A dozen arts lovers each contributed $10 to incorporate an Antioch organization dedicated to music and the visual and performing arts. Fifty years later, PM&L Theatre (Palette, Masque & Lyre) is still going strong."The idea was that everyone would have a spot to do their particular art," said

Publication: Libertyville Review (IL)

We want your society news -- whether it's from the North Shore, or Libertyville, Skokie and Buffalo Grove areas. To catch up with the movers and shakers of the benefit set and fashion scene, call Mary Graham at (847) 486-7356 or e-mail: mgraham@pioneerlocal.com.Special Home Delivery Offer »

Publication: Libertyville Review (IL)

In a previous life, while Cro-Magnons mingled with Neanderthals and fondly reminisced over mammoth kills, my husband and I were inside, pretending the cave painting was animated.They did brontosaurus barbecues, and perused Hunters & Gatherers magazine with celebrity headlines like: "Wilma Storms

Publication: Libertyville Review (IL)

Two Lake County teens returned from a week-long sailing excursion across Lake Michigan just in time for the start of school.Evelyn Ritter, a 17-year-old senior at Libertyville High School and Jordan Kolpas, a 17-year-old senior at Deerfield High School, arrived at Burnham Harbor in Chicago Aug. 20

Publication: Libertyville Review (IL)

Tzimmes, the customary stewed side dish, simmered and served to commemorate such Jewish holidays as Rosh Hashanah, has been part of high holiday dinnertime long enough to have inspired the Yiddish expression "to make a big tzimmes," or fuss over something. And healthier updates of the classic, worn

Publication: Libertyville Review (IL)

Four outstanding international films will be presented on Friday nights during fall semester by the College of Lake County Center for International Education. There is no charge for the films, which are screened at 7 p.m. in room A162 (Anderson lecture hall) on the CLC Grayslake Campus, 19351 W.

Publication: Libertyville Review (IL)

Libertyville is planning to make more parking improvements in the downtown next summer.Last year, the village completed construction of a 360-space parking deck west of Milwaukee Avenue at the corner of Brainerd Avenue and Lake Street. Next summer, the village will begin on the next phase of west

Publication: Libertyville Review (IL)

The annual Hadassah House Resale Summer Bag Sale will take place from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Sept. 3 at 1710 First St. in Highland Park. Each bag of clothing is $10 excluding winter clothes. Jewelry, art, collectibles and furniture are 75-percent off. The Resale Shop will be closed after the sale for

Publication: Libertyville Review (IL)

Some 300 opening night guests enjoyed "Silver Clouds," a rarely seen exhibit of large helium-filled balloons designed by artist Andy Warhol, on June 1 at S. R. Crown Hall at the Illinois Institute of Technology.Co-sponsored by the Mies van der Rohe Society and the Art Institute of Chicago's Society

Publication: Libertyville Review (IL)

SWIMMING -- Kevin Lenz cruised to the victory in the 50-yard breaststroke (30.12) to help the Cougars finish fifth at the Don Davis Invite at Highland Park on Saturday.The Vernon Hills junior also peddled to third in the 50-yard freestyle (23.46) on the way to earning runner-up honors in the sprint

Publication: Libertyville Review (IL)

This post is delayed.

And this post is delayed because my home renovations are delayed because my loan is delayed. As many of you know, I’m in the process of buying a home built in 1905 that belonged to my grandmother but I’m currently living there.  It’s been in my family for over 60 years, but there was a small chain of title issue with regard to a bit o’ the property that’s caused huge delays.

I’m a planner. I consider myself prepared. I think a whole lot. So I didn’t go into this whole “old house” thing with my heat gun blazing.  But I had plans to achieve some major renovations over the summer, including putting a new roof and gutters on the house. But that couldn’t get done until the bathroom roof (separate roof line) was tore off, the walls built up, and the house’s roof line extended. But that couldn’t get done until I’d taken care of the electrical for the bathroom, which included adding a few more breakers to the box. But at that point, because I’d planned to drywall, I was told it made sense to replace the wiring so I could have up-to-code GFI outlets. I wasn’t going to paint until I could drywall, of course, and I wasn’t going to replace the floors until the walls were done. On top of all of that, I was advised not to fence my new property until I cleared up an easement issue with the county that affects where I put that fence. In short, I’ve done absolutely nothing to the house this summer. And now the summer is over.

But the loan isn’t closed. And although I trust my family, it just doesn’t seem prudent to do those types of costly renovations on a home I don’t own. So, my trusty dog and I who have been living fenceless (neither of us is happy about that) and in a house with absolutely disgusting carpet waiting for this loan to close have decided to move into a rental in preparation for these winter renovations. Though a lot of folks can live in a home rennovation-in-progress, I know I can’t especially when I work from home. When the paint cans were inside my house during the month of May, that drove me crazy. The floors tore up and furniture crammed and stacked?  No way.

In the meantime, I decided to take a biggg step back and explore the notion of scope when it comes to old home renovations. I’m new at this. It’s easy to get carried away by thinking that it all needs to be done, especially when the house and I have history. In light of this, I’ve been cruising OldHouseWeb.com and other renovation sites to try and get a handle on scope and how to determine (especially from a resource perspective) how to proceed and plan. Here is a list of articles and resources that I’ve found helpful (and really have my head in a spin):

• I figured I better read about six common renovations that ruin the historic value of my home before I do something that ruins my home (like the roof I was planning).
• Inspection checklist: Very helpful when trying to discuss your new old home with other people who are trying to help. Much better to have a list to reference than to constantly repeat, “You know, I’m not sure about that.”
• The OHW forums are full of great advice: “Also we usually strongly suggest that you live in the house for a bit to get a feel for it and what it needs - rushing in to finish things before December - well - that’s a lot of work between now and then and will likely cause you to make decisions you’ll later regret.”  Umm, spoke right to me.
• How about an article on being prepared when remodeling old houses?  This one made me feel better because my house doesn’t have some of those problems!
• Am I ready for these renovations? Umm, maybe not?
• Perhaps I shouldn’t remodel this house at all?  Definitely lots to think about.

Feel free to suggest more in the comments, and I’ll add them to the post so that new OHN have a good list to work from.

I was starting to think it would never get here; that I was stuck in some sort of “Groundhog Day” world of endless days with temperatures in the high 90s, but I can sense that autumn is right around the corner. I realize some people like extremely hot weather, but if I wanted 100 degree days on a regular basis, I’d move to Arizona, Florida or south Texas. I don’t mind high 80s and

Visit Some Old Houses and Enjoy the Foliage photo from gosoutheast.about.com

low 90s and I’ve even gotten used to Virginia’s high humidity over the years, but my old house doesn’t have central air-conditioning and this summer of 100 degree temperatures has been brutal.My time of the year is fast approaching though as this past weekend had days in the 70s and the nights in the 50s made for perfect sleeping weather. Autumn is a great time to enjoy the outdoors while working on those restoration projects that can be completed over the couple of months before the temperatures really drop and that chair in front of the fireplace starts looking like the place to be. Autumn is also a good time to journey around the countryside drinking apple cider, looking at old houses, and enjoying the fall foliage and festivals that will soon be everywhere.Fall Festivals and Old HousesFall festivals and old houses seem to go together like turkey and dressing; if you find a fall festival, there’s a good chance it will be located in a historic area full of old houses. Ocean Grove, New Jersey is an area known for their beautiful Victorian homes and they have their annual Fall Harvest Festival scheduled for October 9th, but if you want to see the insides of some of the historic houses, you might have to wait for the Victorian House Tour in December.The 40th Annual Algonquin Mill Fall Festival will be in Carrollton, Ohio from October 8th through the 10th. The festival

Visit the Victorian Homes of Ocean Grove, NJ Photo from oceangrovenj.com

features arts and crafts and the homes and buildings of a restored pioneer village; just the food they have listed makes it sound like it could be a great family weekend trip. St. Charles, Illinois has their Old House New House Home Show running from September 25th through the 26 and there should be plenty of information and demonstrations for restoration enthusiasts.Even if there isn’t a fall festival in your neck of the woods, this can be a perfect time of the year for a day trip of viewing beautiful foliage and old houses. Head over to Tacoma, Washington and take a look at all the American Four Square old houses that have been restored or spend a cool Autumn afternoon visiting the Old West End in Toledo, Ohio and its large collection of Victorian homes.

I have written in the past about the benefits of using reclaimed building materials during an old house restoration. Unfortunately, not all historic old houses can be saved from demolition; some are just so far gone that it isn’t feasible to attempt a restoration and others are

Save Those Old House Parts First! photo from oldhousedreams.com

taken down in the name of progress despite the best efforts of local preservationists. Just because a historic house can’t be saved doesn’t mean that all of its parts have to suffer the same inglorious fate.Reclaiming flooring and beams has been popular for quite a while now and there are many companies that do a pretty good business combing the countryside for beautiful wood from old houses and buildings that can be recycled. Sometimes the reclaimed wood is from species of trees that are no longer available and even the more common wood types have often developed a patina that is almost impossible to duplicate with modern lumber. Using this type of reclaimed lumber in your restoration is a way of allowing the history and spirit of an old house to live on and you’re helping the environment at the same time.Old House Recycling: Beyond Flooring and BeamsThe current economy and consumers’ growing awareness of environmental issues have combined to assist a growing industry begin to thrive during tough times. I recently wrote about a company in Hawaii that specializes in recycling building materials of all types and the Seattle Times just spotlighted another similar business. A Seattle family that was having an old house torn down realized the old building materials might be of value to old house enthusiasts so they arranged for them to be recycled. RE Store’s salvage crew rolled in and saved many of the old house’s components with the exception of an interior door that would become a part of the

Was Anything Saved Before it Came Down? photo from oldhousedreams.com

family’s new home. Some of these companies recycle all types of reusable building materials while others such as Recycling the Past in New Jersey choose to specialize in construction items for old houses. If you need an old door or hot water radiator for your restoration project, these types of companies are a great place to try.The West Coast has seemed to lead the way in our country’s “green” revolution and encouraging builders and homeowners to help the environment by using recycled building materials is just another example. The City of Seattle even has a web page touting the benefits of using recycled building materials for construction projects. I have a few upcoming restoration projects on my own old house and I can assure you I plan to visit some recycled building material retail locations.

ALBANY, NY (09/02/2010)(readMedia)

A meeting of the New York State Home Inspection Council will be held on Wednesday, September 29, 2010, 10:30 a.m. at the Department of State, Division of Licensing Services, 80 South Swan Street, 10th Floor Conference Room, Albany, NY and 123 William Street, 19t...

This has been a great season in the garden, and the real workhorses have been native perennials, which require so little care and provide so much beauty. The bees love them as well.If you would like to nudge your landscape into a bit more self-maintenance, check out Citizens for Conservation's fall

Publication: Libertyville Review (IL)

Local wine and beer connoisseurs can wet their palates on a wide assortment of beers and wines, and even enjoy a fine cigar, during the first ever North Shore Wine, Beer, Cigar and Food Festival to he held this Saturday, Aug. 28 in Libertyville.The festival will run from 2 to 8 p.m. on the grounds

Publication: Libertyville Review (IL)

HAWTHORN WOODS15 Park Place Circle, Casey P. Wright to Saju Nettikadan, Gisha Nettikadan, $395,000, July 2127 Doral Drive, Joseph A. Vinhais Jr to Christopher Delvecchio, Rachel Delvecchio, $673,000, July 214 Greenbriar Lane, Scott A. Krzeminski to Edward W. Nesbit, Maria Christina Chio, $520,000,

Publication: Libertyville Review (IL)

Everyone knows Jackie Robinson broke the color line in the modern Major Leagues in 1947.But I realized it took 13 more seasons for all 16 teams in the Major Leagues to finally have a black player on a team.In those 13 seasons, nine black players were rookies of the year, and nine black players won

Publication: Libertyville Review (IL)

Boys interested in outdoor adventure and unplugged fun will want to mark their calendars for Saturday, September 25. That's when Boy Scouts from Vernon Hills and other surrounding communities will be conducting a special "Scout-o-rama" at Van Patten Woods to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of

Publication: Libertyville Review (IL)

Hinsdale Wine Shop, 12 E. Hinsdale Ave., hosts a Susana Balbo Wine Tasting from 6 to 8:30 p.m. on Aug. 27. Call (630) 654-9862.WineStyles, 1741 Sherman Ave., Evanston, holds a free Mystery Tasting of White Wines from 6 to 8 p.m. on Aug. 27. Ten wines, all white, all disguised in brown bags, one is

Publication: Libertyville Review (IL)