Happy Independence Day!

I LOVE the 4th of July.  I love the flags and the colors and the patriotism.  I love the smell of grills cooking all the way down the street and all the kids dressed up in cute Red, White, and Blue outfits that are dirty and rumpled because they’ve been running around and screaming.

I really like regaling people with my Flag Etiquette facts.  These are all direct quotes from the Congressional Joint Resolution on June 22, 1942. and the US Flag Code.

We all know that the flag shouldn’t be out in inclement weather and that it shouldn’t be out at dark or touch the ground but, there are other very specific rules as well.

There are the commonly confused ones:

• When the flag is hung vertically on a wall, window or door the Union (blue) should be to the observer’s left.
• When displayed over a street, it should be suspended vertically with the union to the north in an east and west street, or to the east in a north and south street.
• On a platform, it should be above and behind the speaker, with the union uppermost and to the observer’s left.  When displayed from a staff in a church or auditorium, the flag should occupy the position of honor and be placed at the speaker’s right as he faces the audience.

And these are the ones that really bug me:

• It should never be used as covering for a ceiling.
• It should never have anything placed on it. (no table cloths or coasters please)
• The flag should never be used for any advertising purpose, nor embroidered on cushions or handkerchiefs, printed on paper napkins or boxes, nor used as any portion of a costume.
• When the flag is in such condition that it is no longer a fitting emblem, it should be destroyed in a dignified way, preferably by burning.
• The flag should never be dipped to any person or thing. It is flown upside down only as a distress signal. (This is a big thing at the Olympics every other year)
• The flag should not be used as a drapery, or for covering a speakers desk, draping a platform, or for any decoration in general. Bunting of blue, white and red stripes is available for these purposes. The blue stripe of the bunting should be on the top.

• The flag should never be used for any advertising purpose. It should not be embroidered, printed or otherwise impressed on such articles as cushions, handkerchiefs, napkins, boxes, or anything intended to be discarded after temporary use. Advertising signs should not be attached to the staff or halyard
• The flag should not be used as part of a costume or athletic uniform, except that a flag patch may be used on the uniform of military personnel, fireman, policeman and members of patriotic organizations.
• The flag should never have placed on it, or attached to it, any mark, insignia, letter, word, number, figure, or drawing of any kind.
• The flag should never be used as a receptacle for receiving, holding, carrying, or delivering anything.

If you’re more interested in Flag Etiquette, I recommend this Senate Document clarifying flag regulations.  The gist is that most of the rules are voluntary and that the states have the right to add any specific regulations.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this little bit of knowledge  and now for the dirt.  Let me highlight some “improper” products.

PartyCity:
     
Flags should never be disposable and you should never set anything on the flag nor should it be used for carrying or delivering anything. Paper napkins and plates are out as is this tray.

Old Navy:

Now, I’m on the fence about this one. On the one hand, you clearly aren’t supposed to wear the flag. On the other, some patriotism is good. It’s a judgement call I suppose.

Amazon:
 

I’m just going to say it: trashy. Flag undergarments/swimwear are most definitely out.
I suppose I’m a bit of a Flag etiquette stickler but it’s in the blood.  My mother has been known to walk into a bank or other building and talk to the manager about the distressing state of a worn flag or to quietly mention to the pastor that the flag is on the wrong side of the alter.

Again with all things, the real crime is in the intentions not in the actual rules.  Flag napkins can be fun and patriotic or they can be distasteful and vulgar, it’s all in the intentions.

If you’re interested in more of my thoughts about etiquette, check out this series of etiquette books I wrote in college.  I really do have  a thing for etiquette!

Happy Independence Day!  Take a moment to thank a Veteran either by word or letter for the Freedom you are celebrating today.

There are many “letter” campaigns you can find online but for a more local approach, contact your local VFW branch for a veteran to thank.

Sarah

 

American Flag

With Independence Day just around the corner, it was high time we got a flag hung.

I tossed a little flag in the corner bed a while ago. The shasta daisys are finally flowering which looks so cute with the little flag.

Because of the turned section of the porch posts, the flag ended up hanging a bit higher than ideal but it still looks great. There’s something about a flag that just makes a house feel like summer.

I wish the sun had been a little higher when we were installing the flag. I just love the composition of this picture.  Self portrait at its best!

Happy Independence Day!

Sarah

Surprise…there’s a door?

Yes, we found a new door.

Last weekend a good friend of ours, Carl! came over to help with the house.  He worked as a house painter for several summers and has some experience with it.  He is what we like to call “fun-employed” and is doing some house work for us.

So, we put him to work pulling off siding so we could get a peak underneath the ugly aluminum siding.  That’s Carl! in the black shirt. (and yes, it’s Carl! pronounced Carl-Bang…college nicknames you know…they stick)

Under the siding was a mixture of tar paper and some aluminum backing stuff. This really was great news because it really protected the wood siding underneath.

and once all the paper was removed,

hey look, the house is blue!!

But wait, what’s this?

huh…a door? I guess there was a door there at some point and they filled it in and put the aluminum siding over it. This really throws some more questions at the original floorplan and we’ll need to replace that bit of siding.

In other bad news, take a look at the window.

You can see there was some decorative molding around the window that was pulled off. The sil of the window was also chopped off on the ends so that the aluminum window flashing would fit around the window.

We’re planning on patching the notched corners of the sil and putting some molding back up. We have a great local molding place that is probably the place where all the molding from the house came from 100 years ago. Old places are so cool! Anyways, we should be able to get something similar to what was up there. The door to the left of the window still has the molding so we’ll use that as our best guess for what was up originally.

The wood siding looks so much better even though it’s just in that one area and hasn’t been painted yet.  Carl! spent several hours scraping it (glad it wasn’t me!) so it’s ready for paint.  We’re going to pressure wash it this weekend and then prime and paint it.  I’m so excited!!  Just having color on the house make it look about 100 times better.  Talk about curb appeal!

Eeeee! Excited squeal.

I’m hoping we can get some tinted primer up this weekend so we’ll get a good idea of the color.

Are you as excited as I am? I hope not…that’s be kinda weird..

Anywho, I’ll keep you posted!
Sarah

A Letter to my house

Dearest House,

We’ve lived in you for more than a year but we haven’t taken a moment to properly introduce ourselves. We set out to fix you up without finding out anything about you. Your history is still a mystery and your birthday is rather vague. Your true colors are hiding beneath an outer garment of horrid aluminum and we have stripped your lovely porch and replaced it with something charming and beautiful but new and presumably not quite as comfortable. I hope you do not hold these changes against us for we are merely trying to restore you to your former glory. Little by little we are turning your grouchy and wrinkled facade to one of stately elegance. You were once a beauty and we are scrubbing away at the filth to show the graceful and elegant matriarch you are destined to become.

Some of these changes will not be easy as you have certainly experienced. The removal of the brids and squirrels has taken from you the sound of babies crying for their mothers and the timid first steps in your attic. I am sure these are the things that make a house feel full and fulfilled but the squirrels and birds are poor substitutes for a real family under your (now) sturdy roof. In time, the sounds of a happy family will return to you and you will again fulfill your role of protector from the cold. Removing these squatters was a necessary step towards this happy family. I also believe we should try to “wash” you properly from outside. If you could learn about Hanover Powerwashing Pros, you would know that there are no worries here.

I’m sure you were sad to see your porch go. We certainly we sad to have to tear it down but after 100 years, it was time. The new porch is sturdy and strong and will last another 100 years. We tried to stay true to your style and we sense you are pleased. You seem to be standing taller and straighter, no longer slouching forward, with the new porch in place. The new deck out back is hardly 100% your style but it does bring with it laughing guests and an owner that sighs with contentment while sipping on coffee and looking out over her garden. The driveway definitely needs some repair work. Our neighbours suggested we should discover more at gettysburg-sealcoating.com.

Certainly, the cold has not agreed with you. Your paint is peeling and we saw the wrath of the cold in burst pipes in the 3rd floor while the house was supposedly winterized. Last winter was cold to be sure but we have walls and insulation now and this winter will be better, we also find some great services from sites as Tidy TN online to help you keep our house top notch. We will be warm and cozy living on the second floor right in your very core. And don’t worry about the paint. I’ve taken to scraping it and painting it well. Soon enough, you won’t even be able to tell there was flaking. See, it’s looking better already:

I hope you are pleased with the added structure we added in the bathroom. I know you were saggy and some more support must be more comfortable in the long run. But, like shoe inserts, added support can be so uncomfortable at first. I hope you are doing all right. You just have to break them in and then supported arches are well worth the initial discomfort.

I’m sorry we couldn’t fix all the sagging but it would be like giving an 100 year old lady a boob job. It just isn’t natural! Unless there is structural damage, a little sagging is natural and acceptable. The best way to age gracefully is to accept your age and the wrinkles and sags that come with it. That isn’t to say a good coat of paint or some wrinkle cream can’t be put to use!

I have so many questions for you dear house. You have seem many things in your many years but how many thing? How many families have passed through your rooms? How many changes and how many children? We’ve heard snippets of a large family with 6 kids and grape vines covering the back deck. We have a vague idea of a 1920s remodel and an earlier build date but no idea just how old and sordid your history might be. Any deaths? Any robberies? Murder? We’ve seen no evidence of ghosts but it certainly seems like you are the creepy house on the street. Why don’t you have any ghosts? Perhaps you protect and love your families such that they never have need to haunt. Frankly I’m more worried about the living. Is the previous owner, the one that was foreclosed on, is she still around? Is she angry? I hope she doesn’t take out her anger on you. We will protect and maintain you. That is our job is it not? You protect us from the wind and rain and the cold and we protect you and fix you when you are broken.

I so hope you are loving your new owners. He knows more of your secrets than we do I’m sure. He has explored every nook and cranny. He misses hanging out in your walls and floors but it can’t be helped. Cats aren’t supposed to have free reign of the insides of the walls!  It must tickle to have that fluffy cat running through your floors and tickling your beams with his wiskers.

Alas, it is time to put a close to this letter. I hope I have elucidated some of our motives and adequately explained the changes we felt necessary. Not too many large changes are on the horizon. Paint and finishing touches but we’re all set on the demolition for a while. That should be a relief. I for one am certainly looking forward to a little peace and quiet for a while.

Sincerely,
Sarah Wolpert

P.S. Oh, and if you decide to make any sudden changes, widening the stairway a couple inches would be super!