My Karma Ran Over My Blogma: September 2008

Monday, September 29, 2008

Scaffolding is gone

Just when I was coming up with fun things to do with it.

Sunday, September 21, 2008

It's official - our house is a war zone

This is the Brickhouse Inn, where we stayed in Gettysburg. We were in the Alabama room, which housed Confederate snipers during the Gettysburg battle. The house was right on the outskirts of town, and they were trying to keep the Union Army out of the village. The Alabama room has bullet holes pockmarking the brick from the gunfights. It was totally romantic. The room's wide plank pine floors were the kind I obsess over, and the hosts, Brian and Tessa, are discrete and very helpful. I'd also recommend the private guided tour; our guide, George Newton, knows every inch of the battlefield, and the names and histories of every leader on both sides. He made the battle come to life - even for me, and even though he kept calling me "Christine."

I can haz power tulz?

Saturday, September 20, 2008

My view at O'Rourke's Irish Pub in Gettysburg

Chris and George Newton in the reading room

Looking up Georgia troops to figure out which brigade Chris's great great granddaddy was in. It was the 48th, company F. He was the captain.

Wright's Brigade placard

Marks where the brigade gathered before advancing to union lines around 6 pm July 2, toward Cadori barn

Cadori barn at Gettysburg

Chris's other great great granddaddy, Thomas Wiggins Kent, was shot and captured near here the second day of the battle. He was captured by union soldiers and had his left arm amputated.

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Happy Chris? Priceless.

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Chris's great granddaddy made this cannon in Macon, GA

Now it's at Gettysburg

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Making Room

This weekend, Chris was halfway down the stairs, white knuckles clenched around the hand truck, upon which was balanced our ginormous old television set. He bought it when he was a bachelor, and all that implies. For years I've been begging him to swap it for a smaller, sleeker TV that makes sense in the life we live now. This thing is 50 inches square, four feet deep. It weighs more than the Titanic.

And it wanted to go down the stairs - really fast. Chris rolled it slightly forward on the step, pausing just before pushing it over the edge, and for a moment it could have gone either way. Either my husband would keep control over the beast, or it would hurl itself to the ground. I couldn't watch, and went back inside. Where the living room was curiously, suddenly, empty. That's what a lot of the house feels like these days.

But empty is a good thing. Because the random baggage we've both been collecting over the years is now heaped in our dumpster like an archaelogical dig. There's that box full of shiny blue packaging for my failed soap company. The Pier 1 bookcase that's been holding dusty college textbooks for 15 years. The glow in the dark Statue of Liberty nightlight I bought with my college boyfriend. The entire pile is taller than me. But it look so tiny, almost forlorn, all smushed into the back end of the dumpster. I thought the house would feel bigger for the loss of all this stuff. It doesn't. It just feels lighter.

And now, we get to rebuild. We've started with this late 1800s Chinese cabinet, which we discovered at one of my favorite shops, Dragonfly antiques. It has been so loved over the past 200 years that the corners are rounded. The patina shows wear from the centuries too, although in the sunlight it glows the deep rich red of a fall sunset. It feels safe, permanent. Like home. And you've probably already guessed what it will hold: our new TV.

Radley's gonna be a builder when he grows up

Can I just say how surreal it is to have my roof torn open?

Disconcerting is an understatement.

The third and final panel is in

Its unbelievable how fast this is going.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Steve installed the second panel yesterday on his birthday

Friday, September 12, 2008

The first panel is up!

I don't even want to think about how much work lies ahead of us. But we arrived last night to see the first tangible improvement to the house. It's pretty heartening. Even better was Steve's quote: "There's not as much damage as we thought there was." Still, there's a long way to go before we can even think about putting it on the market.

It doesn't feel like the same room

Now I just have to get a rug to fit this crazy-shaped space. Ideas?

Suddenly we have a blank slate

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Goodness

As we were driving home tonight, I asked Chris to take a guess at what our house would look like. There'll probably be some boards lying around, he said. Maybe they'll start work on one of the panels. But this is more like the demilitarized zone, as one person just commented on the pic. It's the bracing that will hold the roof in place as they start to tear down the outside wall of the house. Which is only somewhat reassuring. I'll post more pics taken during the daylight so it doesn't look like I'm using night vision goggles.

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

These are a few of my favorite things

Apparently this is what I do when stuck at home, computerless. Put books in storage to create more space for shoes. Then organize said shoes by height, color, finish and season. I think I may need a more productive hobby. Although this was pretty damn fun. And my chic stylist friend Margaret will be so proud!