The Pantagraph from Bloomington, Illinois • Page 37

PANTAGRAPH Quotable "Gardening requires' lots of water most of it in the form of perspiration." Lou Erickson Home front Old-time tips You won't find pointers for cleaning your microwave here. "1,001 Old-Time Household Hints" is a Section SATURDAY, June 3, 2006 Chuck Blystone, Features editor, (309) 829-9000, ext. 248, e-mail: featurespantaqraph.com HOME I LI f' compilation of tips gathered by the editors of Yankee magazine from old books, magazines, journals and memoirs. Together they provide a charming look back, but much of their wisdom still -r "Tliere are a lot of really special homes and projects on. this lour.

We wanted a good mLv of lots of different things to look at. It's a mix ofin-lown and oirt-oflown, downtown, single-Jamili) homes. Mark Edwards, executive director of the Old House Society applies today. Readers will find At hom Progress made The former Illinois Soldiers' and Sailors' Children's School power plant building is now without its steam engines and boilers. Its owners, Brad Egli and Michael Morrison are converting the space into their new living quarters.

Below are photos taken by Morrison during the demolition and renovation. More photos can be found on the pair's Web site, www.618Lincoln.com such time-tested hints as softening hands with honey and sugar, creating a Slow-release irrigation system by sinking a clay pot in soil and making a homemade level by taping a small bottle of water to a board. The book is published by Rodale Books and sells for $17.95 in softcover. Collar cleaning To remove hair spray from a washable coat, Janis Stone, a textile and clothing extension specialist with Iowa State University suggests rubbing heavy-duty liquid laundry detergent into the stain, then washing the garment using a bleach that is safe for the fabric. All-fabric bleach is less damaging to colors and fabrics, but chlorine bleach can be used for tough stains on fabrics that are colorfast to bleach.

(Stone's complete stain-removal guide can be found at www.extension.iastate.edutextiles stain.html.) Get this Intriguing RVs You're apt to come down with a case of wanderlust from reading Douglas Keister's "Mobile Mansions: Taking 'Home Sweet Home' on the Road." Keister A water treatment tank on the west side of the power plant was removed in June 2005, leaving a big hole. 1 IV 1 iV i' VV 11 explores the I II history of the 14 recreational vehicle and takes Only a portion of the last boiler remained on the west side of the building irt late June 2005. The cleanup was finished by July 1. readers CI 1 inside some intriguing examples, PantaqraphSTEVE SMEDLEY Brad Egli sat on the stairwell that leads to the loft area of the power plant of the former Illinois Soldiers' and Sailors' Children's School in Normal. Egli and Michael Morrison are renovating the building, which is on the Old House Society's House Tour.

Old-home tour offers eclectic mix ro r-n Home tour A concrete frame for the planter box and fountain was completed in September. The pair later lined the fountain with 20,000 flat-backed, blue glass marbles. ml .1 "I'MW lU'l'll I i In in1 1 such as an oak-trimmed Gypsy Cruiser camp car from the 1920s and a Thompson camper sedan that looks a little like an armored hearse with a pop-up roof. You can see the mobile dressing room Jane Russell used while filming "The Outlaw" and the camper in which John Steinbeck explored America with his poodle. Keister also included a resource section for RV aficionados.

"Mobile Mansions" is published by Gibbs Smith, Publisher, and is priced at $24.95 in softcover. Simply slide it Before you pull a muscle shoving Aunt Mary's dresser to the other side of the room, pick up a pack of EZ Moves. They are furniture slides that help you effortlessly glide chairs, sideboards and bookcases across the room or down the hallway. Made of friction-resistant plastic and a thick foam padding that conforms to the piece placed on them, the slides move heavy or bulky items across thick carpet, hardwood, vinyl, ceramic tile and more. And they don't scratch floor surfaces.

The slides come in various shapes, sizes, colors and textures. Available at nationwide stores such as Linens Things, Sherwin Williams and OVC, as well as most hardware and home-improvement stores. Call toll-free (866) EZ-MOVES (396-6837) or visit www.ezmoves.com. '1 8 W. By Mary Ann Ford mfordpantagraph.com NORMAL When you walk through the doors at 618 Lincoln it's hard to imagine the space once held steam engines and boilers for the former Illinois Soldiers' and Sailors' Children's School.

There's a fountain on the left with 20,000 blue glass, flat-backed marbles that glisten in the sunlight. A modern kitchen is nearly finished near the back of the massive space. The maple cabinets, hlack countertops and stainless steel appliances have been installed and a wall was painted green to complement the green glass on the bar top that separates the kitchen from the great room. Dry wall outlines separate spaces within the space: a den just beyond the kitchen, and an office, bedroom, closet and bathroom in the loft area. "There are two times we noticed a big change," said Brad Egli, who owns the former ISSCS power plant building with Michael Morrison.

"One was after the initial demolition. We could finally see the size of space. The second was when the dry-wall went up. We can see what the rooms will look like. "It's starting to look like home." On June 10, others will have the chance to see the progress What: Old House Society Tour When: 10 a.m.

to 4 p.m. June 10 Cost: $10; children under 13 free. Tickets are available at Casey's Garden Shop, 1505 N. Main or the Old House Society Warehouse, 214 Douglas both Bloomington; or Garlic Press, 108 W. North Normal.

Homes on tour in Bloomington: 1007 E. Jefferson a "Gift to the Street" award-winning Italianate home; 402 E. Grove 1894 Mandel House moved in November 2004; 216 N. Center the Ensenberger building being converted to condominiums; 8O8V2 N. Oak restored bungalow in traditional neighborhood; 5 Ridgewood Terrace, sensitively restored 1920s bungalow; 7 Ridgewood Terrace, 1920s bungalow.

In Normal: 402 Virginia new Prairie Style home under construction in Highland Historic District; 618 E. Lincoln former Illinois Soldiers' and Sailors' Children's Home power plant being converted into a residence. In Hudson: 307 N. Broadway restored 19th century Italianate home. Information available at www.oldhousesociety.org The loft framing was done in March, making way for the drywall.

1 "1 This is the entryway to the former Illinois Soldiers' and Sailors' Children's School in Normal. Egli and Morrison have made. Their future home at 618 E. Lincoln St. is one of nine residences on the self-guided Old House Society's House Tour.

"There are a lot of really special homes and projects on this tour," said Mark Edwards, executive director of the Old House Society "We wanted a good mix of lots of different things to look at. It's a mix of in-town and out-of-town, downtown, single-family homes." SEE HOME NEXT PAGE Online By April, the appliances, cabinets and countertop were installed in the kitchen and glass top was on the bar. SATURDAYS WITH SUSAN Eyes open when the nurse becomes the patient pantagraph.com Check out our bi-monthly magazine celebrating the finer things in life at www.tcstyle.com. Sunday Melding eras A large chunk of the old Second Presbyterian Church has been preserved in the new building, forming a symbolic bridge from the past to the future. Inside June gardening Peg Balbach offers some reminders on gardening tasks to be accomplished in June.D3 Also inside Dear Abby D3 Divine Design D2 Horoscope D3 Obituaries D6 Pulpit D5 1 '7 emergency than him.

Heimlich maneuver, emergency sutures, splinting a broken leg with an umbrella and his belt he can do it all. On the other hand, he's not exactly one to coddle his patients. "Shouldn't you be at work? Don't you have meetings today?" "My boss sent me home." "She was just testing you to see if you're a slacker. You failed! Put your -shoes back on and get back to work, tiger!" Instead I loudly groaned in pain, held my hands heavenward for mercy and tried to cough up something disgusting to prove that I deserved to be waited on hand and foot. SEE SUSAN NEXT PAGE Day One It began as a sore throat that led to coughing, hacking and the whole upper respiratory bit.

I loudly cleared my throat, coughing up disgusting amounts of phlegm and generally grossing out everyone around me. Coworkers started taking detours outside the office to avoid crossing nty path. They circulated a petition urging me to go home. Hacking and teary-eyed, I made my way home, dropping my purse at the door and collapsing onto the couch with a loud moan. I was greeted by my beloved husband.

You should know, there's no one I'd rather have around in a medical What goes around comes around, right? It's almost certain that if a female columnist affectionately pokes fun at her husband's stoic behavior while he's down with a bug, she will become sick herself two weeks later. And then it's his turn to poke fun. Like the old saying goes, if you can't stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen. (Or at least don't whine about the cooking.) When my sweetheart caught the latest bug that was going around, he carried on despite our family's desperate pleas for him to rest. He had a fever, but he still got up and dressed every day.

He had the Susan Hazlett chills and still mowed the lawn. Thankfully, the illness was temporary and he recovered. Then I found a bug all my very own. And, as you may have guessed, I am a different kind of patient..