And you can see from this picture how the snow was falling off this roof and kind of froze there. Look at the picket fence in front too!
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
2.18.2014
Another snowy walk today...just really pretty. But check out how high the snow is...that's a mailbox trying to peek out!
And you can see from this picture how the snow was falling off this roof and kind of froze there. Look at the picket fence in front too!
And you can see from this picture how the snow was falling off this roof and kind of froze there. Look at the picket fence in front too!
Monday, February 17, 2014
2.16.2014
Window Shopping!
Jim has been diligently working long hours every day on the carriage house design and construction drawings. He's even starting to make price lists so he will be getting quotes on certain items soon. So things are getting a little closer to real work!
We had stopped at Home Depot last week to look at windows. We had Anderson windows in our home in Ohio and really liked them...except they were white on the outside. We didn't like the look with the saltbox house, so we painted each window. It was a lot of work and time - not something we want to do again. Anderson only has a few colors to pick from - besides white, mostly browns. There was one color, Terratone, that was more of a grayish-brown - or at least that's what it looks like in the store. We even tried matching gray-toned paints to it to see if we could find something we liked. We found one paint - Intellectual (great name) - that we thought would work.
But today we were heading into Saratoga to go to the gym, so we left early and stopped at Lowe's because they carry Pella Windows. We found a knowledgeable salesperson who walked us through the different Pella options. If you go with the higher cost window, they offer a lot more color options. We would like to stick in the gray family because we were so happy with it in Ohio, and Pella has a few gray choices. Jim is going to work on a breakdown of what we need for the carriage house and the guy at Lowe's will get us a quote.
We've also been having the discussion about roof materials. Obviously from the previous post's winter pictures, this area can get a lot of snow. In fact, the "Adirondack style" of roof is metal - the snow just slides right off. Where we rarely saw them in Ohio except for on old barns, here they are commonplace on all types of houses - from the very expensive on down. Of course, they come in lots of different qualities and Jim found a supplier on line with really nice quality roofs. So it's something we are at least thinking about. That brings up another color question too! So we need to get lots of samples of different products to find the right combination.
Jim has been diligently working long hours every day on the carriage house design and construction drawings. He's even starting to make price lists so he will be getting quotes on certain items soon. So things are getting a little closer to real work!
We had stopped at Home Depot last week to look at windows. We had Anderson windows in our home in Ohio and really liked them...except they were white on the outside. We didn't like the look with the saltbox house, so we painted each window. It was a lot of work and time - not something we want to do again. Anderson only has a few colors to pick from - besides white, mostly browns. There was one color, Terratone, that was more of a grayish-brown - or at least that's what it looks like in the store. We even tried matching gray-toned paints to it to see if we could find something we liked. We found one paint - Intellectual (great name) - that we thought would work.
But today we were heading into Saratoga to go to the gym, so we left early and stopped at Lowe's because they carry Pella Windows. We found a knowledgeable salesperson who walked us through the different Pella options. If you go with the higher cost window, they offer a lot more color options. We would like to stick in the gray family because we were so happy with it in Ohio, and Pella has a few gray choices. Jim is going to work on a breakdown of what we need for the carriage house and the guy at Lowe's will get us a quote.
We've also been having the discussion about roof materials. Obviously from the previous post's winter pictures, this area can get a lot of snow. In fact, the "Adirondack style" of roof is metal - the snow just slides right off. Where we rarely saw them in Ohio except for on old barns, here they are commonplace on all types of houses - from the very expensive on down. Of course, they come in lots of different qualities and Jim found a supplier on line with really nice quality roofs. So it's something we are at least thinking about. That brings up another color question too! So we need to get lots of samples of different products to find the right combination.
Saturday, February 15, 2014
2.15.2014
Just some more winter wonderland pictures from upstate New York!
We went for our afternoon walk on Thursday in the midst of a snowstorm. It would eventually leave another 10-11" on the ground when it was all finished by Friday morning. It was really a magical walk - the snow was falling, no one was out and about, the trees were coated...just really gorgeous.
We went for our afternoon walk on Thursday in the midst of a snowstorm. It would eventually leave another 10-11" on the ground when it was all finished by Friday morning. It was really a magical walk - the snow was falling, no one was out and about, the trees were coated...just really gorgeous.
On Valentine's Day, we set out again for our walk...this is the amount of snow that has been scraped off the parking lot at the apartment and piled up - crazy!
And this snow was just in someone's yard - actual snowfall and not just plowed. There is a lot of snow on the ground!
Today, Jim went up to the land to see how everything was and to start the vehicles. Look at this crazy amount of snow!! This picture was taken from the driveway looking at the 4Runner parked on the street. The tiny part of chain you can see from the post is the chain that goes across the driveway.
Jim said it was unbelievable trying to walk up the hill through snow up to his knees. Look at that snow pile that is my Honda!
Thursday, February 6, 2014
2.5.2014
A Winter Wonderland!
Jim and I have started taking daily afternoon walks just to get some exercise and recharge from too much desk work. Yesterday, it started snowing in the wee hours and pretty much snowed all day - we ended up with about 10". It was still snowing when we took our walk, which made it seem very magical. There wasn't much stirring - the roads were pretty empty. The main signs of life were people snow blowing their driveways!
We walked through one development near us and the pine trees were just incredible.
Today we walked through another part of that same development. This is the backyard of the elementary school near us - pretty amazing view, I'd say!
Jim and I have started taking daily afternoon walks just to get some exercise and recharge from too much desk work. Yesterday, it started snowing in the wee hours and pretty much snowed all day - we ended up with about 10". It was still snowing when we took our walk, which made it seem very magical. There wasn't much stirring - the roads were pretty empty. The main signs of life were people snow blowing their driveways!
We walked through one development near us and the pine trees were just incredible.
Today we walked through another part of that same development. This is the backyard of the elementary school near us - pretty amazing view, I'd say!
Sunday, February 2, 2014
2.1.2014 - Chowderfest!
One of the big events in Saratoga Springs is Chowderfest! So we decided to go this year. Jim mentioned it to Kyle & Julia and they decided to make the trip up to go with us, so we were excited.
Kyle & Julia had some transportation issues....MegaBus was all sold out, Greyhound was sold out one way and expensive, and Amtrak really expensive and inconvenient times. So they rented a Zipcar (more about that later). We had planned to meet downtown at a convenient parking spot...however, when we got close we realized that was never going to happen. It was packed everywhere! We eventually found a spot on a side street a few blocks away from downtown and felt lucky to find that. Kyle and Julia did the same when they got there and we met on Broadway.
We were all surprised at how big this event was. This was the 16th year for the event and apparently it has grown bigger every year. This year 85 restaurants participated! For $1, you got a 3 oz (or sometimes bigger) of chowder - and there was every kind of chowder imaginable...we sampled chipotle corn chocolate chowder (my personal favorite), crab chowder, Irish whiskey ale chowder, and a couple of dessert chowders (yogurt and Ben & Jerry's). Everything was so good! The lines seemed long to get into some of the places - and some had stands outside - but things moved quickly and it was fun to catch up with Kyle & Julia.
There were tons of people everywhere you looked - in the paper this morning, it said that last year had over 25,000 attendees from as far away as Canada, and this year probably beat that record. The weather was amazing! After lots of cold days, the temps were in the upper 30s. Our last stop was the Olde Bryan Inn which was next door to the hotel we always stayed at when we were visiting and we just sat, had a drink and talked. While we were in there, it started spitting a little snow which made it pretty too.
But the forecast had called for snow and since Kyle & Julia still had a long trip back, we found our car and then drove to find the Zipcar. And quite the car it was - they had gotten a new Mercedes!
It was definitely a fun day - we enjoyed having Kyle and Julia experience our first Chowderfest with us! I'm sure it will be the first of many!
Kyle & Julia had some transportation issues....MegaBus was all sold out, Greyhound was sold out one way and expensive, and Amtrak really expensive and inconvenient times. So they rented a Zipcar (more about that later). We had planned to meet downtown at a convenient parking spot...however, when we got close we realized that was never going to happen. It was packed everywhere! We eventually found a spot on a side street a few blocks away from downtown and felt lucky to find that. Kyle and Julia did the same when they got there and we met on Broadway.
We were all surprised at how big this event was. This was the 16th year for the event and apparently it has grown bigger every year. This year 85 restaurants participated! For $1, you got a 3 oz (or sometimes bigger) of chowder - and there was every kind of chowder imaginable...we sampled chipotle corn chocolate chowder (my personal favorite), crab chowder, Irish whiskey ale chowder, and a couple of dessert chowders (yogurt and Ben & Jerry's). Everything was so good! The lines seemed long to get into some of the places - and some had stands outside - but things moved quickly and it was fun to catch up with Kyle & Julia.
But the forecast had called for snow and since Kyle & Julia still had a long trip back, we found our car and then drove to find the Zipcar. And quite the car it was - they had gotten a new Mercedes!
It was definitely a fun day - we enjoyed having Kyle and Julia experience our first Chowderfest with us! I'm sure it will be the first of many!
Friday, January 17, 2014
1.17.2014
I have been waiting for last night for awhile now - it was quite exciting! Jim has been working all day, every day, on plans for the carriage house. And not just plans - the nitty gritty design work of every member involved in building the house. He is planning on using lots of materials and designs that aren't customary to residential spaces. So he has had to calculate all the different stresses and loads on every piece and then find the building materials that will fit the requirements. The hours and crazy brain work involved in this is truly staggering.
Last night was date night at Pope's and the reveal of the plans so far. I love them and am so excited to see all our thoughts come out on paper!
This orange notebook is filled with pages and pages on complex math formulas for all the calculations Jim has done - it made my brain hurt just to look at it!
Jim really took advantage of all the available space in the apartment too - it was so fun talking through those floor plans! I'll be able to start looking for appliances, deciding on floor coverings, countertops - all the fun stuff! Obviously this is the carriage house so we want to stay very practical, but we will still be living there for quite awhile so we want it to be comfortable too.
One step closer....so exciting!
Today I had my first blood donation in New York. It was held at the YMCA in Corinth...and look, more bears - this time weight-lifting bears!
Last night was date night at Pope's and the reveal of the plans so far. I love them and am so excited to see all our thoughts come out on paper!
This orange notebook is filled with pages and pages on complex math formulas for all the calculations Jim has done - it made my brain hurt just to look at it!
Jim really took advantage of all the available space in the apartment too - it was so fun talking through those floor plans! I'll be able to start looking for appliances, deciding on floor coverings, countertops - all the fun stuff! Obviously this is the carriage house so we want to stay very practical, but we will still be living there for quite awhile so we want it to be comfortable too.
One step closer....so exciting!
Today I had my first blood donation in New York. It was held at the YMCA in Corinth...and look, more bears - this time weight-lifting bears!
Thursday, January 2, 2014
Happy New Year 2014!
It's hard to believe that it's 2014! Even more so that we are here in New York - last year was quite the year!
It's the time to make New Year's resolutions - we feel fortunate that we have been able to make the start of our dream come true. We look forward to a year of continuing to work towards our goals.
While we shared pork and sauerkraut today for good luck in the coming year, Jim & I also wish all of you the best of luck, good health and happiness in the coming year!
It's the time to make New Year's resolutions - we feel fortunate that we have been able to make the start of our dream come true. We look forward to a year of continuing to work towards our goals.
While we shared pork and sauerkraut today for good luck in the coming year, Jim & I also wish all of you the best of luck, good health and happiness in the coming year!
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