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[capewind]

Well, I would say this gives a new defination to "hi neighbor" LOL. That is just too funny. I still smile and look at that cottage when I go down that road. Those first days of true independence LOL. So long ago. My youngest is almost to the age I was when I rented it LOL.

Since you will meet hubby, I am not going to address the UV/filter issues here. Will just have you talk to him. One of the reasons I joined this group was to learn more, without driving him nuts. There are a lot of awesome folks here who are very patient and will help fill in any gaps you have, and teach you so much more through their experiences.

Aside from grasses/sedges, which I am still in need of, what are you looking for in plants? I can give you a few starts. A lot of my plants are young, but can always share some. Two group members were also kind enough to share some of their plants with me too ... Hubby just said something to me this morning that I should pot up some of the parrots feather to post to Craigslist. I have a whole kiddie pool full of it ... Couldnt believe CG wanted $10 for a 3-4" pot with 3 wimpy branches in it. I figure I'll STUFF a few pots, and offer them for $5 ... I need to mail some out to a friend, but I really have a lot of it. If you like parrots feather, I can give you your hearts content of that ... Dont buy any lilies either unless you want tropicals ... hubby has 6 colors of hardies, just need to wait for them to bloom to know which is which .. he has 16 pots going, and all of them will need dividing at some point this spring/summer ... CG wants and arm & a leg for them ...

I can give you some of the following ... Water celery, Curlie Mint, Mare's Tail, Pickerel Weed (got from a group member, so it is just taking off now), and Water Clover (got from another member, planted some, and still have some in the window - this is really young, but grows fast) ... Water Cress (you wont find this in the nursery - easy to grow) ... and in a few weeks, some pennywart (received from a member, and it is just taking hold, so need to wait a bit to take some) ... Let me know if you are interested in any.

Your MIL is over towards the Yarmouth line ... We're on the other side of town towards West Dennis Beach and the Harwich line. Throwing out the names of our little towns makes it sound far away LOL. Before the tourist traffic gets here, I'd say from my door to yours is about 15 minutes. So not ready for terrorist (tourist) season to begin! Memorial Day is almost here. So much for the peace of our little island (sigh)...

I'll PM you my phone number. It shouldnt take long to hook up.

 

[Big Lou]

Sometimes you never know who you are going to run into. While on an island getaway we found ourselves standing beside two of Cathy's childhood neighbors as we were entering the airport for our return flight. She had not seen them for decades. It was a vary happy moment for my sweetie.

( little umbrella in my drink smile )

 

[capewind]

It is really funny here. Our little island really is a closed population (after you discount the tourists and seasonal property owners) ... In the winter, we turn into ghost towns. Everyone seems to be a friend of a friend, if you are not already friends LOL...

Take the man who came unannounced Tuesday for fish .. He went to the feed store to get PEACOCK FOOD ... He was having a general conversation with the clerk (we've known her for years) about his lack of satisfaction with getting pond fish ... she tells him something along the lines of "so and so has fish for sale" ... the store owner didnt have our phone number (we did a lot of business with his father who has passed, but knows us well enough to know where all my kids work) gave him directions here ... after chatting with him, we have friends in common ...

A couple months ago, I was selling a tv on craigslist ... sold it ... hit it off with the buyer ... turned out friends in common ... now just a couple weeks ago, an employee/friend ran into an old friend, and in the course of conversation told him who he worked for ... His buddy tells him he bought a tv from us and how he's been meaning to pop over with some beer LOL.

I am really looking forward to meeting Shard. I literally drive 25 mph by her house about once a week or so. She doesnt live on a main road, but part of a neighborhood. I take her road as a short cut LOL.

 

[sissy]

Shame on you adding traffic to her road cape :cheerful: I used to get that in Nj I lived on Old Post RD and people used it as a short cut between RT 1 and Woodbridge Ave .Speed was 25 and those people would do 40 mph .

 

[capewind]

Shhhh.... I'll hope Shard didnt live on that road 25 years ago when I rented that house ... I and friends did a LOT more than 25 mph back then LOL ... Even before I rented that house, we had lived the next road over (Sudbury Ln) ... Her road was lower ... even on a 10 speed (bike LOL), you'd start at the top of the hill, buzz around the corner and be cranking by the time you made it to her house at the start of the straightaway LOL.

I also think Shard understands why I cut through that neighborhood ... We truly only have one main road that runs this side of the Cape, you have to take the shortcuts or get frustrated either with the seasonal traffic, or the morons who cant drive.

 

[Shard MacD]

Oh boy i do understand. So funny, neighbor. I will call you about all those wonderful plants as I am at a bit of a loss when it comes to the greens. (slightly) Have no fear we have only been here since 2002, if you might recall the original house on this lot was just a hut. More like 2 chicken coops put together. It worked out well for us while we built this place. The best reason for buying, was the land.
I did get your message and will send you my number also. Looking so forward to a meeting. If I notice someone driving by at 25 mph I'll give you a wave, actually with all those new speed bumps I'll be waving at everyone... LOL. You just have to do the short cuts, AMAP, on this sand bar in the summer. Not looking forward to that either....(sigh too)
BTW pond is clearing up, slow but sure. Haven't fed them for a week, but this afternoon they were schooling and begging, sooooo (bad momma) :dunno:

 

[capewind]

I dont remember what day it was, maybe Monday, I got behind an idiot from the rotary heading towards Centervile ... Blinker on the whole time .. Between Pitcher's and Main, on 28. the guy in front me was almost hit 3 seperate times with people trying to get out into traffic because of his damn blinker. NY tags of course. I took the cut across at Phinney's to head over towards the Yacht club, I couldnt get off of 28 fast enough LOL. I doubt a whole lot of people slow down on your road, even with those speed bumps (they are fun to bounce over LOL), so if it's either a black, or a white, Expedition going slow, wave hard, as it'll likely be me LOL. Glad to hear the pond is still clearing.

 

[Shard MacD]

Will be looking for ya... may stop you to say howdy... :regular_waving_emot

 

[Big Lou]

Hey Capewind, were you living on the Cod when "This Old House" restored a house for a wealthy couple? By the time the house was finished there may have been only a few boards used from the original house.

( I love cod smile )

Post Script: Having lived in Iceland for a year back in 1977 I ate cod and sheep cooked, smoked or dried 432 different ways! Never gave in and ate the head of a sheep. No sir! Nothing better than fresh from the boat cod. Every Saturday night starting at 10:30 pm the USO Club sold big heaping plates of fried fresh cod, homemade tatar sauce and macaroni salad for $1.25. Thank you USO.

Post Script Two: Nothing weirder than going into Reklavik to watch an American movie dubbed in French with English subtitles.

 

[capewind]

Will be looking for ya... may stop you to say howdy... :regular_waving_emot

If you happen to be out when I go by, I'll stop, but otherwise, will call ahead ... of course I may be calling from the truck at the top of the hill, but i"ll still call first LOL.

 

[capewind]

Hey Capewind, were you living on the Cod when "This Old House" restored a house for a wealthy couple? By the time the house was finished there may have been only a few boards used from the original house.

I dont know who the new host is, I dont watch the show, but a lot of locals had no use for Bob Vila. He's been on our sand bar a few times ... The rumor is the show host, and the off air person are very different.

( I love cod smile )

Post Script: Having lived in Iceland for a year back in 1977 I ate cod

I ***LOVE*** fresh Cod. We used to be able to get it fresh/free at the docks, but dont have any friends still working Cod ... I go to a place called George;s fish market. If a LOCAL doesnt instantly smile at what is in the case, he'll filet whatever amount you want off a fresh fish if he still has some. If I am desperate for Cod and he doesnt have it, I've gotten the previously frozen Alaskan Cod from the grocery store, and it soooooo not the same. FRESH Cod has a delicate buttery flavor to it ... after a couple of days, it starts to have a "fishy" taste to it. (thanks friend, now I am drooling)

and sheep cooked, smoked or dried 432 different ways!

Aside from a leg of LAMB, or an occasional lamb chop, I have never eaten sheep ... or is it called mutton??? dont remember!

Never gave in and ate the head of a sheep. No sir!

I used to get the dogs a sheep or goat head as a treat, and they were pretty creepy looking ... I cant even imagine putting it in a pot for a stock .. no thank you LOL.

Nothing better than fresh from the boat cod. Every Saturday night starting at 10:30 pm the USO Club sold big heaping plates of fried fresh cod, homemade tatar sauce and macaroni salad for $1.25. Thank you USO.

You are killing me LOL.

Post Script Two: Nothing weirder than going into Reklavik to watch an American movie dubbed in French with English subtitles.

That does sound like a weird experience. I try to avoid movies with subtitles (understand you had no choice LOL) ... although I really liked the movie Apocalypto, and would deal with the subtitles to watch that again.

 

[Big Lou]

Capewind, I was mistaken. The "This Old House" project that I thought was on Cape Cod actually took place in Nantucket.

 

[capewind]

Land mass wise, we are not a large area, and are for the most part out of land, so the options are usually renovation or tear down to build new. Both Shard and my towns (and remember, her house to mine is only 15 minutes apart, so using the word "towns" is misleading) were settled in the 1600s. We still have many period homes that people have lived in since they were built. We (locals in general) take offense when people like Bob Vila come here, and make it look like the houses being renovated were nothing more than run down shacks. Yes, some are in greater need of renovations than others, but these houses are part of our history. Many "wash-a-shores" will come here with the desire for the old world charm we still retain in some areas, and then tear down these homes so they can put in their modern designed monsters (not the standard Capes and Colonials we are known for, or the occasional Octagons still standing). We had built a large Colonial (still just a few minutes from Shard's), but sold it, to buy this property in 2000. The original house was a "bog keepers" house built in 1870. We had hoped to renovate it back to it's original features, but lost it to a fire in 2007 (gas leak), so back to a "new house". When hubby is eventually ready to retire, we will likely sell this house, and buy another historic home to renovate.

 

[sissy]

I swore when i retired no more houses to renovate ever again .I did 2 of them a bungalow that was a speak easy and a cape cod style house and now own a ranch and love it ,no more stairs for me .Not even inside stairs to the basement .I learned from the hurricane safe sight if you have a basement and interior stairs they could be killers .But you also have to make sure you are in the basement before that since you enter from outside .No hurricanes here yet since I have been here .So I guess you need to weigh your options on that one .Most here do not have basements .

 

[capewind]

To me, even with the headaches, remodeling is FUN ... but I am coming from the point of view of drawing full working blueprints as a hobby since I was a kid. Not counting the projects here and there that I pick up as a GC (general contractor), We've purchased three homes that we remodeled and flipped, and built two houses (flipped one, living in the other).

A lot of the old homes here (1600s-early 1900s) did not have basements, nor even concrete slabs. Balloon construction methods were used (like a cross breed between post and beam, and modern framing) .. timbers were sunk into the ground at the corners to hold the joists off the ground (extended to the ceiling level of the first floor). To help with appearances, as well as drafts, from ground level to the joists, was simply stacked rocks, later motared rocks, then later still, bricks ...

Our house that was built in 1870 had an addition added in the 1950s, which was sort of a basement. It was made of cinder blocks, and you accessed it from the bathroom LOL... the original structure had a "round room" made out of bricks, that you accessed from a trap door in a closet (under the stairs) ... One of the things hubby does in the winter is putting foundations UNDER existing houses.

This is a typical "foundation" from the 1930-1950s...