Clerestory Windows and Powder Room Vanity and Progress!

Dear Family and Friends,

We made an Appalachian style vanity for the powder room. Branches of locust and rhododendron from the land form the base, with a quilted maple top from Oregon.

The quilted maple is amazing- the pictures do not do justice to Mother Nature. There is also a picture of my corridor cubby of a work area- a space between the boxes in our rental basement. It may be crowded, but it sure was fun to be working on projects again.

There is a picture through the woods of the construction site. This is taken from the road above our house that leads down to the music center. You can barely see the house now- when the leaves come out, it will really disappear.

Building details show the two clerestory window sections, above the living room and the master bedroom, starting to emerge. The deck has just started- it should go on this week. Once building material at the site is used up, we can backfill the foundation- a big step forward. We are picking up the two mantels on Monday- locust with intact bark for the inside, and peeled cedar for the outside. Windows were ordered last Friday- progress! Cabinets will get their final measure this Wednesday- progress! This week I will work to finish the drop-leaf dining room table. We are hoping for our first 5 day work week, unaffected by weather. But, no weather complaints, because the daffodils are out, Connecticut (and Wisconsin) and it is the end of February. PROGRESS!!!

Take care,

Love,

Emmett and Marsha

Boss, Boss...Ze Roof! Ze Roof!

Dear Family and Friends,

The roof trusses are going up. You can see views out of the bedroom window, the kitchen window, and the living room window (which is HUGE, I must say). The framers decided to cancel the crane and do it the old fashioned way. The "old fashioned way" consists of one really strong high school guy pushing the truss up to the two guys in the air. Ah, to be young! If you look closely at two of the pictures, you will see that the professionals make their fine adjustments the same way you or I do- with a sawzall and a circular saw. Monday means finish the roof trusses and start framing the decks. Once that is done, you will see the entire footprint of the house. I think we are getting ready to backfill the foundation, which will change the look of things again.

There are also two pictures of mantels. We went shopping for 100+ year old beams for mantels. Just looking so far- one more place to try.

Have a great weekend.

Love,

Em and Marsha

Full Main Walls, and a hint of edges

Dear Family and Friends,

Not many pictures this week, because we realize that it just looks like a sea of framing lumber. However, here is a hint of what's to come. This week should be the start of the extensive decking, or the start of roof trusses, or maybe BOTH!

So, let the plywood sheathing whete you appetite. You can see the plywood corners of the living room / front entry, the corners of the main stairwell, and a hint of laundry room window by the back door.

If you can let your imagination run wild this week, I think we can promise some good images for next week.

In the meantime, take care and be well.

Love,

Emmett and Marsha

Our First Dinner

We decided to have our first dinner at the house. We are sitting "under the kitchen sink". The window opening won't be quite that big in the final house. We have four sides of walls on the main floor. Still some interior wall structures to go. If the weather would only cooperate. Today was 72 degrees, but we seem to be in a rain pattern.

Things are definitely moving along. The concrete has cured for 28+ days, so as soon as the framers have some weight on the walls, the grader will be able to backfill the foundation- and start to cut down on our giant mountain of earth to the north.

I am starting some carpentry. I have taken our old dining room table from 1970 and made it into a drop-leaf table for the new dining room. I have made my first mortise -and-tenon joints, by hand, for the table base. I am so proud, I must say! The simple pleasures of a retiree's life.

In case you are wondering, our first dinner was Southern Fried Chicken from The Clock Of Brevard- THE BEST!

Prediction- once you come visit, you are not going to want to leave. The views are pretty amazing.

Take care,

All our Love,

Emmett and Marsha