Ready...Set...ACTION!

It felt like a Hollywood movie scene yesterday at the house.  Joel went up late in the day to get some work done.  As soon as he arrived, he called to tell me that he had never seen so much action on our work site and that I should grab some coffees and head up to watch.  So I did!  We had trucks and vehicles parked not only all over our front yard but also across the street edging the cornfield.  Steve had finished laying planks on the new foundation (more about that later!) and had just lowered the house back onto it.  Joel was unscrewing the large bolts that had held the wooden supports for the jacks.  Steve's brother-in-law, Warren, was there with three men to cut down two huge trees and trim up several smaller ones.  We even had an "extra"on the set.  Mr. Rapke, who is in his eighties and lives three houses up the hill, had come down to see what all the fuss was about.  He told me that he helped replace support beams in the middle room of the house many years ago when the Wardwell family lived there.  I enjoyed speaking with him about the area north of the lake.  His family has lived there for generations, and he had much information to share.

The scaffolding seen to the right of Mr. Rapke belongs to Lenny, the mason.  He and Carl came earlier in the week to rebuild the stone foundation.  Their next task is to repoint and shore up the chimney.  After that they move to the back of the house to assist in the lowering of the Rustic Room floor onto a newly constructed stone and cement base.

Doesn't the finished product looked sturdy and sound?  Finally, the front of the house rests on a straight, strong foundation and we can move ahead:)

We continue to have visitors!  Joel's brother Jeff was cycling around the lake the other day and popped in to see our progress.  Here Joel is showing him what Steve discovered behind the faux brick fireplace in the den.  The original bricks are actually quite pretty.  All we need to do is clean them up a bit and perhaps replace a few.  I am excited because the plan was to create a whole new façade.  I like this scenario much better!  Steve removed the wooden mantelpiece and saved it for us to strip, repaint, and replace.  It feels good to be able to maintain and showcase the original beauty of the house as often as we can.