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Getting ready for the big party

It's been a whirlwind.   I haven't written on the blog for many months and so much has happened that I have forgotten.   The three biggest triumphs have been the addition of the kitchen table and stools.  The kitchen table I made myself out of some left over floor boards and two saw horses left by the old contractor.  The stools came from Sawkille and were featured in the Times the week our stools arrived (6 weeks after we ordered them).

Big kitchen table

Hand made...by my hands!

11 foot table
Stools from Sawkille




















The screen porch is the other amazing part of the house which I had not expected and which we now spend most of our time in, even now the weather is cold I am sitting here writing my blog. 


Screen porch
Where I am writing my blog today

Finally, the master bathroom shower.   Oh my God...it is the best thing.   There's something amazing about such a large open shower where you can just walk in and don't have to close a door, step over a tub, deal with a shower curtain or glass.  Just stand there in the middle of the room with hot water running over you.   As well as that you have an amazing view of the pond and the property from the dormer window.   Which led me to the best discovery ever.   If you open the window you get a great view and the cool breeze all around you.  It's like a 365 day a year out-door shower.

Master Bath

Open shower in front of open window


















Amazing view from the water to the water

Now that we have the guest bedrooms and bathrooms complete we've been able to have guests. 
Cindy Gallop has been a regular but we have also had Dawn Charles and Jane Edwards-Hall staying at the house.

Dawn Charles, Justin Stanwix and Daniel
Justin Stanwix came up for the day too with friends who had a wonderful portable hammock which they hung from the willow tree.

 
Tree Hammock

Close up
I think all that happened in September but it seems so long ago now that the leaves have fallen....and now that the big party is over.

In the build up to Daniel's 50th birthday, we got a lot of work done.  The electrician finally finished all the work...(God that took a lot of time and heartache)...as did the painter Michael Clinton.   Jason Cisernos at Argo plumbing did a wonderful job on the bathrooms as did the incredible Manchione brothers.  Their work on the tile and the plaster work was stellar...efficient, thoughtful and of the highest quality. 

We also had the massive mounds of crap removed from all around the house.  While the guy with the digger was here we had him remove a number of tree stumps and re-grade around the house.  Such precision with their big toys.   The North of the house looks really great now, if it is still a bit muddy.
Boys with their toys

At the same time we got the guys to level out the drive way and we removed one of the drives, reverting back to a single drive.  The one we removed was always wet and we never used it.  (I think it must have been on a spring or something as it was wet all through the drought in August.)

So, by the time the party came round, most of the house was complete.  The kitchen was without the cabinetry but that's sort of on hold until we find a bit more money to do it exactly how we want it.  (But the kitchen works very well, even if there are a couple of really big air ducts up one of the walls).  


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