Weekend Update....

Happy St. Patrick's Day to everyone!!

Yesterday was busy, right up until 8:00 p.m. or so!!  The Lake Morton Historic District Home and Garden Tour was great!  I have photos below for those who are interested.  We went to 4:00 Mass, and lighted a candle for our friend, Al.  He was there with us in spirit.  The sacrament of marriage was celebrated at Mass, and all married couples were asked to stand and renew marriage vows.  I'm happy to say that Joe and I participated, so I guess we are good to go for a few more years!

After church, we picked up Helen and took her to Panera Bread for dinner.  She likes Panera because she can just have a bowl of soup.  We ran into friends, who go to Resurrection Catholic Church (our old church) and they also knew Al & Helen.  Of course, they were sorry to hear that Al died.  It was good talking with them.  We brought Helen back to our house, so I could get on-line and help her find plane tickets to Virginia, for Al's service and burial.  We found non-stop tickets for times that will be convenient for them, and for us to take them to the airport and also pick them up.  She was grateful for the help.  She then sat down and stayed until just after 8:00!  I think she didn't want to go home, perhaps.  Her niece went to church with her this morning, and they went out to eat for lunch. She came by here earlier, to return a book I had given Al to read.  We asked her to stay for pasta and meatballs, but she said she was still full from lunch, and wanted to go home.

Joe is taking all of Al's medications to a homeless shelter, here in town, that takes left over prescriptions for the doctors to use there, for the homeless.  The narcotic drugs will go to the police station for disposal.

There were 11 homes on the tour this year.  We saw nine of them.  Two were requiring visitors to take off their shoes.  We decided we weren't going to do that, and wait in line to go in.  If they want to put restrictions on wearing shoes and how many people can be in the house at once... we don't need to go in.  The nine homes we saw were all wonderful.  Two stand out as amazing, and one had an especially beautiful garden/back yard.  The two we missed were probably very nice, too.

We started the tour with house 7, then 8, 9, 10 and 11.  They were the closest to the Museum and were walk-able (for me).  

House #7 was a standout for us.  The first one we went into was built in 1917.  A Spanish Colonial Revival home, it was renovated by the current owners.  The kitchen had granite counter tops, and the three-car garage was turned into a two-car garage, with the third bay made into a craft/sewing/den, with a bathroom.  The extra space in the garage makes a huge difference for the smaller home, adding additional needed space.  The flow of the floor plan was perfect, and the owners did a great job of keeping the flavor of the home, while making it comfortable for a family.

I forgot to get a photo of house #8, but it was built in 1947 and the current owners have only lived there one month.  They are just getting started on renovations, and they used IKEA for the kitchen, so totally not true to the historic value of the home.  It was the tiniest, at only 930 square feet.

House #9 was built in 1928 and the current owners have lived there since 1991.  They are still making changes, but built onto the home a few years ago, making a new master suite and enlarging the kitchen.  They did a great job of keeping the home historically correct, and the garden area was absolutely gorgeous.

House #10, was built in 1925, with a coquina shell brick exterior.  The current owner has cats (and I petted one!), but she (in my opinion) has gone overboard with tile.  She had tile on the walls in every room.  The flow through the house was nice, if a little tight.  We enjoyed talking with her (and all of the owners who were present in their homes).

House #11, though impressive on the outside, is really two apartments and the renters downstairs are a young couple, just getting started in life.  The furnishings were not antique or beautiful, but the home is very nice.  The upstairs apartment is empty right now, but we didn't go upstairs (my knees!).  Joe didn't care about going up himself.  It was built in 1926 and is 1,326 square feet in total.  The owners are still renovating and intend to keep it historically correct.

From there, we walked back to the Museum, to use the restrooms and to get the car.  Rather than wait for the trolley, we decided to drive to the other six homes, to cut down on how far we had to walk.  My knees were talking to me...

Houses #3 and #5 are the two requiring people to take their shoes off and wait in line to go in, limiting the number of people in the house at a time.  We skipped them.  They didn't need us, is how we looked at it.

House #1 on the tour, was built in 1923.  It was the only one, this year, that has a swimming pool.  The home has been lovingly cared for and updated, and they collect antiques, so the house is beautifully decorated in the period, too.  We weren't allowed to go upstairs, but the downstairs is beautiful and the backyard is amazing.

House #2, looks tiny from the outside, but opens up when you get inside.  It was built in 1927.  It has a butler's pantry between the dining room and updated kitchen.  They built on, but kept the historic windows to use in the new construction.  From the outside, you can't tell where the new construction starts.  I was amazed at how they were able to transform the house and keep it accurate to the period.  They enlarged the kitchen and added a master suite.

House #4 was the largest, by far.  Built in 1912, called Prairie Style, and is 5,500 square feet.  It has an interesting history, including being a hospital for a brief time in the 1930s.  It was also used as a college dormitory for awhile, until is was purchased from the school in 1991 and the renovations began.  Lightening struck and caused an additional $71,000 dollars in damage, but the renovations continued.  The current owners have been in the house for a year or so.  This home was featured in the magazine "American Bungalow" #69, Spring 2011.  Link:  http://www.americanbungalow.com/table-of-contents-issue-69/ where you can see more of the interior and learn about the history.  It is worth looking at it, if you enjoy these old 'bungalows'.  

House #6 was distinctive, first because the young son who lives there (maybe 12 years old) had a name tag on that said "owner" and he was welcoming everyone.  It was built in 1920 and is 1,800 square feet.  Two bedrooms and two baths.  The front porch was lovely.  I love a front porch....grew up with one, but haven't had one since I left my parents' home.  This house was converted to a duplex at one time, but this family made it back into a single home and have lovingly refurbished it.  I didn't get a photo of the front of the house, but the porch is beautiful!

We had a great time, in spite of my nasty knees!  I'm fine today!  A little Tylenol goes a long way.

Hope you are enjoying your Sunday!  Peace, love & hugs.