to middlebury and back again

Middlebury is the place that we first fell in love with Vermont. In fact, Carol's Cafe in Middlebury is the exact spot where it happened. We sat there for hours, playing Jenga and scrabble and doing puzzles, watching the flood waters rise during the hurricane. And despite the impending storm and the waterlogged campsite and the worry that we had no where to go, we felt at home. So I love Middlebury. It's one of my favorite places in my new state.

Yesterday, with both my mom AND my grandma in town, two kids in school and a husband at work and a whole DAY with nothing specific to do other than pick the kids up after school and take them to Ben and Jerry's (because a visit to Vermont wouldn't be complete without a trip there) we drove up over Lincoln Gap, down through Bristol with it's pretty church spires and town green and through farmland to Middlebury for lunch (at Carol's, naturally) and then puttered back homeward again. And it was lovely. Even better than the ice cream - although that was pretty delicious too.

reading now

We've had something of a reading revolution around here. A year ago Evelyn wasn't reading at all and Briton read only under duress. This year, the girl is reading in that-reads subtitles and signs and EVERYTHING - kind of way and Briton came home last week declaring that Literacy is his favorite subject in school. As you can imagine, my heart swooned at that just a little bit. He's been reading much, MUCH more all year, but hearing that it's his favorite? I'm still smiling about it.

Yesterday the new Wildwood landed on our doorstep and I don't think any book has been this anticipated in our family since the last time I stood in line at midnight for a Harry Potter. We've been reading The Penderwick Sisters books lately at bedtime and have really enjoyed them and last year we absolutely loved Elizabeth Enright's Melendy Family books, which I would highly recommend to anyone with kids, but Wildwood was different. It was the kind of book that I wanted to read. As in "NO! You cant put the kids to bed tonight! We have to read another chapter!" kind of wanting to read it. Even if you don't have kids I'd recommend this book (now series) because they are wonderful. There were TEARS last night when we got home too late from a school event and then had to do homework making it just way too late to start the book (Evie had already fallen asleep, and we couldn't start without her) I don't think I ever imagined a time when my son would cry over the fact that he couldn't read.

Books that are equally great for kids and adults are rare, I think. But when they do come along it's almost magical. I vividly remember my fifth grade teacher Mr Koep perched on his stool at the front of the class, clearly not wanting to stop while reading The Hobbit to us. We were entranced, all of us, and so was he, although I imagine he had read it several times before. I remember my dad sitting on the edge of the bed, reading one of the Narnia books until I fell asleep and then finding out the next day that he had kept reading, not wanting to stop. And I'll remember, always, sitting on the floor of the kids room in our apartment in New York, reading far longer than I planned, wanting to know if Pru will find her little brother, if the Bandit King will win the day. I hope they do too. And I hope, so hope, that this one holds the same enchantment for us.

What books were like that for you and your parents or kids? I need a list so that we don't have Wildwood withdrawal again when we are done with this one!

by the fire

Now that the evenings are coming early, and cold, we've been spending a lot of time curled up around the wood stove, puttering on projects. The kids have taken over the den upstairs in the evening. Coloring, Lego-building, impromptu stuffed animal circuses complete with hand colored tickets and programs and money - in case you want to buy souvenirs, of course. Which leaves downstairs (and the fire) to the grownups.

The chair (which I love) now has a thick, fluffy blanket thrown over it. Perfect for snuggling down under on these cold nights. I'm not the only one who loves it (fancy that) so I generally have to shove kitties and (and sometimes Will) off to the couch, but it's become my go to place for the after dinner hours.

One of our nesting tables is almost permanently next to it now. For tea, and books and scripts for Christmas plays and ereaders and lots of projects. I'm trying my best to pair down my projects, finishing what I've started before I begin something else (which is very, very hard). So right now it's just three that are getting most of my time in those lovely evening hours. Briton's sweater - still not done but getting there.  A pair of socks started long ago for Will which, ahem, got lost in the Virginia to New York move. But that's ok, because it wasn't that cold in New York, it's here he'll really need them anyway. And the beginnings of my first embroidery project. Ornament gifts for friends. If they get done. It's clearly not my forte, but I'm working on it.

How about you? What are you working on during these fall nights?

up the mountain, down the mountain

Saturday morning we rode the chair lift to the top of the mountain, skimming the tops of the trees, looking down on mountain bikers and hikers and meadows that will be ski slopes. At the top, a rainstorm moved in, making the ride down colder and wetter than the way up, but still beautiful. It was a well timed trip, even with the cold and the rain, by Sunday a windstorm and knocked off most of the leaves at the top and on Monday snow dusted the highest points. Fall is almost over, winter is coming.

color

The dog and I went for a walk after a long, hard rain. The creek was so wild and wide we couldn't cross it, still can't cross it. Instead we keep coming home with muddy feet from climbing up the hill, not on our normal path. I've been taking photos our our window this week. Monday and Wednesday, then today, to watch the colors change. It happens so fast, one day we were still green, now it's mostly yellow all around us.

Yesterday the wind was blowing and it seemed to be raining yellow flowers. I should have run to get the camera but I just stood and watched it instead. Beautiful. I love, love, love fall. 

a place of their own

Right at the top of the stairs in our house, tucked away to the left where everything else is right, is the book nook. Since buying the house we've learned that, once upon a time, this was the one and only bedroom in the house. When it was in it's first stages of being, the stairs came up to a small sleeping nook and that was it. Below there was a kitchen and probably a sitting area where the desk is, and a bathroom, and above there was the nook. I think later, once the house had actual bedrooms and a living room and another bathroom, this nook became back up guest quarters. It's exactly the size of a twin mattress and has space for clothes and things to be stored for a short visit. Perfect for ski house guests. But for us, it was an odd kind of place. The ladder at the back is the second entrance to Briton's loft, it's neither floor level or on it's own floor, it's too low for an adult to stand comfortably. So it's not really a handy space for much, except for them. It's perfect for them.

This was probably not a project that should have been high on the priority list. It's not really a necessary one. But it was a fun one and something I really wanted to get done. Or done-ish.To give them a good place, all for them.

It's not quite finished. I have some fun, color-it-yourself wallpaper picked out for one of the walls and the ceiling, so that they can really make the space theirs. But its much better. So much in our house is neutral and grownup in terms of color, so I wanted something bright in there, something that will, eventually, look great with hand colored wallpaper. There may also be a curtain in the works, so that it's a little more fort-like.

A treehouse indoors. Ok, so it might be for them, but I kind of love it in there myself (as long as I don't stand up).

better, much better

When we moved into the house, the only room that I just, ugh, hated, was the upstairs bathroom. It doesn't look that terrible in the photos, just outdated, but trust me, up close it was bad. It hadn't been updated at all since the house was built and then on top of that had been used by short term renters for years, so it was pretty gross. The tiles around the toilet were different than the rest of the room, the caulk had failed around the tub and was missing completely around the toilet. The cabinets were cheap fake wood, the wall paint was faded and stained and had a horrible stencil around the top. It was just, yuck.

At some point we plan to totally redo this room. We've got visions of herringbone tile and a claw foot tub, a more efficient toilet, a new sink and cabinet and a laundry center with a stacking washer and dryer to better use the space. Something like this.

But all of that is down the road. WAY down the road. So in the meantime something really had to be done about the bathroom. Something inexpensive enough and quick enough that it could be done now, amidst floor ripping up, winter prepping and various other projects we have a-going, but good enough to last us at least a few years. Renovating is often like that, balancing what you need to do now against what you really want to do in the future.

Over the course of a few nights last week we painted the walls and trim with the same white we used downstairs. I like this white. It's really a very very pale grey and just looks right to my eyes, plus we had a gallon of each of the wall and trim paint left over from the living room. Will gouged out most of the bad caulk and redid everything except for the floor to tile edge and we painted the faux wood cabinet and mirror with some paint that we are trying out for another project in the house. Just the paint made a huge difference. The room was lighter without the yellow-tinted white and the green trim, and the tub looked clean and usable. But the floor was still pretty bad.

So this weekend, along with ripping out the rest of the carpet which FINALLY is finished, we tiled the floor with new stick-down tiles.

We'd never tried this type of tile before, in the past we've used regular stick down tiles for bathroom projects, they are great for small spaces where you don't want to break out the real tile and grout.But these are both vinyl tile AND tile that you grout. So you get a more "real tile" look, I guess.

Will scraped the remaining caulk from around the base of the tub and we set the tiles, starting at the bathtub end. I know you're supposed to start in the center of a room with tile but I hate having cut edges at both walls, so we started along one wall and it worked out well. Just like with "real" tile, we used spacers between the tiles, but since once they are down they are pretty stuck, it would have been pretty easy to just eye the spacing by lining up all the corners. The tile cut easily with both a knife (for straight lines) and scissors (for rounded holes) making it MUCH easier than ceramic tile. This morning I put in the grout which was, well, grout, so nothing fancy there.

I'm pretty happy with the look. In fact, if I didn't have it in my head to renovate the room one day, I'd be perfectly happy with the bathroom as is (but oh, I so want a claw foot tub again!). I still have to seal the grout and Will needs to caulk around the tub and toilet, but for a few boxes of vinyl tile and some leftover paint, I think the impact is pretty darn good. Let's just hope these newfangled grouted vinyl tiles hold up. Anyone else used them?

PS, sorry for the dim after photos. It's dark and stormy here today and I couldn't seem to get good lighting in there, but you get the picture, right?