First, for our friends in the warmer climates. We had our first frost warning of the fall this weekend. We are, well I am, filled with some trepidation. After all, our house is still not really buttoned up.
But, at this moment we do have a solid secure basement. When I learned we had to repair the basement that was fine. When I learned we needed to put in an egress that was fine too. I thought we would have a ‘Bilbo’ door (see blog on January 25) which could be very whimsical. When I learned we needed to put in a regular door my heart sank.
I was concerned that our beautiful Victorian cottage would lose its Victorian whimsy. But, I should have known better. Gloversville has people who so love this area and its history that they strive to maintain each home’s unique structural diversity. To top that off, Larry McGillis is a miracle worker! He understood that maintaining whimsy was unquestionably important to me. So he thought about it and thought about it, then he dreamed about it.
In his dreams he came up with the perfect way to transform an ordinary basement door into an entrance that would reinforce the whimsy we desired our cottage to convey. We are thrilled! We are thrilled with the basement inside. We are thrilled with our basement outside. We are thrilled with our basement egress… though it still needs shingles…
As to our garage, the poor thing will have to wait until next spring to be healed. I know a lot of people have been worried about our driveway because there’s a huge hole under one side of the concrete. Some were concerned that it was a sinkhole. Well, it isn’t a sinkhole it’s a woodchuck nest. The little woodchuck that had taken residence here while the house was empty made a nest under the house and under the garage driveway. We will be calling animal control to capture it and release it in the woods. But our garage, our driveway, and our sidewalks must wait until spring 2018 to be repaired. So our Baby Girl will have to remain outdoors this first winter. Sigh…
