Coping With Winter

Winter is my least favorite of all the seasons, but I am also finding ways to enjoy it more and more.  When I used to ski, I loved winter and it wasn't nearly long or cold enough.  I think that is why I liked skiing ~ it made me love winter for the first time in my life. But I have long ago laid up my skis since I was never very good at it, and as I was getting older, I realized I'd better give it up before I broke something major. Now I see winter as a rest from all the outside yard work and the external care that an older home requires.  It has become a "breather" for me.  An okay to curl up on the couch and "chill". I also use winter to do some of those inside projects that I can't squeeze in during the warmer months.  Projects like reupholstering, making curtains, painting, and cleaning out the attic. Well, this is my current winter project that I have put off for over 10 years ~ stripping the paint off of my old doors, putting up new molding, and repainting.  This is what my doors currently look like. (Yes, I still haven't taken down my Christmas decorations.)  You can imagine how many coats of paint a 60 + year old house has on it that makes the paint crack.

  My house isn't large enough to have a hallway, but it has a cul de sac of sorts that consists of six doorways leading to various rooms.  One doorway is open to the living room and the other five open to bedrooms, the bathroom, upstairs and a closet. I was going to do one door at a time from start to finish, but realized if I did it that way, it was very likely I would quit halfway through.  So I'm working on all six doorways and living with their unfinished state in order to stay motivated to finish the whole project. Here is one of the doors during the stripping process that is done with a heat gun.  As you can see, it is quite a messy project.

  It's amazing how much that pile of paint chips weighs when it is all bagged up.  It is a long and tedious process, so I only do one door a day or a couple door frames.  After you get all the paint off, then it all needs sanding.

  I have finished up four doorways completely with two more to go.    

  Today I removed the rest of the molding.  

  My two helpers are taking a siesta ~ their version of coping with a snowy winter day.  

 
Wish I could show you a totally finished door, but that is a few weeks off yet.  I should be working on this project right now instead of writing about it, but I promise I will show you them eventually when they are all finished with new trim, floor molding and refinished floors. ~ How do you cope with the long winter? ~ Linking with   Between Naps on the Porch for Metamorphosis Monday