Catskills - Sullivan County - Ulster County Real Estate -- Catskill Farms Journal

So a couple of clients of mine who bought a cottage a few years back decided to pick up this old schoolhouse (and later incarnation as a gospel church) in Barryville, NY, and now we are renovating it into a 2 bedroom home (albeit with a lot of history).

When we found it it was this really great open big one-floor space.  We are poking a hole to the attic, building a staircase, and creating 2 bedrooms and 2 baths upstairs.  There's a great old bell tower up there too.

From a construction perspective, this was a real dozey - add in 0 degree temps when we started and a foot of snow and that made it a little harder.  But we had a good plan, the right machines and the right guys on the job and we hurdled those complexities without too much drama, cost or delay.

I got another urgent message from Catskill Mountainkeeper about banning gas drilling and "The 4 Things You Can Do Now" (reminded me of Cosmo Magazine's '10 Ways to Make Your Man Happy in Bed') to help convince Cuomo to continue to prohibit the drilling for natural gas in NYS.

Attend this meeting, sign that petition, call that senator, etc...  And then it struck me - this huge grassroots movement didn't ask for the simplest action that should be the over-riding mantra of all these folks -

They didn't ask anyone to stop using gas.

So as I was running around dropping off this years Christmas Gift to our homeowners, on occasion I would run into a family that was actually there.  I've been meaning for years to circle back once our clients move in and check out how they've made a house a home, but it's not often as of this date that I get to do it that all that much.

Just so happens, that the one I did venture into lately was just super right on.  Here are some moved-in pics.

Right out of a magazine if you ask me.  And the truly demoralizing fact for those of us who have trouble even finishing the furnishings, half of these do-dads, needle works and window coverings are frickin' hand made by the owners.

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