First floor framing...when the house is done, the driveway will shrink to the right. There will be a little backyard lawn next to the back of the house. I traveled to Vermont today to see the house. It is fun to peek in and see the beginnings of rooms laid out. They look smaller than I remember them (in the original house) and smaller than I have been visualizing them in the floor plan. I am hoping it is one of those illusions or if they are small, they will still 'work.' The original back of the house had a little lawn next to the driveway. You could enter the kitchen from the back of the house (kitchen door in the far corner). The original house. Unfortunately the Ash tree had to go. Too close to the house. The saltbox house section on the far left won't be there but there will be a screened-in porch in the same area (not yet framed). The kitchen door is in the far corner (there will be a kitchen door in the new house as well). The other door you can see in this photo above will now go to the mudroom. So here's the back of the new 'replacement' house: Plywood now covers what will be the kitchen door to the left. There is also a mudroom window on the back to the right of the mudroom door. There will be kitchen windows above the sink as there used to be to the left of the mudroom door. If you enter the mudroom it will be straight in front of you and long(ish). It also goes to the right in an L shape (a place for the laundry). Beyond that is the bathroom. The bathroom will have two doors- one into the hallway near the mudroom, the other into the bedroom. The kitchen is around the corner to the left. So exciting to see this laid out. When I was a girl, my sisters, neighborhood friends and I used to 'make houses' in the woods. We used logs and branches to mark out where walls were and where the rooms existed. Little openings between logs were doors. They had no real walls, instead they were more like a floor plan. We had more fun creating these houses than actually playing in them. We loved describing to each other what all the spaces were. This was my first house-building experience. Here's Phil Godenschwager's floor plan for the house. Picture you are standing at the mudroom door in the back (see upper left hand drawing's door) and looking in. That is the location from which I took photos today. Here's what the back of the house will look like when the 2nd story is on, the screened-in porch (to the left/south) is framed in and the associated little landing/porch is added to the kitchen door on the left. The mud room door is the door on the right. The upstairs bathroom windows can be seen here in the small dormer in the center.

My materials list is 28 pages long Making decisions, trying to stay organized, maintaining clear communications, keeping everyone happy…the life of a woman who is having a house built.  I feel good about my ability, at age 71 no less, to stay flexible and make decisions based on new information, often having to change course to move forward with the building process.  I have been able to (for the most part) stay relaxed and enjoy it.  For me, what’s not to enjoy?!  It’s a privilege to have enough resources to be able to do this.  For a girl who grew up, not poor, but also not living with excess, this is fun…it is like getting to shop or choose beautiful things and watch them come to life.  I can remember a woman building a house, years ago, who needed to be freed up to have more time to put into her house project.  I worked for her as a store clerk.  At the time, straight out of college, it gave me a huge opportunity to become manager of a retail Garden Center to take over for her there.  I remember times when this woman (the owner of the Garden Center) would be stressed out to the breaking point, holding back tears, breathing hard, upset.  When I asked what was wrong she said she couldn’t handle all of the decisions she was being forced to make about the new house.  That day it was what kind of handles she wanted on the kitchen cabinets.  For me, I already have a document where I have chosen the handles for kitchen cabinets and saved a link and a photo of these for the builder (well before he needs them).  Granted, she had a full-time job with General Electric at the time, with the Garden Center being a retail establishment she opened on the side as almost a hobby.  She worked with her husband and his two brothers on that venture.  She didn’t have the internet to search for house items, she was probably lucky if she had brochures. I am a retired person with lower demands on my time (animals with the related barn chores and two granddaughters nearby to help with).  She was a 40-something woman juggling a lot.  Maybe retirement is the best time to build your dream home!  I have gone through the house in my mind, from top to bottom, imagining the materials, finishes, fixtures, all the details.  My document is 28 pages.  Our goal for building the house was to start in 2027.  Most builders were fully booked as of 2024.  By searching early, I was able to find builders who said yes, they could fit us in during 2027.  We would be in their books with a plan.  I imagined I would handle the ‘accessory items’ (like the septic system and drilling an artesian well) on my own ahead of time.  As the process has evolved, I have learned that some builders like to handle everything themselves.  It makes sense to me now.  A builder can coordinate everything better with the building process if they are in charge of timing and decisions.  Also, many builders already have related contractors in mind for services, people they have worked with before and trust the quality of the work.  So instead of helping or simplifying the process I had unintentionally made it more complicated.  We have had a couple of ‘go-arounds’ between outside contractors and my builder.  I don’t blame them.  Again, I took responsibility for complicating the process by hiring these outside contractors.  We are now down to just the builder who will fold in the septic system when it works for him, using a septic builder of his choice.  We do have a design and plan ready to go. The building site has left-over large piles of dirt, huge stones, and a tree root the size of a VW, all of which need to be dealt with since our excavator operator (my hire) decided he was done at our job site.  We have a well head sticking up very close to the driveway which will have to be protected from snowplows, etc.  It will be OK.  The builder will eventually find another excavator operator of his choice, dirt will be moved and used, the well head will have a stone wall in front of it, built by “the best stone mason in Vermont” who works with our builder. As of now, the garage has doors, the first floor of the house is framed.  The timetable is different from what I imagined, but I am able to go with the flow. Always smart to build a garage FIRST...then you won't decide later, "Oh maybe we should skip the garage to save money!" This garage is spacious for two cars with automatic doors that will open at the touch of a button from inside your car. But it is also basic- no finishing inside the garage, just studs. OK, maybe it isn't smart to build the garage first, but I'd say it might be a helpful way to GET a garage by building it first. It may be hard to tell from this distance, but this is the first floor of the house framed, with some plywood and protective Tyvek applied. Our builder guarantees that the house will be turn-key ready by the end of 2027. We may have started building earlier than I planned, but the end product will be the same.  It will be landscaped and all the details finished.  "The only thing you might have to do is mow the lawn," he says.  So even though I enjoy organizing and decision-making, it is nice to have a builder who wants to take over much of that job.

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.)

Yesterday the 2nd 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 1st 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

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.

Thank you.  You are the unsung angels of the middle class.  You are there for us when we need you.  This past year I have often thought of Greg The Carpenter (his name, not mine…I believe he does this because people can’t remember, and definitely can’t spell his Greek last name Perchemlides.). He is from down our way in Montague, Massachusetts.  We currently live in Western Mass, which is much more like Vermont than the rest of Massachusetts.  We thought we had bought a new house here in 2015 only to realize in 2023 that a 20-year-old house is not new.  It was newer than anything we had ever owned.  We learned that houses built a little too quickly in 2002 on a budget start to wear out right about at 20 years old.  Windows (which were a lovely wood frame) were starting to rot, siding seemed to be letting in the rain, ceilings would start to drip.  A family member recommended we NOT call one of those window chains to do the work.  They sound tempting.  They come in immediately simply pop out your old window, reinsert the new window quickly.  Not much mess, not much in-your-way down time.  And the photos on their websites look so glossy and professional.  Just what you would want.  But… Instead, this family member said- find a reliable, good contractor and buy high quality windows separately for installation by this contractor.  As many people know in the 2020s, contractors are already busy and mostly unavailable (not helped by Covid and people staying home during quarantine times and wanting to upgrade their abode).  Stay strong, recommended this family member.  Even if you have to wait, it is worth it.  The time will go by fast and voila!  You have your windows, done professionally with products that will last.  He was right.  We did have to wait from the fall of 2022 until the spring of 2023 but we found Greg the Carpenter, recommended by locals. Use those services!  We have “Leverett Connects” down here where neighbors write about everything from lost cats to astrology.  In Randolph Vermont, they have “Front Porch Forum.”  These emails lists are the best way to get advice from neighbors.  They can list recommendations, describe the work the person did for them, what they liked, and give you their contact information. Neighbors don’t mislead neighbors.  Many contractors these days can’t be found by Googling “Contractors near me.”  They don’t create websites, they don’t advertise, they don’t even paint their names on their trucks for fear of too many annoying phone calls while they are trying to get work done.  Greg was a good communicator.  He explained the work that needed to be done.  It isn’t a simple pop out/pop in of windows.  To make things truly fit, be insulated around the opening, be finished off properly on the inside, it takes a lot of careful, detailed work.  Yes, your house is a mess for a while.  There is dust.  There is sanding and repainting the entire wall where the window was and now is.  There are people in your house with your dog barking.  But Greg became like family, congratulating our dog on a “job well done” being the house protector.  It was fun watching him work.  He would talk out loud to himself or run everything by his well-trained assistant (and step-son) Ben.  He wasn’t afraid of me overhearing or thinking he was incompetent, because he wasn’t.  He is a highly capable carpenter who is careful and knows mistakes can be made. He thinks and plans first, then acts and builds.  He would say things like “if we did this…then this…but if we did that…then that…”. Looking at his options, choosing the best way forward.  We now have almost all new windows and doors in our 2002 house.  We have new siding.  We have a new roof.  Our house feels truly new now.  It is protected and tucked in and taken care of.  During climate-change downpours of 2024 that went on and on, our house was water-tight.  Never just light rain, but instead a deluge leaving ponds around the yard, but no drip dripping in the house.  I thought of Greg The Carpenter.  “Thank you, Greg! I would think, but never say it out loud or write it.  So today I am writing it and letting Greg know.  He saved this house.  He gave us peace of mind.  He gave us a functional house.  And by the way, it is also a beautiful home.

My AI image should not have neatly placed backpacks, or tidy pencil cups. Instead imagine many adult-sized High School students clustered together ignoring the teacher who is digging through piles of disorganized papers on her desk up front and desperately trying to get the class quiet so she can at least take the required attendance. Yesterday I got a shocking email from my builder’s wife letting me know that her husband had passed away suddenly, unexpectedly, at the end of December.  Just days later, she was dutifully and painfully going through all of his work emails to let clients know.  I wrote back letting her know how sorry I was for her and her family.  What a shock for her, what a loss.  He was a wonderful father, I could tell from only meeting him once. I liked him right away.  As we stood looking at the view in Randolph Center, he told me about his family.  We talked houses and I really appreciated the approach he would take.  He was above all else, flexible.  He was patient.  He emphasized understanding the process and realizing that things don’t always come out the way they are imagined.  He talked about being able to shift gears and change things up for the owner as the building evolved.  This was not something I asked about or was even looking for, as I am a newbie to a house-building project. Of course, I was assuming that I am sure what I want, have already thought it all through and my plans are set in stone, so-to-speak.  But he must have known this is not realistic and brought it up which was really generous I thought. What builder wants a homeowner who constantly changes their mind or heads off in a different direction, mid-build?! He was not only a knowledgeable craftsman, he was a designer, problem-solver, and just a nice person to spend time with during the building process.  He was going to work on Charles Cooley’s barn for me starting at the end of March, beginning of April:  add a fully enclosed east side with barn doors, new ramp to hayloft, just get the place truly equine-ready.  Another builder can take over for me, but for his family it is a different story entirely.  I went to bed last night unsettled.  I had done the math with another builder who told me to count on $450/square foot.  32’ x 40’ Ridge Road house x 2 stories = 2560 square feet  x $450 = um….over a million dollars.  $1,152,000 to be exact and this didn’t even include the screened-in porch, deck, garage. My brain went into my usual dream sequences when I feel like life is out of control.  I am a teacher again but this time I have all new students and even taking attendance turns into a nightmare.  I can’t find an obvious list of students I’ve been assigned and have to try to glean this information from a large classroom full of unruly hooligans, large adult-sized bodies (being in High School), and full of themselves, laughing, talking loudly, listening to loud music, ignoring me as if it is a sign of victory.  I dig through disorganized piles of paperwork on the front desk, I work at getting them quiet so I can speak and ask who they are.  This appears impossible as I get one person listening and talking just pops up in another quadrant of the classroom. Many students are in small groups with their backs turned to me, huddled together, completely enjoying themselves. When I am able to get their attention, they laugh and give me false amusing names.  And this doesn’t even include the part where I need to fill their young minds with important scientific information.  I woke up exhausted.  God there are so many hard parts involved in teaching.  It is truly a miracle that there are many accomplished, creative, truly great teachers out there.  I am glad to be retired.  But then this morning I got an encouraging email from Builder number 2 who said (regardless of the $450/square foot potential costs) that a simple Cape Cod, three-bedroom house in Vermont indeed should not cost a million dollars to build.  Instead $600,000 was a figure mentioned.  OK, we’re good. Rest in peace, Matthew and thank you for our short partnership.  I will hold your family in my most positive thoughts for the difficult times ahead for them, navigating their new world without you.

I will definitely put this old light exactly where it was, at the foot of the stairs near the front door. Question...Should I use the old doors with the old paint still on them (regardless of one being a light green and another gray and not early-original paint) or should I strip the old paint and see what is underneath?  Then stain or paint white?  I plan on them going to each of the two upstairs bedrooms.  The smaller door with the latch will be for a closet door.  I could use it upstairs as it was in the south bedroom, or maybe in the mudroom downstairs.  Here's that original closet door in place in the original house: I thought the tiny door could go in its original spot as the door to the secret passageway upstairs.  Behind it when you open it I am thinking of having a painting on the wall showing a magical passageway which won’t be there (since there will be no saltbox second house and therefore no connection between the two houses like there once was). See photo below. Or I could use it for a small closet/storage door upstairs or in the mudroom.   Originally, I thought of removing the old wavy glass from these windows to use in a new piece.  But I am concerned about breaking the panes and thought keeping them intact might be the safest?  And obviously they can’t be used as exterior windows and still have an energy-efficient house.  One idea is to use them intact, keeping each section of 6 panes in its original wood frame and putting them above interior doors to allow more light from room to room.  It would be an unorthodox look.  Most likely strip the old paint off or leave it? I have two of them with 6 panes each. I do have 2 more sections of windows where 3 panes of glass are broken so I could take the remaining 9 good panes of glass, try to remove them and use them in a new frame.  Ideas? Finally, this old green leather recliner was not on my ‘must save’ list…it was pretty well invaded with mice, dust, dirt and I thought “green?!”  But of course, absence makes the heart grow fonder and I have thought about replacing it with a similar one for a remembrance of Grampa Cooley.  Here is the old and a couple of new possibilities.  It is fun to dream.  I have three options below: