bar stools

I just ordered four of these retro-looking bar stools for the kitchen island.

When they arrive, we may drink chocolate malted milkshakes to celebrate.

the new front walk

I ventured out in my little green kayak the other day. This is not a view for pedestrians. Only fish & birds get this angle of our old stone home.

Any landlubber can step out of Grandma Jean's door to see this, though.

We are getting a new front walk, courtesy of the the bridge crew.

This sidewalk is new on two counts: fresh gravel, blacktop & stairs AND a new location! The previous sidewalk went from Grandma Jean's door along the front edge of the house, and ended on the main road. It was old & cracked.

The nice men smashed it up & carted it far away. I was not sad to see it go!

Since the bridge crew is ripping up our driveway & replacing it, they offered to do anything we wanted in the department of How to Get to the Front Door from the New Driveway.

I don't know why there was never a direct route before. But there is now!

I envision perennial beds fanning out from either side; bulbs, low flowering shrubs, and herbs.
Any specific suggestions would be welcome!

little happenings

Here is a beautiful shot of our old stone home.

And now I bring you the un-retouched photo.
I think the over-sized yellow construction machinery gives it that personal touch, don't you?

Now that over-sized yellow construction machinery has been mentioned, I thought I would let you in on all the brouhaha around here.

Once again, the men are digging large holes in our property. Here, they are looking for the town sewer hook-up so they can lay some pipes for our garage. That way, we can have sewer and water for the guest apartment. Some day.

I love when the guys hop into action.
This shot reminds me of the movie "Holes". I love that movie.

I also love the way the late-morning sun illumines them, like they are involved in a noble task. One might imagine they are searching for King Tut's gold.

But really, it's only a sewer line.

Across the street in the yard of the town dock, my favorite large rocks are still waiting to be moved to their final destination. They spent the winter here; a big change from the edge of the riverbank on the other side of the bridge.

Of course, before they were cast aside as junk when the gristmill was dismantled, they earned an honest wage grinding wheat and corn for the whole town. I am looking forward to giving them a place of honor in our side yard in tribute for all their wholesome labor.

Speaking of wholesome labor, let's go up the street to the falling down house next door, where a bit of "landscaping" is going on.

I tried to get to the operator to beg him to just "landscape" the whole eyesore to the ground.

-but upon instruction from the LOTM, the road crew wouldn't let me on the scene.

The LOTM really has some sway with the road crew.

Instead, I reveled in the many beautiful & wonderful things that are happening around me, and tucked in to a little plein-air lunch on the front porch.

Come join me any time!

recyling & re-using

From the wayyyyyy back of the property, one can see the Canadian geese frolicking in the chilly waters.

But stepping back about twenty yards, one can see a man frolicking with a large yellow toy.

This man has a nice-sized sandbox to play around in. He spent the early afternoon pushing around dirt in an organized manner.

He made a big pile.
-and made that pile nice & tidy.

Now, the back of the barn is ready for some chickens or a few sheep. I think it is way cool to live smack-dab in the heart of town and harbor a mini-farm in our wayyyyyy backyard!

After he was done with the dirt-sculpting, my dear hubby decided to sling some rocks around.

This large collection of rocks is what was garnered from the tall fireplace/tower that used to be part of our old stone home. But I must say, they originally were part of the stone grist mill that was first built in 1802 at the edge of the river on the other side of our lot.

So I guess you could say these stones have been "re-re-purposed"! A new stone retaining wall will grace the front edge of the vegetable garden.

the new garden

There are so many projects happening here at our old stone home.
Yesterday, for example, the Lord of the Manor decided to make our garden bed.

In the very back of the property, there is a barn yard full of years & years of sheep manure. The goal was to transfer that rich soil from there....

-to here, the front side yard.

I agree; it is an unusual place to have the vegetable garden, in full view of the traffic cruising by. But the full sun is quite the draw, along with the fact that we will never use this piece of yard for anything else.

Also, as the Lady of the Manor, I will be able to keep a snooping eye on who comes in and out of our little town on the river as I yank weeds and swat black flies. See this post for how I can entertain the neighborhood.

We were making this up as we went along. How would we edge the front slope? How close to the road do we pile the dirt? What about a path from the front porch?

The LOTM solved some of these puzzles with the idea of a stone retainer wall. He trucked load after load of the stone from the demolished chimney (dubbed "The Tower", as you may recall) to the front yard. Then, without much fanfare, he began to build a stone wall.

"Have you ever built a wall before?" I inquired hopefully.

Grunt. "Nope," he said in between heaving large rocks into place.

Our front foyer window will give me a beautiful view of the bunnies munching on my spinach.

the kitchen island

We plan to eat many a snack at the kitchen island -which may explain my joy at its existence.

This past week, the Lord of the Manor has spent many hours crafting the reclaimed slate counter tops. Here is a picture of the slate being installed on the antique general store counter which serves as the kitchen island:

Tommy thinks he is Vanna White.

The crowning glory of this island is the light fixture. I thought a juxtaposition of styles would be cool, so I picked out an industrial light fixture.

The new addition to the kitchen was christened immediately with colored chalk -which makes total sense when you remember that for many years, teachers and school children expressed themselves on it in the very same way.

It's a chalk-artist's free-for-all until the tops are sealed. Seeing that the next day was Easter Sunday, bunnies and Easter baskets were all the rage.

A few hours later, a sweet young lady decorated the island top in a different kind of fashion.

We really really love this beautiful and functional piece! But now that it is in place, we think it may need a little tiny zap of color.

What do you think?

the slate counters

Yesterday was the perfect day for stone-grinding -if you are into that sort of thing.

Hubby donned a yellow wet suit and set up shop out in the side yard. He spent hours wet-sanding our reclaimed slate counter-tops.

It made quite the racket. I could hear the noise all the way up the river in my kayak, where thoughts of baking on those smooth, luscious black counter-tops made me shiver with delight.

He made numerous phone calls to our kitchen guy and local hardware stores to inquire about sealing the finished top. No one really knows for sure what to use. If it is left unfinished, it looks quite gray. But when wet, it glows with a rich inky depth.

Here is a view of the unsealed top. It's divinely buttery soft to the touch.

Pie crusts all over St. Lawrence County will be lining up to be rolled out here. Just you wait & see!