Baby it’s cold outside

Good morning. I hope everyone is staying warm and cozy. From the looks of the weather the entire country is experiencing frigid temps. We have fresh snow, and as pretty as it is to look at, that’s not the case when you’re outside shoveling and sweeping.
 

I finally got the upstairs hallway finished. It was a lot more involved than I thought it would be. I thought I could just rip up the carpet, put some stain on the floor and stairs, hang a few pretty details and set back and enjoy it. . . not the case. For those of you restoring old houses, you know how time consuming and involved it can be.
 

How fitting is this sign on this chilly winter morning. . . ? This is the first landing. Stairwells are difficult to decorate. The walls are so tall, so much in fact it’s hard to hang stuff {when you’re afraid of heights like me}. Whatever you do decide to hang has to be big enough it doesn’t get swallowed up by the huge blank canvas. This sign is probably 3’ long and 2 ‘ wide which is the perfect size for this space.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here you can see the beadboard I added to the risers. When I took  the carpet out there were so many staples and nails this was the best solution. The steps had years of paint drips so they had to be stripped by hand. The wood is some kind of fir, which has natural horizontal grain to it.  It's nice to prevent slipping, but those grooves sure made hard work when it came to stripping.

 

 

 

 

This window faces east so it gets wonderful morning light. Kinda difficult to get a good photo however.
 

Yes, I know the handrail is funky. Someday I would love to tear it out and put up *normal* handrail.  However, that will entail patching the wood floor. When the house was built by my husbands great grandfather, they put in the handrail/knee wall before they laid the wood floor so the wood doesn’t go under it. That was the case on this entire upper level. I had to add base trim due the ginourmous gaps. If you notice the placement of the rug, it looks odd having it off center, but the space narrows due to the jog. It is actually only as wide as the rug at the bottom of the photo. 

 

 

 

 

Trying to find something for this wall was also a challenge. It is such a narrow opening and the ceilings are so low. Thankfully there isn’t a lot of traffic up here, mostly the pitter patter of little ones.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The grandkids playroom is off to the right. They love to grab this quilt when it’s nap time. The room with all the sunlight spilling out is my *make room* Trust me, you don’t want to see it. . . lets just say I have been *making* a lot lately. It’s nice to just be able to shut the door on the mess.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I also wanted to show you an awesome treasure I got last week. I was in desperate need of some hunting therapy. So I went armed with Christmas money and a gift certificate from my son. I didn’t find much. This file box from my hometown sat hidden on a shelf in a booth I almost never go into.

 

 

 

 

It spoke to me in so many ways. First of all, Lewistown Montana was the town I was born in and lived until I graduated from High School. Secondly, it is from the courthouse office where my mom worked, and lastly. . . it is dated Oct. 6 1903 and that’s my husbands birthday, 1965, not 1903.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’ll leave you with another treasure I got last week. . . this sweet twig basket. The picture is slightly crooked, but I was in my jammies and it was sooooo cold. . .

 

 

 

 

Thank you to all who have shared my blog. I need more followers so I appreciate any and all you send my way.

Stay warm, cozy and safe. . .    d

GO PAC GO