What's Old is New Again

A long weekend but a short visit.  We made the trip up to Maine knowing that we'd be coming home early Sunday morning. Lots of traffic but the ride seemed even longer because we were transporting something that continuously rattled and vibrated for the entire ride. Every bump in the road was nerve wracking and anxiety provoking. I was convinced we'd damage our special cargo. 

What were we transporting you ask?? Dishes. But these are no ordinary dishes. I recently inherited a set of Haviland china that had belonged to my great-aunt. It is over 70 years old and I didn't want it on my conscience if it was reduced to shards of porcelain. My sister, the original recipient of the china, is downsizing and she shares my fondness for antiques so she passed the set over to me. I'm thrilled to receive this family artifact for sentimental reasons but also because we have a dining room in Maine. 

My Aunt Mary spent a lot of time at our house when I was growing up and she loved to dine. She was the well to do, well dressed relative that was always ready for a party. She spent most holidays at our house so I don't ever remember her using the china but according to my mother she used to have elaborate dinner parties when she was younger. Her kitchen was in the basement and there was a dumb waiter that transported the food to the dining room. It fascinated us to no end as children. I'm thrilled to be in possession of this set of dishes- imagine the stories they could tell!

So, the dishes are in their new home no worse for wear after the bumpy car ride.  I need a few finishing touches before I'm ready to host their next dinner party but here they are and they seems to be settling in nicely!

Apples

There is nothing like biting into an apple you just plucked from a tree! I had an enormous Honey Crisp apple on the way home from the orchard and it was amazing!!  So were the apple cider doughnuts that found their way home with us. We've been apple picking 3 times in the past 2 weeks. We found a great U-Pick spot in town and have stopped in twice already. The third apple picking adventure was in our own backyard. You may recall that we have 3 apple trees and we harvested the crop last weekend. We picked 15 apples off the trees! Not too bad. But I have to admit I'm a little hesitant to bite into them. I'll cut one open and see how it looks inside and then decide if I'll use the or not. Let's just say the don't look as pretty as the apples we saw at the orchard.

It was fun to pick them though.

Here is the what we got from our trees:

And this is what I made from the yummy apples at the local U-Pick orchard:

Time to get pie number two out of the oven!  

What a Summer!

It's been a while since I've posted. It's not because I've lost interest in this blog, we've just been enjoying the summer. We spent a week in Maine, after my nephews wedding in mid-July, the following weekend friends and family were camping at a local campground and we spent time with them at the beach. After a two week absence (weekend in NH at the lake and a weekend at home) we just spent a glorious weekend in Maine and it was everything a beach weekend should be- hot during the day, cool at night, plenty of time to visit our favorite spots, walks on the beach etc...

Even though we've been enjoying the summer, it doesn't mean the work at the house stopped. My husband has been a painting machine- touching up the exterior, the front door, and some areas of the front porch. He's replaced smoke alarms, washed windows, put down drainage stones around the foundation, tightened up the deck chairs and dozens of other chores that need to be done in a house. And we are still searching for a dresser for the guest room.

Although we were only away for two weekends, the landscape was different. Thank god for perennials!! There is a beautiful plant with white flowers with purple centers- kind of like a morning glory but not. There are some very pretty new flowers by the front door but unfortunately they have some kind of mold on them so who knows if they'll be there next weekend.  You know what else won't be there? My impatiens. They are GONE! It's not like the heat got to them and they wilted. It's like I never planted them at all. Gone! Either a neighbor was envious of them and took them(ha!!! You should see the gardens in the neighborhood.) or a deer or some other animal made a snack of them. Oh well, at least the begonias were still going strong.

As much as I hate to admit it, summer is slipping away.  The beach was virtually empty today as compared to other weekends. It doesn't seem possible that next  weekend is the unofficial end of summer- Labor Day. It certainly goes by fast but I'm looking forward to a long weekend and everyone says that September is one of the best months at the beach. I guess we'll find out.

Laundry Anyone??

Much to the chagrin of parents, children often have more fun playing with the box than the item inside the box. I know as kids we could spend days with a giant box that held the new dishwasher or TV. We'd decorate the boxes with crayons, cut out windows and we'd beg to be allowed to sleep in our new fort. I'm experiencing something similar at the house in Maine. We have a clothes line!!

I've never had a clothes line in my forty plus years on this earth.  Growing up, my friend's mom used one regularly- even used one inside in the winter. Summer vacation rentals had the obligatory metal structure for wet suits and towels which we used. In Maine, our back deck anchors one end of a clothes line, which stretches across the yard to a tree. It was there when we bought the house and I never gave it a second thought. Friends commented on how helpful it would be to hang beach paraphernalia to dry. Whatever.  Then we had a week long heat wave and as you may recall, we don't have AC. I needed to do laundry but really didn't want to add a single degree to the already sweltering first floor. My husband suggested using the clothes line and it was life changing!!! I've always heard people talk about sheets fresh from the line but didn't get it. I do now! The first load dried in no time at all due to the outrageously high temps. I folded each article of clothing as it came off the line- no more laundry basket full of clothes to fold.  After posting my "discovery" on Facebook, friends sent me tips on the best types of clothes pins to get and how to put the clothes on hangers attached to the clothes pin for fewer wrinkles. I can't get enough! I had a blast working through the suitcase of vacation clothes, beach towels and some sheets this afternoon. I must have done four loads of laundry without thinking about it.  I completely understand that this new found laundry joy is going to be a fleeting obsession- I mean, it's laundry after all. By Sunday, I'm sure I'll be over my fascination but I'm going to strike while the irons hot (ironing is NOT life changing, by the way) and wash everything in sight.

Beach Observations

1.  There really is no better place to people watch than the beach. Get yourself settled in and watch the show.  Observe the newly arriving folks selecting a spot- most often they chose their spot based on how tired they are from lugging their stuff from the parking lot.  Watch them set up camp. Exactly how much stuff did they bring? Chairs, towels, umbrellas, sun shelters, water toys and wet suits? What's in their cooler? Are they spray on or lotion sunscreen people? It's amazing how much spray on sunscreen is lost in the breeze. Swimmers or sunbathers? Are they here for the duration or just a quick stop? I'm surprised how many people haul tons of gear to the beach, only to leave an hour later and the whole process starts all over again. It never gets old.

2.  Since when are beach umbrellas a requirement? I'm not complaining, in fact, I'm a fan of beach umbrellas. We spent a lot of time at the beach as kids and there were no umbrellas anywhere in sight. We sat there and baked for hours each day with no relief from the sun.  When we began hitting the beach as adults, the first thing I noticed was that everyone had an umbrella. We picked one up and haven't looked back- it's become a necessity.

3. It's really quiet at the beach.  In the past, one of the key factors that determined where you'd plant yourself for the day was based on who your neighbors were. You didn't want to sit next to the people with the giant radio because odds were they'd be blaring music you hate. Then the guy behind you would try to drown out that music by cranking up his own boom box. Earbuds have eliminated the dueling radios. Teens and adults are listening to iPods and the only sound you hear is the occasional crying baby, laughing child, murmurs of conversations depending on how the wind is blowing, the waves and seagulls.

Funny thing happened to me last weekend while walking the beach by myself. I am passing by a family group- most members sitting down chatting but the Dad and a walking but not talking toddler were  playing with sand toys.  The toddler, a boy, makes eye contact and then he makes a bee line for me. He is grabbing my leg and indicating he wants me to pick him up and get the sand off his hands. Dad is 3 feet away and he and I are laughing at how the child thinks he knows me. He calls to his wife and says, " look at your son.." Everyone in his family laughs but this kid really doesn't want me to leave. He is desperate for me to pick him up and is about to start crying. I manage to break away and resume my walk. He chases after me until his Dad scoops him up and returns him to his toys. The whole thing was extremely cute and then I noticed the little guy was wearing a Yankees t-shirt. Maybe he wanted to be adopted into a Red Sox household???? :)

Simple Pleasures

We all run around at a frantic pace- it's the way of the world these days. I've never been a gardener and house plants in my care are essentially on death row awaiting their execution date. Lately, however, I've taken to spending a few minutes each day with the flowers- not smelling them necessarily, deadheading them.

A few years ago, we did a major overhaul to our backyard, including lots of plants and flowers.  We watered them faithfully and most of them survived. Last summer we got two large hanging baskets along with two large pots of flowers for the steps. I managed to keep those flowers alive well into the fall. I spent 15-20 minutes most nights pulling the faded blooms from the plant. It was oddly therapeutic. This year we replaced the hanging baskets and pots and I find myself out there in the wee hours of the morning plucking the deadheads.

In Maine, we can't keep hanging plants, they require too much water and being here only on the weekends is a recipe for plant disaster.  However, I still manage to get regular doses of plant therapy. We found a seasonal coffee shop that has 3 enormous baskets of petunias hanging out front. On the way in and out, I pull off as many dead flowers as possible- much to my husband's dismay. The young owner of the shop saw me one day and thanked me for helping out. It had been pouring rain for a week and she was afraid the plants were done for. We chatted a bit and she gave me the green light to deadhead the plants to my hearts content. We stopped by today and I was happy to see the flowers were making a spectacular comeback. I could happily spend an hour with those flowers. It's a good thing being at the beach is it's own kind of therapy otherwise I'd be applying for a job as a weekend gardener at the coffee shop. 

Check, check and check

I like lists. They help keep me organized and I get a good deal of satisfaction when I can cross something off my list. We've been busy the past few weeks. Well, technically our local contractor was busy helping us cross things off our list.  

In the past 2 week he has removed and replaced significant amounts of rot on the out side of the house. Check! 

Then he removed and replaced the two sets of rotting French doors with sliders that lead out to our deck. Check!

 We then purchased the ultimate summertime requirement- a grill. Check!

Check out our new doors and grill.

My sister and her husband helped us test drive all three new editions this weekend. So good to see them and we got a bonus visit from our cousin who lives in the great state of Maine. 

Looking forward to spending a stretch of time in Maine over the holiday next week. I already have a list for the upcoming weekend, it's short and I'm pretty confident I'll be able to complete it with no problem. Beach- check!

Happy Father's Day Big John!!

I hope all the Dad's out there have a wonderful, relaxing day. Believe it or not, I had to think about how to word that sentence because my Dad rarely relaxes in the traditional way- he's always doing something- ALWAYS.  Rumor has it that when my parents were first married, Dad couldn't read a ruler. My Mom's dad taught him and from there, there was no turning back! Their first house, was a standard Cape, that he transformed into the home where they raised 4 children and still live today.

He could do anything!! He finished the upstairs, basement (complete with a bar), built a garage and porch, created a massive retaining wall so we could have a backyard, installed a pool for the kids, build a sweetheart swing, shed, garden, installed a wood burning stove and chimney...the list goes on and on and on.... Including working side by side with my sister as she personally gut and rebuilt her house in the city.  The renovation was massive and the results are stunning. He was in heaven while working on this project but that is a story for another blog. 

There are pictures of my siblings as toddlers, sitting on saw horses, essentially being used as ballast, so he could cut a board. As kids, we were always involved in whatever the project he happened to be working on- much to our dismay. He felt strongly that we needed to know how to do things so when we had our own homes, we would know how to take care of them. Just this week at work I was able to astound a coworker with my knowledge of flux. 

When there was nothing to do at our house (ha!), he took his show on the road to help whoever needed it. We'd go to visit an uncle on Cape Cod and upon arrival he would present my Dad with his list of "mini-minor" or "mini-major" projects. He did this because he needed the help but mostly because he knew my Dad wouldn't be able to sit still for an entire weekend like most people. I recall installing bulkheads and wiring kitchen fans and taking some joy in the fact that my uncle was the one being instructed for a change.  For the record, those lessons never stuck with my uncle but it was fun to watch! 

Need a tree taken down? Call Big John- a family nickname picked up somewhere along the way. He would offer to take down a tree for free on three conditions (aside from the obvious fact that he wouldn't cut pine trees- too much sap and as a result creosote):  he got to keep the wood, he could store the wood in your yard for a year so it had time to season (dry out), and probably the most important, you provide beer when the job is done. He has NEVER purchased wood for his wood stove in his entire life. He probably still has some stored waiting for pick up. 

So back to relaxing... His idea of relaxing was some project he could work on at night. There was a brief ship in a bottle phase. He completely refurbished an old player piano-which became a fixture at  any party held at our house.  I remember him tinkering with the air bellows and cutting and fitting small pieces of flexible plastic tubing so the air would move the keys. He built an amazing dollhouse one year when I was in grade school.  How jealous was I that Mr. So and So asked him to build a dollhouse for his daughter as a Christmas present.  Every night for months he would cut tiny pieces of trim, design a widows walk, obsess about access to the attic, make tiny shutters for the windows and railings for the porch. When he had questions on design he'd ask me for my opinion. I got help select the wallpaper and pick the tiny stone for fireplace. Finally it was finished and it was the of delivery day. Off it went to the lucky daughter of Mr. So and So. Hope she likes it.  Imagine my surprise on Christmas morning when it was waiting for me under the tree!!!  He build a fort, complete with drawbridge for his godson, Stephen, and many years later, another for his grandsons. He built wooden toy car carriers but his most recent project is building decorative toy soldiers for use at the holidays. I've lost track of how many sets he's built but people love them!! He should start a business- he'd be a hit a craft shows.

I could go on and on about my Dad- his generosity and kindness but he'd hate that and this is turning into a very lengthy post. I'll wrap up with this...Tomorrow is June 17th- the anniversary of the Battle of Bunker Hill. My dad grew up in a house practically across the street from the Bunker Hill Monument. Boston and it's history has always been a part of our family and he is going to be spending this Father's Day watching the Bunker Hill Day parade.

  So Dad, I hope you have a good time today. Love, Pal

Divide and Conquer/Relax

The rain has subsided for the time being, so off to the beach we go! As we're getting settled we realize we forgot the screw-thingy that goes in the sand to hold the umbrella. Husband offers to make the trip back to the house to fetch it. I stay on the beach eating my breakfast pastry and sipping iced tea- complete bliss!  Upon his return we start talking about how to furnish our back room and his idea is to move furniture from our home in MA-today. But...but what about the beach??  We agree to divide and conquer. He'll head home and load as much as he can into the truck by himself and I will enjoy a day at the beach.  Works for me!! Pack up and head home, divide the lunch I had packed earlier and go our separate ways. I head out to a different beach and settle in for what turns out to be an amazing day. Around 4:00 I get a text saying he's back and that is my queue to call it a day. 

 I can't believe that he was able to load an oversized chair and love seat onto the truck by himself. We get it all into the house with practically no harsh words exchanged. The furniture is in but final placement is still being worked out. 

Now it's time for our weekly trek to Lowes/Home Depot. We picked up a rug and a few other times that added up to an astronomical amount. Then we each toasted our day with a scorpion bowl for two. We just need the Bruins to win to make the day a complete success!

A Banner Day

We are experiencing a heat wave in New England. It's been in the 90's since Thursday. I couldn't wait for the weekend- if the weather held up, it would be our first warm (hot) weather trip to the beach. Friday night was HOT. It was 86 degrees when I arrived at 7:00pm. I generally don't mind the heat. I grew up sleeping upstairs in a pre-air conditioning era Cape. Upstairs, we had one white metal box fan, with extremely sharp corners, to keep us "cool" in the summer. The house in Maine has windows of various shapes and sizes, none of which will accommodate a window unit AC. This heat wave was going to be a true test of both us and the house. Oh, did I mention that the screens in the bedroom needed repairing so we couldn't open the windows? We did OK our first night- I made an executive decision to remove the electric blanket (which we used just last weekend) and with the ceiling fan and a fancy oscillating fan, we slept comfortably. 

We were up early on Saturday. I was packing beach bags and my husband started screen repair. But before we could head out we had a meeting with a contractor. He was finalizing details to replace two sets of French doors that lead out to our back deck and pricing replacing wood around the perimeter of  the house that was showing signs of rot. This was the biggest finding at our home inspection and we really want to get this taken care of and be done with it. I think the paint and whatever glue they sprayed into one corner of the door is all that's holding them in place.

I had talked to the contractor several time over the phone and I couldn't wait to meet him. He had a real hard core Maine accent. Just like the radio spoof, Men From Maine. He even said, "ahhh-yup." He was a great guy and will begin work on Monday! Yay!

Off to the beach. What can I say? It was a fantastic, first time as a home owner, trip to the beach. We got to skip the whole receipt on the dashboard exercise thanks to our town resident beach sticker. It was low tide so there was lots of beach available. We  set up our chairs and umbrella and walked to the water. After regaining circulation in our feet, we bravely waded knee deep in fifty degree water and loved every second! I'm so happy when I'm at the beach!! We had lots of sun screen this time and I left the beach as pasty white as when I arrived. I hope the rain holds off so we can do it all over again tomorrow. 

Not Your Typical Memorial Day Weekend

The forecasters had predicted a less than stellar weekend from a weather perspective.  That was OK by us- it had been a hectic week and we were just looking forward to some time off. While out to dinner on Friday night we ran into the local celebrity- Luis Tiant. He lives on a nearby golf course- according to the commercials on TV- and we've debated whether or not he ever spends time here. Apparently he does!  

My husband was up at the crack of dawn on Saturday and got to work on the bureau. He reassembled it and put on the first of what would be three coats of stain. 

Late in the afternoon, my husband was looking out the window and spotted a hummingbird feeding on the bleeding heart plant near the garage.  Last summer in Indiana, we stayed at a resort that had several feeders and plants near a huge window. There were dozens of hummingbirds buzzing around all day- my first ever sighting of a hummingbird. It almost doesn't count though. They designed the area to attract them. The one we saw this weekend, was "in the wild." I'm counting that as another first. 

We woke on Sunday to news of snow in NH and ME!!! Are you kidding me? SNOW? On Memorial Day Weekend? I know this is New England but never in my life had I heard of that happening here.  One ski area in Maine got 10 inches and opened for free skiing. The Lakes Region in NH got flurries and some areas had accumulation of varying amounts. Forget cookouts and BBQ's, I made a pot of soup and baked some bread. Yup, I made bread. It was a super simple recipe I found on Pinterest and perfect for a rookie bread baker.  The recipe is on pinlavie.com. And she wasn't kidding, this really is the easiest bread to make. I got two small loaves and I was as proud as a peacock. Web address is below- try it. You won't believe how easy and good it is.

http://pinlavie.com/the-best-and-easiest-bread-you-will-ever-make/

We had a quick visit with friends in the afternoon. How long has it been since you built a pillow fort? Or had genuine fun using a vacuum?? 

Monday morning was clear but cool. We missed the parade but made it to the beach in the afternoon. I was wearing a true New England ensemble: flip flops, jeans, sweater and a down vest. It was comfortable but windy.  Based on the burn on my face, it was both sunny and windy. Note to self- you burn easily and should NEVER go to the beach without sunscreen. Sigh...this is a lesson that I can't seem to learn.

Next weekend is supposed to be in the 90's!! Hopefully the bureau will have dried by then so we can move it out of the garage. It looks awesome. Here is a before and after:

It was stained, scratched and broken.  The top was cracked and split, held together by one nail. The drawers didn't work either. It was a bigger project than we realized.  Now it's solid piece of furniture. We can't believe it came out so well. It just needs to dry...

Now we jam five days of work into four and look forward to our first real trip to the beach next weekend! My burn should be better by then.

A New Lease on Life

OK folks I'm going to experiment with adding pictures where I want them rather than at the end of the post.

Our family celebrated a big event this weekend. My nephew joined the ranks of college graduates on Saturday.  As many of us as possible were in Connecticut to watch him receive his degree. Congrats Bren!! 

We trucked on up to Maine after the ceremony and in the back of the truck we were hauling an antique bed. Several years ago my aunt cleaned out her parents house and her parents bedroom set found its way down the street to my sister's home. She has been storing the bed frame in her basement for years. When, after first checking with my cousin, offered it to us, we jumped on it- not literally of course.  My husband assembled it early this morning and it is perfect!

I love antiques and being able to pull this family piece out of storage and put it back in service makes me happy! 

My bureau refinishing project is progressing. It's hard to make real progress when we're only here a day or two at a time. Today we sanded everything but the legs, and did some repair work on the top, and now we're fixing the interior so the drawers will slide smoothly. We picked out a stain and will probably attempt that next weekend after another round of sanding. I'm not gonna lie, the idea of staining makes me nervous but I think it'll go nicely with our new/old bed when all is said and done. 

I think I figured this picture thing out!! 

The Bruins have what appears to be a healthy lead in the 3rd period so I think I'm going to stop blogging and start watching. Have a great week everyone!

Mother Nature Was Working Overtime

We spent Friday night supporting the performing arts. Translation: attending the annual dance recital for two pretty amazing girls in our lives. They work hard all year for this night and it's fun to see them on stage having fun with their friends. After the performance ended we headed north and arrived around 11:30. Instead of collapsing into bed we ran around the house flipping light switches on and off. Funny how something like the miracle of electricity never fails to amaze us! Our electrician extraordinaire worked his magic and we now have working lights throughout the house! A big thanks to Heather and the Poirier family for providing us a list of various local contractors.

Mother Nature is amazing. Last weekend we put down some mulch and gave the "plants" a long drink of water. I say "plants" because at this point we weren't sure what was a plant and what was a weed. So we crossed our fingers, prayed to the perennial gods, and hoped for the best. What a difference a week makes! We pulled into the driveway and the motion sensor lights lit up an explosion of pink and fuchsia. What was a short green stem last Sunday exploded into a gorgeous bleeding heart plant. I've never seen them in a landscape. They've only previously existed in hanging baskets on Mother's Day. The other surprise was something that looked like an azalea but it was clearly something more sophisticated. This plant had pretty pink buds in a star shape- for all I know it is an azalea. I spent sometime between rain showers taking pictures of various plants and trees in the yard and plan to ask as coworker for help identifying them.
Before heading to an early Mother's Day celebration, we began repairing and sanding a bureau. I also started another batch of spice jars- ginger and rosemary want to join the party and I need make some room.

I'm posting a few picture of the yard including the deer buffet ( all still present and accounted for) I planted last weekend. If you see something you recognize, PLEASE let me know- although I am aware we have 3 apple trees in the back yard. And that is only because when we looked at the house in the fall, there were actual apples on the tree.

A Window, a Bed, and a Buffet

Another jam packed weekend in Maine. The electrician showed up on Saturday morning to fix the non-working lights in various locations throughout the house. We have no way to turn on five different lights in the house. What he thought was going to be a quick fix turned into a more involved job. Apparently someone cut the wires, capped them and stuffed them up into the wall. So we gave him the contractor key and he'll take care of it during the week.

While the electrician was here, my husband took razor blades to the exterior of the bedroom windows. When the house was painted at some point in the past, the spray gun got residue on the windows. Not a big deal but just something the former owners never dealt with. Now we'll have an even clearer view of the Red Sox from the fire pit.

The only other scheduled chore was to replace the octagonal window in the mud room. The window was cracked when we bought the house so we covered it over with plastic and waited for nicer weather. The local glass company replaced the glass, and touched up some of the rot and we were good to go. Fairly painless window removal and re-installation by us which is always a plus. Chores done, we decided to pick up a mattress and box spring for the second guest room. It's a smaller sized bed so we had no problems with the pick up, transport or set up. Hang some curtains in the mud room and in the small first floor bedroom, rake the front yard, a little laundry, head out for an early dinner and call it a day.

Sunday morning and we're planning our excursion to Home Depot, a few towns away. Along the way, we decide to stop into what turned out to be a rather scary flea market. For whatever reason there were several vendors selling an unusually large knifes. I overheard a patron say, "I wouldn't be afraid to run into someone in a dark alley if I had one of these." The knife was essentially a machete- time to go.

We had an easy trip to Home Depot that did not involve any dark alleys- thank goodness. We stock up on screen repair materials and head to the garden center. This wasn't on our agenda but we still came out of there with a small fortune in mulch and flowers. On the way home we stop at an antique store and come out with my next project- an oak dresser that is begging for refinishing- picture below. This has turned into an expensive morning. I need to get all my plunder home and unloaded.

Gardening is big in our new neighborhood. Really big! When we met one of the neighbors last week she identified other neighbors by the plants in their yards. I can't play this game. They are going to have to deal with whatever God and the former owners graced us with in terms of perennials and flowering trees. I'm armed with too many flats of begonias and impatiens and ready to fill the gigantic planter in the back yard. I spend an hour or so filling the backyard with this flowering greenery and listening to some interesting noises coming from the woods behind the house which got me thinking. Our back yard has a small grassy/ mossy area that leads to pretty dense woods that extend back for at least a half mile. I know there are animals back there because some hungry, no longer hibernating animal recently mangled a bird feeder hanging on the back deck and dined on the contents. The realtor said she saw a buck eating apples off the tree last fall. Too bad I didn't remember any of this when I was at the garden center. I'm pretty sure I just set out an expensive, high end buffet for the local wild life.

Will Miracles Never Cease?

We just wrapped up our first vacation in our new house. It was an amazing week. We got so much done and had fun at the same time but that's not the miracle. The miracle was that I thoroughly enjoyed sanding, priming and painting the old sheet music cabinet to convert it into a nightstand- a lot! Way more fun than I ever thought possible. I woke up each morning and immediately checked it out-did it need more sanding? How many coats of paint would I need before the color stopped bleeding through? I'm sure the neighbors were thrilled that we set up a painting workshop on the tailgate of the truck each day. We love how it came out- pictures below. It's not perfect but it is going to do just fine in the guest room.

Now let's talk about the guest rooms. We had the carpet installed on Thursday. The crew of 3 (an older man, a slender (read not strong) woman and a 20 something guy had to get 2 15 foot rolls of carpet up to the second floor. I knew we were in trouble when they asked me to help them. Let's just say that the hard wood floor guy dropped off extra paint and the scratches in the railing will be repainted and the prisms that got knocked off the chandelier were easy to reattach. The fun didn't end there though. My husband spent the day driving to New Hampshire to pick up our new bed, queen sized mattress and box spring that we needed to get up the same staircase- groan!!! These are the kinds of situations that try the patience of a saint- forget the patience of a married couple with a newly scratched woodwork. We managed to get through it with better success than the carpet installers. The rooms looks fantastic- still needs some decorating help but we are light years ahead of where we were when we started.

On Tuesday, we had guys here installing our new generator. This was a big deal. Because we aren't here during the week, it gives us piece of mind that pipes won't freeze if we lose power in the winter and it also provides a sense of security that the sump pump will be able to do it's job if the power goes out. When the generator ran it's weekly test on Saturday morning, we stood in the window admiring this massive investment that I hope we never have to use. The inspector blessed the installation of the generator and 2 propane tanks on Thursday. The electrician came by on Friday and he'll be back next weekend to rewire some closet lights. Oh, the cable company also showed up unannounced to bury the line they ran back in December. It was like Grand Central Station all week.

There were two other minor miracles earlier in the week- we got our beach stickers and we FINALLY got a cable box that works!!! Trust me, neither was easy. If I had a first born, it would have been easier to give it to the woman at town hall in exchange for the stickers- not that I think she could have been bribed by such a gift. Boy do they take sticker distribution seriously!! A trip to the title company for copies of closing documents and more research at town hall finally resulted in two stickers for the 2013 season. The cable box was easier but no less miraculous. We were two boxes, two remotes, and a service call into this ordeal and we were still unable to change the station from my side of the bed or get any channel other than NECN. Third time was a charm! I didn't even have to cry which I was prepared to do. The woman took pity on us and opened the vault of non refurbished cable boxes and we were on our way.

We had visits from family and close friends, had some amazing meals, met some neighbors and spent plenty of time at the beach. One of the unexpected pleasures was getting to the bottom of the fire pit in our backyard. We burned lots of brush, leaves and low and behold, someone could see the Red Sox game through the bedroom window. Yay for the working cable box! It was a great week. It's Sunday night and I'm already looking forward to the weekend!

Trying to Move On

I have a long post about the events of the past week but I don't think I'll post it. Everyone has been saturated with the coverage. So, to the victims and their families, may God bless you. You all have long and painful roads ahead of you. I wish you the courage and strength to deal with your new world.

It feels weird going on with our usual lives but that what we need to do. We're on vacation this week. Happily spending our first real stretch of time at the house in Maine and have we been keeping busy! We have a long list of chores and we're chipping away at it. The floors were finished last week and they look fabulous!! We have more contractors coming in tomorrow, Thursday, and Friday. There is furniture to be picked up on Wednesday and lots of things that haven't even made the list yet will be jammed in there somewhere.

Needless to say, April has been an expensive month thus far. I'm trying to get the guest rooms furnished without holding a bake sale for my cause. What to do, what to do? Pinterest of course! My "success" with the mason jar spice containers has emboldened me to consider refinishing a night stand and a bureau or two. There are multiple sites that say it's so easy, that even I should be able to do this. Ha! As I've mentioned previously, I have ZERO experience with home improvement arts and crafts. ZERO! But somehow, I'm convincing myself that this is a good idea. We've scoured the local antique and thrift shops to no avail. My guess is that in a beach town there are few furnishings going cheap. Or if they are, they are immediately snapped up by folks trying to furnish the hundreds of rental homes lining the beach.

We had Red Sox tickets for Sunday night ( game was rescheduled due to the city being shut down on Friday) so we hit a few out of the way places in New Hampshire on our way to Fenway. Bingo! We scored an old sheet music cabinet that is going to change professions late and life and become a night stand, for only $25! In theory anyway...

So, I'm adding another project to the list this week and if all goes well, there may be some bureaus in our future. Or a bake sale.

Pictures

OK folks, please bear with me as I experiment with adding photos. I'm attempting to show before and after pictures of the staircase.

Stairs, Seals, and Spices

We always look forward to Friday's but this one was different. We've had the hardwood floor contractor in the house during the week to start work on the staircase and upstairs hallway and we couldn't wait to see the progress.  Wouldn't you know we got yet another storm on Friday? Rain and sleet at home but more sleet and snow in Maine. So although we were anxious to see the place, we made the trip up on Saturday morning.

To get ready for the floor guy, we put the finishing touches on the guest rooms last weekend, which was a full day of work. We had to paint the closets and trim. Who knew such small spaces would take so much time? Anyway, they're done and awaiting new carpet to truly complete the rooms. The floor guy was going to be ripping up the old, stained carpet on the stairs and the hallway and putting down hardwood. But before he could do that he had to have a painter come in and deal with the railing and "skirt." The former owner must not have cared for the original railing so she stained them black.  The most cost effective remedy to fix it was to sand it down and paint it white- so that's what we opted for and it looks fantastic!!  Or as my husband says, like adults live here. When I figure out how to post pictures, I'll add a few so you can check it out.  He'll be back on Monday to finish that and begin refinishing the floors in the entry way, first floor hallway and family room.   I can't even begin to imagine how much dust will be waiting for us.  Good thing the gold threaded carpet doesn't get installed until the following week.

I noticed it was low tide when I was driving into town so we headed to the beach for a walk. We're learning that the day after a storm equals rough surf and lots of waves. We chose a beach in a residential neighborhood on the harbor. We walked out on the jetty- waves crashing on the right but sand and beach on the left side until you get out far enough and then the ocean is on either side of you. Waves crashing on either side of the jetty makes you feel small and vulnerable so we decided to head for safer ground. There are a few lobster trap markers in the channel and a big hunk of wood floating around- but wait a second.. that's a harbor seal!! In all my years of frequenting beaches in New England, I've never seen anything but seagulls and the occasional crab being antagonized by children with buckets. This was so cool!! We watched him as he swam out of the harbor to open water.  Now freezing, we jumped onto the beach and started walking and eventually cut through to the street for a less windy walk back to the truck. On the way, we found a harbor beach that led to marshes. I'm mentally filing this location away for the summer. And while we were exploring we saw another seal playing in the water. We got  pictures of this one and hopefully I can post them too.

A quick lunch and back home to check on the project I began last weekend.  I've discovered Pinterest and bravely attempted a mason jar spice container that I found posted by Raisinguprubies.blogspot.com. This required me to use yet another form of paint- spray paint. Haven't messed with spray paint since I was about 10 years old. And this was no regular paint- it was chalk board paint. The top of the mason jar is turned into a chalk board allowing you to easily identify the particular spice quickly. Genius!!

Monday is Patriot's Day in New England- we're commemorating Paul Revere's famous ride, "the British are coming, the British are coming!" We celebrate with a re-enactment of the Battle of Lexington and Concord followed a few hours later by the running of the Boston Marathon and an early day Red Sox game. Enjoy the rest of this long weekend.  The carpets are coming, the carpets are coming...

I Was Floored

Last weekend we selected carpet for the guest rooms and on Friday afternoon they  came out to measure and work up an estimate. They called as promised to deliver a quote- love when things occur as scheduled.  The gentleman who called was cheery and pleasant. It soon became apparent why. Should I accept his estimate, he could easily afford to put his children through college, take them to Disney, and still have money left over for a shopping spree at Reny's. Apparently I have good taste and/or I chose carpet spun with gold thread. I was stunned. Speechless.  During my stunned silence the carpet magnate started mentally subtracting the embroidered mouse ears and dinner at Cinderella's castle from his vacation itinerary. When I told him I'd be in touch if we decided to proceed, he offered some suggestions that were more in the community college and camping price range. It's just as well that the hardwood floor guy didn't return my email and call from earlier in the week. I'm going to need time to research the black market to see how much kidneys are going for these days before we can discuss the staircase and hallway.

After a long walk on the beach, we stopped in to visit the rug guy and came to an agreement. Still a little shell-shocked but excited to have a plan, we head home to get ready to head to an Easter celebration with my family.  My phone rings, a Maine number. Honest to God, I thought it was the rug guy saying that my credit card was being rejected.  But no, it was...you guessed it- the hard wood floor guy! Apparently he did respond to my email but the address got messed up. He was close by and could stop by and take a look at the job and work out an estimate. Sure! What the hell. Why not?He was a nice guy. Local, been in business for 20 plus years. He has a website that showed a picture of him and his family. His kids look smart. I wonder what their college plans are....

Do Thumbtacks=Happiness?

Even though I've recognized my wallpaper heritage, it doesn't really help me.  Wallpaper is currently out of fashion. Once again, I'm slightly behind the trends- not a big surprise if you know me at all. As I was taping woodwork and "cutting in" near the ceiling in the guest rooms, I started to realize that  I was about to eradicate the presence of the former tenants of these rooms and I didn't really know too much about the former occupants of our new home.

What I do know is that the owners each had 3 children, all girls, 5 of which are in college and one is still in high school.  Six girls. According to the realtor and the tape on the basement floor; the parents used to hang curtain partitions in the basement and had cots so when they all came home from school on break they each had some "privacy"- if you call living in the unfinished basement on a cot privacy. I'm sure it was a slice of heaven.

But let's leave the basement and head back up to the second floor guest rooms and the plethora of holes in the walls.  I have to assume that the parents sacrificed the thumbtack battle in hopes of winning a more significant dispute somewhere else down the line. I must have spackled hundreds of thumbtack holes between the two rooms.  The walls looked like they had chicken pox when I was done.  Who were these girls and what did they have hanging on the walls? We're they happy? I kind of have to assume they were because it would freak me out to have a negative vibe hanging around the place.  My preference is to think about happy memories that no doubt occurred in those rooms: Christmas morning, getting ready for their first dates, studying for their drivers license, sleep overs with best friends- those types of memories. Not about the tears, fights with siblings, heartbreak, or the dart tournaments they obviously held in their rooms.  Seriously, what was going on with all the holes in the walls??  So as I painted over the robins egg blue and chocolate brown I said goodbye to the previous occupants and hoped that they enjoyed their time in the house. I'm looking forward inviting family and friends to stay in those rooms and help us build our own catalog of happy memories- once their luggage has been screened for thumbtacks.

Wallpaper- It's Genetic

Growing up we were a wallpaper family. My mother wallpapered and I'm fairly sure her mother wallpapered.  I don't recall a room in our house without wallpaper- flowers in the kitchen, historical minutemen in the finished basement, ballerinas, hearts and flowers in the girls bedrooms, sport themes in my brother's basement bedroom, something fancy with stripes in the parlor and the list goes on and on.  We'd spend hours pouring over the big wall paper books you borrowed from the store. Those books were better than a Sears catalog at Christmas. I would choose paper for each room in my imaginary house.  We always has extra wallpaper hanging around and occasionally my mother would let me cover my text books in wallpaper instead of brown paper grocery bags. Man, I was so proud of those gaudy book covers!

As I was removing a hideous dark brown and silver flowered wall of wallpaper from our upstairs guest room, another wallpaper memory hit me.  My parents were no fools, they enticed my young neighborhood friends into helping with a wallpaper removal project by dangling a forbidden treat before us- permission to write on the walls! Once the paper was removed there was always a lag before the new paper arrived and all the kids that helped were allowed to use the bare walls as a canvas for whatever our brains could come up with.  This was long before computers and printers and an abundance of scrap paper.  The walls were the ultimate sketch book!  We'd put our thoughts, dreams, artwork, grievances & tic tack toe games on every possible surface and then eventually Mom would cover it over with paper, creating a time capsule just waiting to be discovered.  As an adult, I was given glimpses into my pre-teen self when my parents redecorated various rooms.

Writing on the walls and flashy book covers. My paint paralysis makes complete sense to me now.  Like my ancestors before me, I'm a wallpaper person!

Making This House Our Home

In December 2012, my husband and I took a big step toward our retirement and purchased what we hope is our northern retirement residence. We bought a house in a coastal town in southern Maine, about an hour and fifteen minutes from our house in Massachusetts.

We have spent the weekends of the past three months learning about the house we bought, purchasing essentials, entertaining a few friends and family, and shoveling- oh god don't forget to mention the shoveling.  We live in New England, we get snow but boy has this been an interesting winter. All of the storms have occurred on the weekends.   Every. Single. Weekend. My husband has become a pro at loading and unloading the snowblower onto the back of his truck.  But despite the snow and occasional blizzard, we are starting to settle into our house in Maine.

It's been interesting seeing this town in the winter rather than summer. We're learning which businesses stay open for the winter and which ones take advantage of the season to take a much deserved break. We're exploring the beaches and wondering if the town will clean up the mess Mother Nature brought to the shore.  Restaurants are beginning to reopen and construction is getting underway at different locations.  Spring is coming!  But wait, Spring and Summer mean beaches, vacations and relaxing and the house isn't ready to host anyone unless they want to sleep in sleeping bags on some clean but questionably stained guest room floors.  Hmm... We need to get moving if we want to enjoy the house and summer season.

First, let me say that the house we bought is beautiful and for the two of us, fully functional. We have  bedroom and living room furniture, a dining room table and the kitchen is fairly well equipped. The first floor is "fine." Our guest bedrooms on the second floor have nothing in them.  Nothing except some horrific paint colors on the walls and some sketchy carpet. OK- we're going to get serious and tackle the upstairs and that means paint. Oh crap. I get a pit in my stomach when faced with a wall of paint chip samples- it's absolutely paralyzing. Serious anxiety. We lived with white walls for years because I couldn't bring myself to pick a color. It is a stupid thing, I mean it's a paint color for goodness sakes. My anxiety is compounded by my husbands color blindness.  He has a hard time distinguishing shades of color and colors look "the same" to him. Sea foam and lime green are pretty much indistinguishable.

OK, deep breath- I can do this. But  Sand turns out to be boring beige, Frappe is a dark brown with green, and London Coach is PURPLE! I can't remember the names of the other two samples we put on the wall but one was orange and the other tuned out to be a deep brown. How can paint chips look like one pretty, soothing color on the sample card and turn into a disaster on the wall??  We were trying for a sand color- a slight cliche but we don't want seashells and light houses everywhere, we just wanted bring the colors of the beach to our walls. Easier said than done. At this point I need help. Someone at work mentioned she just painted her family room a gray with light blue tones in it. Wonderful! Perfect! Forget the sand, we'll go with sky and water instead.  Actually I would have went with just about anything at this point.  Off to Home Depot I go and I come home with sample jar #6. Please God, let this color look halfway decent. And guess what? We have a winner!! AND, while I was at the store, I found another color that could work in the other guest room. I'm practically dizzy with excitement or is it paint fumes?

Welcome to our home Sterling and Desert Spring! Believe me when I tell you that you are a much anticipated addition to our home.