Tantivy

An old rhyme says, "Mother may I go out to swim?" "Why yes, my darling daughter. Hang your clothes on a hickory limb, but don't go near the water" That is what came to mind when I walked down the drive and saw these jackets hanging in the tree.    The cement mixer was my next view. The block guys were here laying the block for the foundation and the new basement walls. It was a sunny day. We don't have those too often this winter. Today they were water proofing the new walls. The tar is heated to about 500 degrees F. The smell of hot tar seeped into the house; I left to go to the coffee shop with Vicki. We sat and drew faces as part of our new "sketch war." We are each drawing the same face. Our drawing styles are very different but the faces are obviously the same. Later in the day the concrete mixer truck came and the holes in the block were filled. A drain pipe and gravel from the huge pile will be next and then we will finall...

The beat of the hammers, that is. Our back yard has been host to a huge dump truck, an equally large backhoe, and a cement mixer over the last several days. At one point they were all here. Accompanying the sounds of the machines, Justin and Drew have been down near the basement and up on the roof with hammers and saws. So work is progressing; today there was no rain, nor was there on Saturday so lots could get done. Tonight about an inch of rain is predicted. Meanwhile, I have been trying to keep from going crazy in a house where nearly everything is out of place. When the sun came out I took down the window panel/curtain in our room to let in all the sun possible. And I have been drawing and knitting and studying for my class. Tomorrow I have to vacuum up dog hair. If I don't, by the next day it will be knee deep. Seeing the photo of the drawing, I notice that her left eye needs work. Funny how you don't notice little things until you see it in a different light/pl...

 Last night it rained again. That's how we discovered that the leak was still there - we heard the water pouring out of the ceiling. So far, the damage is limited to the two rooms that are being redone anyway, thank goodness. So today, Justin and Drew were back out there as was a man with a big back hoe and an enormous dump truck. Here are the pics. Drew and Dustin added more plastic on the roof top, hoping to at least slow down the water, and the guy with the big back hoe knocked down the steps and the old walls and dug a hole for the new foundation under the addition.   The pale green at the bottom of the steps is the door to the basement. Someone left it open!! Oh, yeah, there is a piece of plywood covering the entrance into the room where the laundry center (hahaha) is. That window further on was covered by a piece of carpet and looked out under the porch, a place I wasn't the slightest bit interested in viewing. Now we will have a cellar of sorts there. At this poin...

By the light of day.  The water has drained out, but the residue remains.  Part of the water collected in the kitchen. This little light fixture looks like it is amber, but it should be clear.  The water in the office.  Justin and Drew ( the boss) will be back on the roof today and Dean and Drew have worked out a plan. I hope that it works. Meanwhile the dripping has slowed way, way down. The stove and fridge are spattered but I just might wait to clean them until we are sure that this isn't happening again. So today I will do art and knit and return my library book and maybe even find another. Earlier this morning I sat in my bed and watched the birds come to the feeder outside my window. All in all, it promises to be a good day. All is well. XOXOXO Caroline

There's a hole in the roof and it is covered and the guys worked hard to waterproof it. They also tore down an old chimney from an old heating system - the coal fired furnace. Well, it is raining tonight, and we are being (not) lulled to sleep by the sound of a little waterfall - the one out of the light fixture in the kitchen. And over the sink. And in the office. It is not the night music we had hoped to hear. We think it is coming in from the old chimney area.   Dean went into the kitchen to get a cup and found water all over the floor and dripping steadily from the center fixture. We put the dog bowl under it and tried to wipe up as much as possible. Thinking that we might have to empty the bowl in the middle of the night, we left the room. When we returned just a little later, the light fixture had filled with dirty water and was dripping steadily - actually it was more stream than drip. The water is orangey brown. The fixture over the sink is dri...

An old children's song goes, "There's a hole in the bucket, dear Liza," to which Liza answers, "Then fix it, dear Henry"; the song goes on with questions and answers, finally finishing when Henry, needing water to wet a stone to sharpen an axe, is told to get water in the bucket and the song starts again. Well, at this house there is a hole in the roof . That is Justin standing beside it. This morning there was a dormer there with a large fan in it. The fan will be replaced in  a gable, but right now there is a hole in my roof, dear Justin. The fan had been blocked off by earlier residents who wanted to be air-conditioned all the time, but I love using it in fall and in spring into the early summer. The thing is a monster, and it pulls air through the whole house. The switch to it looks like something you should throw to light a factory. There is still something to enjoy, though. This quince is between our house and the neighbor's drive. The lo...

 The work continues . Justin and Dustin are here all day and working away at our addition. Here is what it looked like this morning. As the day progressed, the flooring of the porch came off. That white doorway on the left once led into the basement and you can look through the door in the pic on the right into the basement just to the left of my washer. Dark hole of Calcutta-ish it looks and feels.  I think that these steps aren't really connected, just placed there;  I don't know if they can be moved or if we will have new ones. The hole there, under the previous addition, is much shallower.  Meanwhile, at the side of the house, along the neighbor's drive, the daffodils are putting on a lovely show.  The guys found this piece of a local newspaper behind some mortar and saved it for me. They know that I am interested in the history of the house.  A beam is being installed to hold the new roof addition. The yard is full of de...

This is a lesson on the history of construction in the early part of the 20th century in Cleveland TN and I think in most places, at least in the USA. In addition to some really large and untidy squirrel nests made of insulation, we found the location of the original fuse box. It was moved, probably when the porch was changed,  to the basement. Its location here makes me think that this was once a room instead of the porch. It seems to have been about half the width of the porch and to have been the back entry to the house. The style of wiring used was called post and tube. The white things you see are glass "posts" to which the wires were fastened with a second piece of wire. The wraps are very neat and very similar, not haphazard at all. The wires are fabric covered as was all electrical wire before the use of rubber and plastic.  Sticking down under the wood piece are the tubes which went into the fuse box. Whenever wires passed through wood there was a tube...

 You know, of course, that Labradoodles don't shed. What isn't so well known is that they blow their coats. We think that Jackson, bathed yesterday, slept here last night.  This morning I combed him for a few minutes on his back and the places he would let me reach. He rubbed up against me to show me he loved me. After that I didn't love him quite so much as I was on my way out to a meeting. To think that I buy wool to knit when I have this lovely dog hair just waiting to be spun! Not. There is no telling what kind of pile I might get with some serious brushing! Here is our newest yard ornament. I try to pretend it is a newly red-painted T.A.R.D.I.S, red now instead of blue and belonging to the newest Doctor.  Dr. Who, you ask? Dr. Who.  Dr. Who is Drew's favorite for the family to watch when they are here. Jenny used to watch but it is all new to me. For those who don't know, the T.A.R.D.I.S is some kind of time machine that looks like a blue polic...

I am tempted to think that the asteroid passing by is affecting us!! Things seem to be stacking up for everyone this week. Or maybe it is the mess in this house because of construction. This is the view out the front door at 9 AM. When I looked to my right I saw that there is also activity at our neighbor's house. Their sewer pipe is being replaced.  Back porch. Much more is torn down now.  The dining room. Every square inch seems to have something on it. This shows our "kitchen" The fridge, trash, and dog feeding happens here.   The shiny thing in the hall is the temporary pantry. The yellow of this panting I am working on is a cheerful note.  As are the little birds who rest happily on the piano.  By the end of the day the porch will be history.