Sweet Little Shed

   Well it has certainly been a long time since I've managed to get anything done around the house because of all the lovely students in the previous post, and though I certainly miss them, I do have the opportunity to once again climb a ladder and paint. So attention is turned to the little shed that we fell in love with on one day one.

And then on day sixteen we were warned by Ron the inspector that if we didn't get a new roof on the little thing, it wouldn't stand much longer. So as much as we loved the moss on the roof, we wanted to save the shed.

Now we thought about doing it ourselves, of course...until we got atop the ladder and noticed the pitch of the roof. And when Tim the roofer arrived, he noted the pitch of the roof was not nearly as dangerous as the many rotted circa 1850 boards beneath the shingles. So we were pleased to hand this job over to someone who could actually do it and survive the experience.

The one thing I could do was paint, so Pete put some trim up around the front windows and I defined them with one of my favorite greens.

And here is the backyard view of the little shed with the rotted boards and shingles removed, and now that I look at this photo I realize that it indeed would have been quite a distance to fall, so many thanks to Tim.

And while Tim worked on the roof, Pete went around looking for a window that was more suitable than the broken storm windows, and of course he found it at our favorite thrift shop.

And I painted them.

And then on the house side there was no window at all, so Pete found the perfect tiny window for that and then added a bit of trim...

...and I painted.

And though we are far far from finished, the sweet little shed has been saved and will now live to see another century. The inside of the shed will undoubtedly pose both the greatest challenge and provide the most pleasure.

I predict paint!

First American Home - My Students' Visit

   I had the sincere pleasure of hosting my international students at sweetlittlehouse this past week. For all, it was their first visit to an 

American's house. I am not able to put into words the beauty of their reactions, so I include snippets from the blogs that they write for me... 

                                        ****************

 After the quiet adventure in the wood, we went to Carrie’s house with great expectation. Carrie has a spacious two storey house with a history of more than 
150 years. On the first floor there is a living room, a guest room and a kitchen. 
The decoration in it leaves me a warm and sweet impression. Outside the house, there is a big courtyard with some huge trees and a variety of flowers and 
vegetables. As far as I am concerned, it is really a wonderful place for people 
to live.     Yi Ming

2014年7月17日星期四

Carrie’s House

      This afternoon, we went on a 3-hour trip to three places: a beach, a forest, and Carrie’s house, and what impressed me most is Carrie’s house.  

       Carrie possesses a very old and spacious two-storeyed house. Carrie told us that it has a history of 150 years. On the first floor are a large kitchen, a bathroom, a guest bedroom, and a very spacious living room. The main bedrooms are on the second floor. The floor is wooden. The rooms are very tidy, clean and very comfortable.

Outside the house, there is a shed, and two big courtyards, on which grow green grass, various kinds of vegetables, and several huge trees as old as the house. The environment is really beautiful!

Guess how much the house costs Carrie? Only about $140, 000 (RMB900,000)！

What a cheap house it is compared to mine in China!

       My husband and I bought a new 3-bedroom apartment last year.Though it is newly built, it is unfurnished, and neither is it as spacious as Carrie’s. And it has no courtyards or shed or big old trees. But it costs my husband and me more than RMB950,000!

                                                     Qiu Xiangling

Thursday, July 17, 2014

This is the lovely, blossoming tree outside our teacher's ancient yet comfortable house. 

I adore the life in great leisure and dream  of owning a house with a cool courtyard and plant the fruit trees and beautiful flowers in it.   Feng Tong

2014年7月18日星

The Art Corner in Carrie's House

The Art Corner in Carrie's House

July 17, 2014

Yesterday we had a wonderful trip to our instructor Carrie's house.

This is a beautiful and cozy house with a large backyard. In the yard there is  a relaxing swing.

When I went into her house,a corner in her living room caught my eye. On the window hangs a bunch of crystal beads with Japanese characters in them.The colors of the beads well matched with the background white color of the curtain, presenting a harmonious atmosphere in the house and showing us

the special artistic taste the owner of

the house has.    Tian Xiangling

                                                             *********************

After we finished our hiking in the wood, we set off for the final destination: Carrie’s house. Carrie was so kind that she invited all of us to her house. The moment I went into the courtyard, my eyes were caught by the bowl of flowers hanging beside the entrance gate which seemed to smile and greet every guest who entered the house, and then I smelt light fragrance, soon I found in front of me a tree blooming with white flowers but behind the fence. On the left there were a lot of flowers whose names I didn’t know. As I stepped forward, I found there was a grape tree on my right side, just under the window of the living room. There were so many different plants in the yard that I find it difficult to focus on just one of them.  What attracted me more is the backyard which I soon found. It was so spacious that it must cover about two basketball courts. What’s more, there are two very tall big trees which provide shade over almost all the backyard. Between the two big trees there is a white super big hammock which is really eye-catching! After we lingered on the backyard and tried the hammock and took pictures with it, we visited Carrie’s house. This house is more than a hundred years old but it’s still in good shape. Carrie displayed everything she had collected and made room like a mini-museum and of course the house is very lovely and comfortable too.  What a wonderful house it is , so close to nature and so fit to live in!      
                                                                           Zhou Juezhi

Summer is the Sun Dance...

...and there's little need for words,

just watch the nasturtiums open

and the squash blossom

or the woodpile lose to the roses

and the late pansies beside the bird bath

or the jumble of the big bed

while the Swiss chard competes with them all

and the hyacinth bean keeps to itself beside the weathered fence

all somehow kept in by the gate

for all of us to enjoy.

Many Things Small Seem So Grand...

....like the beginnings of the raspberries

which later became black raspberries

or the dainty nesting tables Pat brought us from the thrift store

or the lobelia, happy in moss

Oreo under the grape vine

The faux birdhouse with the faux tin roof that Pete made for the lintel

I am not too proud to confess that having a lintel is a certain amount of pressure

The wild roses climbing over the fence

The baby sparrow preparing to leave the house

Marbles...always marbles...

The new additions to the fence

The yard bunny

and the ice cream wagon, "Scoop to Nuts", parked for the time behind town hall 

brimming with perfect-summer-day smiles.

*************

"may my heart always be open to little

birds who are the secrets of living

whatever they sing is better than to know

and if men should not hear them men are old"   
- e.e.cummings

Happy Birthday Weekend, Siggy!

Pat's Top Ten Tourist Tips

Pat and Pete

Carrie has asked me to write a "guest blog" and I somewhat reluctantly agreed.  I don't write nearly as well as she does, there are some other things I can do better and with greater ease:  cook, play the piano, garden.  But I'll give it a try.  So here it  is, a la David Letterman:

Pat's top ten list for guests visiting Sweet Little House

 10.  Shopping is always on any of my lists.  For outlets, start with Tangers Outlet - Williams Sonoma and Hush Puppies Merrell Sebago are here while Clinton Crossing has more apparel stores.  But the most fun is the Wear House Picking Pot Thrift Store.  As my suitcase was over-packed at the start of my trip, it's going to be almost impossible to buy anything, but they have a very eclectic collection of furniture, "art pieces" and general "stuff" that is hard to pass up.  
  

9.  Shoreline Gardens.  The most beautiful and artistically arranged hanging baskets I have seen anywhere.  All plants are started and grown there, I know of no other nursery that does this.  They are closing for the summer in late June - your loss unless you can schedule your trip for autumn or wait until next spring.  But rescheduling your trip is worth it.
 

8.  Oreo (the queen of cats).  Chipmunks hiding from and tantalizing Oreo!  Her very dedicated and purposeful walk through the living room, on the way to food of course.  Which she is immediately served (many times a day!)
 

7.  Carrie's garden.  This is lush and filled with so many different plants, many of which I don't know.  The bird feeders attract many birds who are almost as demanding of food as Oreo.
 

6.    Driving up to Chester.  Just wait until you see it, summer or, I am sure, fall; there are more maple trees than I have seen anywhere (I am a southern flatlander used to pine trees and no trees). 

5.    L & E restaurant in Chester ( luckily for us, Peter works there).  Most extraordinaire French chef who must always dream of food  for it to be so good.  Thank you, Everett,  and Patrick and Mark, for a wonderful evening.

4.    The plaster room.  How could it be called anything else even in its present refurbished and decorated condition?  And....it is on the same floor as the bathroom and the kitchen.  And...it has a most comfortable bed.  At present there is some contention between me and Sudie James as to whose room it is!  But be assured that you, as a guest, have #1 dibs.


3.  The Lobster Shack.  On the water, tables outside, order at the cash register.  And get a buttery, 1/4 pound lobster roll.  What else can I say?

2.  Thimble Islands cruise.  This is a lovely 45 minute cruise, easy parking, reasonable fares.  And a close-up look at these tiny rock islands with residences ranging from a gazebo to mansions.

1.  Sweet Little House.  I was moved to tears when I walked in; it was like walking into a dream because of all the pictures in Carrie's blogs that I had poured over.  
So - go, be a guest, it's the sweetest little house in America that comes with the sweetest hosts you could ever hope to have.  Much love to them, I will miss them and their hospitality.