-
Jana’s Top Genealogy Sites For Researching Ancestors
Now that we are back home, I can go to the courthouse and local cemeteries to do some genealogy research. But no matter where we live, primarily, I use genealogy sites to research my ancestors. There are so many sites out there to help with genealogy research. Some store your information so that you have pretty little charts to show your friends. Others are hard core “you have to know what you are looking for to find anything” sort of sites. Here is a break down of the ones I use, the ones I fight with, and the ones that have made all the difference in the world. The Cemetery…
-
Single Board Walls Can’t Last Forever
Wonkie Mystery House When we bought the house, there was so much trash inside of it. You couldn’t really tell much about the structure of the house. We didn’t know if it was leaning, sinking, collapsing and so on until we removed the trash and sheet rock and could actually see the house. What we found was a wavy floor, with high spots and low spots. We could see ceilings that drooped in the center and doors that would no longer close. My motto was “only do what we must…keep it original!”. Jerry and I first addressed the foundation issues so that we could level and raise the house. The…
-
Built To Last: Original Sill Logs and Floor Joists
Old Construction Techniques The house was build in 1846 and certainly has outlasted any expectations for modern construction. The house was soundly built, but time had illustrated that there were some significant issues with the structure. For example, the front of the house was moving away from the main part of the structure. You can read about that little fiasco on my blog post entitled Structural Issues in Our Dog Trot House. In this post, I’ll tell you a bit about the floor joists and sill logs and how we kept the house as original as possible. The Floor Joists The original floor joists and sill logs fit neatly…
-
Another Unexpected Guest: The Appearance of the Coachwhip
Clearing Around the Well Benny Melton was going to come and clear the land so the foundation guys could get busy. The old well is still in the back yard, but the back yard was super overgrown. It was bad when we bought it and by this time we have been in the house working for five months. Yard work is hardly a thing for us to concern ourselves with. In the picture above, you can clearly see the well at the bottom. You can also notice that the season is winter by Jerry’s long-sleeve shirt and by the lack of green growth. By the time we were ready for…
-
A Plan for the Addition of Space to the Original House
The Art of Addition Common thought among the experts in home renovation is that if you are putting an addition onto an old house, you need to make the addition appear that it had always been there. Some old houses are boxy and asymmetrical by nature. An addition didn’t significantly alter the look of the house. Houses with non-rectangular floor plan have room for an addition to be added without the house being changed into something it wasn’t. Our plan for an addition need to add space while maintaining the original house. Ours was a very simple dog trot cabin. Period. They only really have one variety. Pens divided…
-
Instant Pot: Poached Pears in a Mulled Wine Reduction
First Time Amazement I am not a huge fan of cooked fruit. Pineapple on a pizza? Nope. Apples and pork? No, thank you. Fruit pies are hit or miss with me as well. I do love a cobbler, though. I just made poached pears in mulled wine in my Instant Pot. They were incredible and didn’t remind me of any of the cooked fruits I had had before. They were super sweet. The mulled wine reduction was what made them so good. The spices (cinnamon, bay leaf, and cloves) did their job by adding depth and complexity to the wine. The wine gave the dish an extra level of fruitiness. …
-
Fighting the Dark Side of Renovation with Thoreau
Oh! The Irony! So the cups above are two of my favorite coffee cups and I drink out of one of them most mornings. The irony of the messages on these cups isn’t lost on me. In fact, the irony is the primary reason why I love them. What on earth does a Thoreau quotation about confidence, my perception of perseverance have to do with home renovation? Please continue, dear reader. I am a Teacher I taught was a teacher for several years. Most of my teaching career, I was a gifted and talented program’s teacher and I adored my job. We did a unit entitled “Simplicity” and in it,…
-
Genealogy Research Results in Family Stories
The Thrill of the Search Names and dates. Very important things to a genealogist. But names and dates (even locations) seem to paint a very thin picture of an individual who actually lived. Going beyond the numbers is where the stories begin and that is the best part of genealogy research. My ultimate goal in genealogy research is to find or construct family stories. I can do this because every bit of genealogy information I find helps me to flesh out my ancestors. Genealogy is my way of preserving family history and honoring my ancestors. Genealogy research is a way to make the past disappear. Each scrap of paper, every…
-
Weekend Wine Room Project
The Weekend Wine Room Project I am of Scottish descent. That means I have an excuse for being thrifty. In truth, I like to see what I can do with as little as possible. It is more an exercise in creativity than anything, but it has the advantage of making it possible to do more because I (usually) spend less. On this project, I wanted a wine room in one weekend for under $300. We got a wine room, but we also gained a lot of DIY knowledge. (FYI…self-leveling cement pours quickly and it spreads like wild fire. Be ready or you will be playing a wicked game of Twister.) …
-
Success! Installing Hard Wood Flooring in the Old House
Decisions About Flooring I wanted to keep the original floors, but the floors made the decision for me. There just wasn’t enough of it. We did save it and have been able to re-purpose it in other areas…more on that later. However, once we realized the original floor was a no-go, we had to start looking at what we were going to put down in its place. In the end, installing the new hard wood flooring was a success. It went smoothly with Jerry cutting the boards and me installing them. But the decision on what type of flooring took a bit of work… The hand-scrapped reclaimed wood was beautiful,…