Happy New Year

Wishing you a very Happy New Year from Zelda.

May 2011 bring a family to Zelda to make it a home.

Merry Christmas - 2010

Merry Christmas from our family to yours.

Christmas Tree at Smithsonian Museum Washington D.C. -2010

Ford Theatre

Our last trip to Zelda was during the Thanksgiving break.  We spent a day there cleaning and finishing a few items on the punch list.  Everything looked great and even our adopted cat "Chip" was there in the storage barn.

There has been several showings of the house and we have two (2) interested parties.  One (1) family is scheduled for a second visit with the other family indicating Zelda is there number one choice.  Still no offers but we know it is only now a matter of time.

The only advantage leaving near D.C. is the ability to visit the museums.  Recently we were in the district to view the Norman Rockwell painting collection of Spielberg and Lucas at the National Portrait Gallery.  We arrived around 10:00 am but the gallery did not open till 11:00 am, so we walked around the area and stumbled upon the Ford Theater.  It was disappointing to find out the interior of the theatre had been destroyed but it was restored to its original condition.  There was a museum in the basement that housed a lot of interesting pieces which included the gun used to kill President Lincoln.

The front of the Ford Theater in Washington D.C.



This is the boot worn by Booth that Dr. Mudd  had to cut to remove.



The gun used by Booth.

Happy 2010 Veterans Day and Thank You

Thanks you to all the veterans who have served in the past and our prayer and thanks to those serving today.  Brent's Dad "Paw Paw Neal" served in the US Air Force and JoLynn's Dad "Paw Paw Joe" served in the US Navy.

American Heros

Also Happy Birthday to the USMC which was formed by the Continental Congress on November 10, 1775.

First Visit in Two Months.

Looks like we will head down to North Carolina this Thursday night to Zelda.  We plan to stay through Friday afternoon before heading over to Gatlinburg and seeing the twins.  We will do some cleaning and interior touch-up painting in the laundry room, mudroom and a closet.  We have not been to Zelda since the end of August.

Zelda Entertains Grandmother and Pa Pa Neal

While on their way to Maryland from Louisiana, Grandmother and Pa Pa Neal (Brent's parents) took exit 10 off I-85 in North Carolina to stop and see Zelda.  It had been one (1) year since their last visit and how things have changed.  The electric was not turned on, none of the finished floors, interior doors, baseboard, crown molding, etc.were finished.  Grandmother took all the photos except the one she is in by the fireplace.  We think she did a great job.

With Grandmother and Pa Pa Neal in Maryland, this weekend we drove around the Annapolis area, went to G&M for crab cakes and of course, thrift store shopping.

Pa Pa Neal trying to remember the code for the lock.

A view of the kitchen.



The front den/library.  When entering the front door it is the first room on the right.



The fireplace in the dining room.

Here is a different view, looking down the stairs.

I really like this photo Grandmother took of the master bath room vanities.  Her artistic side came out in the photo.

Looking into the master bath room walk-in shower

Pa Pa Neal smiling at the refinished original heart pine wood floors.



Grandmother inspecting one of the two original fireplace mantles to Zelda.  Brent added alot of additional trim to the mantle.




Grandmother says this is one of her favorite views inside Zelda.  Both Grandmother  and Pa Pa Neal thought things had changed a lot in the year since their last visit.



Grandmother, Lynn and Cookie in front of the captial in Annapolis.



The Evolution of the Kitchen Part I

Decided to show the complete transformation of the kitchen.  The transformation started in 2007 and ended in 2010.  We actually removed all the interior including the floors such that we were down to the dirt. 

The original kitchen with a pass through.  July 2007



Another view of kitchen.  The pass through is to the left and the stairs are located through the door on the right.  July 2007



Looking through kitchen door towards the sink.  July 2007.

Looking at kitchen pass through.  The drop down ceiling in keeping room is removed.  July 2007

The demo of the wall with kitchen pass through.   July 2007

  

The kitchen pass through is gone.  July 2007



The interior walls of kitchen have been demolished.  August 2007

The debris on the kitchen floor.  August 2007

Cleaning up the wall insulation.  August 2007

The floor are gone and the dirt floor is showing.  Three piers were poured to support the new floor and main beam is installed.  September 2007



Brent and Tommy attaching the new floor joists to the main support beam and sides.  September 2007



The treated floor joists are attached using joist hangers and are on 16" spacing.  September 2007

Almost half the kitchen floor joists are installed.  September 2007



The kitchen floor joists are installed.  September 2007



The hvac ducting installed and the floor insulation is being installed.  Also we installed a black poly sheet on all the dirt below Zelda.  November 2007

Brent's dad is helping to install the chicken wire to hold the floor insulation.  November 2007

With Pa Pa Neals help the kitchen floor insulation is installed and the 3/4" T&G flooring (on right) is being installed.  November 2007

All the sub flooring in the kitchen is installed.  You can see the two (2) doors ways framed on the right.  The left door is for the walk in pantry and the right door leads to the down stairs laundry and back deck.  November 2007

Another view of the kitchen sub flooring.  The saw horses with the door became the work bench for several years as work was perfomred at Zelda.  November 2007

The Sink Area of the Kitchen

The sink area of the kitchen was repositioned.  In the original layout, the sink was on an interior wall, with the laundry room on the other side.  We installed a new window on the outside wall and positioned the farm house sink under the window.  We debated on replacing the shutter style cabinets and the blue paint.

It was tempting to keep the shutter cabinet doors.

The door to the right of the sink lead to the laundry room.



The demolition of the kitchen begins.



The location of the new farm house sink.





The upper cabinets are gone.

The interior walls are demolished.

The insulation and debris are removed.  The drain pipe shows indicates where the original sink was located.

The old flooring was removed and new floor joists were installed.  The new hvac ducts were installed and the R-19 insulation is being installed in the floor.  We used chicken wire stabled between the joists and then the insulation installed.




The new cabinets are installed.

 

The farm house sink is installed.

The cement board is down on the floor in front of sink.



The dishwasher, floors and counter tops are installed.

The finished product with the granite countertop, subway tile backsplash, the dishwasher and window trim.

The stove is in the location of the original doorway to the laundry room.

The finished stove area on the back wall where the original laundry room was located.