Stress!

Like others except our Swedish cousins we’re hunkered down in our home. We work from home anyway so the biggest change for us is having cafés closed and bartering for toilet paper. We’re fortunate to have some good options for bike rides and walks nearby and the weather has been nice for that as well.

On one positive front (for us, not so much for them), our son and daughter-in-law are with us. They were in Newfoundland hiking and shooting photos when this thing erupted so rather than return to NYC they came to stay with us. We’re totally enjoying having them here and are praying that NYC doesn’t open back up for several months. There have been more than a few comments that it’s too bad this whole thing didn’t happen a couple of months later so that we could have been sheltering in place in our new home.

The past few weeks have been quite stressful totally aside from Covid19. Laying a foundation are some personal life issues I’ve been having to deal with that would be tough by themselves. And then building a new house, even with a great team of people, is a heavy and sometimes stressful workload with a seemingly never ending list of decisions that have to be made, issues that have to be dealt with and various worries about this and that. Unexpectedly tight budgets make these decisions more difficult and time consuming. And then a number of tasks with this project have landed in my lap to the point of total overload. Add in having to move from our current house by next week and we’ve a recipe for a quite phenomenal mental breakdown. Oh, and then my normal research and writing workload. I’m trying to plan my breakdown for a time when it will have the least negative affect but finding that time with everything that’s going on is proving difficult.

I’m a bit behind on posts. These are all from March. April in a couple of days.

An ice stalagmite formed over the winter from condensation dripping from the exhaust vent from the furnace.

Pedro and friend working on the panels below the window.

Steel roof!

The DNR creates a berm from ice and snow to prevent people from driving on to the lake when the ice thins out in the spring. 

Mudroom counter.

Installing the counters in the kitchen. The marble on the island is really spectacular. Thanks to Marita (Kipling House) and Kat for their help in choosing the materials and slabs and where to cut what on each slab. The results are really great. 

Bob and I snuck in to the living room after they sprayed it. 

Middle guest bath.

UL Laundry

Master Bath

The steel roof looks great.

The ice is beginning to melt.

Polka dot motif in the entry.

The scullery counters presented a problem to get the seams correct. Thanks to Bob (Hendel Homes) for figuring out a way to do it.

 

 Bob and Mark discussing options for the newel post and volute for the main staircase. The design placed it quite high (the rail would be where Bob’s level is) and too high to be of practical use on the lower 3 steps.  

Toilet paper?

The new counters are covered and the kitchen is ready for a final coat of paint.

Marita and my sweetie discussing some final material selections.

Marita thought that some of the color in one of Alie Stayer’s paintings could be a bit more somber so Ali graciously made a progression of changes that my sweetie posted on her desk. As a photographer this was a fascinating exercise to watch and I loved every single one. I can’t wait to see this hung up in our new home.

The hand rail as designed. It looks great but that high is impractical for anyone with shoulder or back problems. 

Ben’s craftsmanship with the shingles is greatly appreciated by all who visit.

A blue scullery.

I love the way white enamel and white latex work together. Same exact color but different finishes create a really great look.

Wallpaper in the main powder room.

Signs of the times at the temporary entrance to our garage.