The Forsstrom House

Container ship outbound the other day was seen from the View Room!

The deer are celebrating this morning!

Our house in 1984! Pretty rough!

New acquisition alert! For the first floor bedroom renovation. This thing is HUGE! 7 feet wide and 8.5 feet tall! Woohoo!

Stepped out the front door and Bucky was giving me the side eye! I took his picture and slipped out the back door. It’s rut season and these big boys are looking for companionship! They often are a bit unpredictable this time of year.

October ghosties in the front window!

It’s glass pumpkin time!

Progress on the second floor of the front of the house. I am really liking the new four color scheme!

House painting of the front of the house has begun. My paint contractor is the best historic house painter in the area. I waited 5 years for him to paint our house! Yea!!!!

Making an apple & pear sauce with elderflower syrup and lemon juice. It made 7 pints! It’s canning season!

View Room casement window stripped, sanded and glazed. This is number 7 of 8 windows!!! Ready for priming after the glaze “skims over”! It is indoors because it is moist this morning in Astoria. The marine layer is a thick and wet blanket.

The LCPS lecture at Pacifick Distillery is next Tuesday! Get there early! Grab a seat and a cocktail!

My sweet peas are putting on quite a display! Last gasp of summer! Must finish painting windows while the weather is good!

The windows that are being restored need to come inside at night. It’s been raining at night and I want to keep them dry! I have at least 4 more to do this month! Whew!

Front porch lovelies, safe from the Astoria deer herd! Gardening is difficult in an active deer zone! At least we don’t have elk in town!

Yesterday’s sunrise from the yard! A window under restoration is peeking out in the foreground!

We walked down on the waterfront last Thursday night and saw both Columbia River bar pilot vessels were at their moorage.

One of the twins decided to stop by and help with window restoration!

Window restoration continues until the rainy season comes! Our window sash is “Finnish Red” and looks quite smart.

It’s a strange world department! Found this postcard of Alli Forsstrom, the 1914 Astoria Regatta Queen, from a postcard dealer in Germany! A German student was visiting Astoria and was quite taken by Mrs. Forsstrom’s beauty and gown. He gushed about her on the postcard! Had to purchase it!

Front door restoration in 2023. This door was made in the 80’s by John Davies using African Mahogany for the exterior and White Oak for the interior. Completed with antique lock set, old hinges and beveled glass. Restoration by my friend, Jay, of North Coast Fix. It is heavy and beautiful!

It’s the cat distribution system at work!

Hot tip! Visit the Astoria Sign Museum to see vintage signs for the area. It’s a great glimpse into Astoria history!

Working on our original casement windows until October! A pair just got completed this week! Love the Falu or Finnish Red color of the sash. It’s a nod to the Forsstroms, who were Finnish.

Deer in the neighbor’s yard! I just get does and fawns! This is one of the “bros”. They are a bonded pair of bucks of the same age. They must be brothers. We see them all over! They are getting BIG!

Good morning! It’s raining! Yea! It has been do dry!

Nice day in Astoria! Here’s the view of the Columbia River from our yard!

Had a nice 4th, but was not in the mood to celebrate….

Good morning, Astoria! Looking east towards Tongue Point!