A fond farewell

Near the end of June, Lee informed us that Bill and Katelyn would be leaving to go out on their own. It makes me very sad to say good-bye. It's like family leaving: we wish them luck but we will miss them.

But even though they knew they were leaving, they were as dedicated as always in getting our job done

Lee prepared a little good-bye luncheon. Everything was delicious and the presentation and seating arrangement were delightful.

Actually, it seems there was only one seat, but people shared nicely

After lunch, Bill and Katelyn hammered a few more nails, and then they were off.

I will miss being called m'lady and I will miss having another girl around. But we all wish Bill and Katelyn success. And come back to visit sometime...

What have we done??!?

So we have been having some great meetings with Martin about landscape decisions. I'm very pleased with the way the front entrance is coming out. In conjunction with that, we decided to remove all the big rhodies from the front to make a more welcoming curb appeal. Naturally the digging was done while we were out of town. So I came home to find a big hole and a wide open view into our side yard. I feel very vulnerable. And the poor dogwood that I have refused to cut down is looking particularly sad.

The good news is that the rhodies actually do look quite nice in their new home behind the shed.

While we are talking about the outside:

Lee spent one evening grading the driveway and defining the boundaries

The pavers came to put down the binder coat on the driveway. I was impressed at how fast they were. It's hard work.

First the huge dump truck mounts the little spreader truck and unloads a bunch of hot tar.

Then the spreader truck pours it on the ground.

Then the guys rake out the tar and then smooth it down.

Then they water so it will grow , I guess.

Then we have a beautiful, dust-free, paved driveway.

The next step is the design detail. We marked out a design for cobblestone aprons and borders.

Then Vinnie's guys come and cut up the beautiful driveway.

It's worth it though, the cobblestones look great

Photos - hopefully for real this time

So here are some pix in no special order:



The 2nd floor guest room:



The 2nd floor guest bath:



Sarah's room on the 3rd floor:

The lower level guest room

The kitchen from the family room:

The dining room:

The new windowseat in the living room:

Birds and rodents and flies...oh my

Apparently we are not the only ones interested in moving in to the house. Last month we were mystified by an odor on the 3rd floor that would not go away. We thought it might be the new carpet and pad, but when we got down on the floor, we didn't smell the odor in the carpet. We tried leaving windows open which helped, but at night we had to close them and in the morning the smell was back. Finally, Lee and I went into the mechanical room to see if the smell was in there. No smell, but I heard birds chirping. But I couldn't see any birds. We gave up for the moment and went off to do other things. Later, Lee came to tell me, in his very low-key way, "you have birds in the house". Great. They found a couple of holes way up in the eaves. Bill found one nest with a single bird in it, and then another nest with babies. Bill managed to remove the babies in their nest and placed them outside where the mother did find them and I'm sure there was a happy ending. The other bird was also evicted. Holes were filled and eventually the smell went away.

When Emily and David and family were here to visit we all stayed in the house, along with Sarah and Jon and Joshua. It was fun - we had bedrooms and bathrooms and TV's and not much more. Except of course the mouse (or was it a rat?) I first saw it in the basement Friday night jumping out of a trash bag. I really just saw a longish, gray streak and it did seem a little too furry too long to be a mouse. On Saturday, Peter, Joshua and I went to visit friends and when we came back, Sarah and Jon said they saw a mouse (or was it a rat?)run across the kitchen floor and under the stove. On Monday I called the exterminator who left glue traps and bait, but we never saw the little rodent again. At least I didn't. It was Bill's job to check the traps every morning - he gets all the fun stuff - and after the first day, I chose not to ask questions.

Last Sunday, after being in Montreal for several days, Peter and I went to the house where we were greeted in the basement by ALOT of flies. Some were dead, some were just lounging around and some were lazily flying. We looked for a dead body but couldn't see or smell one. On Monday the flies were upstairs in the family room. Bill thought they probably were just coming in out of the cold. I called my friends the exterminator who corroborated what Bill diagnosed. They seem to be gone now - just 6 dead ones in the indoor outdoor room by the door.

Could someone please remind me why I want to leave my birdless, rodentless, flyless apartment in Boston????

Maybe this is why. The following posts have a few photos that don't really do justice to the fabulous job the team has done(That is if I can figure out how to do this - or else I'll post the photos tonight when I am home on my own computer)

Moving in day - part 1

Isaac's, the movers, are scheduled to come tomorrow morning to move in about 2/3 of the stuff we've had in storage. I went there this morning to go through all 9 crates and tell them what to bring to Brookline now and what to keep in storage for a bit longer (a bit = anything from 2 weeks to forever since there are some things we really don't want back. I spent 2 hours there trying to recognize our stuff. They were very nice and patient and opened some boxes so I could find out what was inside. I know I'll see the 6 crates that are coming tomorrow, but I left before they put all the rest back into the other crates. Hopefully nothing was left out.

Meanwhile, back at the house. While there is still alot to be done on the inside, and even more on the outside, it is definitely looking more put-back-together. All the painting is done except for touch-ups which is never-ending.

The floors are done; the carpet is installed except on the stairs (and there was a slight problem with the master bedroom but it's being fixed).

Guest bed in basement:

Joshua's room:

Second floor guest room:

Peter's study:

All the blinds are installed.

We have heat and A/C and hot water and we passed the plumbing inspection! And we passed the fire inspection twice (they forgot to sign the form the first time). Tomorrow is the electrical inspection and Brian has been working hard to get everything ready.

All the bathrooms are functioning even if they don't have all their accessories.

Third floor bath:

Second floor guest bath:

Basement guest bath:

Port-a-potty:

Most of the wood trim is done - Barry is unbelievable the way he matches colors and textures and finishes. He did all the new trim in the kitchen and it looks like it came with the original.

Katelyn and Bill are working to finish the basement stairs. Ken is getting hinges and doorknobs installed.

We have all the new exterior doors. The good news is we actually have doors in the vestibule, pantry and family room. The bad news is that they are the wrong doors, but we will use them til the right ones come in.

Same with the grills covering the heating ducts. They're the wrong ones but we can use them til the right ones come in.

The walls outside are almost done, and Martin has come up with some very interesting ideas for landscaping.

I'm afraid to load more pix on so I'll try tomorrow to show lighting fixtures,the shed and hopefully - some furnished rooms!