Moving Right Along

Moving right along with the September chimney project.

I found some thinner than regular brick pavers.... only one and a half inch thick.... to rebrick the chimney area in the kitchen. I flipped them so that the 4 inch side is visible and am stuffing cement mix behind them to adhere them to the chimney and plaster in order to keep the weight of all the bricks off the floor.

The cement mix behind the bricks also helps even up the whole surface behind the bricks... since some of the plaster came off the original chimney easily... and some... did not want to come off at all.

All in all it's working out well and will look rather cool when I am finished. Heading to The Beast tomorrow to work on some more rows. I am on row 18 and need to complete 30 to get to the ceiling.

Just in Case

Just in case I do not win the Worst Kitchen in America contest with the DIY network.... I began trying to accomplish some things in the kitchen.

Lowe's Home Improvement sells the handiest 10 pound bags of mortar and concrete mix. They are easy to tote around and you just add a bit of water and 'viola'.

I used concrete to fill in the hole that was in the chimney. (Prevents the chimney swifts from flying back into the house.) The hole had been cut out to accomodate the exhaust pipe from the Franklin fireplace some previous owners had placed in the kitchen. I also used some concrete and mortar to shore up the bricks at the bottom chimney area.

Filling in the hole, which was the size of a soccer ball, was a slow process because I had to allow inch layers of cement to harden..... then return to build another layer. Successfully finished so mark that off the 'list o' things to do'.

My initial plan was to use a layer of brick around the outside of the chimney and have exposed brick in the kitchen, however I have decided that will add too much weight. I am leaning toward covering the chimney with some ceramic tile.... maybe some Mexican red or brown tile. I'm going to take a trip to the Habitat for Humanity Rehab resale store and see if they might have 60 square feet of some acceptable tile.

Desperate Landscapes

OK... so my yard was NOT chosen for the most desperate landscape in America and no one is coming from the DYI network to help me out. It was all up to me. Thus, I had 20 tons of driveway rock delivered to The Beast to spruce things up.

I realize I haven't "blogged" for a couple of months...so sue me. It has been TOO hot here in the midwest to do much work... much less kick rocks around on the driveway.

There is some hope, though, for I finally moved around all the piles of rocks and have the whole back area covered in about 2 inches of lovely rocks. The little turnout behind the house looks quite nice. I need another 10 tons tailgated down the narrow part of the driveway on the side of the house to the street and this job will be called completed.

Thank the Lord for some 80 degree days finally so something could get accomplished without fear of falling over from a heat stroke.

Thus, with a rake, a shovel and my salmon colored bucket I moved around my rock piles. I actually have a wheelbarrow, however the tire (which I thought was repaired) decided to once again be flat as a pancake, and was no help.

You can work wonders with a bucket.

OH... and FYI those rose of sharon bushes attract mega huge bumblebees.

More Wallpaper

I have finished peeling three layers of old wallpaper off the entryway wall by the front door and 1st landing. Looking up the stairwell the wallpaper job appeared insurmountable however, by attaching two paint poles together and taping a paint scraper to the end, I was able to pull down parts of the wallpaper wayyyyyy up high in the stairwell. I believe the summer heat is helping in the scraping down of the wallpaper in the stairwell. If I can get it all down I think I will be able to get my paint roller up there and resurface that area without need of ladders or scaffold.

OK....so May's Goal Was Not Quite Met

OK... so all the walls in the three 'target' rooms are not quite finished... and it IS June, however, progress is coming along very nicely.

I had wall 'issues' in three significant spots. One spot was located in the living room to the left of this large archway at the very top of the wall in the corner. I discovered why the plaster was cracked and jutting out and kind of pooching out. It seems that one of the house's chimneys is behind this wall area and there are metal flues in the wall. Evidently there were wood burning stoves at one time, which were removed when the radiant heat was installed, and the flues were filled in with plaster and covered. Evidently, over time, the plaster has become loose and cracked in these areas in each room, thus the poochy areas.

So, I took a board and placed it over the plaster that was pooching out, gave the board a couple of whacks with the hammer to push the plaster back into place, and used some patching plaster to fill in the spaces and cracks and cement it all back safe and sound. It is now pretty even and straight and sturdy. I have one more spot to take care of in the library .... another flue issue .... and the walls will be AOK.

Wall Progress

Happily, the damask wall papers are all gone. I am offering the 'before' picture of the dining room and living room archway so that we can all better appreciate the 'after' picture of the cleaned and resurfaced plaster walls. The walls are coming along nicely and it is my goal to be finished with living room, dining room and library walls by the end of May. Keep your fingers crossed.

Ghosts in the Attic

So, last Thursday I run out to 'The Beast' and take the rest of the books from the hospital book sale and my buckets of joint compound for my walls. I've got the intentions of spending the night and doing some serious work. While I'm unloading my truck I think I hear noises upstairs but I dismiss this because I am moving boxes and I figure it was my imagination. Later, while I'm working on the walls, I hear noises again. So, doing the dumb "scarey B movie move", I slowly walk up the stairs and take my Dollar Store broom with me for protection. This is probably the part in the movie where the person investigating the creepy noise gets their head chopped off however, luckily (this time) my only discovery is a little bird. The little bird eludes me all day on Thursday. It took me several tries throughout the following day to catch the bird and send him back out a window.

On Friday, while working, I hear noises in the kitchen. I find either another bird, or the same exact bird. Evidently the little guy/gal has come down the chimney and entered the house through the hole in the chimney left by the removal of that gas/wood burning Franklin fireplace my bro-in-law yanked out for me. So, I open the back door and get the little bird back outside.

I covered up the hole in the chimney to prevent re-entry.

Since I was unfamiliar with the bird I looked them up on line when I got home and discovered they were chimney swifts. These little birds are federally protected and I guess on an endangered watch list due to them losing their chimney homes because of modern building progress. They are cute little birds and quite interesting so now I can't possibly but a cover on the chimney. I will have to allow them access in the spring/summer and just consider them "Friends of The Beast." You can read about chimney swifts here http://www.chimneyswifts.org/. If a bird has a website you have to respect it.

Lawnmower Day

I'm not real crazy about yardwork. My son cuts grass at the family home which ranks him high in the greatest son in the world contest. However, at 'The Beast'...it appears to be all up to me. So, I wrangled the lawnmower into the truck and trekked over to cut the yard today. It was the first cut of the season and overdue. The grass in the back yard was about two feet tall so it actually took me two and a half hours to get the yard in decent shape so the neighbors don't drum me out of the town. Rain over the past two days probably encouraged the grass to grow extra tall. I guess I should be thankful the front yard is full of trees and there is not much grass, but the back yard sure makes up for it. Anyway...its done for a week or so.....

Wall-ee World

I've been working on the walls in the dining room and library, and removing the layers of paint from the woodwork. The walls are turning out nicely.

There is an area of cracked plaster in the right upper corner of the doorway, which I will have to either reattach to the wood or, yank out and replaster the area. The area is only about a foot square so I shall ponder the repair for awhile. I have plenty more walls to work on before having to tackle the corner. Besides, I need the scaffold assembled in the library at the end of May for the ceiling repairs and can fix the corner when the scaffold is available in the room.


Most of the books for the library have been moved to 'The Beast'. My sister helped me lug boxes, and boxes, and boxes of 2,000 books. It took us two days. We even hauled a lot of them upstairs and put several boxes in each bedroom. I have decided to have bookcases in each room.

Ohhhhhh....BIG BOOK SALE at the Memorial Hospital annual book fair in Belleville, IL this weekend. My sister is coming for the book sale and we are going on Saturday when you can fill a paper bag full of books for $2. They supply the bags. I am printing out my revised book list and we will prepare to add to the collection on Saturday.

Last time my sister was here she carted home the collection of Janet Evanovich books (Stephanie Plum...bounty hunter series) to make sure she has read them all, and my brother in law is now reading them, too. He decided he liked them. He used to just read westerns, however my sister is easing him into some other types of fiction. I sent him my James Burke books, which I though he would like because some are set in Wyoming and the characters are pretty rough and tough.

Don't whisper a word to my nephew, but he is visiting at the end of May for his son's high school graduation, and when he is here I am going to kidnap him to 'The Beast' and have him move the refrigerator from the upstairs 'kitchen'.....to the actual kitchen downstairs. I am also going to have him haul the stove down from the 2nd floor and stick it in the alley with a 'FREE' sign on it.... and hope someone needs it. My sister is in on this plan and she is bringing the dolley for the move.

The upstairs kitchen is going to be made into a bedroom again and the appliances and kitchen paraphrenalia has to go.

Cleaning Up

It's time to get serious. Spring has arrived and the weather is gorgeous. I spent last night at The Beast and it was very comfortable even though I used the electric blanket for sleeping. I got to The Beast later in the afternoon on Saturday....around 2 p.m. I spent about 4 hours in the back yard burning sticks, leaves and tree leftovers from previous tenants and owners. The city allows for yard waste burning on the weekends so I had to take advantage. I eliminated about a third of the pile. Some of the pile turned out to be a mulchy mixture of rotten leaves and dirt so I moved that back along the stone wall and around the redbud tree. It's going to take another couple of Saturday burnings to get rid of the whole pile but all I have is time.

Later in the evening, after changing into my pjs (because I smelled like yucky smoke), I started cleaning the dining room and library walls, patching holes and slight cracks... and resurfacing. It is coming along quite well and The Beast feels so good now that the walls are beginning to look fresh and clean.



Here are some before/after pictures. I used my camera in my Eris Droid phone for the photos to experiment and gauge the quality of the images. I think they turned out quite well.

The walls are turning out nicely. I found a "tip" on some lady's DIY blog about fixing the hairline fractures in old school plaster walls and thus far her advice is working out nicely. After patching the nail holes and small chips (and large cracks) with plaster or fill in type goop... the lady suggested resurfacing the plaster walls with a mixture of joint compound and water. She showed a picture of her old walls before and after she had "painted" on the joing compound. It looked really great so I tried it and viola'. You stick a pile of joint compound in your paint pan and mix in water until the compound becomes thinner to a pudding consistency. Then, you just roll it on like paint. It gives you a nice, light texture (depending on the type of roller you use) and the compound oozes into the slight fractures and becomes one with the wall. It covers up the fractures and you have a brand new lovely surface. When working with this substance you MUST make sure the wall is totally clean. If there is any old patching plaster on the wall, the joint compound mixture will roll it off and make an uneven surface. The compound is pretty sticky but it rolls on easily and dries quickly. Depending on what shape the wall is in....you might need more than one coat before primer and paint. I have used two coats on most areas so far. Hopefully, in 6 months all the cracks won't suddenly reappear.... however, the lady I got the tip from was very enthusiastic and her walls looked fabulous.

Some Beauty to the Beast

It's definetly spring and I am back to "The Beast." I spent the day removing layers of paint from the metal frames of the crank out windows in the sunroom. I almost have the one by the porch cleaned up and ready for some new finishing/rustoleum. The color will be white.

When I was leaving for the evening I suddenly noticed that the tree directly in front of "The Beast", and in between the semi-circle walkway, was flowering. It's so pretty. It turns out that I have a magnolia tree in front of house, next to the oak. Thus, the picture of the flower, which I brought home for benefit of a new blogging attitude. I'm spending the night Sunday in order to get more work done.

Oh, I called Rick the Roofer to arrange a window installation for the window I have for the upstairs bathroom and also to consult about the plumbing. I really want some water flowing....without leakage....for the spring. I am waiting to hear from him.

Communication in the Country

OK, I admit I was the LAST person in the universe to get a cell phone and I probably just did it to spite the land line people who jack up their "packages" and rates all the time. I was a faithful 5 fave TMobile customer, however there is NO TMobile coverage at "The Beast". In fact, when I check for TMobile coverage in the town there is a big dark spot right on my block which gave me the impression that it was some black hole of no cyber signals. I really liked my TMobile 5 faves because I don't really talk on the phone, except for my 3 bestest friends and one of those friends takes up two of my 5 fave numbers due to house phone and cell phone. The last of the 5 faves is my daughter's number even though we communicate with email instead of phone....and I just stuck her in the 5 faves so I could fill up that space and not appear lame.

So anyway, I took the plunge and am cancelling my TMobile contract due to the new address and non-coverage. They are politely allowing me to dump them with no penalty because they can't provide service for me when I am at "The Beast" which is fair.

I have switched to Verizon. Evidently the commercials are true and all those people are following me around at "The Beast" because there is super-duper coverage out there in the country. Go figure. Not only did I switch....but I also upgraded to super-duper 3G phone with the Droid Eris. It's all touch screen and internet searching capable and little popular apps all over the place and the little green Android greets me each time I use it.

I just received it today and will go cancel out the TMobile peeps tomorrow. Thus far I am pleased, and will test out my Beast coverage when I go out there on Friday. I shall just call everyone I know to celebrate the ability to do so....out in the almost middle of nowhere of southern Illinois.

Bring on the Spring

I had not been out to "The Beast" since February 6th. It has been SO cold, and waaaayyyy too cold to work in the house. I was waiting for warmth and the spring so that I could be motivated to continue the beautification process.

My sister visited on February 6th and I lured her out to "The Beast" for a few hours of work. El Destructo pulled the seriously old carpet runner off the back staircase and pulled up some leftover carpet strips at the bottom of that staircase by the side door. The thermometer slid up to about 45 degrees so it wasn't too bad working for awhile. We lasted a few hours. We also transported some boxes of books for the library and plopped them in the middle of the living room. I felt it best to begin transporting books so that I don't look too much like one of those people on the A&E "Hoarders" show. The current library book count has reached around 1700, and that's a lot of stacked up books.

My sister and I did take some pictures of the stairs leading to the basement. A friend of mine is going to construct some new steps for me when it warms up and he requested some photos so he could determine what is ahead for him. I hope I have not scared him off with the photos...hahaha.

We must keep a postive outlook.

I did travel out to the house last Saturday on the 27th, and spent some hours cleaning and straightening up. I figured that I was preparing for spring and making mental lists of what to tackle once it does warm up.

Today, March 1st, I decided to spend some time in the 1st bedroom at the front of the house, and at the top of the main staircase. It is the only room that has absolutely NO wallpaper to remove and the plaster is not in bad shape. I began repairing a few nail holes in the plaster and experimented with resurfacing the wall in order to prepare for some paint. I shall take pictures and report on the wall progress later this week. The weatherman insists that we will have 50 degree temps by Thursday. Fingers crossed.

Refurbishing the Cabinets

I did not go to The Beast today, although it was in my plan. It was raining and with the warm temps it was super foggy. I also had to stay home for Pearl who sometimes balks at using the doggy door and taking care of her business outdoors when it is raining.

I have been working on the kitchen cabinet door project. I had previously dismantled all the doors (well my sister did that part) and brought them all home to refinish them this winter while it was too cold to go to The Beast.

Thus, here is a before/after offering of a "cabinet door". The previous "remodelers", whom I have learned were named Kevin and Rosemary Hatfield painted the cabinets with some antique looking brown/black paint and wall papered the insets on the doors and drawers with the plaid wallpaper. At least, I assume it was the Hatfields who perpetrated this because everytime we pull off some ugly paneling or fake brick we find their message and signature regarding when they 'remodeled' that area of the home.

I stripped all the paint off the cabinet doors. At first, my intention was to stain the cabinets, however the cabinets were not built from quality wood... they are made from thick plywood... and did not look fabulous enough with the stain. So, I changed tactics and decided to paint them white. I feel the white will brighten up the kitchen. I was looking all over the internet for tin punch tools and tin blanks in order to fashion the tin inserts for the doors to make them look like the old fashioned pie safes. However, I could not find any blanks the length I needed, which is 37 inches. OK, time for a field trip to Lowe's.

I bought a small roll of 14 inch wide roof flashing, which is aluminum, and cut a piece for the inset of the cabinet door. I made heart patterns for the tin piercing and that was pretty easy to accomplish.... but a bit noisy. I spray painted the tin with a dark brown/gold hammered rustoleum and after that coat of paint dried I sprayed on a copper rustoleum. The result was the crackly looking copper shade and I was very pleased with the finished product.

I think it looks a lot better than the Hatfield's wallpaper.

Wallpaper Shenanigans

The weather has improved and the temperatures have been in the upper 40's and 50's. So...back to 'The Beast'. I am happy to report that I received a Lowe's giftcard for Christmas and used it to assist in the purchase of a dandy, fine 8 ft. ladder, which I badly wanted and needed. The ladder assisted in reaching to the top of the 10 ft. walls and scraping off the final portions of the

U-G-L-Y wallpaper in the library. (That was last week.)

Now, I am working on getting the rest of the wallpaper off of the living room/parlor/entry way walls. The picture shows the H-I-D-E-O-U-S wallpaper which "The Beast" has had to endure for so many years.

I originally took this picture when I first viewed the house and before my purchase. All of this wallpaper is gone now, and only a bit remains at the top of the walls. I shall finish removing what is left....on Thursday of this week.