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photo courtesy of Jane Howe August 7, 2025 I had a great talk with my builder.  I got to ask about a clearer timeline of the whole build, what to expect, and ask him how flexible he is about the timing.  Quick Version: Well is installed Barn is cleaned out Garage done soon (except siding) House capped soon (with basement joists and sub-flooring) Next up- Framing house fall 2025 Metal standing seam roof on after framing 2025 Put in windows 2025 Take a pause... Winter 2025-2026 Electricians & plumbers maybe spring 2026 Septic system installed 2026 or 2027 Start work on interior Putting in piers for screened-in porch on south-east side, framing that, & piers for big porch on south side, framing porch Finishing interior 2027 Barn/fencing ready for animals 2027 House ready by late 2027 Landscaping 2027 Move in early 2028   Long Version: It has been a weight for me to carry, thinking about the timeline financially and trying to balance what I want, what Danny (husband) is expecting, and Joe’s schedule as a builder.  I had naively thought we could space out expenses over three years and voila! the house would be ready exactly when we wanted and needed it in the spring of 2028.  It has been a learning experience for me, lining up contractors, learning about septic systems, wells, foundations, and schedules.  I guess I started as my own General Manager and am now evolving more into client (insert smiley face here) who has a house being built by one builder who handles the whole project.  Granted, there will still be many consultations, many decisions, lots of back and forth with the builder, but it will be more in his hands where he coordinates the action.  That’s a good thing.  It is important to have one person to coordinate how everything comes together.  I am lucky to have a builder who is very experienced who can juggle all of that.  I had some ups and downs working with two different contractors on the site at the same time…who’s the boss?  Who gets the space when two contractors are on site with big trucks and heavy equipment?  Whose timeline do you use?  How do you make it all come together if neither one is completely clear on what the other one is doing?  I take responsibility for that situation and it was a learning experience for sure.  (In my defense, I was only going to do the septic so I hired an excavator operator and septic system builder. My builder (as of May) entered the scene with a different timeline than originally planned on.) Now we will be down to one contractor. I am proud of what I have accomplished.  I was able to research and organize the dismantling of an old family relic, and not just paying to have it loaded into dumpsters and carted away.  I researched controlled burns and fire training and invited many area volunteer fire departments to be involved.  I wrote many emails, had meetings, filed all paperwork with the state officials, stamped, addressed and sent out over 50 notices via certified mail to all neighbors within a certain radius of the house.  Of course, before the controlled burn day in February of 2024, a lot had to happen with the whole house being cleaned out and anything metal removed (including the metal roof).  I went up once a week from the fall of September 2023 through February of 2024.  It is 2 hours and 15 minutes from Leverett, MA to Randolph Center, VT.  The builder who was scheduled to start working on the barn in the late winter/early spring of 2024 unexpectedly passed away.  I got an email from his wife as she searched through his work-related correspondence to determine who to contact.  A huge occurrence for his family; in comparison- a small set-back for me.  Luckily, I had another very qualified builder in mind.    My first project (besides the barn work) was to be the septic system.  Unfortunately, between the snowfall in the winter of ‘23-’24 and the intense spring rains, the test pits failed in the location to the north of the house (where the septic has always been).  Water was flowing into the holes as they were dug in April. We put the septic system on hold. Instead we got the well drilled.  The water is excellent and a true artesian well with a lot of pressure, a lot of clear water.  The new builder was ready to start earlier than he expected and started on the foundations.  So, this year has been busier with accomplishments than I anticipated.  More money, more items to show for it.    The garage will be done soon, the gray metal standing seam roof is on (windows and doors will be in soon, siding won’t happen until the house siding is done).   The house foundation will be capped by late next week (started on it yesterday with sills, and they will move on to installing joists in basement ceiling, sub-flooring on top of that.)   The next step will be to start framing the house and installing windows.  This will start soon and continue this fall, 2025. The gray standing seam metal roof will go on the house using an outside contractor (sometime in Nov/Dec). I am most excited about this step of framing the house! The shape of the Ridge Road house will start to appear. What fun to watch and go inside to see the space and look out the windows. The framing will not include the additional work of the deck/long covered porch that runs all along the south side of the house and the 4-season room (screened-in porch) off the south/east side. These sections of framing won't happen until the interior finish work/exterior siding work occurs...more like 2027.  Neither structure is a part of the house foundation, instead they will have concrete piers supporting them.  After the framing, the house will be protected from the weather, secure, and we can take a pause in work and money outflow for the winter of 2025-2026. We discussed the need to do this project over time with our builder and have reached a compromise where he will do some parts of our project as needed and what works for his schedule, without us losing him as a builder. In order to do this, Joe will move onto will be a two house builds, so he can move back and forth from our project as needed, In the spring of 2026 we can get an electrician in to wire the whole project, then the plumber.   Work could then start on the interior but could be spaced out through 2026-2027. Ultimately the siding will go on last, along with landscaping. This will fit our original timeline of moving to the Ridge Road house in early 2028.   And oh yeah- the septic system!  The good news is that with a later test pit dig which happened this summer, the test passed for placing it to the north of the house in the original location.  Dry and well-drained.  It will be very close and handy.  It will be a Presby Mound system using a gravity feed, no special pumps.  We are using Chase & Chase out of Barre to design the system and Joe will chose a septic builder and the timing for that. It could happen in 2026 or 2027. Maybe it will be 'last' instead of 'first' in my timeline!   And the barn work?  I am still hoping for my brother-in-law to work on that for me to ready it for the horses’ arrival, but it is a bit funky with its current state and design and he’s not sure about doing the work.  If not, I’ll be looking for someone.  I have gone up about four times to clean out the barn and make dump runs.  One man from Randolph (who will use the English garden system of planting right in old bales of hay) took quite a few bales but I still have some more cleaning, the sleigh and a horse cart to move from the loft.   The good thing- our investment will be there.  If we spend 500,000 on a new house, it will immediately be worth almost twice that. That's a decent return on an investment, along with a beautiful family home which we helped rise back up onto that little knoll in Randolph Center.

I met with Phil Godenschwager in his studio on Wednesday, July 30 th , for design discussion.  I can’t stress enough how helpful he has been.  I owe this to Sara Tucker who suggested him.  I was lucky he was available.  To have someone who has the knowledge of an architect to help me with this project has been priceless.  I can bounce ideas off him.  He’s both an artist and a builder himself, so he understands how to combine a realistic idea with a beautifully balanced implementation.  He can also tell you when something won’t work.  And he knows my builder and keeps in touch, so the communication there is great.  As we looked over the plans and my materials list, he asked questions to make sure he understood what I wanted and sketched what the elevation of an area would look like.  So much fun to see something come to life.  I made a few changes based on his feedback.  For example, even though I had chosen beautiful lights to put on each side of the front door, it is more important to me to keep the original house design in mind.  Studying the photos of the old house, he showed me the simple light above the door.  I want that.  So, he catches details like that.  On the other hand, since there wasn’t a porch on the south side (at least in the Cooley family’s past), then I feel free to get the lights for the porch- one of each side of the French doors (which the original house also did not have).  I am taking a few liberties.  My main goal- have the house strike you as the same house from the road if you were to drive by.  Also, when you come in, the layout will be very familiar.  All the rooms are basically where they were before.  Here are the exceptions:  No half wall between the dining room and kitchen, instead an island.  Phil suggested a couple of stools there on the dining room side to make hanging out and chatting with whoever is working in the kitchen easier.  The front hallway is still wide with the stairs going up.  The big front door lets in light from the sidelights along each side of the door.  But now you will be able to see the stairs from the living room.  The living room wall will not be there.  The wide quality of the front hallway will add more width to the living room.  The light from the front door will be seen from the living room.  Phil liked my idea of keeping the same style Newell post at the base of the stairs. But for spindles I am varying them from the original just a tiny bit.  Instead of matching narrow spindles the whole way up, I am going to have one slightly wider spindle, followed by two narrow spindles...repeat.  Here’s a photo of the basic idea of the spindles.  I think it will add just a touch of interest to the stairs compared to the original.  Another change is the screened-in porch.  Also known as the 4-season room.  It is where the saltbox house (fireplace room/garage) used to be.  You can get to it via the same door from the dining room or from out back via wide steps and an outside door. Here's another idea I ran by Phil for the 'look' of the screened-in porch.  He agreed a slanted ceiling that matches the roofline above, made of white beadboard, along with wainscoting of white beadboard on the walls up to the window line would help make it feel more like a porch.  This room will have a window on every available wall space.  It will have a ceiling fan. It will have lights between each window like this. Here is a photo of a room I found online that I would like to mimic a bit (though our windows will not go to the floor). Even though the kitchen will have the dark-stained bases (hoping for 1920’s look) I was planning on a lot of white otherwise.  White countertop, white walls, white beadboard backsplash.  But Phil convinced me that instead of white shelving in the kitchen, the shelves should be the same dark wood as the cabinet bases.  Something more like this. And instead of white ceramic tiles behind the stovetop, I have decided to go with terracotta tiles.  The result should be a better look to seem ‘older’ instead of so much white.  A warmer look.  I like it! One thing we are preserving is the trim on the exterior of the house.  It is a little fancier style of crown molding than some farmhouses in Vermont.  Here you can see the builder is working on preserving that even in the garage!  Again, this is communication between Phil the artist/architectural drawer and Joe the builder.  How lucky I am.

We have a basement floor!  Concrete trucks arrive, contractors depend on them The floor in process, who knew cement could be beautiful?! It is amazing to think of the old stone foundation and dirt floor and the contrast.  I wish I had taken more photos of the old cellar but it was dark and moldy and wet (the pictures still remain pretty clear in my mind).  The half-timbered joists were not that big, still covered in bark and were punky with dry rot.  The dirt floor was uneven with puddles in places.  The walls had places where stones had tumbled down letting in daylight from gaps near the base of the house.  We went down there with a contractor back in 2018 who was able to slide a knife into the beams since they were so soft.  He said it was not safe to support the floors.  In fact, there were some beams that had fallen under the fireplace room of the Saltbox house.  The firefighters (I worked with on the controlled burn) didn’t want to walk there or conduct any of their work from that area because of risk of floor collapse.  I went down there with the town assessor in 2024 who ended up categorizing the house at the lowest level of condition, needing significant repair.  I wish we were rich enough to do a proper historical repair and restoration, but I knew at the very least the house would need jacking up to repair that stone foundation and all of the joists replaced.  Step by step, teasing apart the old place to see what could be saved and restored but replace the parts where the structural integrity was lost was beyond our budget.  Maybe an out-of-state wealthy person would spot this gem and be able to afford it.  But I wanted it to stay in the family.  I have an appreciation for this house design, a reverence for the memories of the family, and a desire to bring as much of the original back to life as possible.  Of course, it is sad to lose that part of history.  Think of the real people in the late 1700s who lifted and lowered those stones into place- sweating, feeling the pull of muscles in their backs and arms, and scrapes on their knuckles.  But I am bolstered by the fact that Harry Cooley was always one to appreciate progress. He would surprise me with his clear-headed thinking about ‘the good ole days’.  They were hard.  He said he would choose not to go back.  Harry Cooley owner of the Ridge Road House after purchasing it from Samuel Day in 1952. The house was just down the road from the Cooley Farm. Work on the new house using the original footprint of the house is still hard and back-breaking, workers sweating through their progress.  I feel lucky that there are still contractors out there willing to do this kind of work on a ‘small’ basis…house by house.  Joe Bertrand in the foreground still gets dirty even as the leader of his own contracting business Joe Bertrand, owner of Central Vermont Building & Design, centralvtbuildingdesign@gmail.com believes in quality and won’t skimp or cut corners on that.  This will be a house that still stands for my granddaughters and other family members to enjoy. He has a small team of experienced builders that include family members. His uncle still does concrete after 54 years. He says it is getting harder and harder to find young workers who are willing to do this kind of backbreaking work.   Thank you to Phil Godenschwager for these photos. I am so fortunate to have his involvement as the architectural drawer who has provided us with plans to match the original house. He arrived this a.m. to provide the builder with details on the house trim with its unique exterior crown molding, so special to the old house.

Mostly I want a space to park our two vehicles out of the snow. We have never had a 2-car garage...this will be a first. But I don't want fancy. I want utilitarian. No finishes on the inside, just rafters. Size is important though. In Massachusetts we have a garage that is a tight fit (and won't even fit our Toyota Tacoma pickup truck in length-wise). In Vermont we will have plenty of space to open vehicle doors, hatchbacks, and still have a little room for some storage. 26' x 26' Two garage doors for two vehicles isn't cheap, but for a couple of 70s-something gray-haired old folks, we need the ease of living with a garage in snow-country. We can pull right in from the driveway with the push of a button for an automatic door. Harry Cooley would be impressed. He used to say that everything from the olden days was not automatically good. It was harder. From the road you'll see two windows on the side facing west and the matching (to the house) gray metal roof and white wooden clapboards for siding. The trim molding on the garage will also match the house so the garage will look like it belongs there, hopefully (except for those who are still angry that the old house was taken down). The previous garage for the old house was fashioned out of the saltbox house section- a dirt floor, a narrow space tight up against the extra living room/fireplace room. It was mostly used for storage and an entryway into the house (after using all of your strength to open the garage door, prop it up, then through a house door that wouldn't quite close). I never saw a car parked in there. Now we will have a 4-season room (porch) where that was. See in the drawing below- the house from the back. The section with 4 windows in a row (jutting out a bit from the house) is the 4-season room. One thing I love about it is- the door that used to go from the dining room into the fireplace room/extra living room will still be there and go out onto this 4-season room. We don't need an entire extra house, it will be sufficient to have just the Cape and not the Saltbox (though I would have loved to build it exactly as it was with the two houses- Cape plus Saltbox joined together for nostalgic and aesthetic reasons, but it would be an added expense we can't afford.)

I delivered a very large check $ today...it can't be ALL fun and games. Foundations are basically ready.  Backfill in.  Pouring of concrete flooring happens starting Wednesday in both garage and house.  The well gets drilled on Friday.  I met with Keith Johnson, owner of E. Benedini Well Drilling at the site.

Yesterday the 2 nd test pit digs for the septic system were successful.  I was a happy house builder!  The four holes showed a drier site to the north of the house (where the so-called old septic system was located).  In the spring it was predictably wet from snow melt and spring rain so the 1 st  test pits failed.  I am pleased that the septic for the house can be located in its original spot.  Granted, it will be the new-style mound system recommended for most sites these days; it gives an absolute guarantee of function.  That site is dipped down anyway, so a mound will not be very noticeable.  And for the candy-cane shaped green plastic vent pipe I can buy a fake granite horse hitching post to cover it.  How appropriate!  The Presby system (Enviro-Septic) is named after its inventor David Presby from New Hamphire.  He had been working with his father installing septic systems when he came up with a way to use gravity (rather than any pumps), layers of sand, and special mats to further filter water and help reduce runoff from septic systems of the past.  Rather than being anaerobic, the mound system can allow air in to help the ‘good’ bacteria that break down waste.  Born in Littleton, N.H., as of 10 years ago David lived on Sugar Hill with his wife Sheila, four dogs and two cats, and two horses.  https://newhampshireadventures.blogspot.com/2014/02/biography-dave-w-presby-man-on-mission.html#:~:text=Dave%20Presby%20embodies%20that%20spirit,two%20cats%20and%20two%20horses .   I have no other plans for that spot to the north of the house.  The garage is over there and the neighbors are about 115’ away (close for Vermont).  I know you can’t plant trees or shrubs on top of mound systems.  That’s OK, the grass can grow there (along with the chervil).  We will use the south lawn as the Cooleys always have.  I will use the land near the barn for the horses.  All will be in the places it should be.  Charles Cooley knew the original septic system would not suffice (he said he ‘built’ it himself and advised us that replacement would be necessary) so no amount of grandfathering would do us much good.  In fact, as the test holes were dug, no evidence of a system reared its ugly head or even poked its nose out.  No buried Cadillacs.  So, we can feel we are doing the site and the environment a favor for our $$.   The well will be located more towards the barn.  As long as it is 50 feet from the septic exit pipe on the house, and 100 feet from the septic leach field, it will be acceptable.  The former spring-fed water supply was located tight against the back of the house Harry Cooley had told grandson Paul when he was younger that a magic spring brought water to the house.  Unfortunately, it was sidled right up against the back of the house.  Too close to the house, too close to the septic.  Hopefully our well drilling will tap into that magic spring again and not have to go very deep.  Wells are priced by the foot of digging.    The garage trusses are arriving today.  It looks almost ready to accept a structure on the foundation.  I’m guessing the concrete floor happens before the structure itself?  But it could happen after.  I only know it will have one, along with an apron to smooth the entry into the garage and avoid a ledge there.  Another beautiful day in Randolph Center, Vermont.  Hard-working people I appreciate, digging test holes, unloading and spreading gravel/stone and smoothing and packing that stone into foundations for flooring.

Backfilling will begin Friday, after applying tar to the outside of the foundation The concrete foundations are in. Tomorrow the builder will work on details like filing off any metal spikes protruding from the concrete and adding concrete into those areas. Then they will tar the outside of the house foundation just up to area that will be covered by soil. After backfilling both foundations with soil starting Friday, you will only see the top couple of feet of the foundation. The garage will rise up with wood very soon. The house foundation will get its floor and get capped. Backfilling the house first involves a layer of gravel surrounding a pipe that will drain any possible water that collects at the base of the foundation. The pipe will exit from under ground down near the road. The large piles of soil that came from the digging the cellar holes (minus any large rocks and fireplace bricks) will go back into the space surrounding the outside of the foundation walls. Clean up will also happen of any debris on the site. Stumps, boulders, unused logs, excess soil and rocks, etc. The net result should be foundations ready to build on and a tidy yard. My focus today was the barn on Ridge Road. After doing the chores at my barn in Massachusetts I made the 2 hour drive to Vermont. I worked on the piles of metal and junk that my sister and I had sorted last week. I filled the pickup truck with metal in just 15 minutes and tossed it into the metal dumpster at the landfill for free. The load of junk took more than an hour to fill the truck and also took a while to toss into the compactor. Checks or credit cards only. $30.00 I got two lemonades in Bethel and made the 2 hour drive home. Vermont was in the 80s, low 90s, but really didn't feel bad. Maybe the breeze in the Center. Got home just in time to do more horse chores, it was in the 90s here and felt like it. But the ground floor of the barn in Randolph is looking pretty good.

Garage from the 'front'...looking straight north Garage:  The footings and foundation wall for the garage is all up, the floor will be poured on Friday. Garage from the side, looking straight west. (The house will be to the left and skewed a bit to the west, the same site the house was always in, across the driveway.) House:  The house footings are all in and the forms for the foundation were almost all up when I left today.  The foundation walls (basement) will also be poured on Friday.  The house from the north/east corner looking west. Charles would be pleased that the house will have a bulkhead (way to enter the basement from the outside) for the first time (the rectangle of concrete jutting out in the photo). Wood shed:  The wood shed is up and the Ash from the property is being split and piled in the wood shed.  Wood shed along the top (eastern side) of the circular drivewayThe Ash logs have been made into boards at the sawmill and will be kiln dried for the kitchen cupboards.  They came out beautifully Joe (the builder) says.  The Ash logs have been made into boards at the sawmill and will be kiln dried for the kitchen cupboards.  They came out beautifully Joe (the builder) says.  Grounds:  My sister Sharon went up to the site and with her full equipment (chaps, helmet, face visor, gloves, full body coverage) and a major weed whacker.  She trimmed a huge area around the barn (of chervil and other tall weeds and grass), along the side of the driveway, around the lilacs and spruce tree, and the little road going up to the back of the barn.  A huge job and it looks so much better (and easier to get around and into the barn).  Thank you, Sharon! My sister's work <3 Barn:  Today my sister Sharon met me at the barn and we spent a few hours sorting items:  trash, junk, metal, recycling, items to save, and chemicals to be disposed of properly.  I feel very encouraged that after I take a few trips to the dump the barn will be almost empty and ready for work to begin there.  Sorted piles of junk ready to carry away A stall that was full of junk, now chemicals and a few tires

Eric Henderson working his magic to pull out and save the old stones from the foundation I want to be in Randolph Center to watch all of the work being done. The prep for the basement (which will be a poured concrete foundation) has begun! Also some tree work- there were a couple (very diseased already with the trunk half missing) Maple trees that were also hit by the heat of the fire and are too close to the house any way, that had to come down.  One of those sad realities. We are trying to preserve as many trees as we can. There are also some Ash trees that are along the back where the garage will go.  Joe Bertrand, the builder, will save the Ash and mill them into boards for the kitchen cabinets.  How cool is that?! We will definitely be planting the largest Maples we can get…two in the front as soon as the house is done.  I am excited that work has begun.

View from the house site of the Green Mountains May 2, 2025 How appropriate that spring has just arrived, opening buds creating a softness to the hills, and we are beginning our concrete plans for the Ridge Road house.  Here’s to new beginnings! The house site as viewed from the Ridge Road My first meeting with both Phil Godenschwager (the designer and plan architect) and Joe Bertrand (the builder) was at Phil’s artist studio on Weston Street in Randolph.  Before the meeting I had about an hour to go to the Ridge Road site in Randolph Center, up on the hill, and meander, think, assess.  I took detailed photos of the barn in order to start a list for my barn builder/repair person Avery (Butch) Howe, Jack of all trades and homebuilder himself (and brother-in-law) <3 .  I am so lucky he is willing to help with the barn project to ready it for my horses.  The barn, well-built by Charles Cooley has sat empty of equines for at least 20 years.  Old hay bales sit in the loft, along with a sleigh and horse cart.  The barn is built into the hillside, hay goes in here, the horses (also at ground level) below Downstairs in the stall area- old hand tools, some horse leathers, and a few piles of storage items from a brother fill the space.  Cleaning will be the number one priority here and that job falls to me.  I want to open it up of all and any debris, make trips to the dump, sweep, see what the floors really look like under hay and other organic matter, and better assess it for the reality of horses (their safety and comfort). No stray sharp objects for them to stab themselves on, no exposed windows where glass can break, nothing for them to get into. After that Butch can come in and do his magic.  Closing in the upper entry on the east side of the barn and adding large barn doors will be the most important job, along with a new ramp there.  New windows where needed, a new side door below, and closing in openings that might let the weather in, are all part of what I’ll need help with from Butch. Meeting with Phil and Joe, we discussed a plan of action.  Joe would like to do the garage in its entirety first, which makes sense.  It will give us a secure place to store tools and a dry work place for Joe and his team.  As we talked we realized that an overhang roof off the east side of the garage will serve to protect a whole house generator and propane tanks, hiding all of that away from view.  Phil Godenschwager's studio I stopped by the Randolph Town offices and picked up the building permit which will be good to go as of May 16th, exactly the timing Joe is looking for to start the project.  Here we go!

The wind is blowing outside and a few flakes of snow flutter down but the sun is beginning to have some warmth.  The mud is appearing.  Maple sugaring is beginning.  Birds are producing a cacophony of song as they claim their territory.  Spring is on the way.  Stay patient, be strong, just a forward ticking of time and soon it will be here. Plans for the Ridge Road house are rumbling forward, like a truck in the distance, I can hear it coming.  The excavator/engineer Eric is in contact with the builder Joe and they will work together to tie in the septic to the concrete foundation, the electrical conduit from the pole to the house, the well and water pipes will be planned for and integrated.  Test holes for the water drainage in the designed septic area will be dug with the proper State officials present.  Then comes the septic system itself.  ASAP Next will be the well drilling, also this year, the old spring-fed well tight against the east side of the house will be capped, the well house taken down.  Stones for the old foundation will be carefully removed from the cellar hole and preserved on site to be used in stone walls and possibly as a part of the foundation.  Do you think it would be tacky to integrate them along the foundation?  The builder has “the best stone mason in Vermont” work with him and they can do some stone façade to cover exposed concrete.  It should appear to be an old stone foundation.  I’m not sure and will ask Phil, our architectural artist to show me how this would look.  Please give me your feedback on this idea. I know Phil has suggested a stone natural-looking ‘patio’ out in front of the house, but with the large porch on the south side I am not sure if this is needed.  I am also a fan of simplicity.  I like an old Vermont farmhouse that sits on the hill, with just some green lawn surrounding it and maybe a hydrangea or two on the corners.  Though I can visualize a cool circular pattern of stone with grass growing between the stones…again, give your feedback.  My plans for the stone include more stone walls where they have always been, on the old ‘road’ that heads up to the barn.  The builder suggested stone entryway pillars at the front of the driveway, to which my husband had immediately said, “yuck.”  I explained it to the builder as- my husband was a Vermont farm boy and anything that smacks of “Look at me!  I am wealthy!” is not attractive to him.  The builder laughed when I explained it to him, but he also seemed to understand.  He is on board with trying to reconstruct the house to the point that someone driving by will say “the old Cooley place is back.”  I am thrilled with the people involved so far.  I met Eric because Peter & Megan (family) knew him and used him for the well house and the RV site.  I was very thankful they knew him and I have benefitted from his availability and expertise since.  He helped improve the driveway and the removal of debris from the old house before and after demolition. I love that he has seen the old place inside and out.  And he is a just a wonderful, nice Vermonter from Williamstown, just beyond Brookfield.  I met our architect artist through Sara (again, family) who knows everyone in Randolph and she and her husband Patrick are good friends with Phil.  Again, so grateful to have met such an interesting, talented and nice person to work with on our plans for the house.  A bonus- Phil knows the builder well, has worked with him and recommended him to me.  These two can work together, communicate on the design and make sure our vision comes to life.  So, I begin Spring with excitement.  This project has given me hope and purpose, helping to carry me through a very tough time in American life right now.

February 14, 2025 Not the happiest of days, though I do still love my husband dearly.  It is Valentine’s Day.  Have I gone through the normal progression of a long-time married person or am I just lazy, not planning well, or taking too much for granted?  I went from making a romantic pencil-drawn Valentine years ago…a beautiful woman in a long dress, sitting on a tree branch dreamily thinking of her love, a drawing on white paper, surrounded by red construction paper cut to form a heart, with a border of white lace paper.  My future husband was very impressed.  I wonder if it is in the bottom of a box somewhere?  Would it be like I remember it, if I could dig it out?  Most likely some yellowing, a couple areas bent or folded, possibly soiled by mice, no longer pristine.  I saw a great cartoon yesterday- a couple, each on their own couch- sprawled exhausted on their backs.  The caption says “The state of our busy lives these days” (or something like that).  The man, without looking up, says, “Happy Valentine’s Day.”  The woman, also not moving, responds “You too.” I did get a bag of heart-shaped chocolates a couple days ago.  And the day is long…I could still rally. Anxieties pervade my life right now instead of gentle musings on love.  I am now convinced that our American democracy is ending as we know it…those 1776 declarations and 100- and 200-year anniversaries proudly celebrated as though they were going to go on and on. We are AMERICA after all!    But a Nobel Laureate economist, Paul Krugman said yesterday that his biggest fear is for our democracy.  He said he thinks the last legitimate election may have been November 2024.    I will use a borrowed phrase- the beginnings of 2025 have provided ‘a perfect storm’ for the undoing our 1776 experiment.  An elected president who told us he would be a Dictator on Day 1, a Congress with Republican power that follows that Dictator completely (with fear or what must be blind faith), a favorable Supreme Court put in place by said Dictator, a South African white man who is a billionaire and knows how to change code on U.S. government systems to stop payments to promised people.  Like magic they have Made America Great Again.  Poof!  No checks and balances anymore.  My only hope is the economy is as blind as half of the American people seem to be.  Or at least ‘slow’.  So, with that hope, I move forward with the Ridge Road house plans.  Real estate is always a good investment, right?  Over the long-term it tends to retain its value.  So, while we have money, I want to go full steam ahead with our building, rather than wait until 2027 as planned.  Our money might not buy us a house by then.  Starting this year in April, our excavator/civil engineer will build our septic system!  How appropriate to start with that system at this time in our history.  I could come up with analogies and inappropriate words, but I won’t.  This is a family site.  This young man who is a genius with an excavator has already been at the site and shot the topography for the septic and will draw it up in CAD. We’ll move on to the well.  Same excavator.  Then he will pull out the old stones from the foundation site and save them for us, to use as we see fit later.  He can prepare the new foundation hole.   The builder can then do the cement, full-basement foundation this year as well and cap it.  I want to research more about proper insulation and risks of cracking and heaving cement foundations in a Vermont winter.  Then in 2026 the builder can go ahead with the house building!  This is a year earlier than planned or needed but it would put our money into the house rather than the stock market.  Time will tell how well we weather this current storm.