Pretty Lady

Isn't she lovely!

All polished and ready to come home again.

Just waiting for someone to play her

Pics courtesy of Jeremy Elliott at Paul Hahn and Co

I sent my piano out to be refinished with the thought of it not being in the house when the renovations were being done and the floors sanded. I can't imagine what horrible things owuld happen to her innards with all the plaster dust and the floor dust and the paint drips.

I bought this piano at an auction at a church that was being converted to (very high priced) condominiums. Not one to let a bargain go by I bid on spec and won it for a very small price. A few repairs later and this recent refinishing and I have an instrument to be proud of.

Lovely clean bright sound

Piano quartets here we come!

Quizzical cats

Mommy these windows are really dirty. When are those men going to give me back my window to watch the birds? Soon??


Granite and Marble in search of some windex

Remembrance

Dedicated to the memory of

Dexter Colwell

and

William Pachal

who died on August 21, 1944 during the battle to close the Falaise Gap in France

We remember

November sockness

I have had my eye on the Japanese stitch dictionaries for a long time and had originally planned to buy 3 or 4 of them - especially the one that has 1000 in the title!

After close inspection thanks to Marcia at Needlearts Books, the only one I bought was the white one with 250 in the title. It is chock full of inspiration and my November sock is inspired by several of the lace and cable patterns in the book.

With a couple of modifications, I have something that I am really pleased with. I hope you will be too.

Presenting Lotus in its original pumpkiny state:
And in Photoshopped green
and mauve
The yarn is Meilenweit Seta Cashmere and is really yummy to work with. I had about 9 grams left of a 50g ball when done to fit my size 7 1/2 feet

Wallitude!

Front door side of the newly opened wall - dry walled and mudded - 2 coats up and ready to prime after today - yay!
Opening from the front door


The stained glass window in the hall and its wall of lovely dry wall over a ton of insulation - more yay!

Bedroom wall and ceiling - if it takes 1 guy 3 days to insulate and dry wall the ceiling, how long does it take 3 guys ? Right! One day and done!


Inside wall and the cupboard that will magically turn into a door

Other inside wall about to be Rockuled (sound proofing and fire proofing - the "ul"ness of the insulation has not escaped my woolly notice ull = wool - how fitting!)

More carnage

Corner of the front hall that used to be a small and very nearly useless closet. The stained glass widow on the left is staying and the door on the right leads into the kitchen. I might eventually schange that door and put in one with glass - later - much later...

Back to the bedroom and the closet that will soon be a door (and my favourite new toy - a shop vac - beats my Dyson for sucking power by a million miles - cheaper too - but rather large...)

The ceiling in my new room - and that is the roof. To vault or not to vault - that is the question

On the left is the outside wall without its furring strips and on the right is the back side of the bathroom wall


And back to the front hall - this used to be a wall with a 32inch door in it. Now wide open spaces


Did get some knitting done yesterday and have a half finished November sock of the month done. I'll post it soon.

My new room

Day 1 - demolition done and Katherine is bemused/shocked by the carnage. We are right down to the outside brick. When the ceiling came down, so did the insulation - sawdust and batting - and the floor was about 1 foot deep in the stuff.


Christopher took these and the light level is so low that Katherine is a blur!


The door on the left goes to a cupboard that hangs off the end of the house. It will soon turn into a door that leads out to my garden. Zoot alors!

The outside brick walls are parged with cement and those are 1 by 2 vertical furring strips. My contractor will have to build a stud wall so the room can be insulated properly. Oh and the rad has to be moved too - which would have been easier when the system was drained to put in the new boiler. oh well - all will work out in the end I trust!

Not a single stitch knitted last night! Shocking!

Onward dustily but unbowed!