Sunday Walk: Part 8

Shades
of
Pink

Happy Birthday Chris....

Thanks for all your work on the house. I hope you have a wonderful day.

In search of Summer Covers....

Since Day 1 at ThirteenEleven, I have been on the search for summer covers for our fireplaces. My aunt and I ventured to the basement in hopes to find the covers. Why not, why wouldn’t the covers just happen to be in the basement or crawl space? Piles of other junk, stuff, rats, snakes, spiders, and possibly even treasures were there. No such luck on the summer covers. (The other mentioned above? Well yes, except for treasures. Some neat finds, but treasures? Sadly no-- not to date.)

While reading other Houseblogs, I always focus in on any photographs of the fireplaces. I look at the mantles, the tiles, the style, and of course the surrounds and summer covers if any. Once I see a summer cover, I zoom in and take a closer look. Oh, how I covet some (all actually) of the fireplaces with the covers intact. If only…I wish, ThirteenEleven had its covers, but it is not to be. Just look at the detail of the covers here, and with craftsman detail here. I even posted on fellow Georgia bloggers fireplace here.

Reading up on summer covers and coal burning fireplaces, I find that many of the summer covers and inner workings of the coal fireplaces were donated to scrap metal drives during WWII. Our covers turned to bombs? Or Planes? Or Tanks? Or maybe the metal runways, my grandfather’s unit paved across North Africa and Italy. The archive’s records stated that in 1941 our house was vacant. There were no local directories made during the war, and in 1946 (next directory) Lord Morrison lived in the house. I know there was someone living in the house in 1942, because that was the date of the newspapers stuffed in the middle room’s chimney.

I then turn to EBay. There are some great covers, most too ornate for a craftsman style house. All too, too, pricy for my purse.

Next stop, junk stores. I find many, many of the surrounds. But for summer covers? No.

I walk over to the open house, 3 houses down. (You know, all old house geeks, love a good old house, open house.)

Almost every fireplace had the summer covers and all the inner workings….


I hear whispers, from the other gawkers, “What is she doing? Why?...Why is she taking pictures of the fireplaces? Ok Already, I have a problem.
A little closer..... gotta love utilitarian detail.


Look, another one behind a heater.....

Side note…. This 1921 house is huge with tons of potential. It has some great detail shown below. But it looks like some of the interior woodwork has been removed, and what was done to update the bathrooms, should qualify as a crime. Why? I ask. I just don’t get it. It’s like one of those shows on Discovery, “When Plastic Surgery Goes Bad.” It’s just wrong…to butcher a beautiful old house like that with contractor grade late 90's looking fixtures, cabinets, tubs, toilets, and sinks. Eugh!

After 21 months of searching,
Who would have thought summer covers would be as rare as a Campephilus principalis. (Well maybe not that rare.)
I found a couple in an antique store in Hogansville. Take a look and tell me what you think. I did a little bargaining and made sure I could bring them back if they didn’t work.

They need some cleaning.

Yes, this one is upside down...
Should they stay or should they go? (look closer, you can see some of that pink paint peeping through on the bricks)

Backyard Clean up

Below are some of the finds from the backyard clean up. Keep in mind we had a big backyard clean up last year. No, we are no where near finished picking up the back yard, but this is a good start.

Below... Big scary (scarry, both actually) knife, fork, tea spoon, and salad fork. (all stainless) Iron skillet.

One Homer Laughlin plate. plain white, very dirty, some small chips.
Five gallon bucket of beer bottles. I know we picked up about 24,597 beer bottles last year. I guess we missed a few.

I also picked up a ton of left over treated wood. Small pieces thrown on the ground and back driveway. We're having take out tonight, Chris just doesn't know it yet......

Sunday Walk: Part 7

Rain Out

It is stormy today and our internet has been out. So this afternoon I am posting from Krystal. Since the cute coffee house with internet closed, Krystal is the free Wi-Fi option in town... Yippie......:( Anyway..........

These are some pretty pics from walks past.

Seeing Red...

Marilyn @ 819 Ohio sent out the challenge for us to see red and post about it...

So here it goes...

Foyer: Benjamin Moore's Navajo Red.. A warm tomato red.
( A red with more yellow than blue undertones. It may look more orange on your monitor ?)

Bedroom Chair (That I salvaged from the curb by the way) and red flashlight.

Vintage tablecloth with red. Red level.

Red book.

Other favorite Reds from Benjamin Moore:fire dance, smoldering red, chili pepper, confederate red, and maple leaf red

Oh... and supper tonight... vege soup... corn muffins are in the oven...

Dressed in Pink

I have noticed that many of our house blog neighbors homes were once adorned in Pink. I believe at one time or another, almost every surface ThirteenEleven was pink. (There is evidence of at least 3 shades.) Most of the rooms the trim was painted the same shade as the walls.
Pink, Pink, and More Pink.
Pink over exposure.

The picture I missed was the plastic pink wall tile found under the paneling in the bath. It was found and ripped out very fast so we could repair the rot on the walls and floor. I could not believe they even made plastic wall tile. That was before I knew of the demand for the plastic bath wall tile for the mid century modern folks.
Sigh.... I would have saved it.

The brick on the fireplace--once painted pink.
The cast iron fireplace cover---pink.
The mantle---pink too.
The mullions---once pink.
The subway tile on the bedroom fireplace--once pink.
All pink.


Was your house ever Pink? Let us know and show us pics.

Gate Love

Scrolling Heart

I saved this photo of a gate to post this week from one of my Sunday Walks.

I heart Beagles...

I was so excited to see that a Beagle one... You know I mean won.... I couldn't resist..

Yours truly, about 3, with Snoopy.

(Snoopy looks a little camera shy. Maybe he didn't want his picture made because he really liked his Gaines Burgers.)

Sunday Walk: Part 6

Observations

Look what I noticed today on my walk.

This is Smith Hall from the once LaGrange Female College. I looked up information from my book and it states,"George King added the Victorian porch....in 1887."

This house is about a block away and has the same details.




She needs a little love.


(I know I should have zoomed in a bit on this pic)

The house next door has some of the same details.

See the 3 prong icon?

I also have noticed that so many pretty houses are facing North, and this time of year the front of the houses are always in shadow.

Hope you enjoyed the walk this afternoon.

Little signs of spring...

Posting 2-9-08. This Afternoon from the Kudzu Jungle.........

Can you see them?


Look how pretty, peaking out from all the vines and privit.