Oh the wings of time....

OK, apparently life has gotten so busy I can't keep up with the changes happening in the house!  Between a trip to Nantucket to get the cottage ready to be rented, managing the shop and a lab presentation I've been in a time warp.  Hopefully I can get us all caught up!  When we last met, I kept you in suspense about the kitchen.  I had intended to give one little snippet at a time- a hinge or a color but hell I took too long.  The suspense was- would I ever write again!?!  Some may have breathed a sigh of relief not to have me drone on and on or you may have been going through a withdrawal (but doubtful).

So, where are we now???  For a while we were caught between heaven (the new kitchen coming together) and hell (the breakthrough to the old house).  When we came back from Nantucket we stood in out old dining room slack jawed about the change.  There was a big "L" shaped hole cut through the floor to the upstairs to make room for the new stair case.  It was like a new balcony from my old office space to the old dining room.  No railings- just some caution tape (do dogs read?).   We stared clear up through space to the roof!  It was a pretty spectacular transformation.

Watch that last step- its a doozey!

New staircase taking shape

Dry wall making a difference

Tall people look out! 

At one point Peter had made a comment about painting the cabinets one more time before "the dust".  I thought he was just poking fun at my lack of domestic cleaning abilities.  I had no idea that he meant "industrial dust".  Once the ceiling and the walls were taken down in the old house there was 100+ year old dust covering everything!  If things were not bad enough before!  We could barely stand to be in there for long.  I made the mistake of doing some dishes, only to find out that they were covered with dust before I could put them away! As the new dry wall is going up the dust is down to tolerable.   Check out these pictures of the old dining room area- cover that up fast!  It didn't help that water from the upstairs shower poured onto the floor for days too.  Not sure what that was all about.

Scary old wiring right next to plumbing- YIKES!

Old pantry door and wall.

Old kitchen crammed with stuff and dust- jealous?

View in old dining room looking at yucky old kitchen

Old paint behind old cabinets- WTF!!!!

The nook is also taking shape.  Below the old dry wall was the old exterior of the house.  We decided that would be pretty cool to leave as it was.  I think we will try washing the walls first and if that fails we will paint the old clapboards.  What you can't see in this picture is the brick that was the foundation and also a cut out that probably was an entrance to the old basement but now is stones.  John thought that we could leave that but blow in some foam insulation.  We'll see how that all turns out.

Old clapboards of interior wall of nook

Lovely beaded beams separating the kitchen from the old dining room and nook- very elegant!

The master bath is also coming together.  One coat of "Tree Moss" colored paint has gone on.  The window has gone in since the guys no longer have to use it to get into the upstairs. They can use the new staircase!  This has also allowed the new Restoration Hardware vanity to ascend to it's final spot.
The shower has been tiled and looks awesome!  Nice job with all the tiling John.  I showed this picture to a customer at the shop and they were so impressed immediately taking a G&S card.  Seriously, who wouldn't like this bathroom!  The terra cotta from Pave Tile in MA looks amazing and brings an old worldly feel to the bathroom.

The feeling in the master bath is truly serene!

The duckies are in the shower... paint on the walls and the linen closet all hardwared out!

 Now back to the kitchen... The cabinets are all in but some of the doors not on yet.  We finally have gotten some little wooden pulls for the doors (just today).  Since we needed 52 of them they had to be "budget friendly"!

Lovely new hood- Thanks John!!!

The cooker in all her glory!

Tea party with Pip!

The first Lacanche dinner.  Too bad the ovens didn't work to roast those potatoes

Salmon seared to perfection! 

Beautiful and functional- AMAZING!

I stand in the new kitchen now truly feeling blessed to have such a wonderful space.  We've begun to cook a bit here and will really go full swing once the refrigerator moves over.  The new dishwasher is almost here and I can't wait!  I also can't wait for hot water in the prep sink and the arrival of the copper farm sink.  I spend a lot of time perched at the end of the island.   It's a perfect spot to sit and take it all in!

Babies!!!!!- OK we have really lost our minds.  We have 4 new baby turkeys.  A blue slate= Moose (or Mousse) for the obvious reason is that she/he is humongous compared to the others.  2 Spanish Blacks= Gravy (2) to replace the original lost to a fox, and Stuffing and a Narragansett named TURKEY- what else, we had to have one!  Cranberry is awaiting their maturation for some globble globble friends.  Until then the babies will be peep peep peeping in the barn!

Dave and the babies- now which one is Moose???? 

I was enjoying my Margarita with my pet turkey on my lap Memorial Day weekend.

My girl Cranny :-)

And so you don't think I never have any fun..... I went to the Riverfare at the River Museum, had a dark and stormy and came across Jack Sparrow....

Poor man's Jack Sparrow?  Or actually pretty good?

OK, it's really not Johnny Depp and I did get mange to get his picture (with Diane's prodding) before he had too much grog.  Wonder what this dude looks like out of character?