Today's post is again brought to you by 'Bill'
As we pulled into the driveway we could see all my efforts from two weeks ago, mowing the lawn with a donated mower from Jeanne's sister Kathy, had gone for naught. With the rain forest type weather and fertile soil, the grass, the trees, the weeds and the gardens (see poppy plant to the right) are out of control. We consulted our friend Judy, the realtor that sold us the house and fellow UNH alum, and we will employ her son to cut our lawn on an "as needed" basis. This way we can focus our efforts inside the house.
But before we head inside, some exciting news. Jeanne spotted some new guests making themselves at home in the "single family" bird house out back. The female was busy gathering twigs and I believe the male (with a yellow chest) was surveying the new neighborhood. i'll try and snap a photo of the happy couple!
We did make good progress inside, again with the help of Phil, closing up the ceiling in the middle bedroom upstairs. This room will eventually be renovated into a bathroom, but for now it will serve as our initial sleeping room. With the ceiling structure now level and strapped, we cut and installed the sheetrock in a 9 square pattern to be finished with battens* and a small cove trim around the perimeter. This will allow removal and replacement of the squares for future access and avoid having to tape and plaster the joints, as typically done today.
Day two we took advantage of Phil's son** and his friend to demo the brick hearth and wall that the old Glenwood stove occupied. With a sledge hammer and youth, our demo crew took turns swinging away and chipping away at the brick. It was a battle, but youth won out and the brick was reduced to rubble. Although we would have loved to keep the wood stove, it was not functioning or repairable and it took up a lot of space. With each dollar and hour invested in the kitchen, it looks like we will work with the timber structure we've inherited and not "raze and rebuild."
Work in the bathroom is also near completion and we had an installer give us an estimate $$$ for a new, one piece, linoleum floor. Because we plan on renovating later (when we add the bathroom upstairs) i think we will live with a self-stick tile from home depot!
Jeanne has been busy prepping and painting the living room and actually was able to coax some more wallpaper off the middle bedroom upstairs. We think we see paint behind it, so there's hope to remove it all. Next trip up will be an extended stay over the Fourth of July holiday and hopefully will spend our first night together in the "little brick house!"
* A batten is flat wood stock for nailing across a joint or seam
** Glen and Brent love to demo !
