2014 in Review

2014 has been an incredibly productive year, though unfortunately much of it was spent gallivanting around the world and not at our quaint little white house. In March, Jacob and I went to the UK to visit our friend in Liverpool, drink scotch in the Highlands, and drop in on our host family from 2010. It was an incredible two weeks filled with haggis and adventure. Only a few weeks after our return, we packed our bags for Halifax to see City and Colour perform his limited Canadian tour. Shortly thereafter, we spent a long weekend with a dear friend on Cape Cod where she was working on a whale watching boat.

(left to right: Jacob & Megan in Liverpool; Myself at The Famous Grouse distillery in Scotland; Our friend Kate holding a live horseshoe crab in Cape Cod)

We weren't home for very long before we were off again on a long weekend to Bar Harbor with my in-laws, and then to Penobscot with our friends the following weekend for Labor Day Weekend. This year was a record-high for us in terms of domestic trips, camping, and overall non-stop hijinx. Reserving our accommodations through Airbnb helped us save a fortune when we weren't staying with friends along the way.

(left to right: Halifax; Bar Harbor; Penobscot)

When I went back to school in the fall to finish up my final semester, productivity on household projects seemed impossible. It was challenging to take so many high level courses at once, and one night I just snapped. In the middle of translating, I walked into our kitchen and started to peel the wallpaper, planning a redesign of the whole room out loud. The kitchen is currently in shambles, closely resembling the "murder room" when we first moved in. However, it is the first project I plan to finish in 2015, and I cannot wait for the big reveal. As with our other projects, the kitchen project was put on hiatus while Jacob and I traveled to Baltimore to attend a conference, celebrate Thanksgiving with my family the following week, and pop up to Quebec City a few days later for our second City & Colour show of the year. This final show represented 2014 perfectly, and the long weekend we spent in QC was absolutely what I needed to make the final push through finals.  

(left to right: yoga in the mountains of New Hampshire; the botanical gardens in Washington, DC; snowy streets in Quebec City)

Now that 2014 is coming to a close, and we have no outrageous plans for 2015, I am finally feeling ready to cozy up for the winter in Bath. With all of this time on my hands, I presume we will be able to finish some of these projects! I hope you will join us for the journey. 

Happy New Year!

More Adventures in Insulation

In March, Efficiency Maine came by and gave our house "a hat & socks treatment," as they say. The process of insulating the house was seamless, the crew was wonderful, and we made some great connections out of it- even if by accident.

When the lead contractor of our project came by the house to go over the work plan and be sure that everything in the workplace was safe and up to code, it was discovered that 90% of the work that was supposed to be completed as a condition of our offer on the house was not actually completed. The asbestos around our chimney had not fully been sealed, and we had some serious wiring issues. Despite the agreement to remove all knob and tube wiring from the house, we still had live knob and tube exposed in the attic, and our exposed junction box had not been covered. Luckily, the electrician for our project was already intending to arrive on Monday to begin installing the bathroom fan and would be able to give us some answers on the severity of the problems.

As he began pulling down light fixtures and removing face plates it became quite clear that the electricity situation in our house was not only ancient, but not up to code. This is why rewiring the house became our new priority. We worked with Robert to come up with a plan that we could chip away at over time, with every project conveniently priced out.

Rather than being an inconvenience, every project thus far has resulted in great benefits. When we had the bathroom fan installed, it was discovered that the lighting in the room was unsafe. However, this meant that instead of having a barely functioning pull cord, we have a fancy double light switch! When we had Robert come to look at the hallway light, he fixed the broken overhead lamp in our dining room that hadn't been properly connected. We still have a few projects to get up to code, but there is no question we will be calling Robert to have them done!

Now that it is December, we have been feeling the benefits of our fancy new insulation. Our house stays warmer longer, we have been saving money on oil, and despite the fact that our ancient windows are still rather drafty, I can sit in my living room without a coat on!