Sunday, November 06, 2005

Yep, it's fall alright


My next door neighbor Mark's red bud is showing spectacularily this year.














And our Japanese stewartia is no slouch either.




















and our pal Scrappy is getting ready of course...



Catching up on houseblogs the past few days, I read about alot of folks glazing and and prepping windows , lining a chimney, planting bare root plants, and getting ready to hunker down for the winter with new furniture or a snazzed-up kitchen.

Winter is definitely a slower pace at our house. All stripping of woodwork comes to a halt. Maybe this year, I'll strip a few doors in the basement. We'll see. I just can't do a heat gun indoors with no ventilation- it feels too risky.
And forget about using chemicals inside with fumes.

The upside is by Spring I am raring to go.

What do you guys plan to do this winter?
Here's our list:
(for fall & winter)
Finish installing trim in entry
Finish painting in entry
Install new front door lock/door strikes
Install replacement glass in entry & curtains
Adjust hinges on swing door so we can prop open with hardware we bought
Put in thresholds in bedroom & dining room
Misc. wood patching in door jambs

Oh, yes and then there's the pantry, which will be pretty big project.

This and the holidays should keep us occupied.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great photos of the trees. It will be good to have a break from the stripping and chemicals for the winter. You have more than enough to keep you busy, but hopefully the pace will be a bit slower to match the dark days!

Sarah Jane said...

On the topic of 'Winterizing..." I am living in an apartment (renting) with an inactive fireplace. The Landlord, or a former tennant has stuffed a pillow up the chimney, I'm guessing to keep cold air out, but with a lot of recent rainfall, it just smells and feels damp in our apartment, I'm guessing due to a wet pillow shoved up our chimney. Any suggestions? I'm thinking we'll take it out, but is there a better way to seal the fireplace so it doesn't get so cold in here. The hard part is of course that we are the renters, this should be taken care of by our landlord, but he unfortunately lives in Greece. Any suggestions would be MOST helpful. Thanks, and I enjoy checking in on your home improvement progress. Someday I hope we'll have a home of our own to improve.

Jocelyn said...

Sarah Jane

That's good question and one I don't know the answer to. If I were you, I would post this question on Finehomebuilding.com
on their message boards and I bet you will get some very good replies.

I am going to suggest your question be posted on the new Houseblogs.net message board when it comes out too.

Thanks for reading!