The other tax season

pink rhododendron
Originally uploaded by modernemama

I had to go and pay the half-yearly property taxes today and as usual it was a totally painless experience (well apart from parting with an obscene amount of money, that always hurts). I still haven't got used to the difference in the Town of Huntington and the Town of Hades where we used to reside.
There I used to stand on line for hours because there were never more than two people serving at any one time and the officials always had something better to do (order lunch, partake of free donuts, count the trolls on their desk) than serve the people who elected them. And when I finally handed over my check I was usually greeted with a snarl for my pains.
Here I have never queued, there are plenty of staff to serve you and they are polite and smiling. It just makes tax paying more efficient and pleasant. I think it must be something to do with this Town. I had to renew my driving license in person last month. When I did that in the other town it took four hours. Here I was in and out in 10 minutes and I had fun too. A fun time at the DMV? Maybe I'm living in an alternative universe.

Cleaning and waiting

White Rhododendron
Originally uploaded by modernemama

We now have a moss-free brick path and patio at the rear of the house.The magic algae removing formula was: a bucket of extremely hot water, Palmolive dishwashing soap and baking soda mixed with a healthy dose of Clorox Garden bleach. Pour it on, let it sit, scrub it in, then keep adding more hot water and scrubbing until the red brick emerges. Finish off by hosing it down with cold. It would be easier to cut back all the greenery but not half as pretty so we'll be going through this performance again when it gets humid.
If you look out from the downstairs bath window towards the newly clean brick path this is what you see, a 6' rhododendron that starts to blossom with the palest pink buds and opens to this bright white. Gorgeous.
If only the bathroom were that pretty. It's past Memorial Day and we still have no floating vanity, no sink, no faucet and no tiles. I did get the maple toilet seat for the new Toto but obviously we don't have the Toto yet either. Hey ho.

What could possibly go wrong?

White Rhododendron
Originally uploaded by modernemama

I asked myself at the start of this long weekend. These were the outside chores we had to complete:
1) Get moss off patios and paths
2) Control Carpenter Bees
3) Weed borders
4) Bring out and wash garden furniture
5) Wash windows
And after the purchase of the new washer/dryer we added
6) Paint the laundry room
Not an impossibly long or complicated list, is it?
By the end of yesterday afternoon we were congratulating ourselves, numbers 1-4 had been done and we 'd planted the rest of the pots with flowers and herbs and even added some annuals along the brick path.
We were so ahead of things Steven thought he'd nip to the Mall for a couple of items, get back, wash the windows at the back of the house (he'd already done the others) and then see to the laundry. But before he went he decided to skim the pool.
He'd dressed for the Mall so he was smart, even wearing his new brown loafers. And he was just about finished when...
I didn't see what happened because I'd turned round to talk to the dog but I heard the splash. He'd lost his footing and fallen into the shallow end of the pool, catching his knee on the side on the way in. He emerged dripping, blood pouring from a scraped knuckle but impressively he was still wearing his glasses. Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera with me so you'll have to imagine the scene, but apart from a sore knee, a couple of scrapes and the skinned knuckle he's fine. But he won't be tackling the laundry this week.

Addendum: I almost forgot the irony of the situation. One of the things Steve did yesterday that wasn't even on the list, was to re-lay the brick path where the roots had pushed up a couple of bricks. He did an excellent job, and all to prevent us from tripping and damaging ourselves!

Carpenter bee control

carpenter bee control
Originally uploaded by modernemama

Saturday was spent cleaning up the yard.
Steve devoted the morning to scrubbing the brick patio and the afternoon to powerwashing it. Normally I hit it hard with the powerwasher but as it proved impossible to wield the high pressure hose while balancing on one foot using a cane to avoid falling over, Steven had to take over.
By late afternoon the moss was still clinging to the bricks and a green sheen was in evidence. We've tried a solution of bleach, baking soda, Dawn and hot water but nothing seems to be shifting the green stuff this year. He had to abandon that chore eventually for the more pressing bee control project.
I honestly thought that when we had the house stained and all the bee holes filled that would be the end of our carpenter bee problem. Not so. Every year they come back, find another spot and start drilling. This year they've favoured over the kitchen window and the dining room overhang. Steve got a baker's dozen this time and went off to shower the insecticide away. When he was clearing up for the night he was buzzed by a huge bee that flew into a hole he hadn't noticed, not in the redwood siding but on the underside of the new Marvin window in the boy's bath. Grr.
We'll be back tomorrow, carpenter bee, with spray, wood and paint, so you'd do well to leave now while you get the chance.

Estate rhododendron

Estate rhododendron
Originally uploaded by modernemama

One of the original rhododendrons on the front drive, this purple beauty is Steven's favourite.
Here's a close-up

Saturday's rhododendron

pinky purple rhododendron
Originally uploaded by modernemama

By the kitchen patio. Steven is scrubbing the algae off the back patio and I'm taking photos. An equitable division of labour I think.

Red rhododendron

This one is outside the dining room window. I'm posting it now because it's forecast to be 90F today followed by thunderstorms so I don't know how long they will last.
Here's a shot of the purple azaleas outside another dining room window. They are all just about over.



And here's what we used to see outside that window.



We call that progress.

Pretty or ugly?

Am I the only person who thinks this Kohler Finial wall-mounted faucet looks as if it's clinging onto the wall like an actor in a B movie pretending to hang on to the side of a mountain. You know that really he's stretched out on the floor faking that white knuckle business.
Maybe it's just that the sleek grey tiles in the photo seem at odds with the ornate handles on this model, maybe it's the detailing on the mount but it seems oddly disproportionate. It doesn't look as though it was designed to fit the space, just that it was stuck on its side and I'm expecting it to slide off any moment.
However, if it rocks your boat it's available with white handles too.

We're very proud of ourselves

It's been an entire year since we first looked into replacing our 30 year old dryer and 26 year old top-loader with energy saving models that actually get clothes clean. We know it's been that long because the local appliance store had its annual sale last night and it was at the last one that we nearly had a stand up fight in the kitchen department about the amount of space needed to accommodate a front loading washing machine.
This time we had had it with the old appliances. I was fed up standing ankle deep in water every time I wanted to load the dryer (a slight exaggeration, but only very slight) and Steven was mad that every t-shirt had to be washed at least twice to get stains out. The final straw was having to dry every load twice because the tumble dryer was acting up.
Now the procrastination is over, finally we have made a decision and stuck to it long enough to place the order and hand over the credit card. This is a major achievement for us and we were so pleased with ourselves we celebrated with cocktails at our favorite Huntington Bar.
Of course it would be better to wait to do anything in the laundry room until the handyman has been back to repair the wall we cut a chunk out of, and optimally we would have torn up the floor, re-jigged the plumbing and put in new cabinets before we purchased new appliances but that won't be happening this side of summer so before the Bosch machines arrive next Thursday we have to remove the old appliances, paint the damaged walls with oil-based primer, paint all the walls with a cheery colour (that we haven't chosen yet) and put up the shelves. We have a four day holiday to achieve this, plus three extra evenings. What could possibly go wrong?

Another house related injury

polly, sadie and jefke
Originally uploaded by modernemama.

These three innocent animals are not the reason for the sprained foot. Rather it was a combination of clumsiness, I reached for the toy to the left of Polly and tripped, a 70s design flaw: the raised step into the den, which I failed to clear when reaching for the dog toy, and procrastination: we didn't take the platform out when we thought about it on New Year's Day.
Whatever possessed the original owner to divide the den by a four inch high platform, laid on the diagonal no less, I cannot fathom. A couple of days after we moved in Steven tripped over it carrying a full espresso, this was the evening after we had had the carpets steam cleaned so they were white at that point....
Since then the big dog Sadie has tripped up it and the little dog Polly has fallen off it while asleep. I feel I have to yell "mind the step" to guests and workmen who are new to the house. In short it's not only an eyesore, it's dysfunctional too. And as soon as I can bend the foot again I'm getting down there and taking the platform out.
PS The name of the toy I was reaching for? We affectionately call it Bear Corpse.

My Dyson sucks

and this is a good thing.
For the last month or so, it's been blowing more stuff out of its bottom than it's been sucking up. The only way to get anything vacuumed recently has been to go over lots of animal hair (not a difficult thing in this house) so that a nice dam formed inside the hose that stopped the dust, pollen and small debris from shooting right out again. One day I got so frustrated I checked under the machine and found a huge tear in the short hose which I repaired with duct tape. That lasted a little while but eventually I had to cave and order a new part. I just wished I'd noticed it last year when I had to order a long hose. C'est la vie.
Yesterday I received a new short hose and decided to clean the filters and brushes before I fitted it. I can truly say that the six months of bathroom and laundry construction was reflected in the gunge that I took out of it. I felt bad about the number of times we had used the Dyson instead of a shopvac to clean up after ourselves.
This morning I vacuumed all the carpets and removed acres of dog hair and other detritus and while housework is about my least favourite activity, it felt really good to have a clean house once again.

White Azalea

white azalea
Originally uploaded by modernemama.

The whole of one bed is taken up by this white azalea. It is actually several azaleas that have grown together over the years. Every May, for a week or so, it blossoms like this.
Spectacular.

May flowers

pink rhodo
Originally uploaded by modernemama.

As absolutely nothing is happening in the house at the moment I thought I'd treat you to a few photos of the yard. It's looking particularly lovely this year, a lot of the plants I put in last back end are flowering now and the hostas I split and replanted are getting established. Considering that when we moved in we thought that apart from some serious pruning we wouldn't need to do anything to the garden, we seem to have spent an awful lot of time and money on it. But never mind, neighbours out walking stop and comment on the improvement to the landscaping, so I guess we must be doing something right.

Worse news

Just when I was congratulating myself on two bathrooms completed and one sure to be done before Memorial Day, I got some bad news form my handyman. He fell and blew out his knee at the weekend. It's too soon to know what the extent of the damage is and what the treatment would be, typically he seemed less concerned about the obvious pain he was in and more about letting down his clients. He was only joking the other day about this house needing a full-time handyman.
I'm really thankful he got here on Friday and put up the hardware. Everything else is non-urgent and can wait until after summer if necessary. He did say that if it wasn't too bad he could perhaps hobble over one day next week and do the things he wouldn't have to kneel down for. That's great service but I'd rather he was 100% fit before he tackled anymore projects, but he's the sort of guy who loves to be busy.

Plant, prune, weed, water, snap

That pretty much sums up Mothers' Day for me. The herbs: chives, basil, coriander and oregano went into a terracotta planter. I put a sweet bay bush next to the sage in front of the kitchen window and I will get another rosemary bush soon. The planter above is new too; I try to put something totally different in there each year. Last year it was an everlasting hydrangea that's now under the den window. This year it's this spiky dracaena with sweet potato vines and variegated ivy.
In the afternoon I whiled away an hour under-pruning the large rhododendrons and nipping the dead bits of the azaleas, which took a beating from the winter weather this year. The warm January forced new growth while the brutal February and March blasted the leaves causing them to turn brown and wither. We seem to have completely lost one rhododendron out back and half the others are badly damaged. That seems to be true of most of the rhodos on Long Island this year.
I also spent an hour or so trying to eradicate the Japanese Knotweed (Polygonum cuspidatum) before it gets a hold. I don't want to use Roundup so I'm trying to pull it out but I think I'm fighting a losing battle.
Then it was time to water all the plants that get missed by the sprinkler system and take a few photos of my handiwork.

Getting ready for the summer

Spring 2007 pool opening
Originally uploaded by modernemama.

We tried to get as many chores done as possible on Saturday. These included: cleaning out the pond, power washing the patios, checking the filters on the pool, killing the carpenter bees that are eating the redwood above verity's bedroom window, putting out the garden furniture and planting annuals in the tubs.
We got off to a flying start when Jerry the pool guy turned up unexpectedly to check on the work his guys had done opening the pool earlier in the week. I mentioned the problem we have had filling the pool (it was pumping out faster than we could fill it) and he was able to tighten things around the pump so that it filled in an hour. That was one job off the list.
Then we decided to divide the workload. I went to procure provisions and plants while Steven power washed the brick patio. I came back a couple of hours later with a baguette, prosciutto, mozzarella and peppers. I'd also identified the plants I wanted but I couldn't lift them into Steven's car, which was now full of shopping and dry cleaning.
Steven had productively spent the time cleaning out the pond rather than washing the green stuff off the bricks, so that we could have lunch outside with the water flowing under the bridge. And it was very relaxing sitting outside with a bottle of wine and the NY Times. So relaxing in fact that we didn't get anymore chores done that day. Oh well, there's always next weekend. Sometimes you just have to stop and drink it all in.

Good news, bad news, and a mystery.

The good news is that it rained really badly this morning so the handyman couldn't work on his other, outside, job. Actually, that's probably not such good news for his other client but great news for me because last night he phoned to say I would have to wait for another 10 days to get the hardware installed and this morning he decided he's rather be dry working on my baths.
He installed the Motiv towel bar, robe hook and toilet roll holder in the boys' bath. That means we can officially call that bathroom the winner in the first to be finished stakes as the girls' bath still needs a piece of trim and he didn't have the correct saw to do that today.
Then he filled a hole in the back door lintel that had rotted away and patched the ceiling in the downstairs bath. It was when he moved on to patch the wall in the laundry room that we realised we had a problem. The wall was more than stained, it was damp if not actually wet. After staring at it for a while and running upstairs to see if we could see a cause we decided the best option was to cut a hole and try and discover the source. I was imagining water pouring through the walls when he opened it but behind was bone dry. Huh.
There is a wastepipe there but it doesn't appear to be damaged: it's not green or damp, there are no beads of humidity anywhere but the sheetrock had just about dissolved and was definitely goopy to the touch. So we are leaving the nice hole in the wall until he can get back to us again (the week before Memorial Day, he promises) and I'll run the toilets, showers, baths and sinks upstairs to see if anything causes a leak. Otherwise when he shows up next time, he'll put in a piece of sheetrock and we'll pretend the whole thing never happened.

Bunny murderer

Jefke
Originally uploaded by modernemama.

Jefke looks so sweet and innocent this morning, but yesterday evening he was anything but.
I'd just come inside from watering the herbs I'd planted: coriander, oregano, basil and chives, when Polly the dog started her carzy bark. This is different from the "there's someone at the door" or "come and see, someone is jogging past the house". This bark means she is distressed, usually because the cats are play-fighting or a child is crying.
I looked out across the lawn to see what the problem was and there was Jefke carrying a baby bunny by the back of its neck, just like a mother cat carries a kitten. Then he set the rabbit down and it scampered away, only to be chased down and caught by the relentless Jefke.
I know I should have left it alone but Polly was so upset I thought I could get Jefke back in the house and give the bunny time to get away. I tried calling the cat but he just looked at me as if to say "Can't you see I'm busy here?". So I grabbed the hosepipe and turned it on just behind him.
Jefke let go off the rabbit, the bunny hopped off, rapidly pursued by the cat and me until I got halfway across the lawn and realised my neighbour was outside watering his lawn and watching this performance. At that moment the rabbit shot into the neighbour's garage, followed by the cat and my lawn sprinklers came on, soaking me from head to toe.
I have no idea what happened to the rabbit but I gave it up and went home to dry off. Jefke turned up a couple of hours later sans bunny and as of yet my neighbor hasn't mentioned any corpses under his car.

Girls' Bath done, tick

new vanity in use
Originally uploaded by modernemama.

One more thing ticked off the "To Do" list. The Kohler Stillness faucet was installed this morning. I cannot tell you how much this faucet sucks in comparison to the Grohe Tenso in the boys' bath.
First there's the weight issue. You pick up the Grohe and it weighs a ton, it feels substantial. The Kohler feels lightweight, like it would buckle if you squeezed the faucet really hard. Then there's the finish. We went with the Kohler because we needed a brushed nickel finish to match the other fixtures (lights, hardware) in this bath. But the finish feels cheap, I think it'll chip if I breathe too heavily on it. The Grohe is smooth and I'm sure will resist every bang and knock for years to come.
Then there's the design issue. The Tenso is simplicity itself: push back, turn, push forward - each movement is straightforward , smooth and seamless. The Stillness faucet is rough, hard-edged and the pop-up drain is resting on the spout so it is impossible for anyone with limited mobility (or small children) to pull up the rod that controls the drain cover. I'm sure it will scratch the back of the spout too, but you won't be able to see that.
If we had purchased these faucets in chrome, they would have been the same price, but the quality? World's apart. That said, the Stillness is a pretty faucet and, as I knew I would, I made the plumber happy by choosing Kohler. After all that's what he has in his house.

Teardown

new house
Originally uploaded by modernemama.

This is the new house being built further down the road, close to Nathan Hale Beach. This time last year there was an ordinary 1970s cedar clad detached home here with a definite beach feel to it - blue-grey clapboards, deck overlooking the pond and waterfront, picture windows to take advantage of the view.

Then we heard it had been sold and the new owners wanted to bump it out a little. Turns out the "bump" was more like total demolition. For a few months we had an uninterrupted view from Vineyard to Lloyd Neck when we walked the dogs. Then the big plant arrived and dug the foundations and the view disappeared under a wall of earth. Now framing is underway and we are waiting to see what the new house will look like.

Although it hasn't happened as much as in neighbouring villages I guess we will see more houses bought for their land value, torn down and replaced with larger newer models. I only hope they don't all look like post-modern "Victorian" McMansions. I like a little individuality in architecture, especially when it references the surrounding landscape.

Girls' Bath Vanity

vanity with ivory coast
Originally uploaded by modernemama.

Well one big improvement today. The Silestone Ivory Coast vanity top arrived with the Toto basin, all in one piece. That means we are one step further to another fully functioning bathroom. we still need to get the faucet in and hooked up and there is a piece of trim that has to go back on the right hand side of the vanity to hide the tile edge but we are almost there. And the good news is that the colour of the countertop (difficult to tell in this photo!) is the same as the sample from e-counters.com, so I'm very happy.

Vanity countertop #2

The furniture maker had pre-selected another quartz sample for me, it's pretty close to the Caesarstone Copper Canyon: Camarthen Brown by Cambria but they don't have any in stock and it might take three weeks to get a piece unless they can find an offcut from somewhere. Choice #3 would be Silestone Mahogany, which is a little too terracotta or Kona Beige, which would mean going in a totally different direction. I've ordered the Cambria and asked them to rush it. Fingers crossed.
And on another tack, the landscaper informs me I have a break on the sprinkler line just where he's planting. That's the sprinkler line the guys fixed two weeks ago. It seems like everything that could go wrong is going wrong this week. I don't think I'm going to answer the phone or pick up anymore emails today because I can't cope with any more bad news at the moment.

New border and shower base

new border

We weren't the only ones working hard this weekend. The landscaper came with vibernum, hostas and day lilies to beautify the entrance to the cul-de-sac. Then he edged the bed with 2' rocks and mulched the yard thoroughly, it already looks great and it smells wonderful. I love the smell of mulch. It's a huge improvement on the overgrown ivy bed that was here before.

old border
I did some spring pruning of the deadwood on the hydrangeas, and moved 10 buckets of river rock to make a dry river bed in the dell, while Steven pumped out the water on the pool cover ready to open it this week. We also got the teak base for the boys' bath .

Copper Canyon Shortage

Copper Canyon
Originally uploaded by modernemama.

Apparently there has been a run on this particular Caesarstone in New york and the 3/4" is unavailable. I got a message on the answerphone to that effect on Friday. This is the top for the floating vanity that will go in the downstairs bath, As I had picked the mosaic tiles to match I am a little tigged, especially as they were supposed to install the vanity today.
I have a choice: go with 1.1/4" or choose something else. The deeper top will make the vessel sink too high, so I guess I'm off to choose something else. Rats.

Where were we?

downstarirs bath plumbing
Originally uploaded by modernemama.

This has been a really busy weekend house-wise. We got back lunchtime Friday and spent the afternoon cleaning up cat poop, I have never seen so much shit in my life - and it was all confined to the master bathroom. Poop in the bath, in the shower, all around the loo. Horrible. There was also sick in the living room but that was minor. And evidence that the cat sitter had cleaned up in the kitchen. I don't know what went on while we were away, they were fine before we left and have been fine since we got back. I can only think they were locked in and got scared. They are used to running in and out of the house all day. I won't leave them again, they can suck it up and join the dogs in kennels.
Steven got rid of his frustration on the remains of the old vanity unit, it's amazing that what is essentially sawdust can stand up to nearly forty years of wear and tear and still put up a good fight but the sledgehammer won in the end.
After that, and a trip to t-mobile to get the replacement phone, we pretty much succumbed to jet-lag.

Culture, cafes and work

Fine Arts Museum
Originally uploaded by modernemama.

This is Steven on vacation in unbelievably sunny Brussels (no rain for a month and temps in the high 70s and 80s) enjoying a drink on the terrace of the Fine Arts Museum cafe.
Minutes later his Treo crashed and died and he was phoneless for 24 hours until we got back to cold New York. The Treo was pronounced DOA by t-mobile so they lent him a regular phone until they can ship a new one from head office. The man is completely lost without continuous email access!

One last chore before vacation time

old floating vanity
Originally uploaded by modernemama.

Time is going to be short when we get back from vacation so we decided at 7 pm last night to take out the floating vanity. It should have been easy because the water lines weren't corroded, but the P-trap was shut fast and we didn't have a 2" wrench. A quick trip to Home Depot and $10 later we had the p-trap undone. Unfortunately, the faux marble countertop was so heavy, and we didn't want to damage the tiles taking it off, that we couldn't shift it in one piece. A couple of bangs with Big Bessie the sledgehammer and the top was in three smaller pieces and on its way to the garbage.
We knocked off only three tiny triangular pieces of tiles and they came off intact so we can thinset them back on when we get back from our holiday.
Then we realised that our decent flat-bladed screwdriver was missing and the other ones were to big or to small to unscrew the vanity from the wall. Hey, ho, back to Home Depot we go.

Magnolias

magnolia
Originally uploaded by modernemama.

We have three magnolia trees in the yard, one white, one pink and this scrappy little bush that mostly hangs over the neighbour's yard. This is my favourite because you can get up close and really smell the blossom.
Magnolias are at best a fleeting joy, but this year, with the frigid temperatures that never seemed to end, followed by an immediate rise into the eighties, they are already going over.
More photos of the trees in blossom on flickr.

Bathroom prog... -oh, who am I kidding?

It can't be said we are making progress, not even slow progress with the bathroom renovations. Although we are both using the boys' bath to shower in we can't hang a towel anywhere but the floor at the moment because the contractor is too busy to pop in and drill holes for the hardware. We did screw in the robe hook* in the girls' bath on Saturday so you have a choice of places to put your wet towel in that room but no-one wants to get it dirty before Verity has a chance to use it. And we're still waiting for the countertop for the vanity. The installers are going to pick up it up from the fabricators today but can't install it until we get back from vacation.
I'm freaking ever so slightly because I've heard that Silestone may have changed the composition of Ivory Coast making it more brown than green. I hope not because that was about the only thing Steven and I agreed on without discussion, disagreement or second guessing. And I ordered samples to be 100% positive of the color, so a change would be a major issue. We'll see on May 7th.


The glass mosaic tiles for the downstairs bath backsplash came in early (actually less than two weeks) and they look gorgeous against the beige hexagon ones so I'm hoping that they will go in without a problem. I'm also wondering whether I can tile over the exposed side of the terrazzo shower base to add an accent. The inside will be covered by a teak base insert from Teak Works 4u. I've placed the mesh against it and it looks doable and I'm pretty sure flexible thinset will stick glass tiles to anything. Can anyone think of a reason why not? You have until May 5th to come up with comments/suggestions/arguments.

*You may ask why we don't just screw in the hardware in the boys' bath ourselves and call it done. In the girls' bath we are screwing into sheertrock, if we make a boo-boo we patch and sand. In the boys' bath it's expensive porcelain tiles, if we screw up someone could get hurt, badly hurt.....

Earth Day II

Or the day we got lots of earth delivered. We are patching the lawn and extending the lawn strip between the rhododendron bed and the conifers to the left bordering the drive. Trimming the edges every time it was mowed had shrunk the lawn to 12" here and that's a tad narrow to mow. Now we're back to 4' so the grass should stand a chance.
All the leaves on the deciduous trees are opening now, I guess they needed the warm weather before they could unfurl, so the yard is looking better. Tomorrow the environmentally friendly hot oil guy will come and spray the trees and then we are going to plant the bed on the corner of the cul-de-sac with viburnums, day lilies and later some annuals. Got to have some more pretty in the garden.

Earth Day 2007

070422
Originally uploaded by modernemama.

The sun is shining, it's 70+ and the forsythia and magnolia are in bloom.
Earth Day started badly as we drove to the drop off with Ruby Red and a load of old cell phones, telephones and other non-functioning e-paraphanalia, only to find that the Town of Huntington held it'd recycling day yesterday! A waste of time and gas driving there and we'll have to recycle this stuff another day in another way.
Worse, I found three perfectly drilled holes on the garage siding, which means the Carpenter Bees are back, so we'll have to get out there with something unecologically friendly before they make swiss cheese out of the redwood.
But on the upside we saw three red-tailed hawks circling the house this afternoon, we've turned the heating off but haven't yet turned the fans or the airco on, I gathered a bucketful of the most enormous pinecones from the huge fir tree and the cherry trees are about to blossom.
On balance, a beautiful Earth Day,

Celebrations

Lots of things to celebrate this week in addition to finishing the first bathroom remodel. I got my Social Security number at long last and that means I am a certified, numbered real person and with that and my Dept of Homeland Security photo id I was able to renew my NY state driving license, which expired in November. (Living in NY and being dependent on your husband's visa is both demeaning and frustrating; I've been a kept woman and felt like chattel. It does little for one's self-esteem, especially when they take away your driving privileges because your visa has less than six months to run, even though you've been granted an extension for three years). And the number of places I'm asked to show my driving license here? Banks, stores, airports..... it's impossible to exist without one. But enough of the Kafkaesque nightmare that is USCIS, Department of Homeland Security and NYS DMV. I am now legitimate again.

Sadie
The biggest celebration though is that after an entire month Sadie the dog has decided that the Fatboy dog bed isn't so scary and she's taken to sleeping on it at night (after Cassis the cat has made it cosy and warm. I'm still waiting for Polly to pluck up the courage to try her bed out.

Polly
Ooh, and one more huge celebration. I did not know this until two minutes ago but today is NATIONAL GARLIC DAY. I love garlic: roasted, fried, preserved in oil, in Rogan Josh, leg of lamb, sliced in poached sea bass, Skordalia it's all good. I think I will keep the celebration going all weekend long.

Finally, one working bathroom

It's taken months - more than six, in fact since we began the renovation of the boy's bath; it's been even longer since we stopped using this bath because of the leaks through the ceiling below, and in fact, I've probably only showered in there twice in all the time we've lived here because the decor scared me so much. But today I took my first shower in there in at least a year and I have to tell you that it was the best shower I have ever taken.
The previous best shower was at the Manchester Airport Marriott in February, a Hansgrohe with enough water pressure to knock you off your feet (and a Toto toilet, Duravit sinks and faucets, if my memory serves me, very modern) but the Grohe Freelander is fantastic. I emerged not simply clean but revitalised, and that's without trying out the "massage" spray. I cannot wait to get back in there tomorrow morning.
One thing I know I'll do differently in the master remodel, though, is to spring for the thermostatic shower valve. Fiddling around with the temperature while huge jets of icy water shoot at you can be a little strenuous first thing in the morning. Tomorrow, I'll put the shower on, then clean my teeth while it warms up. I know, wasting the earth's resources, but what's a girl to do?

Shower Doors Installed

boys' bath frameless shower doors
Originally uploaded by modernemama.

They look much better in real life, the photos are a tad dark and of course, reflect the flash. The only downside is that I have to wait 24 hours after the installation to use the shower.
Twenty-three hours, thirty minutes and counting.
And just in case anyone has forgotten the horror that was there before:


Smaller, darker and scary...........

Original Style

Saturday was action-packed. We have a lot to do to finish off the bathrooms before we head abroad for a week at the end of the month. I'd planned a day that started with giving an extra coat of paint to the boy's bath ceiling. That has to be done this weekend as the guys are ready to install the frameless shower doors and I don't want anyone wielding a roller in there once those babies go in. Then we have to take the hard top off my Jeep, go pick up the teak shower base and then put the soft top on before it starts raining. We needed to go pick the tiles for the backsplash in the downstairs bathroom and make sure they were in stock or available within four weeks so that bath gets finished before the visitors arrive in late May. Once they start arriving there'll be no more construction, or demolition for that matter, until September.
Then Steven came home last night and broke it to me at dinner (his motto is: always break the bad news to your wife in a public place, and preferably when she's had a drink, that way she won't shout) that he'd invited a colleague over to solve a work problem. That threw the scheduling out a little, especially when I invited colleague and husband to dinner afterwards. And the house was covered in dust and dog hair as usual.
Basically we just hit the ground running this morning. Steven walked the dogs while I showered. We were at the tile store at 9am. and out by 9:50, which was pretty good as they didn't have the tile I'd chosen (discontinued), the second choice was paper backed and I wanted mesh, and the third choice we decided just didn't look right. Finally we settled on this coppery metallic glass mosaic by Original Style. I had to buy a box, but because it was my lucky day I got a huge discount and it wound up being cheaper than the stuff on ebay. Only drawback is that it's shipped from the UK so it'll be "two weeks" before we get it.
After that a quick run to the supermarket and the fishmonger, a dash aound with Glassex and the Dyson and we took the top off the car without damaging ourselves. All done by 1:30. Then some devil made me check out the teak base and despite the large "FRAGILE" label someone had dropped it and scuffed one end pretty badly. So that had to go back, and it will be "two weeks" before the replacement arrives.
Never mind, I got the glue of the shower base with Goo Gone, picked up the dry cleaning, walked and fed the dogs and I still have time to blog before dinner.
The boys' bath ceiling though, that will have to wait until tomorrow.

Moo

Modernemama Moo card
Thirty-three months is an odd date to celebrate but that's how long we've been in this house and roughly how long I've been scribbling my name, address and phone number on scraps of paper. We didn't bother with change of address cards when we moved, we just emailed everyone the details but new acquaintances have been forced to try to decipher my increasingly incomprehensible handwriting.
I was on the point of going to the local Minute Man to order something generic when Flickr started offering Moo cards. These are the cutest little cards with coordinates and digits on the back and your selection of your favourite Flickr photos on the front. I had a lovely time choosing 30 photos to make into 100 calling cards and they were shipped to me (all the way from the UK by Royal Mail) yesterday. They are even more gorgeous than I imagined, great quality, tiny and totally personal.
Now I just have to find those "attractive strangers" Moo suggests I give my contact info to and hand them out.

Modernemama Moo card

It must be spring

Because finally the snow has gone and the ground is soft enough to plant our new mailbox.
The box and its post have been sitting in the garage since January when I was fooled by the unseasonably warm weather into ordering a new modern mailbox. Today it was deemed warm enough to tackle the project. I can say that it was barely warm enough, it's freezing still in New York but things are budding in the yard and at least now the mailbox is by the drive we won't have to wade through 6" floodwater to get the post every time it rains. And even if the front gets flooded, the Da Vinci houseArt mailbox has a handy access hatch at the back too.
Hurrah, another project off the list!

Downstairs bath remodel v3

downstairs bath remodel v3
Originally uploaded by modernemama.

When we went looking for trim tiles this weekend we were struck by the various possibilities, from metal listellos to stone chair rails, all of which would look ok with the new vanity and exisiting tiles. But the one we liked the most was a dark brown glass mosaic by Keraban, which would possibly also be the cheapest option: $18 a square foot or $120 to tile the backsplash. It will also be easier to fit the backsplash as it won't matter if it comes out at 4" or 4'5" high, we can just cut the mosaic to fit. If we bought the listellos we'd have to be much more precise about the measurements or possibly risk ending up with a lot of grout. The only thing that concerns me is the glass mosaic is much thinner than the ceramic tile and I think we might need a thin trim piece where the two meet, just to make it look neater. That, of course, would significantly add to the cost. Decisions, decisions.