It has been a big week at Jenny Lane with much happening in the on-going renovation project. Monday brought the little digger that was going to be used to dig a trench around the foundation so Roger could put in new drains and seal the foundation against any and all moisture. He discovered quite quickly where the water was coming into the basement. Broken pipes, crushed pipes and left over construction items were found as he dug around the base. I guess after 50+ years those original pipes were not going to hold up. He put a sealer around the foundation and put in new pipes as well as receptacles for the gutters and down spouts that will be added later. Everything to drain away from the house. The small world connection that came out of this association was that Roger is the father of Melissa who is reupholstering my mother’s living room couch. I had actually met him very briefly when he came with Melissa to pick up the couch but as is the case I was pleased to meet him but spent my time talking to Melissa, sorry to say I didn’t recognize him when he came to work. We did have a good laugh about it because he was surprised he didn’t remember Wyke.
We met many more neighbors this week too. Seems we live in dog heaven as everyone seems to have at least one dog and in many cases two. Wyke and Bean, being the social animals they are, greet every one with enthusiasm. Wyke had a set back with his recovery from his abscess when it developed into a hot spot so he was not super happy but is now getting better. Unfortunately, John was not able to come with us to Tennessee because Wyke needed too much attention to be left at a kennel or with someone who didn’t know him well.
But back to Jenny Lane. The doors and windows are now installed in both of the upstairs bedrooms and the trim is up on the windows. They look beautiful. The windows are made in Maine which makes me very happy. I like to buy local whenever possible and these are really well made and I consider Maine local. It’s not that far away. It really was fun to watch Chris and Les put the windows in. We were so lucky that the weather was very warm this week so they were able to work without freezing us out of the house. They also got them in before we had the big storm which hit the whole East Coast on Halloween. Les put up all the trim around the three windows in the big bedroom and the one in the smaller room. Am very impressed with his skill. We are so close to have those two rooms done. The final baseboards and the closet built ins need to be done and the closet doors installed then the painters can come back and finish things up. It will be so good to have two rooms done.
We didn’t ignore our floor either. The electrician Jimmy came back with his apprentice Trevor and wired our whole room for lights and plugs and switches. Amazing to watch them work and how much easier it was for them to do everything with only studs, no walls to deal with. The ceiling is there but it won’t be staying so they could cut holes wherever they needed to. We see a glimmer of hope regarding the big room and what it might look like.
Progress is being made so we are happy. We have a long way to go but by week’s end to say we have two rooms 3/4 complete, the foundation 1/2 sealed and trench covered, new wiring in the big room in the lower level, our bathroom painted (I couldn’t stand it so I got out the white paint again) and bids on a new heating system. The garage is full of trim and more windows for the rest of the house and still there is room for a car or two. We are so very grateful for that large garage. Not sure what we would have done without it.
Had a couple of lovely walks with the dogs this week. The weather was a bit rainy but on the days it was nice we got out. Wyke and Bean both love it and to stay that I do too is an understatement. It is a really good day when we get a good hike done in the morning. We also did some small walks in the neighborhood which allowed us to meet some more people. We put out a treat display for the four footed neighbors on Halloween but because of the weather didn’t get too many to stop but some did. No trick or treaters I think the dumpster discouraged them but also the weather. Maybe next year.
On Friday, leaving John at home to take care of Wyke, Katie and I flew from Manchester, NH to Nashville, TN – not on the same plane however. Katie flew American, I flew Southwest. I left half an hour after her and arrived 15 minutes before she did. I walked from my gate on one side of the terminal around to her gate and there she was getting off the plane. A travel agent couldn’t have planned it better. We picked up a rental car, stopped at Walmart to buy groceries and headed to Sewanee to find grandson/son Jack. We had a good catch up and then headed for our VRBO house.
Now that’s an adventure. We had no idea where we were going so as always it seemed very, very far out. In truth about 7 miles and 13 minutes. However, you always feel it takes forever when you don’t know where you are going. We drove on a pretty decent two lane road and then it divided and we took a road that was less than perfect which led us into an even less than perfect drive that was barely one car wide and passed some rather sketchy houses to an even smaller road that took us to a lane that wound through the woods and up a hill past a pond to our weekend home. Katie said she heard banjos while driving in. The spot is gorgeous, the house perfect, but trying to direct people to get here was a major challenge. Katie had invited Jack and six of his buddies to come for dinner so we had a lot of prep work to do for her special chicken and steak fajitas. Those kids can eat!!! Ultimately they found us and so did Margot and Hadley who drove here from Asheville. With a major effort we got a fire going (that’s another story) and food on the table for a very special evening together.
Saturday was bright and sunny and after a good sleep we went to the school to find our place in the tailgate park next to the football field. Jack is injured so wasn’t playing but that didn’t stop us from having a wonderful tail gate party in the park. Katie had two friends who are professional tail gaters join us from Atlanta. They brought a tent, three grills, one for deep frying chicken wings and french fries, one for the sauce for the chicken wings and one to cook the marinated flank steak. In the warm sunshine we enjoyed Mimosas and Bloody Caesars as well as Cissels which is her friends signature football drink. This is serious tail gating for sure but we just fit in with everyone around us. There were some who had generators and were watching the big league football games while waiting for the local game to start. What a perfect way to spend a Saturday in November.
Wonderful quiet Sunday morning feeding the chickens and the donkeys on the farm, sitting by the fire and enjoying writing my blog. Thanks to my wonderful grand daughter, I now have a Chrome book to use to write my blog when I travel so no more trying to do it on my iPad. Libby has a much more sophisticated iMac now so doesn’t need her Chrome book anymore. It was very generous of her to offer it to me and I am grateful to have it.
Katie and I will head off to Nashville for the night and I head home on Monday while she stays in Nashville for work. Margot and Hadley head home for Asheville and back to work and their busy lives. We look forward to seeing them again at Christmas time. We have been spoiled this fall to see so much of them. I don’t take it for granted when we live so far away that these get togethers are very special.
Recipe for you to try. Chicken Fajitas with lots of vegetables. I used to send the makings from Texas to my family at home because you couldn’t buy any of the makings up north. Now you can get what you need everywhere.
Chicken breasts, marinated with Fajita spice, grilled and sliced thinly.
Sweet Onions sliced, we love them so make a lot, sprinkle with Fajita spices
Red and Yellow peppers sliced and sprinkle with Fajita spices
Guacamole (we buy prepared)
Salsa
Sour Cream
Shredded Cheese
Chopped lettuce
Tortillas (we get the big ones that are used for burritos)
Grill the chicken breasts on a grill if you have one, they taste even better
Meanwhile, put some olive oil in a big pan and cook the onions and peppers until tender.
Place the salsa, sour cream, guacamole, lettuce and cheese in separate bowls, warm the tortillas and set up an assembly line to put them together. Enjoy with your favorite libation.
