Easter Weekend

 

Happy Easter everyone! 

Sadly it was a very gloomy Easter Sunday here in Philadelphia. But, look there is a Johnny-Jump-Up in my garden! Thank you birds! (most likely). I don't think I've ever spread these seeds. If I did, they are far too old to bloom this year.  This little guy is more than welcome and I hope he spreads all over the place. 

Yesterday I took a Wooden Window Restoration Workshop at the West Philly Tool Library. I can not tell you how fortunate I feel to have this organization in my neighborhood. As some of you long time readers will remember, back in ought eleven, I started to strip the bay window on the first floor. Details can be found here: first post about stripping the windows.

Suffice to say there came a point where I was stuck. Like, really stuck.

 

 I'd been stripping all of the stuff, only to realize I also had to strip the wood of the sashes.  - Well how exactly do you do that!!!???
It didn't make sense to do it in situ because I couldn't get all of it anyway. So over the next 5 years, I would strip a little, think - I should take this apart - but what if I ruin it?-  and then give up.  Because deep down, I knew I had to take the entire window situation apart but I didn't know how. Not to mention that I figured it would be a ton of work.
Well, I was right on all accounts.
The first thing the instructor said was, Wooden windows were built to be fixed. Ha! Fantastic! Tell me how!

 

Within two hours, he had! 

I know how to strip the paint efficiently (with a heat gun).

I know how to cut glass. 

I know how to glaze the windows. 

I know how to use the putty and putty knife. 

And most importantly, I know what these things are for!

 Those are glazier's points. 

For some reason those fly around in my tool box. And I've had no idea why or what they are for (or even where they came from). Those things are pushed into the wood of the frame to keep the glass in place after the first layer of putty as been applied.
And finally, I understand how the weight works for the window. I'm supposed to be careful about the "coil" when I remove the sash.  

 

Otherwise, I'm supposed to just nail the chain in. It should be a surprise when I finally remove the actual sashes.  

So. 

The windows on the first floor are mostly original. The second and third floors have all been replaced. And now thanks to this workshop, after six years of stalling, I know how to proceed.

 

 I was hoping to show you some progress on my own project after taking this workshop, but alas, my morning bike ride proved what my 2am allergy fit already suspected, every single tree in Philadelphia that can bloom, has bloomed. I have allergy mush-for-brains. 

I spent the afternoon in the garden cleaning, which doesn't require too many brains. When fall comes, we pretty much abandon our gardens and allow nature to take its course. Here in the spring, we realize we heed to hop-to and clean things up before that's not exactly possible. Today I pulled some unproductive forsythias and generally raked debris from the winter. Yesterday I trimmed the front hedge. This coming week I have resolved I need to do a lot more general cleaning and some seed planting. 

Since most of this post is rather boring and non-picturesque, I'll leave you with Swee'pea's highlight of the week:

His new box du jour. He was thrilled mommy ordered something big enough for him to nestle in.