Ollie Dog, The Beach House, Weddings, And A Rubble-y Tubby

It's noisy at That Old House today.

Two plumbers are upstairs in the hall bathroom, ripping out the Jacuzzi tub and its surround,

and replacing it with all new stuff . . . including a normal bathtub.  One without those stupid jets.

It's never A Good Thing when your plumber says, "You're gonna want to see this."

'Cause you know darned well that you really do not want to see whatever "this" is.

And this is what "this" was:

See that floor?

It's a crazy jigsaw puzzle, missing lots of its pieces.

Our heavy Jacuzzi tub rested on this mishmash
of boards - scraps! - and empty spaces.

How one of us didn't end up, naked and soaking wet,

standing in a bathtub on our kitchen floor, below, is a mystery.

The good news is, it can be fixed.  

The bad news?  If you own a home, you know already

what the bad news will be, don't you?

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But there's loads of good news out of That Old House, too.

We have house guests.  :-)

Josh and Alida are visiting from Los Angeles;

they arrived on July 25th and will be here until August 12th.  

Two of Alida's girlfriends are getting married, and we think it was very considerate of them to

choose weekends right next to one another, so Alida could combine them in one trip.

Yes, I'm sure they planned it that way . . . .

Best wishes to Christa and Tony, who were married on August 2nd.

Christa and Alida have been B.F.s since 6th Grade.

Alida was one of Christa's bridesmaids; two years ago, in June 2011,

Christa was a bridesmaid at Alida's wedding. 

Good grief.  Aren't they supposed to be all goofy and giggly and silly?

Oh wait.  They still are!  Thank goodness.

Next weekend, Alida's friend Beth marries the love of her life.

Happy times.

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Would you believe that when Howard and I went out to the beach

house weekend before last, we had not been there since January?

 Sunday Morning breakfast on the deck:  local melon, strong hot coffee,

and pastries from Blue Duck Bakery in Southold Village.

Alida with a mouthful of pain au chocolat.  Or as we say on Long Island, "chocolate croissant."

And paper plates.  Classy.

(If you are in the mood for a giggle, click here for The Sadness Of Pain Au Chocolat.)

 So why have we not visited the Southold house more frequently?

Maybe it takes our daughter being home from California to get us to go?

Anne, our other daughter, is usually committed to working on weekends.

Perhaps we need new kids.

Speaking of kids . . . .

As usual, we visited Catapano Farm in Southold, for the freshest and possibly

most delicious chevre in the world.  Or as we say on Long Island, "goat cheese."  Still delicious.

The goats are adorable, and try to eat your pants, and I love watching the chickens strut around.

Catapano's goats have a big wooden play ground for fun.

This guy was hanging out ... literally ... on the Noah's Ark.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch . . . .

Remember Ollie?

Ollie was our foster boy, in our temporary care on behalf of Cavalier Rescue. 

Here's Ollie, as we got him - a bit overgrown both in girth and fur(th).

Ollie, after a few weeks at Camp That Old House,

slimmed and trimmed and rarin' to go.

And go he did, to a new "fur-ever family" in New Jersey.

Lots of older kids, loads of attention, and a happy life in his future.

Lucky Ollie!  :-) 

Sad foster family.  :-(

Sigh.

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The other morning, as I sat checking email,

a hand bearing a grape cutting came 'round my head.

Howard:  See how great our grapes are growing?

Me:  Yes, but they grow better when they are left on the vine.

Howard:  True.  But I wanted you to see them.

And see them, I did.

The plumbers are still crashing away upstairs.

Lots of power tool noises.

There have been no more "you are gonna

want to see this" trips upstairs for me.

Fingers crossed!

Happy Tuesday! -- Cass