BRRRRRR!

Its too cold to work outside.  The dry wallers are finishing applying primer on the ceilings and walls on the inside.  So Ted ( also known as Theodore) is hibernating.  Here he is.  Notice he has even taken off his carpenter's work jeans.

At Last

The tower is really and truly done.  Windows, check. Trim, check.  Clapboard, check. Decoration comes later.  Now we are protected from the cold.

This also the week of the triangle window.  When I was at the house yesterday morning, Jeremy was measuring for trim.  Window #1 was in.

 

Today, when I stop by, the trim will be on. Another photo will soon appear here.

PS Here it is.

The drywall is complete. As Ted said, the third floor was a "challenge".  Today, they tape and skim coat.

This is the kitchen, taken from the living room.  You are looking at the back wall where the stove, refrigerator and then my desk will go. That's the side door which leads to the driveway.  The little half wall is the peninsula, which will have the sink and dishwasher on the kitchen side.  The dining room side will have a eating bar in cherry.  No sign yet of the island, but it will appear in December.  Ted has asked to have the cabinets delivered by Christmas.  Nice present, huh?

You are looking at the front hall from the dining room.  That's the half bath with the lovely blue tarp over it. I was standing in the space yesterday and figured out why I like it so much.  Its open to the living room, becoming part of that space when you are in it.  But, when you walk through it to go upstairs or into the kitchen, it will feel separate.

I Can Get Hung Up on the Stupidest Stuff

I am appalled at the price of door knobs.  I need 12 interior knobs of various capacities: privacy passage, and dummies. The cheapest nice one I can find is this Baldwin:.  Its $70!!!!

 I really like this one by Fusion.  Its $103.  Obscene.  ( It comes in a darker bronze as well).

Martha pointed out that door knobs last 30 years or more.  She says no one notices door knobs after the first 10 minutes. I don't know.  I am really working a total house style.

The wall color (again) is Lancaster whitewash.  Maybe the dark one is better. I don't know.

Front door hardware I like:

It comes with an interior square rosette and deadbolt, so it can match the interior door hardware.

Walls

Need I say more?

Tree Decisions

Japanese Stewartia

 

I can get a 9 foot tall Stewartia.  It will go in the back corner by the garage.

 Serviceberry

In Spring it will look like this, also about 9 feet.

Serviceberry in the fall

Ilex Miserve Castle Spire

I will use this as a hedge along the driveway in the backyard rather than using a fence.  I'll place a garden gate in the middle of the hedge.  I may also use this with another bush as a hedge along the far side of the house.

Let it Snow

The little house on Forbes Avenue is moving along.  On Tuesday, the insulators finished their job.  We used high and low density foam (ask Ted why and where).  As a special touch, Ted had the insulators spray foam on the living room ceiling below the master bedroom and on the wall between the master and the guest bath.  This will provide sound proofing for Galactica in case David and any invitees wish to carouse late into the night (late meaning after 9 p.m.)  Here's a few shots of the finished product:

Basement

Must Protect the HVAC

Master Bedroom

3rd Floor looks like an igloo

On Wednesday, the drywall was delivered.  Ted had to take out the third floor stairs to get the pieces up to the 3rd floor.

The drywall,"came in through the bathroom window..." Literally

But as usual, there was no problem.  10 minutes after Ted said he had to remove the stairs,  the master was seen hanging out on the front porch, doing absolutely nothing.

Here's the master, here's the stairs

 The drywall rested comfortably on the third floor within minutes.  Monday the walls go up.

 

We also have a graded, seeded property.  No mud puddles for this cookie, no way.  We will grow annual rye grass (that's the grass covered by straw in the pictures).  The landscaper assured me that the grass will come up.  We shall see.

Now, you can see also:

So Neat and Tidy!

 

Ted and Jeremy are STILL finishing the stair tower. So many other to do's keep getting in the way. First they had to get ready for the insulators, then they had a series of tasks to prepare the walls for the sheet rockers.  Maybe tomorrow.

My job is to order some knobs, pick out the stone for the vanities, and pay, pay and pay.

Time to Plan the Backyard

I met with a landscape "consultant" last week.  Her name is Gaby, she works at Smith, and she knows the local scene.  We walked around the yard and talked  possible specimen bushes and trees. Gaby told me that the only ordering I would need to do this fall would be for those more unusual plants; more common local plants are readily available in larger sizes in the spring.

I made a list of her suggestions.  Some of them I knew.  Then, I went home and looked them up on-line.  I narrowed down the possibilities.  Here are my current candidates:

This is Cryptomeria Japonica Gracilis.  I had one of these when we lived in Chatham.  I have always loved the way the plant seems to swirl.  (My father loved this tree).  It grows to 18-24 feet.  It is a candidate for the back corner of the yard. 

It has a junior relative, Cryptomeria Black Dragon.  I had one of these in Asheville.

 

 It grows to 8-12 feet.  I could use one or two along the beds that will border the fence along the back and side. I would pair it with rhododendron  Chionoides--a white flower with a slight pink cast to the interior--deep blue hydrangea and maybe some Shasta viburnum.

I also like dogwood.  I love the way it branches horizontally.  Its not as unusual to me as Japanese Stewartia  ( grows slowly up to 40 feet) or Serviceberry bush  ( grows to 35 feet) though. The Stewartia has really cool bark.

Serviceberry in fall

Serviceberry in spring

Stewartia

Stewartia blossom

Another candidate is the River Birch.  It also has very cool bark.

This one grows a little faster--up to 35-40 feet.

I am trending toward a white spring blossom.  I do love this though:

Its the (you guessed it)Japanese Maple "Bloodgood". Gaby says its very hardy around here.

On Sunday we are going to meet on the Smith campus.  Gaby will show me mature specimens.  That will help.

I want to create a repeating pattern that I can use for foundation planting all around the house. I want to use deep blue and white as the dominating blossoms.  They will jump out against the yellow house.  There will be a large perennial bed in the center of the backyard and a perennial bed in the front right corner of the front yard.  I can go crazy with color in those.  I will draw a rough plan and post it next.