Christmas 2014

Early remodel at the new house

We decided we were confident enough in the sale of the Belgrade Lakes house going through that it was time to bring the rest of our furnishing home as we'd left some things there to give it a little staging.  I really wasn't sure where the little brown leather sofa was going to go though I had been contemplating putting it in front of the fireplace in what we were currently using as a dining area.  I really liked having the table there as we'd be able to enjoy the fireplace in the winter and have been able to get a nice view of the deck where we could observe the birds and critters. But I also liked the idea of a comfortable seating area near the fireplace.   

Plus we had this big kitchen area where we'd been planning to have an island built, much like the one we had at the lakehouse.  However, the table would fit in there, save us the money on the island, and allow us to make a seating area in front of the fireplace.

So that's what we did with just a little furniture moving.

The countertops are a little cluttered. I'd like to figure out a better placement for the microwave. I've got an idea that I need to think out.

But I think this seating area will be very comfy once we get the fireplace converted to propane and can enjoy a nice fire with the flip of a switch.

We definitely need to check in with Tim about building us a pottery shelf where this big blank wall is.  Plus, without an island, we really need the extra storage space.

Here's the new pottery shelf!

Perennial Gardens

View of the garden behind the garage

same garden

some kind of lily - someone said Asiatic Lily but it closes up at night so day lily?

Don't know what these are but they're pretty.

Some kind of daisies

Have no idea what this is or whether it will flower.

Close up of above.

More unknown

unknown

New Home!

First Weekend at Camp 2014

After work Thursday night Rick and I went to look at a house in Hayford Heights in Farmingdale.  Nice house, good price, but zero room to park a camper so just doesn’t really work for us.  I then went to KLFI to pick up my order of locally grown and raised food: crabcakes from Hallowell Sea Food, some chicken, sausage, greens, chives, granola, and a few other things.  Had to stop by Hannaford to supplement my local food with a few bottles of wine and some beer as well as the usual staples, and got to camp and rushed to put away my groceries as I’d planned to meet Betty in Hallowell for music by Chris Paulson at Hatties.  However, just as I put on my jacket and walked out the door I realized how much I really just wanted to stay at camp and listen to the peeper, bullfrogs, and loons, so turned around and came back in.  I texted Betty to let her know I wasn’t going to make it and invited her out to hang me with at camp and she accepted.  We had a wonderful evening; drank almost two bottles of wine and had a great chat.  Fortunately she’d brought her overnight necessities so we realized after the first bottle that she wasn’t driving anyplace. 

Friday afternoon Rick came out and we had plans to go out that night but again, the loons and peepers were calling and we decided at the last minute to stay in. Fortunately we had the crab cakes and veggies from KLFI so was able to make a delicious meal and open a bottle of wine.  Lovely night. 

Saturday I had three houses to look at while Rick went to Belgrade Lakes to talk with a guy about our cottage whose foundation appeared to be collapsing.  Thirty grand to fix it perfect and now we need to get an estimate to demolish it.  Both will be presented to any prospective buyers but it’s gonna be the cottage “as is.”  A couple of houses on the Kennebec River in Randolph were pretty sweet but one was well within the flood zone and I just don’t want to have to deal with that and the other was gorgeous with a delightful enclosed porch overlooking the river from high out of the flood plain but would take a major amount of yard work to keep it up and I don’t think Rick wants that kind of commitment in our retirement home.  We also looked at a ranch with a two car attached garage in a nice Augusta neighborhood but it was just a tad too small inside, plus it needed all the aromatic carpet replaced.  Another pass.  We figured out that was house #15 we’d looked at.  The search continues.

So we came home had a late lunch and I think we both read and napped, waking up about 7 pm to wonderment about what might be for dinner.  I had bought the makings for English muffin pizza Thursday night at Hannaford so that along with some leftover salad from last night and some nice Mountain Ale brewed in Stowe, VT made a delicious meal. 

Sunday Justin came out and helped clean up the yard and everything is looking great. 

  

He left and Rick headed home to mow the Belgrade Lakes house and I decided to spend my first solo night at camp.  I finished most of my book and puttered around outside for a while.  Put another crab cake in the toaster oven and tossed together some more salad and enjoyed another delicious meal. 

Friday in Pleasantville

Got woken up by a text this morning about 9:30 (yup, 9:30) from my lovely neighbor, Christine, to meet at the point for a chat. I brought a couple cups of coffee and we sat on the rocks and caught up with each other.  She had her two sweet little four legged friends. It was a little blustery but the morning sun kept us warm.  Chris had to move on with her agenda for the day but I came back home and grabbed some more coffee and my Kindle and read and watched all the activity in our usual quiet little corner.  The town maintenance crew came and did their spring cleaning of the beach and I had to appreciate how fortunate we are to have such close proximity to the waterfront without having to pay waterfront taxes or to maintain the area.  The town does a good job on the public beach, though I have to say our shared private access point is currently pretty littered and junky from our neighbor who just doesn't know how to respect a piece of property and clean up after himself.  He's got too many toys to properly care for so his winter's ice shack is sitting out there along with the summer's 50 feet of docks, so it's a little hard to reach the rocky shoreline.  He's got a huge pile of trash and pallets stacked up and obviously plans a substantial bonfire though hopefully on a less blustery day than today.

They did a nice job cleaning up the public beach area.

Headed back across the street to our house(s).

Across the cute little bridge Rick made for us.

To hang out on the deck.

reading my Kindle and watching the ubiquitous and vocal goldfinch, cardinals, and all the other usual suspects.

New House - Maybe

We're planning to make an offer on this place tomorrow.  It's got a lot of what we've been looking for but is lacking some too.  It does have a huge two car garage but it's not attached and there's quite a bit of snow removal to do between the garage and the entryway to the house which is a downside.  Even though the house does have a second floor there are two bedrooms on the main floor so it fits our "one floor living" requirement if needed at some point.  It has great windows and is facing south so lots of sun.  It has room for a garden which was another requirement and it's only about 12 minutes to Hallowell and/or work for me.  Rick will have to drive fifty minutes to work each way but he drove from Gardiner for two years which was even farther.  

It needs some upgrades: new carpet or some kind of flooring in the main room and perhaps one or two bedrooms. Definitely needs some new paint colors on some walls.  I'm disappointed that my pottery studio will have to be in the basement but it's dry and doesn't smell so once I put down some cheap linoleum and some wall paint I think it'll be okay.  I'm hoping I can put the kiln in a closet just off the studio room so that will be an improvement, not having to take everything out to the garage to fire.  

A definite selling point is the one minute walk to the public beach which is tiny and I suspect is not heavily used. The beach is on Cobbossee Lake which connects to Cobbossee Stream where our camp is.  And it's probably just about 15 or 20 minutes drive to camp.  Or I suppose we could kayak to camp though it would require portaging over at least two dams and would probably take several hours.   

It's only about 1600 square feet so it's definitely downsizing which was a goal and will be a challenge to get rid of "stuff."  We'll get an inspection and if all goes well could probably be in it by sometime in June. Our plan is to get into that house before putting ours on the market though we may change our minds and decide to just go ahead and list ours before being completely in the new place.  Of course all of this is contingent on the owners accepting our offer . . .   

Here's the description:  Beautifully maintained cape style home near Cobbossee Lake. Desirable open-concept floor plan with vaulted ceilings provide a spacious main living area. Kitchen features gorgeous cabinets and tiled back splash. Walk to the lake!

UPDATE:  5/16/14 - we made the offer, it was accepted but the inspection revealed some issues with a very wet basement and a deck that really needs rebuilding, along with some other issues that made us decide against the property.  The search continues. . .