Thank you for finding That Old House amidst the chaos of the Internet. We are delighted that you are here.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

It Never Rains, But It . . .

. . . never rains.

There's no middle ground this summer.  It's wet, for days.  Or it's dry, for days.
We are in the middle of one of those dry hot spells.  Our grass is beginning to be tinged with brown.


Look - it's turning into rocks!
"Now, Cass," I hear you say, "you are just being silly.  Those rocks used to be your cellar floor!"

And as always, you are right.

See this dude?
That is Mr. Jack Hammer, and he's been up to some pretty big mischief downstairs at That Old House.
Howard ventured downstairs and snapped some pics this morning.
At the foot of the kitchen stairs:
In the boiler room:
Although there is good news.
Clearly I won't be doing laundry today!


There are piles of dirt and rubble all over the cellar, and jack-hammered-out ditches.
And yes, we have a radiator in our basement.  Two, in fact.  We don't know why; old houses are loaded with goofiness. It's naturally warm in winter; after all, it's where the boiler lives! Perhaps some slick radiator salesman came through 95 years ago.  One of the radiators is on the ceiling.  Weird.
By the end of the day, the ditch and the piping should be covered over,
and all should be back to normal.  Or so they say.  Keep your fingers crossed.
This is where I just have to say to myself, "These guys know what they are doing."

If having the French drain system installed is not enough fun and games for one day
at That Old House, the folks who built our conservatory will be coming by to clean and adjust it.

They were supposed to do this 2 days before the wedding, but it poured rain and they said
it was too dangerous to be up on the glass roof when it's wet. Wimps.
Weak as water, I tell you. Weak as water!

That Old House says she's ready for a rest.  For the past two months she's been poked and prodded, cleaned and painted, fixed and refurbished, and she's had enough fussing!  Although she did kind of like that hand scraping of her clapboards by those nice young men . . . .

*********************************
I toddled out onto the porch this morning to snap the cement chunks picture.
And in common with 99% of his brethren, our dog Dion figured I was gone, and never coming back.
 Look at that worried face.
I'm right here where you can see me, you silly mutt!

So now he's sleeping right behind my desk chair.
I'm trapped.

Have a lovely Tuesday
I had plans to finally join Marty's Cloche Party, but A) I don't have a cloche and
B) I don't have a part of my house I'm willing to photograph for pretty stuff this week!
But you can go visit; click the link above.  -- Cass


12 comments:

  1. Cass, I always enjoy reading about what's going on at That Old House...and today is no exception. What a lot of work you've been through with the wedding, the repainting and refreshing and now the basement. Being a homeowner is so much fun, isn't it? ;')

    My dog is just the same as Dion, she always thinks I'm leaving for life when I go get the mail. (Sometimes I think she's disappointed when I come back.)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I always hate sinking money in this sort of thing instead of nice new carpeting or nice expensive new windows 'cause you see.... to me putting money into a house where you can't see it, even though necessary, is like buying underwear instead of a nice new dress. It is a necessity but .......
    Have a Great Day!
    Marilyn

    ReplyDelete
  3. Part of that is just living with an old house!!! And I would LOVE to drag EVERYTHING out of my basement and start over -- well, wait, guess I could but without a "reason" that ain't gonna happen!!!! LOL

    Why is it that dogs hate for you to be on the other side of a door -- they'll nap all afternoon but the minute you go out a door -- they're right there saying "hey, you left me behind" . . . . and in the bathroom -- it's like they're checking up on you -- a woman can have no privacy!!! (But that's only if you SHUT the door -- if you leave it open, they don't care!!! And if you leave it just the littlest bit ajar, they're pawing trying to get in -- if you shut it all the way, you'll find them laying like they lost their best friend never to be seen again look on their face!!!)

    Ollie says "hi" to Dion -- he's happy -- I'm inside and we're both on the same side of the door -- soon I'll be going OUTSIDE -- and I'm sure if I make it out without him he'll be by the door hurt because we got separated!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wow! You do have big stuff going on! I'm glad it's almost finished! Dion looks so sweet! Isabella is asleep at my feel right now. We are having a kitty cat birthday party for Baby Kitty on Friday. Maybe you can put some kitty ears on Dion and bring him to the party...seriously! Happy week!...hugs...Debbie

    ReplyDelete
  5. Cute-cute little Dion! Big things going on at That Old House. I was dreaming about NJ last night, my childhood home. Always a joy to visit through you. **kisses** Deb

    ReplyDelete
  6. Poor, sad little doggie....abandoned, forgotten, ignored, and sooooo lonely! What a face he has!!

    I can't even imagine going through everything you and that old house are going through. Courage!

    ReplyDelete
  7. What a little cutie!
    Seriously, what is with this weather! The heat is supposed to last thru the weekend. I hope we at least get a little rain in NJ - my grass and flowers are not looking very happy!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Silly Dion!
    It will be nice to be able to just stop with major home projects for a little while and just enjoy!
    Of course, there's always something doin'!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Poor house, she does need a rest, I hope she has the rest of the summer off!

    Dion just loves his mama!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Your house sure has been through alot!
    Dion just cracks me up.
    Hopefully things will calm down soon. But what will you do??

    Try to have a quiet evening.

    Melinda

    ReplyDelete
  11. OMGosh- I'll bet you will be so glad when this is all over! I can only imagine the mess you will have cleaning up! Your weather is the same as ours-miserable one day-nice the next~ xo Diana

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for visiting That Old House; it's always exciting to find new comments -- they are treasured! Because of increasing spam, I have reluctantly eliminated "Anonymous" commenting. Legitimate anonymous commenters, please forgive me! You might try using "Open ID" instead. Blogger's spam software worked for a good long time, but, sadly, no longer.