Saturday, October 10, 2015

First FUNdraiser

So we had our first FUNdraiser a few weeks back at the castle to support the Fire and Ice Festival in Tupper Lake. Andy decided it would be a good time for he, Maria, and I to finish up a bunch of final details before the party started on Saturday. 
Maria made fabric tabs to hang this painting from and so we took it down for her to sew them on
and then we had to set the scaffolding up, and ladder, for andy to dangerously rehang the painting with the witches broom.
the new apolstered couch looks AWESOME in the fundgeon. and it is pretty comfy.
the artillery
spear collection
                                 Andy put a new rope on great hall staircase. Safety first
                         The big window off the great hall, on back of castle now has a small balcony
                           Andy has , what he calls, his garage, in the back od the castle now.
There's new pebble and concrete border around the perimeter to prevent people from getting too close to walls.
                         Andy up high again on another ladder changing all the light bulbs out.
                                    Kerosene pots line the walk to the entrance for our guest.
We couldn;t find any nice fall flowers to buy for fountain, so Maria went au naturale and made this nice display from things she found around the castle grounds.
A Queens welcome
    and the pary begins, live music and all
      People enjoying the food and drinks, provided by Well Dressed Foods, in the Fundgeon.
                               The ladies in the Queen's bathroom looking out at the party
    Maria, the real and only queen of the castle, sitting in the queen's room talking with guests.
Had to keep people off the roof as the parapet walls are not done, safety first, so we lied about having a dragon.
                                                          It was a full, fun house/castle!
                             The queen reading off the door prizes and performing the live auction.
                   Ben and Jay were awesome live music, wish I could have sat and listened more.
Thank you all for coming and for being so welcoming to us new comers and for supporting the Fire and Ice Festival

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Parapet Wall

So the Pareapet wall was designed and built off site @ Yantch Concrete in Auburn, NY. They are 2 ft. thick, 4 ft. high, and 7 1/2 ft. long. Inside is 150lbs. worth high strength steel, 3/8 in thick. Outside is coated with a fiberglass mesh and finished with a thin shell concrete.

The man from Harlow Crane came from Lake Placid and said he had actually been at the site with Ed, three to four times previously when Ed first started construction.



All the pieces were lifted to the roof in three hours, Brian is wondering where the next one will go.
Ok, so funny story. The pieces were brought up on two trucks. The second truck driver called the first truck driver and said,  "you should pull over". 
The first truck driver said, "why"
The second truck driver said, "because you just lost a section back here". 
Yup, one of the piece came off the truck, going 65 mph, and just needed minor aesthetic repair. 
Its Strong! 

and the new view of the castle with Parapet Wall completes the current look of the castle.
The guys got them all installed by the end of the day.
                                                               Very stately I would say


Thursday, September 3, 2015




So this great group of woman are my BREAST friends, yes, you read that right. We were brought together 7 years ago by breast cancer via introductions on social media, all connected by Yvonne(the beauty in white). We spanned New York State geographically, but in those sleepless nights of surgeries, recovery, chemo and radiation,  these ladies were always there and knew exactly what I was feeling and what to say. We are Breast friends, but there is not a real breast between us! What there is however is alot of life and appreciation for it.
We try every year to get together and this year we invaded Leary Castle.  I was too busy being the hostess, and drinking, to take pictures, but Danielle, the lovely lady on right, took a bunch of us and the castle. Thought it would be fun to see the castle through a newbies eyes, so click on this link and enjoy and thanks to Dani for the very creative perspective.

http://www.snapfish.com/snapfish/shareethumbnailshare/AlbumID=122753814327/albumcount=1/p=447811441156423820/l=7302239022/g=14084177022/cobrandOid=1000/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/otsc=SYE/otsi=SAER/first_visit=true/pns/snapfish/share/p=447811441156423820/l=7302239022/g=14084177022/cobrandOid=1000/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/otsc=SYE/otsi=SAER

The parapet Wall  for the roof is almost completed off sight and will be delivered and installed in 2 weeks, here's a section

and who's coming to the Fundraiser?

Sunday, August 16, 2015

June/July 2015 Update

 
This is how the castle will look when the 20 foot tower gets done, Andy did alittle photoshopping. Plan on tower being delivered in 2 months. It is being built right now in Auburn, NY, and when completed, it will be shipped to Tupper and lifted on to the top of the castle. That will make for a good video.

 Our Dear friend Maria, the seamstress of these beautiful bed curtains and who you have also seen plenty of times hard at work at castle in previous posts, is also a queen! Yes, I have competition, but it really isn't even close, cause she is Da Bomb! SHe played Queen Elizabeth @ the Sterling Renaissance Festival for 20 yrs.
                      Here is Queen Elizabeth now, with the Spanish Princess, for a little photo shoot we did.
 These two dears are currently working on creating/directing a  special Renaissance Weekend we will be hosting next year. We'll keep you informed of the details.
                                                             Knock, Knock, Who's there?
                                                    It is I, the Spanish Princess, me Lady
                                             Ohhh, and now the Pirate Wench is visiting too
                                        You Never know who you will find in the stairwell.
 So, Andy has been going to the castle the past two weekends and getting the last of the interior details designed and worked out with Brian and this week we were up too for my parents's 50th wedding anniversary & here's where we are at.
                          The Fireplace is underway and the Lions are in their new home.
 This is a special clock Mr. Bush restored for us and offered as a gift in return for many a stay at the castle this past summer while he was working @ the boy scout camp.
 A big, renovated old chair found its way to the King's room where the windows to the balcony's are all done.
                                                 The view as you relax on the Queen's bed.
                                        This shield found its place on the back on this chair.
                                  Andy taking advantage of the window seat and the light breeze
                                                     The Fungeon with the new gate
                                                   Lots of chains and games in the Fungeon.
                                 Swords, crossbows, bows and arrows are waiting to be used
                                                                      Backdoor
                                                 What will soon be the Pool Table room
                                                        Entrance to Great Hall stairway
                         The shield Andy designed for Rex a few Christmas's ago and  Sir Edward
                                    So many Ram's heads, what will Andy do with these????
                                    The stairs to Great Hall are lined with lots of interesting finds
                                                                      The Lion King
                                                   The Screening room in the Fungeon
                                                   Here's the Balcony's off the King's room
                                             Yes, you can stand on them and greet the peasants
                                  Looking back at castle from the walk to the lower pond.
                                                        Wet Dog chasing bone into pond
                                                             He's a fierce one!