Late Tuesday Posting........

Jean Claude, Junior

A customer picking up a portrait from my wife a few days ago said that our Button looked like her sister"s dog, Jean Claude, that she once owned.   My wife said that probably he does because that Jean Claude was Button's father. Jean Claude passed away a few years ago but he fathered three puppies of which our friend gave us one of them. Button is 16 years old now so that was a long time ago. The visitor was so surprised how Button looks so closely like his daddy. The other litter mates were different colors.  One was a brown poodle and the other was a very petite short legged all white dog. Button is white with brown ears.

 I am working in the kitchen today trying to repair a big problem.  In the old photo of an older home in Corning, Iowa you can see the kitchen at the very back left side of the house.  This house, not mine, is just exactly like my house when it was first built.  My house has the back kitchen that is about 10 by 14 feet in size.  It is like an addition, as it originally was like a summer kitchen in which the north and south doors could be opened while the old wood burning cook stove would be hot in the summer.

I don't take pictures of the kitchen on my house as it has the original siding on it from 1904. You never get to see it except with a picture of the flagstone foundation or a vine clinging to the siding. It is in bad shape and that siding is the only part of the house that I have not replaced .  The west side of the kitchen outside has the residue imprint of the old brick chimney that was there to vent smoke from the stove.  The chimney was long gone when I bought the house and the north door off the kitchen had been built in and plastered over to cover it. I found the door opening when I added on an art gallery to the north of the kitchen.  

Back to my disaster that is going on right now.  A man was at my house 30 or more years ago to work on my phone and said he had built the dining room buffet and the kitchen cupboards.  I knew they were built in by just looking at them but the ceiling of the very old room wasn't level and he didn't try to cover that up when he built all the cupboards.  

The past two years a right turn section of those cupboards seem to be settling away from the ceiling.  It is a two door width upper section and settling does come with old houses.  In the past few months not only did the cupboard settle more away from the ceiling but also it is now pulling away from the wall.  It is like the whole section had never really been attached to the wall. I had to get my car jack and lift the whole section up vertically and make it again touch the ceiling. I ended up having to put in temporary wood supports between the cupboard and counter. on the front of the cupboards, to keep them from falling forward more.  I have it all back up but now I am going to get lag bolts  to draw it back up against the wall. 

The thing about it is that you don't expect that kind of thing happening.  The past few days we noticed the one door would swing back open on its own and it was  creaking. We couldn't shut it.  That is what made me start looking up higher.  We have the dining room buffet and table covered with dishes and glasses now.  I have to go buy the bolts this evening and maybe it will be back up on the wall.  It was good that I didn't have work today as I needed the whole morning to mess with the project. 

Speaking of old things, I have started a project, working with the old 1920's group school picture.  I have been busy cropping individuals from the large group photo of all the kids at school. I am finding interesting things going on in the photos as kids are always kids when they are having there picture taken.

I am not quite sure what the end result will be but I want to create pages for people to be able to study the different students isolated away from the original photo.  I found a pair of twin girls in the photo.  I also found a little girl who must be blind standing among the group.  The behaviors I find interesting as the teenage boys are misbehaving in the back and one guy never had his face showing as he ducked behind another guy. 

Teachers back then were not much older than their senior students and it is hard to figure out who are the teachers who are the students.  

To add to the confusion of the 1920 study, I just found today a 1916 photo in the same format, long narrow shot of all of the students. I had stuffed in under the framing counter when it was given to me  many years ago. Now I have another one to scan.  

This nonwork day has been a busy one at home and this afternoon I am taking a rest.  I remember from past years that I don't get much work the days after spring break.  I can see why but sometimes things happen and a staff person does have to be gone.  

We are very cold today compared to other days and we keep getting spotty snow showers.  It looks so warm out there but a stocking hat is required once you feel the wind blowing.   Thanks for stopping by today.