Arriving At Point B

It had been a fine morning of coffee and catching up on this and that, but not the other thing.  Then off to the Frog Pond for a frittata of note, and to admire the Ramon Santiago originals decorating the place.  But more importantly, we were meeting with seldom-seen friends who happened to be in town for a wedding.

Do frogs enjoy a good breakfast
after a night out?

The waitress was kind and the place was not at capacity, so there was no compulsion to leave immediately after the bill was paid.  If not so full from our late breakfast, the time in residence could have also included lunch.  How wonderful to speak for hours without noticing how much time has passed.

At least one gem made it to the little book.  "If you're just a little bit ahead of the curve, they call you a genius.  But if you're way out in front, you're a crazy man."  Unmentioned are those of us spending most of our time trying to locate the curve.

As with all good things, the end or our conversations arrived, so we took the selfie, bid our adieus, and headed in opposite directions.  But not before promising to visit!

Maybe we shouldn't have been looking directly into the sun,

but it really highlights the blonde hair, don't you think?

Back home, we took care of the other thing, grabbed the dog, and were quickly on our way to the Adirondacks.  The drive was not bad.  Only 2 "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING? incidents, and 4 proclamations of "LEARN TO DRIVE!"

We pulled in late in the afternoon.  How nice to have a welcoming committee.

Here is the committee.
As with most such organizations,
they can't agree on where they're headed.

A tad chilly the previous evening.
The sun does not reach through the hemlocks well enough
to remove the dusting.

Summer may be over.

The routine upon arrival is to unload and scurry around furiously making sure that all is in place for relaxing.  Hurry up and relax!

Worried that a harder freeze was coming, I took the time to dig up the parsley, sage, rosemary and chives from the garden.  Snug underground, the potatoes can wait 'til tomorrow.  Too late for the tomatoes.   

And you thought the comment was figurative.

Latter day potatoes.

Shortly before the sun called it a day, a hardy neighbor paddled by.  Not sure how much fun he was having since the cold wind was rising out of the west, his homeward direction.

The lone hardy kayaker paddles toward the setting sun.
Gloves and hat and parka-like life-vest required.

A little later, a touch of red graces the clouds.
Water level down for the winter, the true channel shows itself.

Darkness came, and we settled into point B.  But in rank-ordering the personal points in the world, one must wonder if this is really Point B anymore.

Thank You, Humans.

Actually, thank you, Mommy and Daddy.  It is, of course, appropriate to call you that, since you are my adoptive, cross-species parents.

I want to thank you for taking me to the frozen place.  Living in Memphis, TN, I've often wondered what all my fur is for.  Now I know.

Lots of fluffy white stuff here.

It blows across the solid lake.

It drops down onto the trees.

But the osprey in the treetop doesn't care.

The geese don't care.

And like the osprey and geese, the Mergansers don't care, 
as long as there is still some open water.

The skiers don't care.

 

 

In fact, they like it.

Just like me.

So thanks, Mommy and Daddy, for bringing me here.

"You want me to do what?"

"Seriously?  In the car again?"

"But this place is so much fun!"

But my frozen fun must end.

Until next time.

Holiday Greetings, Salutations and Best Wishes!

Damn the risk of braggadocio, and greetings from our new dwelling to yours.  

It seems appropriate to use this image to convey holiday sentiments.  While not losing sight of the past, our vision is focused on enjoying the Christmas season and also looking forward to enjoying the future.

We're almost done.  There are odds and ends that need attention, and the fireplace is in need of a surround superior to the current cement board, but livability has been achieved.  We are thankful that the long, strange trip is concluding.  

And we just received a Christmas present from our builder.  An invoice.  Joy to the World!

Growing An Onion

Houses are generally regarded as monolithic.  A single construction.  One big thing.  The whole enchilada, or cannoli, or pastie, depending on your ethnic or culinary persuasion.

But they're not.  Not even close.  A house is layer after layer of stuff that makes possible all those little things we like for our personal comfort.  Sticks and mud and lots of other materials coming together in a particular order to make a small section of what was once outdoors into a human nest.

I once saw a show where a house was built in a day.  Hundreds of people were on-site at dawn, buzzing around the place with incredible energy to create the dwelling before midnight.  

That's not what's happening at our place.  We've got 3 or 4 guys, and occasionally even 5 (Gasp!  So many!) working over a somewhat longer period of time.  But nothing lasts forever, right?  Please tell me that's true.

OK.  Progress is being made.  We really like our contractors, but we'd like to be having good feelings for them from a distance.  Or to be greeting them when they return to the site for the big completion bash.

Our son, David, designed the place.
If his intent was to make you feel like you are outside when inside,
he did a great job.

Mary is in the kitchen, which adjoins the great room.
Is there a reason for an outdoor kitchen?

The cabinets were constructed by my friend Bill, the "Woodbutcher."
Very nice indeed.
Bartlett Fine Carpentry, unsurpassed craftsmanship at a reasonable price!
Yes, I expect a referral bonus.

He also built this vanity.
For those of us with parents who ingrained the hand washing ethic,
it's really a bonus to do so in the same room.

Eric is installing another rotary air conditioner
while balancing on the precariously high step ladder.
Marc smiles below.
Guess which one is the boss.

A five-bladed rotary air conditioner in the guest house.
Unfortunately, use has not been very necessary during this cool and damp summer.
For our guests, peas will be provided should they wish to prove
royal roots by sleeping on the mattress stack.

We'll also provide plumbed-in flush toilets,
NO BUCKETS NECESSARY!
This is clearly a luxurious place.

Sconces light up the room.
However, my favorite evening pastime is turning all the lights out
sitting in one of the chairs,
and watching darkness settle over the lake.

Master bedroom looking pretty great.
Baseboard?  Who needs baseboard?
Note the high ceiling,
which is supported by photon recoil and air pressure.

Regardless of the schedule or the not-fully-anticipated costs, we are indeed fortunate to be creating this great place in a great setting.

Looking on, do you think the cedar waxwings approve?

Is That Light I See?

Can it be?  Can the tunnel be coming to an end?  There are no tracks, so I'm thinking it can't be an approaching train.

It has been raining, more than a little.

Soon, we're going to have to stock the new fish pond
out by the garage,
and install a fountain in the pump tank.

"But the roof seems to have performed well,"
he said in a guttural voice.

C'mon in.
Someone is waiting for you.

Come on down the hallway...

...to meet Mary in the great room.

And I really think it will be a great room.

So great that nary a 2x4 will be left showing.
We've even got outlets way up yonder for powering airplane propellors.

I detected a bit of echo in the room, so some sound deadening material may be called for.  Out of sight atop the beams will be the place to start.  Furniture will also help.  If that is not sufficient, then something absorbing on the peak walls.  And if that doesn't do it, the Kentucky-bluegrass-green shag carpet will certainly fix any problem.  And we'll only have to mow it once per week.

Speaker wires in the corner for old-fashioned sound systems,
and power for new-fashioned ones.
And the power may have other uses as well.

As advertised, the beams will drip sap for a while.

Sure am looking forward to peeling the protective film off the windows.
Even more light, not to mention the view.

We build houses of sticks and mud.
The white mud will come right up to the white flange at the black window frame.
After it's sanded and painted, the flange strips off,
leaving a finished edge right at the frame.
How cool is that?

We're even going to have artificial photons in the kitchen.

Marc, our contractor, calls this a Salisbury Switch.
Very practical for turning on the kitchen lights.
Salisbury is the next town over.
Where do you think Marc lives?

The master bedroom looks quite a bit better all sheetrocked.
Amazing how the sense of a place changes when the drywall is hung.

I like this ceiling in the hall between the master bedroom and bath.
Can't you see a full armada of Star Trek space vehicles hanging there?

The place is going to be really great.
We're even going to have indoor plumbing.

And it looks like we'll have a pedestal toilet seat.
We'll need a stool.

Boiler on the left and manifold on the wall.
All the pieces are in place and functioning.
Yes, the radiant heating is working!

Mary shows off the basement bedroom
and indicates the desired number of grandchildren

When the deck goes on, the basement hall illumination
will decrease somewhat,
but the light level will be more than adequate.

Look familiar?
The heat is on in the guest cottage, too.

I need to get a scooter like this for the crawl space.
Or maybe a bunch of them for the floor hockey games.

The guys are preparing for guests.

When they finished, we headed off to be sure that the lake still existed.

We found that it did, and were treated to one of our favorite sounds.

We'll be back next week,
hoping for an even higher level of illumination!