January, 2012

Well winter is here with a vengeance so I thought I'd share some pics.

Also, here's a pic of the "rack" I built in the basement out of spare/repurposed treated 2x4 lumber for the old windows and doors that I have collected so far.  My attic hatch is barely large enough to fit a small person through, so I have to store the stuff in the basement.

Today I removed the carpet from the stairs.  I, of course, happily complied!

The steps are in good condition, though the finishes are not.  The finish you see is (I think) someone's not-so-great attempt at a faux woodgrain finish.  Nothing we can't live with for a while though!

In other news, I am almost done skimming and sanding the walls upstairs and I have picked out a couple of test colours.  I definitely want the red, as this is the colour I found under all the wallpaper - but the Sherwin Williams counter person made it a bit too dark when he tried to match it to my sample.  I'm going to have it fixed and it's probably the one I will go with.

Well today (January 18, 2012) is the 83rd anniversary of Mr. John B. McCullough's death.  It's a shame his house isn't in better condition!

On this coming Saturday, at 3:00 pm, it will have been 83 years since Mr. McCullough's funeral service was held in this house.

The stairway and upstairs is now a migraine-inducing bright white (sealer primer on both the walls and the trim).  As you can see, everything needs another coat before paint, and there are still a couple patched areas which will need sanded and smoothed before I can try to reproduce the wall texture on them.

I actually bought a fancy $18.00 4" paintbrush today and did all this with the brush.  Now that's hard on the hand muscles for sure!  By the end, I was starting to get pretty good with the technique.  Hopefully I can paint with the brush too - I think it will give these walls a more authentic look.  The only problem with the brush is that it sheds bristles like crazy.  I haven't figured out why, but I'm pretty unhappy that I had to keep digging bristles out of my primer job.

Even with the bright white, I still can't take a good picture with my camera or with my phone.  There is just no way to get light into this space.

I was in contact with the Jefferson County Historical Society recently and one of the curators recommend that I purchase A History of Corsica, Pennsylvania 1802-2010.  I tracked down the author, who lives about 10 mins away, and purchased a copy of the book.

Check out what I found - no source was cited but it is really exciting!  1860!!!!

I had a laugh about the 'nails' comment. It is very random.

My house is in the "Places of Interest" section in the book.  The photo above is obviously not my house - it's the Hotel Glenn which was visited by at least one US President back in the day.

Now I REALLY have motivation to go research the last 2 deeds at the Court House.  Unfortunately, they operate during the same hours I work and I'm not sure when I'll be able to go.  I might have to send someone on my behalf.

I also found a couple of aerial photos showing the house pre-1970's and a VERY old photo of the Hotel Glenn, just up the street from here, which MAY partially show our house in the background.  I have to walk up there and look from the vantage point of the photo to see if it is this house or if it's another building.