Yikes!

Yikes! Termites! I think that it is an old colony, but when the guys started working on the side of the house to replace the vinyl siding on the gable ends, some of the boards underneath were barely still there. Gulp! The South is noted for termites and this house was built before termite treatments were common, so we probably could have expected it.

 Doesn't the color of the Redbud (Cercis canadensis) look pretty against the wood? The green is a lovely counter point. 

This picture shows the upstairs; the damage was on the wall of the kitchen, below and to the left. It is a bricked wall, so we will have to wait until they start working inside the house and then tear down that wall to be sure of the extent of the damage. Can you say "ChaChing?" Still not sorry we began, though. I love having the laundry upstairs, even in an unfinished room. 

 Here is some work I have been doing on a painting. I am working in green and orange, right now, seeing what all I can do with them. The picture above shows it when it was just begun,

In this one(above)  I have added some different greens, mixed some white into the orange and taken out some of the sparkle. Below is the way it is now. Still more greens, some of them leaning toward blue when white is added. To be mounted on a canvas/frame it will need to be cut down by about two inches each way and I am trying to decide where to cut. I am leaning toward the top, with some off the right and maybe just a sliver off the left. Maybe the whole two inches off the right. 

I am amazed at where you can go with orange and green. I will go to green and violet after this, I think, but I might try a few more with these colors. I really do like them. 

INTERWOVEN

acrylic on paper

I hope that you are having beautiful spring weather like we are. 

All is well

XOXOXO

Caroline

A Busy Day

When I walked out the door this morning I saw this truck parked in the grass of the front yard, a ladder going up to the roof, and other trucks everywhere. 

 Walking down the drive, I saw Drew conferring with someone on the roof. 

 There was a bucket truck in the back yard and this guy was connecting the just-moved electric service outside the new room. 

  Dean went up on the roof to check out what needs to be done. I left to walk to Vicki's house for a visit and a cup of coffee. Our power was off. And this scaffold goes up right beside both bathrooms. Vicki has a new bathroom. Very pretty. 

 Lots of pretty flowers on the way to V's house and some in her yard. 

 Later in the afternoon I found that the kitchen was brighter - possibly because of this opening to the outside! It is where the leaks have been. 

When work on the roof started it was discovered that there is no ridge beam, and that the miscellaneous selection of boards nailed across the rafters were full of dry rot so they were removed and the rafters tied together at the peak with triangular braces. The front of the roof will have to be replaced but not just now. Many sacks of very old insulation were also removed and will be replaced with something new and more efficient. 

As a last thing for today the roof was covered with plastic to keep at least a little warmth in on this cool spring evening. Sheets of plywood have been waterproofed and prepared for installation tomorrow. Over them goes a layer of underlayment and then the shingles. No more leaks (at least we hope so). 

This started out as a rather simple project to move the washer and dryer upstairs. Projects just don't stay simple, do they? Especially in an old house. This one was built 90 years ago this sumer. It has served well and continues to do so. 

Tomorrow I am leaving here and going shopping with Vicki and Kay. Coming home will have some surprises I am sure. Dean can be surprised by what I have bought and I can be surprised by what has been done. 

It's all good.

XOXOXO

Caroline

TA DA!

A very short post. This, boys and girls, is the dryer, hooked  up and running. Beyond it is the washer, hooked up and running (well, not just when this was taken, but capable of running). I can do laundry on the same floor of the house and it is the main floor. Things are still a little rough and when the worker bee guys need power tools they use the long extension cord (it is theirs, after all) and I can't wash. The electrician will be here (this week, I hope) and wire it all in, but at least in the late afternoons and early evenings I can do laundry right now. No electricity except the extension cords means that a flashlight is required if I launder at night, but that is minor after all that went before!

I am working on another painting; this time it is orange and green, which sounds rather unusual but I hope that it will work out well. If it doesn't, there is always gesso to wash over it and begin again. It wouldn't be the first time for me and probably not for many others. There are just no guarantees in art, are there? Who wants safe art that you are sure will please? Sounds boring to me - boring to look at and especially boring to paint.  

For a treat, go to Vicki's, Chrissy's, Carol's and MaryAnn's blogs for some lovely pictures of Italy, France and Vicki's great back garden. 

The work will start inside soon which will be better and worse.The mess of taking down two walls will be horrible but I am really excited to get it started. 

XOXOXO

Caroline

Happy and excited.

 The latest. The shingles are going up just under the roof. The opening under the ridge of the roof will be louvered as the fan is behind it; the door will have a window (it had to be ordered). Do you see the temporary steps? Soon the deck will have a real floor, too, and a rail around it. Can you tell that I am pleased and excited?

Below is a little painting that began as a large piece which I did not like and cut up. It is small but happy now. 

I am still working on this piece. It, too, has been cut down. Sometimes you have to have tough love! I might be the only one who likes this and sometimes I am not sure that I do!

This began as part of the other happy one. Each of them is better than they were as one piece. 

This is a close-up of the one below. 

This is rather dusty, filmy looking in the pic, but when I put on the final coat of finish it will be clearer. I do not know how it should be classified - it is rather abstract, rather absurdist, rather... What would you call it?

Whatever we call the painting, all is well.

XOXOXO

 Caroline

Just a quick word

Most important, Dean has taken the last of the steroids and his blood sugar is back to a reasonable (non-insulin requiring) range. He goes to kidney doctor tomorrow for blood work; I think it will show improvement. 

 Sometimes the weeds are as pretty as the flowers. Isn't this one sweet?

The siding is going up and will be finished this week. The final paint color will be a little lighter than this - more like the mortar color ;" buff," I guess it would be called.  

The decking has been ordered and is in and the fasteners are on the way. There will be a rail and, on the far side, there will be steps. The hostas have taken a beating but I think that they will survive and be beautiful under the big tree. Once the outside is finished we have lots to do inside. I am calling tomorrow about the flooring. We are considering marmoleum - red! There is no dealer here so we will have to work with someone in Knoxville about an hour up the interstate. 

  

Today was sunny for most of the day. All is well. 

I would love to hear from you as a commenter or at carolineberk@gmail.com.

XOXOXO<

Caroline

Thoughts in a break in the rain.

A break in the rain and I was able to see what had been done to the house. The windows have been trimmed, there are strips to which the siding will be nailed and the deck has been begun. Do you see that lovely copper flashing? Of course it will turn brown and eventually it might turn green but now it is bright and shiny. Our deck will be small - just large enough for a morning coffee or a lunch before the mosquitos get too bad. 

 This little green shrub is in the wrong place and will have to be moved but I love its bright new growth against the old bricks. 

 As I came back to the front of the house I noticed the reflection of the trees in the water on the bottom step of the flight to our porch. There were still drops of rain and the camera and I kept seeing different things. 

Below is what the camera wanted to see. 

 I am fairly happy with this. Artistic, don't you think?

I was the lector at the early service this morning. The second lesson was from Revelation about the new Jerusalem. It says that in the new city there will be no darkness but it doesn't mention rain. Think how dark darkness must have been then. Of course it was written by someone who probably saw very little rain so even the inspiration of the Holy Spirit probably didn't bring rain to his mind. Rain to him would be a blessing (as it usually is to us, but I think  sunshine would be a blessing right now.)   

Still, all is well. Dean is managing well. I am well. It's all good.

XOXOXO

Caroline

Roller coaster

Or as we said as children, "rollie coaster". That has been this past week. Monday night at the hospital. Tuesday at the internist and then the orthopedist. Wednesday, after a quick trip to the internist and his first injection of insulin, Dean stayed home and I went to art class. Today back to the orthopedist. After all the prodding, sample taking and culturing, it turns out to be gout. The trick now is to blend the diets required for the kidney, the gout and the diabetes. It is rather like working a puzzle and one that we haven't completed yet. We are learning about chart keeping, though.

Meanwhile, the trim is up on the windows and we have a back door. Demo of the interior walls is coming soon and there will be pictures. For now, spring continues and beauty surrounds us.

The bridal wreath is in full bloom.  

 These dogwood petals, knocked down by the rain earlier this week, look like silk confetti in my neighbor's yard. 

 The Crepe Myrtle, always a late bloomer, is putting out leaves.

 My other neighbor's courtyard garden is lovely. 

 Here is the doorway. Such a treat when I look out the kitchen window. 

 Red-tip Photinia leaves are such a deep and lovely red and their waxy surface makes it seem they were  polished just for our pleasure in looking. 

 The wisteria at the back fence line has almost finished blooming. It was cut back severely last year so the blooms were fewer than usual but they were still graceful . 

 The little rose bush is doing its part. Isn't the red and green lovely at this time of year?Why do we think that combination is only for Christmas?

 When Dean reseeded the lawn he spread some wheat straw and it didn't all get raked up so in the daffodil bed there is now some wheat, complete with beard. Not enough to make bread, though. 

There is something I love about the sun shining in on a spring or summer day in the afternoon. My room was cool, there was a little breeze. Delightful. 

Despite all the drama of the week (and the worry, to tell you the truth) all is well and all is well and all will most certainly be well. Or, to quote my friend Tammy, It's All Good. 

XOXOXO.

Caroline