August 2018

The floors on the second floor no longer give when stepped upon. There is still a slight tilt in the second floor main hallway, but it is minimal. When walking into our future closet, I do not feel as if I am sliding down a hill. It is solid and reassuring. Words are not adequate…

Today! Already! We have Butch and his helper in our home. First, he went to the basement and made a couple more turns on the basement columns to raise the first floor a teeny bit more. You should have heard the creaking and groaning our sweet cottage made as she protested being jolted to attention. …

Though there is still so much to do, we are making headway. You know those extra support beams we needed in the basement to shore up the center of our cottage: well, we need to place extra support beams on the first floor too.  Over the years, with different projects, the support beam for the…

First, to all our friends and family(by blood and heart) in Hawai’i. Please know that all of you are in our thoughts and prayers. Please stay safe. Second, I realized I may have not explained our ease at living with construction quite clearly.  Our wonderful beautiful son, Joshua, was so medically fragile that we never…

All those nasty naughty rusting heating coils have been removed from the front part of the ceiling on the second floor. The laundry room, bathroom, and closet ceilings await their turn. Then… the first floor living room, foyer, and tea room ceilings… and basement crawl space for our primary kitchen. Sigh… at this moment in…

My friend Bonnie asked, “When you began this adventure you were still in Hawaii. Did it ever occur to you that you’d still be in the renovation stage at this late date? Just wondering what was going through your mind when you bought the cottage sight unseen…?” First, we did know, prior to our actual…

I am so grateful that I never started the curtains for our cottage. With all the tearing down and dust assailing our home on a daily basis, they would have been ruined before they ever were useful.  Scott now has the ceiling down in the laundry room and our future closet. Thomas Pest Control took down…

An aside: We called our furniture company, Taft Furniture, last Thursday to see how much lead time they need for our mattress to be delivered. Lo and behold, they were closed for Fabulous Fillies Day and of course the Cider and Wine Tasting. We are definitely in race horse land. ? Scott has the ceiling…

Our closet is officially sealed from the outside and ready for insulation and cedar walls! But, Scott MUST finish our bedroom first! That is what we thought… then? Another bombshell fell on our bliss… And, of course more duplicated expense… Thank you, Patrick! Repairing more of your improper work! Please, everyone… remember… do NOT use Efficient…

Projects exist everywhere Scott turns… after the bedroom, he needs to turn his attention to finishing our closet. Since arriving in Gloversville, I have been living in one pair of pants, two camisoles, one shirt, and two dresses. Definitely enough for day to day life, but short on variety… especially since those choices sit in…