No Balls

I let the dogs out onto the back deck and they both ran in search of the tennis balls that are usually out there. Unfortunately, there were no balls to play with.  I reached into the ball bag and was surprised to find it was empty.

Otis and Cooper are hoping that their Westport supplier has some in stock.

Sheetrock

Most of the sheetrock has been installed. The taping and the mud are next.

New Floors

The old hardwood floor in the foyer has been replaced.

Due to the walls which have been removed, new hardwood had to be weaved into the existing flooring.

Missing Locks

When we first adopted Cooper, he had very thin fur and little feathering on his legs. Over time, Coop grew beautiful curly golden locks on his ears.

Otis is always trying to get Coop to play with him. To get Coop's attention, Oti will nip at Coop's ears. Often Coop's ears are wet, from Oti mouthing them.

The other day I heard the dogs rough housing and Coop yelped. Oti raced by with a long golden strands hanging from his mouth. I  hope in time, Coop will regrow his beautiful hair.

Insulation

The insulation has been installed. The next step is installing sheetrock.

Inspection

The electric and structural inspection has been completed. We can now begin to put the walls back up.

Boston

We traveled  to Boston for a few days and had a wonderful time. We stayed at the Harborside Inn which is located downtown, near the waterfront. This old spice warehouse is located near the North End (Little Italy) and Quincy Market.

Shops, sites, restaurants and incredibly delicious bakeries were all within walking distance. In the debate of which  bakery, Mike's or Modern is better, we both agree that Mike's takes the cake.

We took an Old Town trolley tour which was informative and fun. It was a great way to get an overview of Boston and learn about the city. Bring your sneakers if you are going to Boston, you will be walking for miles.

Some of the places we visited were the Old North Church, Paul Revere's home, the USS Constitution and the Old State House Museum. There are many places we did not get to visit, so we are hoping to go back to Boston in the future.

We learned the hard way, that GPS satellite reception is lost when traveling thru the Boston tunnels. This means that navigation must be done by reading an old fashion map.

Half Wall

Ever since purchasing our home, we have struggled with the post and  beam in the center of our formal living/dining room. We were told the only way to get rid of the post was to have a steel beam installed. The cost of this was just too great.

To divide the rooms and incorporate the  post, we built a half wall. The post will get wrapped by a column and another column will be added for balance. The goal is that the columns will be seen as architectural details and the ugly post will disappear.

This half wall is also creating a new hallway. When you enter the front door there will be a hallway on the left and one on the right, adding symmetry to the downstairs.

Super Dog

Carol, the dog walker, said that since construction started, the dogs have been very pully when she walks them. I think that the dogs are nervous from all the noise.

It seems that "pully" is an understatement. I came home the other night and grabbed Coop's green leash. I tried to hook it to his collar and realized the metal ring had snapped off.

I was amazed that little Coop could snap a thick piece of metal. It turns out, that Oti is really the "Super Dog". The metal hook from the green leash was still hanging on Oti's collar.

Dr Duffy said that Otis was a big muscular dog. I guess we now know just how strong he is!

Before & After

The outside work on the house is almost complete.

This is what our house used to look like:

This is the new look:

Always, Always

It has been 2 years since Danny passed away. The ache in my heart has not eased and I often think about what should have been.

When I step outside on warm sunny days, an image of Danny stretched out on the grass and soaking up the sun immediately comes to mind.

Jeff reminds me that we were lucky to have had such a special dog to share our lives, even if it was for a too brief moment.

When I think about Danny, I often smile, but sometimes I still cry. Today I will mourn a companion who was taken before a lifetime of memories could be made.

I miss you Danny....

Staircase

When we bought our home in Wilton, we had hoped to increase its size thru an addition. Unfortunately, this was not in our budget.

While we are not increasing the square footage, we are trying to make the house feel bigger. To help accomplish this goal, we have opened the wall alongside the staircase. We wanted to remove  the post at the end of the staircase, but it is a structural support.

With the open staircase we can see from one end of the house to the other.

Box Bay II

The second box bay window has been installed.

Favorite Spot

The new front door has been installed. The sidelights have quickly become Otis and Cooper's favorite spots.

Coop loves all the light that comes in. Otis loves to bark at the birds and squirrels in the yard

A Sense Of Humor

It's good to have a sense of humor when doing a major construction job.

I came downstairs one morning to find two big holes in the front of our house where a picture window and the front door used to live.

I mentioned to Steve, "Looks like we're doing the door and window today, right?"

"That's the plan", he replied.  Then he added, "I've only got one tarp and a half sheet of plywood left, so I hope it doesn't rain."

I just left for work hoping the rain holds off.

Me Help

Whenever I come home, Otis likes to pickup something and parade it around the house hoping that I will chase him.  Sometimes he grabs a shoe, a ball, or even a dish towel from the kitchen.

When I came through the front door the other day, Otis looked down where we usually leave our shoes and there was nothing there.  Then he ran towards the kitchen, but it was zipped up from the day's construction.  Otis rushed into the construction zone and picked up the first thing he could get his mouth on; a piece of scrap 2x4!  After he showed it to everybody, chasing ensued...

Goodbye Carpet

The carpet in the family room has been removed.

The hardwoods underneath are in fairly good shape. This floor and the foyer will need to be sanded and stained  to match the existing hardwoods. It has taken 4 years, but we will finally have the entire first floor in hardwood.

The master bedroom is now the only room in the entire house that does not have hardwood flooring. At some point, I hope to change that.

Stressed

We are all feeling the stress of renovating the house.

I stepped out of the shower the other day and nearly squashed Cooper. Poor Coop was squeezed between the tub and bathroom door shaking from the noise of the saws running downstairs.

When I arrive home at night I never know what parts of the house will have power. When we had to disconnect part of the basement lighting, I thought that was no big deal. Next we lost the outside lights. The final straw was coming home to no power in the office when I needed to work. Thankfully we have heavy duty extension cords.

Between the dumpster and the construction crews trucks, getting out of the driveway is no simple task. Even our garage is no longer accessible - it is full of construction supplies.

I miss having a couch to sit on and space to walk in. Dust is everywhere.

With 4 weeks left to go, I am starting to wonder what were we thinking when we began this project.

Box Bay

To add some visual interest to the house, the front windows are being replaced with box bay windows. Unlike a typical bay, these panes are all straight. There are no angled side windows.

June 22

Oti's surgery to remove his cancerous tumor is scheduled for June 22.

Dr Duffy is a great vet. We are hoping that Oti's surgery will be as successful as Cooper's was.