The Historic Homes Workshop Weekend Part I

First, I apologize that I do not have any DIY meal kit recipes for you this week. Being out of town plus another winter storm put a wrench in my plans. The good news is that I have already published five weeks of DIY meal kit recipes, so you can start there or repeat a favorite.

Let’s talk about my trip to the Historic Homes Workshop in Florida. While I would never consider myself to be shy, I was a little apprehensive about jumping head first into the weekend. Imposter syndrome is real, my friends.

Arrival Night

When I pulled up to the May-Stringer museum, I took a few deep breaths before I got out of the car.

Right away, I saw Steve of Wood Window Makeover and episode #4 of the podcast fame. He recognized me immediately, and I let out a huge sigh of relief. I hadn’t even realized I was holding my breath. We shook hands and were instantly friends.

Friday night, we all ate dinner together, and my residual nervousness led me to start conversations like this:

HiI’mStacyILiveInWesternNewYorkFloridaFeelsNiceTheWeatherIsPerfect. I’mJustHereForTheWeekendIWantToStayLongerButIHaveToGetHome. MyHouseHas140Windows.TheWeatherIsPerfectRight? DidISayThatAlready?

Across the table and a few seats down, a guy was looking at me with a polite expression, but his eyes were bargaining with God,  “Please don’t pair me up with her this weekend.”

Awkward.

I took a couple of swigs of Sangria and brought it down a notch.

The rest of the night was lovely. Other people talked too, and I realized that we were all fired up about the weekend. Some of us just talked a little less. Ahem…

Saturday Workshops

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All day Saturday there were different workshops on the schedule. Some were geared towards homeowners, and some were more relevant to business owners in the restoration trades.

Since I had some experience with glass cutting, painting, and glazing old windows, I decided to try something new. I chose the Abatron wood repair workshop.

Polymer chemist, Marco explained how the products work and why.

Then, we tested it out on a rotten sash.

There are several areas in BHH where this type of repair will come in handy. Abatron products are expensive, but for preservation, it is worth every penny.

While we were waiting for the epoxy to dry, I snuck over to the painting and glazing class for a few minutes.

After lunch, I took a two-hour class about different paint removal techniques.

We also learned about steam boxes and how to keep our tools sharp and ready. By far, this was my favorite workshop. I loved learning about all of the different methods and specific problems. The only bummer is that now I want one of every tool, and that adds up to about $1200.

The day wound down with a raffle. I won a gallon of Sarco Type M glazing putty and a very roomy t-shirt.

Since there were plenty of t-shirts in all sizes, my new friend Russ traded a better fitting Abatron T for mine.

That evening, a group of about fifteen of us went to the local tap room for an evening of chit-chat and sweet potato nachos. I had a chance to talk to Ty McBride (episode #2 of the podcast) and his wife, April. What a fun evening!

Back in my hotel room, I fell asleep from the sheer exhaustion of learning new things and making friends. I could hardly wait for the next day.

Tomorrow, I will post about our Sunday workday and my first (maybe) paranormal experience as a complete skeptic who is easily startled. Something happened. I’m just not sure what that something was. You will have to decide.

-Stacy