs first (it took almost 2 months) and thought I would save the 2 arm chairs for spring.  But knowing how I function, I knew it was either now or never.  I had come too far.  I must finish it now!

New seat covering

Perfect corners

 An idea of 20 years ago, became a pleasant reality.

School Desks from Eastside School

In 1969 when our parents departed from Wyoming they brought with them these two school desks from Mother's classroom at Eastside.  Our boys used them and then Joleen and Shannon held long school sessions seated there.

Later, Ben used them during grade school.  Then various grandkids thought the desks were just right to conduct their business and the desks moved from house to house.  Maybe that is why they look a little battered.

The desks  just found a new home with these two kids.  The stools were something that Bob created.  They are almost as old as the ownership of the desks.  Lots of kids, both in the classroom and in various family homes, have spent hours at these desks learning to write, draw and coloring with wonderful crayons.  Forgot to mention learning to cut paper into a zillion pieces with scissors

What does Olympia and Atlanta Have in Common Today?

Tonight it is SNOW!  However Joleen arrived this afternoon in behalf of her siblings with these beautiful spring flowers and the most delicious berry mix ice cream!  Thank you kids!  And thank you Joleen for doing the delivery.

Morning After the Storm---And Earthquake

This week has had lots of "weather".  High winds on Monday night caused power outages.  Ours was out for 2 hours. Joleen's was over night.   Ben and JoLin was closer to 20 hours.   Shannon's family slept in the basement because their home is surrounded by trees.   At least we now have fewer corn stalks to cut.

This is the post to the arbor that snapped in the heavy gusts.

The poor arbor was pretty heavily laden with wisteria. 

Hopps cover this oblisek in summer and I like to leave the bare branches during the winter just for the look.  The wind just whisked them all away!

Then Tuesday morning we had the earthquake.  It rattled the dishes in the cupboard.  But by the looks of the red oak leaves with the morning sun shining through, all is peaceful......for the moment.

We had thunder and lightening in the middle of the night last night with rain and hail hitting like a ton of bricks. 

TYPEWRITER REMEMBERED

When our kids were little they would play with their Grandma Petersen's old typewriter.  Robert said it was in his childhood home in Ferron and must be at least 80 years old.  Shannon inherited it and found a company in eastern US who had parts to rebuild it into working order.  After several months, here is the result, complete with 2 tone ribbon. 

Now the next generation loves to play with it.  I tried it and was aghast at how hard the fingers have to touch the keys to get a letter to stroke on the paper.  We have it so easy today.  But it is fun to look at the past and wonder how did they ever make do.

Hot Air

Last Saturday was a real summer day....a scorcher.  Just as the day was beginning to cool a little, I went outside and heard the strange sound of large amounts of air escaping.  I looked up and saw this floating over our house.  Anyone want a ride?

Good-bye White Walls

Happy day, help has arrived.  Ben asked if he would be working in a hostile enviornment. Of course not!

For 43 years this part of the house has been some shade of white.  With only 2 layers of paint, it was well past time for a third.  Thankfully, Ben and Joel came to help us.  The pile of clothes on the kitchen floor tell the story of Joel's attire.  After chasing the dog across the lawn, he was drenched.

The purple hue on the ceiling is that paint that goes on purple and dries white.  It did dry white but was extremely difficult to get even.  Our master painter didn't like it.

Bob and Ben had to walk the plank to get to the high reaches of the stairwell. 

More pictures to come.

Painting the House Stories

As you know, "we" are painting the house this summer. Yes, all 8 sides and all of the additional nooks and crannies. Robert was working on the rise at the breezeway break. That stupid beagle saw him up on the roof to accomplish the task, and sat at the bottom of the ladder whinning and crying to join him. So.....he carried her up the ladder.

She loved exploring the roof, but soon did the usual dog thing...She found a warm spot and took a nap!

A Busy Week

Kid survival.

Bob is back at the house painting job. The garage door side is complete and he has since started the patio area. He is doing a great job!

On July 4th we could find only a small handful of berries that were rip to eat. By Wednesday, I could not keep up even though I picked steadily every day. The temperatures have been rather warm and that didn't help any.

From patch, to box, to refrigerator, to jam.

On Saturday Ben came bringing this HUGE drill bit to go through the brick. Then he fed all of the TV wires through the hole to hide them from view. Very nice!

While his dad was working on the TV, Joel learned how to climb on the tractor. He couldn't quite get the ear muffs on straight. But never fear, to him it was right and he was happy.

On Friday, the dog chased a chipmunk. Finding the back door open, he made his getaway through the kitchen, down the hall and into the back bedroom. The bedroom got dismantled trying to find the critter with the help of an excited Beagle hound. "Chip" made his exit the same way he came in.

In the process of putting the room back together, I did some deep cleaning and came across Joleen and Shannon's pathetic Barbie collection. Broken feet were mended with tape and some were apart at the waist. I decided it was finally time. Taking the shoebox with remanents inside, I deposited it in the garbage. I'm trying to do that separation thing.

The Climbing Tree

When Jacob was 14-15, one of the requirements for a merit badge was to climb so many feet and repel. Bob nailed the steps into this tree and attached a rope at the top. Much to his delight, Jacob climbed it many times. Not wanting to be left out, Alicia and Benjamin also went to the top and swung down. Last year, the tree died. So Bob cut it down this winter/spring?

Got to cut it right so the tree will miss all of the garden raised beds, fences, and electric wires.

Straight as an arrow, it came down. There is only one small apple tree missing. It was sent into the ground by the force of that big fir landing square on it. The fir made a good amount of firewood!

HGTV

Ben and JoLin planned and did a redo of our family room. Previously 2 people could watch tv without getting a crick in your neck.

Now a whole room of people can see the whole thing. Masterpiece Theater anyone? Thank you kids!

The Flag in Winter

The flag at our front porch, was spectacular when crowned with snow last week. The cold back drop of the trees made the colors even more brilliant.
Long may it wave!

The Real Fun Begins

With newly built scaffolding in place, Dad begins the job of painting the house. Because there are so many exterior walls to cover, we have decided to tackle the job one wall at a time. The process is this: do one wall and take a break.....maybe until another nice day. It makes the job not quite so daunting.

This is the third layer of paint in forty years. We studied every yellow and yellow/tan color at Home Depot. We wanted something "yellow, but different". Do you think we found it? Please enlarge the picture to make sure of your vote. With Dad's shoulder surgery one week away, he's hurrying to get done before his work vacation. I get to do the lower levels!

Come on over!

Changes

Remember the native vineleaf maple in our lane to the house? It was always the first to turn colors announcing that the air was changing, summer play was coming to an end and school was calling. Faithfully, that same routine came this year....but perhaps just a little later than usual. We stole the extra days and soaked up the sun.

Fruit of the Harvest

Some 40 years ago, this pear tree was causually planted in the orchard. It was pretty spindley, but each year it would produce a half dozen scabby pears. Some years it got pruned, some it did not. The low yield would often bring threats to cut it down! It was not worth the trouble! I never got to the scabby pears anyway, until after they rotted.

The only thing saving that tree was the beautiful, sweet scented blossoms in the spring.

This year was different. The tree was not pruned, but it bloomed profusely. We hung one of those red sticky apple shapped things in the tree to catch the bugs. The season was just right and the tree set on pears, pears and more pears. Some of them had a little scab, but as you can see from the picture, much of the fruit is beautiful and clear. Yummmmm.

I am sure there is a moral here......Something about hanging in there, even when the tree (?) isn't doing much. We just don't know what good can happen when the circumstances and timing are right.