And so it begins...

Today the contractor came and marked out the boundaries of the new studio. I can almost see it. There are stakes out in the grass marking the corners of the building. The tennis ball stuck on top is to prevent any grandchildren from impaling themselves.

On the picture below I've drawn in the line from the side of the house that will be the covered walkway. It comes out about 6 feet then takes a little jog. The garage/studio will be on a slight angle to the house.

On this picture I've drawn the side of the building. There is a door into the garage and a door into the stairwell that leads up to the studio. Unfortunately, the dogwood tree and all the pachysandra will be going. We can use the pachysandra in other spots and my neighbors will also take some. The tree is too big to be moved easily and I'm not sure it would be worth the effort (and cost).

Standing out in the yard, you can see the markers delineating the right front and right rear of the building.

I'm also going to lose, or relocate an entire garden of hosta and ferns. I'll move them to a holding area and hope that they survive the winter and that the deer don't eat them. The contractor said that it's possible they will start earlier than the September date he gave me. It will be difficult to watch them dig up the yard and destroy all the plants, but in the end I know it will be worth it. 

Exciting news!

This has been in the works, off, on, off, and finally on again. The plans are drawn, the permits received, the contract signed, and the check mailed. I have been reluctant to post anything for fear of jinxing the project. But now it's real. We are building an addition to our house. It's the highlighted section on the plat below. There will be a two car garage, whose main purpose will be to hold up my new studio! It's going to be approximately 400 square feet, with lots of storage space, a sink for painting and dyeing needs, long uninterrupted wall space for design walls, and room to move around in. I'm still pinching myself, I can't believe it's going to actually happen. Construction begins in September and is slated to be complete in November. This is the same contractor we used to remodel our kitchen, and I have confidence that they will bring this in as scheduled.

Last week was not so pleasant here. The sudden and violent thunderstorm that came through on the night of June 29 left us without power for 6 days, and this during one of the hottest weeks we have had this year. The generator that worked so well last summer refused to cooperate this time and I was left sitting in the dark. Sweating. The contents of the refrigerator and freezer all had to be trashed. Luckily, my son, who lives nearby, still had power and I could go there to do laundry and recharge my electronic devices, eat dinner, and cool off. Thank heavens for a cell phone and an iPad; without them I would have been totally isolated. We are really dependent on the power grid; it's kind of scary how easily we can be thrown into chaos.