sticks and stones

the wall in the TV room

plywood for the subfloor

white macabus will give the in-house geologist hours of fun

let's play follow the fault line

where will the sunlight fall in the new kitchen?

the beam above the doors has been opened to accommodate light fixtures

seaweed insulation still clings to a few bits of wood

tony the plumber has fixed up a temporary heat source to keep the pipes from freezing

funky cube heaters in graphic colours

Jigs has not figured out the upper level yet and looks lost when we call her

"where are we putting my new food bowl?"

Almost all of the sticks are up and the walls have been defined. A new plywood subfloor was pounded into the lower level this week. The old floor was warped, broken and as dry as sawdust. This new layer will give the installers a better base for the flooring. We spent some time torturing the folks at Nova Tile and Marble. They indulged my indecision and allowed us to "browse" through their slabs of stone. When browsing involves cranes and hard hats, it tends to take a while. We chose a piece of White Macabus for the countertop. It's harder then granite and will laugh in the face of hot cookware. The geologist is pleased that a piece of nature will be his to study while he reads the morning newspaper.

framing

The boys from topsail are chewing through stacks of 2x4s as they frame up the new walls. The rough stairs to the second level are already in and Jigs has given them the wheaten terrier stamp of approval.

view from new office into foyer

view from bedroom through 2nd level hall

the 2nd level hallway is open on both sides and we've started calling it "the bridge"

2nd level view through bathroom wall

stairs in foyer

jigs at the top of the stairs

a reno blog

For years, "Find architect to talk about renovation" has been a perpetual item on our to-do list. We bought our house in 1994 and after several months of ownership, our flat roof sprang a rather spectacular leak which led to a new pitched roof with provision for a second storey addition. For years, the second story space remained vacant while we dreamed up the possible scenarios for redevelopment. Last January we found an architect to help us and we spent many months scoping out plans and hiring contractors. On the 12th of December the demo team was unleashed and the reno began. I snapped a couple of Before Shots as we were packing up the place. The past is already a dim memory and the future is unfolding daily. Oh lord, what have we done.

down the hall [double-click to see full image]

the old kitchen

looking from the TV area into the kitchen

the kitchen is moving to the back of the house and ceiling will open to the second storey

[double-click to see full image]

an area previously known as the bathroom

the second storey

waterworld

strontium dog

Photo By Aaron Favila, Associated Press

The misery in Thailand continues and the flood waters have finally reached Lauchie's doorstep in the Lad Phrao district of Bangkok. Like many Bangkokians, he has fled the scene and has been relocated to a town 1000 kms away from the city. I am grappling with the enormous scope of disaster. There are 13 million people living in Bangkok and all are being effected by this catastrophe. My head shakes when I look at the recent news photos. So many familiar places are underwater. I posted a few flood shots above...just compare them to the images of this street from a couple of years ago.

road trip

Back in mid-june we packed our bags, headed down the TransCanada highway, took a left in New Brunswick and followed the I95 into the heart of Maine. The weather gods were on our side. This summer has been one of the soggiest on record yet we basked in sunshine for three days. Acadia National Park was the highlight. Thanks to John D. Rockefeller's road building obsession, the park boasts an extensive network of carriage roads which are a treat to explore. We rented a pair of bikes and Lauchie got a gold star for not complaining about wearing a goofy helmet. Not even one grumble. His restraint was a show of stoic manliness.

every cottage has it

It is the thing you do that makes the cottage trip official. It's the milestone activity that you complete and say "ahhh, now that's summer". At our family cottage it was a hike around Red Point or a frog catching trip to the lake or a big bonfire on the seashore. At my sister in-law's cottage it is the hike to the top of the hill behind the house. Sheep grazed the hillside when the family bought the property and the A-frame was a beige triangle on a field of solid green. Now the lambs are no more and the brush and spruce has begun to take over the grassland. The laurels scratch your bare legs as you hack through the ankle-turning hummocks and skirt the swampy patches marked by Blue Flag iris. If you time your walk for a hot day in early July you can feed on tiny wild strawberries that have been warmed in the sun. The summit does not disappoint. The commanding views up the estuary and along to the West Mabou Beach are heart pounders.

I put together a little panorama. Click to enlarge in Flickr.

rock on

The garden has been on the rocks for the last month; specifically on granite blocks and limestone slabs.

A couple of summers ago we had a couple of small walls built as part of our new porch construction. The finished walls impressed us so much that we decided to continue the theme and replace another wall with the same material. Our builder has been busy trying to make this 15 ton pile of rock disappear.

The pile with a wheaten terrier for scale.

The wall rises but the rock pile looks untouched...hmmmm.

Lauchie has been in charge of the roadwork and he extended the pathway along the front garden.

messing about in boats

Don't tell my garden but I am cheating on it. This affair has been going on for years now and the relationship between me and my weeds has become quite strained. It started innocently enough when I answered an email from one of my relatives. He was looking for crew to help him race a J24. At the time, what I knew about boats could fit in a teaspoon of seawater and I had a pretty romantic notion of what sailing was about. I figured that I could compensate for my lack of knowledge with some wicked kitchen skills and imagined I would spend the races below decks manning the well equipped galley where I could keep busy opening wine, cutting up cheese blocks and putting out appetizers. If you have ever raced a small sailboat, you are probably laughing at this image. Racing is not quite that genteel and often, a smooshed peanut butter sandwich or a granola bar are the only items on the menu. Something in the game hooked me though and a few years ago I bought a boat with a friend. We've spent a couple summers racing it at a local club and the abject terror has softened into pulse pounding fun. Time on the water is addictive and my garden is suffering from some neglect. It's hard to serve both the land and the sea.

A few scenes from today's Appleton Rum Harbour Race: A bermuda start from the Northwest Arm, then around Hens and Chickens Shoal at Point Pleasant and into the Harbour with a raft up at Bishop's Landing. Amazingly, the diminutive Luna took second place.