Black Powder, Nate, Waterfalls, Paganis, Chimneys, and siding

Dear Family and Friends,

It's been a busy 2 weeks. We started volunteering at the Brevard Music Center last night- opening concert with Keith Lockhart and Yo-Yo Ma. Talk about incredible energy and excitement!

Josh has returned to Portland, OR. There are pictures of him firing black powder rifles at Walter Kluge's, hiking to waterfalls in Dupont State Forest, taking an Italian cooking class, visiting his college roomate Nate, his wife Chrissy, and their new daughter Gwyneth in Durham NC, fishing, and enjoying his first jackpot win with his Mom at the casino.

House developments- lots! The upper chimney is clad in stone and has its vents. These will eventually be covered by a copper hood at the very end of construction.

Siding is almost complete. The back has the vertical board-and-batten on the lower floor, and the vertical siding on the upper floor.

The painter starts to work this week, spraying the soffits and the porch ceiling boards. Once the soffits are painted, the roof gets shingled.

Our main contractor, Stanley, will take over the finish work on the house this week, as framing is completed. Stanley says that we can start to figure on a NOVEMBER finish date! That is great news!

We got our second rock delivery for the wall, so it's back to the rock pile. Weather is warm, plants are suffering from our drought, and we are looking forward to more progress.

We went to Herb and Darlene Pagani's daughter Sabrina's wedding. That is Herb, standing by the "little" tree we gave him when he retired 10 years ago.

Feel free to come see how things are going first hand. Take care.

Love,

Emmett and Marsha

East Meets West- Josh in Brevard

Dear Family and Friends,

Our son Josh is between semesters at massage therapy school, so he left Portland OR and the foot of fresh snow on Mt. Hood, and is in Brevard for a week. We took him to "Camp Kluge", as Jess calls it. Walter Kluge is a retired Industrial Arts teacher from Long Island, and one of his many skills is making- and shooting- black powder rifles. Walter showed us how to clean and load (powder-patch-ball), and blaze away at a target in his back yard. Only down here can you take target practice in your back yard. Josh liked what he called the zen of black powder shooting. It is one thing to empty a clip on a firing range. It is quite different to clean, load, and fire a handmade rifle. In case you are wondering, the shot closest to the X on the target is the one demo shot that Walter took. Like any good teacher, he sets a high standard of excellence.

Josh is visiting his college friend Nate, Nate's wife Crissy, and their new baby daughter in Durham NC this weekend. His camera has all the shooting pictures, so I'll add them when he returns.

I hope the blog pictures do justice to what is happening at the house. The front door frame is set in with a temporary door, and Rainey, our lead carpenter, made the Japanese Tori Gate door frame trim that I designed. We think it is beautiful, and we can't wait to hear what our refreshingly politically incorrect brother-in-law Mark thinks of it. You remember Mark- he's the one who has brought us The People's Republic of Portland, Golden Hand Grenades for Secretaries, 3rd Children as Spares, and other delights. C'mon now, Markie, we're counting on you.

Fireplace units and metal flues are in. They are real wood-burning, not gas. Stainless steel on the outside porch, black metal inside. This means that the rock guys can start doing the chimney next.

Electrical continues- I have spared you from more pictures of wire, but there is a lot of it. I put in speaker wires for the family room, and a mic cable for a Voice-Over recording studio. The bad news is, any hum that we hear will be nobody's fault but mine.

Stanley our builder says that the picky building details are almost complete, so progress should start to be faster and more noticeable. Roof shingles are in and are just waiting for some final porch framing and flashing.

We hope that all is well with all of you. We will do some touristy things with Josh, and then start our volunteer schedule at the Brevard Music Center. We won't be ready to have Keith Lockhart over for snacks this year, but maybe next....

Take care.

Love,

Em and Marsha

Connecticut, and Back Again

Dear Family and Friends,

We had a wonderful visit to Connecticut. Marjorie and Jack were great hosts - as usual - and we touched base with some of our CT friends. We saw Cabela's of East Hartford(a personal high point) and Blue Back Square. Blue Back felt more like Universal Studios than West Hartford. I was waiting to see a tidal wave of water from Trout Brook come around a corner and then recede under the Police Station, or Cruella DaVille offering autographs at an intersection. Lots of fun, however. We were a little disappointed to see that the new owner of 122 Clifton Avenue has not changed a thing- not paint, not plants, nothing. So, no pictures there. It's just like you remember it.

When we returned home, there has been progress. The chimney has an official top framework, because chimney stone has been ordered. Vents are in 3 gable ends, so siding is moving forward. The garage passage door is in, the foyer closet framework is in, Marsha's outdoor shower is all trimmed. Scaffolding has moved to the east / screened porch end, so that roof can be finished. Electricians are there pulling even more wire today. Do we really need all these lights? Our old house was very dark, but my mother would say that this house is "lit up like Luna Park."

Josh arrives for a visit tomorrow- Wednesday. We are looking forward to his smiling face and strong back, if the stone delivery comes.

We made it home from Connecticut in one day- 16.5 hours, with gas and one food stop.

So, c'mon down, y'all!

Love,

Emmett and Marsha