Big Trees Down and others Trimmed

 Living on a rather big property, constantly asks for upkeep.

Trees do grow and we're now living here 31 years... 

Photo taken on October 15, 2021 and showing our Live Oak behind our home.

At one time, after an ice storm, a huge branch got ripped off, due to all the weight...

It never again had a 'good' shape since then.

See two links below post.

Our balcony's drain always got clogged up by catkins in the spring, then leaves and acorns in the summer and fall.

It also does stain the balustrade and lounge...

Bags full of leaves and acorns and one needs to scrub hard for removing the stains.

The other large oak tree you see over the roof, is across from our bay window area and between our home and that of the neighbors, on our side of the vinyl picket fence...

Several years ago lightning did cause a huge limb from the top section to come down; barely missing the neighbor's home.

Here you see how close to home, picket fence and everything else that V-shaped oak tree is!

To the right of it, right above the rose arbor, is our Holly tree that we want to save...

Our Southern Magnolia in the front (Magnolia Grandiflora) needed to be trimmed up in order to let the equipment pass by...

Photo is from October 15 with picket fence visible to the right.

Monday, November 1, around 8:15 AM this huge Live Oak had come down... It was easy as there was plenty of room for it to fall in its full length.

Quite a trunk size and huge root system.

Photo taken from balcony with one leaf from our Florentine Fig, shown bottom left...

Here, Pieter is standing on top of its trunk, for giving you an idea of its proportion.

Lots of wood did get hauled off...

After trimming off some branches from the huge Southern Magnolia, the truck with cherry picker could pass by...

Standing in our front porch...

One can tell that our exterior pressure washing and painting are the next jobs!

Literally branch by branch all of the tall oak's branches got taken down...

Branches stretched as far as above our roof.

By using a rope, via a pulley that got tightened onto a strong branch, the branches got guided down.

In the front to the right is our Oak Leaf Hydrangea.

Working at quite a height and being careful for not damaging the Holly tree next to this huge oak and the Japanese Magnolia tree visible to the right here. The Southern Magnolia is behind the vinly picket fence, not yet trimmed up...

Lots of limbs have already landed via the rope on a pulley and are below.

You see Pieter talking to the man from 🌳BUCKEYE PREFERRED SERVICES LLC

To the left you see the Southern Magnolia, center is the Japanese Magnolia and to the right we are freeing up our evergreen Holly tree.

Bird baths have been brought towards the patio area...

Those branches remained on the ground as a buffer for next days heavier limb parts to land on...

To be continued next day.

Related link:

Oh we TRIED HARD to have Jacarandas and Roses | previous post where we just had planted the Live Oak Tree...

{RARE Icicles in Our Garden} | previous post by me

{Our Garden White & Icy Today as Snowstorm Slams South} | previous post by me

Working with my Kodak Negative and Slide Scanner

 There is now a very handy negative scanner on the market and it also does slides!

Another handy tool for archiving family memories!

Yep, pushing the negatives just through... they're embedded inside a hinged and fitted holder, according to their size.

Found my Kodak Slide N SCAN Film and Slide Scanner on Amazon just click through via link.

WHY does Kodak not provide the necessary SanDisk?

Locally it was not available... so it resulted in waiting till this one got delivered.

The users manual reveals that it ought to be a SD or SDHC SanDisk and ONLY 32 GB

Only having negatives for scanning, I used one of the 3 Film Adapters

SanDisk inserted and all cables (USB and HDMI) plugged in

Connected to my MAC

Ready to go by pressing the OK / bar on top in front

Film Type for additional selection of size

Selecting the 135; 110 or 126 Film size

Or the 50 mm Slide...

You also get to select Color Negative or B&W Negative

If you touch Gallery, it shows the total slides/negatives being scanned

Easy uploading onto my MAC and another Mega Task got done!

Found some treasures, will show them later... 😉

Related links:

Video Capture - Mega Task DONE with Multi-System and Hi8 VCR | previous post about digitalizing things

{UPDATE...} | previous post about scanning photos

{Fighting the Water + Scanning Slides} | previous post about digitalizing slides

Solid Oak Shutters REDONE: Now Professionally Mortise Hinged by Husband Pieter

While living and  working in Indonesia, we had our new home built in Dublin, Georgia after moving all our belongings back from Italy and kept in storage.

In November of 1990 we moved in but had to leave again for Indonesia, for a couple more years.

When not there during construction, all sorts of things can go wrong...

So, finally in January of 1995, husband Pieter got to hang anew our solid oak indoor shutters. 

Our contractor had put the mortise hinges in face-mounted and by doing so, they did of course no longer shut...

So they went on by mutilating them even further by sawing the excess on the center (closing) panel off!

The face-mounted hinges resulted in ugly gaps between all panels, causing furniture, rugs, to fade from sunshine and also losing full privacy.

Too bad that such fine craftsmanship by Historic Windows in Virginia got ruined by non-professionals!

When viewing the video on your PC you see at clickable minute 0:30 in text below video, how Pieter painstakingly added narrow strips of wood to the window casing for making the window smaller to fill up the space.

Gaining just a little and then putting the wooden corner strip back on at minute 0:50 and start hanging the shutters anew.

At minute 0:58 Pieter places mortised hinges on correctly instead of face-mounted. Painstakingly chiseling out the space for hinges, precision job... 24 mortise hinges for each window!

At 1:50 hinge is now mortised into the edge of the shutter, thus preventing shutters from 'gaping'.

At 1:59 Pieter is showing how much they actually had CUT off... because they had placed the hinges face-mounted.

At 2:16 showing how Pieter added about 1.5 cm to casing and on other side 0.75 cm to compensate for what they had cut off, then caulking, sanding and painting.

At 3:50 painting in living room with the Dutch World Radio on... flooding in The Netherlands.

Pieter speaks in Dutch as this was our 'spoken' letter for my Parents, back in The Netherlands...

But you still get a very clear idea!

Happy for having those home videos archived!

We selected the CHARLESTON as that is exactly what we got for all doors, except in living room; dining room; kitchen and veranda where we have French doors with 15 glass panels.

Both of us like indoor shutters far better than curtains.

Curtains can become very dusty, and may interfere with certain health issues.

Easy cleaning instead of curtains.

Eco friendly as they insulate very well; both for cooling in summer and heating in winter.

Their historic look is also a big plus.

Too bad that HISTORIC WINDOWS where we got ours for our previous home, after getting rid of all curtains and again for our present home that we moved into in November of 1990, no longer produces...

~

Similar solid wood interior shutters you can find at Colonial Shutters in Mattapoisett, MA 

This also shows you, when professionally hung with mortised hinges, they CLOSE!

This is the Beacon Hill - full length Williamsburg style click link

These shutters are far more insulating then the cheaper plantation version with only slats that are also rather dusty and not maintenance friendly...

Does any of you have indoor shutters?

 

Related link:

{Our 'GREEN' Bedroom} | how husband Pieter installed some clever indoor shutters for French Door

Pieter Also did Paint Kitchen and Bathrooms

 Both of us always have preferred a LIGHT home, as it is a lot more cheerful!

So when we bought our previous home, newly built and us being its first owners, we did not like the dark wood everywhere.

Kitchen cabinets were in a drab and dark wood color...

You notice the Mushroom Family, with baby in the cradle?

This is the kitchen after Pieter painted it white...

Left is the door to the veranda, to the right the door went into the dining room and straight forward was an opening with two steps down into the living room. 

Kind of ODD!

On the right side, you just can see the doorknob that went into the garage...

We put in a new stove, new dishwasher.

Underneath the cabinet you just can see the kitchen's bay window area, with breakfast table and chairs.

Our choice of dishwasher, which was not as noisy as the one that came with the home!

Even the bathrooms had such drab looking dark wooden cabinets.

Those solid oak indoor shutters, Pieter installed himself, in the entire house.

Just like we have in our present home, painted white.

We put new wallpaper and painted the cabinets white.

Those sliding and mirrored tub doors, Pieter also installed.

Brother Harry did put in the floor tiles, for both bathrooms while he was here in 1986 for a 'vacation'. He also helped Pieter install a garage door.

We of course, all four of us, did go in–between to Florida! 

As well as other trips.

Guest bathroom with white cabinets and new tiles.

There was carpet in both bathrooms and for hygiene purposes, that was not our European standard...

Happy for having old photos archived...

After Painter did a LOUSY Job Husband Pieter Painted our Home

 Don't know if it was because we were immigrants, but we sure had a lemon of a painter!

Using thinned paint for the full price...

As you can see in this photo, he did not even bother to take the shutters off the wall, for painting behind them.

Both of us did hate the original color, seen where the shutters were... so drab!

The house we moved in, got newly built but we had had no say in the color.

On June 30, Pieter started with this mega job.

Below, was our version after Pieter finished. Shutters in a darker green and the house a kind of off-white.

Pieter also decided to paint the fascia boards green, they did frame the house a lot better.

Photo from January 16, 1988 with snow on the roof... 

October 19, 1988

We left our DUTCH TREAT behind...

Campbell Soup forced us more or less to move to Pennsylvania.

With heavy heart, we did, we had put so much work into our home!

Glad I've archived our old photos.

My 3rd Home with my French DMC Rose Filet Lace Crocheted Curtains

On Saturday, October 26 of 1985, we got  our new front door hung by the carpenter and I'd already hand crocheted the French DMC Rose Filet Lace Crocheted Curtains.

Before we had a solid, metal door and I did hate to open it, as I never knew who I was opening the door to...

So we changed it for this one, with small windows, so I could look out.

Pieter had done the tedious job of hammering in the tiny brass nails that I brought over from The Netherlands. Brass, on purpose, as that would never tarnish the fine filet crochet work.

Another Mega Task accomplished.

We also put a new window in the living room, one that allowed us to look outside instead of the previous higher window in a small size!

Yes, in our previous home we also had those solid oak window shutters, made by a craftsman from Virginia. They are excellent and eco friendly, in saving energy and you can close them for privacy, if needed. 

That's me, crocheting on some curtains for somebody...

(The wool Smyrna rug under the table, got hand done by me—knotted with a latch hook).

Comfy and lazy!

So, now I was happy! 

Finally having my roses back and LIGHT coming inside the hall way as well.

On December 24, after having taken the curtains off, Pieter managed to give the door its first coat of paint.

On the link below this post you can see more photos, also from a couple of years later, as well as from my previous two homes' Rose Filet Lace Curtains... Also you can clearly see the pattern.

Fond memories from archiving our photo albums.

Related link:

{My French DMC Rose Filet Lace Crocheted Curtains} } previous post by me for pattern

Husband Pieter Doing it ALL

Yes, over the years that we built our nests, husband Pieter had done the lion share himself.

We planned on adding a patio for privacy and for having lunch, coffee/tea outside.

So, on Tuesday, May 14 of 1985, Pieter started his VACATION...

Tiles had been shipped over from The Netherlands.

Pieter had taken the day off on May 6, for bringing the Dutch tiles from Nedimex, Venray home. With the help of the fork lift, at the Campbell mushroom farm, using the Toyota truck from AEM.

Both of us have unloaded the 1,600 pounds with our bare hands...

In Europe we are using a lot more tile floors, here it is finally getting more popular the last decennia.

Pieter started with our new patio...

Just for seeing him in action... 27 seconds on silent movie

Dutch: Tegelzetter Pieter maakt terras

English: Tiler Pieter makes terrace

All hand work

Cutting the tiles by hand; using a chisel...

Making progress!

Yep, that is my Red Ford Escort with the Rebel Tag in the front...

Guess I've been a Rebel With a Cause.

Pieter's boss, the Campbell Soup CEO shook his head when Pieter picked him up one day, when he'd landed at our local airport. 'No Pieter, you cannot do that', he said.

But it was MY car, the Buick was at the garage for a tune up...

Not having it done for $ 1.00 per tile; but for sweat!

Sunday lunch on our new patio, with guests/mushroom friends from Switzerland...

Kuhn mushrooms' manager Enzler and Hans Jörg Kuhn with Pieter.

Mauzie our Dachshund is seen bottom right.

On May 27, beginning with the wall...

Yep, Pieter became a carpenter and now working on the roof.

On May 30, with the roof on, it starts looking good! Now the painting...

Voilà, our new patio with privacy and a nice place for lunch, coffee/tea.

On the wall is the antique brass and copper ship's pump, mounted on an oak plank.

Stepping a bit more back, so you can see the Zinnias blooming on the side of the patio.

It sure was a great extension to our previous home.

Do you see that duct in the center of the roof?

One evening, while Pieter was traveling for Campbell Soup to one of their mushroom plants, we had quite a storm.

Turned out that the duct was flapping and making an awful noise.

So I got on a ladder and went up the roof and stamped it shut.

Pieter later on fastened it more secure so it won't flap ever again.

Treasures from archiving our photo albums...