We interrupt your moment of optimism to bring you this message

Damn you again snow gods! We called a snow day - it's snowed at the rate of an inch an hour overnight and it's still going so there will be no work on the bathroom today. Next big push is Monday, unless there's another catastrophic weather event...

Shelter for Haiti

It's 4:30 AM, pouring with rain and the dog (Polly) refuses to leave the shelter of the big conifer to come inside. I'm about to lose my patience when Laura reminds me that millions in Haiti are still homeless. I feel ashamed.
Go visit Laura who is actually doing something to help in the way of another fabulous bag-of-goodies auction while I try and entice the dog indoors with a snack...

Coming in Last

The painting is done except for some trim touch-ups, the painter wants to come in after everyone else has finished in case there are any nicks or dings made in the final fittings of the vanities. The plumber likes to be last so no-one drops or drips anything on the shiny shower fixtures (and those faucets can't go in until the counter top is installed). The carpenter likes to be last because of potential paint spots on his cabinetry. The electrician has to be last because his finish plates fit over everything else.
I'm thinking of scheduling them all on the same day, shutting the pocket door and letting them fight it out in the 8' x 8' x 8' box that is the bathroom.... Life was so much simpler with The Handyman!

Image of the Greek god Triton controlling the waves of contractors seas.

Snow Day 2010

No work today - the wet saw is cold and wet - and will probably be buried by the end of the day


the cats are unimpressed


the dogs are feeling imprisoned.


Of course there are compensations for the humans - a roaring fire & a glass of wine


and the promise of dinner with friends - if we can only get out of here.... I spy rescue

I neglected to say which Sunday...

From a little more than three years ago "My prediction is that by Sunday evening there won't be any tiles, grubby or otherwise in the shower. "
The tiles did finally come off on January 1st 2010 and the cement board was screwed in place today. If all goes according to plan - for example, if the carpenter can unscrew the backerboard and cut out the hole for the shower niche that was carefully preserved during the demo (see above with pen on shelf), then re-attach the board - the tiler should be here Monday or Tuesday to start putting those babies back on the wall.

Saturday Morning

Sunglass Style

Even in winter you need sunglasses in New York; in fact I probably wear sunglasses outside more than I do regular eyeglasses and when I find a pair I like I wear them until they fall apart, then I get the optician to fix them and wear them into submission. I have one pair I bought in Belgium in 1996 that I wear for walking the dogs - the lenses are so degraded it's almost impossible to see through them and the plastic on the inside looks as if it has been sucked on by a teething child but they are so comfortable and look so good I have never been able to part with them. Still, it was time for a new model so I went shopping and found lots of vintage inspired eyewear to chose from. They are prescription lenses so you'll have to wait a while to see what I finally picked but here are the contenders:


Teal blue, brown and black - bold and sexy Paul Smith eyewear PS-3009 in Tustl


Retro Hollywood glam Zooey in Ivory Shell with a Spice Brown Gradient. Oliver Peoples in collaboration with Zooey Deschanel.


Cool 70s inspired round frames - in tortoiseshell to accentuate the golden blonde highlights, Starbelle by Oliver Peoples.

Party Animals*

How do you celebrate Squirrel Appreciation Day?


Take one warm and welcoming home


that has a squirrel touch


or two


add a comfy place to rest


and let your friends go nuts!

*Squirrels celebrate by appreciating each other - late January is full-on mating season for the Sciuridae family!

Unexpected Benefits

Since moving the bed into the spare room last Sunday we have slept better than we have in years. Five years to be precise. Turns out we had not installed the spacers correctly when the movers brought it into the house. Even though we have changed the room round four times since we moved in and flipped the mattress at least 10 times it never occurred to us to check we had those things in the right position. Roughly 1800 nights spent tossing and turning to get comfortable, complaining about the ridge in the latex mattress, blaming old age and wear and tear on the joints and it turns out we could have solved all our problems in, oh, TWENTY SECONDS FLAT! At least we can guarantee future Cool House guests that we have a very comfortable bed for them to crash on...

Cat Assessed

... and found wanting.

We failed at putting up blinds, making the tree stand up, screwing the tree base to a plywood board and - spectacularly and devastatingly - I failed at overseeing the electricians' cable installation last week. We caught the damage today. I can't even speak about let alone post but let's leave at there is a huge hole in one wall and a white wire running down the side of the red-brown house. They will be back to make it right next week. (Promised). My Handyman would never have dreamt... and I miss him more than I can say.

Facelift*

A desire to get things moving on the decorating front, plus a free five minutes on a Saturday morning prevailed over the sensible solution of waiting for two strong guys to come along and move the blue sofa out of the great room and into my office. Lift and slide was the answer - and muscle power, baby!


It fits perfectly on the wall opposite my desk, perfectly that is for a random cat - in this case Hermes - to take a nap


or for me to lounge, and work my way through that stack of magazines I haven't gotten round to reading. Somewhere in that pile is the final edition of Metropolitan Home...

*Borrowing this title from a comment by Why S in yesterday's post

By Land or By Sea*... with the help of a glass of Pinot Noir

A couple of creative bloggers and their significant others joined The Guy and me on an international voyage with an American twist at CREW Kitchen* in Huntington Harbor (Halesite) last night. An evening of hilarity and great food with a glass or two of wine (and beer) ensued, followed by a quick trip to Holland and the Scottish Isles back at The Cool House. I didn't take my camera with me (bad, bad blogger) so you'll have to rely on the photo essays of the Fabulous Graphic Designer and the Amazing Artist and Author for the fully illustrated version. Did we have a good time? Today I'm making restorative Chicken Soup while my liver has a chance to recover, so yes I think it was simply splendid evening...
*Five course tasting menu - choice of all meat or all fish, or do what the renegades do and mix and match; there's also a wine flight pairing. As always, the staff are super-accommodating - and the crab balls come highly recommended!
*Decor at CREW by the Awesome Designer, Julie Napoleon Brown

Hah!

So with The Great Interview Experiment comes the payback - the bit where someone interviews me. That sorry task fell to the very thoughtful and amusing Ozma whose blog title sums it all up: Hah!. You should check out her blog - you never know who you'll run into in the comments section...

Head of design?

I am seriously re-thinking The Guy's role in the design/decor decision-making process. Yesterday I took him to look at the last of my selection of walnut beds.... and we came home with a table. The table is gorgeous, and of course it was on sale, but I swear that when I first suggested it eons and eons ago he rejected it out of hand - this weekend he has to have it. Meanwhile he's still holding fast to that upholstered bed. Who is this person and what has he done with my man?
No details on the table until it's delivered - which will probably be mid-week. Until then, how about a nice Fall photo?


Hermes, who cares not a whit for design, is on the fence.

A couple of visitors

The heat of the last few days has finally broken and although it's still sunny, it's much cooler. Outside the kitchen door I found this blue butterfly slowly opening and closing its wings in the warmth of the morning sun - very beautiful but so fragile; inside was a rare, and not exactly welcome, phenomenon - a furry toad sitting on the tiles. I guess he had either been brought in by a cat or dog who then released him or he'd hopped in when the door was open. Either way, his hind legs were covered in animal hair which leads me to conclude that although he may have been a rare hybrid species it's more likely that I am not the best housekeeper in the world...

Home

I'm home. I saw England and Belgium. I didn't get to go to Paris. I did get sick. That's all you need to know for now. More later.

Beach Cat

He's done it before, in fact he often takes a stroll down to the beach, but this is the first time I've captured photographic evidence of Cassis the Cat hanging out with Polly on the bulkhead overlooking the Sound.

I'm so sorry...

Yesterday in an effort to make the puppies a little more comfortable in the heat and humidity, and to shave 4lbs off Sadie (so the vet wouldn't shout at me), I had the dogs groomed right down to a puppy cut. They looked so cute and neat afterwards, as well as thinner and younger. People stopped to ask if we had a new puppy as Polly's grey had been left behind on the groomer's floor. I was delighted (and sure the vet would be impressed, too) until sometime in the late evening when I realised something was missing; my shadow had disappeared. Sadie almost never leaves my side but right now she seems to be suffering from extreme embarrassment over her new haircut and (rightly) blames me for it. She's taken to hiding in another room, any room other than the one I'm in.
I can't believe I'm being guilted by a dog...

Peeping modernemama

I always peep here to see what's through the fence. Today it was geese. Tomorrow? Who knows...

Still in Vacation Mode

Normal service will be resumed unless I find a way to join this boat on its voyage to... who knows where.....