Ryan was down in Falmouth to toast our friend Bryan’s demise of bachelorhood on Saturday (lucky duck, he’s marrying one of my dearest friends Abby), so Tela and I hit the commuter rail and headed up to Ipswich. Tela did “okay” – we skidded by on her good looks and a liberal supply of treats (I imagine air travel with a toddler is not much different). The ride from Ipswich to Salem is very quick – 20 minutes, so it’s a viable commuting option when needed.
It’s been a hot stretch of days and the garden was feeling the impact. I quickly administered garden CPR. Look, Mom – I weeded!
For the rest of the day, I painted the bathroom cabinets. It made me all the more appreciative for Eric and Tatyana’s assistance earlier. For one, I found I’m not so great of a painter (semi-gloss is hard paint to work with, I’ve decided). To boot, three people and conversation certainly makes the work go faster. (If you are reading this, guys, please do take that as my Cry for Help.)
Ryan returned early Sunday morning, dedicated Weekend Warrior that he is, and we headed back to Ipswich. I administered another soaking to the gardens, did a last coat on my cabinets, and Ryan continued along with strapping and framed out a wall at the far end of the kitchen.
The highlight of Sunday was a visit from John Bagley, a longtime family friend, and his wife Candace. John’s a contractor and in the past 28 years that the Thiems have lived at 11 Turnpike Road, he’s probably done work in nearly every room of the house (also an antique). Recently he did some beautiful work on the kitchen, exposing a cathedral ceiling and old beams which has in part been inspiration for our own kitchen work.
It’s great to talk plans through with others – it’s very easy to get stuck on an idea or start taking shortcuts. Like Frank, John encouraged us to consider removing the fireplace and chimney entirely. It’s more work and demo, but now is the time to do it. It will create an open plan dining/living room space and allow for more flexibility on the second and third floors.
After John’s visit and finishing up for the day, we retired to the Old Spot, our favorite pub in Salem, to mull over new options. We find these decisions are much easier to make with a frosty beer in hand. While the front rooms are currently on hold (kitchen takes precedence), we are leaning towards taking down the chimney. We also discussed removing the built-in “pantry” in the kitchen (with salvaged doors from a local post office) and opening up the small office space onto the kitchen to create an area for a breakfast table or nook and perhaps a cabinet to house the stacked washer dryer, which would then free space in the bathroom to put in a tub… whew – anyone else exhausted?
Post to be updated with pictures later – we’re back at it tonight!
Runs to Home Depot: 1 mid-week
Next up: Framing the vaulted kitchen ceiling, more demo???
