Thanks

We would like to thank the Rotary Club and the Lions Club for inviting us to talk about the restoration of the "Hall" house. Your kindness, generosity and support has been greatly appreciated. Thanks for welcoming us into the community.

Star Date 09062009

Well I had to think of some catchy title for all of the Trekkie fans who may be following my blog. Okay so I took the Trekkie test and this was my result:

Test Score:

trekkiness: 107
The Trekkie Testranks me as a(n) Commander
What does it mean?
You know Trek, and you love it. You may not dress up in uniform every day, but you're dedicated to your series, or two, and happy with being entertained by it.

For your test taking skills, here is a graphic to share:

Well, maybe I'm a trekkie at heart. Anyway, here is an update of our adventure in restoration. The side porch which needed some major help is looking a bit better nowadays. (I do need to clean those bricks.)

Just notice how straight the bricks appear. However, remember looks can be deceiving. As soon as I get the bricks back on I can start on putting up the columns for the porch cover.

We also have our two year old granddaughter (Araya) staying with us so we needed to get the drywall up in the servant's stairwell.

And as with all projects there are last minute changes that we have made. In particular the bookshelves in the library have gone through many design phases but we have now settled on the look that we wanted.

Columns!!! The house in Georgia had four 18' columns outside and four 9' columns inside so when I found these solid wood columns out in a covered area in our backyard I couldn't resist in refinishing them and incorporating them into the library design. It's a slow process but worth the effort.

And yes, we have a ceiling fan to cool off the room and provide light.

Just so you know, the ceiling medallion is not lighted but the flash from the camera makes it look that way. Remember, I told you looks can be deceiving.

Brickwork on the side porch

We had some help with the brickwork on the side porch. Elders Pehrson and Howard and our daughter Camille helped to clean the bricks so that I could use them.

(Pictured: Elder Howard and Camille cleaning bricks.)

The cleaning technique for soft mortar is simple: rub two bricks together to get the mortar off.

(Pictured: Camille demonstrating the cleaning technique.)

The technique for stubborn mortar requires more force, usually a chisel and hammer.

(Pictured: Elder Pehrson with hammer and chisel.)

I of course did the tuck point on one of the bases for the columns that will support the upper part of the porch.

Cleopatra ("Cleo" for short)

Last night I discovered a bat flying around the parlor, so of course I dealt with it denying Akuto the opportunity to take care of it. I should mention that he was watching it fly around the parlor. This morning we discovered another bat on the kitchen floor. I'm not sure which one of the cats caught the bat, but I would assume that it was Akuto training Cleo on how to protect the home from intruders.

You have met Akuto (the bat cat):


Now meet Cleo (the bat cat in training):

The Library

I have also started the bookshelves in the library, or at least one section. They are floor to ceiling. This looks rough, but should look great when finished.