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...