Parlour Floor

It's been a long time coming but the tile and the maple flooring in the Parlour are installed! The tile at the entry was put in a couple of weeks ago, and as soon as that was done, I called Royalty Hardwoods at Pooles Corner and set up a date for the maple floor to be put in, and that was done last Saturday. It took them only 3 hours to get it done! We had picked it out in July, but had to wait until the tile was in before getting that installed.

Below are four pictures sent to me by the installer. He contracts with Royalty Hardwoods, and will be back later this week to install the doors between the Parlour and Dining Room, and Parlour and Butler's Pantry.

The tile is placed roughly where originally there was an entry vestibule, with walls and a door to the original Parlour. George Lowe must have removed the walls of the vestibule and then divided the Parlour into a Hallway and Bedroom when he added the Kitchen, pre-1916. When he did that, the original Dining Room became the Parlour, and the Kitchen became the Dining Room. So now, the layout of the house is closer to what it was when the house was built.

The wooden transition strip bridges the gap between the tile and the maple, and allows expansion so the wood doesn't crack the tile in the future. It doesn't come prefinished, so Dad will match a sample of the maple with a stain to finish that himself.

These photos below were taken later by Lois. Mom and Dad have already started to move some furniture in. That is Mom's grandmother's Singer sewing machine between the front door and the stairs door.

Mom and Dad cleaned, stripped, sanded, primed and painted the old trim and put it back up around the door to the second floor after the tile was in.

They have purchased a new couch and they can now have it delivered. The TV and other furnishings will be moved from the basement to the Parlour by Christmas. They will finally be able to set up cable and watch TV shows for the first time since they moved in 18 months ago!  

These are old curtains of mine that I sent to Mom and they put them up in the Parlour, the first curtains in the house!

That is Granny's (Mom's mother) rocking chair in the corner

What is left to do regarding construction in the Parlour is to install the old trim around three doors, have the picture rail made and installed all around the ceiling, and have the baseboards put in. They will get new 1x8 for the baseboards. The original apparently went in the dump when the old floor fell out as the house was lifted for the new foundation.

 

Beyond that, Dad plans on refinishing the old mantle over the winter, and all that will be left to complete the Parlour is to get the two sconces for above the mantle, and to hang the wallpaper, which I can't wait to do next summer.

Thanks once again for the pictures Lois. It's great to see the progress.

The New Bridge

Lois sent me these pictures of the progress on the new bridge and fish ladder at the falls. The falls are now on the north side of the bridge. The bridge was constructed of prefabricated concrete and dropped into place. The bridge is no wider than it was before, still one lane. I hope by next summer the water is back up and the sides grow in and it looks a little more natural. Maybe this was necessary but it just makes me a little sad that it has changed. I suppose I feel the same way about the house too. When something is loved as it is for so long, change is hard to get used to. No one knows better than I do that the house needed a lot of help, and it turned out better than I could have imagined, especially with all of the hard work and attention to detail that Mom and Dad have put into it, but secretly (now not so secretly) I wish the house could have stayed the way it was forever. Dad especially had a hard time accepting the changes while the initial demolition work was under way, but now sees that it was necessary to save the house. There was nothing left to repair, only reconstruction would save the house.

This will be the new waterfall I'm guessing

The granite rock looks alien. There isn't any that occur naturally on the Island. This dam and waterfall have been in place since 1808, 2 years after the Munn's arrived from Scotland. However, they have changed in the past. I remember when the dam was one lane and had trees on both sides, covering the road like a covered bridge. That was replaced, I'm guessing, in the late 1970's. Thing is, I still miss the trees!

The fish ladder below

Looks like this line of rocks was part of the old fish ladder

Thank you Lois for the pictures

New Member of the Family

My cousin Ralta is a grandmother!

Her daughter Ami and husband Gavin, who live in Australia, welcomed their daughter Daphne Winifred into this world on October 9th 2012, and below are some pictures that her proud grandmother Ralta sent me this morning. She is named after her great-grandmother Winnie Munn.  

This is Daphne at a few hours old

Daphne in a sweater knit by her great-grandmother Winnie

and as Ralta put it, showing off her proud Mom's Canadian roots!

Congratulations Ami, Gavin and Ralta! Looks like a reason for grandma to go back to Australia!

The Election is OVER and...

all is right with the world. Earlier this week Dad was appointed to the Murray River Village Council! He joins his cousin Garnet Buell and friend from across the road, Marven MacLeod on the Council. They meet monthly to decide village business. Dad will be great at it as he has a lot of experience from being on numerous boards over several years at their church when they lived in Springhill. I think they are settling in quite well. Dad and family left Hopefield 61 years ago December, and I can't help but feel very happy for him to be home again and part of the community.

 

I have not updated for quite a while as anyone who still checks this site can attest. The work has slowed down to the details which are time consuming and Mom and Dad have been as busy as always. They are incredibly meticuous and the house is much better for it. The tile has been installed in the entry foyer, and the prefinished maple hardwood floor will be installed on November 20th. After that, they can move into the living room and relax for a while. They have also stripped and repainted the rest of the main floor doors, and bought a sofa. It will be delivered once the floor is done. Then they can set up the TV and relax.

 

There are two more projects left that I would consider big, and the rest are minor details. The two projects are to finish the basement bathroom and to drywall and finish the second floor. The bathroom is next on the list over the coming winter, and the bedrooms will wait a while. Beyond that, there is trim to be milled and installed, some more painting, and hanging wallpaper, which I am itching to get started.

 

CONGRATS DAD!!