Weekend in Loudoun

Last week, I got an interesting missive from one D.M. Bashor, who wanted me to go to some seminar on a cash only business. Googling Dana Bashor proved rather interesting, so I went up to Loudoun County, Virginia instead.

I like to go through Richmond every now and then. The city skyline is really impressive coming from the south on 95.
After crossing the James and a few more hours, I was back in that northernmost tip of Virginia. A view of the Union Cemetery in Lovettsville, Virginia.

The Loudoun County McMansion. Not a great picture but this example near Purcellville has two front doors along with the innumerable gables and the three to four car garage.
A slightly less obnoxious example.
Contrast the above with this.

Here's an old door at the old family place. The door is from the 1830's but stayed where it was when the 1884 addition was put on. The detail shows the old claw marks from where a cat or dog long, long time ago pawed at it to get out. I was reading about the painted Victorians of San Francisco, so I did a "Painted Lady" door quite a few years ago.


Part of the problem at this old, old house, is that the rim door locks are the same "vintage". Add to that generations of people slamming doors, children, and other torture the door hardware goes through, they wear out. Only problem is, is that the hardware is so old, it was obsolete before Kaiser Bill got dangerous (WW1). The newest original hardware is about 123 years old. This was on the old preacher's study. It had quit working a few years ago, but I just propped a chair under the knob when visiting to keep the dog out at night.


Emmy, half Belgian Shepard, half Rhodesian Ridgeback, and uninvited roomie.

So I got out the old bits and pieces of locks when asked to fix the door, and started sorting out something that would work.

I finally picked out and repaired an old lock and chose a white porcelain door knob and a marbleized door knob. There are now some nice reproductions, but the old locks are all cast iron inside.

The dog gets to stay out now. Not a great repair job but at least the hardware is original...very original.

The upstairs hall, looking at the 1833 A.D. back wall of the house. Since the wall is three courses of brick, it's a bit thick. The door is relatively recent, a yellow pine cross & bible from Hechinger's. The doorway itself was added in 1884, probably enlarging an existing window.

Some scenes of the front garden and my case of Dominion Root Beer. Apparently Giant in Purcellville gets one a day. I got this one. It's changed though. It didn't have corn syrup in it before or the artificial flavouring.