Pleasant Hill - What a treasure!!!

Could the desk below be of Shaker design? They did experiment with Victorian design/furniture. No, really, they did!!

A creation

By popular demand: here is something of mine. What do you think?

More early photos

Here are some more before and after photos. Having a garage was not part of the original plan. But as time and events passes, I found myself in a situation where the garage was the right thing to do. And since I was remodeling a house, the garage become a wood shop.

Forgive the formatting, I am out of time this morning - house guests from out of town


















One year after purchase - still in its original configuration

















Early Spring




This was the first tree to fall - May 2003. Yea, not in the back yard, but more evidence I have some issue with trees: they tend to fall around me.

I had looked at buying a small shed (like they sell at Home Depot) - I was within weeks of buying it, then this happened.

This is about a 100 year old black cherry. Estimates were between $600-$2000 to have it removed as firewood. That is when my imagination started to take off. It cost less than $350 to have it milled into usable lumber. A wood shop was born!!! Oh, the value of the wood? About $1500.

Clean up

This is the pile of cherry under the blue tarp. I am about to move it for the start of the garage

Starting day!!!!!!! Three months behind schedule

Ta DA!!!!! A finished garage - One year behind schedule. However, he did do a good job; I didn't say word. Schedules are meaningless if quality makes up for it!!

Winter Slowdown

Wasn't able to do much this week - many things getting in the way: teaching, academic team, illness, weather (it got cold here)...

Well, I did do one thing: 5:30 yesterday morning, I was digging up the sump pump exhaust line because it had frozen solid. The thing I hate most about renovation/remodeling is fixing other idiots' stupid mistakes. Why can't people just do it right??!??!!?!?!

Exterior Picts

Pictures at purchase (January 2001)

Dining room

Dining room from living room

- Notice the shag blue carpet

- Oh how I hate blue. A little sample of what is to come: we would spend over $1,200 in paint striper. Oh, I would discover tons of ..... knotting pine. In other words, I would have to paint the wood trim - broke my heart.

Dining room from door at laundry room

Living room:

Living room from hall

Living room from exterior wall toward dining room

- notice the two openings (portal) and the blocked center. Look above for a dining room view of this wall.

Living room from south "portal" (dining room)

- notice the 8-foot windows!! Oh how beautiful - have you ever priced 8-foot windows???? OUCH!!

The second floor (apartment #2) kitchen - soon to be the master bedroom

- notice the brick pad....I have no idea what it's for
- behind the knee-wall was the sink
- to the left (full wall) was the frig.



Just a start - more later

Welcome

Just a quick hello.