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7144 Peppermill Rd. King George, Virginia
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Progress is apparent!

4/29/2012

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The third tour group came and went this weekend and it's been so satisfying for us to talk with people who are as excited as we are about the history of the property.  We end up on the receiving end of very interesting information about everything from history on the house to seedlings that are available for planting from other historic landmark sites.  This tour group was allowed to venture through the entire house and many of them took a souvenir shake and nail from the original roof.  We expect one more tour group from the Booth Tours and one visit from the Smithsonian before the end of the touring season.

Charlie finished the repair/replacement of the joists int he downstairs bathroom and is now ready to lay the flooring down.  He will use the bead board from the old kitchen as wainscotting for this bathroom and once the fixtures/vent/shower, etc. are in, we will begin the moving in process.  On with the work!! 
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First weekend of build "up"!

4/22/2012

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Well, this week and weekend saw the second tour group come and go.  This time they were only allowed by the tour director to see the downstairs as touring the whole house takes them longer than the 20 minutes they are allotted at the house.  This weekend we finally began the build "up".  I'm sure there is some technial term in the construction world for this but we are finished with the "tearing down" and work began on the bathroom today that included repairs to the floor joists.  Charlie is working fast now to make the downstairs functional---once there is a full bathroom, we will feel free to begin moving in!

We had a visit from Laurie Graham today--she was a very close friend of Kathryn Coombs.   She brought the most lovely 19th century china and transferware for us to display in Dr. Stuart's office---I can't wait to decorate.  We talked for a while about Kathryn and what Cleydael meant to her and how sad it was that she had such a short life. 

We are expecting to continue work on the bathroom this week.  All the walls and baseboards in the rooms downstairs have been scrubbed and are ready for paint! 
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The first tour group visited yesterday!

4/15/2012

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We were so excited to welcome the season's first Surratt Booth Tour group yesterday.  Charlie had to work and most of our kids had obligations but I did have one available to be with me to welcome the group.  There were 30 something visitors that got off the bus and they were very excited to be there.  They took advantage of our offer to go through the entire house and they were surprised to hear we planned to move into the house the end of May.  A few of the visitors offered us prayers!!!  We kept a good bit of the original shakes that came off the roof and offered the visitors a shake and a nail to take back with them for a souvenir.  There will be three more tours from the Surratt House tours and one from the Smithsonian.  We look forward to more visitors.

The work on the kitchen will begin this weekend as the delivery of the wood we've been waiting should come in this week.  The roof is 90% finished and boy did it make a difference in the overall appearance of the house!  All our attention will be directed toward the inside of the house now as we are intent on keeping our move in date around the end of May. 
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The Roofers started today!!!

4/10/2012

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We were sooo excited to see the roof replacement begin today!  The roofers expect to take a little over a week to finish.  We are amazed at the condition of the original shakes underneath the galvanized metal being removed.  It would have been nice to replace the roof with shakes again but the cost is much higher than the metal we chose.  The finished roof will be matte black.  The shutters on the front of the house will be painted black again and then the repairs on the porches will begin.  There is soooo much to do!!!  We planted trees along the driveway, hung plants on the porch, and boughts rocker for the porch.  I told Charlie I need an aesthetic relief when the work on the inside was too much for me!!!  I simply walk out and look at all the beauty that is this property.  We already love it so much!  The wood for the kitchen and bathroom is on order.

The most exciting purchase for the house to date is the lot of ten 100% wool rugs for many  of the rooms.  I was unbelievably fortunate enough to find a couple in the midst of downsizing as their nest is almost empty.  They simply wanted to be rid of their rugs---the rugs are beautiful, huge, and perfect for this house!!!   I was also excited to find a pot rack made out of a wagon wheel and plow chains with were hand forged hooks!  I can't wait to hang it above the island that Charlie has yet to build!  :)
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