House Update - Installment Two

So I told you all that we are going to be working on my grandmother's house in order to someday actually live there.  I love history and archeology, so this is a blast for me.  Yesterday dad and I worked out the original plan of the house.  See, the stairs have been reoriented and there are several additions.  The original house was a bit of a box and had four rooms.  A kitchen, dining room, sun porch, and additional bedroom have been added on.  Even the history of the additions is interesting.  For example, the dining room was extended a few feet just so great-grandpa Melton could sit in his chair and look out a window.  An addition just for the sake of a view.
Oh my, and lets talk about the layers and layers of floor covering going on here.  First is the original wood floor.  I love, love, love exposing this.  Just to know my great-great grandparents trod on these makes this history geek quite happy.  Then there is congoleum.  I now know more about this product than I ever though I would.  I had to research it when we uncovered it since I had no idea what it was.  Some of it is quite pretty actually.  But whoever put it down just added the next layer over what was already there.  The two downstairs rooms have many, many layers of carpet.  I for one am strangely excited to see them there.  It gives me a concrete view of the changes that have taken place over the years.

Last week we took out what was left of the chimney.  It had been partially removed when the house went from wood to gas heat.  What was left was weighing the house down.  As we removed the bricks the smell of a fire filled the room we worked in.  I couldn't help but let my mind linger on what it would have been like to see Lizzie at that fire, cooking the family dinner.  The chimney was the heart of the house for so long - providing heat and a way to cook and clean.  Now that it is out we plan to re-purpose it too.  It will be parcelled out to family who will use it each in their own way.  It has been given new life.  It is kind of cool to realize all the memories those bricks hold, and that they will go on soaking up family moments for years to come.