Before and After

BEFORE: - a little cherry side table that we have misused shamefully.  This is why we can't have nice things:

AFTER - sanded and stained a darker color because I wasn't sure I could match the original color of the legs.  The strange V a the bottom is my hands taking the picture.  I've never sanded cherry before - the sawdust is bright orange and very fine. 

Foraging

Son of came home the other night with Chicken of the Wood fungus - one of only 4 absolutely safe fungi.  It's safe because nothing else looks like it, but still we used google to confirm that this was Chicken of the Wood.

We sliced it thinly and sauted it with some onion and some olive oil and some white wine.  It was delicious. And it went very well with our meal of Pepperonata Pasta.  Next, I might try Polenta and Mushrooms.  

Deer!

This morning about 11am, we had two deer sleeping in our backyard.   I disturbed them when I opened the door - I hadn't seen them.  They lifted their heads and stared at the house for a while, but didn't leave.

Nice that they feel safe here - even though having them in the yard puts us in the highest risk group for Lyme Disease.

Can you see them?

Son of Buys a Boat

Having spent the summer sailing every day, Son of has bought a boat - actually two boats.  The big boat is a 26 foot double-keeled sailboat made in the UK.  She's a charming boat. Her name is Anna - that's the name she came with and Son of has not decided whether to change it. She's a Ketch - she has two masts.

She is currently in a commercial boatyard in Gloucester - a really fascinating place. Tomorrow she is being moved to Newburyport for the winter.

She needs some work - all the wood needs oiling or recoating and the windows need resealing, but she is surprisingly nice inside.  There's a main cabin and a little sleeping area, and a proper head at the front and at least one more bed at the back. (I am not using the proper nautical terms here because I don't know them.)   Here is the view from the front of the boat - it's a little deceiving because the cabin with the blue roof is from the boat behind.  And the masts are off because it's being moved tomorrow.

And here she is from the back.  

The second boat is also a little gem.  She is a sweet little Dyer Midget - a classic New England Dinghy with a sail and oars.  She is going to be used to get the Son of back and forth to the Anna.  This is not Son of's boat, but one like it. 

On a completely different note - at the moment a boat from the show 'Wicked Tuna' is in the same shipyard.  I don't even know what the show is, but apparently it's popular. We saw someone from it tonight while we were getting the boat ready to move. 

Another Project

I've been working on the shelving in one of the guest rooms.  I'm not sure it looks like much of an improvement, but it is.  The window seat is the obvious change, but the room seems much larger now, without the big top-heavy shelf jutting into the room.  We have lost some storage, but since it was always a mess with unnecessary junk just wedged in it and forgotten, I don't think this will matter.

Unlike the similar unit I built a couple of years ago in our closet, this one has a window seat with storage under it.  I wish I had done the same thing in our closet.  Alas.

Now all I have to do is sew a cushion for the bench.

BEFORE:

DURING:

AFTER:

AFTER WITH CUSHION (from our closet)

Adorable Doll Bed

The Son of made this lovely doll bed for the daughter of a friend's second birthday.

I made the mattress, blanket and pillow.  I think it turned out to be very cute.