Our Olde House
Miss Sherry and I live in a circa 1863 house in Olde Towne, Clinton. Our house has had at least two major extensions and several interior rearrangements during the past 159 years. As we are taking our turn at caring for this part of Clinton’s history, we have learned to accept that there are no simple fixes to anything that needs attention or updating, and that whoever last fixed what we are fixing again did their best with what they had at the time; judge not, lest ye be judged.
Our Olde House – November 2023
After five months of repairing the house, I believe that we are no longer overwhelmed by the tasks before us. Our mental outlook improved significantly once all demolition was completed and building a new kitchen was begun. Today, I think we are merely whelmed, and the light at the end of the tunnel is visible…
Read MoreOur Olde House – October 2023
The new kitchen is progressing nicely. At the end of September, we got new wiring, rearranged plumbing and real insulation in the kitchen walls, with an OK from the City inspector for all of that work. The first two weeks in October we installed beaded pine ceilings in the kitchen and sunroom, and plywood on…
Read MoreOur Olde House: September 2023
The first week after the oak tree fell on our kitchen was difficult and stressful to say the least. This disaster did not come with instructions on what to do or even where to begin. Fortunately, Miss Sherry has friends who called a tree service to remove the tree, and our neighbor recommended the contractor…
Read MoreOur Olde House – August 2023
Our Olde House definitely took a big hit when our oak tree fell onto the kitchen. Tree branches covered the roof of the house, the back deck and most of the backyard. The most important thing to us was to be sure that all people and pets were fine, and this we quickly verified, but…
Read MoreOur Olde House – July 2023
By Guest Columnists Sherry Landrum and Gerald M. Kerner It was not officially a tornado, but at 5:13 and 39 seconds on June 16, eighty-five-mile-per-hour winds that lasted less than one minute pushed over an oak tree in our backyard, and the tree landed on half of the kitchen in Our Olde House. Sherry:…
Read MoreOur Olde House: June 2023
After three weeks the painters finished painting Our Olde House. I was expecting people who saw the house after the painting was completed to say something like, “It looks nice” or even the ever-popular and confusing, “Did you paint the house?”, but no, the only comment I have received so far, and this includes the…
Read MoreOur Olde House: May 2023
The inevitable part of making a significant home improvement is that the surrounding un-improved things suddenly look really bad. Yes, the shower is beautiful, but the wallpaper looks a hundred years older than it did last month, and the wood trim needs to be repainted to match the tile and the new wallpaper. So off…
Read MoreOur Olde House: April 2023
Ding dong the hedge is gone, and I did not get stung. Everyone, even me, has noticed that honey bees disappear at night; I decided to attack the hedges at dusk. Since the flowers were facing the street, I came up behind the hedges on the house side with my chainsaw on a stick and…
Read MoreOur Olde House – March 2023
Oh goody, Daylight Savings Time again; another two weeks of jet lag for me. I have to admit that our annual stupid Spring forward day has been much less stressful for me, since I decided a few years ago to stop arguing with those poor souls who think that changing the clocks actually CREATES one…
Read MoreOur Olde House: February 2023
Our orange cat, who I call Fuzzy, divides her time between inside and outside the house. We do not have a doggy door because the raccoons, possums and other cats would undoubtedly use it, so we have to let our cats in and out either the front or back door. I usually let Fuzzy out,…
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