Tag: Icehouse Rehabilitation
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So Long, Storage Container
Sometimes small matters matter most. Like warm socks when skiing in fluffy February powder. (Fresh back from an amazing afternoon in the trees!) Or a storage container magically materializing when needed and then evanescing when it becomes and obsolete eyesore. A couple of weeks ago this vital construction resource was removed its garden-side perch after…
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Complaints: Top 5
What do you complain about the most? Such a mysterious adventure story, this thing we call life. Plot twists around every corner. Characters waxing and waning. Textures tangling and untangling, melodies braiding and unbraiding, hues shifting and sifting so subtly we wonder if we’re imagining it,… A mesmerizing mystery so pure, so pulchritudinous as to…
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Feel the Love
Can you share a positive example of where you’ve felt loved? Today’s blog prompt primes the proverbial pump. After all, Rosslyn is filled with love! Our 2006 decision to purchase the property to create our home was an extension of the love that Susan and I felt for one another. And our endless historic rehabilitation…
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Declutter & Consolidate
As the icehouse rehabilitation reaches its conclusion and nearly two decades of Rosslyn carpentry dwindle down to the final acts, it’s time to declutter the carriage barn that has served as a lumber and architectural salvage warehouse, workshop, and staging area. It’s time to consolidate and organize miscellaneous stacks of lumber. It’s time to make…
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Icehouse Flashback
Now that Rosslyn’s icehouse rehabilitation has crossed the finish line it can be difficult to recognize how far it’s come. It’s time for a reality check. It’s time for an icehouse flashback to December 23, 2017. Exactly six years ago. Today’s photo essay is a somewhat arbitrary reminder since the icehouse fulfilled the same purpose…
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Spirited Country Life
We make no attempt to conceal our spirited country life at Rosslyn. This exuberant existence — working, playing, rehabilitating, exercising, creating, gardening, and celebrating the abundance of Essex, Lake Champlain, and the Adirondack Coast — is a daily affirmation of life. Robust, often intentional, and sometimes serendipitous living. But what about the less vibrant, ghostlier…
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Thank You, Steve!
This evening I return to thanks giving with a tribute to Steve Cooley. Over the last few years Steve has undertaken winter snowplowing, spring-summer-autumn lawn care, and landscaping maintenance (from hedge pruning to leaf collection and composting) at Rosslyn, ADK Oasis Highlawn, ADK Oasis Lakeside, and the Westport Yacht Club. And last winter he helped…
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Thank You, Tiho!
Although there have been a spattering of timely tributes to Tiho over the last few years, the truth is, I’m long overdue — *beyond* long overdue — for a proper tribute to the man who’s empowered so much of the renovation work that Susan and I have undertaken in recent years. Susan and I first…
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Pavers Update
We’re overdue for a pavers update, so here it is. This dramatic bird’s eye view of the icehouse terrace is the first capture of the icehouse “courtyard” we’ve been hardscaping for, well, many months! Installation of the stone pavers is about 99.9% complete. There are still a few pavers at the bottom of both stone…
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Thank You, Aaron!
Next up in our extended season of gratitude is Aaron Valachovic. I’ve recently chronicled his exceptional execution of tricky tree work, (“Fallen Giant”, “Stump-to-Lumber”, and “Aerial Arborist Haiku”), but Aaron’s input is no longer limited to tree work. It’s time I recognize the remarkable contribution he’s been making over the last four months. Thank you,…
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Thank You, Glen!
In keeping with the spirit of the last few days, I would like to honor a recent, but indispensable member of our team. Thank you, Glen Gehrkins. Although Thanksgiving Day 2023 may have come and gone, I have decided to extend this holiday into a season of thanks and giving, allowing as long as it…
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Deciphering Ciphering
I first heard the term “ciphering” in 2005 when we were renovating the Lapine House. Context offered some clarity: “ciphering” was used to describe job site problematizing, brainstorming, tweaking and tuning a step-by-step action plan, and generally massaging blueprints and construction schema into completable carpentry. From a linguistic perspective, describing the process of analyzing plans,…