Fog in the mornings is a daily thing here in this valley in the Berkshires. It drifts over the creek, across the meadow, reaching out to the house, hiding the hills in the distance. Cooler weather has arrived, the leaves are turning and falling. Fifty-three weeks ago I closed on this house, eight months ago I stopped adding content here as a dramatic shift in plans came about. All the plans to clean, paint, restore, and renovate were put aside as I took on a much more important task. That task has now come to a close, or nearly so, with only some few odds and ends still needing attention. Perhaps one day I’ll share; perhaps not.
In the meantime, work has restarted. My other half has now spent a few weeks here (intermittently) and we’ve got lawn equipment and snow removal equipment. He’s spent many hours mowing grass and trimming trees and shrubs. A room to the front of the house received a fresh coat of paint back in January, and recently, a closet in the kitchen was dismantled, painted, and is awaiting the purchase and installation of new shelving.
Before:
After:
Going forward, a few projects are at the top of the list. First, painting the room that will become my office. Second, working on the dining room – remember, I’d gotten a touch carried away and stripped off all the wallpaper – to repair the walls and get a prime coat on them. From there, the front hallway will also need repair and priming, and then perhaps the next big project will be the living room, back to the fireplace, stripping down the woodwork as best as we can, and painting so I can get some drapes up before too late in winter to help keep the drafts down.
During my hiatus from posting, much work got done on the house, mostly by my contractor. The sinking back extension has now been reinforced, with new sill and beams, the concrete patched, insulation installed and a vapor barrier laid down. The useless, leaking venting chimney was removed, the outer wall repaired (as well as some sheetrock replaced inside) and new gutters installed along that one wall. A propane tank was installed in the side front yard. A fairly major renovation happened to the western side of the extension, where there is now an ADA compliant space, complete with a sidewalk that runs from the back to the side parking space, three wide doors for egress including a new side porch with a lift, and a large bathroom with a roll-in shower and a roll-under sink. More on this later, perhaps. For now, we’ll leave it at that.
instructions to the cook 