One of the joys of living in an old house is the layers of history which turn the simplest tasks into interesting archival explorations. Unfortunately all too often those layers take the form of lead paint. So even though lead can be contained we decided to have Lili’s wiindows restored (along with 5 others in the house) and also took the additional step to have her windows made lead safe. The process is described below.

http://www.heritagerestoration.org/Window%20Restoration.htm

We couldn’t be happier with the results. The windows look great and we know that there will be no lead dust from the windows in her bedroom. Old windows can really be one of the joys of an old house, if they work properly.  The old float glass in the windows has bumps, ridges, waves and other imperfections that make them interesting and unique. So now we have windows that look brand new and work perfectly while still retaining the charm and character of house. The shiny silver rails you see in the picture are part of what makes the windows lead safe. With them in place there is no surface-to-surface friction of any component containing, or formerly containing lead.

Of course the windows weren’t all that we did to the house in the last 6 months. A simple chimney cleaning turned into a wood stove. A simple porch repair turned an essentially all new porch which looks faboulous. And one of the smartest things we did was to install new storm windows for the entire house, including storms for our giant heat sinks – er, I mean our bay windows. It’s made a huge difference in how warm the house feels. Between the wood stove insert and the new storm windows our living room has finally become a place you can relax in and not freeze your tuckus off. -t

A – 3 Days; L – 8 Days;

The uproar over the lack new photos of the room has been tremendous, so succumbing to public pressure here are a few more detailed photos of the room.

Is it me, or does the frog look a little nervous?

Otters spend a lot of time in the cold water, so they of course need warm sweaters.

Maggie has been very nervous and clingy over the past few weeks. She knows something is up but isn’t sure what it is. Each time we brought something new in – crib, clothes, toys, shelves, – she had to sniff it completely checking it out. She’s been spending a lot of time in Lili’s room just hanging out and getting used to all the changes. I know Maggie can’t wait for Lili to get home, if only for the dropped food that’s in her future.

It’s finally getting close: A – 4 days and L – 9 days.

-t

After struggling to find the “perfect” crib for our daughter, and it was a struggle. The one we liked the most actually won’t be available until mid-March and Lili is too big to sleep in a dresser drawer like some of our friends did when they were little. We saw a lot of cribs but they just didn’t say ” buy me, buy me now!!”. So our friend Jessica gave us her old crib, which she used for her two children, and which was given to her by a family who used it for their three children. So Lili will be the sixth child to make use of this crib.

As wonderful as the crib is, it came with no directions, but hey Catherine is a pediatrician and I’m a consulting engineer we should be able to figure it out…..2 hours later after some shouting and occasional screaming, Catherine finally figured out how the thing was supposed to work and we now have a crib in place.

Now if we could only figure out which changing table we want and where to find prune juice in a juice box…. -t

A – 10 days; L – 15 days

Sara Lee finished the room yesterday in time for leisurely brunch of chiles relleno and raisin biscuits. After which she posed for the obligatory photo holding a photo of Lili.

Unlike Catherine and myself, Sara Lee likes to be at the train station 20-30 minutes before departure to ensure there are no problems, which was a good thing because a schedule reading mishap meant Sara Lee’s planned 2:55 train actually departed at 2:25. The combination of Sara Lee’s caution, my “opportunistic driving” and Amtrak’s inability to depart on time, helped Sara Lee make her train back to New York leaving us with what we think is the coolest baby’s room ever.

These are only some of the animals. The Monkeys reside in the bamboo in the book nook, and the huge bird wearing a rugby jersey is protecting the door from poachers….

More pictures will be posted tomorrow. -t