Standing at the Trailhead of Winter

is refurbishing the door I found at the architectural salvage warehouse. It will replace the current ugly orange steel door leading into the kitchen. It will be a labor of love for sure. One that will most likely take the rest of fall and all of winter. There are at least two thick coats of paint on one side and maybe three on the other side. But . . . I think the door is solid oak. At least that's what the warehouse helper thought, and I'm going to go with what he said since he deals with this kind of thing all the time. It is incredibly heavy and took all I had to get it out of the truck and onto the saw horses. I guess I'll find out once I get past the layers of paint. Even if it's not solid oak, it's going to be beautiful and look much better than what is currently in place. This morning, after doing work work and making sure everything was in place for the week, I went down memory lane for a bit. I think it was because of the essay assignment I gave my Children...

After months of anticipation, ta-da! It didn't go in without some hiccups, but in the end, all turned out well. It was absolutely wonderful being able to sit here last night with a fire going.  I'm still partial to a woodburning fireplace or woodburning stove, and maybe that might happen in a few years, but for now, this will do. This was the more financially feasible way to go since the firebox and chimney need quite a bit of repair in order to function without burning down the entire house. I certainly don't want that to happen. The vent free insert has a blower, so it heats the space very nicely, and it closes off the chimney that has no damper. Now the cold air of winter can't get into the house, and the cool air in the summer can't get out by way of the chimney. There is some clean-up to do around the surround. The old surround/doors had been caulked into place with the red caulk, and the brick underneath the old surround/doors is a different color than the res...

The other day I walked around the block to check out some fresh curbside trash, hoping to find something, anything, that might be my next trash to treasure project. I returned home with nothing. Quite disappointing. Today, while I was making chocolate chip cookies to satisfy the craving for chocolate chip cookie dough that attacked me with a vengeance while I was sitting on the couch, watching the last episode in the latest season of Bedlam , I looked out the window over the kitchen sink and saw what seemed to be wooden chairs. Those weren't there earlier, I thought. I put the first batch of cookies into the oven, pulled on my coat, scarf, and gloves, then walked the two blocks to check out the chairs. Three wooden chairs. Jackpot! These would be the beginnings of my garden party table and chairs project I've been wanting to get started on. How lucky could I be? I stacked the two oak chairs and hoisted them up to carry home. A gentleman placing his trash out for tomorrow'...

Found another treasure while cycling today. Thankfully Lovely Beautiful Daughter and Funny Delightful Son were both home to accompany me back to the treasure (a mere two blocks away), load it up (it's heavier than I thought it was going to be), and bring it home (can't wait to see Hubby's face when he sees it in the garage). Already have some ideas for giving it new life. Should be a fun project.