Hey y’all! I hope all is well with all our friends, both new and old. We are headed to Ohio this weekend to visit with of our grandchildren so I wanted to make sure I filled you in on what has been happening at 10 Sutherland before we left.

Finally! We are back on the road again! We got the final building permit from the Charleston Board of Architectural Review and things are starting to happen!

Upon receiving the approval, our contractor said that instead of seeing a couple of people there each day, we would start to see crews. Music to my ears! And, as always, he was correct.

Up until now, we’ve only met Joey and William who have been working diligently at the demolition and shoring up the foundation. In addition to that, they are working on the exterior siding. The north side needed minimal repair and priming. It looks great just seeing the primer go up.

The south side of the house was pretty much a total loss due to exposure to the sun and little to mostly no maintainance. That was part of the reason for the delay. The BAR wanted to make sure that our desire to replace the siding was justified. They agreed that it was a total loss. Part of it was replaced years ago with a substandard wood and never even painted! Take a look for yourself.

Last week we met a new member of the team, Bryce. Bryce is working on salvaging as many windows as possible.  Historic Woodworks Charleston is working to rebuild the sashes. It is so amazing to see them take windows that would seem to be trash and rebuild them. The rope/weight cords on all the windows are being replaced. What glass that is missing will be replaced with the old wavy glass.

Speaking of wavy glass! I had a hard time deciding if I was going to title this blog “Back On The Road Again” or “I Get By With A Little Help From My FrIends.” David, Marc & I spent some time with our friend and fellow Charleston Farmers Market vendor, Beth McConnell of Charleston Views a few days ago. Beth uses windows from homes that are being remodeled or demolished to make beautiful creations that adorn homes around the world. Who better to ask about an inside source for wavy glass, huh? Well, turns out Beth has tons of it in her shed that she would gladly give us. Free is David’s favorite price!

Not only did she have  available glass, she knew where it all came from.  The addresses included 423 Race, 7 Meeting, 63 Cannon and a carriage house on Rutledge and Wentworth. I will take pride looking through windows from those addresses. I think I owe her dinner AND a movie!

Speaking of color, I am thinking of making a change. I am glad Marc is too busy to read this because if he did he might be rolling his eyes back in his head thinking, “I thought we already decided on a color. 🙂 Of course I’m just kidding.  That man has the patience of Job, thank goodness!

The color we have chosen is cream. The trim will be cream also. (I will share the color for the body at a later time as I have to work up my courage.)  My new consideration is to choose another color for the sash and leave the trim cream. I simply love the look and think that it would add some interest to an otherwise plain house. As much as I love Sutherly, she is pretty much a plain girl with not a lot of architectural detail. I think that two colors on the windows would help. Something subtle, but distinctive. We shall see!

Oh, I almost forgot the most exciting news to date! Last Friday they poured the foundation for the addition and the screened porch. It is amazing how much better you can envision the space with just concrete poured into the ground. I will attach pictures so you can see for yourself. Note that the back porches have been removed and will be rebuilt as additional living space on the first floor and closets on the second.

I can’t wait to get back next week to see what the crew has been up to while we are away!

Ok, here comes the weird part of today’s post. Seems I need to add something gross or scary to each blog, right? But you want to know all the details, don’t you? Well, here goes.

There has been this strange little doll laying in the back yard since February. I would have thought with all the demo,  trash removal and loaded dumpsters that it/she/he would be gone by now. Our crew at CCC had a name for it/her/him, Chucky. What made this little creature even more eerie is seeing it last week when I was making my way through the backyard to take pictures. There it/she/he was! After all this time this doll had survived!

Then yesterday as I made my way through the trash I glanced over to see if the doll was still there. I was a little horrified to see it/he/she had been covered in cement! Ugh! What a nasty way to go. 😦 I don’t know what that means for the person who did it or for the home owners. I won’t let my imagination run away with me. 🙂

Ok, that’s about it. I have a few additions pictures to add below for your viewing pleasure. As always, please feel free to ask questions or add comments. I’d love to hear from you. And if you haven’t already, please sign up below so that you will be notified via email when future entries are posted.

And again, thank you so much for your interest in our journey.Until next time, y’all take care!