There’s beauty in the gloom, and I set out with my Leica monochrome to find some. We can imagine coloring all the more vividly on a beautiful day in black and white.
Just for good measure, I tossed in some flower therapy.
A quiet and peaceful evening here.
I went food shopping this afternoon; the refrigerator is well stocked. I’m thinking of our friend Ian McRae, the poet reading some of his poems at Cafe Lena in Saratoga Springs.
Good luck, Ian.
Maria is at her belly dancing class; dancing lifts her spirit and now means the world to her.
I’m going to post this and then hole up in front of the wood stove and finish The Magic Kingdom by Russell Banks. It’s a cliche, but I could not put this book down.
Tomorrow we go to Bishop Gibbons to visit Sue Silversteins’ magical art world and see if there is anything I can do to help. Thanks to all of you for your many contributions.
Sue tells me repeatedly that she could not get to this without you. Me too.
Today we met with Mike Conklin about building a small second bathroom on the second floor. It would add significantly to the house’s value if and when Maria sells it down the road.
We don’t have the money to pay for it; we’d have to get a home improvement loan. Mike went over all the details with us and did a lot of measuring and crawling around in the basement.
He is a lot less expensive than most contractors.
It’s a tough decision for us; the wise thing would be to say no, not now. But Mike is a wonderful person to work with and knows his stuff. He thinks it’s a good idea.
I feel like it’s something we should at least think about.
We’ll mull it for a while. We’re happy with our home now. But an upstairs half (or maybe full) bathroom would add much value to the house.
It would also make it easier to have visitors like my daughter and granddaughter.
Our Imperious hens inspire me; they are diligent, organized, and serious about their work, finding and eating bugs, seeds, and worms. They have a good time under the bird feeder, with seeds everywhere.
Oh my, what I would give to have a second bathroom! Not feasible in our tiny 2 bedroom duplex. You are right, having 2 baths would make having guests much nicer. Everyone sharing the same bathroom can get dicey, hell, just the 2 of us sharing has gotten dicey at times! After 23 years of sharing, we’ve done pretty well – this is single floor house, small enough to be able to care for it as we age. It’s great that you have a contractor who is honest, smart and reliable. That is more important than what he will be doing.
Just a thought – an upstairs small half-bath, maybe including a shower, would also make it safer for either of you if you need a bathroom trip in the middle of the night. In the dark when you’re half asleep, those stairs can be dangerous, as you well know. A friend of mine fell down the stairs under just those circumstances and died much too young.
Jon,
It’s a smart move to get that upstairs bathroom. It doesn’t have to be hugh:
Toilet, Sink, Shower, like one in a college dorm room.
You’ll not regret it.
We readers, remember how you almost fell down the stairs when you were ill.
It will add value to your life now!
Been there and done that… Our lives were transformed by an upstairs bath that we tucked into the eaves. I can tell you a shower is really, really important…if you can find the room. There are some clever products out there for small spaces…You will enjoy doing the research. I understand the constraints in terms of costs.