So our neighbors and good friends from home, The Glowacki Family came to work at the castle this weekend. We started out the trip the way we always do, stopping at Longways Truck Stop Diner for Dinner in Watertown on the way up. It was so busy we had to sit at the counter. If you have never sat at the counter of a busy diner, you should, it is quite an experience.
While it rained the whole drive up on Friday evening, it started clearing up on Saturday. Of course Andy was at the castle working by 6:30am, preparing for us, but when we got there, we had to take pictures, take a tour, and walk the property.
DAY ONE:
that's Parker in the upper window and Phoebe in the lower one.
Then there is Michael, Helen, and Hope in these three windows.
and the whole Glowacki Family, plus Ruby on the lift. They were going for a Brady Bunch feeling.
The colors just came out this week. They were gorgeous from the roof!
Hiking up the big hill in search of the big rock.
and there it is with Phoebe and Ruby on it! Worth the trek every time.
all the kids made it up on top.
enough fun, back at the castle Andy is handing out jobs from his list.
It's an important to do list for the weekend written on a torn off piece of cardboard!
1. Move bricks from kitchen to final destination at the fireplace site.
Helen lifted this big beam all by herself!
2. Clean great room of debris from stucco work
Parker and Helen both wanted to get into some hammer drill action!
3. Move great room timber beams from center of room to end of room, out of the way. well as out of the way as these huge beams can be.
Phoebe and Hope continue the cleaning of the great room.
Rex gave Parker a ride on the lift.
4. Re-set scaffolding into place so we can hang secure new beam in place for 4th floor. I neglected to get pictures of Andy and Michael getting the new beam into place. Michael said it was very heavy and he never doubted for a minute that he and Andy would get it into place as Andy instructed.
5. Move brick from entrance to fungeon. I have handled this brick way too much and I am not moving it again!
I think Parker and Helen share my seniments on that. We did a brick brigade to transfer the brick. Michael and Rex handed us "parker loads" (3 bricks) or "the mother loads" (5-6bricks)from upstairs as Parker, Helen, and I accepted the bricks downstairs and restacked them.
The girls were keeping busy making movies and taking photos outside on the lovely fall day. Helen snapped this shot of our pretty girls!
Helen taking a moment to enjoy the scenery.
Phoebe waiting for her prince to come.
6. Move Sodus Custom House pieces into place where they will be lifted onto the walls. The pieces didn't come with the bottom portions of them, so Andy is going to design and make those. He said it is easier to measure and do this with them in their final place. I vowed never to move these pieces again either, they are darn heavy, but here we go again.
Smiling sends a message to our brain that we are happy and having fun, so I am trying to trick my brain here.
Only 1 finger was hurt in the moving of these enormous blocks, it was mine. I will be fine, thank you for your concern.
This arch will be above this door and entrance to the spiral stairs.
This double arch will be above this entrance into the uper fungeon.
7. dismantle the old cement mixer. The old cement mixer wasn't working, so we
let Rex and Jack go to town on taking it apart.
DAY TWO:
I never seem to take pictures on day two. This is the day Andy & Michael got up @ 6:30am to work on that heavy beam. no pictures as I was sleeping.
Michael, Helen, and I picked up some of the scrap metal in the mout and filled up 2 of these big black crates. Micahel loves his garbage!
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Mike Stender, tha Mason, came by with samples of stone for the turret. It was back and forth for awhile, but we finally decided on a combination of these two colors. Thanks to Boyer Septic Man for making the final call!
8. Remove the screws sticking out of the turret to ready it for insulation. Here are Michael, Parker, and Rex working on that.
9. Insulate the turret with sticky black insulation & then non sticky black insulation. That is Rex and Andy working on that.
10. Talk with reporter from Post Standard who came up to get a progress report for another story. Andy walked her through the inside, I walked her around the property. The story will run when it runs.
11. Clean up site - That would be Helen, Michael, and I doing that and we were so busy doing it, no pictures.
12. Andy stayed behind after we all left to do final measurements for windows so he can order them this week. Patti is on his butt about egtting them ordered and in! Always better to have your best friends push your husband for you!
Welcome another great fall in the Adirondacks!
