Before and After Time

Hi there! I think it's been a good long while since I've posted some Before & After photos. It's an exercise that I find helpful for my state of mind (to help with the, Oh No! Why Are We Spending So Much Time and Money On This Little Falling Down House?)...

I sincerely hope that it will be interesting for you, too. Especially if you are just stumbling upon my blog for the first time. We've been at this for years now, and it's a long process. Restoring a Gold Rush house is a dream come true, and it's something that I love to obsess about. :) If you have the time and inclination (and perhaps a cup of coffee or a cocktail) you may wish to explore my older posts to see what this place is all about.

Before...

June 30th, 2012
(When we were considering the purchase of the Little Blue House)

After...

January 28th, 2016
(I realize now that this is the most recent photo of the house from this angle)

Before...

2012

After...

2016


Before...

After...

Before...

After...

To be continued!

Spring Treasure Hunting...

Last weekend, my husband donned his work clothes and a face mask to explore the far reaches of our wood shed. Built during the Gold Rush, the small cabin was likely home to a miner or two in Atlin, BC. It was the only part of our property that we hadn't yet explored, and it yielded a few treasures!

Rummaging through an old crate...

Goodyear Rubber Co fire extinguisher, circa 1872!

Colourful gas can.

Wringer washer. 

Dairy cream jugs, curtain rod with brass rings, broken rocking chair... And a lot of junk!

It was pretty mousy in that wood shed. We took 3 trailer loads to the dump, and kept the good stuff to clean up and use. 

Lots more coming on the blog. It'll be my first summer off in many years, so I am looking forward to our projects at the Little Blue House!

Spring Display, Atlin Style!

Spring Thaw

Spring is springing really quickly this year. There was still snow on the ground for our kids' Easter egg hunt last weekend though!

We are planning our big summer project: painting the LBH! More to follow on that front. See our peeling, old paint!

I'm coming out of my hibernation, so will blog more soon...

Bay Window Panels are Done!

We chose colours for the exterior of the LBH a while back... We were going to paint last summer & then we kinda got lazy. So we didn't paint the house. We actually sat around and drank beer. 

However, we designed decorative panels to go under each leaded glass window in our "bay window room," facing First Street in Atlin. Then our trusty carpenter built them for us! He installed them last week, and they look amazing!

It gives you an idea of what the LBH will look like when the rest of the house is painted. At least then it'll be finished on the outside, right? That is our major project for this summer. It'd be great if we could build a small balcony for the front door, too...

We are very happy with how the panels look. Way to go, Rick! Thank you!

January Visit

We finally made it down to Atlin for a weekend. It was too short a stay... We were there last in November. There really isn't much snow this year. We tromped with the kids across the nearby alkali flats and up a small ridge. There was a gorgeous view of Atlin Lake, a large blue sky, and animal prints for us to follow. 

The lake is still open - it should normally freeze up in January - as it's been a relatively mild winter so far. We heard that there are many animals in and around town: lynx, wolf, deer... They're apparently waiting to cross the lake to forage or hunt on the other side. Various tracks were visible along this ridegline. 

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! I have a good feeling about this year. 2016! The past several months have brought much change, for the good... I believe I'm going to have more time to spend at our LBH this year, working on the restoration, and blogging about it. 😊

I retired from my career as an airline pilot, which was taking over my life... Now I am enjoying more time with my family, living in the present (more than ever) and also reflecting on what will come next. Work of some kind, but I don't know yet... Certainly I will work on fixing up our tiny, former brothel - it needs more attention!

I wish you health & happiness in this new year!