Tiles & More...

The Hardwicke House is coming  to its last stretch of finishing & the outside is getting the stone installed around, what's to be, the screened in front porch. It will be the length of the three columns.

 The quote for the asphalt laneway has come in & will be installed by North Shore. The asphalt will go right up to the front of the garage & to the end of the laneway, at the top...it was way too expensive to do the whole lane!! Bill & I both gasped at that quote!  It will be done in the spring of next year. In front of the screened porch will be evergreen bushes.

         What a lovely texture, next to the cedar shake siding & the metal wood front entry.

                The dining room tiles are now being installed by Martin & it is looking great!

 The tiles flow into the kitchen area & will look natural next to the stone chimney, sitting area. So many factors to my decisions with the tiles & wall colour. As it's unfolding it has the look that I've been envisioning in my mind, this is so exciting & satisfying to me... hopefully bringing down my histamine levels! lol

 The furnace installers have been busy bringing the new duct work to the old part of the house, it's in the kitchen, on both sides of the bay window. The furnace people will not turn any heat on, until all trades are done. With nothing in the air to carry dust into the new metal vents.

 Oh the view, as we sit at the dining table with our morning coffee or afternoon tea. And the view of the winter storms as they approach over the water... Warm & cozy inside. ;-)

 Martin the tile installer, has been busy this week & my bathroom looks great!

 The same tiling will be on this floor, powder room floor, & the guest bathroom floor. It's so light & bright in colour & will makes the smaller bathrooms feel a little larger.

                                                     Love, love the front foyer!

Garage Chaos

 The garage is the delivery drop off, for all the building supplies & things Bill or I have ordered on line. If it is for the house & not for construction, it's taken to the basement, for storage until needed.

 Zelma looks over the upstairs kitchen cabinets. It was her first visit to the Hardwicke House & she was delighted. Her & Jocelyn both volunteered to help get me sorted this winter. Oh ladies, thank you! I exercise  with both of them & this is going to be another workout for us! lol

 IKEA kitchen has been organized, into the categories of assembly. Jeff the cabinet/stair builder is doing a great job & this is his first IKEA kitchen. There are rumors that Halifax will be getting a IKEA in the future. This one can from Burlington ON, shipped to London ON, loaded in the trailer & brought out to Hardwicke NB. for the final installation. Danny, the granite guy, from Precision Countertops  has done his laser measurement & the counter top will go into production soon.

                      Wow that is a lot of boxes to sort through. May the force be with you Jeff!

                                       The old chimney has a new look. Nice job Mark!

                There's the guest room window...for all those of you that will be visiting us! ;-)

 An evening photo of the back of the house, as the sun is setting & the evergreens shadow is cast upon the house.

Rug Hooking & Sewing

 The rug is done! It just needs a good steaming & it's ready for foot traffic. I love evergreens as they give winter a fresh visual texture. It was not easy getting this photo without a cat on the mat!
Rexton saw it as her own grooming rug...

                       Old Tommy saw it as a resting spot, outside of his Xerox box. lol

 The Christmas quilt is now finished too & ready to be machine quilted. The Reindeer Dance finished at 78'' x 96''.

Oh my...I just noticed that the bottom log cabins, in the corner got turned!! Oops, it has a balanced look though & the oops is in border #five of the nine borders.
It is what it is! Only God is perfect!
And the quilt top is finished. ;-)
Did you know, three months today is Christmas Eve?! Just wanted to share that with you. lol

Thank you for the visit, I hope you enjoyed your time here. Have a great week!

Another ALMNAC phrase.

Remember: You're absolutely unique. Just like everyone else. ---- Margaret Mead

Doors & Trim!

Today -Tuesday, Sept. 20th, take a look!  WOW doors & trim are just about done!

 A glace through the foyer, the open door is my sewing studio & the light is flowing through it, even on this overcast day. See the closet door on the right?!

 Here it is face one, I should have taken more time with this photo,  to show the Boston Header trim on top! I just loved the five panel door & in 2004 when we redid one of our London homes, I had to 'special order' it from a North Pole Trim & Door. It was not in the big box stores nor the Home Hardware yet. Don't you just love being ahead of interior trends, not really because you pay a lot more money for those 'special orders'! Anyway it's all through the new addition now!

 Here's the inside of my sewing studio, it was getting its final sanding today & the primer goes on tomorrow!

 The exercise room looks so good with the trim around the windows & Bill's office door install!

                                     Our master bedroom window are framed in trim too!

 Martin, the tile guy is busy tiling my bathroom. See the triangular, corner tiled seat on the right? I had to ask him, built it out another 2" all the way around, it was very uncomfortable to sit on, with the size that was ordered. Thank you Martin, it is looking great!

Speaking of Looking Great...

                                        
 This is the shell of the island, it is going to be huge! It extends into both ends of the rooms. I wish I had it for my clothing layouts, for cutting patterns right now! I'm going to use the tables at the Lions Center this week at rug hooking.

 On each side of the island are drawers, not cupboards. I'm thinking of ease as we age to do our daily living tasks. Wow that is a big island. It gets its granite measurement tomorrow.

These are the stained glass studio doors. Paper's protecting the clear glass panels, I wanted to see out to the mezzanine, to the big window facing the woods.

Oh yes, the water in the basement, is not a mystery anymore. The substance that was used for the spray on insulation & fire retardant... had to be mixed in a ratio of one box needs 8 gallons of water!!
20 boxes were used, so 160 gallons of water was added to the basement. After telling Bill he replied 'I thought it felt really humid down there!' Yes the water is now gone & come winter, the basement walls are going to be great with all that insulation!

Heather & I At The Market / Jardin - Pointe-Sapin, NB

Before church on Sunday, Heather & I took a trip to Pointe Sapin to an organic market. What fun we had visiting with the animals there. Dee, the owner was most gracious & showed us around her venue. I love barn animals but Bill will have no part of them, just as well,  I have a full day on my own without having to add more! lol

 Maggie was my favourite! She was so gentle & her colouring of black & white was attracting me!

 Dee now has three generations of goats & different kinds. I loved the one with the 'tassels on his neck'. I'm so glad Heather suggested wearing boots to the farm/market!

                                       Dee has one hundred chickens & yes a turkey too!

I was born in the Chinese Year of The Rooster, so I'm fond of them too! Isn't he handsome?!!

With all the tomatoes, cucumber, peppers, zucchini,  I made time for some canning, two days of it!

With company & winter coming, I did some canning of Lady Ashburmham Pickles, Winter Chili Sauce(done with warm spices), & Zucchini Relish. I've put all the canning supplies away now, moving day is fast approaching & I've a hooked rug to finish &  Christmas quilt to finish. Nearly done both but need to get over the finish line.

Who Is This Guy?

Who is this man in the white van. He has come before to take a photo of the hydro line with the transformer on it at the end of my laneway.
Working in the kitchen I noticed he was back again, this time the photos were of the hydro pole by the shop? I saw his camera flash go off, so I ran for my camera...

                                          Who are you & why are you photographing my area?
He's never in a  NB Hydro marked van  & nothing is written on his van. I'm very curious to the who & why.
Also, he never turns around in my laneway either, always across the road, at the neighbours?! Odd??

Oh well, thanks for stopping by for a visit & I hope you have a productive week!

I've been reading the Canadian Edition of the 2017 ALMANAC For Farmers & City Folk & some of the sayings throughout are great. I'll be sharing some of those with you today & in the coming weeks.

Do you know what you call those who use towels and never wash them, eat meals and never do the dishes, sit in rooms they never clean, and are entertained till they drop? If you have just answered, "A house guest," you're wrong because I have just described my kids.  --Erma Bombeck

I Want To Be A Cat!

With so much going on these days, when I look at the cats...I want to trade places with them. They seem so content living inside the small cottage as they view the outside world, from the screen door.

 Old Tom, going into his 18th year, love a good box to sleep in, with newspaper or magazines to lay on. And to think some people buy special beds for their cats! He's always been so content & simple.

 Rexton on the other hand...is a living imp, she has taken over Mr. Boots' cat stool & flips around in it daily as I work in the kitchen. The good think is she's not under foot being stepped on! lol

 How could you not love a sweet kitty like her? She has finally stopped biting me & just licks now.

Hardwicke House Renovation/Addition

I stopped in this Saturday morning to find Jeff, the kitchen guy, working on the IKEA cabinet assembly. He said the first one was a challenge, then he was on to how the assembly was done.

                                               Jeff was doing the assembly in the garage.

                         Yes the garage...it's a holding area for many things & MORE to come!

 The kitchen flooring is on the left & Jeff is looking for the cabinets all stacked on the right.
In all fairness the fridge, stove, microwave, dishwasher, & 3 large pendent lights are also there.
But remember Bill & Nick did deliver, 190 IKEA boxes! lol

These are the kitchen cabinets, I know that because they are white & the island is grey. ;-) Wrong! The doors are grey & in interior is white, so I'm not sure what is what! lol
See the stack of wood trim behind them? This week the doors & trim are being installed as well as the priming paint on all the walls.
I met with Leopold, the painter & I have till Tuesday to pick all the colours. The one thing I'm sure of is all trim will be Benjamin Moore, Cloud White & all the doors will be HC - 166 kendell charcoal.
Decisions, decisions...

 The slate flooring has been found!! It will take three weeks to get it up from the USA.
I'm leaning on this colour for the stairs, not light, not dark, but warm & rich in its hue.
.

 The foyer & halls will be the soft gray colour called Smoke & Mirrors. I want a light neutral colours with all the black slate areas.

A Kitchen Surprise! :-(

 This is the kitchen floor & Martin, the tile guy, was explaining how it has to be done in thirds, when its staggered. I was thinking half staggered, so he was giving me a visual...when I looked at the floor in horror. "Martin, that's not the floor I chose!" He said, 'Yes, that is the one you ordered.'

 And as you can see, the sample from which I ordered is much lighter it colour. It's because it is standing vertically!!! As you lay it with the other tiles, it too takes on that dark tone!!
Yes a surprise to me indeed! With the black slate floor just outside the kitchen, it may look lighter than it does right now. And the grout will be dark on both floors, I've hindsight with that detail!

It is a large room to have such dark tiling but with the island, appliances, & cupboards installed, it will look different again. The only light comes from the bay window & side garden doors.

 This is the foyer, leaving the kitchen, with the surprise tiles...everything for a reason, we'll see. :-)
It will have slate tiles, on a diagonal, going down the hall. All doors will be grey & the trim is white. This is the area that I want the Smoke& Mirrors colour.

 This is the foyer, looking out the powder room door. The elevator is to the right, with the two pieces of wood, to keep anyone from walking off & into the 'pit'. The buckets are in the closet, & you can see the stairs going to the second storey.
The second story will have a tempered glass railing & stainless supports.

 This is the view as you walk in from the entry from the garage. The upper mezzanine will have the glass railing as well. To the left is the kitchen, with the surprise tiles, then ahead is my sewing studio.

Down The Hall...

 My sewing studio is right next to the kitchen & off the foyer area, prime location for me!

 The exercise room, with Bill's office, at the end of the room,  off to the right. Ocean blue water today, it is quite the view from this room too!

                                          The master bedroom, another gorgeous view today!

Off the bedroom is my dressing room & bathroom as seen here. Around the corner is Bill's bathroom & the laundry room. I'll show more when things start coming together.

 I just love these garage doors & the side lights really help with lighting the inside.

 It's a beautiful day here on the northern east coast, look at that sky & the sun warms the day.
I have lawns to mow later this afternoon, so I'll be taking it in with a smile. Julia, you were right, I do enjoy the mowing of the lawns now. My kind of outdoor activity. lol

 Let's Go Upstairs For A Peek!

 This is the large window you see from the outside. The Restoration Hardware chandelier should be arriving this week. The drywall has covered the electrical outlet, not to worry, Francis is going into the attic to cut  it out! lol
The elevator is to the left, with the contractors signature - two board not fall into the pit. lol
The glass railing will wrap around the opening, right to the old part of the house. A glass garden door will be installed at the end. The large opening on the right is the stained glass studio & it too will have double glass doors, opening to the studio.

 The stained glass studio, more than I could have imaged! The center pole is a four way work station, with electrical outlets all around it! Thank you Adam, the electrician, worked his magic with an idea I had & made it a reality.

 The guest room, with the antique 1880 bonnet chest, covered in plastic. It will stay in this room for linen & guest storage.

 The view in the guest room...Nicole & Mitchell, I can't wait till your here this Thanksgiving.
This room awaits you! XO

With the weather being so beautiful today, I took my 1996 Mustang Cobra for a drive to the Hardwicke House for these photos, then Picked up my girlfriend Heather & drove to Escuminac Wharf & took in a yard sale on the way back.

It's a loud car & has a lot of horse power.

Heather commented on the noise from the engine. lol

 It was breezy at the wharf as rain is in the forecast for tomorrow, but we enjoyed our tour.

    I hope you enjoyed your visit here on the east coast today.

Thank you for stopping by & have a great weekend!

 Cynthia