Oliver the cat is around and doing well. I completely lied to my grandparents and said I knew nothing about him... I went so far as to say that he probably came from the neighboring farm b/c they have so many! I'm probably going to hell, but that was already coming! He's VERY skiddish. I can't get w/in 20 or 30 feet of him. But he's around everytime I'm down there and I've spotten him eating the cat food that grandma puts out! I almost slipped and told them that he was neutered, but I caught myself! They don't even know if it's male or female b/c they can't get very close to him. Grandpa named him "Bobby" b/c of his bobtail. And I have to just go on about Nora. I've never had a better cat. She doesn't get on the counters, she uses the litter box, she's incredible w/ the dog and Oliver. Infact, Lucy and Nora were both sharing the same dog bed last night! She's awesome. Kudos to the SPCA for pointing me in the right direction!

Gee, thanks everyone for all the kind words. Designing the room and the farmers porch was a lot of fun with the software. My contractor even had me print out copies to use for the permits. cady, you are right; I am sure I will actually save money on heating with the addition, because it is better insulated than the old house (even though there is blown-in insulation in all the old walls) and because those two, drafty plank doors are gone. They looked cool, but they were terribly inefficient and were not even used as entrances. As for a house tour, Id love to host anyone willing to drive all the way up here. With my travel schedule and location Im never able to attend all the great functions everyone coordinates on this forum (sniff). There are five bedrooms (and two barns), so plenty of crash space. August is the best garden show time up here, because all the big players e.g. phlox, rudbeckia, echinacea, heliopsis, etc, are in bloom. Unless everyone likes snowshoeing in the winter. claire, pokeberries I have in abundance. I should take some pics of them before they die back. Now, regarding cadys ideabeing a bachelor, I am intrigued by the idea of having a tarted-up hussy at the house, at least for a while. Is it possible to rent a variegated Artemisia? White wood asters sound nice. I have something that looks kind of like a faerie garden. There is a path off of the lawn through a copse of evergreen trees down to the pond. It is not very large, but it is kind of cool, with almost an enchanted feel. There is not much under the trees except for ferns and a few struggling brambles. Id love to add some woodland plants that could provide some interest and color. Any ideas? diggerdee, we dont have termites up here, but do have carpenter ants. The wood pile is now up on pressure-treated posts, so it is probably safer than it was when it sat right on the ground. But, I do spray around the house perimeter as a precaution. When we tore into the old walls, we found some evidence of carpenter ant activity, but it was not recent and didnt affect the integrity of the walls, fortunately. As for repair of an old house vs. a 1950s cape, Id have to say that they dont make them like this anymore. The house is pretty much built like a tank. Except for the fact that it is irregular in its measurements and has the original horsehair plaster on most walls, it is great to work on it. martinetct, your husband is totally spot on. One of the exterior walls (on the el that houses the kitchen and garage) was/is 2 ½ inches wider at the base than at the top. Try lining up trim against that. And, the floor in the kitchen slopes such that the new room is level through the French doors into the kitchen, but there is a 3 ½ in step up into the dining room (yet you dont notice it in the kitchen). The wall behind the farmers porch weaves like a drunken sailor, which made it fun to line up. And, of course, nothing is level and nothing is square. But, thats part of the fun and certainly part of the charm of an old house. As for the windows, they are Harvey replacements with the grill between the panes. Not practical to try to match the existing windows. When I bought the place all the storm windows were shot and all the main windows needed to be reglazed. I had the option of having the work done or just replacing the windows for the same price. I wanted to keep the look, so opted to have the old windows redone. But, even with the new storms, they are not very efficient. And, they are a royal pain to clean, they stick in the summer, some are missing hardware so dont stay open, and in general they are not fun. Now that weve put in these matching vinyl replacement windows that have a snug seal and that tilt in for cleaning with no grills to get in the way, I see how much easier they are to use and to maintain. Despite the cost, I think that, once I redo the kitchen (this winters project) I will bite the bullet and have all the windows replaced. True, they are real 12 over 12, but they are not original to the house (they are the kind that have the two metal buttons on the sides you push in to open and that lock into slots in the frame at two locations). There is only one place where there is original glass over the front door. The door is original and even has the bar across it to fend off attackers (as in "Katie bar the door") as well as the original skeleton key still in the lock. Over it are six small panes of glass. They are wavy and bubbly, and I believe have been there from the beginning. As for the original family being upstanding, yeah I think they had some money. The rooms are really big for a true colonial with the all the front rooms on both original levels being approx.15.5 x 14 feet and wainscoting pretty much everywhere. There are closets in almost every room, and if you remember that the British taxed houses based on the number of rooms and considered closets to be rooms, the owners either had a lot of money to spend, or, being in northern New England, just thumbed their noses at the British and figured no one would ever collect the tax from them. I prefer to believe the latter. I'll pass on your congrats to my contractor. I may come up with the ideas, but he does all the work. He was my house inspector, a carpenter, and it turned out he liked to work on old houses. We hit it off, and he has done all the improvements (or GC'd them) over the past few years. Another project I did not mention was one we did the first year I bought the place. It is a tradition that my entire family comes up for Thanksgiving two parents, sister, brother-in-law, six kidlings and a dog. It is an invasion on the scale of the Allied landing in Normandy with similar, if not greater, logistical requirements. Anyway, I needed places to put everyone and the house only had three bedrooms on the second floor (one space was converted years ago into a master bathroom, a guest bathroom and a laundry room). So, I talked it over with my contractor and we took that attic and converted it into a finished third floor. There are two bedrooms and a full bath with tub up there. It hardly ever gets used, except when my sister visits and we throw all the kidlings up there. We kept the massive roof beams exposed and used V pine for the ceiling. It looks pretty neat. We did get rid of the trap door to the roof, since it was covered anyway by the metal roof, and we also eliminated the musket holder in one of the windows that was there to steady the gun for plunking Indians or British, I assume. People have asked me if the house is haunted, especially since I live alone (not counting Cord, The Wonder Chow). I figure I am at least the 12th generation to live in it, so there is some history in the place. But, I have never been bothered by anyone or anything. Before I bought the place, it was in a state of semi-disrepair and no one had lived in it for a number of years. I figure that, when my whole family, from three to eighty two, is gathered around the dining room table for Thanksgiving laughing and talking, the house is happy. Anthropomorphic and stupid, I know. But, I feel like a steward and hope to eventually pass on the house in better condition than when I bought it and ready for another 200+ years. Of course, if one day I suddenly stop posting to the forum, youll know that the house got me. narcnh

Not to be a total curmudgeon, BUT... 1) It's not your fence. It belongs to your neighbor 100% because he paid for it. That means you can't paint it, grow anything on it, or attach anything to it. 2) You don't have 6 more inches. That belongs to him, too! It's where the posts for his fence are. The fence is built entirely on his property! This isn't like buying a new house and the fence is on the property line: he paid for it and put it on HIS property. The property line appears to be where the wall is. The property line didn't move! (And no, he didn't "abandon" the 6" on her side, he's using it for the fence foundation.)

Oh, I've given the wrong impression of her previous owners! They had actually only had her for two years. They got her from other breeders in Ontario. Solo had one litter with them and then was retired. They don't actually have that many dogs. It broke their hearts to give up Solo as they LOVED her to pieces, however they moved last weekend into a city where the by-laws are different. They were only allowed to have a certain number of dogs and so they had to give one up. After they gave Solo into our keeping, and they took pictures with her and gave her a farewell pat, they beat a hasty retreat. I could see how upset they were and I'm sure it was because they didn't want to weep in front of us. She was extremely well taken care of and they gave me reams of information on her habits and likes and dislikes. This was a well-loved dog and I can see why. She is the gentlest dog I've ever seen. Evelyn gives her treats (with my careful supervision) and she carefully nibbles it out of her hand. Of course, she musn't upset her gravy train as Evelyn tosses food off of her highchair tray and almost into Solo's waiting mouth. LOL I appreciate everyone being so worried about Solo's situation. I just wanted to let you know the truth of it. The previous owners have actually given up breeding entirely because they just couldn't devote the time to it anymore that it deserved. That's pretty commendable, in my opinion. Danielle