I missed a week. I haven’t done that in a very long time. I had a good reason. We were on the road driving to South Carolina and the traffic was awful. It took us at least two hours longer than normal to get here from Lexington, VA. We weren’t rushing we just took our time leaving. So it was late when we arrived and I was just too tired to write.
Update on Jenny Lane
Our week in New Hampshire was really wonderful. On Monday the granite counter tops were delivered and installed. The previous week’s work paid off as we had to have the lower cabinets ready for the counter top. Somewhere in there the guys were able to set the sink in place properly. I don’t remember which day it was. Just having the counter top changed the entire look of the kitchen.
Tuesday the electrician came and put in the ground fault plugs under the sink for the disposal and the plug for the dishwasher as well as one for the fridge and one for the wine fridge which is arriving this week sometime.
Wednesday the plumber and his son spent the whole day at the house installing the water to the kitchen. He told us he didn’t want anyone else working in the house on that day as he needed all the space to work. We had a faucet, a disposal, and a dishwasher to hook up. It doesn’t sound like much but they had to run all new lines and drains to the kitchen to accomplish these tasks. I love how he made the hot water lines red and the cold blue. Said it makes it easier for him to repair if needed. By the end of the day we had running water and a dishwasher (including the good looking guy) and the disposal. We were thrilled.
On Thursday the crew returned to install the upper cabinets. They started with the newly named “bread garage” and worked their way across the kitchen. Somehow it all lined up the way it was supposed to despite uneven walls and floors. Old houses sure are fun to work in.
By the end of the day they had all the cabinets installed except for the one over the fridge and the pantry cupboard which is back ordered. I actually said that I had had enough of living in chaos and insisted that we move the fridge back into the kitchen from the living room, that we set up a sitting area on the sun porch and that we put the rug down in the living room and make it all look presentable. It is useful to have a grandson who is as strong as an ox who carried the rug from the garage attic down the stairs across the driveway and up the stairs into the living room in the house. The finished rooms looked amazing and I was happy. We are almost there.
Friday morning I got up ready to paint. I was only going to do a primer coat on the walls, could not do the ceiling, but the walls looked so much better. You can see the space for the over the fridge cabinet and to the right of the fridge is where the pantry cabinet will go whenever it gets here. Doesn’t it look like a real kitchen and a real house now. One year ago we were just installing the windows in the living room, we had found the carpenter ants, we didn’t have the sunroom, they were pouring the cement for the foundation for the office and digging a hole for the propane tank. We have come a long way in a year.
Success
I finally completed my first virtual challenge. The Ring Road in Iceland. It took me longer than I thought because I originally was only biking this route but once spring arrived I no longer exercised indoors on the bike but rather was outside walking. I allowed myself to post my walking miles to the last 70 or 80 miles of this challenge. I have almost finished the Camino and I am plodding along on the Pacific Crest. Hope to get there eventually!!!
The dogs and I enjoyed some wonderful days out on the trail with lots of swimming for them and some good walking for me. Everything is so green now and lush. While I am away Katie is walking them and so is a friend of mine who does dog walking as a business. They are well taken care of.
On The Road Again
We decided rather suddenly to take a quick trip to South Carolina. We had a window of time where we were not needed in New Hampshire to be chauffeur to Libby who has a job 15 minutes away from home at an ice cream shop. Since her mum is now back at the office a few days a week and her brother is working full-time we are the backup. This week Libby is visiting her best friend in Ohio. A trip that was canceled in March 2020 because of Covid. As she is now fully vaccinated off she went. And off we went.
We headed for Avon Connecticut, then to Lexington, VA where we stayed at our favorite B&B The Brierly Inn. We were welcomed by the new owners and greeted by the creature above on our bed. The inn is located outside of town on a hill with gorgeous views. We had a wonderful dinner at our favorite restaurant Bistro on Main and a delicious breakfast before our departure. The traffic was incredible. It was a Sunday morning and every person in the southern US was on the road. With Covid subsiding people are traveling like it was 2019! Every rest area was packed, many spots were bumper to bumper and around Charlotte and Columbia it was at a standstill. We had three GPS going, the one in the car, the one on my phone and Waze to help get us around most of it. We still took more than two hours longer to get to Dataw than we usually do. On a Sunday!
We have sold the house here with a closing in early September. We used this time to clean out areas of the house that we could without disturbing our tenant too much. She is also packing up her things with hope that she will find a new home soon. Rentals are very rare these days. I was able to sell a few items but the one that made me sad was selling the golf cart. That was one of the best things about Dataw being able to drive around in a golf cart but it is going to someone who loves it – a dog named Lulu! So I am happy about that. However, after three and half days of packing items from the attics and storage under the stairs where there is no air conditioning, we are exhausted. John has taken donation trips to the St. Francis Center and the animal shelter and many trips to the dump. We made great progress but are done for now.
