Should I have a sink in the bathroom or will Purell work instead? And I don't like 100 year old wiring...

My 'new' temporary kitchen is almost ready to go. We had to have a working kitchen for the appraisal and one that will get us through the construction phase.  I will have the essentials, sink, stove, fridge, a couple outlets for coffee maker, toaster and about 2 feet of counter-space.    I probably won't be making a whole lot of pastries and such for awhile...

Peter tore the shower out of the half bath this week.  Although it seemed like it could be very handy to have a shower right off of the kitchen we decided it just really wasn't necessary.  Besides, taking the shower out allows us to move the sink into the bathroom.  I prefer to wash my hands in a sink rather than a shower.  I also would rather not have a sink in my future piano room.  Picky...picky...yes, I know. 

shower..must go

Shower right off of kitchen...handy if you are a messy cook!

The sink for the half bath was in the room below, which, is supposed to be a dining room.  Back in the olden days they often had a chamber pot behind an ornamental screen right in the dining room.  I guess that enabled the guests to relieve themselves without missing any of the conversation.  We've all had times that we endured that excruciating urge because we didn't want to miss a word.  Perhaps I should just take the door down, put up an ornamental screen and pretend this was a custom that extended to the 1910's...  Perhaps not.  Fortunately for my future dinner guests, I have decided that this room will not be a dining room but rather a future piano room.

Dining room, future piano room

 I had assumed that the angled wall in the kitchen had been moved to accommodate the shower. My plan was to move that wall back so that it would be straight and provide a little bit more room in that corner.  Once we pulled the shower out I could see the plaster and lath behind the shower area.  It appears this angle is original to the house, or at least, very old.  The plaster and lath were very old, not like some that we have found in the repaired areas. 

shower is gone

 Now I'm curious as to what this room was originally.  Most of the plans I have found for this era did not have a bath on the first floor.  If you wanted the "luxurious" option it was a nice sized bathroom on the second floor.   Also,  I haven't found plans for rooms that would have had a slanted wall. 

half bath before the shower was removed

after shower is removed

 I did find more window weights behind the trim.  I'm still not sure what I will do with them but surely I can find a use for them.  If nothing else, work out with them...they are heavy. 

old window weight

light switch and fan in half bath, will probably have to go...

I don't think I can salvage this border either....so...1980's!

In other news,  Merida does handstands.  Accordingly to my daughter, "she does it all by herself!  I tell her to go to bed and next thing I see she has climbed on top of her bed and is doing this!" 
Clearly, Merida still hasn't learned to be a proper lady.

Merida, still up to her wild ways

Peter worked on the electrical quite a bit this week.  We needed light in the cellar because it is so dark down there.  
Anything involving electrical in this house is slightly scary. This week we had a lot of thunder storms. that complicates the work since the breaker box is located on the outside of the house right under where the water pours off of the roof. Great design.  We will have the new panel inside the house but in order to have some temporary electrical in the house we have to work with the existing equipment.    
While trying to get some lights working in the cellar we thought maybe we could use this light fixture that was already there.  In the process of tracing the line back to the box we realized the line had been tied into the original wiring.  There are so many electrical things that just make you shake your head.  We are constantly amazed that this house didn't burn down.  So much of the electrical they were using, especially the hundred year wiring, shows signs of burning or slight scorch marks. 

"Oh look, a new light fixture..."

fairly new wiring joined with hundred year old wiring

I'm not very knowledgeable about electrical things but I doubt this is up to code...

their little hands work so well for pulling wire...

'til next time...