Hilltop Gothic

Renovating/restoring my c. 1875 vernacular Gothic Revival workingman's cottage located in a neighborhood of mostly late-19th-century homes on a narrow, steep, little street.

The Last Little Bit

Authors:

I finished  removing shingles, aluminum trim and nails on the west side.  Below are shots of the kinds of things that are underneath.  I think it's some kind of insect nesting material.
 Can you see the shutter ghosts below?  That's the kitchen window through the forsythia.  The lower window is in the walk-out...

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Back to the Ladder Ballet

Authors:

I am desperately trying to finish painting once and for all this year.  I'm just about finished priming the east side (about nine hours so far).  I had removed shingles and nails from this side last year.


 It's difficult working here, which doesn't really translate to these pictures.  There are steps down a fairly steep...

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9/11 - Always Remember

Authors:

Below is an excerpt from my other bog from last year:
I hope people always remember and understand this vicious act of war and the loss of 2819 innocent lives.
Here are the stats:
9/11 by the Numbers
Death, destruction, charity, salvation, war, money, real estate, spouses, babies, and other September 11 statistics.
The initial numbers are...

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Banish the Blue!

Authors:

Yes, it's finally gone!  It was hard to look at that blue.  I had seen it in Better Homes and Gardens on a little Victorian cottage and it was so beautiful.  So I had my paint man match the color.  He said "You want to go that bright?"  Oh, yes, Booma, I sure do.  Well . . . it looked good in the spring, and...

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Yay, Sarah's New House!

Authors:

It looks like Sarah finally has a new house to renovate.  It's on at 2 p.m. today on HGTV.  I'm not sure why they refuse to promote this show.  It's their only show, besides Property Brothers.
...

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Susan Branch's Luscious Peach Pie

Authors:

I had my family over Sunday for dinner and baked this pie.  I always use Martha Stewart's pate brisee recipe for the crust, which is buttery and flaky.  (I use the recipe in her Pies and Tarts book, which adds a teaspoon of sugar as optional.)  It's so easy when you use a food processor.  Here's Susan's recipe:

(I think...

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Sewing a Table Runner from Vintage Handkerchiefs

Authors:

I've had beautiful handkerchiefs from my maternal grandmother for years.  I'd planned on sewing them onto pillows but found this project.  I haven't sewn since the eighth grade.  I'm just overwhelmed at the thought because I can never get the machine to work.  So with help from my mother the seamstress here it is:

&...

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Garden Gone to Seed, the Movie

Authors:

Have you ever felt like you've bitten off more than you could chew, garden-wise? My back garden looks like it's gone to see, literally. Of course, this spring was a washout due to my injury .  I accidentally hit "movie" on my camera instead of taking pictures so here it is, my first video blog.  Ignore the part where I...

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This Garden's Grown!

Authors:

Just some gratuitous garden shots.  I was just comparing this year's pictures to last year's.  Now I can't see the path in the middle.





I'm thrilled that these hydrangeas have stayed blue, not lavender like the ones out back.






 








 

This year I've had a spiderwort, goldenrod and white phlox show up.  Also the butterfly...

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Update on Cottage Living

Authors:

I got a tip from An Urban Cottage that Cottage Living have been coming out with special issues each year.  So of course I had to check it out at my local Waldenbooks.  I bought an issue entitled "Fresh Ideas, Comfort, Simplicity, Style."  It's a re-compilation of previous issues.  I don't have all the issues so...

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