~~~

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2007

A cool, crisp fall day, but the sky is clear and the sun is out.  You can feel the trees are just about to turn a riot of color.  There is one little tree near the road that has gone bright yellow, but that is it so far.  Duchess and I took an early walk and then I had a late breakfast with Dan.  He read my ghost story this morning and we talked about the story.  He had a few questions and suggestions, but really liked it as a kid’s story. Denny and Charlotte came by as they had heard Richie was gone and wanted to take a look at the house as we have done so much in 3 weeks.  Denny asked about Wheeza and said Paul had told them about her disappearance.  He seemed genuinely curious, so perhaps he didn’t have anything to do with Wheeza’s disappearance.  Maybe she did just go off to die on her own.  Seems likely now. Jack came over later for a short visit and took a long look at the house.  He said it really was an amazing place considering what methods and materials we had used.  He said it had great style and he and Cindy can't wait to see it finished.  Neither can I!! 

Danny finished up the last little bits of wiring and hooked up the final circuit.  We still have to hook up the staircase light and a few other fixtures, but we need some 3-way wire.  I spent most of the day wire-brushing rust off the new woodstove.  It looks much better now and is ready to be re-blacked, but my arms are so sore and achy from the vibration of the drill.  Dan finished up all the windows and fixed the porch door so it doesn’t stick anymore.  Jeff was supposed to start the stairs, but didn’t show up.  Maybe tomorrow.  If not Dan and I will try to lay it out on our own.  It  got a bit chilly around supper time, so we lit a fire in the dining room.  Baked acorn squash with crab and corn bread stuffing.  The dining room looked really good by fire and lamplight. 

--------------------

STUFFED ACORN SQUASH 

Take an acorn squash and slice it in half and scoop out all the seeds and slice a bit off the bottom so it will sit flat on a cookie sheet or baking dish.  Oil the inside and set aside.

Make a standard batch of bread stuffing (yes I use generic Stove Top) and add some chopped green onion, plenty of  flaked crab meat and a good shake of  Cajun spice.  Heap the stuffing into the hollowed out squash and bake it in a 375 oven until the squash is tender. You might want to cover the tops with a bit of foil so the dressing doesn’t dry out or you can put a strip of bacon over the top so it’s self basting. 

You can also do this with eggplants and I also use a stuffing of hot Italian sausage topped with provolone cheese at the end.  Even little kids will eat squash this way!

 --------------------

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 20,  2007

A great sunny warm morning.  Dan and I started to frame the fireplace in my bedroom. Got most of the framing in place and then started work on refining the living room fireplace.  We took out both of the partitions that surrounded the fireplace and made the old utility closet and then repositioned the fireplace unit itself.  We pushed it into the corner and flanked it on each side with rustic 5x5 posts that have been sitting outside aging for just this use.  We supported the front beam with a big 5x5 brace that is sprung from the corner near the French door.  It makes the living room look twice as big, but creates a nice inglenook as well.  The big bay window seems less isolated and the whole room makes more sense.  The dais has room for two good sized armchairs and my chaise can face the fire from the lower level.  I’m going to frame a small loft over the inglenook area and one step up from the little upstairs bedroom.  It will be just big enough, I think, for a double bed.

Went into Lebanon for dinner and to do the wash.  Called Jon to check in and to send some pictures of the work.  Returned home to a quiet night and early to bed.  Very, very windy, but it’s supposed to be 80 tomorrow.

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2007

Wild wind all night, but a beautiful warm morning.  A good breakfast of pancakes and Dan and I decided not to wait any longer to start the staircase and began to lay it out ourselves.  It took a bit of figuring, but we finally got the stringers laid out and cut.  It’s the first staircase for both of us, but it came out straight and level.  The top step is a bit short, but not enough to make  a problem. The staircase comes out 2 steps into the dining room arch, but I plan to round the first step into the arch to finish it off.  We mis-figured the size of the treads and needed 2x10’s instead of 2x8’s,  so we went into Lowe’s to get 2x10’s for the treads and some 2x4’s to frame the loft over the inglenook. Supper at Subway and then we worked on finishing the staircase.  I will do the curved first step with a kerfed board in the morning and then frame up the supporting wall under the staircase.  The staircase is just the right size and looks great and a wonderful convenience to be able to go up and downstairs with ease.  A quiet warm evening.  We will finish the stairs and fireplace loft tomorrow and try to install the stove Tuesday before the predicted cold weather.  Dan and I hope to get the house tight and livable by mid-November so Dan can work less on the house and we can both do more writing and designing.  With luck we can manage it as planned.  It would be great to spend a leisurely winter, improving the house and writing and doing all kinds of projects.

(continued)