I should have remembered there’s another chimney in this house. The inspector found it in the attic, capped off up there. But chimneys don’t just exist in attics. They exist from basements on up.
So, running right through the space I want to open up on the main floor is a massive piece of 120 year old masonry.
The mason’s daughter in me is stoked; the me hoping for an open floor plan is a little less stoked.
Do we leave it, exposed, as a reminder of the past? Even though in the past it would not have been exposed?
Do we dismantle it, attempting to salvage the brick for another use?
Or do we go full demo-rage on it and just get it out of here?
I don’t know. But, I did know immediately I MUST know what it looks like. Using a bit more restraint in my bashing, I was able to uncover a decently large portion.
The history nerd in me loves uncovering these things. It’s fascinating. The demo queen in me does not love having to use finesse in the uncovering. It’s not in my nature.
The widow in me never feels closer to Craig than I do when I’m working on a project like this. Maybe because we spent so many hours working on house projects together that it’s just natural to assume he’d be right next to me for this one too. There is peace in this. And pain. But that’s grief.
As far as the wine part goes…it’s not. After surviving stomach flu over the New Year, wine still doesn’t sound all that great. But I have a bottle here, ready for when it does.
In the meantime, I’ll be awake at night, thinking of chimneys.
99 Bottles of Wine 'til I'm Done 