Raccoon wrangling

A weekend saga in two parts.
Part One: Saturday 7 AM.
We were lying in bed and the dogs were going totally beserk. Woof, woof, bark, bark, bark. Calling them did no good. Commanding them to "come" just resulted in more urgent barking so Steven went down to see what was causing all the commotion. Then he yelled to me "There's a raccoon just outside the window".
I ran downstairs and there it was, lying on the path outside the dining room window. Raccoons shouldn't be out in daytime, and they shouldn't be stretched out on the doorstep at any time of day. I wasn't sure if it was alive or dead but I had to get dressed before I could rationally assess the situation. We've had reports of rabid raccoons in the county, so if we see any raccoons behaving out of character we're supposed to call someone. Only we couldn't remember who. So while I went off to shower and dress Steven called 411 and asked for animal control.
Turns out a raccoon is not an animal, it's wildlife and we needed to call the police. More interesting still is that the Village has a wildlife expert, who used to be the Police Commissioner. But she'd caught a raccoon the day before and had left her raccoon-snatching gear at the vet's so she couldn't be at our house for a couple of hours.
We had to be out in less than an hour to attend 6 hours of defensive driving tuition to get 10% off our auto insurance. (And with the number of fender-benders Steven had last year, we need it!). We were just going to have to trust the police would be able to find the raccoon without our help. They told us to get a garbage can and put it over the raccoon and they'd deal with it. But when Steven approached it the (we thought) dying animal with the bin it sprung to life and climbed 10' up the maple tree.



There was nothing else we could do at that point so we locked all our pets in the house and headed off to the course hoping that the wildlife expert would see the raccoon up the tree and capture it. When we got home there was no sign of it, just some scuff marks around the tree, so Steven took the trash can away and we thought the drama was over.

Part Two: Sunday 6 AM
The dogs started barking again but this time at something in the back yard. Even in the dawn light we could see that the raccoon had made his way to the barbecue and was standing there shaking.



This is where things took on a cartoonish quality. Steven went out to look at it, the dogs rushed past him to get to the raccoon and once again the raccoon came to life and shot up the linden tree.



After a while the poor thing fell off the tree and staggered around some more. At one point he fell into the pond, but he managed to climb out again. Every so often he'd fall over and shake. It was really horrible and the wildlife expert promised she'd come and get it but we needed to watch it in the meantime.
So I grabbed my camera and I watched it. I watched it coming towards me



I watched it walking away from me


And I watched it lying down.



Eventually the wildlife expert aka a neighbourhood volunteer turned up with her raccoon catching gear: a pink cat carrier, a garden shovel and a noose made of plastic line. That was it. No boots, no gloves, no protective gear or special equipment whatsoever. Nothing to prevent her from getting rabies should the animal bite. I felt like a complete wimp at this point.
The came the fun part. Herding a wild animal into the cage with limited equipment. Rocky proved very recalcitrant for a sick raccoon and our neighbour decided she needed to go to the police station to get a noose on a long pole so we could trap him. While she was gone, however, Steven decided to have a go and managed to get the line around the raccoon's neck.



Then he sent me off to find the expert and get her to help put him into the cage. But by the time we got back he had the raccoon in the carrier and the excitement was over. My hero.
The raccoon will be taken to vet and monitored for distemper and rabies. If it can be treated it will be and then it will be released.

There's no arguing with that

Driving into town yesterday evening to eat sushi I turned to Steven and remarked on the gorgeous sunset.
"Should we go and watch the sun set first?"
"I don't think so, hunger trumps beauty".

Funky, stylish and fun

I knew I should have left that wallpaper alone when we moved in. Even though it had fused to the wall where water had leaked through the windows, and there were damp patches from the water penetration from the roof it was typical 60s paper. And guess what? All of a sudden wallpaper is back and it's fabulous.
I really want to put one 60s inspired kick-ass wallpaper somewhere in the house and I think the foyer is crying out for this one, appropriately called Party Girl, in red. Or maybe this ferm Living Feather wallpaper in a rich teal colour.
Either way, I'm going to have to wait until the master bath is renovated and all its leaks fixed, it would be heartbreaking to put it up and then find dripping bath water had fused it to the wall.

Cold bath time

I decided to take a long, hot bubble bath this morning. Not something I'd normally do being an in and out refreshing wake-up shower sort of girl but you know, once in a while a relaxing soak can be good.
So I filled the tub with lots of bubbles and plenty of water and got in. And out again pretty quick. No hot water. That's funny because the oil burner guy came yesterday and gave both the heating and hot water boilers a thorough cleaning. Unless........
Yep, a quick trip to the boiler in the basement confirmed it. When he'd finished he FORGOT TO SWITCH IT BACK ON. I thought it was quiet last night.
So there was enough hot water in the tank for Steven's shower, a load of washing, several hand washes but not enough to fill the bath. Must remember for future, take bath before Steven gets in shower.

Dying rhododendron

This is so sad. The lovely pinky-purple rhododendron on the north drive has been infected by the Phytophthora fungus. It's the third one (all in different parts of the yard) that we've lost this year. Our neighbours have also lost them. I'm not sure if it's just this particular variety that has been affected, but these were all old, well-established specimens.
This is what it looked like back in May this year



If you look really closely you can see the start of the problem - a little brown section on one stem at the top of the plant. But really there was nothing to warn us that five months later we would be facing the sorry, dying plant we have now.
I'm off to dig it out and destroy the remains. Too sad.

Powered by the sun, even in the fog

It transpires that I'm not the only one whose sleep has been affected by the Huntington foghorn. After proudly announcing on Saturday that it was functioning again after three years of silence, the Coast Guard has had to admit that the foghorn on the lighthouse has been malfunctioning since it was turned back on and they've had numerous complaints from local residents.
Apparently it is now powered by solar energy (a very good thing) but is designed to stay on if it malfunctions, rather than shut down (a not so good thing for us). The last time it malfunctioned it sounded continuously for 41 days. Oh joy!

Controller floodlight?

controller floodlight?
Originally uploaded by modernemama

I think I may have solved the mystery lighting issues we have been having in the den. Solved them, but not begun to understand them.
This floodlight is situated on the front drive, and I actually didn't discover it until late last year when I did a lot of pruning on the north edge of the property. When we moved in three years ago there were huge raggedy old junipers on the edges of the driveways and buried in these were lights that had been hit (probably by the snow plough). They had once been crescent shaped modern post lights but by the time we dug them out they were busted and rusted and there was nothing left to salvage.
I had an electrician put in new lights at the end of the drive and the only thing that's slightly irritated me ever since is that they aren't automatic. Gradually as I took out overgrown plants, weeds and tons of ivy, I discovered other light sources scattered throughout the flower beds and I began to put uplighters and floodlights on these. They are all connected to the same switch that the drive lights are on.
On Thursday I was outside tidying up when I noticed that the lightbulb on one of the floodlights had been smashed. So I replaced it. Since then we have had no gremlins in the den lights.
I can only surmise that at one time this outdoor lighting system worked on a timer and motion sensor system that was also connected to the den lights. For some reason when the lightbulb was gone (and only shards of the bulb remained) the sensor kicked in. This doesn't make very much sense to me but why else would the lights in the den have given up their independent ways?
I wish the original owner had thought to post a cheat sheet in the control panel of all the x10 lights when he installed them. Or just a guide to which switches control which lights. Anything would have helped. Three years and three months in the house and we still have figured out the electrics. Heigh ho.

Season of mists... and foghorns

On Friday evening the temperatures were in the mid-eighties, even at 10 PM, and the humidity was a killer. That set us up for a big blanket of what passes for fog on the North Shore of Long Island. Where I come from it would be described as a little light mist, where Steven comes from it wouldn't even be worth noting. Everyone else seems to have their air conditioners back on but I am too fiscally prudent mean to run the airco in October. So I opened all the windows as wide as they would go. And then it started.
Sometime in the Friday night/Saturday morning hours the foghorn sounded and it's been going off every five seconds since then, even though the fog lifted at around 9 AM on Saturday. How do I know it's every five seconds? Because I spent the last two nights counting One Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississippi... Steven, of course slept through it. In fact he only noticed it on Saturday morning when he walked the dogs on the beach!
It got so annoying on Friday night that I went to another bedroom to try and get some sleep. The other bedroom is over the garage. At the end of the driveway are two large oak trees. This year has been a bumper one for acorns. They make a delightful ping when they hit the ground, Approximately one a second. So my night went something like this: One ping Missi ping ssi ping ppi ping.

The foghorn, I guess, is on Huntington lighthouse. And either it's part of the Long Island Fall Festival or the thing is stuck. If it's the former it should end sometime after the meatball eating contest today. If it's the latter I suppose it will be sounding every five seconds until someone goes and fixes it.

Season of foghorns and falling acorns
Sleepless nights for me.......

Great driving weather

It was a sight that perfectly expressed the unusual weather we're having on Long Island - temperatures in the high 80s again today: A woman driving a white Rolls Royce convertible, wearing a cowboy hat. So weird, and yet so right.

blogger v2 + 3 columns=1 big headache

I spent all yesterday afternoon on a new template for this site using the blogger page upgrade and a three column css design. It looked horrible at first, then gradually better. But then I tried to put in my old add-ons that were mainly written in html and javascript and I could only get half of them to work. So I've shelved it for now and started back on xml, I code I gave up on four years ago as too much grief for a blog. Ha, shoulda kept on it.

If my headache goes away and I manage to solve my issues you might see an updated Cool House website. Or you may see a crappy half-assed version while I'm working on it. Either way, I apologise in advance.

Otherwise, you'll have to put up with the old-fashioned Blogger version 1 with its limiting two column layout until blogger gets round to doing the work for me.

Crickets

Crickets
Originally uploaded by modernemama

I found this laid neatly on the step outside the kitchen door. A large cricket - perhaps three inches long.
I don't know what killed it or how it got there but perhaps these two have something to do with it? They look much too innocent, though.

I was wrong - the magic continues

I have no problem admitting that I was mistaken about the cause of the scary light syndrome in the den. No one went near the garage, or the remote controlled door openers yesterday evening and still the lights came on.
First the built-in lights came on at 7 PM, then the chandelier came on at 9:56 PM. Then I went to bed, leaving them on. They could burn themselves out for all I cared at that point.
But magically at 12:20 AM when Steven turned the outside lights off, all the den lights went off, too.
Now that leads me to believe that there is some complicated light sensitive stuff going on here that is controlled by the outside light switch. But it must also be timer controlled because I've tried turning the outside lights off before, many, many, many times.
The outdoor lights aren't on a timer (at least we've never discovered one) nor are they on a light sensor (although I've often thought they should be). So WHY?
Why is this happening and what can we do to turn this into a plus? Lights that go on and off when we're not home - that's an anti-burglar system.
And if we can't do that, at least tell us how to make this stop. For good.

Nothing funny going on here

dooce isn't the only one whose dog is a photogenic power puppy.
This is Polly, otherwise known as itchydog, and I have no idea when it was taken as I was sent it in an email by Verity.



I couldn't ever get Polly to sit still long enough to take a decent photo, never mind dress her up with a shuttlecock.

Beach House in Fall (Autumn)

Beach House is featured on Houseblogs.net this week as part of an article on house blogs in autumn. They used the photo from my profile but somehow it looks much bigger and brighter on someone else's webpage. I'm very honoured.
I wonder though, if I'd just used the tag "fall" would I have made the cut?

La, la, la

den_chandelier
Originally uploaded by modernemama

That's my attempt at denial.
That's what I did last night when we were watching the 8 pm repeat of The Daily Show and this chandelier came on. On its own. With no human help. We have gremlins. I don't care. I am ignoring it. Steven will take care of it via the control panel in the basement.
I have decided (I, too, am the decider) that the problem is related to the remote controlled garage door opener. So I have decreed (I am also the decreer) that this evening Steven will park outside the garage and walk to the front door. we will then wait for the lights in the den to play their crazy game.
If they come on unaided, I was wrong (unlikely, but always a possibility) and we must seek another solution. If they don't, we have solved the mystery, which will give us a great deal of satisfaction but won't help us sleep any easy because WE STILL WON'T KNOW HOW TO FIX IT.

Cobwebs

Normally we'd have to pay real money to get this effect on the shrubs but this year we have great Hallowe'en cobwebs - all natural, too.

Light... and water

Steven thinks he has cleansed the den of its random lighting curse. Yesterday morning he managed to turn on all the lights in that room and turn them off again. Wanting to demonstrate his newfound electricity controlling skill, he turned them on again in the evening but, of course, nothing happened. He went off to bed mumbling about lighting and x10 and a few minutes later all the lights magically came on. But this time, I was able to turn them off at the switch. A delay, sure - but it beats running down to the basement to turn them off. Success.
The payback came around 3 AM. A loud CLUNK, followed by a whirring sound from the basement that woke both of us up. It was the sprinklers, which are programmed to come on at 10 AM because they make so much noise, but had obviously been seriously set off course by us having to turn off the electricity every other evening. I've switched them off for good now, we should be ok without them at this point in the year.
Hopefully that's an end to our lighting problems but I'm waiting to get through this evening with no lighting issues before I declare this chapter of "the house is trying to kill us" closed.

Way beyond funny

This happened again last night. 7:30 just before Steven came home.
For anyone counting, that's once every other evening this week. Twice with these lights, including one time with the chandelier doing a "now I'm on, now I'm off thing" as well, and once with these lights. Each time we have to turn off the electricity at the panel to switch these lights off.
Now, is it just coincidence that this has happened twice just as Steven was arriving home? And it happened once while I was out. Could it be connected in some way to the garage openers? But we use them continually during the day so why just in the evening? Could it be connected to some ancient x10 automatic security light on a timer? But why has it just started this week? And why every other night? And why won't the lights turn on and off at the switches?
Am I obsessing about this? Am I crazy yet? How much more can I take?

It's p p p PINK!

Ha! After getting rid of the 1968 pink and avocado green vanity in the girls' bath, I now discover that pink is in again. At least that's what Trendir tells me.


Here, in all its lipstick pink glory is the Trend Vanity from Novello. Does anyone else think it is the ugliest vanity ever? I can't imagine anyone installing one in their bath, but if they did I'm pretty sure that it would be ripped out by the next owner. Unless the next owner was Barbie.
Although it would go with the huge sectional in our living room, this is certainly not a trend I'm going to follow.

Weird lighting issues

den built-ins
Originally uploaded by modernemama

This is starting to freak me out - big time. This evening I went to have a sundowner at the beach and watch the sun set. I left at about 6:30 and although it was too hazy for a proper sunset there was a true harvest moon to make up for it.

When I got home, though, I was greeted by this in the den, The lights over the built-ins had come on. Not the bar lights that scared me on Monday , but the ones on a different switch.
I didn't put them on, in fact I haven't touched any of the switches in the den except the table lamps since Monday night because I was afraid I'd have to go to the basement again and turn the entire house off and on, which means I have to rest the airport and the TV cable has to reset itself. A hassle.

So, WHAT IS GOING ON? Help, somebody, and quickly, please.


UPDATE 9:12 PM
The chandelier over the coffee table in the den (you can see it in the photo between the built-ins) came on and five minutes later went off again. Is this some new random motion sensor thing? Again, HELP...........

Still more sedums

Sedum sieboldii
Originally uploaded by modernemama

This is Sedum sieboldii, which I planted in full sun on the rock bed by the bridge. There isn't much soil there, so hopefully it will thrive.

Messing with my mind

drinks cabinet
Originally uploaded by modernemama

Yesterday evening sitting in the den around 6:45. I'd just prepared an authentic Spanish dinner (Imperial potatoes, slow-roasted pork, spicy tomato sauce and peas, if you must know) and I'm waiting for Steven to come in when the lights in the drinks cabinet come on. On their own.
Spooky. I mean I'm just sitting there and the next thing everything is illuminated.
I've mentioned this problem before but that's only happened when I've tried to turn it on or off recently. I swear no-one had touched that light switch all day, and probably not since the photographer came from Newsday two weeks ago.
I tried to turn it off - no luck. I tried to turn the other lights on that switch on - nothing. Steven came home and he tried. At 10 PM we were ready to go to bed and the damn light was still burning. There was only one thing for it. We went to the control panel in the basement and turned the whole house off and then back on. And it worked. Every other light came back on, the cabinet lights stayed off.
Now the only thing I can think of, is that we have 1970s x10 wiring on the switches in the den, our bedroom and various other places in the house. We don't know exactly where and what they do because we haven't got the remote control panel. Maybe somehow the x10 got screwed up. Once again we wouldn't know how.
The question is: What can we do about it? I'm not calling an electrician because the last one looked at the wiring, turned white and then green and said he didn't understand it! Is there anything we can do to solve this mystery before I go out of my mind or we burn the house down?

Conspiracy Theory

Is there a conspiracy to deprive me of a full night's sleep?
Last night I'd just dozed off when Steven (who'd stayed up to get the cats in) came and woke me up. As usual he didn't just tell me what the problem was. He likes to work every last nerve by increasing the tension and anxiety level.
"Can you come to the kitchen?"
"Why, what's there?"
"Just come to the kitchen"
"But I'm asleep"
"No you're talking, so you're awake, so please come to the kitchen".
Now, you'd think after all these years I'd have learnt to JUST SAY NO, but I always fall for it.
I could hear the beeping on the balcony.
"Is that it, that's what you wanted me to hear?"
"Just come into the kitchen"
"It's a cicada"
"In the kitchen?"
By this time I was through the kitchen door and I switched on the lights and pointed to the alarm system.
"Stand on a chair and take the battery out of the motion sensor" You can see that I'm not at my politest when I think I've been woken up on a fool's errand.
Steven takes the chair and moves over to the wall ovens.
"It's coming from in there"
"Well open the cabinet then"
"I'm not going in there"
"Well I'm not standing on a chair". I opened the oven but there was nothing inside and the beeping continued.
Then Steven jumped on the chair, unscrewed the overhead halogen light bulb directly above the wall oven and the beeping stopped.
Then he screwed it back in. Nothing. He put the chair back, I turned off the lights and we went to bed.
He went to straight to sleep and I spent the night alternately fuming that he couldn't have sorted that little problem out without my help and wondering what caused the noise, and why unscrewing a light bulb fixed it.

Sedum repestre "Angelina"

Sedum repestre "Angelina"
Originally uploaded by modernemama

Sedum Sunday.

What goes "hmm...errr" all through the night?

No not my better half snoring.
It sounded like a nail gun compressor, or the power-washer when you've switched it off but haven't unplugged it. Hmm...errr. It started about 2 AM and continued at five minute intervals. I got up and checked the dryer: Off. And the pond pump: Off. And the oil burner: Definitely off. I thought it might possibly be the neighbour's airco unit. It was odd and irritating and disturbed my sleep all night long. This morning I discovered that every time the Hmm...errr occurred the lights flickered. Obviously it was our problem and I was going to have to track it down.



The one thing I didn't think of was the pool pump because I noticed it was off on Monday. It was completely still out there, and as no-one is brave enough to get into the unheated pool now, I thought I'd just leave it off until the guys come and close it up for the winter.
Well, guess what? Having exhausted all other possibilities, we checked the pump and the electrical unit was still on although the pump wasn't functioning. We turned the timer off and voila, silence. So I'm pretty sure that means we'll need a new part or pump or whole freakin' electrical unit next Spring.
Ho, hum, errr......

Sedum "Autumn Joy"

Sedum "Autumn Joy"
Originally uploaded by modernemama

A gratuitous photo of a bee on the sedum.

Late summer border

Late summer border
Originally uploaded by modernemama

The last couple of days of summer have seen the temperatures in the 80s and the sedums are a-buzz with yellow jackets and bees. The border I planted in late 2005 has filled in nicely now and pinks and greys play off the granite wall and slate path beautifully. I'm really pleased how this turned out, especially as I bought all the new plants at the end of the season, and at least 50% off. Not as good as free but every little helps.

It had to happen

Really it was only a matter of time before the toilet in the master bath executed its revenge. Probably because I called it "flimsy" in a previous post. Although it could simply have been jealous that the other toilets have either been replaced this year or were given a serious overhaul in 2006.
The saga went something like this.... I went to bed one night and when I got up 8 hours later I realised the loo was still flushing. I took the lid off, jiggled the float and it stopped and then I flushed it again for good measure. That seemed to have cured it so I didn't give it another thought until....... a week or so later I used the toilet, left the bathroom, went out for the day and returned that evening to find the thing STILL FLUSHING. Once again I applied the temporary "massaging the float" fix and it stopped. But rather than chance it going off again, I started running to the other side of the house every time nature called and this rapidly got old. I mentioned it a couple of times to Steven but he didn't give a high priority on the to do list. Until Sunday morning that is, when running down the corridor in the dark to get to another WC, I collided with the dog and tripped over a cat. That's when he reckoned five minutes spent with his hand in freezing water was going to be easier than listening to me curse under my breath all day. And five minutes was all it took him to tighten the nut with a pair of pliers. Problem solved.
And while he was there he fixed the wobbly toilet seat that he failed to fix twice before. My hero.

Sunset at the beach

wood table
Originally uploaded by modernemama

The last rays reflected on the wood table. Peeling paint can be pretty.

Spoiling the ship for a ha'pence of tar

So the advice I received after yesterday's post was to remove the rotted siding. And of course what I had forgotten is the possible damage to the framing behind the redwood. Because this door was installed so badly we get leaking inside around the bottom. It's possible that we'll open up a whole can of worms by taking off the siding (a section 6' long by 6" wide).
Let this be a warning to all who need windows and doors installed. You can buy the best windows in the world but their ability to keep out the elements will be totally dependent on the installation. Maybe I shouldn't panic yet but I have a feeling this could turn into a very expensive job.
Rats, rats, rats.

Maintenance, Renovation or Total Remodel?

When you're rehabing a house how do you know whether a project is renovation or just simply maintenance?
For example, that vanity unit we had to replace in the downstairs bath this spring. Was that maintenance? The thing had de-laminated completely. What about the faucet? It was leaking and we couldn't fix it. If we'd simply bought another a part I'm pretty sure that would be classified as maintenance but replacing it with a new one? What category does that fall into?
Right now I'm looking at the redwood siding between the kitchen slider and the slate patio step and it's in pretty sorry condition. The rainwater gets splashed up against the siding and has caused the redwood to look a little moth-eaten. It definitely needs some maintenance. The question really is: what should we do about it?
The other sliders off the living room have had their redwood footers replaced with the same bluestone as the terrace on that side of the house. This would seem to be the most sensible solution, effectively solving the problem once and for all. However, these doors are (hopefully) going to remain in situ and ideally I would like to remove the kitchen slider, a replacement that was put in neither straight nor true, (and with interior molding that doesn't match any other in the house) with a better model. Unfortunately, the slider is only a few years old and would not be cheap to replace. It would also be better to leave any replacement doors and windows in this room until we get the kitchen updated, to go for one major upheaval, rather than making two lots of mess. In short, I don't want to replace the rotted siding with slate only to have to knock it off again in a year or so.
The only answer I've been able to come up with so far would be to replace the thin cedar molding by the step with a 4" version, and hope that withstands this winter's rain, ice and snow. I'm a little afraid though, that, as often happens in this family, the temporary fix will turn into a permanent solution.
My problem is that we would be doing maintenance on what I think requires renovation, if not a total remodel.

Hosta(ge)

Of course this would be the other reason my grand plan for hosta domination in the yard might not work out.
I divided and re-planted fifty-two hostas in the dell on Sunday morning. Five different varieties, no less, from giant yellow and green ones like Hermes and Maya are pinning down here, to a tiny pale green one that could be Lakeside Little Gem.
I don't want it to just be a hosta bed so there's also a couple of heuchera in there and a Japanese climbing hydrangea at the bottom of the weeping Juniper as well as a dwarf pink hydrangea, assorted rhododendrons and azaleas and a couple of different hollies. If the day lilies have taken there will be two large clumps of those, too.
But it's the hostas that are fascinating the kittens at the moment.





Ah well. at least they aren't scratching up the furniture......

Design Genius

Design Genius
Originally uploaded by modernemama

It was our total joy to welcome the architect of our house, Andrew Geller and his family into our home last Friday.
Thrilling for us to listen to the stories he and his wife, Shirley, told, not only of the gestation of this house, and its original decor, but of his other designs for houses on Fire Island and the Hamptons.
It must be quite emotional to visit a house you designed almost forty years ago and see how much of the original spirit remains. The week before he had been out at Fire Island Pines to see the Frank House, now totally restored by Philip Mognahan, and this week he got to see our work in progress. He seemed to approve of the efforts we have made to ensure the house survives another forty years. All I can say is that it's easier to preserve something when you have such inspiring architecture to work with.
Here is Andy on the balcony of the living room, designed so the original owner could have bridge parties below and those not playing could watch from above. It's an awesome room and works just as well for those of us who don't play cards. A truly great room, in fact.
Photo courtesy of Jake Gorst.

Screens, doors and hostas

How did I spend my day?
First off I fixed the garage door. Not the one that failed in an ice storm on Valentine's Day this year. The other one. Someone had knocked the sensor off its box, either with the car or while manoeuvring the trash-can out of the garage. We should open the other door to take out the trash but one of us is too lazy and the other too clumsy to do it properly. Anyway, half an hour's playing with the lever, pull knob, buttons and sensor box and the door was fully functioning again.



Then I put back the screen door that the clumsy person knocked off its wheels during the party and even fixed the other one that has been only partially functioning since, oh I don't know, last summer. Pretty good going, huh?
And just because I was already sweaty and and dirty, I thought I might as well transplant another dozen or so hostas. What, you thought I'd finished that job weeks ago? Not quite.



The thing about transplanting perennials in the fall is that they will die back quickly now and then I'm left to wonder for the next six to eight months if they have really taken, or whether I just wasted several beautiful September days getting mucky when I could have been down at the beach with a book soaking up the last of summer.

Reverberations

Living Room
Originally uploaded by modernemama

The house constantly astonishes me. Just when I think I have learnt everything about it, it reveals one more surprise, gives me one more thing to adore.
I'd invited some of the guests at the party last weekend to entertain us, and Bob rocked out some Stones on his guitar. The music was great but it was only when his wife, Sue launched into an aria (from the lotus position, no less!) that I realised how good the acoustics in that room are. Her voice just soared up to the second storey and filled the entire space. Of course it helps that she is an opera singer, but all the wood on the ceiling certainly lent a great tone.
If we'd had a piano she would have sung more. And as the photographer pointed out last week, that's what should go on the raised dais in the den. A piano, hmmm.....................

Andrew Geller article in Newsday

The article on architect Andrew Geller will be in Newsday tomorrow, but for those impatient folks who have to have it now, it's available online at Newsday.com.
The major part of the article concerns the Frank House on Fire Island, which has undergone a complete restoration back to its original design. The photos are amazing, I'm blown away by the beauty of the work. Our house is featured in an article entitled A love affair with a Geller house. There's a link to this blog and photos, including a truly stunning one taken in the den, where the photographer got the perfect shot of the den, living room, foyer, part of the dining room and front stairs by facing directly at the media unit/bar. I think I've fallen in love with the unit again - it looks like the prow of a ship. Thanks, Bill.
One really sad note: the article mentions that the Hunt House, also known as the "Milk Crate" will be demolished later this year. I can't believe another modernist marvel will just be bulldozed. It sparks an interesting debate about house preservation. How far should we go to keep our architectural masterpieces? Is this is even possible? And if we do choose to restore them, should it be to their original state, or should we adapt them to fit our current lifestyles and tastes?
Read the article and weigh in. And consider contributing to save the Pearlroth House, which will become a museum of modern architecture here on Long Island.

Curtain of rain

Downpour front porch
Originally uploaded by modernemama

Look closely at the slate step and you can see the water cascading off the overhang and bouncing on the path. If your eyesight is really good you can see the curtain of rain that fills in the frame between the house and the post.
Just a little local downpour.

Party time = house tours

towards kitchen
Originally uploaded by modernemama

We threw a party on Saturday evening, and as usual when people come to our house for the first time they are blown away by the architecture. I'd like to think they come for the company and the food but I'm pretty sure they come to see the house.

Visitors always ask many questions, but two are inevitable:
1) Who was the architect?
2) How did you find it?
The answer to the first question is Andrew Geller, one of the most innovative architects of the 20th century. We have a copy of the Alastair Gordon book Beach Houses: Andrew Geller as well as postcards of the The Pearlroth House and they are fascinated to discover other Geller designed houses on Long island. Most are amazed that they hadn't heard of him before, given the uniqueness of his work. The consensus seems to be that this house should be featured in Architectural Digest so that more people can appreciate it.

To the second question I always answer: Serendipity. I wasn't looking to move house, I was simply filling a dreary Sunday afternoon looking at house listings on the internet. But my reactions to the photos and to seeing the house at an Open Day were physical - the hairs stood up on the back of my neck and the thought that I wouldn't be able to live here one day left me with a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. I fell blindly, totally in love with the house and it's the way I still feel more than three years later.

That's why it's my pleasure to welcome people into my home, conduct guided tours and answer as many questions as I can about my unconventional house and its creative architect, Andrew Geller.

Another Andrew Geller fan

I spent this morning doing what I like to do best: showing the house to someone who loves architecture. And it turned out that the photographer had been here years before, with the architect Andrew Geller. It was so interesting to talk to him about how the house used to look, about Andrew Geller's work and about his experiences renovating his own house.
We had great fun deciding on the best angles to shoot the rooms, or at least I did. I hope I didn't bore him with my constant questions and chatter.
I'll post more when I find out when the article is coming out. I can't wait to see the photographs he took in print and on the newspaper's site - the digital shots looked amazing. Until then, here's a really bad photo I took of the kitchen when we moved in.

A little moment of madness

The newspaper phoned this afternoon to ask if they can send a someone to photograph our house for the article on Andrew Geller's work tomorrow at 9 am. As I had so much spare time I decided to wash the windows, at least on the inside.
I really don't know what possessed me. I can't wash windows. I've tried, believe me. Many, many times.
I've used Windex and Glassex and white vinegar. I've used soft cloths and paper towels and newspaper. I even bought one of those microfiber magic window cleaning cloths. It didn't get my windows clean but at least 10% of the price is donated to help stop domestic violence.
I would think the problem was me, my technique is lousy, except that last year Steven washed the windows outside and he did an even worse job. So bad, in fact, that I wouldn't let him clean them this Spring. I said I'd do it myself. And I have done, in the last hurrah of Summer. And they are horrible.
Other people have clean windows. How do they do it?
All window cleaning tips gratefully received.

Maybe the 70s are back

What I'm supposed to be doing is researching recipes for a party we are throwing on Saturday.
What I'm actually doing is being distracted by the kitchens at My Home Ideas including this almost garish (they call it vibrant) retro one from Sunset Magazine. It reminds me of the kitchen in The Ice Storm, one of my favourite movies about that era. But I don't think it's a look I want to create in my house, even if it feels contemporary. This simple kitchen that uses Ikea cabinets and quartz and laminate countertops appeals a lot, though.
OK, enough unproductive kitchen envy. Back to menu planning.

Labor Day Sunset

Labor Day Sunset
Originally uploaded by modernemama

The perfect end to a perfect weekend - dinner at sunset on the deck at the beach

More photos of hostas

hostas
Originally uploaded by modernemama

This is the bed right at the rear of the yard that I planted the summer before last. The peonies were hidden under weeds, and the rest of the bed was bare except for some suckers from the original rose bed. I dug up those and replaced them with hostas from other parts of the yard and three large leaved variegated ones I bought on sale that fall.
I actually told someone the other day that this bed was planted when we arrived, I had forgotten doing it until I was sorting through some photos from that summer. Looks like I could think about dividing these hostas again, we've plenty of bare spots where they could go.

Dividing day lilies

Dell
Originally uploaded by modernemama

Or how I spent Sunday September 2 Part II.
Digging up, splitting and replanting day lilies. Along the drive, in clumps around the tree stumps in this border, in more clumps by the lawn - next summer there'll be day lilies all over the yard. Yellow ones, orange ones and my favourite burgundy. Then it will all have been worth it.

Newly pruned trees

Newly pruned trees
Originally uploaded by modernemama

Or how I spent Sunday September 2 Part I.
Just a little light pruning to let the sun shine on the lawn and increase our view from the kitchen window (in the far back of the photo) to the road.

Planted split hostas

Planted split hostas
Originally uploaded by modernemama

Or how I spent Saturday September 1 2007.
Split another 10 hostas and replanted 60! Yes 60!!!
Then I weeded. Steven power-washed the brick patio and paths. It's hard to say who was more dirty at the end of the day.
But in the battle with the yard we are definitely winning.