Billie's Folly

There don't seem to be any good photos to be taken and shown.  There's either plastic covering everything or work debris everywhere.  The good news is, it's all a sign that things are happening.  Will I be in by the end of March?--your guess is as good as mine.  I'd say no.  But I'm getting philosophical about it--especially since 1) my building risk insurance expires  today  and I finally nailed down new homeowners insurance that overlaps, and 2) my rental lease expires today also--but due to Covid I can't be evicted--so my living/storage issues are solved for the short term. I spent about an hour today going through the cottage and the upstairs rooms making notes of all that still needs to be done.  Much of it--like ceiling and floor vents, shower doors and closet fixtures, switch plates and outlets, and cabinet glass--is on the schedule to be completed.  But it's the details that I'm making note of--paint touch-up, caulking, changing the ...

We're having a big freeze--for us.  We've had a couple days of light snow, that started to melt, and then froze.  Then the same thing the next day.  All the trees are heavy with ice and being pulled toward the ground by the weight.  Any dead wood is cracking off.  If it weren't for the probable permanent damage to the structure, the ice sculptures would be quite beautiful. My rental is all stairs and hills, and I'm afraid of the ice.  So I'm not venturing outside.  And my poor pup Sadie, is even more afraid of the continually cracking branches.  Who knows how long she can hold out and hold it in!  I'll have to assess the damage when it all melts.  This pretty maple will recover, but it will never look the same with its symmetry destroyed. Birches in my yard haven't fared well.  This poor guy actually bent under the strain. I haven't been to the new house in days--this is more strictly quarantined than I've been in the last year. ...

Lots going on, but not many good photo ops.  But as a reminder of how far we've come, here's a look at the same time, last year. LAST WEEK LAST YEAR The changes probably aren't apparent to the unfamiliar eye, but they are numerous.  The windows were just being put in, the conservatory glass areas weren't started, and the stone and stucco were still a ways off. And that's just the outside!    This snowy day was pretty.  We got four inches that only lasted through the night.  And since almost all the work is going on inside, it didn't cause delays.  However, I got out while there was just a dusting--the hill down to my rental is steep and winding. Seen through my car window. I can't wait for the same time, next  year!