FROM THE INSIDE OUT

Taken from the kitchen area to make note of the lovely morning light. If you look carefully you'll see just a bit of paint on the wall below the cross braces and ceiling above. How delightful to anticipate living in a light filled space.

And here we have a glimpse down the entry hall
from the kitchen looking toward the back porch door. I really do love the wall color and the ceiling color is just perfection. I do admit feeling a bit 'trepidare' about the ceiling paint but I shouldn't have given it a second thought.




















Cicero and Syd are having a game of 'how high'. A
very athletic hound, that Cicero!

THE DAY AFTER

Well over two feet of snow fell here over the last thirty six hours. This morning I dug my way to the bird feeder, cleared an area and scattered some millet. My next stop was the barn. Dale had been to plow this morning leaving me to clear the snow away from the barn doors and clear out around the generator. Good thing that the snow is dry else my back would be shot!

The view from the loft door was spectacular; nothing like blue sky, brilliant sunshine and fresh snow. The horses were gathered around the feeder as I threw down their morning ration of hay. It takes so little to make them happy!



This afternoon I tackled the stalls and now all is ready for tonight. Am still on the fence as to whether or not to keep them in overnight. Guess that remains to be seen.

The debate continues regarding the fireplace surround but I do think that the one below comes closest to what I envision. One thing for certain, it won't be blue! The alternatives are oiled cherry or poplar, painted the same color as the living room trim. The other conundrum that I am facing is the depth of the mantle. My instincts tell me that it should be 6.5 inches.

BLIZZARD II

No pictures of the storm as it was impossible to take any due to the blowing snow. Tomorrow!

The painters have been busy painting the bedrooms and in these pictures there is but one coat on the walls and ceilings and therefor a bit difficult to see the contrast between the wall and ceiling paint colors.

I really like the colors in our bedroom and the smaller front bedroom, not shown. The small back bedroom is a 'room of different color'. I adore the apricot walls but the ceiling just doesn't work so I have asked that the color be changed to Putty.

The snow started well before 4:00 this morning, in fact I looked out the window at around 4:00 and there was already significant accumulation. By the time we rolled out of bed there was at least a foot on the ground and no indication that it was letting up.

The painters arrived around 7:30 and applied a final coat to the upstairs bedroom walls and ceiling except of course the back bedroom which is waiting for the putty color to be delivered. This afternoon they primed the ceilings on the main floor and have told me that they will be applying 'color' to the ceilings tomorrow. Be still my heart !!!

Gary is sanding dry wall mud in the basement tonight. He wears a respirator but it still can't be good for him.

The second pair of mittens that I started for the two 'red head brothers' in the village has been frogged.....it would have been way too small. I know that I could have found someone for that pair but these kiddos need mittens NOW. I cast on for a much larger size and have spent most of the afternoon finishing up the ribbing and starting the thumb gusset. Pictures tomorrow.

OUT WITH THE OLD

Here we are, well into 2011 and a very good thing it is. Sad to say, 2010 wasn't my favorite year. We had much angst over Jack's lack of attention to creating the plans for our house. Couple that with the packing up and dispersal of our worldly goods and we have a recipe for turmoil. The frosting on the cake was 'himself' being scheduled for hip replacement surgery on the 29th of June, the very same day that we had to be out of the old farm, leaving it broom clean. Somehow I managed to pull it all off. Phew! I spent the several days that 'himself' was at New England Baptist sick-a-bed with bronchitis finally ending up with a prescription for some mega antibiotics. Cured!

This trailer being a mere 12 X 60 meant that we'd be forgoing Christmas this year and instead elected to take the kids out for Chinese/Japanese at 5:00 on the 25th. GENIUS!!! All nine of us had heaps of fun and nobody had to cook or wash up!!

Yesterday I spent a couple of hours going over the paint colors that I had chosen for the interior. I made a few minor changes and then wrote up specification sheet organized by room.

The house is chugging right along. Gary is finished with sheetrock on the main and second floor and is now working in the basement. Eric the painter was here today and primed the back bedroom. I gave him the paint specifications for the first & second floor and I understand that he has ordered the paint and it will be delivered subito.

The photo commemorates the trip to Charlemont ( Hall Tavern Farm)taken by our contractor and our son in law to collect the wide board pine for the second floor and rustic cherry

for the main floor. Our driveway was just a bit slick when they drove in. Hence the rig in the ditch! All was put to rights thanks to chain and a second pickup. The boards are lovely. Can't wait for them to be laid in place!

Brady Rose was here this morning to burn the brush pile in the lower pasture. When I arrived home this afternoon I could see a bit of smoke rising over the trees.

Progress on Several Fronts

It's been a very busy week here at Amen Farm. The house project seems to be pulling together on most fronts. The folks from HA George were here yesterday morning to finish up the pipe work from the generator to the propane line and to put the tack room on the main propane line thus removing the small temporary tank. Powers Generator will be here on Monday to 'fire up' the generator and give me instruction for it's operation. Already I can fell that 'my ponytail is way too tight'.
On Tuesday the sonic water treatment system was installed and the pressure tank was moved further into the corner of the tack room. A double bonus here....more room in the tack room and the minerals in the water will no longer turn my hair blue!!

Dave had a bit of a Christmas Party yesterday noon for all the people who have worked on this project. Apparently a fine time was had by ALL !

This morning Mike and Brian are putting siding on the front of the house IN THE SNOW. Gotta love it!

RADIANT HEAT PANELS

Gary Leonard sheet rocker extraordinaire is still working full bore and the panels for the radiant heat on the first floor have been laid. Gerry has laid the tubing in the grooves in the living/dining













room area. The heavy duty vac's were in use to clear the grooves of any foreign material that might poke a hole in the tubing.

I've spent quite a bit of time choosing paint colors for the first floor. It all started a month or so ago with my friend "Pearl" and I brainstorming some colors using my Fine Paints chips. We eliminated
95% of the colors and I put the remainder in a Zip Lock for further consideration. Now that the sheet rock is up it is easy to thumb tack the chips up on the walls and stand back for a good look.

This afternoon I finalized the colors! Now on to the upstairs bedrooms and bath. I am considering using the gorgeous pale apricot that I used in the dining room at 1744 NW Hill Rd in one of the bedrooms. And, now that I think of it I really do need to check out the tiles for the upstairs bathroom as they well may dictate the paint color for the walls. Perhaps I'll run down to Lee in the morning and take my paint chips with me or better yet bring the tile board home so that I'll be able to see it 'in' the bathroom.

SUNRISE

This was the sky on last friday morning. It lasted for a good long time and was simply glorious!


The sheet rocker was here all week end. He has finished the first floor and is working upstairs today.

Had a meeting with Jeremy this morning about the kitchen cabinetry. This may be the most critical part of this project Also having a hard time deciding on a mantle.

Dave was laving the grids for the radiant heat when I went out this afternoon. I went over from the barn to ask him to take a look at the Nelson Waterer and explain to me how to adjust the counterweight. A 3/16 in the socket wrench and i had it fixed !!

I'm off to knitting as soon as I've finished haying the horses. More later.