And then there was light!

 My dad is awesome. He took down the filthy, dented, ugly storm door, and put up a prettier porch light.

 This is one of Mom and Dad's finds from their thrifting/antiquing jaunts. They always had pretty light fixtures even though moved often. They just took their favorite fixtures down and put the orginals back up before selling the houses, and I figure I will do the same in my rental. I'll store whatever fixtures I take down the basment, and put them back up if I ever move.

 Taking that storm door down lets the pretty wooden door show. If I put a screen door up this summer, it will be a Victorian style that fits the house.

Before............................and..........................After

Quite a difference made by just removing something!

Happy Thanksgiving!

 We ended up having four for dinner because my sister came too! That was a nice surprise. This is the first time I've had anyone over for dinner at the new place.

 We made sweet iced tea, because that's the way you do it when your mama's from the south. YUM.

I didn't make near as many dishes this year because we had just a few of us, but we had turkey, dressing and the usual Thanksgiving type things. Since I was not having a crowd this year, I just cooked two turkey breasts...two because I loooove to have sandwiches from the leftovers. Cooking just the breasts was lots easier and faster than cooking a whole turkey. Mom made chocolate pie from grandmama's recipe too, which is my favorite dessert.

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving Day!

Getting ready for Thanksgiving

This year the kids are going to their uncle's house with Joe, so it will be a quiet dinner dinner with Mom and Dad. I have been working to get things put away enough here so that we can have dinner at my house.

The table is working out great. It's just the right size for this little room. Mom and Dad have a cute light that I'm going to hang over the table, but I haven't gotten that far yet. I did get some chairs though. I went to Pier one and got them during their sale. They have a distressed black finish, which is great...because they'll surely get more distressed as time goes by! Even though they are new, they look great with the antique table. I'll have to post a picture without the tablecloth after Thanksgiving.

 I got a little more storage by adding a bookshelf to the dining room. Lots of books and some treasures made by my kids.

I made a pumpkin pie and some deviled eggs tonight. I'm cooking turkey breasts tomorrow, so I don't think I have to get up as early as for a big turkey.

Dining Table

Mom did some scouting around town and found a table that was just right. It's only 42 inches across, which is perfect because the dining room is small. It has a lot of leaves, so I can stretch it out for holidays. It's oak and looks good with the buffet. I'm going to get black chairs (the one in the pic is from my desk in the next room).

This table is from Brad's Antiques on Howard Street. Like so much older furniture, it's solid and was cheaper than a new table...even the inexpensive ones. Gotta love that!

Dad and I hung the old school map tonight. I love maps...such beautiful colors. Got another palm too, and potted it up in the same container I used at the old house. It will probably live in here in the winter and on the porch in the summer.

Blast from the Past....

I had a 70s flashback last night! I was going through some boxes, trying to sort out what to donate and what to keep, and came across these 45 records. That Bohemian Rhapsody one is one of the first records I ever bought.

Racks, Hooks and Shelves and the like....

Because this old house does not have much for closets, I'm trying to add storage wherever I can.

 So today, I put this little railroad car coat rack behind the bedroom door. Every little bit counts!

Aren't the hooks on this sweet? Such a nice shape.

 This window is getting a paint job on the frame to match the white woodwork in this house. I think I'm going to hang it in the bay window in the dining room to cut some of the glare off the house next door.

Refashioned 1950s Curtains

 I took the two huge barkcloth panels and made 4 smaller panels from them, and hung them from rings like I've been doing in the rest of the house. When I hung them this way, it made them apron length without rehemming, and that suits me!

 I like them. I'm still seeing a bit too much of that house next door, but I have a plan that I hope will cure that problem. The colors in this picture are much more accurate than that night time photo at the top. I sent them off to the cleaners to get washed and pressed...so if the fabric holds up, I'll have one more room of windows done!

This naughty little bird was not in the Christmas box, but in some other box I unpacked yesterday. So I stuck him up there, and he looks like he likes it better than being stuck in a box until Christmas!

Removing Paint from Hardware

On someone's blog I read that you can remove paint from hardware by boiling it. I tried it today, it worked great, and was much less messy than using stripper. Not smelly like stripper either!

 They had many layers of paint ...on the brass and on the glass. I simmered them for a while, and watched the paint losening and bubbling away from the knobs. Then, handling them carefully (hot, hot, hot!!), I used a green scotch brite pad to rub at the paint. It came right off.

 Here I've rubbed a bit and removed most of the paint. Then I put it back in the pan for a bit and repeated the process.

 Pretty much done! Just a couple of bits to take off.

Here's were they go...on a little medicine cabinet that for some reason is over the bathtub instead of the sink. Old houses are quirky like that sometimes. I need to touch up the paint under where the knobs go, as soon as Jane brings me a bit of the white she used when she painted. It looks much better though!