Kitchen Table

I am a bit behind -this story began in September last year when Cousin Tom and his friend Linda came to visit.

We've had a round marble-topped table in our kitchen since forever.  And it's been really great and we've used it well, but somehow the "round" wasn't serving us so well anymore and we wanted something else.

During our various adventures last September with Tom and Linda in the cold north, we stopped by an antique shop we'd visited before.  Werner and I were on the lookout for a table we could use in the kitchen, something that we could make smaller or bigger depending on what was going on.  So, ten folks here for dinner?  Make it bigger so we can put out the serving dishes and such.  Or put out the dishes for a little buffet.  No one here?  Make it small so we have a bit more room to move around.  Those of you who have been here know that a bit more move-around space is not bad.

Great, we found a table! And Tom and Linda thought that was a great gift for us. THANK YOU!!

Bad, the top was warped!  See that gap at the corner??  Yeah, a warp.

We tried to un-warp it, but that turned out to be a losing battle, so we had a new top made - there are more than a few carpenters around here willing to take on such a task.

But the carpenter only made the top - finishing it was up to us (read:Werner).  We had to find just the right stain to match the base.

And then there was the sanding and the shellacking and the sanding and the shellacking and the sanding and the waxing and the waxing.  Everything takes time.

But finally, we have a finished table!  It's satin smooth and just the right size. When it's closed we have more room in our little kitchen.

When it's open, we have lots of room for serving dishes and such.

And at other times it sits quietly in the kitchen, waiting to serve, covered by a cloth that was made by Werner's mother when she was a young bride.  Love it!

Repairs

Or rather, starting on repairs.

There's been a trickle of water in the bathroom, but not enough to brush teeth, much less take a shower.  So, down to business.  The ceiling has got to go so we can find the pipes.

First get everything out of the little front hallway.

 
Then put up a plastic sheet, because it is going to get dusty.

It's impossible to tell when these pipes were installed, but it was sometime before they figured out decent insulation.  Above the plasterboard is a 3cm thick mat of straw, held together with baling wire.  Needless to say, it's old and dry and dusty. What a mess!

And, there's one - a pipe - there behind the mineral wool wadding and paper.  Can you believe it?  Werner thinks little critters ate off the paper, ate some of the wool and exposed good bits of pipe.  I'll go with that, not having any other plausible explanation.

We're hoping that with a little warm air getting to them, they'll thaw and then we can set about putting in real insulation under the roof decking and around the pipes.

And just maybe call the plumber for a consult.

This adventure is far from over.

Saving Rain

The Green Party didn't take first place in the election last Sunday, but they came in a very strong second and ahead of the CDU for first time ever!  Yea!

So what does that have to do with rain?  Well, we added another "green" element to our lives - a Rain Barrel.

It seems to me that at least every other home has one "Regentonne" or more.  In the hobby gardens, there are often four or five strung together but they tend to be on the - ummm - utilitarian side  (read:  ugly).  Since our rain barrel would have to go next to the front door, ugly would not do.

Search and research.  Measure and plan.  We found one.

First we had to get rid of the old cypress that was in the corner.  Done.

Then a base for the rain barrel. Done.

Open the package and set it up.  Done.

The top has a planter to help sorta kinda incorporate it into its surroundings; in another few weeks the petunias and such should gracefully drape from the top.  In winter, it'll be ivy.

 
And just in time!  It rained the day after we got it all set up and I was amazed that the tank was almost full after a very short rain - 300 liters.  Good for us.

Stairway to .....

not Heaven.  Just the upstairs.  And those of you who've been here know upstairs isn't big, so it doesn't need a grand entrance.  But a little upgrade wouldn't hurt.

Werner's thought for some time that the very ordinary handrail along the wall needed replacing.  He's right.  In fact, he had already upgraded it by simply sawing the ends so that they were cut at 90° to the floor and not at 90° to the rail.

Here in Bremen there are so many old houses and buildings that are either being upgraded or re-decorated or torn down that there's a shop for old building parts.  Perfect!

They have doors.  (That'll be a project, too.)

They have phones.  (Not on my list.)

They have newel posts, but we don't need one of those. 

Need a key?  They have those, too.

Wednesday he'll pick up the new/old hand rail and has already thought that the hand rail on the other side should be returned to the natural wood.  I agree.  I'll let you know when it all gets done!

New Stairs

Of course the stairs aren't NEW.  There is nothing new about this house!  But they do look a lot different now.

When we moved in, there were a thousand things we wanted to do and no time to do them all. Compromise was the word of the day and we've done that more than a few times since.  Put off.  Wait.  Later. 

Later has finally arrived for the stairs.

They were uncovered when we moved in, which is not to say "usable."  There were coats of paint and old stuff from old carpet, so the emergency solution was more carpet.  It was never pretty and the rubber edges, though practical, were always offensive, both esthetically and visually (is that the same thing?).

Some years ago Werner found some brass stair rods, those charming things that hold down the carpet where the tread meets the riser.  Time to use them!

Off with the old!  It is never ever as easy as it looks and always takes at least twice as long to finish.  The old carpet backing and the old layers of paint took scraping and whacking and sanding.  There had to be wood under there somewhere!

And there it was!  Stressed wood.  Hard to believe that people actually pay for this look when they can get it for free with a 150-year-old house and three weeks' labor.  Before and after:

Isn't it pretty? I love the way it looks and feels.

So, time to go to the carpet store and order a runner.  Here's the kicker:  our precious brass stair rods are 60 cm. wide which means we can have carpet 50 cm wide.  HARD TO FIND. One store in Bremen offered limited choices in 50 cm; we special ordered it to only to be told a week later that the manufacturer no longer makes that width - not enough call for it.  Well.  Well.  Well.

Option 1:  leave them bare.  I kind of like it!

Option 2:  buy new cute brass stair rods for a wider carpet! 

We're putting off a decision.  Maybe we'll find a compromise.

A Saying for Home

Everyone has special attachments to their home. Naturally. When I first saw this house that is now our home, I told Werner "I want this." I meant it. It needed a caretaker - it was a bit under-cared-for, but it showed such personality and individuality and dearness. I was smitten.

The house has its negatives - on a busy street, surrounded by taller apartments, lacking (practically) ANY energy-saving elements. We've put in double-pane windows, put some insulation in the attic, but I have to say most of the improvements are cosmetic.

So this improvement certainly lands in the "cosmetic" category, but it pleases me to no end.

Many old half-timbered barns and houses have incriptions painted or carved on the beam that spans the front of the house or barn. Ours didn't have one and I wanted one (hey, I want stuff!). Werner was a bit resisitant, but I finally convinced him there WOULD BE an inscription. Then, of course, he came up with the absolutely perfect saying:

'n beten scheef het God leev

That's low German. And it's a bit hard to translate, but loosely it means that God has a soft spot in his heart for things that are a bit off of level. Or: if it isn't exactly straight and perfect, God is generous. You get the idea.

ANYWAY. This little saying was just perfect for our little crooked and absolutely-not-straight house. It still needs some flourishes at the ends.

But I just LOVE it!!

Headboard

When we bought the fabric for the covers and curtains in the front bedroom, we looked at upholstered headboards at the shop. Heck, we thought, we can do that!
Werner bought the plywood last spring so I could stretch the needlepoint for the nursing chair (waiting for winter to be refurbished). A couple of months ago we serendipitously found the ideal fabric on the remnant table. On the last visit, I bought the cording. Finally to work.

Here's the foam padding on the raw board.




Tools we use. I want an electric powered stapler for Christmas! This hand-operated one has been through a lot and it takes a lot sometimes to make it do what we want!

Half done

And - VOILA ! - finished!

You might notice that the pillows are actually from the other bedroom. The lovely new headboard fabric does not go with what we have, but since I made those over 20 YEARS AGO, I think it's time for new bed covers. On the next trip to the USA, it's back to the fabric store!

Finished - Almost

It's always a work in progress. Of course, this is NOT a work of art, but it is a work. And it has been work. There's always a bit of tweaking to do, but for the moment, I'm done.

So, walk into the room and - after you are awed by the wall painting - take a little look at the coordinated coverlets, pillows and curtains. Maybe too much? I hope not, because there won't be any major renovations anytime soon.

It's fun doing different pillow covers, but I tried to keep the number of pillows down this time.

The curtains were a challenge. I hadn't really planned on doing them when I bought the fabric, thinking I'd tackle that later. But there was just enough to make me think about it and getting it all done was a real incentive. I'd thought first about using the fabrics of the covers, but then I thought the patterns would be waaay too much, and so opted for a coordinating beige. After an unsuccessful trip to the fabric store here in the neighborhood - and unwilling to travel into Bremen to look further - I did the Scarlett O'Hara thing and used what I had. An old table cloth was perfect - wide and long enough, just the right color and weight, and best of all, on hand!

It wouldn't take so long to finish up these projects if I didn't try to re-create the wheel every time. Cuff tops had somehow captured my imagination, but contraints of fabric and lining (had to use what was already cut) put that out of reach. Besides that I didn't have a pattern. This was the compromise, and it turned out fine. If not entirely happy, I'm pleased with it all.

I hope our first guests - Hunter and Hannah - are suitably impressed!!!

Artificial and Natural
and vice versa

We've been really busy. There's so much to do before leaving for 2+ weeks and - AND - we don't want things waiting to be done when we get back here with two kids in tow! So, we've done some painting, I've (almost) finished the new stuff for the bedroom that Hunter and Hannah will occupy (a later blog post on that), we've again cleaned up the plants and linden trees and the deck and terrace and stuff. For such a small space, it seems to take a lot of time.

I've been nursing a boxwood since we moved here. It was a sprout that came up unexpectedly but for all that - because of that - welcome.

It grew and was happy but then we re-did the back. It was uprooted and moved and re-potted and moved and moved again. It's been in the same place now for a couple of years and seems to be really settling in. It's put out a lot of new growth and the topiary I had earlier envisioned is becoming .....

a PELICAN!

But that is the artificial stuff. There's the natural stuff as well. It's not unrelated - the boxwood started without any help from me. So did the foxglove.


It seeded itself between the rocks in the hard dry soil and just comes up and flowers all on its own. Wow. That's a wow.

New Art

Ever since we repainted the front bedroom last summer to spruce it up for Hunter and Hannah, the area over the windows has bothered me. Too much space. Too much white. Too much empty.

I'd requested relief from the Artist in Residence, and he worked up a sketch months and months ago but somehow couldn't get started. Finally, I gave a hard enough shove and he did start - and finish. Maybe I should push harder more often. Hmmm.

It's a bit kitschy but at least there's some color now, not just white space!

Gardengate or Backgate
(not a scandal)

For some reason, two strangers appeared in our little back yard last summer. (We don't mean Hunter and Hannah!) Each arrived at a different time and apparently for different reasons, but somehow it wasn't clear to them that they were entering a private space.

We'd thought about a little gate before, not enough to be a real barrier, but enough that anyone would recognize that beyond it was private space. Naturally, the size of the opening didn't match the standard gates available, so we (read: Werner) had to make our own. He sawed and trimmed and rasped and stained and did all the stuff that you have to do to put wood together and here's what came out (probably not as refined as Larry's work, but it works for us) :




We're pleased with the final results. Especially because it's finished!