Bringing Back Sligo

Category: Life

• One Year Anniversary

  Posted at 7:32 am by bringingbacksligo, on July 27, 2019

  Can you believe it?  Our one year anniversary from when I started writing this blog has come and gone and I did nothing to recognize it!  One year ago we were still getting numbers from contractors on exactly how much it would cost to restore the place.  The numbers came in a little (who am I kidding?) a lot higher than we expected and it resulted in us refinancing almost one year later and depleting my retirement account along with what little we had saved up in the girls savings account (we owe them) but we’re making it work.  Somehow.

  Despite the stress that is finances we’re still alive and surprisingly still married.  Equally surprising is the fact that we still have two children because it’s summer and I’m barely hanging on by a thread.  As far as I can tell we also still have the love and support of our family and friends who I think understand that our lives have been consumed by all things Sligo, and children, and activities, and sometimes sleeping (just to start it all over again the next day).

  While I have grow accustomed to the current state of Sligo I forget exactly what it looked like one year ago.  How Marcus ever saw this literal “diamond in the rough” I’ll never know.  I remember my jaw dropping when I first stepped foot inside the house.  It was, and still is, so overwhelming and I just did not understand why he thought the house was so amazing.  I suppose it’s a lucky thing he did (though more for you than for me, I think).

  I appreciate everyone who takes the time to read what I write and I especially appreciate the words of encouragement and praise.  I realize that, with my writing, you can never be too sure what you’re going to get.  Sometimes it might be silly or sarcastic or sad or simply statistical (alliteration, what?!).  No matter which “me” you get I hope you continue on our journey with us.

   

  Posted in Life | 0 Comments

• How’s the Cottage Coming Along?

  Posted at 2:21 pm by bringingbacksligo, on July 20, 2019

  The other night I had a dream in which both my sister-in-law and I shaved our heads bald.  I texted her and told her about it and gave my own, uneducated psychological diagnosis for the dream which was “we’re losing our shit.”  The funny thing was, even though she had shaved her head she still looked gorgeous with long, flowing locks.  I, on the other hand, looked like Gollum.  I’m not trying to make this into a pissing match but, I think it means I’m legit going crazy.

  So, to catch you all up:  We moved-in with my mom last August (hi, mom!).  We decided the best course of action would be to renovate the Cottage and move-in while the Main House was being renovated.  I think the logic there was the Cottage is significantly smaller and therefore should take less time to fix-up.  So, our first, self-imposed deadline to be moved into the Cottage was before Christmas.  Then it was after Christmas.  Then, I think it was Easter.  Then it was the end of July…

  

  Me, whenever someone asks how the renovations are going and when we’re moving into the Cottage.

  In retrospect, when we purchased the property, the Cottage was in a worse state than that of the Main House.  A portion of the roof was gone and the house had been open to the elements for years.  Obviously, the entire roof needed to be replaced plus we had to replace an entire wall and flooring on both the first and second floors.  Animals had made a home in it and it had signs of people staying in it as well.  In other words, it was in really bad shape and while we Marcus has certainly come a long way in the repairs it still remains uninhabitable.

  Anyway, as time has gone on and the renovations of both the Cottage and the Main House have begun to pace each other, it occurred to me that we might as well wait and simply move into the Main House when it is ready.  The conversation was had about a month or so ago when I mentioned that it might be better for the family if we didn’t have to move, what would essentially be, three times in one year.  Yesterday, after working in the ungodly heat which I suppose is what brought about the following epiphany, Marcus  mentioned he thought it might be better for the family if we didn’t have to move, what would essentially be, three times in one year.  Huh.  That sounded familiar.

  I have yet to really finesse the fine art of letting the man think he makes all of the wonderful decisions in the family so instead of saying “That’s a great idea!” I said something more like “Oh, funny, because I said the same exact thing not that long ago” followed by an accusatory eyebrow raise (my humility is a work in progress).  Despite it totally being my idea to begin with but Marcus getting the credit for it (dang it, there I go again) we are now on the same page and will be staying with my mom until the Main House is completed.

  When asked if she would be alright with us continuing to live with her all my mom had to say was she was definitely going to be buying her rather skittish dog a set of noise canceling headphones.

  Posted in Cottage, Life, Main House | 0 Comments

• Clearing Up Some Dates

  Posted at 8:18 pm by bringingbacksligo, on July 17, 2019

  I had an interesting online encounter the other day when I corrected a gentleman about the history of Sligo. What made it interesting is that he was refuting what I was saying by quoting my own, incorrect, material which he had retrieved online from the Department of Historic Resources (DHR). It was the very first form I had filled out in order to start the nomination process for getting Sligo on the National Historic Registry and unfortunately, it was a little less than accurate.

  In the end, I was irritated because it was my fault the incorrect information was out there (though for a brief second I was irritated because I felt like I was being mansplained by having a complete stranger tell me about my house). While I still have yet to fully embrace the idea of living in the house I have come to feel a bit protective of Sligo, it’s people, and the history. What is most important to me, though, is getting the history right which has proven to be a lofty goal.

  In the beginning all of the information I had of the house came from the Works Progress Administration (WPA) of Virginia Historical Inventory. In a nutshell, the WPA was a program meant to employ men and women until the economy recovered from the Great Depression. One of the smallest branches of the WPA was the Historical Records Survey whose official mission statement was the “discovery, preservation, and listing of basic materials for research in the history of the United States” (taken from Wikipedia and if my college professors knew I used it as a source they would die).

  Sligo’s WPA report was written by Nettie Moore Deaderick in 1937 and her bibliography lists various persons of Fredericksburg and Deed Books. So, while the information Deaderick retrieved from the Deed Books are certainly valid, I have to take with a grain of salt what statements were given by folks who had simply lived in the area for a long time. It’s through the WPA that I was given misinformation such as the house burning down in 1863 and, who can forget, the infamous skeleton in a cage. In my haste and excitement to get the nomination started I didn’t take the time to fully appreciate what the WPA reports were and how accurate, or inaccurate, they might be.

  So, to clear just a few things up: The house burnt down in 1888 and was promptly rebuilt, with construction likely ending in 1889. This was confirmed by the discovery of a newspaper article as well as the inscription carved into the brick of the foundation and an interior brick of the basement. There have only been two dwelling homes on the site, the first one built circa 1760 (this is according to the City of Fredericksburg’s records and I have yet to verify it though Mutual Assurance Society maps of the early 1800s show a single-story structure in the same shape as the current house) and the second house was built in 1889 (as previously stated so remember that date because there may be a pop quiz later).

  While I have much more to write in order to clear-up a few of the details of the house I will leave it at this for now. Supposedly, blog posts should never reach more than 600 words and I am rapidly approaching that number. I tend to give more information than necessary like when someone asks for directions and I give them more landmarks than actual directions because I’m trying to be helpful but in reality I’m just making the situation more confusing for the driver of the car, crap I’m over 600 words.

  Posted in History, Life | 0 Comments

• First World Problems

  Posted at 1:19 am by bringingbacksligo, on June 8, 2019

  As I drove to Wal-mart at 10:00 this evening to purchase lice treatment I thought about all of the ways my life is feeling just a little unsettled.  I also thought about all of the other things I would rather be doing besides going to Wal-mart which included, but was not limited to:  Removing my fingernails one by one, stabbing my eyes with needles, and/or walking through fire.  You may think I’m being dramatic but I would do just about anything to avoid Wal-mart and especially Wal-mart late on a Friday night.

  Anyway, you all aren’t here to listen to me tell you about how Wal-mart is the worst and you’re probably not here to listen to my gripes but, too bad.  Marcus is gone again, this time to London and Germany.  He left just as the Cottage was starting to resemble an inhabitable space.  After eight days on travel he will return again only to leave for another four days for Navy Reserves training.  For the first time I kind of wish I had the skills Marcus has so that I could keep working on the Cottage but my skill set leaves me sitting here, late at night after a lice killing party, to write about how I don’t know anything about restoring houses.  I know so little about restoring homes that I managed to stab my hand with the vinyl flooring we’re installing and thus came an end to my short-lived career as a flooring installer.

  Meanwhile, as we have worked on the Cottage for the past few weeks months almost one year, we have also had to reassess our finances, deplete my retirement account (officially saying goodbye to Lauren Rojek), sell a house, consider selling one of the children, and sign our souls over to the devil.  Believe me, I have enough self-awareness to recognize that many of our problems are “first world” but they’re problems nonetheless.

  I also have enough self-awareness to know that things could always be worse.  I mean, at this very moment I have a really stinky dog lying next to me passing gas as if his life depended on it but I could be dead and not a smell a thing at all.  So, there’s that.

   

  Posted in Cottage, Life | 2 Comments

• The Fence

  Posted at 7:12 pm by bringingbacksligo, on May 22, 2019

  There have been a few things going on behind-the-scenes (if you will) that I haven’t talked about for fear I would jeopardize their outcome.  One of those was a request to erect a six foot tall fence around the property.  We had to gain special permission from the Zoning Board in order to have such a tall fence at the front of the property.

  A few months ago (that’s how long this process has taken), we were all ready to give the go-ahead to the fence contractor when Marcus decided to peruse the city’s requirements.  Thank goodness he did because we would have been in for a rude awakening when it turns out the maximum height for a fence at the front of a property is four feet.  We immediately put a hold on scheduling for the fence and went to work gathering the requirements for the Zoning Board (one of those things was a survey of the property which I had suggested we get months ago but never did…its uncanny how right I am all of the time).

  I was really worried about putting such a short fence on the property for one big reason and he has four legs and his name sounds a lot like “Asshole.”  I love my furry guy but he’s a doofus and all I could think about was him chasing a bird shadow out into the four lanes of Dixon Road.  Of course protecting my children is high priority as well but they’re less likely to chase birds or shadows out into traffic.

  We also felt a tall fence was necessary to protect the property from any future vandalism.  Before, when the house was already in rough shape, it was hurtful when another window was broken or a fire extinguisher sprayed throughout the house (that happened) but if it were to happen now things could get ugly.  Luckily, we haven’t had any problems since work began but it would still be nice to have the added security of a  fence.

  Anyway, this is all to say that this past Monday we sat in front of the Zoning Board Commission and were unanimously approved for our six foot tall fence.  It was clear to everyone that our situation is unique within the city as we sit on nearly 1.5 acres of land and are surrounded by the park and a four lane road.  I appreciate the work that the Zoning Department did for us presenting our case to the Commission.  Plus, we were able to take both of the children and they got a tiny little lesson in how the government works so, parenting win for us!  The girls would probably argue that it was not a win but they’re young and immature and have no right to an opinion (because that’s how my government works in this house).

  Now we just need to file for the permit and work can begin so we can start to really enjoy our little bit of land.  I know ol’ Asshole is going to love it.

  Posted in Contractors, Grounds, Life | 0 Comments

• Connections

  Posted at 8:48 pm by bringingbacksligo, on May 15, 2019

  Of all the things I expected when we purchased Sligo and by starting this blog the last thing on my mind was making connections with strangers.  I knew family and friends would want to know what was going on, curious to watch our slow descent into insanity and, of course, the progress of the house but I didn’t expect to hear from people with real connections to the property.

  Over the last few months I have heard from and met(!) descendants of the family who built the house.  I have talked genealogy and researched extensively said family that they kind of feel like my own at this point.  I have met, by total chance, a possible descendant of Dr. Mortimer, one of the first men to own the property.  I have talked with folks who either lived at the property or who knew someone who lived at the property and remember visiting.

  I never expected my life to be so enriched by this project but here I am, with my “two sizes too small” heart slowly growing.

  Posted in Life | 0 Comments

• The ICEE Machine Acquisition Story

  Posted at 11:12 pm by bringingbacksligo, on March 8, 2019

  Since work is progressing on the house but nothing really exciting is going on I thought I would write about the ICEE Machine acquisition of 2017 as alluded to in my last post.  I’ve known Marcus for 13 years and sometimes when I write about him I forget that many people haven’t known him as long and haven’t been privy to his shenanigans.  So, to sum up Marcus:  If it’s free, not matter what “it” is, Marcus is going to take it.  Anything more than free and you (as in I) will hear some grief.

  So, on to the ICEE Machine.  In Williamsburg there was a convenience store at the front of the neighborhood which went by the name of “Kwik Out.”  There were many times we would ride bikes up to the store and the girls would go in with their little wallets and then walk out with a lollipop that the man gave them for free I think mostly to keep the line moving because they weren’t very good at counting out their money and also because they’re cute, little blondies.  I would usually go back in to make sure it was OK that they had a free lollipop and something wasn’t lost in translation between two little girls who barely knew their left from their right and an elderly, Middle Eastern man.

  Anyway, this all to say that at some point Marcus struck up a rapport with the Kwik Out guys and one day he noticed an ICEE Machine sitting outside of the store, near the dumpster.  For a week it sat out there and, I swear to God, I didn’t even have to be in the car to know Marcus was eye balling it every time he came in and out of the neighborhood.  Finally, one day, he said “I wonder what they’re planning on doing with that ICEE Machine?”  “It doesn’t really matter, does it,” I replied, “because no matter what it’s their problem.”  He feigned indignation as if he was not the one who had already brought home a broken arcade game, numerous TVs, and a couple of jet skis.  (In fairness, I should add that many of the broken things he has brought home have been fixed but at that particular time in our lives we were still in the process of renovating our Williamsburg home which left very little time for tinkering)

  After what I believed to be a hard”no” (although I’m now realizing my “hard no” needs a little more work because we now own a 130 year old home) I thought the subject had been dropped.  So, about a week goes by and I’ve been out of the house for an hour when I get a text message from Marcus.  I look down and I see a picture of an ICEE Machine sitting in our driveway with the words “How much do you love me” and an obnoxious amount of smiley emojis.  “What. The. Fuck?” I say.  I text it, too, and not the cute “WTF?”  It was the full text.

  Needless to say, I was not amused.  Granted, he was able to haggle a half-broken ICEE Machine for free but what in the actual hell were we going to do with it?!  Obviously, and I say this as I roll my eyes, most everyone else thought it was great which kind of fits the theme for just about everything Marcus does but which brings me great consternation.  “Oh, you got a broken ICEE Machine?!  It’s gonna be great!”  “You found a broken, old-school, Ivan Stewart Off Road arcade game?!  It’s gonna be great!”  “You bought a 130 year old, derelict home?!  It’s gonna be great!”

  So, super long story short, for nearly one year, the ICEE Machine sat in the garage, moving from one corner to the other, still partially filled with ICEE liquid and smelling of a Kwik Out (which one might be wondering how the smell of grease can permeate metal and I’m here to tell you it can).  Finally, as it became clear that we were moving and the ICEE Machine could not move with us, Marcus put it on Craigslist and someone, probably some other husband with an equally weary wife, picked it up and is hopefully making better use of it than we ever did.

  

  ICEE Machine in our driveway.

   

   

   

  Posted in Life | 2 Comments

• Furniture

  Posted at 10:30 pm by bringingbacksligo, on March 1, 2019

  A few facts about us:  Marcus is a penny pincher (which is strange given he bought a giant house needing hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of renovations but I’m trying hard not to beat that dead horse anymore).  I, on the other hand, like pretty things (as I’m typing this I’m watching a documentary about Tiffany & Co and this is going to take a lot longer to write than I anticipated…).  I’m going to assume most couples have the same dynamic though sometimes Marcus can take things a little further than most (does the ICEE Machine acquisition of 2017 ring a bell?  No?  That will have to be a post for another time).

  This is all to set-up the story which is a recent conversation we had about furnishing the house.  First of all, I would guesstimate that about 75% of our furnishings are second-hand, either handed down or purchased through Craigslist, yard sales, and consignment stores.  I’m not knocking it, I’m just stating the facts here.  And while I have often dreamt of a house filled with Pottery Barn I have come to accept that some things will just never happen.

  I feel, though, as if I have found a common ground for my love of pretty things and Marcus’s love for savings and that’s at one of my most favorite stores in Fredericksburg by the name of Seven Nine Designs.  They have some of the most beautiful and unique pieces that have been restored by folks who have way more business restoring furniture than I do (believe me, I’ve tried and it ain’t pretty).  The other thing I love about Seven Nine Designs is that the prices are reasonable, not Pottery Barn prices.

  Anyway, it was on a rainy day of Facebook browsing when I saw their latest offerings and the most amazing hall tree that I had ever seen (which is saying a lot).  Marcus has a weird hall tree fetish and I’m very well aware that he would love to put one in the hall of Sligo.  Honestly, I can take or leave a hall tree but I saw the one for sale at Seven Nine Designs and immediately had to share it with Marcus.  As much as he hates to spend money he would have to admit that this piece was perfect for Sligo and maybe, just maybe, he would tell me to go ahead and get it.

  That’s not quite the reaction I got.  Instead I received an email response about waiting until we have somewhere to actually put the hall tree and that we need to “…ensure we appropriately curate house furnishings…”  I shit you not.  This coming from the master of Craigslist.  I wrote him back, wondering if someone had just taught him the word “curate” and if they challenged him to use it in a sentence.  When the answer was “no” I then wondered if he considered purchasing someone’s used furniture as “curating” because the word, to me, implies actually spending money not just looking for the cheapest thing that will do.  He laughed at that and I’m still waiting for an honest answer on how he plans to furnish Sligo.

  Posted in Life, Main House | 1 Comment

• A First Person Look Inside the House

  Posted at 2:06 pm by bringingbacksligo, on February 20, 2019

  For the third time this winter it has snowed.  For the third time this winter it has snowed and the girls are out of school.  For the third time this winter it has snowed and the girls are out of school and Marcus is on travel.  It’s no wonder I woke-up with a headache.  It was as if my body was preparing for the day.  But, with the snow, comes a day full of nothing and gives me the chance to write.

  A few months back, quite a few months back actually, a friend took some really neat videos of Sligo using his drone.  I have been meaning to cut down the videos and possibly add music to them but it turns out my skills are strictly limited to cutting.  I think I might have learned how to add music in PowerPoint but I’m not here to give a presentation on the health benefits of not purchasing a 130 year old home so we’ll just have to do without.

  Now, the first video is shot from the ground floor up to the second floor and is pretty straightforward.  The second video is my personal favorite because if you can pretend like that’s you drunkenly stumbling from room to room you get a real sense of the layout of the house.  That is until the very end when “you” crash into the door jamb and collapse on the floor (inches away from the kitchen which is where you were probably trying to get to in order to get some coconut water to chase away that headache and induce vomiting because that stuff is nasty).

  (Thank you to Carl Lynn for bringing over his drone and helping capture Sligo in the state in which we acquired her.)

  Posted in Life, Main House, Video | 0 Comments

• The Paint!

  Posted at 10:48 am by bringingbacksligo, on February 10, 2019

  I hope everyone is having a nice weekend.  Here in Virginia we have started what we refer to as “Second Winter.”  This usually comes after “Fake Spring” which we experienced last week with temperatures in the upper 60s.  It was a glorious few days that makes it all the more sadder that it is in the upper 30s now.

  Anyway, I didn’t come here to talk weather.  I was just sitting here recuperating from a day spent at the Kid’s Expo with our girls (which is akin to recuperating from a night out on the town only worse as I am an introvert and to spend so much time surrounded by so many people is an absolute drain on the very fiber of my being but I had promised my girlfriend I would go with her and her girls so when we got there and saw the chaos the two of us hid underneath the Bonefish Grill table, which was handing out “Bang Bang Shrimp” samples, and let the children run amok…how’s that for a sentence?) and thought I might update the readers on the paint choice we had made.  The painters were excited about the weather because, even though it is cold, it isn’t raining and they wanted to paint a particular portion of the house before the new roof went on the porch so, it was time to make our final decision.

  We decided on Benjamin Moore Wetherburn’s Blue which is the darker shade of blue out of the two we were contemplating.  It isn’t a traditional Victorian color, which would have been more earthy tones such as reds and greens, but it will be beautiful with the Benjamin Moore Capitol White trim and the Englert Mansard Brown metal roof and gutters.  I only call out the make of the colors in case you are so curious you feel the need to Google them to see exactly what I am talking about.

  So, without further ado, I give you a first glimpse at the new Sligo!

  

  I really like this picture as you can see the contrast between the old paint, the primer, and the new paint.

   

  Posted in Life, Main House | 2 Comments

• Recent Posts

  • The Big Move February 13, 2020
  • The Battle of Fredericksburg at Sligo Part II January 3, 2020
  • Happy New Year, 2020! January 1, 2020
  • The Battle of Fredericksburg at Sligo Part I December 15, 2019
  • A Progress Report December 13, 2019
  • Tour Sligo with HFFI October 31, 2019

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  This week's #52weeksofhome theme is "Dearest dwellers." At Sligo we have Lasagna the old kitty who prefers to sleep on freshly laundered linens, Axel the crazy GSP, ol' Gus from the Cottage who has taken to peeping at us through the kitchen windows, and Marcus and myself. We also have our two girls but I'd prefer not to share their pictures as this is a public account. It's a busy place! #bringingbacksligo #restoration #renovation #italianate #victorian #fredericksburgva #52weeksofhomeweek8 #lasagnathecat #axelvontepaske #germanshorthairedpointer #catsofinstagram #dogsofinstagram

  @highland_and_victorian was asking for pictures of pocket doors and I realized that I have never described the enormity of ours. Just one door is 9 feet tall and 4 feet 7 inches wide. When they open the floor rumbles. What on Earth could a person need with such giant doors, I'll never know, but they're awesome. (Please excuse the mess in the red room, it's one of the last rooms to be unpacked.) #bringingbacksligo #victorian #italianate #pocketdoors #fredericksburgva #restoration #renovation

  This week's #52weeksofhome theme is "lighting." When we purchased Sligo all of the fixtures had either been vandalized or were dated (but not in an antique way). Therefore, all of our lighting is new and from various stores. #bringingbacksligo #restoration #renovation #victorian #italianate #potterybarnwarehouse #potterybarn #lampsplus #bellacour #wayfair #modernlighting #oldhouse #52weeksofhome #52weeksofhomeweek7

  This basketball shaped fuzzy beast is Lasagna, Sligo's bird watcher and occasional bug killer. She's acclamated quickly and has already claimed her favorite sunny spots (though the sun has been in hiding for the better part of the week). #bringingbacksligo #restoration #renovation #italianate #victorian #lasagnathecat #dilutetortie #birdwatching #catsofinstagram

  I just noticed this for the first time during one of my many trips up from the basement. It's an unfinished edge of the floor boards and I thought it was neat that you could see the tongue and groove (is that the correct terminology?). I also like how worn the wood is to the left of the picture. #bringingbacksligo #italianate #victorian #restoration #renovation #finds #fredericksburgva

  What's that saying? It has to get worse before it can get better? I think we're there. (This isn't even all of the boxes. We still have the master bedroom and boxes of books to unpack 😭😭😭😭😭) #bringingbacksligo #italianate #victorian #fredericksburgva #restoration #renovation #movingistheworst