The Nest Gets a Winter Coat... In July

There's a long story and a short story here. Kind of like a Choose Your Own Adventure novel...

First the short story:

The Nest got a winter coat this week! After a rocky road (see "long story" below), the weatherization job was finally completed. I had been in touch with Schuyler at EAI for a few weeks and she was fantastic. She was very patient and accommodating, I could tell she wanted the job-well-done as much as I did. Finally the big day came, and Andrew arrived with his crew right on time. 

We did a walkthrough of the house and found a handful of holes in the horse hair plaster leftover from the electrician's work. Andrew used a foam gun to quickly fill them so the insulation would stay put in the bays between the interior and exterior walls. 

They brought a truck with a huge hose, kind of like a dryer output hose, and bales of recycled newspaper. They removed panels of the vinyl siding and drilled holes in the old shingles. Then they aimed the cellulose into the holes and packed the walls. It was loud! 

The guys were here for two long hot days. That is tough work! They even did their best not to trample my flowers. It was a big crew, one of the guys was Andrew's brother! 

And now I'm looking forward to a cozy insulated winter... But first we intend to make the absolute MOST out of the precious New England Summer. 

Ok, now... The Long Story:

Remember way back when I had an energy audit with Next Step Living through the MassSave program? One of the benefits was the weatherization (insulation installation, say that three times fast) subsidy. But first I had to "remediate" the knob and tube electrical wiring. That took months. But I still held out hope that I could get the work completed before the very cold months. But then I discovered that my oven (or lack there of) was a barrier. So I got an oven (which was a saga in and of itself. Finally I was ready to book the project. When I called Next Step Living, they said they'd be happy to schedule the work, but it would have to wait till spring. Vinyl siding becomes more brittle in the cold and they didn't want to risk cracks. So, I got the date on the books. April 29. 

Next Step Living and Hanscom Credit Union helped me arrange the very attractive 0%APR for 7 years loan that is part of the MassSave program. And oddly, they required me to pay for the work in advance. Now, if this was any other contractor I would have scoffed, and offered a third on booking, a third at halfway done, and a third on completion, as is customary and smart for all involved. But since it was a government program, I shrugged and signed on the dotted line. Never again. 

I thought we were all set, and I patiently waited. I had to start paying off the loan the next month even though the work was in the distant future. But it was ok with me, the job was finally going to be done! (Eventually!) But then one Friday in March I got an automated voicemail from Next Step Living. I also got this email:

My jaw hit the floor. And I gave out a whimper. They went under. I was shocked! And then I called the number. A very nice person helped me get my name on some kind of "list" and let me know it would be taken care of. 

Then began months of back and forth. Finally the very professional, very cold "Matt" from The Legal Department at MassSave called.  He let me know that since Next Step had already cashed my check when they closed their doors there was nothing they could do. They suggested I contact a lawyer. 

Oh hell no. 

I called the front lines of the MassSave Program and "registered my displeasure". I called my real estate attorney, Nicole Stark, and she gave me a crash course in consumer law. She suggested I call the Attorney General. I did. I also called and emailed my town representative Sean Garballey. 

I reached out for help, found out how to take actions that were in my control, but also tried to relate to the situation neutrally, I only lost a few hours of sleep over it, and I tried to keep the faith that all would work out in the end. 

I'm not sure if it was one of my "strongly worded letters" that made the difference, but I have to believe it was one of those Horton Hears a Who situations.

They called again and let you know they were going to get the project funded. I called Schuyler to book right away. 

Finally!! The Nest got outfitted with a cozy, recycled newspaper winter coat!

Sunshine Windows!

The blog has been quiet for the past few months, but make no mistake, that does not mean that the work has slowed down at The Nest. We just haven't actually FINISHED anything recently! But that's all about to change. Stay tuned for a few BIG projects that we are finally wrapping up in the next few weeks. (Thank goodness!)

The Nest is outfitted with a total of 33 windows in the living spaces. All single pane glass, wood frames, weighted system, and 100 years old! Fighting them open or closed was always a commitment. And it was immediately clear that they didn't do a very good job of keeping the inside in, and the outside out. Many of them were missing screens or storms or even whole panes of glass. I was gung ho to replace them all right off the bat, so I had four different Replacement Window Contractors give me bids.... when I saw the price tag I realized it would have to wait a bit. 

I was SO CLOSE to going ahead with the project despite the cost. I had even signed an agreement with Next Step Living, a MassSave contractor, to do the job. Something fell through with my HEAT loan application though and looking back it was a blessing in disguise. Next Step Living has since gone under and I'm currently in a legal situation with the MassSave program to recoup my losses associated with a different project. No bueno!

look out below!

So we had to weather the winter with the vintage windows. Bill was able to replace the missing panes of glass. And, you might remember from #NewWindows2016, my mom and I caulked all the them shut when we started to feel the North Wind make herself at home in our living room. Between the caulking and plastic seals, we made it through the winter. There were still a few exciting moments though, like the day I went to work on a Sunday and got a text from Bill saying that one of the storm windows blew right off the house and landed in the EXACT spot where my car would have been parked if I was home. Close call!

Bill dug up one of his old contacts: Sunshine Window Company out of Reading. They gave us the best quote by tens of thousands of dollars. Bill had worked with them 10 years ago and we were happy they were still in business (always a good sign!) We researched the product they used and felt good about it. Finally, almost a year after starting to research the window project, I was ready to go for it. But only for one unit. The tenants have to come first. 

So, last Saturday, Feng and Sing (father and son) showed up with a pickup truck full of vinyl replacement windows. The got to work right away, pulling out the old windows and installing the crystal clear new ones. They made it look so easy! We had fun chatting with them, even though Feng's accent made it a bit challenging to understand. They guy clearly knows his stuff. By 5pm they were wrapping up to go home. 

And WOW, the windows look gorgeous! Crystal clear and so easy to operate. The tenants get to enjoy them now, and I am REALLY looking forward to when I can save enough to spring for ours.

But like any Nest story, this one is not without a final comical twist or turn. Less than one week after the windows went in, Bill heard a knock on the door. It was the tenants. They noticed a tear in one of the screens in their kitchen and food was strewn about the room. A squirrel had noticed a loaf of bread on the table and ripped its way through our brand new screen!! The squirrel eventually escaped the house and apparently re-screening a screen is not a huge deal. But come on! As if running across the roof sounding like they are wearing stilettos isn't enough! 

Do One Thing at a Time, or....

It was a hot July day and we were standing outside The Nest talking to Tony, the leathery retired contractor turned home inspector. He gave us the sage advice to "do one thing at a time" among other gems of wisdom, like: "it's been here for 100 years. It's not going anywhere" and "you two, you're gonna have words" Truth. On all counts.

Well, I started out taking his advice, tackling one large project at a time. But sooner or later I started seeing the tips of ice burgs and had to move along to keep up momentum. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it. But that leaves a lot of things partway done and a month long silence on the blog!

At the moment, the nearest thing to being done is the front hall. An under appreciated room in most houses in my opinion. But trust me, it's more complicated than it looks!

First we had to patch large holes where the electricians' fed Romex through the walls and ceilings. The ceiling was falling down in one area. So Bill needed to build up the angular ceiling and plaster over it in three layers to get everything up to snuff.

note the hole in the ceiling!

lots and lots of trim

a well loved staircase, in need of an update!

Then it was ready for paint. The front hall actually has very little wall space. It's mostly trim! So I spent an entire weekend on just this part of the project. First I sanded to surface of the old yellowed and chipped paint. Then I cleaned the dust off of all the trim and the floor. I masked the floor around the base of each baluster (there are a lot of those). And then I got to work with my old pal, white semigloss trim paint. It took over 20 hours for just this phase of the project! Since we are planning on refinishing the floors in the future, I wasn't meticulous about wiping up little white paint splatters (which are inevitable). So I have to live with them until the floors are redone.

trim paint complete, we live in a construction site!

Once the trim was completely dry, Bill painted the ceilings and the walls. I chose the color "Amethyst Sky" as a nod to my favorite crystal. It's basically a grown up version of my childhood bedroom wall color!




Finally it was time to paint the radiator. GOLD of course! But don't worry, I won't paint every single radiator in the house gold ;)

As a finishing touch, I placed a gold pineapple on the tall table in the corner of the landing. A pineapple is an traditional American symbol for "Welcome"!

Welcome!

Truly, the photos of this odd shaped oddly lit space do not do it justice. We need to hang some art and put some finishing touches in the space (stained glass window hanging is coming soon). But since it's so hard to get the full effect through the photos, you should just come visit so you can see it in person!

The front hall was complete just in time for our New Years Eve open house party. We were so excited to welcome so many of our friends and loved ones to see how far we've come. Of course, I didn't take enough photos.

My yoga friend Jeanette

Sweet Neighbors: Effie and Cindy

More fabulous Neighbors: Mimi, Jen, Meg, Cindy, and Ben

Dear Melissa, who helped me clean the house the very first week
we lived here. It's come a long way since then!

Family Friend Alan who has known me since birth

Some of my besties, Becky and Sophie

The day after the party Bill and I basked in all the love from our friends. We left the mess for most of the New Years Weekend and drank Champagne in bed while watching Mad Men on Netflix. We earned this rest! The following weekend we went to Newport for our birthday celebration (my bday is Jan 9 and his is the 10th, crazy right!?). And we've had a lull in reno work and enjoyed just being in our home!

Newport Cliff Walk

All I Want For Christmas is... a working oven!

It all began the first night we slept in the house back in August. We had set sleeping bags up on the living room floor among the contractor bags and cleaning supplies and got cozy in our new home. When we woke in the morning there was a new smell we noticed, the unmistakable odor of gas! (You may remember this story from our first work weekend at The Nest). We called National Grid and they sent Matt out right away to take care of the issue. He took one look at the ancient appliances, found the gas line to the oven and cooktop and switched them off. All cooking appliances were from henceforth unusable. "Ok" I thought, "that's a plot twist." We managed for quite a while this way, with no stove or oven. I used the crock pot, the toaster oven, the George Forman Grill ... And we ate about 50% of our meals from the Whole Foods Hot Bar around the corner. And if you know me, you know how important food, nutrition, and cooking home made meals is to me! It sure kept things interesting!

Over the next few months we were able to safely resurrect the cooktop, a heavy duty stainless gas number that I love. It needed to be scrubbed and greased and reassembled. And now it does the trick! Except that it needs to be lit with a lighter because there is no pilot light, always a bit hair raising.

But still no oven. Honestly I got accustomed to this. But I called The MassSave Program about a month ago to let them know our knob and tube was being remediated and that I was ready to schedule the insulation job. They looked at my file and... surprise! They let me know that I would also need a working oven to fully pass their inspection and be eligible for insulation installment. So all of a sudden the oven got bumped toward the top of the list.

I hemmed and hawed. It would be a financial risk to try to have the old oven repaired. Just having someone take a look at it would cost $100, then parts and labor on top of that if it could even be done. Still, it may never work quite right. It's probably 30 years old after all. Very few have even heard of the brand: Chambers. And ovens are particular, they need to cook evenly and efficiently to make baking and roasting successful. Still, I didn't WANT a brand new state of the art oven straight out of the box. A large expense considering the way money has been flowing out these days. But I had to figure something out. 

My first stop was to call local appliance repair guys, including my old pal Derron (the hero of the dryer saga from a few months ago). But I learned that no one seems to sell refurbished ovens, the liability is too great.

Plus the built in cabinet space for the oven in our kitchen is 24 inches. An odd size for 2015. There weren't many options for new ovens in this size and they were pricey.

So I scoured Craigslist. And hooray! Finally I got a hit! A guy in Vermont was selling his brand new 24 inch gas oven. They had planned a kitchen remodel and then not followed through with it. That oven could be mine for $299! I called and emailed right away. When he called back and told me where he lived, I discovered that acquiring the oven would be a 6 or 7 hour round trip. I would also need to rent a vehicle and find someone to make the drive with me and help me lift it on the other end. He wasn't willing to meet me in the middle. And in fact, he was downright nasty to me. But he had the goods. So I decided to grin and bear it. A week went by and I finally had a solution. I found a courier through Derron who could go pick up the oven for me. I called the seller again... he was crotchety again... and arranged the pick up. At last! I would have my oven!

Then I got a text from Derron the next day: "He sold the oven locally"... WHAT? We had an arrangement! I called and spoke to the guy. Let's just say that wasn't pretty. And I sulked for a bit. But then it was back to the drawing board.

My parents suggested I try Build.com, a building supply company they've used in the past. When I reached out by Live Chat, I was connected with Kourtney. She found me an oven! The right size, free shipping, and a good price. Crisis averted! I placed my order and we scheduled the delivery window. I'd have to wait two weeks, but at this point I was just happy to have something in the works! Kourtney and I shared Home Reno woes and Craigslist sob stories before saying happy holidays and goodbye. She was great.

A week later I got an email. The oven I ordered had been discontinued and the one I purchased was not actually available. This was getting silly. I spoke with Kourtney again. She was almost as disappointed as I was. Now she was like a dog on a bone. In about 2 hours she had found two other options and had me back on the phone placing the order. Two more weeks to receive the oven.

I scheduled a day off to be home to receive the oven. I booked a plumber to come and do the install. And two days before the Big Day I got ANOTHER email. The oven would be delayed another 5 days!

At this point I was singing "All I want for Christmas is a working oven" in my head daily. Slight change of plans and I was more than ready when the day finally came.

The day before Christmas Eve, two guys in a Budget rental truck came to make the drop off. I was all but jumping up and down when they pulled up. They looked amused when I said "You guys are totally making my day!" They carried the oven up to the second floor. I gave them a Tupperware of Christmas Cookies. And they were on their way. Mike the plumber was just finishing a repair in the bathroom sink and was ready to get that oven locked and loaded.

The kitchen went from a bit rough, to downright chaos for a while there. Pulling the old oven out of the built in revealed 30 years of fine and pungent dust in the built in cabinet, the kitchen was full of ovens, and there were tools and parts everywhere. Madness! But before too long we were testing out the broiler. Success!

I'm THRILLED to close the chapter of The Oven Saga. So as a celebration of this Christmas Miracle, I made a big batch of Spiced Nuts. I love this recipe and it's always a crowd pleaser. Last time I served them, my friend Kate Welby has said "these taste just like Christmas!"

SPICED NUTS

Recipe courtesy of the fabulous Kate Radville. 

Ingredients

1- 1.5 lbs of nuts (the original recipe called for just pecans, but I like to do a mix of pecans, almonds, and walnuts). 

Sugar

salt

cinnamon, nutmeg, other spices

2 egg whites

2 tbsp water.

Directions

1. Mix 3/4 to 1 cup of sugar, 1 tsp of cinnamon, 1 tsp salt, and some nutmeg in a large bowl (you can experiment with other spices added in like clove, ginger, cocoa powder, and/or cardamom)

2. Beat 2 egg whites with about 2 tblspoons of water in a separate med size bowl. Add the nuts and mix/toss by hand to coat. 

3. Dump coated nuts into the sugar/spice mixture, toss and mix to coat.

4. Spread the coated nuts onto a cookie sheet (lined w parchment).

5. Bake for 1 hour at 250 deg, stirring every 15 min. (the stirring seems to be the most important part). If your nuts don't look completely dry at the end of 1 hour, bake for another 10-15 mins. 

Let cool and enjoy!

I Got the Powah!

When the house was inspected we discovered that the original electrical wiring was still in use here at The Nest. And needless to say, a lot has changed in terms of electrical wiring since the early 20th century! The nest was running on Knob and Tube wiring which is severely outdated for all our 2015 toys and gadgets and appliances. Not to mention dangerous! This 100 year old wiring was heavily worn and melted in some places. We heard from neighbors that the previous owners had had some trouble with it, arcing and so on. Yikes! There was also only one outlet in each room. Having the option to plug in electronics on opposite sides of the room is one of those things you take for granted in newer construction. The house was going to have to be completely rewired. A BIG job!

So we called in a few contractors and started to take bids on the job. I called about 10 different electricians and many of them said the job was just too big for them! We had four companies prepare official bids for us and wow, the difference in price and the difference in professionalism of the contractors was pretty mind blowing. We had one bid for under &15k (but we watched this bozo crash into a street sign while pulling out of the driveway). And the highest priced bid was almost $40k!! We finally settled on a relatively small local company: Conor O'Keefe Master Electrician.  

I was impressed with how eager they were for the job and the level of experience they had with jobs like mine. They also worked with us a bit on the price, given that Bill and I agreed to do some of the prep and finish work (well, let's be honest, Bill was the one who ended up doing said work... but I handed him tools and did some very important cheerleading!). I signed on the line and the guys showed up the next week start giving The Nest her brand new Romex nervous system!

That was Sept 21. That was 13 weeks ago. We went through three months of having the crew in our space almost every day. I grew pretty accustomed to the "knock knock knock GOOD MORNING" announcing their arrival at about 7:05AM. The guys probably spent more waking hours at the nest than we did! We got to know each other pretty well, Ryan and Brian were the primary crew working at The Nest. I got a kick out of their matching names and the fact that they've been best friends since childhood. They were respectful and professional and very hardworking! Ryan has been with Conor's company since he was 16 years old! 

We had our work cut out for us too. Since we agreed to pitch in on the prep work, occasionally Conor would let Bill know about a crucial carpentry task that needed to be completed before they proceeded with part of the project. So Bill had to squeeze it in on nights or weekends, between his full time job, a side project he was working on, and his music. No time for rest! And I had to take frequent trips to the hardware stores to select and purchase the ceiling fans, sconces, and overhead lights to be installed. I spent hours staring up at this sight at Home Depot. A little overwhelming!

All in all, Conor's crew installed seven ceiling fans, two bathroom fans, 4 overhead lights, six sconces, and dozens of outlets. I often left The Depot with a cart looking like this!

We never knew what new surprises would be there when we returned home after our workday. A new hole in the wall with horsehair plaster spilling out? A new outlet installed? Then finally new fixtures, room by room? But there was always dust! Fine white dust that was generated every time the guys cut into the walls. It was a slow process. And hard to keep morale up because so little of the guys hard work was actually visible, except for new openings for outlets and rare glimpses of brand new wires that they fed through twisting passageways in the walls and ceilings. 

Not gonna lie, they guys were great, but it was getting a little old having them in the house, the dust, not knowing which outlets would be working on any given evening, having to ask if it was ok to use the crock pot (wouldn't want power to be cut midday and come home to uncooked dinner!) And you must be wondering what Simon thought about all this stomping and cutting and activity in his space. Well, he handled it quite well actually! He never seemed to be spooked by the noise and they guys said he "just stares at us" all day! A resilient turtle he is. 

But just when I was up to "here" things started to move a bit faster. The guys started installing the fixtures. And my favorite part: dimmer switches everywhere!

(If I was Queen I would make dimmers mandatory on every light switch in the land. Trust me, dimmers are a serious game changer).

Finally Conor let us know that the guys had finished feeding the new wires through the walls and it was ok to start closing up all the surgical sites! We started patching holes right away. Of course, the tenants came first. And then we started our patching and painting jobs, room by room. Stay tuned on that one, that huge job is still in progress...

Once all the wires and fixtures were installed, The Nest was ready for the big finalle: updating the service from 60 amps to 200 amps. This update would bring her up to code and allow us to run higher powered appliances without tripping fuses all the time. Bring it. So Conor showed up with his bucket truck and went skyward to get the job done. 

He worked his magic and ta-da! We were in business! There were a few more odds and ends to wrap up, and the guys were hustling to get it done. It reminded me of the last phase of a big move, where you walk around a mostly empty apartment picking up odds and ends, seemingly a never ending job. The very last step was for Conor to come and haul away the dozens of contractor bags of construction waste that were stashed in the basement and attic. He swept the basement and left the keys in the mail slot. Lee, the company CFO and also Conor's mom, came to collect my final payment and we celebrated with a hug. Hip hip hooray!!!

We will need them to come back again in the future when we reno the kitchen and add living space on the third floor. But for now we can check that OFF THE LIST! 

Big thanks and high fives to Conor, Ryan, Brian, Jeff, and Lee. You were respectful, diligent, patient, accommodating, and generally GREAT through this saga! I think I'll kinda miss my extra housemates! But I'd rather see you in the grocery store  than at 7:05am when I'm still in my PJs ;)

Putty and Paint Make Her What She Ain't

There was a bit of a lull in visible (morale boosting) activity at the nest this fall. We had to do a lot of waiting on other projects while electricians completely replaced The Nest's nervous system. Stay tuned for details on that huge project, scheduled to be complete this week (cross your fingers please!) But now that the electrical update is in its final stages, we could get to work on some interior cosmetic updates.

After spending months living in a construction site, I was more than eager to beautify at least one space in the house. We started with the living room. 

I had a blast visioning color schemes and details with my friend Liz Martin of www.thecharlestonweekender.com. She is a design coach with a knack for combining fresh modern decor ideas within people's true style. We had Pinterest and polyvore boards going back and forth and the ideas started to really gel! 

Most of the furiture has been with me for many years. And almost none of it was purchased new! The couch has been moving with me since my clinical fellowship year in Detroit (where I purchased it from a friend who herself got it on Craigslist!) The rocking chair was a curbside find, just needed a bit of woods lie and love (thanks Bill!). The white mid century modern chair belonged to my parents and was a fixture in the home where I grew up! Really the only new purchase was the rug ("it really tied the room together"). 

Slowly the details of the room started falling into place. Liz sent me this color scheme pin which I loved! (Yes, a common nickname for me among some pals is "Frienda," originally coined by Clark and Aimee!)

Finally it was time to start patching and painting! Apparently, a saying in the business is: "Putty and Paint Make Her What She Ain't." Well, I'll tell ya. It's true!... But it's also a lot of work!

First Bill patched the large holes from the electricians work with One Strike Ready Patch and joint compound. Then he taught me how to patch the gaps in the trim with caulking. We "spooged" Alex quick dry caulking in the cracks and then had to use a finger to smooth and sculpt the material to the contours of the 100 year old trim and molding. Then I used white semi-gloss to paint all the trim. This took hours and hours, but somehow eventually it was done... And then I had to do a second coat! Finally I hobbled to bed. Tired but satisfied. The next day I was sore and stiff, but excited to see my work in the daylight. Well, daylight is an unforgiving lady and I could see all the streaks and thin spots that were invisible the night before. Bill and my friend Sophie (and her doggie Ruby) helped me finish off with a third coat. And assured me I'd get better with practice. 

Choosing the color was no small feat. My mom gave me this booklet of Benjamin Moore colors that she used when they built their home about 10 years ago. I've been shopping the hues for weeks! 

I finally narrowed it down to a few different shades of blue. I bought sample sizes of the paint ($7 each and totally worth it) and excitedly swiped them on the wall. But "oh no!" Not right at all. Sort of a repeat performance from my "Cookie Monster blue" front porch. The colors look so different on the wall. I went back to the store and had the guy make me a special blend, 25% Woodlawn Blue and 75% white. Bill, Sophie, and I spent the rest of the afternoon cutting the paint to the edges of the trim and rolling out the walls. 

Then, it was time for the main event. I remember the day when Bill told me that I could paint the radiators "any color I want." What??? ANY color?? Well, then, I'm painting it gold, obviously. 

But first I had to peel and brush and chip away 100 years of dust. Lovely. 

Sophie and I used oil based paint and disposable brushes and rollers to paint every nook and cranny. And I couldn't be more thrilled with the outcome! (It did take about 5 days for the smell to dissipate, complicated by the fact that we caulked the windows shut a while back to keep heat in, which also keeps paint fumes in apparently). 

Then Bill built me these custom window sills as a special place for some of my darling house plants. 

And we hung a hook for my spider plant. This plant was a "fly the nest" gift from my mom when I moved into my first apartment in college over 10 years ago!

I arranged a collage wall over the couch which includes some of my own original photographs, some art I've collected including a piece done by my mentor Dr. Nancy Helm-Estabrooks, and some prints from a 1926 National Geographic that we found in the attic! 

The very last thing was to install the custom blinds I ordered. Being on the top floor has its perks, it feels like we live in a tree house! But it also feels like "The Bill and Brenda Show" for the neighbors each night. The blinds arrived on Tuesday and I couldn't wait another minute to put them up. I measured and drilled pilot holes, then screwed in the brackets. The blinds snapped in and voila! The room is complete!

Not an easy task, and we are only just beginning, but oh my is it all worth it! Nothing like the feeling of relaxing on the couch in our new living space and looking around at our own handiwork! 

Blessed!