OgBlog.net

1941 PRESERVATION OAK—- OCCUPIED!

Such a long time since I’ve posted here…..lots of water under the bridge, not all of it sparkling and clear.

But…...we’ve pretty well occupied the house, now. As she always does, Gail has created a home out of dead (though, in this case, attractive) space. It never ceases to amaze me, although you’d think I’d be used to it by now, after 42+ years and 12 different dwelling places….thank you, Babe.

Without further ado, here we go:
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Looking (north) back at the entry - remember that virtually every single thing in our home has a story…and no, I’m not going to tell them all!! But I’ll do some hinting. You’re looking at the bronze statue of David that I bought when I was 10 years old. Just peeking in from the left is the Galapagos tortoise our family bought when we visited the islands in 1990. And just left of the door is the brass plaque commemorating the establishment of our home in 1969.
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We’re looking toward the eastern bedrooms here - the mirror that hung over Mom’s dresser all my growing up years, and the mask Gail commissioned for me in 2002 to replace the one from 1970 that she’d insisted on getting rid of (look on top of the closet)! The hall tree has an unknown history - I think we got it while at The Homestead.
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We’ve turned 180 degrees to look west from the entrance - and there’s Joshua! You can see the piano Papa gave Mom when she turned 21, and the mirror we put in the frame Mom Selby bought and stored in her garage forever….. Beyond the closet are the doors to the kitchen (left) and garage (right) with the laundry room at the far end.
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East wall of living room from entry…can you tell we love books? Thor’s wing chair (we’re perfectly happy storing it, sweet son!) and the (slip-covered - thanks, Loretta) living room furniture we bought in 1988 for the house we built at The Homestead. Also a lovely gas fireplace that operates on a thermostat, thank you very much.
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We’ve moved across the room now - on the wall at left are three of my Grandfather Viktor’s B&W prints of California in the ‘30s and ‘40s. The red/black blanket is the one we bought for the (night) train ride from the coast in Peru to Lake Titicaca at 12,000 feet elevation.
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We’re standing in front of the fireplace and looking more or less west - the entry is to the right. This wall has a couple of “vintage” paintings that I got as a pre-teen, plus two from Papa and Nenek that Cairns painted in Penang. The rest are paintings, lithographs and photographs done by people that we have known - even if for a short time. You can also see Papa’s surgery chair - the one he used for decades in his Ukiah office for tonsillectomies and other minor surgeries, plus splinter removal, ophthamological procedures, etc. And on the cedar chest (not visible) I gave Gail for her 21st birthday is the water buffalo that sat on Mom’s piano for so many years at Papa’s house.

Notice also that you can see the wall we added after we moved in. If you look at the granite counter with its pretty wooden supports, it’s a dead giveaway as to where the wall ended earlier! That’s the kitchen back there, with the “dining room” to the left (which is south).
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Turning somewhat to the left, you can see the dining room table and cabinet - the table was Gail’s Mom’s and the cabinet is one that got abandoned in Uncle Dean’s Moving and Storage in St. Helena. Aunt Jean used it for a few years and then gave it to us when she had her cabinetry built in. A friend in Tennessee (thanks, Steve) who is a pretty serious “antiquer” looked at it and says that it was likely “home-made” from wood salvaged from packing crates and other such sources. We love it. The high chairs were bought at Southeast Salvage in Chattanooga after we saw similar ones in a catalog for $350. These were made in Indonesia from a model taken over there to the factory, and reimported in pieces to be sold for less than $100.00 each. We’ll move up closer, now:
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Much the same, but the dining chair on the left is one of two that I still have from Papa and Nenek’s house on Standley Street in Ukiah - they had a number of them, all covered in a funny brown (early form of) naugahyde back in the ‘50s. You can also see a new piece of furniture on the left - we got it at Cost Plus World Market right here in Chico. The door leads to the western bedrooms and bath, plus a lovely linen closet.
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We’re looking north - the front door is to the right down the hall that you can see under the clock - you’d pass the piano to get there. That door is to the garage, and to the left is the laundry room. Here you can see the utensil rack and the pottery canisters that we got for our wedding - Gail will remember who gave each of them to us. Also the spice rack that was (I think) the first object that I made for her….in Fort Collins while I was in graduate school, using turnings and dowel from Tolliver’s Hardware Store. Apparently gone now (see Steve’s comment on Dec. 1, 2010).....

Grandmom’s gifts of Danish Christmas plates are over the door of our wonderful pantry. There is more stuff on top of the cabinets, but you can’t really see them….....who was that cheering? Shame on you!
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Now we’re looking at the new wall, with the matching cabinet made and hung by the cabinetmaker who did the original work. They put in a second electrical outlet on that wall, as well. Very nice, now.
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We’re looking west now, at the gas range - the grids are flat and continuous across all four burners, so it’s perfect for canning.
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Pantry door - beside which you see a bit of “bean art” that I think was made by one of the kids in grade school. Next, we look inside:
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VERY efficient, with half-shelves, baskets, drawer sets, etc. We can live a month on this, I think. On the lower right is Nenek’s (1950 model) Kitchenaid mixer….which once required a new cord, but that’s been it…still working perfectly.
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Here’s the only part of my office Gail wants me to show you….I’m sorting boxes of books from the garage because she won’t let me put in any new bookshelves. We have to rid ourselves of LOTS of books…which is most likely a good thing, even if a bit painful. It’s taking longer than either of us likes, but I’m making progress. I have photos and pictures on all four walls, and still use Papa’s elephant leg wastebasket, the 5-gallon water bottle penny collector, bird paintings and drawings by Glen Wahlman, Uncle Don’s Highway 50 sign, etc. Fun place for sightseeing!!
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Here’s your guestroom, should you favor us with a visit. Maitland’s painting on the far wall, Gail’s childhood maple bedstead, one of Papa’s old chairs, and one of Mom Selby’s bathroom mirrors. Above the chair is Grandaddy Joe’s marriage certificate, believe it or not!!
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Guest bathroom, with wedding photographs and memorabilia. Nice tile counter and floor; shower/bath to the left. The window faces west, and looks out on our neighbor’s house and backyard - thus the translucent glass.
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We’ve left the western bedroom “wing”, headed north through the kitchen and then turned west to the laundry room - isn’t it GREAT?! Our house in Bend didn’t have a laundry sink, and we’re VERY glad to have one, again….. You can see the “South American bag” hanger on the right…lots of different styles and materials.
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Now we’ve moved over to the northeast corner of the house and Gail’s office. Colorful South American textiles on two walls, homemade desk, lamp that Mom got us in Mendocino, and Victor’s futon. Plus the wastebasket - which we bought the second year we were married and used upside-down as a stool in our “single-car-garage-sized” apartment in Angwin.
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This is the “powder room” bath….again, beautiful tile throughout. And lots of S. American memorabilia plus a lovely saints set that Cindy gave us once upon a time…...
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This is the master bedroom, with (against the east wall) our Eastlake Victorian bedstead we bought the year we got back from Bolivia and have slept in ever since - if you look carefully, you can see that I’ve modified it to take a king-sized mattress, which would probably bemuse the maker! On the far wall are Papa’s British Medical and Surgical licenses, that made him legal when he went out to Penang in 1921 or so…plus I’m using Papa’s medicine cabinet for my bedside table. This is a lovely room - out of sight are my Grandmom’s secretary and an ancient rocking chair from Gail’s family, both to the right. Finally:
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the Master Bath. Windows are south and east above the whirlpool tub. The wonderful tile double-shower (door) can be seen in the mirror behind the orchid. Also the enormous cabinet - this house has oodles of storage.

And that’s that…I’m not allowed to show the garage, yet - have to clear the books, sell what we can and donate the rest. Then get the gardening stuff put away, and generally have it ready for the car. This will occur during 2012, for sure!

Hope you’ve enjoyed the online tour—now come and stay a day or more with us.

Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 12/28 at 04:28 PM

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1941 PRESERVATION OAK—- OCCUPIED!

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