In limbo ...

It's been a long time since my last post but the summer has been very busy (almost too much going on at times) and there hasn't been much time for the studio. Even though summer is officially over I'm still at the beach but becoming extremely homesick and wishing I had a block of uninterrupted time for printmaking.

The summer was a fun time with the grandkids and grandpups. Sleepovers, sandcastles, playgrounds, swimming and daily adventures filled my days. I welcomed this precious time with the wee ones -  because we all know how time flies - but boy, toddlers can keep you on your toes!

And the pups love the beach so they are constantly wanting to go swimming and chase tennis balls. They barely have time to dry off before they're back in the water.

The reason for my prolonged "summer" is home renovations.

The chimney needed to be replaced and this was determined to be the best time to do so. Furniture needed to be moved and shoved into surrounding rooms, rugs rolled up and all odds and ends moved out of the way. It's amazing how much stuff accumulates in one room!

Bricks were torn down and the living room sported a gaping hole where the fireplace once stood. Very unnerving I might add, to have a hole in your house!

Slowly, the new chimney took shape.

Since the chimney was being replaced we decided to change the fireplace from a brick facade to stone. It looks great but took time.
 

We went from a raised hearth to one flush with the floor. It took a bit of searching but I finally fould the perfect stone at a local granite supplier.

And like any good renovation project, one thing naturally lead to another. We decided to add windows on each side of the fireplace which meant cutting holes in the house and replacing siding.

We figured this was the opportune time to scrape the popcorn texture (big in the seventies when we built the house) off of the ceiling. And of course, this required painting walls and ceilings.

After seeing how great the spray foam insulation had worked in the cottage, my husband decided to spray foam the attic at home. This meant all of the fiberglass insulation needed to be pulled out of the attic. A nasty, itchy job! We now we have half a garage full of bagged insulation which needs to be carted to the dump. This is definitely going to take a few trips with the pick-up truck.

Finally, a roof leak which showed up from last winter's heavy snow buildup needs to be repaired. Hopefully, that should be the end of this round of renovations.

We're fortunate to have a place to stay while our home is in such a state of turmoil but driving back and forth to check on the mason, contractors, and do as much as we can ourselves, is starting to take its toll. Patience, never one of my strong suits, is in order. I just have to keep reminding myself to relax, take one day at a time, home will be back together soon, and the studio will be waiting.

In the meantime, since I'm not in the woods surrounded by towering oaks, I get to enjoy spectacular sunrises,
 

dramatic sunsets and

 unobstructed views of the moon.