Maybe it's time to wash the windows again

Is it me being more slovenly than usual or are the spiders more dedicated in their web building endeavors this year? It seems that every time I remove one web (usually by walking through it) another two or three spring up in its place. On the one hand I am itching to get the Windex out, on the other I'm enchanted by the size of the web... and Halloween is nearly upon us...

Market Sunday

Huntington Farmers' Market on Sunday morning - a gathering place for good food, chatty neighbors and friendly dogs


Lots of samples and a few unexpected items


Cheesecake Souffles - a sweet treat for breakfast


and red wine starter bread - yeast-free but without the sourness of sourdough.

Last Night

A cocktail followed by:


the setting sun over the bay


an inside joke


sparklers after dark


music and dancing at a local bar - expanding the evening and the summer fun...

When angels come to the rescue... ::UPDATE::

UPDATE: the Angel drove me in his truck to get the Crepe Myrtle I had seen earlier this week. That's above and beyond!

We have a host of house angels who go the extra mile for us. This week's star is definitely the landscaper and his crew... Meanwhile, did you doubt that I wouldn't be able to control my plant procuring self until Spring? There were bargains to be had:


I scored three huge - well they will be eventually - red toned hydrangeas and three prolific mopheads, "Nikkon Blue", at the 50% off section of the nursery


but the biggest deal was this yew that cost $7! Fingers crossed they survive the winter.


Super Landscaper to the rescue while I was at the Goombas event, planted everything, fixed the break in the sprinkler line, put on a new head and changed the direction of the others so the whole area gets watered. I told you he reads the blog...

Keeping it old school in a digital world

Young Rebel Goombas (l to r) Richie Saccente, Cosmo Mallardi, Uncle B Johnson and Richie Cannata keeping it real at a special event @ CW Post, Long Island University.


The live sound is being videotaped by Jake Gorst for their youtube channel. Awesome jamming - that's one way music is made in 2009.

Framed Up

Recycled picture frame ceiling - an exercise in colorful creativity, and thinking outside the box - from a house built using other peoples' trash. Recycle, repurpose, reuse taken to a whole new level. From the New York Times.

Almost a Home Run

A week or so after we decided to clear decades of debris over on the north side of the property. it's all done. The good news is we have a weed-free, level piece of property that is graded away from the house, seeded and ready to sprout green shoots of grass. The bad news, as I discovered when I put the sprinklers on, is that the whole side needs an improved watering system. We have a break in the main line that's probably been split all summer; we just didn't see it because it was hidden under all the holly, juniper, weed mess that was there before and the one sprinkler on that zone is knackered - more water pores out of the bottom than the head. That goes for the next head down too. Thanks to the extra-long hose we purchased earlier in the season I can water the entire area from the other side of the gate, but that's just temporary until super-sprinkler guys can run me a new line with some cute pop-up heads. Superb landscaper tells me to wait until spring and have them do it when we do the turn-on but that was before I realised we were watering big holes in his newly created lawn. (As he reads this blog, he's probably learning about it, just. about. now!). Anyway, let's recap:


Monday August 31st - at the start of the day: a stumpy, McGrumpy, mess of tangled roots


mid-day: tons of topsoil, a bobcat, a roller and a lot of manpower


5 PM: looking over the fence after the prep-work is done.
It's amazing how much better this is. Firstly you can appreciate the house even more - it's not closed in by the shrubby border. Secondly, the property looks so much bigger, which in a sense it is - we've increased the space by about an eighth of an acre. Lastly, I can skip down the path with the dogs and not be attacked by prickly, allergy-producing bushes, and that's a huge bonus. Also, the fence guys will be able to get in to repair/re-fence the area, the borders have been laid out and the landscaper is lobbying for a pergola to go in the north-east corner...
Now I can either wait for Spring to begin planting or go see what is available in the half-price section of the nursery. Which do you think I'll do?

Indoor Art (Cleveland)

Modernist art glass


Flying Phish Rock 'n' Roll Hot Dog from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

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Inspiration comes in the oddest places

I'm thinking this landscape, snapped at JFK, may be the way I want the final section of the yard to look, with a few tweaks of course. Thoughts? Comments?

::Musical Update::

The Goombas Special Show at Long Island University's C.W. Post Campus on Thursday September 3rd (1:00 - 2:30 pm) just keeps getting bigger: Richie Saccente, Cosmo Mallardi and Richie Cannata will now be joined by Uncle B Johnson. They'll be performing songs old and new as well as explaining the process of making an indie record. Here's a musical taste:



Get your tickets now! To register download this form. Registrations can also be taken over the phone using a credit card. Phone number is 516-299-2580.

Peter Piper Picked...

a peck of pickled peppers


and a pint of Maine blueberries


and made spicy peppers, ice cream.... and picalilli

The part of Peter Piper was played by modernemama

The final yard

We were so impressed with the repaired stone step that we got totally carried away with plans for the neglected north side of the yard. The landscaper agreed that we should take all the junipers out and seed the entire area. This morning an area of some 3000 sq' was cleared of debris; desperate shrubs were pulled up; trees were trimmed. The whole area has been opened up, allowing us to get up the other stepping stone path (the one I made The Guy move 4" to the right last year) without being molested by the holly or juniper.
Just an aside but tell me, what kind of sadist plants prickly shrubs and bushes along a path?
Anyway, we have (almost) decided on a fence style, so by late September (hopefully) we should have the start of a lawn that will balance the whole front yard and some privacy for the pool, too.

Shooting for the Moon

I missed the sunset tonight, but I'm considering myself compensated.

Step It Up

It started with just one step- this step, the one we had fixed already four times this year; the one The Guy had finally cemented into submission. The landscaper pointed out that a large chunk had fallen away, smashing into slate shards on the path below. Being an angel, as well as a semi-pro at masonry he offered to take care of it andon the hottest, most humid day of the summer, that's exactly what he did.
Of course, being a professional, he insisted on doing a proper job and re-setting all the loose stones. By the end he had re-mortared or replaced the entire first step and after deciding the front riser was unfinished, he re-faced that, too. The porch looks so looks so much better, the stepping stone paths are more integrated with the steps and visitors to the house no longer have to dance around the step, which is a big bonus.
A wise man once wrote on this blog that sometimes you have to Pay The Two Dollars. This is one of those cases where we should have asked a professional to do the masonry work. But we didn't know who to ask, and anyway it seemed like a simple job. If we had had the proper tools in the first place and opted to replace the stone rather than reuse it I'm certain we would have successfully completed the job ourselves at the first, or certainly, second attempt. As it was it took five... that's a lot of sweat and frustration. Now we have a pretty path, a couple of design flaws have been solved in this area but at least we now know who to ask if we have any more stonework issues. Live and learn!

Reflections

Because I haven't posted anything specifically about the house in a long while, even though there are lots of plans in the works, I bring you dappled sunlight reflecting the trees on the siding - eastern elevation of The Cool House. Pretty and peaceful. Enjoy!

O!

Huge circular spider webs suspended high in the fir trees

and low down in the shady grove.

Modern meets Historic

I stumbled upon this fabulous modern addition to a typical residential house in an historic area near downtown Atlanta and was mesmerized by the shapes and the light. Designed by architects Brian Bell and David Yocum of the modern architecture firm bldgs, the Ansley Park Glass House is a stunning space that neatly juxtaposes the 20th and the 21st centuries.

There's a cool pool to beat the Atlanta heat - its shape echoes the square lines of the new addition - and the original 1910 building.

The living space is open inside, while walls of glass flood the rooms with light. I love the soft grey-blue tones of the MCM furniture that contrast with the dark fireplace/bookshelf.

A view from the suspended staircase: Dark woods on the walls and floor give a solid feel to the space - how fabulous is the Nakashima-inspired table paired with the Saarinen Executive Side Chairs?

Possibly my favorite part of the renovation, the kitchen balances cool stainless steel cabinetry with warm wood countertops, where the staircase floats behind like a transparent sculpture - awesome.

The square roofline of the original house seen through the rectangular wall of glass: the harmonious synergy of historic and modern.

It's Friday so hop on over to Julia's Hooked on Houses Friday fest

Events on Long Island: Making Music*

Music. You hear it, you play it, hum it and sing along to it but have you ever asked yourself: How does it happen? How does a tune get paired with lyrics and made into a song that becomes a hit?

On Thursday September 3rd at 1:00 PM Young Rebel Goombas (and friends of The Cool House) Richie Saccente and S. Cosmo Mallardi will be explaining just how it's done

Joining them for the event will be legendary sax player Richie Cannata

They'll be demonstrating the art with a few rocking tunes from their album Young Rebel Goombas

Emmy award winning documentary film-maker Jake Gorst will be there, too - so there just might be some filming going on.

There's a bit of a bonus attending the lecture - it's held at Hutton House, formerly Lorber Hall, a fully restored Gold Coast mansion. Architecture and music all in the course of one lunch-time lecture, what could be more fun?

*The skinny:

The Art of Musical Composition and Production

When: Thursday September 3rd 1:00 - 2:30 pm
Venue: Hutton House, C.W.Post Long Island University in Brookville, New York.Entry fee: $15.00Early registration is highly recommended. The registration form can be downloaded here.

See you there!

Steelcase and Frank Lloyd Wright

I posted yesterday about seeing Steelcase office furniture everywhere after I received the two MCM chairs. Last week I came across the name while viewing one of the more interesting sections of the Frank Lloyd Wright: From Within Outward exhibition at The Guggenheim Museum: the SC Johnson Building in Racine, Wisconsin.

In 1936 Wright worked with Steelcase to produce modular steel and formica desks and chairs in his signature Cherokee Red for the SC Johnson Wax Administration Building that Life Magazine called the "most inspirational office building of the twentieth century".

If you fall in love with the sensuous curves of the furniture you can purchase your very own Frank Lloyd Wright Johnson Wax 1 Writing Desk and Johnson Wax 2 Chair, although today they are no longer produced by Steelcase but by Italian furniture maker Cassina.

In 2001 Frédéric Compain made a fascinating documentary about the Johnson Wax Building as part of the Architects series. Part 1/3 above, click the links for part 2/3 and part 3/3. It not only shows employees at their work stations but explores Wright's belief that efficiency is affected by the surrounding office environment. (Note: the documentary is in French and although there is an English voice-over they haven't translated the written quotes. It would appear they spoke French in Wisconsin in the 1930s!)

The Steelhouse company has furthered their association with the architect, away from the industrial to the residential, by supporting the restoration of the Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio in Oak Park Illinois

and, in the 1980s, purchasing and fully restoring the Meyer May House in Grand Rapids, Michigan, which celebrates its 100th anniversary this year. Take the online tour here.

Steelcase is also sponsoring a Symposium on September 10 2009 to explore the relevance of Frank Lloyd Wright to 21st century architecture and design.