Life at the Chumney House

I know, I know. I haven’t blogged in weeks. Sorry to all my fans. It’s like this pregnancy has caused some kind of brain disfunction that allows me to balance only a few thoughts at one time (pregnancy brain?). Once I fell behind I haven’t been as motivated to keep up with frequent posting. We just got done with two auctions two weekends in a row, though, so I feel like there’s some new space available for updating you on our status.

Here’s a rundown of our recent activity:

Back when it used to get dark early, we took down the old dry-rotted curtains in the dining room and the ballroom. Now you can see the intricate woodwork on the frames in the ballroom and the things feel less drab (although a little bare). I’m happier with a blank canvas than one left by someone else or a temporary solution, so Sal’s taking the old curtains down made me very happy. Now I get to stare at the windows and imagine the new floor-to-ceiling curtains I’ll make (or have made) once we finalize paint decisions, remove wallpaper, etc.

We also had Mr. Moon’s crew at Dominion Window Company come and install the new storm windows and are pleased with the way they look. I need to take a picture and post all the details but if you want a mental visual right now just imagine an almost invisible storm window that is flush with the exterior frame. This has made a huge difference in the heat and cold loss we were dealing with while the old storms were gone and we “went bare” for months. Plus, there’s been a much desired decrease in the number of bugs (including wasps!) that get into the house.

We’ve made a few purchases as well. Hopefully I’ll post some pictures of our new sofas, rug, refrigerator, range, washer, and dryer soon. These additions help me function on a daily basis. It didn’t really feel like home until I was able to lounge on a comfy couch, wash clothes without lugging them somewhere (we are leaving the old washer and dryer at the Midlothian house for renters) and store more than a minifridge’s worth of groceries (which for some reason was stuffed with jumbo-sized condiment containers so I had plenty of ketchup but no room for eggs).

As for remodeling work, there’s a bit of frustration in getting things going. Seriously, we’ve had little luck with follow-through from contractors. A roofer will come out to look at the leak in the add-on (we’d like to address it before we have work scheduled for the bath, entry, and laundry room makeover) and then never call us again or mail us a quote. We’d love to use someone local but we don’t want to beg people to work for us. For now, we still live with an ice chest in the downstairs bathroom that we open when it rains. It doubles as a seat for me when Nora’s in the bathtub.

I have high hopes for having some things done before my July 12 due date but, realistically, none of it could happen. My urge to decorate is undeniable but must be somewhat refrained until other projects have been completed. I hope to tackle some smaller tasks (little decorative things I don’t need to rely on a contractor to begin, such as making some toy storage ottomans/kid seats out of galvanized buckets for under our  coffee table and throw pillows for the sofas).

In the coming weeks we’ll move our furniture in and I know I’ll get some satisfaction out of figuring out where things should go. I will TRY to keep you posted.

Please ignore the gas-guselling utility vehicle we occasionally crank up for hauling stuff around. Instead, shift your focus to the ladder we bought and mounted on top of it. We figured with a really tall house we’ll need a really tall ladder.

The first job this bad boy will have is to assist in some storm window installation pre-work. At first we assumed we’d just keep the existing storm windows and replace only those that either A) were in rough shape or B) did not align with the regular windows. Those on the second story were giving us little spasms when we looked at them. Scroll up to the banner and look closely at the second floor windows. See how they have a double horizontal line across their centers? This is a no-no for houses on the National Register of Historic Places.

We thought we’d just order more Lowe’s storm windows but the cost of doing so was pretty close to having custom ones made. So, we chose to go custom. We’ve been living without storm windows since the house was painted in late fall (the painters took them down and we requested they leave them off since new ones will go up).

We’ve contracted to have Dominion Window Company install Velv-a-Lume storm windows. Since no two windows on the house are exactly the same in size, Thomas Moon, pictured below, came out to measure each one before he orders the storm windows. Unfortunately, in order to make some of the standard-size big-box custom windows fit, some spacers (think thin strips of wood) were added. Shame we didn’t know about them before we had the house painted. Sal is slowly working his way around the house prying off the wood, sanding, and painting. We’ll keep you posted as work progresses.

Now that I’m feeling better (I’m 18 weeks pregnant and still a bit ill at times), I’m going to try to blog more frequently. I’ve really missed it and I hope you have too. Anyway, in the next few posts I’ll share some of the small changes we’ve been making around the house (which is nice and comfortable now thanks to Sal keeping wood loaded in our Hardy furnace).

Speaking of nice warm heat flowing into the house, I’ll start this week off by introducing you to our new floor registers. Here’s what they used to look like:

Kinda crusty, right?

Sal did some research and concluded that we needed something more substantial to keep children from being able to pick them up too easily and something with a nice finish that’s less likely to get nasty over a few years. Here’s what he found:

This one photographed a tad lighter than how it looks in natural light. He opted for a standard design of solid brass with an oil-rubbed bronze finish. These things are seriously heavy. Nora won’t be picking them up until she joins the ladies weight-lifting team in high school.

Here’s the package insert they came with in case you’re interested in specs. We ordered them from SignatureHardware.com.

So… I’ve been a bit MIA in recent weeks months. My leave of absence pretty much lines up with the sixth week of this pregnancy. Yep, that’s right. Baby number two has been cooking for a while — three months, in fact — and the hormone-induced nausea has been pretty extreme. Seriously, I consider it a successful day if I don’t, you know, lose my breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Until recently, I haven’t had too many successful days.

We are over-the-moon excited about our growing family and looking forward to his/her arrival in mid-July. Look for more blog entries as I regain my ability to digest entire meals.

Thanks to all of you that followed our adventures in 2011. 2012 promises to be an exciting year with lots to report regarding the Chumney House. We are very pleased to report that the repair and re-paint of the exterior has been completed so our beautiful old house will enter into the new year with a new look. Now its time to gear up for the interior re-paint! Hope you and yours have a happy holidays and a prosperous 2012. Enjoy the after pics of our most recent restoration project.