TheCapeBlog

Ron got up with me for the first time in quite a while and with admirable good humor, dug in to the mess we left in the kitchen last night and started the laundry.

Gorgeous morning; hummer at the hanging plant.

Proud of what we and more accurately our contractors have accomplished since we moved in here.

For no good reason, I filled in a survey from the Milton High School Class of 1963 reunion committee. It asked for a summary of life at the moment, and I wrote that we recently moved to the Berkshires from the Cape and are in the process of renovating a 100 year old house.

It sounds a bit highfalutin’ even if it is accurate, which makes me laugh because we are underachievers who have spent our adult lives contemplating how we’re going to pay our bills.

I was up at 4:30 and spent a couple of hours online.

Thought we were done with boulders, but when I started digging out more soil this morning, ran into a large rock. Not as big as the one we unearthed last week, but too heavy to pry out.

James rehomed it to a corner of the yard and after he and Jake left, I got back to digging. Put four new plants in. We need a little planting soil to finish.

Ron did some hydrating – great because I wasn’t up to hauling the big watering can.

Made rice in the steamer, cleaned and chopped a pile of vegetables for stir fry: broccolini, eggplant, collard greens. Steamed some dragon beans. Ron made sauce.

Email from Jim about a little project for MRS. He’s done a splendid job with NEPS!

James towed the giant rock with his Polaris ATV. We filled in the hole with soil from two trash barrels and two wheelbarrows.

Prior to this, we went to the RMV in North Adams for a paper copy of Ron’s drivers license, which, still searching for Ron’s misplaced wallet, I’d ordered earlier after much frustration with their website.

We picked up bakery at Bailey’s and Berkshire Emporium and did a shop at Walmart and Job Lot.

Seeded species observed include: 

Agastache foeniculum (anise hyssop), 

Aquilegia canadensis (wild columbine), 

Asclepias tuberosa (butterfly weed), 

Aster laevis (smooth aster), 

Carex sp (sedge species), 

Castilleja coccinea (Scarlet Paintbrush), 

Chamaecrista fasciculata (partridge pea), 

Cirsium discolor (pasture thistle), 

Coreopsis lanceolata (tickseed), 

Elymus sp. (wild rye sp.), 

Gnaphalium obtusifolium (sweet everlasting), 

Monarda punctata (horsemint), 

Parthenium integrifolium (wild quinine), 

Penstemon digitalis (white beardtongue), 

Penstemon hirsutus (hairy beardtongue),

Rudbeckia hirta (black eyed Susan), 

Solidago juncea (early goldenrod), and 

Zizia aurea (golden Alexander),

among others.

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.