Ch-ch-ch-changes.....

There have been a lot of changes outside the front door lately.  It has been an adventure getting to the house these days with the shortened daylight.  I try the best I can to see the changes when I get home but it's never totally a satisfying experience.  Now the morning is another thing.  I open my eyes and look out (well, have to put on the glasses first or I see nothing but fuzz) to see what has happened the previous day.  Usually I only have a short time to run out and take some pictures.  I did miss a few days when Bob showed up extra early. 

I'll show you some of the before pictures and then the "in progress" pictures.  You can see how much change there has been.  Now, don't ask me what it's supposed to look like when it's done since I haven't a clue!  I wonder if anyone really does?



Remember this is what the area looked like-



Foundation for barn with retaining wall in background

I love the fact that there has been so much digging and rearranging of the yard but it is left really neat and tidy.  All the toys are put back in their place.  The little purple digger finds different places to spend the night.  The other night he was smack in the middle of the barn on a mound of dirt!  Why didn't I take a picture?

This is what the back of the house looked like with a boarder garden, well I am not really sure it was a garden but rather a tangle of ivy and iris (oh, I forgot I had iris in there- crap) and some really neat little daffodils (sniffle sniffle), plus my hydrangea and lilacs.  OK, I can't be too attached to things- there will be plenty of time to replant.  Again, please don't ask what this will look like- I don't know.

Back of the house before



Full ugliness of back of the house

A softer angle

What I do know is that the new front entry will move from the side door (which will stay), to a front entry and mud room located at the far end of the porch.  The little purple digger (and Bob) took all the garden away and lowered the elevation- is that right? 

The new front entry will be at the far end of the porch


Bob was nice enough to put down some crushed stones so that I wouldn't trip up the walk.

View down the driveway



Here are all the frames that they used for the foundation. How tidy they are!  You can also see how much earth they have removed.  Curious to know what this will all look like someday.

The hydrangea and lilac trees have been moved for their winter accommodations down at the end of the driveway.  They will be safe there until we know where they will take up permanent residence.



My hydrangea, divided and a new home for the winter

From here....

....to here for the winter



The Big Apple....

Last week while the Bob and the little purple digger were busy removing dirt from the top of the driveway to make space for the barn, Dave and I headed to NYC.  I wonder if Bob feels like he is swimming upstream with the dirt removal?  While one truckload after another is carted away it looks like there is still more to do.  I've had many a project like that where you feel like you are making no progress until voila it's done.  It is in fact coming along and they are pouring the foundation for the barn!

So, the trip to NYC was to go back to Waterworks and meet with Sarah to actually see some of the wonderful faucets, tile and the Minna bathtub that we have on our wish list.  I wanted to make sure that Minna tub was a good as I had remembered.  I also wanted to see the Grove Brickworks tiles again and the Henry faucets in the nickel finish.

 We took the train into the city and arrived around noon.  Before we went up to Waterworks we ventured down to the Flatiron district to go to Eataly- Mario Batali's new Italian food emporium (Eataly).  All I can say is WOW, I wish that I had a car to bring back all the lovely foods that they sell there.  Sadly, we did leave empty handed.  Eataly is composed of a bunch of little restaurants to grab something to eat as well as many food departments displaying a zillion types of pastas, olive oils, cheese, breads, fish....I could go on and on.....


Only a fraction of the freshest looking fish...

Fresh pastas





Once we left Eataly we headed further south to ABC Home store and Restoration Hardware.  Both were fun to browse and get ideas.

At Waterworks we were greeted by Sarah and began to wander around the showroom looking at all the wonderful bath fixtures from tubs to faucets.  We looked at all the shower trim with amazement.  I have been to quite a few tile and bath showrooms over the course of this project and left being very irritated and not seeing anything that I found remotely interesting and for the most part wholly ignored.  At one showroom I asked if they had a tile that might go with the French tile that I so wanted to use, I was told to "look around" in the huge menagerie of tiles!  So much for customer service.  At Waterworks I have found the whole process to be very easy and pleasant. Sarah has gone above and beyond in terms of customer service.  She has put together quotes, made suggestions and gotten information form the tile makers to help us make a good decision.  I can not thank her enough for all her advice! The products at Waterworks are also so special that it is very hard to choose just one style!  Maybe good that we have 2 bathrooms....

I had brought my French tile with me to see if I could match the background with some solid field tile.  After a long time we finally decided that there really wasn't anything that would really work.  I wandered back through the showroom and saw the white Grove Brickworks tiles and the Henry shower trim in nickel.  I think that that combination will be perfect with the Minna soaker tub!

Understated simplicity....

 The Minna tub cast iron soaker tub was indeed as nice as I remembered.  Sarah suggested that I climb in and see how I would like it.  I felt a little silly crawling into a bathtub in the middle of a showroom fully clothed but I am glad that I did.  The Minna is really deep and wonderfully reminiscent of the soaker tubs in Europe. The French in particular know how to take a bath!  I just love the fact that the surface of the tub is not really smooth.  You can see a sort or orange peel texture and a luster that you just don't see in a plastic tub.  Who needs jets either.  This is a great tub, pure and simple!

Bubbles anyone?

Inside Minna

On our wanderings to find a spot for dinner we ducked into an Antique shop that was full of the most amazing stuff.  I can't remember the name of the shop but that's OK since I could not afford anything in there.  Our field trip to NYC was completed with a nice dinner at a little corner steak house on 3rd.  After we took our aching feet back to Grand Central for the train ride home.  We wandered through the station for a long time since Dave seemed to be amazed by it.  He kept saying "wow, look at that", my reply was "yes, you think this is great you should see Europe".  Maybe someday I will get him to go with me.....

More Inspiration....

While the little purple digger is busy removing dirt from my driveway, I am busy digging up cool pictures. 

I've always loved industrial lighting and furniture.  I see that everyone is getting with that theme.  At first I was a little annoyed but now I'm thinking that it may not be such a bad thing since it will be easier for me to find things I like.  Restoration Hardware could become my favorite store soon!  Brimfield was also teaming with industrial stuff (real not contrived).  By the time the next antiques fair starts in May I will probably be ready to actually buy something!

Erica George Dines

Could this light work in the kitchen- over center island????

Still not sure how low the ceilings will be.

Prismatic Glass Copper Pendant
From Restoration Hardware

These stools will be great around the center island.  I'm thinking more and more that there should be some overhang for people to sit.

Vintage Bar Stool from Restoration Hardware

I absolutely love the little repro French sewing stool.  I can see it in my studio next to a big table where I will doing my letterpress work.

French Sewing Stool Table
Restoration Hardware

There's something very inviting about this room.  I love the way the wood floor merges into the terra cotta.  I also like seeing other people who like unstructured slip covers.  Why cut a beautiful piece of linen when it can morph into so many things!

Marie Claire Maison

The wall color of this bathroom would be perfect in either of my new bathrooms!

Love the paint color!

And Now for Something Pretty!

OK, it's been all about tearing things down lately.  The old addage that it has to get worse before it gets better is really true in this situation.  My yard is TRASHED!  There isn't one pretty thing to look at right now.  The only thing of beauty is that little purple digger- but that's purely symbolic.  When digger shows up, things happen!

But, we can't live on demolition alone.  Yesterday I actually ordered something pretty.  I kept hearing from people about how wonderful Restoration Hardware had become and how they totally redid their store in sort of European distressed Belgian.  All music to my ears, being a fan of all 3 words.  I had been loaned a catalog and was going through the bathroom furniture just for fun.  I had no idea what I would want for the master bathroom but suddenly my eyes fell upon.... perfection.

The Saint James vanity- http://www.restorationhardware.com/catalog/product/product.jsp?productId=prod20105&categoryId=cat20030

So, was it just a pretty face or was it worthy of consideration.  I would have to see this in person.  So Dave and I went to.... gasp.....the mall!  We went as quickly as humanly possible to the store and found the display model.  It looked pretty good.  All seemed very solid.  The back made of wood and with screws even!  The finish was nice and the drawer fronts were dovetailed.  I kept looking at Dave for something to be amiss.  But he said "it's nice, I like it".  We decided to splurge for the Carrara marble top since it would be easier to keep clean.  Best of all, it was on sale!  Now to pick the perfect faucet for it at Waterworks!

Poof!

After years of thinking about replacing the garage and months of sorting and culling through the crap that lay buried within- the garage was taken down just like it was a toy.  I do have to admit that I was not there to witness the demo but in my mind it disappeared "just like that".  The thing that amazed me the most was that the whole garage fit into a dumpster! 

I left for work with the garage looking like this-

When the little purple digger is around- good things happen :-)

I arrived home to see this-

It looks much smaller without the garage there!

Now the storage container stands all alone....

Old retaining wall where new barn will be located


The next morning they came to collect the dumpster. I went down to the shop to get out of the guy's way. Seems like I do that a lot lately. Moving the car or leaving early. The neighbors are probably getting used to me running down the road in my nightgown with polar fleece after moving my car to the little access road. What a sight!  Anyway, I spent a few minutes at the shop before heading to work. Cruising down route 95 I saw a truck merge onto the highway right next to me. I looked at the truck and it was the dumpster carrying my garage! It almost ran me off the road. Was the garage trying to tell me something? We went neck and neck half way to work. Eventually the truck turned off.  I bid it farewell and didn't look back!

The tree guys returned to clear a few trees that were in the way of the new barn-

Making way for the barn!

And today they began to remove the cement pad that was the floor of the garage.

This is what is left

Timber!!!!!!

Talk became action this week as the trees came a-tumbling down!  There was the rain delay and then the hopes that a few days of sunshine would help firm up the water saturated earth.  Monday was a holiday so Tuesday was game day.   I had to go to the dentist so I was out of the house early- but who could resist a drive by on the way to work to see if they had shown up yet.  As I crawled by the house in a manner reminiscent of when my mom would drive by my shop at a snail pace (like I didn't see her), I craned my neck to see that there were a lot of big trucks in the yard.  There was a lot of commotion between the guys.  It looked to me like the ground was still a bit squishy and the trucks were not as agile as they could be.  Not wanting to be too obvious I continued on my way..... but called Dave to see what was going on.  He said that the trucks were spinning their wheels a bit and that the body language he saw from the window indicated that they were none too happy about it.

Soft earth caused a lot of smooshy ruts in the yard. 

Another call a few hours later gave the report that 3 of the trees had come down, one hitting the fence- oops.  That was not the worst of it, another call (this time Dave called me) to say that a big limb had come down on the hood of one of the workers trucks.  Now that's a bummer that can't be fixed with a few spare pickets.  I am sure by the time they left for the day they were in a foul temper.  It was already a difficult job under optimal conditions- a fence, a slope and a stone wall to deal with- but not being able to maneuver your truck to where it needed to go was a challenge!

Day 2 seemed to go smoother and all the rest of the trees came down on that side of the yard.  The only excitement was the arrival of our neighbor who was "hopping mad" and claimed that the hill would now fall down without the trees.  Now wouldn't that be interesting????  I half expected a phone call after she went to the building office to complain but so far there has been no fallout.....

When I arrived home that night it was already dark so I could not really see the yard. I could almost see the area where the walnut tree had stood.  I felt like I had lost a relative.  I looked into the night sky and could see far more of the stars and moon than ever before.  As I looked upwards at our new view a shooting star crossed the sky.  I won't tell you what I wished for but I know that it will come true in some manner.

Here's a picture of the last glimpse of the walnut tree from down the yard.

A farewell glance at the walnut tree

Goodbye friend....

This is what the tree looks like now :-(

The remainder.....

sniff sniff

Now when I look out of my little office window, I don't see the bark of the tree and I don't see "Nuttie" the little nuthatch that was often zipping up and down the side of the tree upside down.  I will miss you both but I do look forward to what is to come.  But wait a minute....  there is a tiny little woodpecker out side of the window peering into a hole in the eves.  He's very cute but maybe not the kind of tenant we want to share the house with?????  OK, now in the last few minutes I have seen a sparrow and a starling.  Is it an open house today in my eves?

The walnut tree is now at the saw mill drying out.  We have decided to make a very large dining room table and a kitchen cabinet out of the wood.  If there is wood remaining we will think of more projects for it.  So, while not standing outside of my house, the tree will soon be inside and remain part of the family!

Lots of work for Dave to cut all this into firewood for next year!

Ready- Set - Go!..... No wait!

The project is getting going, well sort of.  The summer was warm and dry- just what you would want for the project right?  Now that all the permits are in place the schedules have been cleared and we are ready to start- Rain!  Ugh, why me?  Dave has been busy preparing the outside of the house for the crews to arrive.  The garage is looking much better, things are organized, cleaned and put into the container.  Only a few stray things left to attend to.  The stone walls that have surrounded the patio have been taken up.  There was once a lovely little wall that held up the pachysandra but this has been dismantled.  

Once held up by a lovely little wall.

Here's where the walls have gone.  All in a pile under the spruce tree.  I am glad that I was not involved with this part of the project.  My back could go into spasm just looking at this pile!

Doesn't look like much but back breaking work was done!

Here is where I actually did some work.  We cleared all the phlox, daisy and sedums from the area where the road was to go.  It was getting a little out of control anyway so I was OK ripping out a lot of it.  The peonies did get transplanted further down the fence.  Other things that were lucky enough to come up with roots also found a new home.  I wish them all good luck!

Look out here comes a road!

The first attempt to schedule the road was rained out.  Our first day and our first delay.  I thought I was getting a road for my birthday but all I got was mud.  Very sad! 

But Monday I left for work saying good bye to the garden area.  I came home and voila a road!  It looks pretty nice as far as access roads go.  Dave wants to leave it.   I don't think so!

Looks pretty good huh?

The gate looks like it will hold the wee beasties from bolting out into traffic.  I think they are going to add more gravel to raise it up a bit more.  

Can hardly tell my garden was here :-(

So where did all that dirt go you wonder?  In front of the rest of my garden- of course!

Wondering where that dirt went.... here it is!

Care for a spin around the block?  This little digger looks so cute in the yard.  Is purple the "in color" for diggers?

How cute is this little purple digger?

The tree guy was supposed to come today but again foiled due to rain.  They certainly do not want to get those big trucks stuck in the yard.  So, for the time being the walnut tree still stands.  I really will miss it when it's gone.  But I am so excited to have gotten the project actually going.  Seems like we all waited so very long!!!!