Cousins' Week 2016
Attendees (in order of arrival) - Dave , John and Karissa, Ashley, Jen and Annalise, Wayne, Gregg. This year Cousins' Week was an impromptu event, organized in response to the week not being rented and the need to accomplish painting and other chores to save the expense of having it done professionally.
Projects
(All images are thumbnails.)
6/3/16
7/7/16
Despite the brief notice we had an excellent showing for Cousins' Week and got a lot accomplished. Thanks primarily to John, Ashley, Jen, Annalise, and Karissa the porch ceiling and trim were all scraped and sanded and then painted with 2 coats of exterior paint. Dave removed the door and completely removed the old paint and decayed glazing after removing all of the windows, then the door was re-painted and re-glazed. The entire area is clean, bright, and inviting.
In a little spare time Jen, Annalise, and Karissa scraped and sanded some of the bare spots in the upstairs hall and painted two of the walls to match the downstairs hall. There should be enough paint left in the garage (Benjamin Moore) to finish the hallway some time this year, if anyone is so inclined . . .
Gregg arrived on Monday and he and I scraped and prepped the window trim and the gables on both sides of the attic, then painted it to match the rest of the trim. I will be ordering two replacement windows for the attic and then replacing that trim. The windows should be slightly larger than the existing windows and will have improved ventilation and improved ease of use, making the attic area even more "inviting" for sleeping.
John sanded and painted the breaker box. The circuits are clearly labeled inside. I will be adding a reminder to always turn off the hot water breaker whenever the main breaker is turned off. (The avoids accidently turning on the heater in the winter or spring before the water is turned back on.)
In the off season I made some new bookshelves for the living room to hold the albums and other books, and made a set of "Porter" bellows for the fireplace.
Finally, after painting one of the windows and the garage doors and finishing a few miscellaneous tasks, it was time to relax with a glass of wine on our fresh new porch. Have a great summer!
(6/3/16)
Later that summer, windows were custom ordered and installed in the attic. They are slightly larger than the previous ones and they operate much more smoothly, allowing improved light and ventilation in the attic.
Before After
The Porter Family Trust