In hot water

In bloom this week: the pink azalea by the top of the driveway.

In bloom this week: the pink azalea by the top of the driveway.

Over in the perennial bed, an adorably dwarf iris, not quite six inches tall, is also in bloom.

Over in the perennial bed, an adorably dwarf iris, not quite six inches tall, is also in bloom.

Brad and I love our plumber. Mike’s on the spot whenever we need him, like the time Daisy came out of the northwest bath and said, “When I pulled the plug in the tub, water came out of the toilet. That’s not right, is it?”

Mike installed big dehumidifiers in the basement and replaced the lead trap under the guest bath sink after it let loose all over one afternoon. He moved the dishwasher water supply once we determined that its proximity to the exterior wall meant it spent most of the winter frozen. He worked here every day for almost two weeks during the winter bathroom renovations.

Last week, I decided to get serious about watering the lawn. When I tried to turn the sillcocks on, I found I had improperly closed them in the fall. Mike came by and fixed all but one, which had problems lower down in the line, which is intended to feed the barn. In its place he put something temporary, until we come up with a plan to address the larger system. He’s a real partner in our renovation.

Brad had to call him after working hours a few days ago. None of the faucets were giving forth hot water. Mike came by first thing the next morning, but the problem had resolved. This afternoon, it happened again, and I called Mike. He raced right over, but again, by the time he got here the problem had resolved. He replaced a part he suspected might be at fault, but the old one looked just fine. I asked if it could be a pressure thing with the sprinklers, as my lawn watering was the only thing that had changed recently. He said, “I’ll look around a bit for a cross connection, but I don’t think that could be it.”

Mike never sits down in the kitchen. He’s a guy on the go. But he sat down on the rickety three-legged stool and said, “Your plumber is your problem.” When he set in the temporary sillcock in the back yard, he hooked it into the hot water line.

I only wish the long, luxuriously hot sprinkles I’ve been giving the lawn had helped grow grass.

Gettin’ buggy

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Bug of the day is the enormous centipede in the yogurt container. It’s big, people. That’s not a single-serving of Stonyfield, it’s a quart. Steven the carpenter says they eat ants. The circle of life.

 

Revenge of the ants

Today, Jeff the painter called me over to peek under a plank of the north service porch. “These ants have white dots on their bottoms,” he said. White dots or not, they have big appetites.

Jeff pulled out some rotten boards, and then Steven the carpenter got involved and pulled out some more. When Daisy was a tot, we read a popular picture book called “When You Give a Mouse a Cookie…” In the book, the mouse wants milk with the cookie, and then a napkin to wipe his mouth, and on and on. Renovations at 140 Academy remind me of that book. First a plank has to go, then three, then the footing, then the supporting beams. There’s no such thing as a small job around here.

In yesterday’s post, I confessed to a childhood predilection for eating ants. The ants are taking their revenge.

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What’s growing

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Some of the stuff in the garden is beautiful, some deadly.  My mother told me Lily of the Valley is poisonous. With four rambunctious youths in her charge, she saw danger lurking everywhere. She said we couldn’t climb trees. She said we couldn’t play with ropes, because we might hang each other by accident. She said not to eat Lily of the Valley, and she said we couldn’t eat the berries on the tree in the front yard. As it turns out, the tree was a huckleberry and we could’ve eaten it all we wanted but we never did. But we didn’t eat the Lily of the Valley, either, so that was something.

She was probably right to worry. I ate a lot of weird things I found in the yard. Like ants.

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The hairy vine growing up the side of the apple house isn’t deadly, but rather a torturous growth of poison ivy. I unleashed a chemical fury on it today. Here’s hoping it suffers.

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Porch reconstruction

The Northwest porch was plagued with rot.

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Our good carpenter, Steven, tore away the bad and has thoughtfully been shoring up. New supportive pilings were poured and a strong foundation built.

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The sidewalk superintendents who visit tell me Steven does excellent work, and I most certainly agree. Even the temporary structure erected to hold up the roof looks sturdy. Someone has made a home in it.

Look to the crook behind the column and you'll see a little bird's messy nest.

Look to the crook behind the column and you’ll see a little bird’s messy nest.

House painting

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This season, we’re painting the north-facing side. You might notice some porch reconstruction. More on that later.

Burrito likes to stay warm

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That’s her favorite blanket halfway up the stairs. It’s all wool and just about six feet square, and the little kitten tried to bring it upstairs to stay warm.

Apartment renovations

Renovating the apartment on the east end of the house is our first priority. We have tenants lined up, and move-in day is next week. Crunch week has arrived. Today, flooring folks are installing wall to wall carpet in the upstairs rooms and linoleum in the bathroom. The carpenter and his helper continue to do whatever it is they need to do to finish the spaces. The painter arrives today, a little earlier than we’d like, perhaps, but you have to work with what you have.

Here are a few photos:

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The downstairs kitchen, pre-renovation. The east wall is all windows, keeping things quite bright.

Today, things are brighter still. Paint went a long way here.

Today, things are brighter still. Paint went a long way here. I can only imagine what cleaning will do…

The bathroom had been neglected for many years. We had to strip it down to the studs. We won't recoup the renovation costs for a very long time, but the work needed to be done.

The bathroom had been neglected for many years. We had to strip it down to the studs. Rent will pay for renovation costs  for a very long time, but the work needed to be done.

This photo of the bath, pre-linoleum, makes me smile with its smooth clean walls.

This photo of the bath, pre-linoleum, makes me smile with its smooth clean walls.