maggie and milly and molly and may

by: E.E. Cummings

maggie and milly and molly and may
went down to the beach(to play one day)

and maggie discovered a shell that sang
so sweetly she couldn't remember her troubles,and

milly befriended a stranded star
whose rays five languid fingers were;

and molly was chased by a horrible thing
which raced sideways while blowing bubbles:and

may came home with a smooth round stone
as small as a world and as large as alone.

For whatever we lose(like a you or a me)
it's always ourselves we find in the sea

Our shower walls and ceiling are complete!  Today Scott got a tutorial from one of our tile installers on how to do the floor...we had decided to do this ourselves as mentioned before to save on materials & labor costs, and add something organic & our "own style" to our home....

Here are some pics of the progress, despite our efforts to have enough beach stones, he still didn't have "quite enough"!  More have been harvested- and he'll be back at it tomorrow!  (note the tile walls look a bit brown, but are truly grey in color..) & the floor will still be grouted once all stones are down...so use your imagination.  The best news was we had selected "perfect" stones according to Nate, the installer- thank goodness, we had this nagging worry a milk crate & a 5 gallon bucket of stones could be "all wrong"!

Happy Birthday!

Today we are celebrating Sadie's 10th birthday & Scott's well not quite '10th birthday'...!

Sadie began with a bit of lounging around in her exclusive custom designed party hat:

We began our celebrating last night with a fun dinner party with friends, Randy & Kristen. 

(much to Scott's chagrin Sadie sure enjoyed her BIG piece of carrot cake! YUM!)

all that was left....guess she liked it! (I tried to convince Scott that carrots were good for her....my Grandpa used to tell me they were good for my eyesight...& Sadie's old, so she needs all the help she can get!)

I'm assuming this is what happens when people don't have children....they're crazy about their dogs I guess!

"Don't you think it looks like a giant pumpkin?"

Painting on the new part of our house began at 7 am yesterday...although you could barely see in the house as it was an overcast morning, and we now have only wires instead of light fixtures...

Bill Benwell & his crew (of NH) set to work...

I stopped back to check over everything and loved it!  I'm not sure what I loved more, the fact there WAS paint on the walls...or that the colors all looked awesome!  I guess my plasterer (whom I'll hold my opinion on until the project is thru) made the hilarious (although he was dead serious) comment to me, "do you like this now that it's all over the place, it kinda looks like a giant pumpkin!"

OMG....go back & GET TO WORK! 



door on left will be walk thru pantry with upper & lower white cabinets.
doorway on right will be entry...



I actually love it all, and was most worried about the "jalepeno pepper" green bathroom, but it looks perfect.
 

This all brings me back to my house rules I made a bit ago:

Rule #7 This is our home & no one else's when "they" walk away we need to still "love" it. 

Don't drop those eggs!

Yes, we do have 3 of our chickens laying eggs...but we got a very strange delivery the other day....

It seems Aimee's Rock Works likes to use large egg cartons to safely send her custom made cabinet pulls!  How perfect for us!!  We loved them all- & can't wait to see them on our cabinets!

Disenchantment

So, there have not been a lot of posts lately...likely 'cause there has been a sense of disenchantment recently...the pace we are going at is a wee bit frustrating for everyone...I like to think the "arteeest" is at work & we will have a beautiful masterpiece when done...(which is likely...however the wait could kill us all first!)

We however do have a coming week of interior painting in new kitchen & baths, a tile shower being installed, and a pine wood floor going down in kitchen.....alas- progress!

The below pics are the side entry & new kitchen in its current state, sheetrocked & primed...Sherwin Williams "Yam" is scheduled to hit the walls tomorrow!  (hopefully thats the only Yam that will ever hit those walls! lol!)

new entry....where our cool doorknob coat rack will go (featured previously)! (still looking for the "perfect" bench to go under the rack!) Scott made us some awesome framed art of Maine wildflowers that will grace the entry wall as well!



kitchen where cabinets, appliances & lights will soon go! yay!



Countertops!

This is the wood that will become our countertops.  It is shown here at Pete Spadone's workshop in Kennebunk.  He will be creating them in the next few weeks...more pics to come as progress happens!

The wood was milled from 1 large 20"x20" beam that was once in a woolen mill in Biddeford, ME!

Umm....?!

Make it yours. Love it. Beat it up. Fill it with family and friends....

We did something today I have continued all day to squeal with delight about: we ordered a dining room table to be made custom for us! 

After drooling (sometimes literally) over our friends' Pete & Stevie's dining table (which has been distressed by years of loving use, made by his grandfather) The table is an amazing 22"Wx 8' L table, of which we have shared many a wonderful meal...and their family has shared tons of meals & memories I am sure.

Our dining room shape luckily calls for just the same long & narrow....however we do have a passthru type of situation in our dining room unlike Pete & Stevie's, we've measured now I think 5 times over the few months we've owned the house as to what size the table could be....just to make sure we thought it all thru, and got it just right!

Yesterday I found out my fav local antique store, Americana Workshop was having a 20% off sale due to the Christmas Prelude in the Kennebunks.  I did not realize they custom made furniture & had dragged Scott in to look at this 8' L table w/ drop leaves I had loved.  After much ado & lots of measuring, it was just not the right one, or right size....too many adjustments would need to be made, and then we were ruining the look & integrity of the antique.  The gentleman helping us then suggested we have them make us a table....huh?!

We went home to think it over & consult w/ Pete himself on this idea/quality & price, we went back & stopped in today with final measurements to order it!  The top will be made from old pine flooring that has been salvaged & the legs are turned legs made by a local craftsman in his late 70's...who does them in his workshop (rare to find still I guess!)...The other great thing is the woman who owns the shop, Cynthia Hamilton, is the one who will make it!  So it's local, made by a woman & parts by an old craftsman, custom made for our dimensions & finish color choices!  To top it off, she gave us an excellent price, we've been looking around a lot, as this was our 1 piece of furniture we agreed to purchase before we moved in as a "must have"....we couldn't be more happy!  4 weeks and we'll get to see it! yay!

The below image is from Vermont Farm Table Co. (which is also SO awesome)!   This is a similar image to what our table will be, but ours will be a black distressed finish on the bottom, the top left natural but sealed....already aged as it is old & salvaged...

Emily's Book Review... (somehow it doesn't have the aura Oprah's book list does-lol!

For whatever reason...well now that I think of it, I guess 'cause I'm finally feeling the home renovation stress, the memory of this book popped into my mind from somewhere very far away.

Anyone wanting a good read....or maybe a gift idea for someone who would appreciate...this was an awesome read, I heard an interview with the author a few years ago on NPR's Diane Rehm Show & immediately borrowed the book from the library & read it... it's funny & real & anyone into houses, renovations or perhaps just slightly crazy will enjoy it! :) (the elderly lady that lived in the house previously) even came with his house house! .....at least we didn't get any residents with our purchase!

All the Way Home by David Giffels

After mocking the Oprah list...I was just checking out David's website & giggled to myself when I discovered this review:

“A fantastic summer read. . . . Giffels recounts his battle -- against rodents, unbridled wisteria, and other unpleasant surprises -- to make a decrepit Gatsby-esque mansion livable.”
        — O, the Oprah Magazine, at Home

Rules.

So the project is going much slower than most of us wish, but we are at the mercy of many people, and many factors, and the answer to the forever asked question, "when do you guys think you'll be in the house?" has now become, "when it's done." It reminds me of the question asked to every prego lady that always makes me smirk & laugh a silent giggle, "Do you know what you are you having?" ...the pregnant person likely never answers the question the way they'd like to... "A BABY!!"

Last week by Wed., I was feeling extremely overwhelmed....this likely began with Scott making me go to Newington the day before Turkey Day when crowds were already lurking behind every retail fixture & the parking lots were packed.  We were on a mission, so we went to retail hell, but apparently, unbeknown to us everyone else had the day off & was shopping the pre-Black Friday sales!  Anyways, money is getting tighter, the project is going slow, time is a ticking away, day dreaming time is over, decisions have to be made regularly.....& I'm stressing over it all! 
So I sat down & made a list of new "house rules" for me to follow....I would imagine most folks going thru a renovation (@ least one's that have spent some considerable time in therapy) at one time or another make a physical or mental list alike to mine....I've decided I'll share 1 here and there....
Rule #1 (yes, all of you that know me will laugh out loud that this is rule #1 & is more than appropriate for me!
1. Everything in the house does not need to be "perfect".