This land is your land, this land is my land

The weather in New England has finally turned for the better and I’ve spent as much of the last week in the garden as my unwieldy body would permit. Images from the very many nursery catalogs I now receive are cataloged in my mind for inspiration. (It is amazing how quickly one mail order nursery launches a thousand catalogs and special offers from nationwide sources for shrubs, bulbs and perennials.) While I still have any vigor, I’ve been planting everything I can get my hands on to set the stage for the blooms I’d like to enjoy later in the season when I have my new baby in my arms and little time for much else.

With a yard full of aged flora and hardscape relics, we've been working little by little to improve what we have. To his surprise, Bob has enjoyed tending the new grass in the front yard. He has less enjoyed, but hasn't yet complained about the many trips to the dump required to dispose of the copious lawn and leaf bags brimming with Spring debris. Nor has he complained about my requests for more and more and MORE of the compost the dump so generously makes available for free.

Yesterday while hunched over the front beds digging a trench for lilies, I caught a town police cruiser passing slowly by the house. I didn’t think much of it until he passed again and stopped in the street-- right in front of our house. My initial thought was that a concerned neighbor had called the police to report a very pregnant woman appeared to be lying on the ground. But, rather than jump out to rescue me, the officer simply asked me if this was my home. I thought, perhaps this was a ‘no dig’ day? Insane thoughts raced through my ever law-abiding head. Was I unaware of some New England blue law where earth could not be turned midweek in April? Perhaps this was a sister law to the senseless liquor quotas that still govern where, when and how one can buy a six pack? He cleared up the mystery for me and told me that he grew up in this house; his parents were the first owners some 60 years ago. He talked fondly of the house and I learned that he and his two brothers shared the two kids’ bedrooms upstairs. That they’d all snuck out the north window over what used to be the garage and that his father dug the drainage trench in the basement after the first time it filled with two feet of water. While neither of those thoughts was very comforting, knowing that I had law enforcement looking out for the well-being of my house was. Our meeting was just another way I know this friendly neighborhood and small town are just right for our little family. There’s something reassuring about knowing the ground I dig in and the rooms where we rest were inhabited by happy families who came before us.

At long last

We tried desperately to have the patience to wait until all of the kitchen remodel was complete before posting pictures. Anything short of totally done and it would have felt premature. And there were plenty of roadblocks to hold up yesterday’s little photo shoot, even after 4 and a half months of solid work on this place. The biggest problem was probably a 9 foot slab of granite shattering in the midst of our kitchen as it was being removed for modifications. The noise was horrendous and until I saw it, I never would have guessed a piece of stone like that could shatter like glass. But all that’s behind us and repaired now and we’re actually living comfortably in our new space. We're grateful for Magic Sliders, Bob’s willing back and the burst of energy I’ve had unpacking. Now that life is once again starting to take on a normal rhythm, I hope to be back posting more often.

Here are before and after shots from roughly the same spot- the family room looking toward the kitchen area. If you're so inclined you can see more photos in our photo album.

Better than flowers and chocolate

It's right around the corner, so close I can feel it. The movers are coming on Valentine's day and, if all goes according to plan, we'll spend that night in our new house. Finally, after months of work and chasing the details, we're on the verge of being done. We're still collecting our thoughts on the whole process so stay tuned for an upcoming post on our 'lessons learned' and photos of the finished product.

All this comes not a moment too soon since we're now in need of a nursery. To readers afar, my news may come as a surprise since I've been mum on this for some time. But our little family will be welcoming another little boy in June. Sam is anxious to tell anyone who'll listen, "there's a baby in Mommy's belly." He seems to be adjusting to the idea well and thankfully, his attachment to the name Gordon was only short lived.

So until I have more, I leave you with this photo of 4 Brazilians, a French Canadian, a lot of rock salt and a pickup truck in our front yard. That's what it took to get our new family gathering place into the house.

Troubling trends: Organic popcorn futures up, home prices down

With the holidays in full effect and the remodel timeline urging us to distract ourselves, we've been catching up on our movie watching. Even though our holiday card said otherwise, the house is still uninhabitable and as a result, we put all visions of sugar plums on hold until next year.

Overall, there weren't any true cinematic standouts although we both enjoyed The Devil Wears Prada and Little Miss Sunshine. Other movies on our 'recently viewed' list are Friends with Money, The Family Stone, Failure to Launch, Lady in the Water, Thank you for Smoking, You, Me and Dupree, Clerks II and, the one you may not enjoy but ought to see, An Inconvenient Truth.

I still don't like Al Gore as a Presidential candidate, but I definitely think his movie is worth watching. If this strange spring weather in New England doesn't convince you, the science presented in the movie might. It's both compelling and depressing; I can't help but feel that a tidal wave from the Arctic ice shelf is imminent. It makes me wish that we could counteract global warming in the public and private sectors more aggressively. Unfortunately, the American public doesn't feel the same way. I was disheartened to hear a recent survey indicating the environment fell at the bottom of our collective priority list. I wonder if the majority of our nation saw the movie whether they'd change their minds. With all due respect to our service men and women, I wonder what difference a few Iraqi insurgents will make when half the Middle East is under water.

After the movie, I was sufficiently frightened about our planet's future and began researching what I can do to make a difference. Although the film itself doesn't offer many suggestions for the average American, the associated website does. And since our remodel is one of my most consuming thoughts these days, I took solace in how we've tried to get through the project with our micro and macro environments in mind.

We've been trying to do our part by renovating our not so big house instead of building brand new. Throughout the renovation we've made eco-friendly design choices wherever it was feasible, cost effective and didn't sacrifice the house's colonial integrity. Here's a rundown of our green remodeling practices:

-started by hiring a licensed deleader who brought the house into Massachusetts compliance and safely disposed of the lead paint.
-chose locally sourced materials including Vermont slate flooring and Canadian granite countertops instead of the typical varieties that get shipped from half a world away.
-purchased all new Energy Star appliances and "freecycled" the out of date ones to individuals using even older, less efficient models. Ours didn't end up in a landfill and the new appliance owners get to use something more efficient than what they had.
-installed new Energy Star certified thermostats.
-selected new windows and doors that have low-e glass and are Energy Star qualified.
-referenced California's Title 24 guidelines to implement a lighting plan that minimizes electricity usage without sacrificing light quality. Also installed Energy Star fluorescent light fixtures wherever light color was not an issue like in closets and on the front of the house.
-weatherized the attic and vast crawl spaces beneath the living areas with insulation certified by GreenGuard.
-used zero-VOC Sherwin Williams paints throughout to minimize offgassing.
-refinished hardwood floors with low-VOC water based finishes.
-removed wall to wall carpeting to improve indoor air quality.
-installed a high quality water filter in the kitchen so we could safely drink our tap water.
-designed recycling stations into our kitchen layout.
-using natural cleaning products in post construction cleanup.

Taking just these small steps helps me feel a little better about my responsibility in the environmental crisis. I challenge you to take some steps, however small, to do the same.