tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-110657292012-01-07T20:34:16.493-08:00Steve and Jocelyn's urban adventures while renovating a 100-year old Chicago-style 2-flat. Doing the majority of the work themselves on the weekends. We hope to reveal the trials, tribulations, highs and lows of home remodeling and restoration. The sacrifices are significant, but so are the rewards.Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.comBlogger4011100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-30450034661297693172011-10-20T16:40:00.000-07:002011-10-20T16:40:30.713-07:00

 The best laid plans...my last post was...April?? Well, I did think of you my fellow housebloggers. I always do when we do house "work." We like holidays around here. We don't get many trick-or-treaters in our neck of the woods, but I always enjoy seeing macabre or funny Halloween decor as I drive or walk around a neighborhood so...for your viewing pleasure... our spider's lair. I always smile

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-68847645008511369822011-04-28T19:55:00.000-07:002011-04-28T19:55:45.236-07:00

In Spring the Sailboat comes out! So it's Spring in Chicago and we know this how? Because it's raining. And because the grass is turning green--in places. I don't know about the rest of you, but for us, living in a city with dogs and a small backyard, we inevitably turn to lawn repair in the Spring...and Fall, year after year after year. Perhaps there are some among you who have beautiful

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-38486650287120841652011-04-16T08:19:00.000-07:002011-04-16T08:19:13.578-07:00

 Art Institute Staircase March 2011  I took my blog down for a while, mainly due to a haranguing husband, who has some issues with certain information being posted publicly. Does anyone else have this debate in their houseblogging household? I'd love to hear from you. There is no one in the world that can drive me insane more than my beloved spouse, except maybe my co-workers, who I spend

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-20819662849535193722011-04-16T07:11:00.001-07:002011-04-16T07:11:59.705-07:00

I've kept a pretty low profile with my houseblog for a while. I didn't mention it too much to acquaintances or co-workers. Sometimes people from my past would happen upon it and drop me a line, and my family has started to read it a bit more, but otherwise it was mostly strangers reading. Quite a few strangers that have become "blog-friends" I like to say. Then, blogger forced me to upgrade to

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-46506841400023703682011-04-16T07:11:00.000-07:002011-04-16T07:11:41.479-07:00

I've hesitated posting about this because it doesn't fit my image of us. We are seasoned DIYers after all, we know what we are doing and we are perfectionists (at least Steve is, it only takes one anyway). I've singlehandedly refinished over 1000 feet of oak and a dozen doors after all. Steve builds furniture by hand (the hard way/the craftsman way). We don't make mistakes. (cough cough) But

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-57337309812663674512010-08-14T10:35:00.000-07:002010-08-14T10:36:10.814-07:00

We haven't been doing much lately as far as home renovation. This summer is kind of a wash as far as that goes for a few reasons... 1. Budget. We are being much more conservative about spending and borrowing for obvious reasons. I am proud to say that we have paid off all our credit card debt in the middle of a recession. 2. The house is in decent livable shape! Woo hoo! Oh, there's always

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-17532159253222124092010-02-20T19:52:00.000-08:002010-02-20T19:52:43.337-08:00

This was my $35.00 foreclosure sale purchase. It cleaned up pretty well. Basically, a day or so to strip it and then very light sanding followed by some small veneer repairs ala Steve and three coats of blonde shellac. Not bad for the money. And then there's our recent acquistition of this artwork. It's a printed canvas reproduction of a work by Henri Rousseau named "Surprise." We found this

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-75606850327284073792009-11-15T12:14:00.000-08:002009-11-15T12:24:54.782-08:00

Yep, that's me these days, not a fashionista (not that I ever was much of a fashionista)- a budgetista. Coupon clipping is a regular Sunday morning activity. I don't buy anything without first checking online for a coupon. The library is my new best friend and I delete all store emails without opening them. I also bring my own lunch and as a result dropped about 10 pounds. Who knew? But what's

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-88036032701474937092009-09-25T17:57:00.000-07:002009-09-25T17:58:49.957-07:00

I've hesitated posting about this because it doesn't fit my image of us. We are seasoned DIYers after all, we know what we are doing and we are perfectionists (at least Steve is, it only takes one anyway). I've singlehandedly refinished over 1000 feet of oak and a dozen doors after all. Steve builds furniture by hand (the hard way/the craftsman way). We don't make mistakes. (cough cough) But

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-5267737619084986232009-09-12T18:21:00.000-07:002009-09-12T18:21:20.067-07:00

It's that time of year. Time to prepare for another long Chicago winter. What does this mean at Chicago 2-flat? Well, it means painting exposed wood, re-glazing some old windows, patching our hot tar garage roof, touching up our building's rubber roof with a reflective aluminum coating, securing and caulking the clay coping tiles on the parapet (finally!!),  and some minor concrete repairs. It's

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-75730711696138127702009-09-02T17:18:00.000-07:002009-09-02T18:13:08.133-07:00

We are BIG pine tree fans here at the 2-flat. Actually to give credit where its due, I'll admit that Steve is the one who has given me the appreciation I have for evergreens. Take a walk with him sometime around a neighborhood in Chicago and listen. Chances are you will hear him say gazing upon some new condo conversion, "They should have planted some pine trees." Being a native of Michigan, the

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-75715441340469784622009-08-31T17:58:00.000-07:002009-08-31T18:35:05.111-07:00

It's that things are constantly changing. I just realized it's been 4 months since my last post. The time just kind of slipped by me. We are not doing any "major projects" here at the 2-flat and so I seem to have turned my focus elsewhere.Steve & I went to Canada in August and had an amazing trip. As we were climbling mountains in Kananaksis Country ("K-Country"), I found myself thinking how

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-62946569563732670432009-04-19T14:28:00.000-07:002009-04-19T14:59:05.534-07:00

I think I may have mentioned before that finishing a piece of furniture can take as long or longer than the building it. Wood is a natural material and it can be tricky and even unpredictable.Steve did quite a bit of research as he has never worked with bird's eye maple. He did do one shelving piece in maple and that was trickier to finish than white oak, which is what he usually works with.Of

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-72203481012149294812009-04-03T17:55:00.001-07:002009-04-03T18:06:02.621-07:00

I just realized that I went the entire month of March without posting.True we haven't been doing much, but a month? That's just not acceptable.Steve has been working on the table top. He just this week started applying the layers of finish. He has been doing extensive research as he has never worked with Maple before.I have to admit that right now I just don't have the oompf to write up the

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-88903048082501948332009-02-15T11:13:00.000-08:002009-02-15T11:56:09.452-08:00

That's what we'll be doing this year or rather that is what we have planned right now. This doesn't make more exciting blogging, but it will have to suffice for 2009.Of course, we made a list, a rather long list of everything we'd like to do and then we prioritized based on stuctural issues and cost. As it turns out, we have a number of things we can do that will cost next to nothing. Projects

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-1677146666454495162008-12-20T14:06:00.000-08:002008-12-20T14:42:38.162-08:00

I like to decorate for the holidays. Many years our home has not lent itself to this for various reasons. Anywhere from the house was such a mess it seemed a moot point to we were just to darn tired to we had no extra money.Now that our home is done to the degree of being livable and not a source of embarrassment, I get to have some fun. There are ways to do this without spending a fortune or

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-6240956255726342952008-12-02T18:10:00.000-08:002008-12-02T18:35:34.175-08:00

...and of course being the internet addict that I am I am using it constantly. Well, not constantly, but way more than before I had a profile and signed up. :o)And I'm devising the ways this fascinating new-to-me-tool can be used.Of course, faithful houseblogger that I am, I searched for a houseblogger group and there wasn't one. So I made one. And I am the only member right now, so sad.And of

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-61040752359980353232008-11-26T16:15:00.000-08:002008-11-26T16:38:55.092-08:00

I took today off work and went over to my Mom's to play sous chef to my Mom, who is a fantastic cook in my book. She uses simply the best ingredients, fresh, organic and locally sourced produce with an emphasis on vegetables and she also cooks an amazing turkey.We are not a family that serves the same dishes every year. We always have turkey, stuffing, home made cranberry sauce and mashed

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-66632081592619027862008-11-16T20:25:00.000-08:002008-11-18T18:11:23.848-08:00

I don't want to dwell on politics because this is after all, my house blog, but I just wanted to follow up on my earlier post and let you all know that my Mom and me did go to the rally in Grant Park on November 4th! It seems like ages ago already doesn't it?The crowd was very calm going in and there was almost no pushing. I observed not one person smoking, which seemed odd to me since we were

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-69001157420962521252008-11-15T15:20:00.000-08:002008-11-16T12:50:23.337-08:00

This post is a perfect example of how projects can drag on for years, and yes I do mean years!We had our flat roof torn off the summer of 2006 and some faithful readers may recall that at that time we discovered that our parapet wall was very deteriorated. We had to determine how to address that issue. Back story here.We planned to undertake the chimney project ourselves to save money, but

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-56074303999077820822008-11-02T16:43:00.001-08:002008-11-02T17:20:17.219-08:00

I have to admit I've been pretty preoccupied with what has been going on in the world recently. I'm also very excited because I am one of the lucky 65,000 that have a ticket to the Obama rally this Tuesday. I am going to witness history firsthand (I hope).I listen to NPR on my way to work in the morning and hear all the speculation about the future of the economy. I read The Huffington Post every

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-88927089549021490052008-11-02T15:47:00.001-08:002008-11-02T16:10:34.737-08:00

We took a trip to the Chicago Botanical Gardens last weekend. The wind was brisk but it was a beautiful day.I've been pretty busy with shutting down the garden for the season (digging up cannas, mulching, transplanting and tweaking, bulb planting etc...). Steve has been finishing up the chimney cap project which I will be doing a post on very soon.For now, I'll share some more photos from our

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-30015108317178811792008-09-13T18:04:00.001-07:002008-09-13T18:23:58.143-07:00

It's been raining here all day long. I really can't complain though because some people have a hurricaine to deal with.I am a person that is not really afraid of bugs in general. I've been known to smash ants or small moths with my bare hands. Centipedes are a different story. Those, I tend to sick Billie on. Terriers come in handy in this way.But I am in awe of the spider that dwells in our

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-59295023678297971642008-09-03T05:48:00.000-07:002008-09-03T06:10:57.078-07:00

I took advantage of the long weekend and I am about 90% done with our parkway project.Ingredients:2 trips to Buy the Yard to get river rocks400 pounds of rock4 bags hardwood mulch3 bags of soil conditioner1/2 day Saturday1/2 day Sundayone achey elbowHere is the view from the south side. The bed has hostas bordering it, iris, roses, sedum, some alliums, our slowly growing pine tree, and one hardy

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-3095956848819252852008-08-02T18:49:00.000-07:002008-08-02T18:59:15.953-07:00

Last week I noticed my right elbow was hurting, kind of like what one might call a "tennis elbow" only I haven't been playing tennis. I was puzzled over what I had done to injure myself. Plenty of times while working on projects I bruise or cut myself and don't even notice until later on. The adrenaline of working I guess.But usually when I strain something, I know why. Case in point, pulling

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-4570689336220524352008-08-02T18:26:00.000-07:002008-08-02T18:49:28.940-07:00

Today was one of those oh-so-very sweet days of summer. Just an ordinary Saturday for us really. Steve was cutting and installing the trim for the new screen doors and I was putting a second coat of paint on the front iron railing and I washed the windows on the first floor.But this morning when I went out into the yard to have a cup of coffee, the sky was so beautiful and the light so perfect, I

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-34840660224947276142008-07-27T11:35:00.000-07:002008-07-27T12:04:01.965-07:00

Last weekend, Steve & I went in search of a table base for a kitchen table. We've been eating every meal in the dining room for quite some time and while that is so very civilized of us, we longed for more casual meals in our kitchen. Actually what we really long for is not having to carry everything into the dining room for every meal.We headed to a magnificent place called Architectural

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-89533252338401076282008-07-22T17:48:00.000-07:002008-07-22T18:25:14.085-07:00

I'm kidding of course, but our kitchen was featured again in a publication. This time Better Homes & Gardens Do It Yourself magazine.After the Chicago Tribune, The Reader, and now we've gone national, our humble little 2-flat kitchen just feels so proud.Nothing like professional photography to make your house look it's best too.This interview and photo shoot was about a year ago and I had thought

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-47139775834131550632008-07-08T18:24:00.000-07:002008-07-08T18:50:42.741-07:00

We spent last week in Ludington, Michigan visiting Steve's parents. When we go there, we always get in a day of hiking and a short canoe trip.As we walked the trail, the thought came to my mind that we were in "Nature's House". I studied poetry in college and sometimes it comes back to me. Not like it used to. I used to think in poems all the time, but when I got into the business world, that

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-76019763658845589032008-06-27T15:00:00.001-07:002008-06-27T15:04:51.703-07:00

I won't miss those dive bombing moths that fly in my face and make me worry about my wardrobe one bit.One screen door down and one to go. The thing with a 2-flat is you need two of everything. Two chances to get a project right. Two times the fun. haha.Plus we still have to put the trim back and paint it. I'll get to it soon. I'm just moving slower these days as if you can't tell.

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-54726417005180396812008-06-25T05:50:00.001-07:002008-06-25T06:01:53.089-07:00

I'm the first to admit that our patio is not much to look at. But at least we can use it now.Just to give you an idea of what is involved to patch a few areas of a patio like we did, I'm going to give a little summary:Twenty-five bags of concrete were needed for these two areas. One area was about 7' L x 2' W and the other was about 7'L x 7'W.Steve and I made a few trips to Home Depot and Clark

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-91879208025786401372008-05-30T18:23:00.000-07:002008-05-30T18:45:38.534-07:00

For Mother's Day, we went on a little field trip to Oak Park for the Frank Lloyd Wright Studio & Home Tour. We loved it and I recommend it to anyone who admires his work or Prairie Style architecture and design.That's me and my Mom in front of the studio.Afterwards, we went for a walk around the historic district in Oak Park where the museum resides.The landscaping on this home stuck out for me

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-85272623649865078972008-05-30T18:03:00.000-07:002008-05-30T18:23:11.333-07:00

Dear Readers,I must apologize for my lack of posting. More and more it seems, life has a way of taking over and my blogging falls by the wayside. I still think of you, my fellow housebloggers and even when I don't read as often I wonder about your progress --in my quieter moments. The problem is when I don't blog, when I come back to it, I just don't know where to start. Should I post about the

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-88502512481658320052008-04-27T11:52:00.000-07:002008-04-27T12:35:39.366-07:00

Since my last post, in which I took a sledgehammer to our uneven patio with great satisfaction, we have found out some things about our house. This is the risk you take whenever you take the plunge into demolition in an older home (or even newer homes too sometimes). In this case it was nothing dire or shocking, but one of those things that made us readjust our plans slightly.When we excavated

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-33263411481857954942008-04-09T17:37:00.000-07:002008-04-09T18:00:09.091-07:00

I tried it out on Sunday. I must say, I'm better with a sledgehammer than a hammer. Steve is better with tools in general- he has more experience. But I've held my own with a Sawzall. It's always easier to destroy something than create it in the first place.I finally excavated the old concrete slab that we believe at some point was a landing base for back porch stairs. No longer serving that

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-6946845906606644222008-04-06T13:27:00.000-07:002008-04-06T13:36:19.518-07:00

The robins are back, the grass is starting to green up, bulbs are popping and it was 60 degrees here in Chicago this weekend! All of this can mean only one thing to those of us with yards: Yard Work!Time to make a little field trip to my favorite garden center and plant a few pots. This year I decided to go with all pinks. All these annuals are cold tolerant (pansies, carnations, violets, etc...)

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-49115446277081825702008-04-04T18:11:00.000-07:002008-04-04T18:50:24.505-07:00

"I think I'll just stay here and observe from a distance. It's pretty stinky and noisy. Usually stinky and noisy things don't bother me so much, but it's a weeknight and I can't figure out what my humans are doing down there...."-BillieYou know you're into something bad when even Billie doesn't want to come and watch. Billie has grown up with construction and can practically sleep beside you

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-68292832218449805532008-04-02T18:17:00.000-07:002008-04-02T18:44:40.485-07:00

I've posted about this before. I check my keywords on occasion and it never fails to make me laugh when I see keyword searches such as "woman stripping" or today's gem "Hot ladies stripping down all the way" bringing up my site. People I share this strange fact with seem to find it pretty funny too. It's been going on for years and I often show up on the first page of these searches.I have this

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-19685819965603458042008-04-01T19:40:00.000-07:002008-04-01T20:02:36.011-07:00

I've decided to do a little series I'm going to call "buildings I notice on my way to work." Some of them I really like, some not so much. This is only my taste. If you don't agree, that's fine. But I can't see this one winning any awards.This particular one I will call a "sad addition." Here we have a circa 1920 or so building with a gigantic cinder block addition slapped on top of it.It's set

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-66389190877830101722008-03-27T16:27:00.000-07:002008-04-06T12:57:14.637-07:00

Today, we were featured in a special issue of the Chicago Reader, the leading arts & culture weekly publication in Chicago. The feature is called "The Nest" (Written by Laura Molzahn/Photography by Leslie Schwartz).I must say we are in some pretty good company. Our section of the feature was called (not surprisingly) "The Bloggers". All the profiles were great. Of course I was super impressed

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-302339590981516302008-03-25T17:13:00.000-07:002008-03-25T17:43:03.818-07:00

One thing about Chicago winters, I tend to spend much more time indoors. I look around the house and start to think of things I'd like to change or improve. One of the things that occurred to me in January was that I really should shorten the curtains in the dining room to let in more light. That was a reasonably affordable project so I went ahead with it.Since I'm not independently wealthy, I

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-89724836440596502802008-03-23T17:25:00.001-07:002008-03-23T17:25:57.690-07:00

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-517177562199674162008-03-20T18:04:00.001-07:002008-03-20T18:16:21.143-07:00

Ah yes, the yard in March is not such a pretty place. All plants are dead except for our lone Picea Orientalis, which is hanging in there. We are pretty sure an application of Wilt Pruf and the drought from a few years back were what injured it. (Free advice: Skip the Wilt Pruf spray)As the Treekeepers told us, "It is possible to love a tree to death." Steve's job is to take care of the trees and

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-79739807692073037162008-03-20T17:08:00.000-07:002008-03-20T17:36:22.662-07:00

People have often asked me how I find the time to work on the house and then blog about it. I remember one time I was answering that question and explaining what motivates me to keep on going with the DIY house projects.I told an acquaintance, "I'm kind of addicted to accomplishing something." After I said it, it made me think. It was really an accurate assessment. After several years of doing

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-91169933404262926392008-03-10T16:45:00.001-07:002011-04-16T07:12:17.947-07:00

Almost 4 years ago, Easter weekend to be exact, we demoed our kitchen. You'll be pleased to know that the kitchen was in fact (mostly) finished back in in 2005. But what we were unable to finish at that time, was our pantry. We had opted not to demo that room to the studs as we had in the rest of the kitchen, and instead the walls had been covered with 1/4" drywall and a new light fixture put in

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-84172088093925404162008-03-08T14:29:00.000-08:002008-03-08T15:01:39.381-08:00

That's how the past few months have gone. Waiting for winter to end. I want to see some bulbs, buds, see a robin, maybe some juncos...please....This winter was what we native Chicagoans call "a real Chicago winter" for a change. Lots of snow, with a dash of frigid cold thrown in, more snow, and then some more snow. Then a slight warm up and then...psyche! More snoooowwww...and cold...and snow...

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-63401019613643465312008-03-03T18:21:00.000-08:002008-03-10T16:33:42.603-07:00

This time, I was much more calm, cool and collected. Steve was in the basement, and I yelled downstairs, "Steve! There is water coming from upstairs." He immediately shut off the water and came upstairs.Again, it was over the bathroom door. Again, the toilet had overflowed. Moments later, a knock on the door. Our tenant was desperate to use the loo, you see. If you think about it, the whole

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-44541899115427259382008-03-03T18:04:00.001-08:002008-03-03T18:20:53.550-08:00

Soon after I met Steve, he showed me his 2-flat (now our 2-flat). He took me inside and showed me the coffered ceiling he had spent the summer stripping.I just stood there amazed and I thought to myself, "this is a man who is not afraid of commitment." I was moved and I like to tell the story because it brings that moment back to me.Obviously, I was destined to become his partner in rehab and

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-30273973528943254922008-01-17T18:42:00.000-08:002008-01-17T19:13:20.884-08:00

It's been a while since my last post. We did take a break over the holidays from the house for a very memorable Christmas. Some may remember my meme post from last year. I would like to make an announcement here and tell you all that we Steve & I got married December 27th!It was a beautiful small ceremony and dinner with our close family in a place called Valley of Fire. So, we did a Vegas

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-31111997934390757562007-12-20T17:55:00.001-08:002007-12-20T18:22:01.282-08:00

It look longer than we thought and planned (of course), but Steve managed to get the door installed the first week in December.It looks good, way better than the old door, and best of all, it won't fall apart!It would have been better, much better, if we had started the project earlier. Upon removing the old door, we were not surprised to see that some masonry repair was needed-especially on the

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-51111337075607087432007-11-18T15:07:00.000-08:002007-11-18T15:32:21.605-08:00

What is it with me and the bad canna jokes anyway? I guess it's because I feel like a real die hard out in the yard in November chopping down 7' tall canna plants and then digging the bulbs up to store for the winter in our basement.It's a job, that's for sure. This year I had expanded my canna beds and had planted them in three different locations- two in the backyard and one on our parkway. Why

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-36334283662828351382007-11-15T16:10:00.001-08:002007-11-15T16:54:39.966-08:00

We are determined to get the new (salvaged and restored) garage door in this year. Mark my words.I've been busy and remiss on blogging, but over the past weeks we have accomplished the following on our lovely salvage find:Steve built a completely new door jamb with an arched header. He made it out of pressure treated lumber as it will be outside and painted.I scraped the one layer of paint off

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-51566124168184571552007-10-30T19:16:00.000-07:002007-10-30T19:37:27.787-07:00

Last year I posted about our scary basement for Halloween. I wish I could tell you it's not scary anymore, but I'm afraid that wouldn't be true.We have decided that this Spring when we get our tax refund it will go for asbestos abatement in the basement. So a decision has been made to spend the cash, which is some progress.Have a safe and Happy Halloween!And Mindy & Teague-love the costume idea!

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-73247207765486142182007-10-28T11:22:00.000-07:002007-10-28T11:58:11.029-07:00

I am a big fan of what I call "puttering around the house." The thing is, a day spent puttering can actually be alot of work. Fall and Spring are my favorite times to putter. The weather is conducive to wearing layers and going in and out of the basement and yard.This weekend, Steve and I decided not to work on the pantry. So, I thought I'd take care of some odds and ends while Steve worked away

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-79061620768799853132007-10-18T17:38:00.000-07:002007-10-18T18:17:05.073-07:00

That's what a front porch is. Two flats often have them and it isn't so uncommon to find people sitting on their steps on a nice evening watching life go by.Of course, we'd love to put a 2-level wood wrap around porch on our building. This is what I believe was originally there. But there's this thing called money, and we're not made of it.So we took off the aluminum awning, which was most

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-36475820920876967102007-10-15T19:16:00.001-07:002007-10-18T17:35:33.994-07:00

Since I'm on the theme of old cheesy TV shows from the 60's and 70's I'll stick with it. The photo at left is the kind of twilight zone type thing you'll see while salvage shopping.Imagine being in a huge lofty warehouse building looking through rows and rows of doors with miscellaneous baby carriages and strollers strewn about. Where are you?Why at Salvage One of course! I have to say that I

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-24703937311565397552007-10-14T15:42:00.000-07:002007-10-14T16:19:48.009-07:00

Today Steve and I swat-teamed our mission- to find a replacement door for our garage. Here you see the current sad state of our garage entry door. Also note the boarded up windows, which are high on my list for restoring next year.If you make the photo bigger, you can see how the door has buckled and looks like it might not make it through another Chicago winter.With a new door with a window and

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-44835215954926528782007-09-16T18:11:00.000-07:002007-09-16T18:33:31.436-07:00

After extensive googling by both me and Steve, it has come down to spending $20 each bracket, which comes to a whopping $320.00 for pantry brackets.These are Eastlake style brackets, which are more plain and austere in design than more ornate Victorians. Its closer to the period in which our home was built and we like the style too.We just can't seem to do things on the cheap can we? I was

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-2577235547123056682007-09-10T17:01:00.000-07:002007-09-10T17:43:19.749-07:00

It is inevitable that one gets stuck on occasion. Sometimes you are waiting on materials or perhaps you sprain your ankle- things happen. In this case, we've run into a bit of a problem with our pantry project. Nothing disastrous, but just one of those things that you have to problem-solve.It started when we decided to put the microwave in the pantry. After all, who wants to look at a

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-44271737135990350582007-08-12T16:29:00.000-07:002007-08-12T16:42:11.016-07:00

We are slowly hacking away at our "to do" list for this summer. We hung the refinished oak door in the den on Saturday. It looks nice, but after we hung it I really had that "I want more!" feeling.I wanted to rent that jackhammer and tear up decrepit patio or obsolete sidewalk in the front yard that will expand my garden. Or start stripping the basement stairs or something. But unfortunately, I

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-29969144443064382122007-08-05T10:47:00.000-07:002007-08-05T11:03:50.102-07:00

I know I've been a bad houseblogger this summer. I have to admit that I've been distracted by my other fixer-upper projects, which have to do with the neighborhood at large and not just what is inside our home.I am finally getting around to posting photos of the new awnings from Chesterfield Awning. We are very happy with them. Not only do they add curb appeal, but with our rough winters they

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-21330465267984821872007-08-02T18:53:00.000-07:002007-08-02T19:34:29.720-07:00

I realize this post title is quite lofty, but this post is an ode to someone I've never met but whom I admire greatly.The model planes you see here were made by my Dad's partner Dave's Dad. When Dave was a little boy, his Dad spent hours and hours making these model planes and boats. Not only did he pay attention to every detail, but these creations also actually worked. The airplanes really flew

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-54766100226522067792007-07-18T16:30:00.000-07:002007-07-18T19:28:39.609-07:00

Well, not exactly. But I did strip the basement door this past weekend. It's the last door left in the interior of the building that needed to have that unsightly white paint removed.I am happy to report the door is in pretty much pristine condition and needs no repair.In case you are interesed, it took 2 hours to strip one side with a heat gun and then one coat of Citris Stripper cleaned the

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-13602946926068823682007-06-14T16:57:00.000-07:002007-07-08T16:38:27.724-07:00

I know I'm being a sub par houseblogger this summer. I have to admit we've been distracted this year.After last year, I vowed this would be "the summer of fun," and we are keeping to that promise. Not that house projects are not fun- because they most certainly can be. And sometimes, you need a break. Here we are at the Silver Lake Dunes in Michigan. We rented 400cc ATVs for a few hours and

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-43404819718535942462007-06-10T15:37:00.000-07:002007-06-10T16:14:20.148-07:00

For those of us living in older homes without cooling systems, this time of year brings the dreaded task of installing the window unit air conditioners. It's not one of my most favorite tasks and I don't really like having windows obstructed by them. Plus, they don't blend well with old house decor really. But then again, maybe they do in a way...Adding to the awkwardness of the task is the fact

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-9848527919332954182007-06-04T17:15:00.000-07:002007-06-04T17:44:39.908-07:00

As you well know, a project done right takes way longer than the latter. If we just slapped some paint on our front door and called it a day, we'd have been done weeks ago. Instead, we are doing a "This Old House" quality repair and it's taking a bit longer.At left you can see the trim has been primed and painted with two coats of Sherwin Williams oil-based Bunglehouse Blue. We reserve the

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-45010321042664797502007-05-28T16:53:00.000-07:002007-05-28T17:20:25.448-07:00

And I'm not talking about light fixtures this time! This Memorial Weekend was just a little different from last year. If anyone recalls, last year we spent Memorial Weekend removing all the trim from the 2nd floor. Such began the story of the wood pile...Steve and I went to Galena, which is a nice historic small town in Jo Davies County in Illinois. It's about a three hour drive from Chicago.

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-17890655577693720452007-05-19T09:25:00.000-07:002007-05-19T09:51:27.679-07:00

The lawn is coming along nicely. I mowed it for the first time this season today as we had to give the grass a chance to take. Its funny because Mojo insists on walking along the "path" where the conduit was buried last year. I think he likes the feel of baby grass under his delicate feet.I've been remiss on blogging I know. I was in Las Vegas for a trade show for a week and that was fun. Las

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-80942473598946162472007-05-06T17:56:00.000-07:002007-05-06T18:09:46.746-07:00

It's all about the prep work and we are not rushing our front door paint job this time. The better you prep, the longer the job will last. Also, the longer the job will take to complete. It's kind of a double-edged sword.Saturday morning, Steve and I got to work scraping the loose paint off the front door trim We then filled any holes with wood epoxy and then sanded it all with 80 grit. Then we

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-21112533132186477372007-04-30T17:45:00.000-07:002007-04-30T18:07:36.804-07:00

Before our awning is installed, we'll be repainting the front door a more period appropriate color. Our home was built in 1910 and has some arts and crafts elements, so we are sticking with that color palate.We have selected Sherwin Williams Bunglehouse Blue for the front door. The awning is a True Brown with a white key pattern trim. Our awnings will be shaped like this though, not rounded as in

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-2108636174479678322007-04-29T09:49:00.000-07:002007-04-29T10:35:39.231-07:00

I have vowed this year that I will relax in my backyard. I will not work all summer every weekend on wood. I will invite some people over to enjoy the somewhat nice backyard. In the city, many don't have a backyard and so those that do should share sometimes.We need to repair the concrete (see photo) to make this space more usable and that will happen within a month I'd say. In the meantime, I am

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-13610200291228267552007-04-28T14:43:00.000-07:002007-04-28T19:29:39.097-07:00

A dutchman is the perfect solution for repairing old wood and mistakes (we all make those right?) A few years ago, we were installing our swinging door and Steve mortised out the wood to fit these special hinges. Unfortunately, due to fatigue, he mortised one of them upside down. doh.At that point, we decided we did not want to wait any longer for our swinging door, so we installed the door with

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-4890157007976614272007-04-21T18:38:00.000-07:002007-04-21T18:58:03.770-07:00

As I've mentioned here, I've been off houseblogs the past month so I could help out with our local Aldermanic election. Unfortunately, my candidate lost, but we made a really great effort. Considering the fact that we had much less money, and resources, we lost by only 247 votes.On election day, I was up at 4:30am and at the campaign office at 5am. I got to the precinct at 6am and didn't get home

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-33843045719509952492007-04-01T15:58:00.000-07:002007-04-01T16:25:51.025-07:00

We've been slowly working on our curb appeal for a few years. Little by little... giving our entry a makeover, restoring the french doors to the 2nd floor, and adding a decorative railing, landscaping the yard, etc...We're down to the last bit of work we have planned for the facade of the building and that is adding awnings. We ordered our awnings yesterday from Chesterfield Awnings. They had

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-63322206041149642882007-03-31T14:42:00.000-07:002007-03-31T15:10:57.581-07:00

Last year was a pretty rough one for the backyard. Between the roof tear off, pretty much constant workers traipsing across the lawn, Steve and I refinishing woodwork on it, and digging a trench for the electrical wire, it really took a beating.I have never liked our yard in the winter because almost everything in it is dead. We need more evergreens and hopefully by fall we can add some.We are

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-19853675849491730232007-03-21T16:23:00.000-07:002007-03-22T18:09:00.915-07:00

So, somewhat recently I upgraded to the new blogger and merged all my blogs together. No more compartmentalization. No more hiding my houseblog from the neighbors. No more keeping my community blog out of my houseblog. It's all mixed together now and the result?Yesterday, I was commenting about the local election here on one of our community blogs.and one of my neighbors and fellow bloggers who

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-8307605899992653822007-03-09T19:06:00.000-08:002007-03-09T19:25:12.660-08:00

Oh, I talk real big and say other things are important, but I always come back to the house. In fairness, we aren't quite done yet. There are still some small jobs that really need to be done, such as replacing the rotting wood entry door to the garage and all those little odds and ends.So, tonight Steve and I made a list of what is on the agenda for 2007 (and beyond). There's more than this long

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-41129557515726557612007-03-04T07:40:00.000-08:002007-03-04T19:19:27.768-08:00

It may sound like heresy to say this on a hosueblog, but really it's not. I've talked about this before. As we all know, any home is a part of a bigger picture, a neighborhood.I learned a hard lesson when the beautiful single family home next door to us was leveled for condos. Speak up. If you speak up as a community, often you can stop these types of things from happening. I've seen it play out

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-9966880885638568782007-02-24T14:14:00.000-08:002007-02-24T15:08:55.072-08:00

This week was one of those weeks I was feeling at odds with things. I'm sure it's partially due to the void of not working on the house. I'm kind of addicted to accomplishing something and the house fulfills that quite nicely. If I'm not getting that fix, I get kind of restless.The impossible dream, I refer to in the post title, is of course the idea of organizing our basement. Steve and I spent

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-41988819515895485282007-02-20T18:58:00.000-08:002007-02-20T19:18:53.393-08:00

This is the week Steve is going back to the wood shop. His first project is fabricating bed rails for a headboard and footboard set that my Mom purchased last year.I don't have photos of the bed right now, but I will post them eventually. The bed is made of walnut and Steve and my Mom made a field trip last summer to Wood World. They spent about an hour going through wood and selecting the

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-37566435548997214282007-02-16T15:10:00.000-08:002007-02-16T15:36:51.169-08:00

We all have our vulnerabilities and weaknesses. One of mine is getting into a bit of a funk in the winter. It's nothing serious really, but it's kind of a bummer (haha). Out of curiosity, I googled the origin of the phrase "feeling blue" to see where it came from. After all, one could think of blue as a soothing color and feeling blue could then mean something like feeling peaceful. But, when I

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-41258035027805480012007-02-11T12:50:00.000-08:002007-02-11T12:50:15.577-08:00

As many of you know, over Christmas we visited my 93 year old Grandmother Tilly in England.Grandma has lived in this "flat" since before I was born - a long time ago. When she and my Grandfather first bought it, it definitely qualified as a fixer-upper. There was no heat and she told me the kitchen had a dirt floor!Grandma's flat is very homey. It's not a large home, but it has 3 bedrooms

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-6205695975368287212007-02-05T20:33:00.000-08:002007-02-05T21:03:46.716-08:00

I know many of us on houseblogs seem to like bird stories, I know I do. For that reason, I'm going to share my little tale.A few weeks ago, we were experiencing record high temperatures for January. All the snow had melted and daffodils were popping out of the ground in confusion.One morning I looked out front and saw of all things a robin! Now to me, a robin is a much better omen than a

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-87624756910959773522007-02-04T08:35:00.000-08:002007-02-04T08:49:40.075-08:00

You too can buy your very own artwork from the Devil Queen! I'm an admirer of both his blog and art work and now I have a little piece of the Devil Queen that will reside right here in the 2-flat. Kind of nice to support a fellow houseblogger too.

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-17321347921042482112007-02-03T12:54:00.000-08:002007-02-03T13:40:25.398-08:00

Ever since we had the post replacement last May, things have been pretty much in disarray in the basement. Believe it or not, Steve used to have his office down there. Happily, he now has moved up the world and his office is on the 1st floor den.What you see here is where his office was. We had rugs down and less junk, but it was pretty dismal. Especially because there was no natural light. So

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-91252941304245439032007-01-30T19:03:00.000-08:002007-01-30T19:19:57.071-08:00

Some ceilings we don't want. As a woman, I'm not in favor of the glass ceilings in some segments of corporate America. I believe our new Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said she broke through the "marble ceiling" just recently. But here at the 2-flat, our ceilings are of a much more mundane nature. We like them where they belong without holes. I have to admit that living without a ceiling is

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-65658318556514909462007-01-27T16:35:00.000-08:002007-01-27T16:59:10.948-08:00

Steve got to work plastering the holes in the basement ceiling today. Plastering is sure a messy job- especially when it's a ceiling.First, he applied the Plaster Weld (otherwise known to us as "the pink stuff")to the existing edges for better bonding. Steve is a firm believer in taking extra steps.Then he mixed up the plaster.He added sand as an aggregate so the plaster would match the textured

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-59506776058333719142007-01-22T18:43:00.000-08:002007-01-22T19:21:51.895-08:00

It's getting to be tax time, so Steve and I spent a few hours Sunday categorizing and sorting through all the receipts and invoices from the work that we did in 2006. Suffice it to say, there was ALOT of paper to sort through. Fortunately, we had managed to keep a level or organization through the process so we were not bad off at all.Looking over all the invoices since paid and done with, I was

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-21409286681678589502007-01-19T16:36:00.000-08:002007-01-19T16:59:19.779-08:00

On Tuesday, Steve cut a hole in the wall of the 2nd bedroom upstairs so the plumber could have access to fix the leak. His findings? The leak was coming from the shower head connection inside the wall.It was good to have a licensed plumber confirm that "the plumbing work looks good," but not so good to hear that if our contractor had fully tightened the shower head arm to the water supply, there

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-39336556895171519362007-01-17T20:13:00.000-08:002007-01-17T20:18:07.484-08:00

So cold that even squabbling siblings can see past their differences and snuggle up. Sorry, but I couldn't resist a gratuitous pet photo in this instance.

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-76069265958546395782007-01-16T17:44:00.000-08:002007-01-16T18:39:51.979-08:00

Okay, Greg you asked for it, so here it goes...1. I have unusual parents. Both my parents were anti-war activists in the 1960's and very involved in the Men's and Women's Movements. They attended rap groups and delved into things. As a result, my Dad realized he was gay and my parents got divorced. I feel pretty certain that having a gay Dad has made me empathize with minorities and oppressed

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-15932480996445481492007-01-14T13:22:00.000-08:002007-01-14T13:35:57.924-08:00

So, as promised we cut open the ceiling on Saturday. Rather Steve did, while I was out canvasing for our local Aldermanic election. He cut to the left, thinking it was the radiator or toe kick in the kitchen, but didn't find anything. So he cut to the right and things got decidedly damp and wet. Until, the realization dawned. It was the shower. The brand new and newly run shower piping was

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-41617518308614221502007-01-11T16:59:00.000-08:002007-01-11T17:17:43.733-08:00

Still it's dripping, albeit intermittently.We know not whence it came.We ponder the drip.Is it the kitchen drain, could it be the toe-kick, or the radiator?We hope it's the radiator. We hope.The water- it's color is that of rust.This leads us to believe- to hope it is indeed fromthe radiator pipes. We hope.At night, we close the door so not to hearthe drip (long pause) drip (long pause) drip (and

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-89247229431106462072007-01-09T18:41:00.000-08:002007-01-09T18:43:55.183-08:00

This week, we've got both! Taking care of our two and my Dad's two border collies is keeping us busy.Just thought I'd share...

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-35547844502590927102007-01-09T18:11:00.000-08:002007-01-09T18:41:04.463-08:00

It seems the plumbing Gods didn't like me having a little joke at their expense the other day. They are currently exacting their revenge.Last night, ready for bed, I went into the bathroom and saw a puddle of water on the floor. What could that be? I looked up and saw a drip come down from above. Uh oh.I told Steve there was water coming from upstairs, and he said,"Are you serious??" We called

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-63094136251816974612007-01-02T13:52:00.000-08:002007-01-02T14:15:07.985-08:00

And just what is the position, you might ask? And what exactly does it entail? Why I can only be referring to the worship of the plumbing gods of course.In this case, we had the typical holiday time clogged drain. It is my belief that if a sink or toilet isn't backing up during the holidays once in a while, something is terribly wrong.Last year, you may recall it was the upstairs toilet.I have a

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-69121442161889156632007-01-01T15:22:00.000-08:002007-01-02T03:57:42.876-08:00

Looks like Chicago 2-flat and some other houseblog friends have gotten some coverage on the Dallas NBC station online. The article is called "Don't Do It Alone: Home Renovation Blogs" and Kristin from 1902 Victorian and Mindy from Fixer Upper were quoted as well as myself.I found it when I was looking at my site stats and "came from" links. The article has links to Houseblogs, House in Progress

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-73924280562874192942007-01-01T13:37:00.000-08:002007-01-02T14:20:21.801-08:00

You may have wondered where we've been. The photo at left of Tower Bridge should clue you in.Yes, we went to England for Christmas!!!For a pair of old house enthusiasts and admirers of great architecture and history, visiting London was pure heaven. We lapped it up like honey. I'll be sure and post photos on Flickr and a link when I get them organized.The main reason for the trip was to visit my

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-36022438801408508592006-12-22T06:43:00.000-08:002007-01-02T14:23:16.609-08:00

I can't let the holiday go by without wishing all the housebloggers that continue to inspire and amaze a very Merry Christmas. And of course, to anyone who reads about us and our antics here.I hope everyone does exactly what we are all supposed to do on the holidays, put your feet up and RELAX.Happy Holidays to all!from,Steve & Jocelyn

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11065729.post-36897345935563531082006-12-18T17:01:00.000-08:002007-01-02T14:20:48.792-08:00

This weekend, we finally got to do some things on the first floor, one of which was replacing the sad Charlie Brown light in our bedroom.We had another fixture, but it shorted out a while back and we never bothered to rewire it. I'll probably sell it on eBay at some point. What you see at left is what we've had there for about a year.We decided on the Grant Court a ceiling mounted fixture from

Jocelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570623978361702328noreply@blogger.com1