TheCapeBlog

Earlier this week, children and grandchildren served tea, and we got to sit with our friend Linnea who didn’t want us to be by ourselves!

On Tuesday, Ron did the lawn, stout heart. It was a very pleasant day to be outdoors.

I’ve been working on code for Jim.

Ron started cleaning the garage gutter yesterday afternoon.

We enjoyed a concert by the Eagles Community Stage Band last night at Windsor Lake. I fell trying to get into my chair on a slope; two people helped me up.

Painters started bright and early this morning!

Brought home a little Nissan from Enterprise to tide us over until the Corolla is repaired. Everything went smoothly at Coggins.

Stopped at Home Depot for mulch (limited supply, end of season, glad to get it) and a gorgeous perennial which had to come home with me.

Changed sheets, did laundry.

Peter, James and Jake came by for checks. Great to see all of them.

Ron did an excellent job fixing the downstairs vanity.

Changed the Brita filter.

We went to Walmart for our meds and on the way back, located Full Well Farm in Adams.

Very warm and humid today; Berkshires can’t seem to decide if it’s still summer. Had a little rain storm around 3:45-4:00. Gave the maple bourbon with soda water a try. Not bad but I still prefer Scotch.

We joined the celebration at Betsy and David’s home, which gets more beautiful with each year. Had a nice dinner with Ron’s high school mates at their 59th reunion. Attended a terrible Amos Fortune Forum presentation by a staffer for Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson.

Had breakfast twice at the Monadnock Corner Cafe and attended the parade, which was a lot of fun. Our hostess and her granddaughter participated.

On the way back, we stopped at a distillery on Humpback Mountain. Best, I got to take pictures of the folk art oil tank “animals” on Route 8.

Returned home just before dark and were stunned by the change in the house by the replacement of the old doors with new 6-panel ones. Turns out the carpenters worked for most of Saturday. The electrician finished several projects, including installation of a range hood, wiring in the third bedroom and a new outlet in the downstairs bath.

The last is worthy of mention because although it wasn’t planned this way, it turns out to be in a good spot to power at least three different devices, including a window fan, Ron’s toothbrush and his hearing aid charging unit.

While we were in Jaffrey, I was able to make arrangements for the Corolla to be repaired at Coggins tomorrow. Just what you want to do when you’re visiting friends.

Although I was generally having a good time, I was so stressed by the activity and conversations that my stomach rebelled while Betsy was trying to show me some lamps she brought home from her antique store shopping trips.

Did some vacuuming, cleaned the big kitchen counter. Made a blueberry pie from frozen berries. Did laundry and rehung the living room curtains.

Don’t interrupt me.

Don’t undo my work.

Stick up for me in public.

Greater Heights Tree & Land Management came today to give our house and garage roofs some breathing room: 10-12 feet worth. They did a phenomenal job.

I almost blew it with them. They called last night but I thought they were the landscape company that’d offered to trim the forsythia. Freaked out the poor driver but we squared it away.

We dropped off recyclables at the Transfer Station and picked up peat moss and garden soil at Carr Hardware as well as the compound to repair the siding which I’d ordered in July that just came in. Hope to complete the hibiscus and salvia planting that we started yesterday but ran out of dirt.

Yesterday Ron and I returned a damaged range hood to Amazon via UPS. They’ve shipped a replacement. Peter installed the ceiling lights, which are way too bright; hoping he’ll be back on Friday to install a dimmer. He also started work on the outlet in the downstairs bathroom.

James and Jake have been busy, too, priming drywall and adding baseboard.

Spent some time washing and prepping yesterday’s produce haul for salads: kale, lettuce, tomatoes, cukes, red onions, zukes.

Ron fell in love with a couple of perennial hibiscus and dug out the turf to extend the center garden. Planted them today and another Salvia after removing more medium-sized rocks.

We attended the South Williamstown Neighborhood Association annual potluck BBQ and came home with pasta salad and a cake. We had the winning bid on the cake auction for the Food Pantry and demolished it in a day, with help.

So much good food in one place, and all but a couple of dishes were veg.

Ron mowed the “lawn”!

We visited a couple of garden shops in Hoosick. The big treat was stopping at a roadside stand for produce on the way back. Met the farmer and his two gorgeous, friendly dogs.

Up at 4:30 am, but it rained this morning (Sunday) so couldn’t view the Perseids.

Planted an oregano gifted by a neighbor and the lavender and Blanket Flower (Gallardia) from yesterday’s plunder. Watered both garden “patches”. Pruned the yarrow.

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.