Victorian House Renovation in Bloomingdale, DC
I tried vinegar, I tried digging, the vines just come back, with a vengeance. I did dig up the flower bed after we finally got some rain yesterday (its been hotttt!)
And then I gave up on the organics and just went with the real, chemical, toxic stuff. on the vines growing next to the cement wall. I am hoping to plant climbing roses there.
that is of course if the squirrels don’t get them.… Read the rest
I was giddy with excitement when I found out about VIB’s birthday (you have to admit that’s pretty cool, to find on the day of, that it is in fact that day!). It turns out that tax records, which are cited for house building date at time of sale, are often wrong.
And you wouldn’t believe how easy it is to find out when the original permit was issued (well at least if your house is inside the District).… Read the rest
I was at the D.C. Community Heritage Program Summer Symposium and found out that Today’s the Day!
Yep, the permit to build was granted on June 22nd, 1897 (not 1907 as tax records indicate, and which apparently are most often wrong).… Read the rest
When we took out the carpet downstairs, we were pretty happy to find hardwood floors underneath. They seemed to be in pretty good condition, but they needed a very good cleaning and perhaps refinishing.This is the floor in our foyer:
Given that refinishing would run us into thousands (for the whole house) and should probably be one of the last projects anyway I decided to give the foyer floor a try myself.… Read the rest
Happy Summer Solstice 2010!
(Hopefully the longest day of the year means I have enough time today to finish the project I started this weekend)
The hooks are from the Brooklyn Flea that I got several weekends ago.
I filled some mason jars with stones found at the dollar store, put a wire around them, and added citronella candles to help with mosquitoes. but these can also work as flower vases.… Read the rest
Yes, I know we haven’t been posting very much. That’s cause we haven’t done much:
A) its been hot;
B) Sergey keeps on insisting that we need a social life – so we haven’t even been home before 10 pm this week, with the exception of Monday (I for one would be just as happy scraping paint off moldings as drinking beers in the park/bar, but not so with the Mr.);… Read the rest
Peeling paint is sort of like blisters, there is an irresistible urge to pick at it. This is what happens when you give in:
I guess one of the previous VIB occupants, at some point in the house’s 100 year history, was into gold. I suppose the current state of pocket door trim will encourage us to take care of these sooner rather than later. I am not quite sure who to call about restoration of pocket doors though.… Read the rest
Of course it was the house itself – largely the original details – that was the reason behind our purchase, but location was almost as important. When we started looking for a house we had a range of neighborhoods in mind, but Bloomingdale was always at the top of the list. The location was just right, as you can walk downtown and to the mall in under 40 minutes (yay walking to work!);… Read the rest
in the ground
on the deck for now
The Vine is Dead, the Vine is Dead!
Well at least the monstrosity that ate the tree. Now all we have to do is take it down. What isn’t entirely clear is what to do with these suckers popping out of the ground. I pull them all the time, but somehow I think they are planning on being back. And I am afraid of planting vegetables / herbs for fear that they will be overtaken.… Read the rest
While grand plans are in the making, we are also adding items to rooms bit by bit as we also live here. So here is a sneak peak at the curtains that Sergey’s mom made for our master bedroom. She picked out the fabric – and it works really well, because I wanted something light but these are heavy enough to block out the light.
This weekend, we also picked up this mirror at Ruff and Ready, which will go up above the future fireplace mantel also in the master bedroom.… Read the rest