94. Oven Ordeal

January 22, 2014September 1, 2015 / Apple Hill Cottage / 4 Comments

Somewhere about last April, I boldly pronounced that the next big project would be to move the kitchen stoves around. Yes, well…
It is January. I’m aware of that. One thing I’ve discovered while writing this blog: even though I write about what is going to happen, that doesn’t mean I have control.(In more ways than one…) I always have big plans in my head! Sometimes Mr. H.C. refuses to listen to those plans; sometimes bigger events happen that always serve to remind me who Is in control.

I’m certain that I whined a lot about the stoves. I had many good reasons to whine:

Under construction…

The Apple Hill stove was still in the living room, while all other utensils, food, pans, etc. were in the bright, pretty new kitchen.
The stove in the cottage was Clara’s ELECTRIC stove, and I know that people will disagree with me about this, but I HATE ELECTRIC stoves because they always burn everything.

We also had to relocate Henry the cat’s food and water; nothing like having to search for your dinner bowl…

There was a large hole in the kitchen where the stove was to go, and it ruined all my photos of the kitchen.
My wonderful gas convection oven, which has never burned anything in its life, was sitting up in the city house cold, unused, and alone.

Switching stoves was definitely an ordeal, but we managed to get them both moved last weekend without dropping either stove on anyone’s foot, without either stove sliding off the dolly, and without anyone hurting his back. And we are filled with relief that we don’t have to switch refrigerators!

Safely inside, still strapped to the dolly. If you look closely, you can tell that it’s not gonna fit…

The thing about this beautiful black range is that it just isn’t regular. It borders on being a built-in, and even though it has the same dimensions as most stoves, there are just a lot of quirks. It was 5/8 of an inch off, and something had to give. It was either cut the soapstone countertop or cut the cabinet or cut the wall. The wall won — the cabinet is now recessed 5/8 of an inch into the wall.

The dry wall was cut out, and the stud at the corner was notched to enable the cabinet to slide back 5/8 of an inch.

Once that side was done we pushed the stove in place, but it wouldn’t go far enough to the back wall. Turns out, the gas hookup had to be lowered. Twice. The floor even had to be cut out around the pipe to get it low enough for the back of the stove.

See the flooring cut out?

I’m blessed to have an even-tempered, patient husband who did not once throw a tool or utter any curses (at least out loud). All told, it took nine and a half hours — we unloaded the stove from the truck at 10 AM and Mr. H.C. turned on the gas around 7:30 PM. (Yes, the pizza delivery guy knows where we live.)

Henry in a prison of his own choosing…

Henry the cat, however, was not even-tempered. The noise of various saws and drills and air compressors drove him to the basement where he sulked all day, hidden behind some boards. This was so unlike our usual placid kitty, we actually thought he had suffered a kitty stroke. It’s not as if he’s never heard power tools before… Mr. H.C. finally took down a box and a blankie and set it near the heater vent. He curled in, and we shut the door to keep out the noise.

It’s a good thing he’s skinny. I had to slide over a ladder and he stepped out on to the ladder rungs to get out.

To busy myself while all this was going on, I cleaned the stove! And I have another gorgeous tip for all you people out there who love organic cleaners. I love to clean with vinegar and baking soda, but I don’t love the smell. (Drum roll, please…)

Orange Vinegar!

Put your orange peels in plain old white vinegar and let it sit on your counter for a few days. It smells so wonderful, you can hardly tell it’s vinegar! Well, okay, not quite. But it sure beats the smell of the plain stuff. It smelled so good, I’m going to use some of the next batch for cole slaw dressing. And I’m also going to try it in Olive Oil. Have any of you ever been to a Vom Fass store? Delicious Vinegars and oils in pretty little bottles and very pricey! Yep, I’m makin’ my own Extra Fancy Orange Vinegar!

Back to cleaning the stove — the baking soda and orange vinegar did a perfectly serviceable job of cleaning the top. I had actually cleaned the oven about a month ago in anticipation of moving it, so all I did with the oven was give it a wipe down; but the baking soda and orange vinegar fizzed off the caked-on brown stuff on the glass of the oven door, too. It is so clean, it reflects the floor!

It didn't take long for it to collect pans, teapots, and a utensil jar...

It didn’t take long for it to collect pans, teapots, a utensil jar, and a pretty new towel…

And here’s another shot from a different angle:

Yes, I cleaned the counters just for this picture.

Yes, I cleaned and oiled the countertops just for this picture.

Our first meal was baked salmon. And next week I’m baking this Coconut Lemon cake from Foodie with Family for someone’s birthday…I think he deserves it!

86. Demolishing the strongholds

November 2, 2013September 1, 2015 / Apple Hill Cottage / 11 Comments

We strapped on our armor this past week. We were doing battle.

safety glasses and masks

Against the creatures who have lived and died in our walls.

What is living in the walls of your house? The better question might be phrased What is dead in the walls of your house?

It isn’t pretty, and it isn’t picture-worthy. What? You say, you don’t really want to see pictures of Dead mice, Old nests, Dead ladybugs, Old hickory nut shells, Scat, and Spiders? Throw in dirty insulation, rusty nails, and forty-year old newspapers that have been stapled to the walls? And dust, lots and lots of plaster dust…

Lesson learned: If your house is neglected, unwanted creatures will move in to dwell with you.

I actually wished that the newspapers were in better shape — I love looking at old newspaper ads and reading articles from the seventies would be fun. But the newspapers were of the sort that couldn’t be touched without gloves — heavy duty work gloves, that is.

This newspaper is dated March 14, 1974.

I have stopped dithering about what is to be done next and decided to just go with what is. Or what will be? Everything we do to this old cottage is an improvement; so does it matter if one project isn’t quite finished before we start the next? Or, more accurately, does it matter how many rooms are torn up in the effort to finish them all?

Lesson learned: Demolition of walls is only fun once it is done.

The view from the living room through the holes. The mudroom has already been gutted; the living room is on its way….

The holes in the mudroom lead into the living room. An air conditioner was once there; a log box for storage and easy access for fireplace logs was once there too. Now they are just gaping holes that have to be repaired. Wiring is another issue. The wiring in the living room is just hodge-podged up there and has to be fixed. The electric panel is in the mudroom, and right now with those holes between the two rooms, it is a perfect time to rewire the living room too.

When we bought the window for the mudroom a few weeks ago, we also ordered a new series of windows for the living room. (Can’t pass up a sale on Anderson windows!) In order to take out the large window in the living room to replace it, we had to take off the current trim and a bit of the old paneling. Once we had some of the paneling off, there was a terrible stench. We have had bad smells at this place pretty often; we have torn up carpet, peeled off wallpaper, and scrubbed walls to get rid of smells. This one was very bad, so we had to keep tearing out to find the root of the evil, er…the smell.
Living room wall demolition

We are now down to bare studs on the living room wall. (We were hoping this wasn’t the plan…) But three dead mice later, the smell is gone. So now insulation is a necessity too.

Lesson learned: Every part of a house is interconnected.

We thought we would be doing this cottage one room at a time. It’s easier to manage that way; it’s easier to think about one room at a time. But the inter-connectedness of the wiring, walls, roofline, ceilings — all makes that impossible to do. And I’m okay with that — finally.

My post on the finishing of the kitchen that is ready to be published? It will just have to wait. And that’s okay too. After all, the whole house has to be finished for us to get featured on This Old House anyway. 😀

Lovely expensive sheers (K-mart special) hanging next to bare stud walls and insulation. Is this like leather and lace?

There are many lessons in this post, but these three should be repeated:

If you neglect your house, unwanted creatures will move in to dwell with you.
Your house is interconnected; it can’t be dealt with one room at a time.
Demolish the strongholds of ugly stuff today; the longer you wait, the bigger the job.

76. ReHabitat-ing the Yellow Bedroom, Part 3

July 28, 2013September 1, 2015 / Apple Hill Cottage / 22 Comments

The yellow bedroom is yellow no more. Even the closet has not a vestige of yellow left! We are mulling over a new name — just “the bedroom” doesn’t adequately cover its transformation. The change has been slow. I’ve been working on it by myself when unskilled labor is not needed in the kitchen. Taping and priming and painting the woodwork, patching the walls, taking off doors, priming and painting the closet, sanding and painting doors… It all sounds impressive, but it wasn’t. It was tedious, hard-on-the-poor-old-knees-and-back work. Mr. H.C. stopped work in the kitchen long enough to help me do the actual painting of the ceiling and the walls. There are still some minor embellishments to be added — I’m working on the bedskirt, the bed will be getting some fancier pillows, and there are still pictures to hang on the walls — but it sure looks amazing to us! Come in for a peek —

What I really like about this room is that mostly we’ve used antiques and family collectibles that we already owned. The dresser, the metal shelf and the quilt belonged to Clara, Mr. H.C’s mom who slept in this bedroom long before we did; the nightstand belonged to Mr. H.C. when he was a little boy and still known as Mikey; the cedar chest was made by Pa — my grandfather who first built the cottage; Dad made the little wooden lamp, and the mirror and the bookstand under it came from him as well; my mom painted the birds. And Diane and Emily, my sister and niece gave us the footprint for the colors, the design, and ideas on how to use the furniture.

New closet doors

That’s Clara’s appliqued quilt on the cedar chest. She told us it was probably the most valuable thing she owned. We’ve found the date on it, but it is embroidered in white on white and it’s hard to read — 1882 or 1932 — we just aren’t sure. Clara gave me a whole bag of vintage linens before she died, because she knew I love them; the two pillowcases on the bed and the lacy cloth hanging on the shelf are part of her collection. Sanding old doors The closet doors were old fashioned paneled doors that Mr. H.C. found at Construction Junction for $30 each; we were delighted to get rid of the boring sliding doors that didn’t slide. The new/old doors were in my sanding shop for several days (five coats of paint and shellac as the bottom layer!) and then primed. Mr. H.C. hung them, and unlike usual, we painted them after they were hung. The handles were left over from our kitchen cabinets. If you are reading about this bedroom for the first time, its transformation was planned by the online decorating company, ReHabitat Design and you can read about the stages in posts 37 and 43.
Bedroom Remodel

Pa — my grandfather who built the cottage originally — made the cedar chest as a Christmas present for my grandmother in 1924 — he even put a plaque on it. Before we brought the chest down from our city house, we were skeptical whether it would fit. After we put it at the foot of the bed, Mr. H.C. said, “This actually makes the room seem bigger, dont’cha think?” Yes, I do.

The headboard is made from an old door that Mr. H.C. scored (also from Construction Junction) for fifteen dollars. He cut it off at five feet to fit our queen-sized bed, and I sanded it. The inspiration for this is from the website Hometalk: I really liked the look of the door on this website, but doors have different personalities after sanding, and I had to respect what it was. I fooled around with paint and glaze and came up with this. It isn’t exactly what I had envisioned, but I was trying to be open about this project, and we both like how it came out.

The oak shelf on the top was taken right off the wall in the living room where it once was Clara and Joe’s mantle. It fit perfectly on the headboard; I think they would be pleased. And my mom painted the birds that sit on the shelf. They used to be in the bathroom in the house where I grew up; I love them on this headboard shelf.

Closet doors are painted Sherwin Williams Steamed Milk, semi-gloss.

This mirror and little bookshelf/table under it came from my dad; he also made the small wooden lamp on the dresser.

Sister Diane made the hand-crocheted afghan that’s on the bed for my mom many years ago. I bet she wants it back now. :-) And the pretty little carved basket on the headboard shelf was a Christmas present from sister-in-law, Rita.
headboard made from old door

These new finials dress up Clara’s old curtain rod, which I spray painted eons ago. The finials were new from Bed Bath and Beyond and they didn’t fit the old rod. But Mr. H.C. cut a piece of wood to fit in the rod and added a couple of screws — Voila! I think he can fix anything… And just in case you forgot what the room used to look like…

yellow bedroom
Factoids: The wicker lampshade, the duvet cover and shams, and the curtains are from Pottery Barn. The two other lampshades are from Target. The curtain rod finials are from Bed, Bath, and Beyond, but don’t count on them fitting any other curtain rod except the ones that are sold with them! The rug on the floor was from Rug Depot a few years ago, but it is still a great place to buy rugs and runners. And the little art on the left of the headboard is from a great little Etsy shop, McWissenville. The walls and ceiling are painted with Benjamin Moore Winter Wheat (232) matte; the trim and closet doors are painted the same shade we used in the kitchen — Sherwin Williams Steamed Milk (7554) semi-gloss. The paint and glaze for the headboard came from Sherwin Williams as well; the color is Brandywine.