We've Bought an Historical Old Vicarage!

[Ally T]

HI:

Soooo what's new?

cheers--Sharon

Not a lot! We are STILL getting organised, wandering around hanging pictures, pondering on what should go where, letting decorators in & out, blind fitters in & out, having the new cleaner do her first trial (successfully) so she will be here every Thursday for 5 hours going forwards…. It’s just busy, busy!

On top of that we have a US exchange student staying (she leaves tomorrow & I have to admit I won’t be sorry to see her go…) & I have had 3 hospital trips in prep for Moh’s Surgery yesterday morning to remove a basal cell on my forehead. The results from the lab next door only took an hour, so I was on my way home within 2.5 hours with 10 stitches & a very big dressing Thankfully it’s all out, fully contained & highly unlikely to ever re-grow as they went wide & deep. No further treatment & I am counting my lucky stars.

I did take a great After pic the other night though, to compare to a grotty before:

 

[Ally T]

 

[MissGotRocks]

Is that the same floor - only cleaned up and refinished? Beautiful!

 

[Ally T]

Is that the same floor - only cleaned up and refinished? Beautiful!

Taken from the same point on the main staircase. It doesn’t even look like the same house!

It’s not actually the same physical floor. The first pic shows the black tar remnanats from where they pulled up the original parquet to deal with the damp etc. The new parquet looks identical, but has underfloor heating throughout.

 

[junebug17]

Wow!! Amazing transformation @Ally T! Love everything you've done to create such a beautiful and inviting home. Happy for you and your family!

Sending healing vibes as well, sorry you had to go through that but glad that everything is ok <3

 

[MissGotRocks]

Taken from the same point on the main staircase. It doesn’t even look like the same house!

ETA: It’s not actually the same physical floor. The first pic shows the black tar remnanats from where they pulled up the original parquet to deal with the damp etc. The new parquet looks identical, but has underfloor heating throughout.

Underfloor heating is just delish! I saw the pattern on the before pic and wondered if there had been hardwood floor there that was discovered and refinished. I love that it was replaced and it looks so beautiful!

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

I am still marveling how quickly this massive project came to fruition--so quickly! I know I've said this before but we have houses in the hood that are 2 years into building...and they are nothing like the scope of your home!! (and certainly not custom...)

Anyway, have you listed your other home?

cheer--Sharon

 

[yssie]

So I know it’s supposed to be the same house…

I mean. You’re only working on one house…

And the layout looks the same…

But, like, are we sure this is the same house?

@Ally T the replaced floor is a work of art unto itself And of course I love that you followed the old pattern so faithfully. And same exact thought as @canuk-gal - I’m just blown away by how quickly you wrangled everything together - this thread just started last year!!

I get excited every time I see new posts in this thread. What a journey of beauty and love I’ve been sharing your updates here with the other half and now he asks after your projects too

 

[yssie]

Is that the old church pew there?

 

[Ally T]

Is that the old church pew there?

It sure is! It’s just settling into it’s new home & then it will be sanded & oiled, to match the oak trusses & also the HUGE front door, which was a project in itself! it was a dark brown & we thought that’s how it always was, but when the carpenter & builder did a test sand in the corner, it came out all bright & clean & solid oak. It has layers upon layers of varnish & wood stain on it. It was removed on Friday & put on trestle tables outside whilst it was sanded right back, then it had the same Osmos oil applied that we have on the beams. Honestly, it is stunning now! There is still tape across the outside whilst it cures over the weekend, but as soon as the tape is removed & we can use it, I will do an After pic to go with my already taken Before.

ETA: I’m so glad your husband is following this! There are a few men I know who have projects in the pipeline & are using me as a test project We have been very lucky with our building team, who I are the full package so there is zero downtime. As soon as one stage was ready for the next, the relevant bodies moved into place. Worth every penny.

 

[SparklieBug]

What an amazing transformation! The old pew will look so beautiful in its original color—they’re great as entry seating. Perfect height for changing shoes.

ETA: So glad to hear your procedure went well, and that you‘ve been given the all-clear! My brother had a weird spot on his forehead, as well. He had prerequisite tests, and the surgeon removed it, and gave him the all-clear as well. Phew!

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

i love the pew
i assume it has to be from the church next door

glad your forhead thingy is ok now

 

[Ally T]

i love the pew
i assume it has to be from the church next door

glad your forhead thingy is ok now

Thanks Daisys. Yes, the pew is from next door, however we found it on EBay last year about 46 miles away from here, by a weird twist of fate! There is the story about it is further up this thread & it’s worth a read!

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

Hope your suture area is feeling better. I had a lipoma removed (twice) on the hairline, and it was quite sore!!!!!!

cheers--Sharon

 

[Ally T]

HI:

Hope your suture area is feeling better. I had a lipoma removed (twice) on the hairline, and it was quite sore!!!!!!

cheers--Sharon

Thanks Sharon. It’s been a lot more painful than I was expecting! I was convinced yesterday that it had become infected, but after talking to the Nurse she assured me there’s a difference between infection & aggravated due to me repeatedly trying to clean it with warm wet cotton wool in between morning & evening showers running on it to soften the scabs! She told me to stand under the shower for 5 mins morning & evening, but I thought it might help to scrub at it in between before applying the antibiotic cream. What a winner

So it’s pretty angry & slightly puffy, but not hot, weeping, oozing etc. She reminded me they had to go down to the bone & altogether they took 1cm width of skin, so the stitching is pulled quite tight. I hoped I might get a partial face lift…….

 

[canuk-gal]

Thanks Sharon. It’s been a lot more painful than I was expecting! I was convinced yesterday that it had become infected, but after talking to the Nurse she assured me there’s a difference between infection & aggravated due to me repeatedly trying to clean it with warm wet cotton wool in between morning & evening showers running on it to soften the scabs! She told me to stand under the shower for 5 mins morning & evening, but I thought it might help to scrub at it in between before applying the antibiotic cream. What a winner

So it’s pretty angry & slightly puffy, but not hot, weeping, oozing etc. She reminded me they had to go down to the bone & altogether they took 1cm width of skin, so the stitching is pulled quite tight. I hoped I might get a partial face lift…….

partial face lift! LOL Glad you haven't lost your sense of humor. And no more scrubbing!! Tissue is easily inflamed, keep your eye on it (but not your hands!!) Feel better soon!

 

[RMOO]

Thanks Sharon. It’s been a lot more painful than I was expecting! I was convinced yesterday that it had become infected, but after talking to the Nurse she assured me there’s a difference between infection & aggravated due to me repeatedly trying to clean it with warm wet cotton wool in between morning & evening showers running on it to soften the scabs! She told me to stand under the shower for 5 mins morning & evening, but I thought it might help to scrub at it in between before applying the antibiotic cream. What a winner

So it’s pretty angry & slightly puffy, but not hot, weeping, oozing etc. She reminded me they had to go down to the bone & altogether they took 1cm width of skin, so the stitching is pulled quite tight. I hoped I might get a partial face lift…….

You mean like this?

 

[Ally T]

partial face lift! LOL Glad you haven't lost your sense of humor. And no more scrubbing!! Tissue is easily inflamed, keep your eye on it (but not your hands!!) Feel better soon!

I am due to have the stitches out on Saturday afternoon, so I’ll be seeing the nurse then anyway & she can inspect it. Can’t get the bloody, crusty scabs off at all though. There are ten teeny stitches like piranha teeth, so nothing is getting through those. However, I can now fully lift my eyebrows. It was SO painful up until Tues that I couldn’t even twitch them without wincing

 

[finerthings]

Argh, I had Mohs surgury smack dab mid forehead about 12 years ago for BCC. The surgery was done by a specialist and then closed up by a plastic surgeon because I thought he would do the best job on such a noticeable area of my face. Well it turned out - not so great. When the plastic surgeon started to remove the stitches a week or so later my wound started to split open and he had to put in new stitches without any numbing done because that would have separated the wound more. It was so painful I was gripping at the arms of the chair like it was my lifeboat. So these additional stitched had to be left in for another week leaving quite a visible scar. I later did laser resurfacing on this area because the scar was so pronounced. This whole ordeal was such an emotional time for me. Fast forward to current times, I have to cover the almost 2 inch vertical scar with makeup every time I go out in public and honestly it left me a bit emotionally scarred because I used to think I was quite pretty. I know it's all in my head, and I should be happy that I got rid of the cancer, but it is hard to look in a mirror some days without feeling like they really messed me up. I surely hope that your experience is way better than mine as the great majority of these surgeries go off without a hitch. Best of luck @Ally T. ((Hugs))

 

[empliau]

Argh, I had Mohs surgury smack dab mid forehead about 12 years ago for BCC. The surgery was done by a specialist and then closed up by a plastic surgeon because I thought he would do the best job on such a noticeable area of my face. Well it turned out - not so great. When the plastic surgeon started to remove the stitches a week or so later my wound started to split open and he had to put in new stitches without any numbing done because that would have separated the wound more. It was so painful I was gripping at the arms of the chair like it was my lifeboat. So these additional stitched had to be left in for another week leaving quite a visible scar. I later did laser resurfacing on this area because the scar was so pronounced. This whole ordeal was such an emotional time for me. Fast forward to current times, I have to cover the almost 2 inch vertical scar with makeup every time I go out in public and honestly it left me a bit emotionally scarred because I used to think I was quite pretty. I know it's all in my head, and I should be happy that I got rid of the cancer, but it is hard to look in a mirror some days without feeling like they really messed me up. I surely hope that your experience is way better than mine as the great majority of these surgeries go off without a hitch. Best of luck @Ally T. ((Hugs))

I'm so sorry - I know a little how you feel. I was mauled by a dog, teeth and claws, in the face when i was 6. When I went back to school with a face full of stitches and scabs, one of my friends cried and ran away because I looked scary. It's nearly 60 years ago but I remember it so clearly. Anyway, after plastic surgery, I was left only with one scar - but rather a jagged one that is forever, as my lip was split in two pieces, and the scar tissue binds it together.

I was sad about it for a long time, especially as my sister used to call me Scarface when we fought. Sometime in high school I embraced it, and when anyone inquired about it rudely, at least to my mind, I told them I got it fencing. It's part of me and while I'd have quite liked to be less obtrusively scarred, it has become a feature, not a bug. We all get dinged up by life.

I'm not saying don't feel how you feel, only keep an open mind. Someday your scar may seem more like a friend from the long road of your life. My two cents, anyway.

 

[finerthings]

Thank you @empliau, and your experience sounds so much more terrible as a child. I feel I should be more balanced in my emotions for I am now over 65 years old, but still vanity gets in my way. It has been hard to accept this ugly scar as part of me, and I have no other recourse than to accept it... I just wish it were not so. We all have issues, we are not perfect. Thank you for sharing your story.

I don't want to steal this thread from @Ally T, I just wanted to share my experience.

 

[empliau]

I don't mean to sound like I'm competing for scar trauma, not at all. I sympathize so much, especially the feeling of it no longer being one's face, at least as one knew it. I've gotten very good over the decades at washing my face and brushing my teeth without looking at that part of my lip. When I do, I'm sometimes still surprised.

 

[Ally T]

Argh, I had Mohs surgury smack dab mid forehead about 12 years ago for BCC. The surgery was done by a specialist and then closed up by a plastic surgeon because I thought he would do the best job on such a noticeable area of my face. Well it turned out - not so great. When the plastic surgeon started to remove the stitches a week or so later my wound started to split open and he had to put in new stitches without any numbing done because that would have separated the wound more. It was so painful I was gripping at the arms of the chair like it was my lifeboat. So these additional stitched had to be left in for another week leaving quite a visible scar. I later did laser resurfacing on this area because the scar was so pronounced. This whole ordeal was such an emotional time for me. Fast forward to current times, I have to cover the almost 2 inch vertical scar with makeup every time I go out in public and honestly it left me a bit emotionally scarred because I used to think I was quite pretty. I know it's all in my head, and I should be happy that I got rid of the cancer, but it is hard to look in a mirror some days without feeling like they really messed me up. I surely hope that your experience is way better than mine as the great majority of these surgeries go off without a hitch. Best of luck @Ally T. ((Hugs))

I am so sorry to hear about this. It must have been terrifying!

I now shall add scar splitting open when the stitches come out tomorrow….. Blimey. That is a worry.

Also, scars are warrior marks. Life experiences & journeys. Please don’t be ashamed of your scar. It tells a story & is a lesson learned.

 

[canuk-gal]

I am so sorry to hear about this. It must have been terrifying!

I now shall add scar splitting open when the stitches come out tomorrow….. Blimey. That is a worry.

Also, scars are warrior marks. Life experiences & journeys. Please don’t be ashamed of your scar. It tells a story & is a lesson learned.

Let us know how it goes!!! Healing vibes across the kms.

 

[Ally T]

Let us know how it goes!!! Healing vibes across the kms.

So it wasn’t as straight forward as I would have liked. Half of it has healed really well, the other half not so well. The skin edges haven’t bonded & the weeping scabs I have had all week has made it worse. The Dr decided to dissolve the scabs, remove the stitches to prevent infection & then steri-strip stitch me to within an inch of my life. Hopefully this will pull the open edges of skin a little closer, but worse case scenario is a slightly bigger scar at one end than we hoped for. It’s covered in gunk & I have to apply a thick blob of Vaseline every few hours to try to prevent it drying & another scab forming. But’s that’s all ok, because the cancer is out, it will heal & it will recover. That’s all that matters to me.

 

[finerthings]

@Ally T argh, so sorry to hear that it was not as simple for you either. I have very fair thin fragile skin so that is probably why my wound separated. I admire your positive attitude and in the end the cancer is gone and that is what counts. ((hugs)) When is your followup appointment?

 

[Ally T]

@Ally T argh, so sorry to hear that it was not as simple for you either. I have very fair thin fragile skin so that is probably why my wound separated. I admire your positive attitude and in the end the cancer is gone and that is what counts. ((hugs)) When is your followup appointment?

I have to soak the strips off on Monday night, then keep applying the Vaseline & antibiotic cream to keep it moist, then I am back on June 26th. I was already booked in that day to have a biopsy on another mole on the back of my upper arm, so he will check this one over at the same time to save me making two trips within a few days of each other. I am not giving any brain space to the other mole right now. One thing at a time.

I did mention your scar opening up again when your stitches were removed & he said unfortunately it was more common on foreheads than you may think, due to the skin being so tight.

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

Your PMA is wonderful--and yes it will heal. Your Tiffany bracelets have magical powers!!!

cheers--Sharon

 

[Ally T]

HI:

Your PMA is wonderful--and yes it will heal. Your Tiffany bracelets have magical powers!!!

cheers--Sharon

I’m always smiling, Sharon, so the Smile bracelet feels fitting right now to remind me of that & to not let my brain get too bogged down in things I don’t have any facts about yet

 

[canuk-gal]

I’m always smiling, Sharon, so the Smile bracelet feels fitting right now to remind me of that & to not let my brain get too bogged down in things I don’t have any facts about yet

I like to smile--smiling is my favorite. (Elf)

We are a pair of smilers. I smile and say HI to everyone everywhere I go.