Clarification
Seems not everyone got the full extent of my dark, subtle and complex humor/writing on the last blog post. Sure I loved Storm, she was a great dog and we enjoyed having her around, dealing with her eccentricities borne of old age, etc...- But GEEZ LEWEEZ - Candle in the Wind was HUMOR, people. Next, I'll be accused of being soft and sensitive. Lord knows that's the last thing I need.
I"m not braggin', but...
...we just had our 3rd closing in 30 days, our 6th in 6 months, and our 13th in the past 12 months. I think it's important for many reasons but mostly it's a great contrast to the day in day out economic blues tune we keep hearing. No one building homes - well, we are. No one, selling homes, - well, we are. No one buying homes, - well, don't tell that to our new homeowners who are definitely intelligent enough to read a newspaper and understand the charts, graphs, pie charts and whatnot of all the pundits who have to make a living someway, somehow. James, the smart dorky guy who works for me, had a great point - actually, a real eye opener - one day after the latest job report came out with all the headlines screaming 'most jobs lost since the Great Depression' and then went on to quote the number of jobs lost. James simply observed that there are twice as many people alive now, and probably tens of millions of more total jobs in existence. So to quote the number of jobs lost, really has absolutely zero meaning, and it was at that moment that I stopped thinking the news- even the good outlets with reputations - is nothing but circulation panderers, selling their soul on a daily basis to sell some papers and gain some readers. It was kind of liberating - since now I can take in all the news with a grain of salt - be it the Daily News which makes no effort to hide its purpose, to even the large nationals, with their ultra self-seriousness. I mean, it's unforgivable to print nonsense numbers in bold print, without any context. It's like yelling fire in a theater, in an economic climate like this. So, simply, like I said before, give me freedom from the press so I can go on with my life. Today, without a hitch, we closed on Cottage 14, a house I found on a lonely road in Cochecton, NY - all dilapidated, with a little old lady living inside. With the help of an architect, we moved this, and raised that, add that, etc... and came up with a fantastic design that Jeanne and Deb liked from the start. It's sharp, unique, and complete. Here she is from the side (siding to be painted in the spring). Nice little front porch, leading into the mudroom.
And from the back porch, the living room, or the master bedroom - this is the view out into the naked forest and the 5 acres they own.
Jeanne and Deb, the proud homeowners and neighbors of Pablo and Ana and Rob and Leah.
Red chestnut wide plank yellow pine floors.
And then the focus of the house, the kitchen with cathedral ceiling. I like to call it the Sports Bar, since there is lots of counter space, the drinks are close and we wired for a flat screen up above the windows.
And a couple of fans, and a view up the steps to the two bedrooms and full bath.
Looking down, - I can already picture the activities, drinks, snacks, and mostly, someone tying a rubber band around the kitchen sprayer, so when the other person turns on the sink faucet, the sprayer really gets them good (at least that's what we to each other in our house).
The rolling barn door, low boy radiator and two perfectly placed sconces.
The all important mudroom with bluestone floor, little radiator to dry out the gloves and boots after a romp in the snow... I love the color on the walls, the sharp traditional wainscotting, the quarried floor, the barn door, the big crown molding -
Still in the mudroom with the custom made door and hardward, then the super traditional 5 panel door.
A picture of the upstairs bathroom, below -
And some portrait shots -
The Barn door -
The wainscotting and radiator -
The cast iron farm sink, aka apron sink.
So it was a great house. I think we started August, worked hard at it pretty much everyday and here we are- introducing another family to country living in a house that works. Nice work Ladies - it was a real pleasure.
On a sad news front, our adopted dog, Stormy, passed away yesterday. We adopted her after Gib McKean told us his good friend passed on and his dog was just being neglected, tied up outside Bernie's old house. So we took her, and she was a sweet heart - Lisa really nursed her back to health, and I took her for walks at 5:45am before I went to work, and the first thing I did when I came home. She was real regular and never wasted my time.
So, we feel lucky to have had old stormy, and I think she felt pretty lucky too. See ya next time around, old Storm.
Goodbye Storma Jean,
And it seems to me you lived your life
Like a candle in the wind
Never knowing who to cling to
When the rain set in
And I would have liked to have known you
But I was just a kid
Your candle burned out long before
Your legend ever did
Goodbye Storma Jean
Snowplowing and Customers
Because we have so many damn houses under construction, and each of them come with a driveway of varying lengths, and some of them are even on private roads unmaintained by the local Town, I bought myself a plow truck last year, and then realized a plow truck ain't worth squat without a sander to lay down some traction. So then I bought myself a sander - and now Catskill Farms is totally self-sustaining when one of those northeasterners come along. So after each storm I go out plowing and sanding, mostly of my homes I have under construction, but then also for some of the new customers who haven't found just the right plow guy to help them through the storms. So, here's the old 1990 Chevy with plow and sander.
So it's kind of fun, because half the time I stop by a client or two's home and chat and whatnot. Here's a pic of Jeanne and Deb in front of their cool ass fireplace that defines the living/sitting room. I think I snapped this photo during the final walk-thru, just after giving a tutorial on how to work the fireplace (flue closed - bad/ flue open - good). These women built one heck of a house.
Here's Gavin and Emily and Sophie at the start of another day in the country.
And here's Gayle, the owner of Cottage 15, is obviously keeping that new house spic and span.
And then Dean snuck in on Saturday just before the snow storm hit to check out his new pad which is entering the floor sanding and staining phase. Here he is in the kitchen.
And James and me keeping everything rolling in the office. In this picture I am most likely speaking respectfully and politely to some fool or another. Note the new brown pleatless cords.
And the Lisa taking care of our boy in our old farmhouse. Notice how quick he is - camera can't focus in on those high speed legs and arms.
Monday night, and I am at home with the baby because Lisa is at a pilates class. Lucas the cats and the dog totally take advantage of me.
My Things
Well, I got a new D-60 Nikon SRL digital camera so I've been snapping away. And this is my flower -
And this is my old adopted dog, Lady Storm -
And this is my Son, Lucas -
And this is Ruby, who was found in a trap/cage in Brooklyn -
And this my plant -
Snow on the way. Currently building 7 houses.
