The summer heat is on!!!

'Once again, it's been far too long since we've posted.  Time flies when you're restoring!  Charlie had metal roofing installed on the back porch which completed all rooftop replacements.  He has begun work on the flooring of the back porch and in the process, discovered that the foundation beam under the main door facing the South side of the house is completely rotted and needs to be replaced.  This explains why the door has become harder to close with time.  Charlie's plan is to replace the beam with a piece of oak from a tree that fell on the property last year.  

The kitchen ceiling is being covered with bead board---that process began this past week.  This will take more time than originally thought as Charlie is meticulous about the cutting of the angles, etc.  The bead board will be painted white, the ceiling fan/light installed, and the ceiling will be complete aside from some finishing moulding that we haven't decided on at the top of the wall board.  The top beam (original to the kitchen) will be left exposed.  

We are still hoping to get to the painting of the front of the house before the weather turns cool again.  We won't be concerned about the approaching winter this year as all four fireplaces have been opened and the chimneys relined!  There are two fireplaces on each floor so we decided to leave the fireplace in the living room open and use wood stovesin the remaining three to maximize the heat output in the winter.  It was WONDERFUL burning wood at the end of this past winter once they were finished with the install! 

We decided to put in a garden this spring----I've wanted to grow all kinds of vegetables for so long but never had the space.  We started small with a 15' by 14' garden and planted tomatoes, corn, green beans, red onions, green peppers, watermelon, and canteloupe and I'm happy to say that we had great success with all veggies and are anxiously waiting for the ears of corn to finish their growth!  We think we may double the size of the garden next year!

There are still many items on the "To Do" list but the work is very satifying for both of us and we wouldn't have it any other way.  We love this place and its history!  Looking forward to sharing the house with those touring with the Suratt House this fall!