When Will It Ever End?

November is here and the house is still not done. The good news is the first floor is finished and they have moved to the second floor. If we were one block away from the water this would have been done weeks ago. The cold driving wind and the rain is what is making it take so long. This is a very unpleasant place to be outside when the wind is coming in right off the water.

The critters were a big help during the building of the porch. I was able to catch all four of them putting in their two-cents about the work being done. Please note in photo, Miss Yaar just continued to nap as the rest of the crew took an active part. That's Kayto and Sir Al up at the door, with Yodi on the pillow and Yaar napping on the hassack.


We did use some of the worst days to finish Tom's den. We had the new ceiling put in. The old one was a mess from all the water that came in from the rotten wood along the side of the house. Tom painted the ceiling, then Tom, Josh and I did the walls and trim. We are in the process of getting the room set up again so Tom can move off the dining room table. With the holidays coming we want to clear out the dining room so the decorations can go up.

Speaking of decorations, Josh cleaned out all the bags of lights and whisked them off to his townhouse at Merrimack. I guess the boys are really decking out their common room and the halls. With a little luck, they will have enough to do the outside too. The boys wanted to have some Christmas before they all leave on the 11th for home.

Josh is keeping me busy when he is here as he needs cookies and crispy bars to keep him going. I got his favorite cookie recipe from his mom and tried to make them this weekend. They didn't turn out quite right, but Josh says they are not bad for the first try. Guess I am going to get another chance at making them right.

Tom has to give a breakfast speech in Saco, Maine on Wednesday morning. We desided to load up the pups and head up tomorrow after an interview I have and spend the night. The critters will enjoy the trip and it will get us away from the contractors for a day. We all love to go Maine. There is a lot of space for the pups to run and explore and I love the scenery. I have my Ipod and a good book and just plan to take a relax day. I read when we are on the highway as there is nothing nice about that view! The Ipod blocks out Sports Radio and we are all happy!

I promise more often updates even if it's just a few words and a lot of photos. Happy Turkey day to all!

It's October and We Aren't There Yet!

I thought we'd be done by now. I thought the house would be beautiful by now. I thought the mess would be gone by now. Guess what! I was wrong!

Life here just keeps getting interestinger and interestinger! Or should I say we are a lot closer to the poor house than I thought. The one thing you learn about taking on a project with an old house is that each day brings more surprises. For us most of the surprises have been with rotten wood and water damage. We had the contractor seal up the gaps in the foundation as well. But now we know we have the confidence that the house will be tighter and better insulated that what we had. I am really anxious about our heating costs this year vs the prior years. I'm still not letting Tom turn on the heat until November!

So where are we at this point? The attached slide show will show you most of the work. I would say we are 1/2 way there. But the time consuming part is done so the rest should move along quickly if the weather holds out.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Inside the house I have been painting and trying to strip the stairwell to the upstairs. This has to be a bit tricky as I have the cats to deal with. I can't have them free to run up and down the stairs. I repainted the kitchen and have only one small wall left to do. We will finish up this week end. We are getting the new drywall up in Tom's den Friday and I will soon be able to get him off the dining room table. We are doing quite well with our de-cluttering also. I tell Tom I have been watching the TV show "Clean House" and am learning to get rid of clutter and to find ways to preserve the memories of things without the things themselves.

There are times when I have to wonder where our sanity went for us to be doing all this work when the economy has gone to hell in a hand basket. In the long run, I feel we are making the best investment we can for the times. We are planning on being here for quite some time. We have thought out what we are doing and have tried to stay away from the things that we would like to have but are not practical for the times. Each day I tell myself this is a sea-side cottage even if we are flanked on both sides by huge houses. We are keeping with the "cottage" feel, despite what some people would like to see us do. I laugh and let them know if they are willing to pay for it, we will do things their way. I am quite amused by the input others feel they have the right to give and their attitudes when we ignore their suggestions. People are funny.

Tom has been really busy with work and has started his fall travel schedule. I am still busy job hunting and interviewing. This is not the best of times to be job hunting. Tom says I am employed as the General Contractor on Seagull Cottage. I am trying to keep on top of things and do the trim painting when I can.

Well, that's a quick update on what is going on here. I hope all of you are in good health and happy. More from us later.

What happened to Summer? It Washed away!

I think New England has set a record for the amount of rain in the summer! I believe one could count the number of dry days this summer without removing one's shoes!


Rain and conflicts with Town Hall on building permits brought the siding project to an abrupt halt for the last month. But now things are well underway. But not without a lot of surprises. Here is a link to a slide show of where we stand up to date:

Our Grandson, Josh, arrived the first week of August and spent a few weeks with us until his dorm at Merrimack College opened. He transferred out for his Major in Criminology after getting his Associates degree at Santa Rosa Community College in California. He's all moved in and has survived his first few days of classes. But he did help me paint the stairwell and upstairs hall while he was here. I had already pretty much finished the upstairs bathroom. Still have the two bedrooms and this space I call an office to paint. Color is chosen for the bedrooms but still at a loss as to what to do with this space I call mine. There are so many surprises that comes with the renovation of an old house like this. We found old material stuffed into the walls as insulation, The door that was covered had no insulation at all nor did most of the windows. The boards on the front of the house are all different sizes and different types of wood. We are supposed to be in for an entire week of nice weather so things should progress nicely. I promise to be better at posting more often. Bye for now

Rainbows, Festivals & Lobster

This life of idleness is getting to me. I keep looking at projects around the house and then I tell myself that if I start something, I will find a job and never get it finished. Or there is the argument that time spent on a house project is time I should be job hunting. I will find a balance I am sure.

Being home allowed us to attend the 105th Annual Strawberry (shortcake) Festival. This is one of the big summer events here in Winthrop. I bought some raffle tickets for booze and wine and filled the tickets out with all the family names then proceeded to enjoy the shortcake. When I say this is a big event, I mean half the town turns out. Tables are set up in the yard of the Dean Winthrop house and the barn is used for the dishing up of the BEST shortcake ever. The weather was wonderful. A warm summer night with just a bit of a breeze.

Later that night the phone rang and the caller asked to speak to Yaar Stundza. Tom explained that would be difficult as she was running around the house with a ball in her mouth! Yes, the only winner of the raffle was little Yaar and she's too young to drink the bottle of Merlot. Dad will take care of that.

Tonight was Lobster night at the Cottage Park Yacht Club, where Tom is Secretary and we have no boat. Every Friday Night during the summer different members take over the kitchen and we have dinner.

Tom lives for lobster night! I get such enjoyment from watching Tom eat a lobster! Only my father-in-law, John and grandson, Josh could equal Tom in lobster devouring. We had a rain squall hit during dinner. You know, the kind where it pours but the sun keeps shinning. This makes for a beautiful rainbow across the ocean. It isn't easy getting a good picture in the rain but here is my attempt.

June Starts With Ups & Downs

Three graduations, getting laid off from the bank and a Vermont vacation made the first nine days of June a bit busy. The first two graduations took place in California and we were not able to fly out. The third graduation was here in Peabody, MA and was attended in 90+ degree heat. But we couldn't be prouder of the three grandchildren. All move on now to the next segment of their lives. Josh will be coming east to attend Merrimack College in Andover, Samantha will be attending Suffolk University in Boston and Jessica will be attending school in Seattle, WA, where her dad has just been transferred with the Coast Guard. Here is the only shot I have of the three grads.



Our vacation trip to Vermont was the best. With the help of our new GPS system (a gift from the Bank) which we named Desdemona after the maker of cosmic muffins in a Jimmy Buffet song, we saw parts of Vermont we never new existed! Desdemona says the best way from A to B is a straight line. This means up and over mountains on dirt roads with miles between houses! I just knew we were going to end up in some backwoods extremist camp!

I have put together a Smile book for you to see because there was too much to say for this space. I hope it works!

http://smilebox.com/play/4d7a63774e7a49794f413d3d0d0a

The house has it's new doors now and the siding should go up in a few weeks. You know how contractors are. SLOW. But I want him to be done with all his other projects before he works on our house, so waiting is the thing to do.

As for the getting laid off part...it was my turn I guess. I had made it through several of the downsizing sessions and sailed through unscathed. I have some good leads and plan to start being serious about job hunting Monday morning. I just needed a couple of weeks off.

I will keep you all posted on our lives and times in Winthrop by the Sea.

Life Goes on as We Wait on Committees

Well it has been some time since I updated this site. Sorry for the delay but things have been busy around here.

We are stalled on the house because we have to have a hearing with the Conservation Committee on the siding and door installation. Because we live on the coast, they have to know what materials we are using and how we plan to dispose of the old doors and siding. The committee only meets once a month and the next meeting is at the end of the month. Hope all goes well.

We have been busy with family and there are three graduations ! Josh graduated yesterday from the Junior College he was attending in Santa Rosa, California. He will be here in August to attend Merrimack College in Andover. Samantha and Jessica both graduate the first weekend in June. Busy, busy time.

Our son, Jerry and his wife, Jenene are traveling to the Seattle area to house hunt as Jerry is being assigned there for his next tour of duty with the Coast Guard. Now I will have no excuse not to go home( I was raised in the Tacoma/Lakewood area.

We went up to Rockport for the Motif #1 days. The weather was lovely and the family had a great time.

I took this shot during our day in Rockport.

A fisherman's shack on Bradley Wharf in the harbor of Rockport, Massachusetts is one of the most famous buildings in the world, recognizable to students of art and art history as Motif Number 1. Built in the 1880s as Rockport became home to a colony of artists and fishermen, the shack became a favorite subject of painters due to the composition and lighting of its location as well as the symbol it represented of the hard New England maritime life. The painter Lester Hornby is believed to be the first to call the shack "Motif Number 1," a reference to its being the favorite subject of the town's painters, and the name achieved general acceptance.This is one of the most painted and photographed sites in the world. During his summer seasons in Rockport, Hornby noted that many pupils chose the venerable, dilapidated shed on the edge of the inner harbor. Its prominence and its simple but interesting proportions made it a natural model for sketches and paintings, good and bad. One day when a student brought for criticism a pencil drawing of the house, Hornby exclaimed, "What-Motif No 1 again!" It has been that ever since."- Rockport Sketch Book, by John L. Cooley

The K-9s, Kayto and Yaar enjoyed the day in Rockport also. The hopes for treats never go away, and there were a lot of good smells on the Neck that day!

Ice cream always is a winner. But These two need no extra cream in their diets so they only got to smell the ingredients from afar!

There are a lot of small artist galleries along the neck. You can find jewelry, clothes, paintings, gourmet pet items and glass shops along the Neck as well as back along the main street of the town. We chose to spend the time on the neck and do our window shopping there before going to lunch. Auntie. their friend, Marge and Mom had a great day and enjoyed the company as well as the beautiful weather.

The weather is getting better and we will go from a three Spring into a full blown Summer very quickly I suppose. New England weather is something I will never get used to no matter how long I live here!

Enough for now, I hope everyone is doing great!

Have A Great Holiday Weekend!

April Rains Bring A Dry, Uninterrupted Slumber

Well, the roof has been done for over a week and the weather has not been cooperating. We have had glorious days with temperatures in the high 60s to low 70s. The sky has been blue with little puffy clouds forming mystical creatures to float above my house. This really is not what I wanted!

Finally yesterday brought just what I had been waiting for: WIND & RAIN!!!!! It poured all day, it was glorious. However by the time Tom and I got home, the downpour was more of a spit. I made a mad dash for Tom's den to empty the buckets and they were empty! Not a drop of water had slithered in under the roof. I think we got it!

I had worried that there could be some water getting in as part of the siding had been removed to replace some bad wood. The crew had sealed the places with some sort of membrane, but I was still worried. As it is still raining, I will check again when we get home.

Noise, that blasted noise: ping - ping - ping! NOT! When I got up this morning Tom asked if I had slept good as he had had a good night's sleep also. Then he said it had rained hard all night. We didn't hear a thing. So that should put to rest all those naysayers who thought I was going to be sorry about the metal roof!

Next month we go before the Conservation Committee about the siding and the work should be done the first part of June. The doors could be in before that, I just do not know the timing, as our contractor is going to Europe. He must be a very good contractor!!!

Keep popping back. I'll add more in a few days.

Happy Spring

The Roof is Done - What a Shabby Looking House!!

Thank goodness the roof is done! Thank goodness even more that the siding goes on in a few weeks! I never thought the house could look so great and so bad at the same time. Eliza Doolittle with a fancy hat and her flower-girl dress!

It does look nice. I have to get used to the snow guards they have to put on metal roofs. I thought they would be painted to match the roof but they only come in a silver metal. So as I told the owner of the roofing company: I'm having to learned to live with a red roof with silver polka dots!

The siding crew will be here tomorrow for us to pick the color. I am going to go with a sterling grey with white trim. The siding looks like 7" cedar shakes and I think it will look very beachy when it is done. Then there will be the decking, stairs, front porch, sidewalk and landscaping. Any of you have an in as to a winning lottery ticket? Oh yes, don't forget the new wiring, the sheet rock for Tom's den where the rain leaked through the old roof and destroyed the ceiling and walls. Money pit? Could a 1750 square foot house be a Money Pit? I have discovered that Size really doesn't Matter!

Life's Important Things Can Get Lost Amid the Mess of Everyday Clutter

I have never been known for being on top of importrant dates in my life. I get wrapped up in the now of everyday life and events can fly right over my head. I was so busy last week with work and construction that I let a very important event go by without so much as a thought. Our only Grandson, Josh, had his 20th birthday and I never even called.

I have always been this way. I try so hard to remember things but then stuff gets in the way and my mind goes too.

Josh is a pretty wonderful young man. I would say that if I just knew him and he wasn't my grandson. He is a great all around guy. He's into sports: baseball, basketball, football; you name it he loves it. He's a good student when he puts his mind to it , he pulled his grades way up when he saw how important it was. His Papa Tom is super proud that after Josh graduates from Junior College next month he will be coming east to attend Merrimack Collage, Tom's collage.

Well I called Josh and in his usual manner he tried to down play my memory loss. I just hope he realizes how much we love him.

We are very lucky that in this crazy world, we have 3 fabulous grand kids, all with good heads on their shoulders and goals in their minds.

Four Men and a Foreign Language

Tuesday was an amazing day. We got home and there was a big truck, a trailer and more supplies AND a four man crew! The entire front of the roof was stripped, plywood laid, insulation down and the rubber sealer was laid halfway up the front side of the roof. I can't believe how much work these men have accomplished considering the weather this week!

As I was walking around, looking at the work, I kept hearing the crew talking to each other. I couldn't figure out what language they were speaking. It sounds like Russian but I am not sure. I do know Vlad is from Slovakia, so I am thinking they speak one of the Slavic languages. Being the inquisitive person that I am, I went on line and looked up Slovakia. What a beautiful country. The history is very interesting and the culture explains the quality of workmanship being done on our house.

Wednesday we arrived home to see Red Roof climbing up the front on either side of the gable. It really looks good. There is still a lot to do, but now there is progress to be seen!

Supervisor Yaar has found a great game to play with the crew. Glove, glove I got your glove! The men will set their gloves down and if they are within Cocker-stretched out height, she steals them and runs. Good thing I taught her "drop it" or lord knows where she would hide them. Kayto found the dumpster a great place to explore. The crew had opened the front of it for ease of tossing in the trash and Kayto thought it was wonderful to examine each piece of trash to be sure it was to be tossed away and not really a hidden toy.

The Bear in the Big Blue Tarp

When we arrived home today amidst a mini "Nor' Easter", there was rock music coming from the roof and the house was covered with a big blue tarp. At first I wondered if we were getting a roof or getting fumigated!

I often refer to Tom as a Teddy Bear and my first thought as I watched him try to get under the tarp to the front door is the title of today's segment. I wish I had pictures of that moment but the camera was inside the house. What I do have is a shot of roofer, Vladimir, fighting the tarp in the wind.

What a disaster the yard is! Pieces of tar wrap and old shingles all over. The fellas, Rob and Vlad are really great guys. Not only did they work under conditions that sucked, they spent the last part of the day picking up trash from the neighbor's yard!

Then we have to mention the frustrated supervisors, Kayto & Yaar. They managed to endure the banging on the roof for most of the day. But the minute we got home, they had to check out Rob, Vlad and all the tools and materials. Yaar managed to find a piece of tar paper to drag around but we got that away from her quickly. I am worried about the nails that will inevitably fall to the ground during this construction. If anyone has a good suggestion as to how to remove these easily, I would appreciate any and all suggestions.

Oh. I almost forgot! Rob came up to me last night with a handful of FUR! Turns out it is the horsehair used to insulate the roof! Can you believe that. I knew they used horsehair in the plaster walls, but never knew it was used under the roof! The things you learn!!!

The Day That the Rains Came, from Town Hall & Mother Nature

The dumpster came. The materials came. The permits did not come. Our contractors did not understand the ins and outs of working on a project in Winthrop. There is the Building inspector, the town permit people and the Conservation Committee all to be reckoned with. What they expected to take a few hours, actually took a few days. By the time the permits were pulled, they had another formidable force to deal with...New England weather.

So here we sit, four days after materials and dumpster arrived, with nothing to show for it but a big blue empty dumpster, two piles of material covered with blue tarps and a very muddy yard.
Oh, they did come by today to do some work, despite the wind only to find out the town of Winthrop does not allow any contractors to work on Sunday. There's always tomorrow or the week after! More later.

The Cottage gets a Face Lift

IT'S OURS IT'S REALLY OURS

Our little cottage has undergone years of neglect. It became truly "ours" last June and we started our list of Must Do Projects. We repaired the tilting chimney and updated the antiquated heating system. We had both gas AND oil. The oil burner was an old coal burner that had been converted to oil back in the 1940's! We even had to have the men in white suits come to remove the asbestos from the basement.

We went all gas and put in a Energy saving burner and hot water heater.My goal is to go as "Green" as possible with all the renovations we do. Even with an old house built in the 1880's, there are some things that can be environmentally correct.

Now that Spring is here we are starting on the outside and giving the cottage a much needed face lift. However this will not be simply a cosmetic fix. We discovered there are parts of the roof where there are as many as FIVE layers of shingles! I do believe two is the legal limit. Old house, grandfathered repairs and quick fixes, before the age of permits and strict building codes all are part of the project we now face.

THE "GREEN" ROOF IS RED

I did a lot of research about houses on the shore and came to the conclusion that a metal roof was the best way to go. These roofs withstand the wind, the salt and all the other elements we have on the shore that are not problematic elsewhere. The style is that of shingles, not the flat lap so many people think of when they hear about metal roofs. The new metals help reflect the sun in the summer and retain heat in the winter. I am told you do not get the "ping...ping...ping" when it rains. This is called a enhancement, not a replacement, so the value of the house will go up. Not a bad thing.

I chose a brick red for the color and it is as pretty in person as it looked in the sample. We plan on doing the siding and doors as soon as the roof is finished. Again, we chose a siding that resembles
shingles, not the strip siding. The color will be a silver/blue with white trim. I plan to paint the doors the same color as the roof. No plans for the deck color yet. That will come later. I will post some before and after photos as soon as I can.

Good Bye from Seagull Cottage for now.