Our world is a little bit upside down. When we lived in Annapolis, Spring was the busy time of year. Weekends and evenings (and quite a few sneak-away-from-work hours) were spent getting boats ready for the season. Tedious hours were spent getting logistics sorted for the sailing season. But it was all worth it. The more prepared we were for the season, the better we were able to enjoy our hours on the water.
It was a busy time when the community shared information on new products and processes they were using. The talk about the coming season centered on new sail plans and purchases, new crew line-ups, ultimate strategies for long-distance races and tactics for the all-important race to the dock/bar.
Now that we have moved North, the sailing season is shorter and Fall is longer, but (apparently) way too short to complete all of the many Winter-prep projects required to keep us warm and safe at TOPH. The to-do list for Fall included tree trimming to keep branches away from the house, replacing five basement windows to replace some of the the old, rotten ones (removed earlier in the Summer), ceiling demolition in the tavern to allow for plumbing repairs and some window replacement in the main house.
The tree trimming has been slow-going. Hubby has been pecking away at it over the last six weeks, but our chainsaw has proven unequal to the task, requiring multiple sharpenings over the course of an afternoon. Plus, tree work with the kids "helping" is slow-going with constant checks of their giggling-proximity to every given projectile and cutting tool.
The basement windows are more a financial challenge. This is perhaps on of the only areas of "investment" in TOPH where were were willing to go with the cheapest, effective measure. However, the window sizes are not stock or common, therefore either significant reframing efforts or expensive custom windows are required. Sigh. In the short term, hubby built two "hutches" to match the three contraptions already here. They look like 3-sided dog houses that sit over the window wells. Under those, I have used "found" materials to affect some protection from the colder temeratures. The flat-frame screens I made to lay over the window wells for pest protection during our fully-ventuialted Summer have been covered on both sides (with air pocket in between) with several yards of painters' canvas I had lying around. Hoping they will provide enough of an insulating barrier to protect window-proximal pipes -- we'll be keeping a close eye on those.
The ceiling demolition is more of a mental-physical barrier. It sucks having yards of dust, debris, frass, feces and fodder fall on your head. And working with power tools over your head is rather taxing (and death-defying.) it's not a project you can work on for more than two hours at a time, yet the prep and clean-up take a good hour. Finding time and motivation has been the greatest factor. On the other hand, not having a living/family room for five months has posed its own challenges. The critical mass of willpower (directed at Couch + Fire + TV/Book) is building a decent head of steam!
And finally, we took forever to make a decision about windows for the main house. Then it took 6 weeks for our "sample" to arrive. Truth-be-told, it took hubby less than two hours to install it. And we like it. A lot. Now we just have to line up the pecking/ordering order for the rest. Each one is about $325, so we figure we can do 2 each month without breaking the bank. Some rooms have only one window and some have three, so it should all come out in the wash. Although we'd like to do all nine on the front of the house in one go. In the meantime, there are several that are "breezy" shall we say, so we have made a stop-gap purchase of shrink film, which is actually quite invisible to the naked eye when installed properly. And, that is how we are spending our Thanksgiving.
So, back to my sailnig analogy. Hubby and I have both remarked that it is a little tough embarking on projects in an old house in a new community. Our community of sailing/Annapolis friends was always willing to lend a hand or opinion on a wide variety of boat projects. Most folks we've met here, though, are not old house people. So, although they find our house "charming" and projects "interesting", we have found very few with affinity or experience. And, perhaps it's becasue we barely know them, we have been reluctant to ask for help when tasks require more hands. Mostly we miss the commaraderie of the boat yard (and The Boatyard Bar & Grill) in terms of group-think and the inevitbability of drop-by helping elves.
Don't get me wrong, we LOVE living here and we are meeting new folks every day, but community takes time to build and we are freshmen. We are thankful for all of the new folks we are meeting, but honestly, we miss (and look forward to) the sophomoric comments and sage-senior advice that come from old friends.
So, on this Thanksgiving, we hope you'll join us it toasting friendships new and old. Here's hoping the former grow finer with time. Cheers and warm, homey hugs, all!
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