Raise High the Roof Beam Carpenters

So this is the day that all the rafters were attached to the roof beam.  Here's the silly thing on my part - I have not photographed the roof beam itself - it is blocked by the aluminum scaffolding.  But it is so cool to get more of a sense of the room, now that the outline of the roof is obvious.  The boxes of windows are waiting on the front porch, so things are really moving along at a pretty rapid pace.

The New Kitties Arrive Home!

We went to the vets today, and picked up Grace, and another kitten which we have named Sam. When Grace went to New Jersey to be nursed by a mother cat, The mother cat also was nursing Sam.  We decided that because these two kittens have spent so much time growing up together, that it would be better for both of the kittens, and better for BeBe, our older cat, because that might mean that Grace would make our 14 year old cat nuts, trying to play with her, if she was the only kitten in the house.

So we decided to adopt Sam and they are wonderful together.  And is Sam adorable or what!  The first photograph is the two kittens in their carrier in the car on the way home.  The second is them in the room they will be living in, separate from Bebe, until the kittens and Bebe get to know each other.

A Place at the Table

This is so funny!  This is Bebe, and she knows that she is not allowed on the table.  But many times when we are at a meal, she climbs up on the chair opposite me, and then peers over the edge of the table at us.  It is so cute and so funny!  I have tried to take this photograph before, but she quickly gets bored and looks away and there would go my photograph.  So I knew I needed to be quick.  And on this day, I was.

A Great Front Door

I spent a good part of the day over at Cedarmere, William Cullen Bryant's home, doing interior architectural photographs.  There are some wonderful things in this old house.  The original section was built in 1787.  Bryant owned the property for 35 years, and made significant modifications, and then there was a fire in 1902 which destroyed a number of rooms.  This is the front door, and what a door it is.  Look at those hinges, and the wonderful oval glass window!  They don't make 'em like that any more.

It Has Walls!

Three carpenters came today to start a push to get the framing and siding and roof done.  The plan is to get the addition to where it is waterproof, and then they will break into the little back room, and see what they have there.  They may have to reframe a large portion of the back room, before tying the two structures together.  The really cool thing is that we can walk around on the floor and get a sense of the size of the room and see the location of the windows and the gas fireplace.  It is now getting to be fun!

The Newest Member of the Family

This is Nova Theresa, the newest member of the family!  She is only five days old and was the center of attention at the picnic.  She is being held by her uncle Connor, who clearly loves taking care of her.  He's a natural with her.  I love both of these photographs because they are a study in contrasts - of large and small.  It is amazing how tiny a newborn baby's fingers are!

Combat Croquet!

We drove up to Connecticut today for a graduation party for two children of two of our cousins.  It was a wonderful family gathering with all the relatives, and friends of the relatives and friends of the kids.  That place was full of life today!  One of the things that this family loves to do is to play games.  The choice of game today was what they call "Combat Croquet."  This is not the game I played with my great aunts and my grandmother when I was a kid!  This is killer croquet!  I thought you would like to see a photograph of the combatants!