New Porch!

We are working on the porch! It is not complete but here are some photos of it in progress. The ceiling still needs to be replaced; new cement steps will be pored (as soon as Gustav passes through...); and the rails still need a little work. But notice the nice little corbels that my 85 year old uncle made especially for me! :) It will all be so homey with a coat or two of white paint! Click on any photo to enlarge.


The above two photos are BEFORE pictures. There were two "posts" which consisted of 1x4 boards nailed up around existing rotten posts. When we pulled off the boards we found what looks like original posts. They even had a teensy bit of original black paint on some of the rings! I'd love to have them displayed or used somewhere inside. Any ideas?

When I was working on the house last week, I noticed a car come by. Twice he just sat there, once in front of the house and then on the side street (we are on the corner.) As I looked closer, the sign on his car door said County Assessor... Boy, with all the activity on our little place, the tax-man is chompin' at the bit! Anyway, I went out to say "Hi" and see what was up. He was nice and said he was just making the rounds in the neighborhood. (Uh-huh...) He let me look at the file he had on the cottage. It said the place was built in 1902, not 1904 like the realty info said. It also showed a small barn on the property. Well, that's no longer there but they were still assessing taxes on it! We took care of that mistake pretty quick! He said, "Well, there go your taxes!"