TheCapeBlog

I’ve bought used shorts and shirts for myself; a case of Clos du Bois Sauvignon Blanc (great price at Dwyer’s); a/c service for the truck; lunches at Madison Brewing Company, Moonwink and Ma & Pa Kettle; and cheese and crackers at Provisions.

Ron has reimbursed me almost $300, but get him to understand that and what else he owes (relatively little): almost impossible.

Met with a painter yesterday. Caught up with the gent from Berkshire Heating today. He promised a proposal soon. Getting an estimate for a kitchen remodel this Friday.

The electrician and landscapers punted but our carpenters did more work on the living room ceiling. They plan to be done the end of next week. We will miss them!

Ron worked for hours on chopping vegetables for not one but two cheddar quiches: swiss chard, onion, peppers, summer squash, parsley. Superb.

We brought the truck in for an air conditioning recharge and replacement of a couple of a/c hoses. Rain on the way back but it stopped quickly.

Ron did laundry, changed sheets and watered plants. I cleaned counter tops and windows. Signed up for documentary TV channel Magellan.

Tried to track down an order that was supposed to be shipped to Carr Hardware; manager told me this morning the item was out of stock and found me a replacement. Gotta love Carr.

Texted with Cindy; she sent a darling video of her new baby grand girl.

Neighbor dropped off mint plants yesterday; planted them this morning.

Nice short visit today with our neighbors.

Today we visited two breweries in Bennington, had a fantastic lunch at Madison and picked up a four-pack at Farm Road. Gorgeous ride back and forth

Tom from Modern Pest checked a couple of the feeders – still no activity! – and replaced two that had been buried under plastic in the crawl spaces.

Carpet and foam backing arrived.

Carpenters are done with the bedroom floor!

We went to Chenail’s farm stand for peaches and corn.

I slept through it but was told there was a huge thunderstorm at 4 am this morning.

Ron picked up lunches at the senior center. I made a salad. Have been cleaning windows and doors.

We put away two loads of laundry.

Late afternoon, we went to a wine tasting at Provisions. Came home with three glorious cheeses and assembled a board with Effie’s.

We got out of the carpenters’ hair for a few hours with a trip to the marble quarry at Dalton, Vermont.

The quarry is smaller than I expected and the water was dank. We were told that none of the locals swim there this time of year for fear of eye and ear infections!

Manchester is a very pretty town. We had a Burmese lunch at Moonwink.

We stopped at a farm stand for blueberries and two Bee Balm plants for the price of one.

Finally, we had a fine time shopping at Bablogan of Scotland in Arlington, VT. Ron bought himself a MacInnis tie and some treats; I bought him a Celtic knot belt buckle.

Earlier I brought the Corolla to K-M Toyota for its 5,000 mile service.

We attended this “annual community-building event promoting police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie”. Free food and an opportunity to touch base with a number of local non-profits. We brought home salads for lunch today along with fresh corn.

Perfect evening weather-wise, too.

We did a Home Depot run for bedroom doors to replace the uglies with six-panels like we had in Mashpee.

I made a nice bruschetta to consume vegetables before yesterday’s CSA pickup. Ron made an apple bread pudding to use up old white bread and apples.

Town Building Inspector signed off on the “office” project.

I discovered that Ron had cut off the end of a soaker hose. He fixed it today.

A PayPal customer service person responded immediately to my request for an explanation of what happened to my Sears refund. It was credited to other transactions.

All I can say for myself is “Duh”.

Electrician and carpenters are here today. Drywall is in place in the living room.

Talked on the phone with a landscaper who also does carpentry about giving us a quote on trimming the forsythia and installing gable vents.

Cancelled Corolla checkup in Bennington, booked it for North Adams.

Transfer station and a couple of errands, otherwise did nothing today.

We agreed that it was time for a visit to the Apple Barn for donuts and I decided to try a different route in lieu of the highway.

We thoroughly enjoyed the trip and the snacks at Tammy’s Candy Kettle in Hoosick, NY. Ron bought three pretty cut glass vases.

Back home, Ron installed hangers so we could put up the big stained glass piece. He washed all of the deck chairs, too.

Today I started washing windows. The building inspector is coming over tomorrow to check out the tempered glass in the first floor bathroom, so I made it a priority to clean that one.

Did a few more windows plus the sunroom door, then remembered I’d promised to vacuum the deck after Ron’s hard work yesterday. After I put away the shop vac and sat in a chair to relax, it started to rain.

Deck looks much better, though.

Ron vacuumed the two bedrooms before doing a grocery run.

I finished a letter to a bio cousin and mailed it at the post office.

We tripped a breaker this afternoon, a circuit on the west side of the house; not sure how.

Yesterday was a hot one but by afternoon the humidity had gone way down, so I tried to mow the front of the yard. I ran over a mouse with the lawnmower and had to euthanize the poor little thing.

Mowing takes more upper body strength than I have. The property slopes in two directions, East/West and North/South, so you’re fighting gravity with every push.

Ron did great, though, finished both front and back.

I staked some plants that might be Goldenrod. Took down the curtains in the kitchen. Did some grilling: cabbage with chopped onion, carrots and chickpeas for a kale salad, veg burgers.

We ate on the deck and DEET’d up, enjoyed being outside, unmolested.

It’s so muggy this afternoon that even our outdoor-loving neighbors are inside.

I did a transfer station and two compost runs because I’m absent-minded. Picked up a couple of staples at Stop & Shop as well. Changed the sheets. After buying a new drill bit at rk, Ron fixed the kitchen drawer! He is fretting about the “killer storm” predicted to arrive shortly but honestly from the weather map, looks like it’s going to miss us.

This is a banner day for the house: framing is done, inspection passed, praise for James and Jake from the Town building inspectors.

To celebrate, I picked up three sandwiches and a small meal at Poppa Charlie’s Deli. Excellent!

After mulling it over for a while, I’m staying put this afternoon because it all of a sudden got unbearably muggy. Good thing: at 2:20, it was raining like cats and dogs and now at 3:05 it’s like a sauna outside.

Spoke briefly to Robert to wish him a happy birthday.

Yesterday I finally learned how to add channels to my Sirius car radio and had a chat with my primary about glucose readings. Today I set up the most recent Greylock loan for automatic payments.

The electrician squared everything away on his side.

Yesterday I met with and got a quote from an arborist for tree and branch removal.

The carpenters got the architect’s approval to replace a beam with a larger one. They were here today for about five hours.

Ron and I planted some of the new plants in the garden in the center of the yard, thus adding more color to the area.

We were doing pretty well until we encountered a gigantic rock. Ron dug around it and was able to move it. I’m not sure how we are going to get it out of the ground and out of the way, though.

I did a transfer station run to dispose of an old chaise cushion and a bunch of yard clippings. Also dropped off compost materials and picked up our lunches at the senior center.

I was up at 2 am. Not tired.

Paid a couple of bills. Continuing to get caught up with emails. Wrote to James.

Ron did his usual great job of cleaning up before going to sleep.

Ron’s been annoying me with his lengthy monologues to strangers. I think he could use some new companions, but there doesn’t seem to be a way to do that easily. He really didn’t socialize much in Mashpee, either, even though there was an active men’s club and a crafts group at the senior center.

I tried networking myself but it’s a losing proposition and not that important to me so gave up.

I slept for a couple of hours and was in the shower when James came and went. Waiting for advice from the architect.

Meanwhile, Peter spent several hours here hunting down fault problems. It was complicated and apparently due to bad junction boxes ineptly installed by the former owner. He went up to the attic several times and got a lot done.

Gave Ben his birthday gift, a yoyo, a day early.