Mixed Bag 'o' Projects

 Been some time since we last posted.  Here are a few projects we've been working on:

First, for fun - the catio/passthrough!  We have this single old casement window that was retrofitted into our sunroom windows.  This window proved difficult because it opens out and therefore requires an interior screen.  After two years of considering what to do, we built a custom catio/passthrough!  The passthrough function allows us to pass through kitchen supplies and dishes between the indoor kitchen and our outside kitchen and dining area.  We do quite a bit of outdoor dining and this will get used quite a bit when we host parties.  In addition, it serves as a cat-patio for our two indoor cats.  So far, the cats seem quite pleased with the results!

Not quite as fun, but still rewarding is the restoration of our dining room window sashes.  We are taking them back down to raw wood and glazing/repairing where required.  These redwood original window sashes are in surprisingly good condition considering the 108 years of south facing weather they've received.  This is our first foray into window repair and we've learned a lot already.  Digging into this project, we learned that most of our interior windows are double hung.  We're going to give it a go and restore some of the upper sash window movement as we progress.

Lastly, we've enjoyed spending time in our garden and seeing the hard work from prior years pay off.  Spring has sprung in Southern California!  More garden photos to come throughout the 2022 growing/gardening season.

The focus this year is the completion of paint stripping and wood working/restoration efforts in our dining room.  Late last year we received the stain matching products from Daly's based out of the Pacific Northwest.  We have work to do to custom tint the shellac to try and replicate the luster this house was built with.  No chance of getting bored anytime soon.