Old Year – New Year
I would love to say that 2018 was the most productive year of my life… But unlike the Cheeto-In-Chief himself, I cannot lie about the truth. In fact, last year was far from being as productive as I had anticipated it would be. Yes, we did accomplish several things, but about half-way through I was blindsided in an unexpected way which really threw me off for most of the rest of the year. I’ll try to keep this light, but I do want to highlight some of the accomplishments and acknowledge some of my shortcomings.
[Image: This is the living room in our New York apartment just weeks before we packed it up and moved it to Philly.]
The year started out with us having 50+ people over for our “Bye Bye New York, Hello Philadelphia” party at our old apartment in New York City on January 13. The very next day, I began madly packing our place up in preparation for our final move (only 12 days later) on the 25th. And then on February 1st, I formally made public our move on Half Classic Six and on Facebook (although by this time, the secret wasn’t very secret any longer)
[Image: Two days after moving into the house, chaos abounded and our little overwhelmed little guy Bixby felt like he had nowhere to go to chew his bone other than the safety of his bed.]
And then, just a few days into February, boxes piled everywhere, we were packed and on our way to Cuba for the trip of a lifetime (which we planned many months earlier). If you are curious about our trip, I wrote about our time in Havana followed by our time in the Cuban countryside.
[Image: Havana is an amazing city filled with life, history, and some of the friendliest people I’ve ever encountered.]
As soon as we got back, It was time to get to work on the house. First project? Putting lipstick on our ugly pig of a kitchen to tide us over for a few years until we can address the rear of the house and do a major renovation back there. After just a few weeks, I transformed our kitchen from hideous big-box hell to much less hideous big-box hell with just a few coats of paint and some accessories.
[Image: Our Positively Pink cabinet interiors work great with our everyday dishes.]
Following the lipstick on a pig kitchen facelift, we planned on tackling the living room. I researched and finally found the perfect vintage medallion, as well as a stunning over the top crystal chandelier and a stunning solid brass fireplace cover (more to come on that).
[Image: A lot of work remains to be done, but our vintage 1870s plaster medallion will look amazing in the parlor.]
I also started taking art classes at Fleisher Art Memorial, which is conveniently only a ten minute walk from home. I started out with a basic drawing class and on a whim, took a woodcut class which turned out to be far more interesting than I thought it would be. In fact, I discovered and fell in love with a whole new creative path that I thoroughly enjoy doing and feel will become my primary artistic method going forward.
[Image: This cute little pineapple was my last project in my first term of woodcut class at Fleisher Art Memorial.]
In June, I made a half-hearted start on my workbench only to be blindsided when the news came out that Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy had announced his retirement. That hit me very hard and felt very personal. It also triggered deep felt concern about where things are headed and how we needed to prepare for the possibility of a future where I have less rights than I do now. If you have read my blog before now, it is pretty obvious I fall into the snowflake category, and I pray each and every day that Ruth Bader Ginsberg lives at least two more years.
[Image: The rooftop view from our annual summer rental in Ptown. I have stayed at this same house during every one of my nine, week long vacay’s over the past eleven years.]
July brought us to our annual tradition of spending a week in Provincetown, a much needed week away to relax, take in the scenery (both natural and surreal), and enjoy some art. After returning, I wrote about having felt unsettled and posted a list of five tasks which I wanted to focus on.
- Install dryer vent to exhaust out of basement window.
- Replace powder room floor.
- Build workbench in the basement.
- Replace ceiling in guest bath.
- Replace guest bath shower.
Then in early August, I was still having a challenging time getting my mojo going and after writing about my small wins thus far in the year, I began to feel better about the situation. Of the five tasks I’d written about in July, I managed to complete just one, building a workbench, in August.
[Image: This is my finished workbench and tool storage area. This is by far the most organized I have been in years.]
In September, I returned for the fall term at Fleisher in woodcut class. Over the summer, I had been taking long walks in South Philadelphia (mostly my neighborhood, Pennsport) and developed a true admiration for the quirkiness of it all. I decided that my work had to focus on my appreciation of our very Philly neighborhood. So, I decided to start a series of woodcuts featuring real Philly homes, the first one of which is below.
[Image: When I started my second term of woodcut class, I was determined to focus my work on my neighborhood. This is my first completed rowhouse print. As I move further along in the series, I will set up an online store.]
Early October had us on a plane for four days in Paris, three days in Lisbon, and finally six days in Porto. It was my first time to all three cities. Paris was beautiful, but pretty much what I expected. As beautiful as it is, it may be a few years before we get back. From Paris, we traveled to Lisbon, where we stayed in the Bairro Alto and explored the city on foot from there. We had a lovely time in Lisbon, and even met with a local who gave us the lowdown on life in Portugal, but neither of us fell in love with the city. Then we boarded the train for the three hour ride to Porto where we spent the most amazing and romantic week we could have imagined. Porto is stunningly beautiful as it sits overlooking the river Douro. The experience of walking around 14th century city streets was truly amazing. We LOVED Porto! We look forward to going back!
[Image: Our beloved Porto, Portugal as seen from across the River Douro]
After returning from the trip, it became my goal to do some more small wins and work on getting our house in a more livable state. With my in-laws coming to visit for Thanksgiving, I was incentivized to not just clean house (to a higher degree than is acceptable to us), but I wanted to make the parlor feel like a parlor, not just some ugly peach room with furniture crammed into one end and blank walls. November was also when I started to feel a bit more confident about the future of our country after the snowflakes won control of the house.
[Image: Our parlor in late November. This was a practice in patience by setting aside my hatred of the wall color to just make it a home for now. At least Bixby seems pleased.]
The year wrapped up with us getting a fresh cut Christmas tree for the parlor, my first fresh cut tree in 20 years, Y’s first ever. As for the ornament in the image, I’ll just say it’s a Philly thing and leave that right there. I also managed to finally get the toilet removed from the half bath… Which brings me back to that list of five things I wrote out in July that I wanted to get accomplished last year. Here is where we stand on that list now.
- Install dryer vent to exhaust out of basement window. Change in plans, will complete in 2019 after changing laundry set up.
- Replace powder room floor. The toilet has been removed, and work is in progress
- Build workbench in the basement. Done, and it is beautiful
- Replace ceiling in guest bath. Postponed until after master bath is completed
- Replace guest bath shower. Postponed until after master bath is completed
[Image: I shared this on Instagram, but when we took the toilet out on December 31st, the reality of how bad the wood rot is became all the more apparent. Oh, and why a phone jack behind the toilet?]
As for 2019…. I of course have a million things I want to get accomplished, but based on my reality, I will likely only get some of them done. Here are the top priorities for 2019.
- Finish gutting half bath and get a functioning toilet installed.
- Complete planning and budgeting for the master bath
- Paint my third floor studio
- Build work tables for studio and unpack my boxes
- Hire architect to draw up plans for master bath
- Hire contractor to complete major construction work for the master bath
- Have zoned whole house mini split air conditioning installed
- Install utility sink in third floor rear room for my studio
- DIY the finish work on the master bath
- Install the medallion in the parlor
- Install art lighting in the parlor
- Paint the parlor
- Paint the entry and reception hall
- Refinish the floors in master bedroom
- Paint master bedroom
- Move into the master bedroom
- Install a utility sink and folding table in laundry area and resolve dryer vent
- Finish out the half bath and build coat cabinet
- Get the guest bathroom guest ready with new ceiling and shower stall.
If you actually read this entire list, I am impressed! If we actually get the majority of this list done this year, I will be even more impressed. It’s a long list, but we have to start somewhere. Our goal that by the end of 2019 is to have a house that feels like a home, even if we are far from finished.
[Image: A big part of the charm of where we live are the little tiny blocks like Bodine Street, tucked in between regular streets.]
Till next time. . . 
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As always, you are so inspiring. I read your posts and I want to do, experience and live life to the fullest. You have more of an impact on others then you will ever know! Thanks for sharing
Thank you! Stay tuned! Final parlor color reveal to come next week.
Looking good! I am glad the living room is at least to the “safe space” point. It is really crucial to have at least a space or two where you can relax and live – especially when you are in a long haul project like yours. Keep up the good work! Happy 2019! Long live RBG!
😊😊 There is definitely progress happening in the parlor which will disrupt things a bit, but it will totally be worth it.
And yes, long live RBG!
Cute alley! If you have not checked it out yet, check out Elfreth’s Alley. Very nice. Looking forward to seeing more wood cut prints!
Thanks Tara… The term alley is a bit of a misnomer in Philly, Elfreth’s is one fewer than ten streets citywide with alley as a designator. The tiny streets (some are only six feet wide) found mostly on the eastern side of the city along the Delaware are legitimate full fledged streets with front stoops directly on the sidewalk… They were built between main streets to house working class people in 18th and early 19th century, so not much room was needed beyond getting a horse drawn wagon down the street. The really small streets are lined with three story houses called Trinity’s because they essentially were built as three rooms (one on each floor) stacked on top of a basement kitchen and often had little or no rear yard. They are typically 500-800 square feet and sold to working class people for $400-$600. It was actually possible for common people of moderate means to own a home in Philly, which to this day is overwhelmingly single family. Those tiny homes easily command $300k-$500k now. These streets are a major part of the charm that is Philly.
Another fun fact… The city actually has specially made downsized garbage trucks to fit down the smaller streets, but even they can only handle streets as narrow as nine feet. The smaller ones have their trash carried out by hand.
There will be more woodcuts to come. 😊
You can see a few more I have completed in class on my other website devyncaldwell.com
Just checked out the other woodcut prints… the fireflies are excellent! Keep the woodcuts coming (when you are not busy renovating the house, that is)!
Thanks AO, I seem to have found my artistic calling with woodcut print making. I hope to have my studio up and running in full by the end of this year (along with an online storefront).
Devyn, I don’t think I have commented since you moved over from HalfClassicSix, but I have been following along. I see lots of progress. Don’t sell yourself short on what you have accomplished. Many people would be doing good to get half as much done as you have.
I checked out your other website linked in the comment to Tara (devyncaldwell.com) and I must say it’s gorgeous! I didn’t really know that you do web design, but I guess that makes sense based on this site and your last one.
Keep on doing what you do, creative and interesting keeps me coming back to look.
Thanks Wayne, Sometimes it can be hard to see progress when there is so much to accomplish, but I do realize that there is accomplishment. BTW… You did comment here way back in 2017 when I wrote about my daydreams for our house, long before we moved in.
Thanks for the kudos on my other website. One of the freelance things I have been pursuing since moving here is website design. I am working on a couple right now and look forward to being able to feature them on my other site. Glad you keep coming back. 😊
I wish I could remember how I found your Philly Row blog, and it was only a few days ago, but alas. I used to have a house in London of almost the exact same vintage and while the layout was different (typical small London 2 bed terrace with stairs to one side and a side return at the back for kitchen and bathroom) some of the details of your house took me straight back there, particularly the curved wall and some of the stair details.
I think you accomplished an extraordinary amount with the house last year, and the only reason you haven’t recognised that is that there is still a lot to do. But you have had enormous successes in making the house safe and sound and I don’t think you’ve made a single misstep in what you’ve done. I’m looking forward to following along.
Hi Alison, Welcome! I always view Philly’s older rowhouses as direct descendants of terraced houses in the UK, especially since it was the British who so heavily influenced the early days of the city before the Revolutionary War. Philly is blessed to still have about 100 Pre-Revolutionary Georgian rowhouses in the old part of the city (not far from our house). Our rowhouse is a later version of the Greek Revival style which is considered the first truly American born architectural style from the early days of the country.
Thanks for the encouragement on our successes with the house. I am looking forward to your following along as well. Cheers!