Hole in the Wall

How exciting is this? I got home from work yesterday and Bob had gotten the wall opened up! I was soooooooooooo happy. It makes my studio look huge! I actually have a doorway. This shot is from the living room (which will be my storage room) into the studio.
Here it is from inside my studio, looking back through to what has been our living room.

Not sure why the florescent overhead light looks hazy, but it's thrilling anyway. You can see all of our living room furniture sort of shoved to one side and looking a bit insecure. The sofa must be wondering what's up.
I had a funny little experience this afternoon while at work. I sometimes communicate with Jules at around 3:00. We sort of mentally check in and say "hi"; call it ESP. I mean, I miss my dog at work and it's not like I can call him on the phone or email him (like Bob) but then I guess I don't have to as we send small messages anyway. So I kept hearing from Jules and I even debated calling Bob to ask if Jules was okay, but I presumed that had anything actually happened to Jules, Bob would let me know. But Jules was sort of poking me and wanted attention, like "I'm here".
When I got home, Jules greeted me extra ecstatically through the fence and seemed fine, but very happy to see me. A while later, Bob tells me that a friend stopped by and they looked at the garden and then my studio. Later, Bob came up to the house for a cup of coffee and he was surprised that Jules didn't come to the door. So Bob walked around the house, looking for Jules. Bob confessed that he even started to worry that Jules had gotten out when he and John were walking around the yard. Bob finally opened the door to my (new) studio, and there was Jules- he'd been shut (accidentally) in the studio. So Jules hadn't been really lost, just temporarily misplaced. But boy did he try and tell me that at work! The next time Jules contacts me so persistently, I'll call home and make sure we know where he is! Smart dog!

Opening Up

Door Progress! Bob and Joe are hard at work cutting out a section of the wall so I don't have to climb through a window to get into my studio (or go all the  way around the house outside.) It's a labor intensive procedure as they have to cut through two layers of boards and remove a stud and a cross member.
It's funny, in the photo above you can see clear through the window (to Joe's right) because Bob removed that this morning. It's thrilling to me to see this advancing the great cause of Rita's studio...
Our friend Jonathan the Electrician came yesterday and rerouted the wires that ran through the wall. He made it look so simple. I was so pleased that he was able to come; I dreaded that I might have to wait a week or so and we really couldn't cut the hole in the wall until he rewired us. You can see the new path for the wire up and over what will be the doorway.
The living room is a real mess right now. It's hard to answer the phone because all the chairs are pushed around and the rug is rolled up and in my present studio. The beginning of a big transition!
Bob is wielding that drill because they have to drill holes in the wall so that they can see where to use the saws all. Joe is marking where the header will go. Me? I'm getting ready to order pizza for dinner. I have to do something to help out!

Fun (Controlled Destruction)

The view from the other side. This is in our (now) living room looking back at the wall that will be the DOOR to my studio from inside the house.. Notice how I carefully and thoughtfully labelled it? The window will be removed and then sealed over with sheet rock, but instead of going all the way to the corner with the door and putting it where the window is, we opted to move more to the center, in part because the electricity that exists as plugs and outlets in under and near the window. This will make re-wiring easier.
Here we are several hours later:

Boy that was fun! All I could think about all day at work was going home and smashing the sheet rock out of the way and exposing whatever was underneath. I discovered we really do have studs! And insulation! (That was reassuring. You can assume you have these things, but never really know.) It was like an at-home of archaeological dig, uncovering the layers and history of our house. And it was fun to whale away at the wall and watch it collapse- quite easily. (I guess that's why people are able to put their fists through their walls when upset or angry. Although that would have to hurt.) I also revealed the fact that our walls are 24" on center, not 16". We'll only have to remove one stud and reinforce the outer studs. There's this interesting temporary reinforcing that we'll have to do to support the wall when installing the new header and side uprights (which have a name that escapes me right now...)
At least we can see what we're doing with the wall board removed. The living room is less a living room with all the furniture stuffed into the other side and the sofa crammed up against the book case. Remember that Sheldon and Louise slept here only a few days ago and now it's a construction site. Progress!

I Fought the Law and...

Sheldon and Louise have left, and the house feels oddly empty. Just before they departed, they presented Bob and I with two forsythia bushes. (I have a photo of the plants around here somewhere, but am using the forced forsythia in a vase as I can't seem to find my picture. I've been disorganized lately, so the picture above will gave to suffice.) Any kind of plant is a great gift. Thank you!
On Friday morning, a lot was happening. I had to be at work a bit earlier than usual and Sheldon and Louise were preparing to depart, so it was even more chaotic than is typical. It was therefore in a flurry that I went out the door and "put petal to the metal" as they say. I do drive a little over the speed limit on good days (who doesn't?) but on Friday I was really booking. As I rounded a bend on Route 109 in Morris (not far from the fabled Stoddard House that Bob and I almost purchased three times), I spied a police car parked in a recessed driveway. It had been there a few times earlier this month, so I should have remembered and slowed down. Too late, I hit the brakes and tried to look nonchalant as I sped past the cruiser. Sure enough, there were festive flashing lights and sirens in my rear view mirror.

I rolled my window down, with my license at the ready and said, preemptively, "I'm sorry. I know I was speeding. But I'm late for work and I've had house guests for almost a month." The officer asked me where I worked, replying, "Interesting". when I told him and he returned to his car. I sat, stewing in my own self pitying juices, thinking how I was going to get an expensive ticket and how I hadn't even considered until then that my stupid emissions sticker was expired and great! I still have my "Dogs Against Romney" bumper sticker- life sucked! He let me sit for quite a while. (I was going pretty fast. It's only a 35 mph speed limit).
But then the police officer finally returned , he said, "I'm letting you off with a verbal warning". $%!^!$!&^!!!
Wow! The great gods of all things traffic really smiled down on this law breaker! I don't know if there's a moral to this story, but I got an apology and a break on a ticket in one week. And two forsythia bushes. Sweet.

Farm Chores

This is the barn that Bob and I go to to retrieve the horse's hay. It's this wonderful old farm at the top of a hill with huge fields all around- always very windy. But it's sort of a fun adventure; I'd been hoping to take Louise with me when I went today, but Sheldon's mother's funeral was scheduled and so Bob and I went. Maggie was entirely out of hay so there was no question that on my day off, this was Job #1.

Doug (the man that works at the farm) goes up into the loft and essentially jettisons these forty pound bales of hay down, while you scramble to stack them in the appropriate manner. (There's one way to correctly fit the twenty bales on the truck). Doug is very accurate in his hay tossing and he often gets them to line up just right. Sometimes he is overly enthusiastic and then it's time to jump out of the way. Bob is very brave, but not just because he trusts that the bale won't land on his head, but you'll notice there is a German Shepard that is waiting at the tail gate of the truck. If the bale doesn't get you, the jaws of death will.
(Only kidding; the dog is very friendly. And today? I was in Canine-lover's heaven as there were three dogs at the farm, all swarming me and demanding attention. Jules had a lot to be jealous of when we returned home.)

This is another of the out buildings at this farm. It's a great place to visit as I wish I were wealthy enough to own all this gorgeous property and have a studio in a building like this. And it's stucco; we all know how I love stucco.. They have miniature horses and beef cows and last year there were baby donkeys. It's just nice to know these places still exist. Too bad Sheldon and Louise can't buy it. Then we could buy our hay from them!
At least the snow has melted and we could drive right up to our rather petite barn. Maggie greeted us, happy to see we had arrived with her belated breakfast. Too bad Sheldon and Louise weren't here to stack the hay. They'll be leaving us shortly; the burial was today and they head to new Jersey on Friday and then will fly back to Santa Fe. They'll have been here almost four weeks but we will really miss them. So will Jules. He's enjoyed having an extended fan club and I think he gets twice the dog treats.

An Apology, Among Other Updates

(The photo has nothing to do with the posting... This is a picture of the shelves in the room at work where I take pictures for the auction. Co-workers leave me odd things- some very odd things! Keeps me sane. I also have a collection of "bad paintings" that I have acquired. Some very bad indeed!)
A brief update on many aspects of life here at the Bauhaus Chicken Coop

• Don't you just love bulleted lists? They're so corporate (and unlikely from the likes of me.) I don't tend towards linear thinking.
• I had a most unexpected but welcome! occurrence on my walk this past Friday. I saw the nose of my climate change denying neighbor's SUV poking out of the end of his driveway, but I was running short of time and decided to walk past briskly. As I crossed the road, to be as far away as possible, his small son emerged from the car and stood at the end of the driveway, obviously waiting for Jules. I said, "Did your father say it was okay?" He nodded yes, and he and Jules immediately reunioned in a swirl of giggles and drool and mutual admiration. They had missed each other. Simultaneously, the window of the SUV is rolled down and Mr Climate Denier says, "Look, I'm really sorry. I was out of line." I promptly countered with an most gracious, "Let's just agree to disagree" and we both looked equally relieved that no blood had been shed, nor guns drawn. When he allowed that "I must have struck a nerve", I was tempted to retort, "Yeah, the stupid one!" but I refrained and am just plain old pleased as punch that I no longer fear for my life while enjoying my morning ramble. End of story (hopefully).
• Sheldon and Louise are still here and very much welcome to stay as long as they need to. I feel badly for them as they brought limited clothes and are sleeping in "interesting" conditions in our guest suite, but they're troopers. We've been enjoying movie nights and great conversations about art and the world. Jules thinks they're just great as he now has four college educated slaves.
• We've been really busy, in addition to guests and art openings and every other thing that the modern world throws in our path. We had another auction (at work) and Sheldon and Louise even came to the cocktail preview party and had fun meeting all of my co-workers (our friend Joe came, too). Funny, no one else has ever taken me up on my suggestion of coming to the auction. Lots of weird chochtkes and furniture for those that need seating or surfaces!
• The weather has improved so much that I'm going outside to do some gardening and play with my pony. I'll check back in later.

Spring Cleaning Unlikely Anytime Soon...

Well, I did start raking up the garden today as the sun was lovely and I felt compelled to spend the day outside. When was that last possible? Interestingly, we have heard peepers that last several nights and there are mini-rosettes of sedums emerging from under the leaves. Spring is here.
I have been (unfortunately) none too motivated to do the cleaning that is apparently needed within the house- not my favorite activity! Despite Bob drawing appealing faces on the scrub brushes (see photo above) and other tricks, I am resistant. The upstairs bathroom will soon be condemned and even with semi-frequent sweepings of the kitchen, dog hair "kittens" skiddle across the floor. But isn't house work a loosing battle anyway? No sooner do you finish than you have to begin all over again... so why start in the first place? You will remark that the above scrubber brush has some random filth dribbling down over it's face.

And speaking of sedums, here's a nifty blue one that is tender, but we overwintered in the house. It's stretching a bit as it's probably not as happy as it would be if it were outside in it's native habitat, but it will look good in a few weeks. And plants, of course, grow in dirt so dirt can't be all bad...
I look forward to spending a small fortune on plants this spring as we're on a garden tour. (Don't worry Bob; I said a "small" (very) fortune.) I may not buy shoes, or lust after leather sofas, large screen tv's or things like actual furniture, but boy! we all know I never met a garden center I didn't like.
My wish list has already begun, without my setting a single foot in a nursery: a variegated yucca (had one in Bridgewater, but lost it!), another plum tree (to cross pollinate with the one we almost killed), a witch hazel, a clethra... You get the idea: the list goes on and on. Hey! My birthday is coming!