Having recently completed a trapezoidal base for the coffee table to match a side table in the living room, I used scrap bamboo lumber to build an additional three boxes. Making the first one of something new is always the most difficult. You have to figure out how to machine the pieces and often need to build jigs to facilitate the work. With two already under my belt, I made short work of these three. Not sure exactly how they will be used so I made them of varying sizes. The larger one would make for a nice footrest while the two smaller ones might make nice plant stands. Next on my list of woodworking projects are side tables for the seating in our two-person home theater. I am still working out the design details and have yet to settle on one which I like.

Jeanine traveled to Maine today to spend a few days with a friend and shared this photo of the local seals. It sounds like she is having a great time. On the home front, Maya and I wrapped up the sale of the Tiny House and prepared it to be towed to its new home in Rhode Island. Regrettably, the company hired to tow it to its new destination reported that their truck was experiencing a mechanical issue and had to reschedule pickup for Sunday. While I am sure Maya is relieved to have sold the Tiny House, I can only imagine that she also feels a sense of sadness having spent so much time planning and working on it. Although I share in that sadness, my attachment to the Tiny House was never about what we built but rather the time I spent with Maya while doing the work. Over the course of that summer, I watched her grow from a youngster with big “tiny” ideas, into a highly capable home builder. I felt so connected to her as we simultaneously arrived at the same solutions to. the challenges we encountered. I felt such pride and joy each time she mastered a new skill relegating me from teacher to assistant.

Several months ago, I built the legs for a glass oval coffee table top. Neither Jeanine nor I were fans of the proportions. Today, I built a second version based on a suggestion from Jeanine to mimic the style of a side table I had built using bamboo. Although I have been generally glued to coverage of the Paris Olympics this week, I have little interest in watching basketball and used those intervals to complete the new base.

Today, proved to be quite eventful. Due to heavy rain throughout the day, the pickup of the Tiny House was postponed. Weather permitting we are now scheduled for Thursday.

Just ahead of a dinner party with my oldest friend, Tom Metzold and his lovely wife Karen, we received and accepted an offer on the Road House. We purchased the house almost three years ago as a base of operations while building the River House. It proved to be a much better decision than renting during that construction period both financially and from a comfort point of view.

The prospective new owners lived in a house just 500 feet away for 13 years and we are pleased that they will be returning to the neighborhood. The closing is scheduled for September 9th.

This Common Sandpiper has been feeding near the shoreline in front of our house for several weeks. The level of the Sudbury River has been getting lower throughout the summer months exposing more of the river bank and creating a larger buffet area for our little visitor.

We received an offer on the River House today from a local couple and expect another from a family relocating from Piscataway, NJ. We have set a deadline of 6 PM tomorrow for “best and final” offers and will make our decision once we have all the paperwork in hand. Fingers crossed.

Jeanine and I did a little yard work today before tuning in to the Olympics. The Open House hosted yesterday by Jeanine has produced two interested parties that have expressed interest in making offers. The timing could not be better with the Tiny House being picked up on Tuesday by its new owner. We are also expecting a visit from a Concord Natural Resource Commission representative this week to confirm that we have satisfied the requirements to secure our Certificate of Compliance on the River House.

For the first time in my life, I encountered an entirely yellow spider. You would think that identification would be easy. My best guess is that it is a Yellow Crab Spider. Most odd is that I found it affixed to the driver’s side door of my car, a highly questionable location to be setting up shop.
The Yellow Crab Spider, scientifically known as Misumena vatia, is a species of crab spider found in North America and Europe. It is notable for its ability to change color to match its surroundings, primarily yellow or white, allowing it to camouflage effectively on flowers such as daisies and goldenrods. This spider’s front legs are longer and extend sideways, resembling a crab, which helps it ambush prey, typically pollinating insects like bees and butterflies. Females are larger than males, and after mating, they lay eggs and guard them until they hatch. The Yellow Crab Spider does not spin webs to catch prey but instead relies on its camouflage and agility to capture insects.

My cousin Heather arrived for an overnight visit this afternoon. The last time she was here, she said there was nothing more than a hole in the ground, so she witnessed the full transformation. She has recently taken up watercolor painting and we thoroughly enjoyed seeing her artwork. I not so subtly put in a request for one of her pieces. It was wonderful catching up on family news and comparing notes on retirement planning. We are scheduling an east coast seaboard road trip in late October and will visit with her again as we pass through North Carolina where she lives with her husband Burton.

After countless hours trying to locate a suitable wooden or stone top for our patio bistro table, I created a temporary solution using bluestone I salvaged from the foyer floor in the original River House. I took the square slab and cut it into an octagon. The results proved better than expected and might become our permanent solution. I still need to level the base and attach the stone, a project for a less uncomfortably humid day. Jeanine has been waiting patiently for a table on the patio where she can enjoy her morning coffee and do her daily writing. I suspect I will receive the final verdict tomorrow morning.

Missing from our patio is a small table where one might enjoy a morning coffee, dining with a friend, or working on a laptop. Jeanine and I selected the pictured metal base which arrived yesterday. We are still deciding on a natural stone or live-edge wood top. Our plan was for a 28″ diameter top but after making a cardboard mockup at that dimension we have decided that a 30″ or 32″ top will work better. Thus far, however, we have had little success locating a suitable candidate.

It never ceases to amaze me how many varieties of mushrooms there are. Pictured above is one I discovered at the Road House. The top half looks like a pie you might find in a fancy restaurant.

I have a low tolerance for tools that irritate me. When it comes to sucking up dust, my shop vac is among the best available. Even so, I hate using it because the power cord is a pain in the ass. There is no place to stow it on the machine and it is very inflexible. This morning, I decided to address both shortcomings. I replaced the power cord with a very pliable one and fixed a cord caddy to the side of the vacuum. One hour of work transformed this machine into one I will enjoy using for the rest of my life. While I was at it, I decided to upgrade the mobility base for my combination sanding machine. When I originally built it, I decided on two fixed caster and one pivoting caster. The arrangement worked but the base was not as stable as I would like. I decided to add an additional pivoting caster and to reposition the exisitng one. Another good investment of an hour.

Since completing her book, Jeanine no longer participates in the writer’s group of which she was a member for many years. She was thrilled to be invited to a party to celebrate the 90th birthday of one member and the 70th of another. To resolve a scheduling conflict, she offered to have the party at our house. I was evicted for the evening and decided to have dinner at a sports bar where I watched coverage of the Olympics.

Pictured below is the same group celebrating a birthday in our Mattison Dr. home back in 2017.

Kyle hosted a barbecue for Erica and Lily on the last day of their visit to Massachusetts. We enjoyed several rounds of bocce, the newly introduced Olympic sport of boyfriend lifting, and a tour of his patio project that is rapidly approaching completion. Tomorrow, they leave for Vermont where they will spend several days visiting with Jeanine’s sister, Susan.