Summer Reading

You hear a lot about summer reading lists and having more time in the summer to read and all that. I love to read and am not sure if I do more of it in the summer, but there certainly is something nice about reading on a summer day with a warm breeze blowing! Sometimes it is also a survival technique on those hot scorching days.

Lately, I have been on a Mary Stewart kick. I have read most of her books several times, but they are always good for a re-read! Mary Stewart is an amazing storyteller, one can feel the sun, see the birds swirling overhead and feel the peace of the country side.

This Rough Magic is one of my favorites to read in the summer.

"When Lucy Waring came to Corfu to visit her sister Phyllida Forli, she was elated to discover that the castello above their villa had been rented to Sir Julian Gale.
A very minor cog in the London theatre, Lucy not unnaturally felt something close to reverence for Sir Julian, one of the brilliant lights of England's theatrical world. But any hope of meeting him was quickly dashed by Phyl, who indicated, with uncharacteristic vagueness, that not all was well with the great man and that his composer son, Max, discouraged visitors, particularly strangers . . .
Lucy encounted Max Gale the first morning of her arrival—and a tempestuous meeting it was. For Lucy had made friends with an enchanting dolphin by whom she had first been thoroughly frightened then completely captivated. It was when she was sunning on the rocks above the cove that the shots came, and the only person in view was Max Gale . . .
Thus begins a series of mystifying and thoroughly frightening events which tinge the otherwise sparkling setting of Corfu with the dark hues of violence. In every way This Rough Magic measures up to its predecessors—in spirited characterization, vivid description, glowing romance and unrelenting excitement. This is storytelling at its best."
—jacket William Morrow edition, 1964
Mary Stewart is probably best know for The Moon Spinners, which Walt Disney adapted into a movie. You can see a complete listing of her books on this fansite.

Do you find more time to read in the summer? Or do you have year round "reading lists"?

There's a Blue Bird on My Windowsill

 This song is my new favorite! It has been stuck in my head the past week.

The view from my room.

Wood Floors

We spent a lot of time on the floors in my house; carpet removal, staple pulling, washing, paint scratching and sanding, more mopping, staining and finally shellacking, but it was worth it!! I love love love wood floors. I love the timeless look of them. The ease of cleaning and the peace of mind, knowing that whatever dirt we track in is not going to be with us for years to come. (Sorry the floors aren't too clean, a little construction dust still.)

This is the living room and dining room floors. I didn't get a chance to take pictures before the furniture was moved in as they were done just in the nick of time. I worried for days while the stain dried and then worried again while the shellac dried. But everything came out beautifully in the end!

 The floors upstairs are pine.

Oak in the living and dinning room.....

And maple in the downstairs bedrooms. 

It is very typical in old houses for the living room and dinning rooms to be oak or pine, the bedrooms to be pine and the kitchen to be maple. We aren't sure why there is maple in the bedrooms, very unusual. It certainly was fun to work on all the different woods!

We are hoping this week to get the quarter round (the small round piece of trim next to the floor) back on in the living/dining rooms and the bedrooms. When we refinished the floors it all had to come up, as the sander can't get that close. And of course 90 year old trim does not come up very well! Not to mention there was holes drilled in it and cracks and gouges. So all new has to be put back in.

What you think of wood floors? Do you love the look but not the housework? Or are you all for it?

Upstairs Bedroom-Before Pictures

Look at that carpet! Yikes! It was quite old and full of sand and pet hair. Ugh. One of the first things I did was get rid of it. I am happy to say my house is now carpet free!

 The landing. Did you notice the door? We flipped it to open into the bedroom instead of out, giving more room to the landing. That is quite the story!

 Window in the lading.

 Bedroom.

Bedroom looking the other way.

I know seeing all the woodwork I painted is making some of you gasp. It was a tough decision for me too. But the trim is nothing fancy, just flat boards and not even a nice wood, just pine. There were portions of it already painted, but painted a brown to match the unpainted part(?!?). And the other reason, my bedroom furniture is wood, so to keep the room from looking to dark or rustic I decided paint it!!

Looking into the closet.



House Update: Upstairs Bedroom

Mom likes to say I get the whole second floor of my house for myself. People always go "Oh!", very impressed. I roll my eyes and then explain, the upstairs consists of a landing, bedroom and a closet half the size of my room. I call it my Nest!

 In the entry next to the front door is a little door leading upstairs! Isn't everything so fresh looking?!

I absolutely love my twisty stairs! They turned out so pretty. And once one gets use to the wedge shaped stairs, they aren't to bad.

I love how light filled the stairway is. No skimping on windows here!

This is the little landing, which we hope one day to turn into a book-nook! It is always so bright and sunny. Too bright to take good photos.

And my bedroom! Which is so cozy it is hard to get good pictures of. As you can see the ceiling is very sloped, but that just makes it feel like you are tucked into the rafters.

The other side of the room going into the closet. There are still a few more things to do, like put in outlets and light fixtures.

Looking into the closet from the bedroom. Yes! It is huge! And also has a window. So nice for sewing!

Looking from the closet into the bedroom. On the right is the door to the attic (still needs another couple coats of paint) and the door that is open on the left is the bedroom door going back onto the landing. I love the contrast of the white walls with the darker floors.

The stairs with a fresh coat of shellac on them.

Now that we have seen the fresh, clean and pretty, are you ready to see the before? Up next is a before look at the upstairs with all it's nasty green carpet! 

Where did June go?!?

My goodness! Where did June go?!? The last update I gave you, we were packing and moving out of the lower part of the big house. All while furiously working on my house. Well, plan A didn't work out to, so we moved on to plan B. We moved upstairs in the little four room apartment. It has certainly been an adventure! We don't have a stove up there and the refrigerator is a temporary small one. All our cooking is in the microwave or an electric fry pan. As Dad says, we are camping in!

The brothers hard at work in the bathroom.

 So, progress in the past month? (I am not even sure I remember where I left off! But here is the latest accomplishments.) The bathroom has plumbing and the bathtub is framed in. Unfortunately the plumbing doesn't function yet, but it is progress! The plumbing hasn't gone as fast as I hoped, as brother Phil (plumber extraordinaire) has been crazy busy with other jobs this year. There is also a new window installed in the bathroom with rain glass. I have finished painting the baseboards in the living and dining rooms. My bedroom upstairs is almost done, just a bit more trim painting and then on to shellacking  the floors.

Mandy and I primed the kitchen last night. It was speed painting as we only had an hour, but we got it done! The cupboards are all painted (makes such a difference, doesn't it?) and ready to go back in. And then the kitchen plumbing can be installed. We have kitchen appliances on order, so should be getting them some time next week. I am hoping to get my room done this weekend. There might be a possibility the bathroom will get dry walled next week, if the electrical gets finished up this weekend.

 

 I was really only planning on taking a week or so off of blogging until things settled a bit more... But then allergy season hit and the month was away before I knew it! Now that all of that is behind me I am looking forward to showing you what has been happening around here! As soon as I take a few pictures I will be back with more updates!

I hope you all are having a wonderful summer! Here in Wisconsin it is a typical summer. The weather is bouncing around like a Ping-Pong ball. A bit of rain, a few hot days and then back to perfect weather. I going to try not to miss it all!

 

 

Esther Williams- Thrill of a Romance

I was so sad to hear today the 1940's movie star Esther Williams had died. To tell you the truth, I was also surprised she had made it to 91!

 I always love her characters in her movies. So Cheerful, Spunky and fresh Girl-Next-Door. My favorite movie of hers is "Thrill of a Romance". Though I know I haven't seen all her movies, they can be hard to find! It is pretty much a typical 40s musical; cheerful dresses, pretty girls, a lonely solider, and a love story that is a bit far fetched. Don't you love them, though? But this one stands out because of Esther's swimming and Lauritz Melchior singing. Melchior was a Metropolitan Opera singer before he signed on with MGM. He adds a delightful twist to the movie.

Esther Williams has certainly left an amazing legacy behind.