Home Over the Range

Big E has become enamored with Facebook Marketplace.

His latest find was an over the range microwave for $25.

Since I've wanted one

 (I hate that we use precious counter space for the microwave we have)

and this one seemed like it was in pretty decent shape,

he went and got it.

That meant cleaning out all the spices and meds from the cabinet.

So I cleaned out the cabinet,

and finally Big E had an evening to get to work.

He had to cut the cabinet above the stove.

He used this really cool gadget called an oscillating tool.

I NEED one. 

It didn't take long to get everything cut to make room for the microwave.

Really, I didn't even have to move the canning supplies until

he was ready to drill holes for screws and wires.

Take a look at the wall color on the plaster!

After a few hiccups,

we got the thing mounted and in place.

Big E used an extension cord to make sure it worked

(thank goodness it did).

We just needed to cut the doors down to fit 

and put them back in place.

Once everything was back in place,

you couldn't even tell that the doors were cut. 

I'm thrilled with this over the range microwave.

It's much bigger than the one on the counter top,

and now I have a bit more counter space.

Salvaging History

Anyone who knows me, 

or who has spent any time at all reading this blog

knows that I like old things and history.

Abandoned, dilapidated buildings make me sad.

I see old dreary farmhouses, and I can see their potential.

I want to know their story

and share it.

In my town, there is a building slated for demolition

(actually for today, but not sure because of bad weather).

Part of the building is the firehouse built in 1886

(Shown here as it was originally built. 

There have been 3 additions since)

The other portion of the building was the public school built in 1901.

It was later turned into the Community Center in 1963.

Unfortunately, the buildings fell to ruin,

and the cost of repairing them was apparently

more expensive than destroying and building new ones.

So when friends of Big E and I needed help saving artifacts,

I was eager to help.

Our friends had a dilemma.

There was a large cabinet that they wanted to save, 

but it was too large to go down the stairs.

The cabinet was built in place,

so the only option was to saw it in half.

Long story short, it got cut in half, moved downstairs, 

loaded into a truck and taken to my garage to live for a bit.

(It's their story to share which is why I went for the quick overview on this part)

While all the sawing was going on, 

I commented on how sad it was that the wainscot 

was just going to be part of a pile of rubble.

Big E mentioned how nice it would look in the dining room,

but unfortunately, we had no hammer.

Until our friends mentioned they had a hammer-

and a crowbar.

So began my job of carrying wainscoting down to the first floor

to load in the truck.

The wainscot was the old type-

the thick tongue and groove wainscot

not the thin MDF type you find today.

So I carried entire sections of wainscot,

and I carried armloads of bundles.

Some from upstairs, 

some from the 1901 elementary rooms downstairs.

I was a little worried I wouldn't have enough for the dining room.

What I ended up with was a truck bed full of wainscoting.

As you can see, the entire bed is filled to just past the top of the bed.

But that's not all.

I also saw a door with textured glass that I thought would work well

as a door between the kitchen and laundry room.

While not original to the building,

the door was still on the old side and solidly built.

It would let the light in from the laundry room

(which is full of windows)

without allowing guests to see into the room

(the dog that eats everything stays there during the day,

 plus the laundry and it's also the "mudroom"- literally,

 so I don't really want people to see it).

Big E was saying no to the door though.

But while Big E was busy loading the wainscoting,

one of the people helping with the cabinet said

if I just wanted to get new hinges for it,

he could tap out the pins for me.

So, knowing if I got the door off and carried it out,

Big E would have no choice but to take it home-

I hoped-

I had them take the pins out.

Big E was a little not thrilled about the door

making the comment that it might not even fit.

But like our friend said, we can cut it down.

I love friends who think the way I do-

that old is good, that historical items need to be saved 

and that I really needed to have that door.

The door ended up riding home with a section of the cabinet,

because our truck was full

(and if it had slid and busted out the window of Big E's cap

 I'd be in big doo-doo).

The next day while I was in the garage admiring my new door, 

Big E started talking about how he was planning on redoing that door frame

when he works on the laundry room anyway

so the door won't have a problem fitting.

(this is where I smirk to myself)

So, thanks to this salvaging crew,

some local history will be preserved and used.

The cabinet and a few odds and ends are being saved 

for inclusion in a museum in the future,

and the wainscoting and the door will be used in our 100+ year old home in town.

(so look for all the blogs about that process in the future)

I'm going to try not to be too upset over the original hardwood floors,

or the gorgeous old wavy glass windows 

or the rest of the wainscoting and woodwork

that we couldn't save.

One last look out of the school windows before demolition