I am slightly behind because I unexpectedly ended up working last Sunday and didn’t have time to put up a post. I am gulping down coffee this morning because we had an absolute cracking large thunderstorm last night. Lots of thunderbolts – I am pretty sure that at least one fell nearby because the was … Continue reading “Big August ’16 photo update on the house progress – Post 1 – site work”
I am slightly behind because I unexpectedly ended up working last Sunday and didn’t have time to put up a post. I am gulping down coffee this morning because we had an absolute cracking large thunderstorm last night. Lots of thunderbolts – I am pretty sure that at least one fell nearby because the was barely a quarter second or less difference between the bolt and the thunder. No damage to the house or electronics fortunately
At my house, a ton of very visible stuff has been done – so lots and lots of pictures! We are not quite complete with some plumbing, electrical and lighting still to do. But lots and lots of site work.
The site guy Paul has is an absolute artist – he has done a fabulous job. I have already gotten feedback from neighbors who have commented on how nicely the finished driveway has come out. A smooth build up of layers, topped off with gravel (crush-and-run?). He added in a cross driveway water drain in case it gets REALLY wet and very, very nicely built up the whole thing. Apparently in a wet winter, the end of where my driveway is now historically was a puddle of epic proportions. I think that we have alleviated this pretty well. Such a clean job – nice!
The propane tanks are now in and mounted, with a buried line to the generator. The kitchen backsplash is installed and looks great. The island overhead lighting system is mostly done – just pending the installation of the LED lights. The second in floor electrical outlet is roughed in too. Still to come is the toilet in the master bath. We are getting close as the final items tick off
Today (Sunday 7/31/16) is cool and rainy – steady light rain. A definite change of pace from a very dry June and July. The grass here at my parent’s place is definitely looking California at the moment – dry and burnt golden. Yesterday was quite a bit warmer and humid, though not scorching hot. I … Continue reading “Prep for the site work & variable weather in Carlisle”
Today (Sunday 7/31/16) is cool and rainy – steady light rain. A definite change of pace from a very dry June and July. The grass here at my parent’s place is definitely looking California at the moment – dry and burnt golden.
Yesterday was quite a bit warmer and humid, though not scorching hot. I took the opportunity to get the bush hog Billy Goat machine out and knock down the brush that had sprung back up along along the property edges since John Bakewell took it out last year. Let me just say that young Bittersweet vines are tenacious, tough and very entangling. At one point I got the machine stuck because so many vines were wrapping around us. It took me 5 minutes to reverse out! But it looks much better now. Still a lot to do this summer along all the edges of the lower field (including along that side of the brook).
My dad and I have been batting around ideas for mechanical attachments for tractors – we have yet find the ‘perfect’ machinery for what we are looking for – one of the key things is able to do the pond banks – which are just a bit too steeply sloped and uneven for good walk behind equipment. I have started to think about sickle bars powered by a rear mounted PTO setup like this. They can usually provide a wide range of angles – from 90 degree vertical up to negative 75 degrees down.
On the house front:
The new stainless steel back splash arrived and we delivered it to the house on Saturday. When I ordered the original piece, I did the math conversion in my head and I apparently made a mistake – it ended up being slightly too small. Oh well – it wasn’t too expensive. Hopefully the new piece fits properly!
Paul has installed fully the over head lighting panel system that will be above the island – a sample stainless panel and LED light is installed and it looks REALLY good.
Site work hopefully will be happening in the week coming up. Gravel is onsite for the finish of the grade on the driveway I would guess.
Hello all and happy 4th of July! I am enjoying a mellow holiday weekend in Carlisle. The weather is very nice (low eighties with a fair amount of wind so it is very pleasant outside). It has been dry this spring so it actually feels like August. I and my parent’s are still shaking off … Continue reading “Happy 4th of July, 2016”
Hello all and happy 4th of July!
I am enjoying a mellow holiday weekend in Carlisle. The weather is very nice (low eighties with a fair amount of wind so it is very pleasant outside). It has been dry this spring so it actually feels like August. I and my parent’s are still shaking off at various speeds the spring cold/flu we caught. It is annoyingly long lived.
Did some mowing up along the stone walls along the street yesterday and went over to take a look at the house. Things there are progressing visibly. The rear steps have railings now but I forgot to take a picture of them. On the interior, the back splash materials arrived and Paul has mocked up the placement of the overhead lighting system for the island. Soon apparently the site guy will be onsite to finish the grading and do hydro-seeding. Maybe as soon as next week?
Below are some pictures of Old Home Day from last week that I pulled down from the Carlisle Mosquito online. Looks like a fun time – next year I will be able to walk over and not have to deal with parking problems – so I will probably go.
I am feeling quite a bit better this weekend than last weekend – though I still have a bit of a chest cough from having the flu at the beginning of the month. So forward !
I met Paul and his son Tim at the house yesterday and we took care a lot of final detail things. We took measurements and located stuff into position
The propane tank position was laid out – approximately 15′ from the generator towards the septic field in a generally flat area. They are going to put in a concrete pad and trench a line. It will generally be parallel to the septic line from the house to the septic tank. This will have three main advantages in my mind.
It will be on the side of the garage and out of harms way from falling ice and junk from the slope of the roof during the winter
The location will make it easy for filling/servicing of the tank by the propane company
it is far enough away that it will allow for easy mechanized access to the generator in case we need to remove/replace it in the future
The house number placement was modeled. We held it up in a couple different ways and decided on a spot near the exterior light at the foot of the entry ramp/patio and the carport
We came up with measurements for the height of the light fixture over the island (7′ 6″ – which is basically the top of the cabinets as well – so it will line up with that – though we did not measure this till the end – thereby validating our eyeball “what looks good here” process)
We discussed the power fixtures that are in the center of the floor in the living room that Tim Hebert came up with – which are fantastic. I will take photos of those when they are fully installed
Finally we spent a lot of time discussing and measuring for the sink back splash. We decided on a 3 piece stainless steel backs splash in the texture of SANDTEX from Commerce Metals (scroll down the page at Commerce to see sandtex). The main area directly behind the sink will cover the full area from the counter up to the bottom of the cabinets and shelves. The areas to the left and right will only be 6 inches high (so we have clearance under the electrical outlets, light switches etc…). I will order this online today
6″ by 3 feet,1 inch and 5/16 of an inch
35 and 3/4″ by 2 feet 2 inches and 1/8 of an inch
6″ by 2 feet 11 inches and 7/8th inches
Paul is also thinking about using sheets of this same stainless steel in the overhead lighting structure for the island.
Yesterday was Carlisle Old Home day (website here. 2016 program here). Old Home Day is the local Independence Day celebration – held off cycle from the official holiday of July 4th so that people can travel “Home” to participate in the celebrations from their old home town and also on the official holiday. Carlisle historically has only celebrated on Old Home Day as far as I can recall – there are no firework’s shows or parades on Independence Day. Below – copied from the Carlisle OHD website:
ORIGINS OF OLD HOME DAY Researched and written by Al Peckham At the annual town meeting 85 years ago, on February 1, 1909, Article 15, “To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate the sum of one hundred dollars for Old Home Week and to appoint an Old Home Week Committee to act thereon.” The article failed to pass.But in 1912 the first old home celebration was held for one day on July 31, 1912, according to Ruth Wilkins Hollis’ record, “It was a beautiful summer day, with the Town Flag flying on the Common and the Soldiers’ Monument in the Square decorated with flags and flowers.”
That was 82 years ago. The next year a Carlisle Old Home Day Association was formed. Held annually until 1915, the fifth event was held four years later after World War I on September 1, 1919, including a reception for Carlisle soldiers and sailors returning from war service. The parade that day included most of the twenty World War I veterans and a few Civil War veterans.
It is not clear how many such days were celebrated between 1919 and 1975; there were none for several years. But on Labor Day, September 3, 1934, Old Home Day was held by the Carlisle Old Home Day Association, which had its beginnings in 1913. This was in the depths of the Great Depression.
The next event is said to have been held on Labor Day, September 2, 1946, and was a welcome home event for World War II veterans, to whom Certificates of Appreciation were given.
Edmund L. French printed the programs through all these years until his death in 1982.
After another lapse, Mrs. Mary Sleeper, now of Rivercrest in Concord, NH revived the customs with a local committee in 1967 as a Fourth of July happening.
The enthusiasm for the Old Home Day event heightened in the mid-1970s, largely because of the bicentennial, it has continued consistently during these past three decades. In 1974, the late Andrew L. Brown chaired the event. An honored guest that year was Alfred M. Worden [Apollo Astronaut] of the Apollo 15 flight, and a friend and guest of Dave and Florence Reed.
As I was driving over to met Paul and Tim (at around 8:00am) I drove through the center of town and through the tail end of the road running race. When we wrapped up, I decided that I would avoid going back through the center – so I headed out towards the Concord River with the intent of looping around. I got distracted on the way by the sign for Foss Farm conservation land as I had not been there in several years. I was thinking about the old Thuderbridge Musters held on Foss Farm around the Bicentennial in the 60’s and 70’s. Mr. Foss, before he sold the land to the Carlisle Conservation Commission, allowed a LOT of varied use of his land, including the Colonial Minutemen Historical Musters. I remember these vividly and being a lot of fun for a kid. Below is an excerpt from the Carlisle the 2008 report on Foss Farm done by the Land Stewardship sub-committee of the main Commission (pages 28 and 29)
The first Annual Colonial Muster and Field Day at Foss Farm was held in September, 1967 (prior to the Town’s purchase of the land), with the Bedford Minute Men as hosts. Many attendees wore Colonial costume and a group marched from as far away as Charlestown. There were fife and drum drills, musket contests, and cannon firing. The day ended with a mock battle between the Redcoats and the Minute Men. This event became known as the Thunderbridge Muster (18) and was often held in subsequent years at Foss Farm, hosted by Carlisle’s Colonial Minutemen. Activities expanded to include a wide variety of events, including living history displays of Colonial crafts, oven baking, weapons, and music (19) The event was continued through the late 1970’s but was discontinued by the early 1980’s due to lack of interest. In its heyday, the event was enthusiastically attended and some re-enacting participants apparently refused to leave, camping overnight at Foss, firing shots into the evening, and leaving beer cans about for horrified residents to find in the morning. However, the event organizers always cleaned up.
(18)The term “Thunderbridge” refers to the iron and plank suspension bridge built in 1893 over the Carlisle half of the Concord River on what is now Route 225, replacing the bridge that was originally built around 1795 (Bull, Sydney A., History of the Town of Carlisle, Massachusetts. 1754-1920, The Murray Printing Company, Cambridge, MA, 1920; Carlisle Historical Society, Images of America: Carlisle, Arcadia Publishing, 2005. The term refers to the noise made when traveling over the bridge. The Heald House of the Carlisle Historical Society has an undated painting by Ed French of the “Thunderbridge”. (19) Forsberg, Charlie, personal communication, 2008; Town Files – Foss Farm, Carlisle Town Hall, Carlisle, MA.
As I recall, there were a lot of demonstrations and contests like tomahawk throwing, musketry and a very long firing line of cannon. The cannon shooting contests were crazy because they fired coffee cans filled with concrete at targets down field – the woods on the other side of the field were cleared and closed – but the Concord River was not. My Dad recalls reports from canoeists on the river of the shot visibly skipping across the river as they paddled by. Yikes! Fortunately no serious injuries that I can recall. I tried finding some pictures online and I was not able to – however, I did find a fascinating someone on Youtube who is a historical re-enactor who records from the first person point of view re-enacted battles. Below is a re-enactment at Allaire Village – great detail on reloading the gun, marching, fixing bayonets and at the end, if you listen closely, comparisons of the battle field horns to Boromir’s Horn of Gondor!
Good morning – A couple of days till the summer solstice and summer is definitely here. I was down and out last weekend due to the flu – so this is a bit of a catch up post, I didn’t feel very creative last week! Things are moving into the home stretch at the house … Continue reading “Summer Solstice is right around the corner”
Good morning – A couple of days till the summer solstice and summer is definitely here.
I was down and out last weekend due to the flu – so this is a bit of a catch up post, I didn’t feel very creative last week!
Things are moving into the home stretch at the house – the Carlisle Tax Assessor sent me a letter with a form to fill out (by month end) indicating how many bits and pieces are complete on the house (septic, foundation, insulation…). The town’s fiscal year starts in July I think and they want to start collecting more taxes I suppose. I am going to leave a copy of the form with Paul to fill out – it is basic YES/NO – is this complete or not type stuff.
Speaking of which, detail work is continuing and is very coordination/schedule driven I think. The flooring guys came in and did a 2nd coat on the floor – which looks fantastic. The lighting fixture for over the island is coming together – the beechwood box is onsite and also looks REALLY good. Diane, my project manager at Deck House, noted to me that Paul is really good with built-ins when we were introduced and it is definitely true – you rock AND roll Paul!
Bathrooms are coming along and very close to finished. I also saw this weekend that the last two exterior light fixtures from Hubbarton Forge appear to be onsite in their boxes – waiting for installation.
Things I still need to do but have been backlogged (at work, this is the busiest time of the year for us. Friday was a big push and month end coming up. All went well this week)
Get the stone carver lined up to carve the house number on the granite post out by the mailboxes. I think we are going to have Acton Monument do the work – but haven’t called them yet. They appear to do mainly headstone engraving – which is obviously a lot of onsite work when adding ‘beloved spouse…” to a headstone already installed.
Get a mailbox and post installed out by Bedford Road
Get my butt in gear and get my internet equipment purchased. This is what I am looking at getting the Cradlepoint Wireless Router with a Yagi antenna – getting in touch with their Mass. sales team is challenging since we keep playing phone tag.
Get kitchen backsplash designed and ordered. I pulled measurements yesterday. I think I going with a stainless steel system from Commerce Metals online – stainless in the SANDTEX finish (scroll to the bottom) to minimize streaks. We use some aluminum foil and masking tape to mock it up and it looked really good color/texture wise on the wall.
LOTS of other stuff – but these are the critical path items at the moment.
I hope you all are enjoying your summer weekend. Now some more coffee and to plan my next San Francisco trip
More mid century stuff – I needed a number for my house, so I ordered from a company I found as an advertiser in Atomic Ranch magazine that specializes in Mid Century modern styling. I ordered my number (337) in cut stainless steel like the photo below but with the background plate in Capri Blue … Continue reading “House numbers – Mid Century style!”
More mid century stuff – I needed a number for my house, so I ordered from a company I found as an advertiser in Atomic Ranch magazine that specializes in Mid Century modern styling. I ordered my number (337) in cut stainless steel like the photo below but with the background plate in Capri Blue instead of red. I wanted something that would stand out from the orange and browns of the house – since the point is to draw the eye and provide identification. Look at the link here for the actual color
May has been a really busy month for me with a lot of travel for both work and personal. I went to California twice, visited the BNY Mellon Innovation Center in Palo Alto which was super interesting and did general work stuff in the office. Then a few days later my parents and I traveled back … Continue reading “May 2016 – a busy month”
May has been a really busy month for me with a lot of travel for both work and personal. I went to California twice, visited the BNY Mellon Innovation Center in Palo Alto which was super interesting and did general work stuff in the office. Then a few days later my parents and I traveled back to the Bay Area for my niece’s college graduation from Saint Mary’s College in Moraga. In between we installed an all flash memory storage array in the data center in Everett MA (aka – work stuff).
So lots of stuff to talk about. I will do house stuff first and then family second.
House stuff. While a lot has been going on, not all of it shows up as something to photograph. But this month, a lot of things are coming together and Paul and I are talking about wrapping things up, getting final inspection permits and the final bank payment done. Still a bit out over the horizon on the timeline, but the final pieces are coming together – and it is coming together GREAT!
My mad plan for the cantilevered island counter top, cooking & dining surface came out better than I had hoped – it looks fantastic. It is a real show piece. Other things that are done or have made progress.
Ceiling fan is installed
Sprinkler system is pretty much done, including the pump and the tank, sprinkler heads and cages
lighting is 99% installed
tile in the bathrooms is complete
Hot water heater is installed
Appliances needed for inspection are installed, including the kitchen sink. (faucets are purchased but not installed yet)
Steps from the carport to the back of the house are in progress
The window seat is installed (and man, does it work well !)
One thing that is becoming very apparent is that the math for the size and shape of the eaves done by Deck House (while we were in the design phase) was spot on the target. The amount of direct sunlight into the living room that is hitting the floor is reducing and already minimal. We designed it so there would be absolute minimal heat loading inbound from the sun as of 6/20 and maximum as of 12/20 to help with passive cooling and heating. It is working out great. So is the choice of the light tan color roof – it just doesn’t absorb much heat either vs a darker color. The house is really pretty cool even while the geothermal heat pump is not fully in use – just by basic design.
Below are some outside shots showing the stone work and a panoramic shot showing the house itself – double click on that to blow it up for details
Interior shots showing all the progress inside
Ok – on to family stuff 🙂
Going out for Margaret’s graduation was a LOT of fun even if it did involve a new hotel room almost every night (more on that later). The flight out was rather long as it was Boston to Los Angeles to San Francisco and the Airbus had a mechanical problem in Boston (dead auxiliary power generator). The Airbus needs two and carries three. After two hours of sitting on the tarmac, they decided to load more fuel, have us fly lower and take off anyway. Worked out ok but was a long tiring day. The Best Western El Rancho Inn in Millbrae is within sight of the airport and is super organized for the air traveler. I HIGHLY recommend them – nice rooms, fantastic organization and very reasonable rates. We stayed there the first night and then onto Lafayette for the next night and a very early rise for graduation. Saint Mary’s is down a single lane road – so the advice from the school and the locals was to be driving by 6:30am for the 9:20am start of commencement. That turned out to be the absolute right thing as we were able to park close instead of 2 miles away!
Due to the sporadic rain and our seats, I personally didn’t get any photos (it would have been of umbrella’s) – but the school has posted a lot of good photos here. Unfortunately Margaret was not feeling well and had a fairly high fever – sitting out in the rain for her was pretty tough but she got through it. On to grad school !
We zoomed off to Santa Rosa to visit the Santa Rosa Fohls and stayed at the Marriott Courtyard near Rail Road Square – just missing the Amgen Tour of California bike race (one of the biggest in the United States with LOTs of European Pro teams using it as prep for the the Tour de France). This was fortunate since our hotel was very close to ground zero for the circuit through downtown (3rd street). The Amgen is very fun race to watch in person and I saw it many times when it passed through SF in years past – but I was just as glad to have a near miss this year. We made a strategic decision to hang out at the hotel, have a drink in the bar, and go to bed early – which completely rejuvenated us. The next couple of days were spent hanging out with family and really fun. Of special note is the Sonoma Children’s Museum – it is pretty new but really, really, really great. Lots of indoor and outdoor things for kids 6 years and under to interact with. For the family, I will send around more photos but below is my youngest nephew Owen playing in the Choo-Choo and the museum entrance.
Other stuff:
It is the Memorial Day holiday so I thought I would include this here. I walk past the Old Granary Burial Ground in Boston everyday to the MBTA and while they always keep it up very well, Friday it was in full spruce up. All the veterans buried there had a flag and some had 2 or 3. However, Samuel Adams – patriot, rabble rouser Son of Liberty, signer of the Declaration of Independence and Governor of Massachusetts was given his due – 4 flags.
Aaaand on a final note of a very long post, my Dad and I had fun time yesterday watching BOTH the F1 Grand Prix of Monaco and the Indianapolis 500 Indy Car race. Both were exciting for different reasons. The F1 race was very wet then dried out so strategy played a lot into it and a botched tire change by Red Bull probably was the key factor for Lewis Hamilton in the Mercedes to win. The Indy 500 was very exciting with a lot of competitive cars and many lead changes. A number of cautions late turned it into a gamble of pitstops and fuel – a rookie won it sputtering in on fumes and a prayer – he had about a 1/2 lap lead and was out of gas – just coasted it around for the win. Alexander Rossi – a Californian who spent a year over in Formula 1 before joining the Indy Car series – so an experience racer, even if it was his first trip to Indianapolis. Michael Andretti’s team, through good strategy pulled off the win AND second place. Good stuff.
About 10 years ago, I was heavily involved in building out our office space in San Francisco (about 96,000 square feet). This is in a large downtown office tower and it was bare concrete floors and completely empty floor to ceiling on 4.5 floors – so about 22K square feet per floor. Our architects were … Continue reading “Building a house is like building a sand dribble castle at the beach”
About 10 years ago, I was heavily involved in building out our office space in San Francisco (about 96,000 square feet). This is in a large downtown office tower and it was bare concrete floors and completely empty floor to ceiling on 4.5 floors – so about 22K square feet per floor. Our architects were great and the space came out very nice while still being cost effective. An interesting take away I got from that experience is that EVERYTHING is a decision and those decisions build on each other – like dribbling sand at the beach to make a dribble castle. Every decision is dependent on the small little decisions that you made earlier. We are at a stage now on my house project that this is really clear
Not a whole lot has obviously happened since the last post – but things are staged for an explosion of obvious progress. Specifically, take a look at the photos below.
Blue tape is on the cabinets showing where the door pulls will be. Dribble-dribble. The I-Beam is now in place (temporarily tacked down with generic screws). Each cut, mount hole, size of the plate, the under beam mounting blocks were things that we discussed and mulled over and finally made a decision about – all oriented on how to give good leg room under the counter surface while still providing the support needed for the counter itself – and look good? Dribble-dribble. This is not a unique or an original observation obviously – but it struck me particularly yesterday when I was visiting just because there are so many decisions that have been taken but not fully put into action on display.
Things that are prepped and pending
A lot of the appliances have arrived – the dishwasher and cooktop are in the house (still in their boxes)
The door pulls are marked out
The master bath tiling looks about to start (materials are here).
Plumbing fixtures are showing up and getting prepped
Light fixtures are onsite and ready for installation
Templates have been made for the counter tops (cutouts for the sink, cooktop etc…) and the counter tops are in progress
Surface treatment (3 coats ultimately) is partially complete – the bedrooms are at 2 coats, main public area is at 1 coat
All in all – there should be a lot of good stuff show off soon – built off of all the little prep work that Paul and his team have been putting so much effort into these past few weeks. The house is looking just fantastic 🙂
It is snowing here in today but we are not supposed to get much. But it is supposed to be very windy later today – up to 58 mph gusts. My Dad was scheduled to look at some potential archaeology sites out by Worcester today – but he conferred with the rest of the group … Continue reading “Snow in April”
It is snowing here in today but we are not supposed to get much. But it is supposed to be very windy later today – up to 58 mph gusts. My Dad was scheduled to look at some potential archaeology sites out by Worcester today – but he conferred with the rest of the group yesterday and wisely called it off. There are a lot of damaged trees in the woods this year from the one storm that had really heavy snow (see pictures of storm damage in this earlier post) – there are a number of “Widow Makers” hanging around here and being out in 50+ mph winds could be quite dangerous – and uncomfortable too!
Anecdotally, my Dad has noted that one of the leading cause of death in Colonial times was being killed by falling tree limbs/widow makers. We have a theory that these are more common when trees grow without a lot of competition (lower stress, faster growth, less strength). Today, New England is a reforestation success story – I believe up until the 1990s the net generation of forest land was enormous, only recently leveling out as farming went into a steep decline here. Around our part of the state, a LOT of trees, of many different species, have been sort of falling apart for no particular good reason that we can see. The only link is that they appear to be the same general age – between 50 and 100 years old.
This would have also been common in early colonial times as the pre-contact local Indian tribes used to keep the land fairly clear for farming – but they were heavily decimated by disease early on and that activity would have slowed way down in the late 1500 and 1600’s (possibly). So similar conditions leading to similar weaker than normal trees, leading to more trees falling apart?
Potentially difficult to come up with direct evidence to support that theory – but interesting musing.
On a different subject, I was out sick for a number of days last week (feeling a bunch better now thank you!) – too much getting woken up in the middle of the night (Brussels bombing alert from work, Fire alarms) on top of a fast trip back and forth to San Francisco. However, Atlantic Industrial Models finished up the I-Beam and it has been delivered to the house. They are still working on sanding the floor but Paul can at least do final measurements for the island. Oh – and Wolfers lighting called and the special order fixtures have arrived.
I was in California last week so a bit late on posting Prior to going to San Francisco, my parent’s and I took a walk along Two Rod Road in advance of the incoming snow storm Sunday evening (still was a bit squishy). Two Rod Road heads off toward’s Concord, passing by Punkatasset hill before … Continue reading “Doings around Carlisle and house update”
I was in California last week so a bit late on posting
Prior to going to San Francisco, my parent’s and I took a walk along Two Rod Road in advance of the incoming snow storm Sunday evening (still was a bit squishy). Two Rod Road heads off toward’s Concord, passing by Punkatasset hill before making for Concord proper. We set off from the Malcolm Meadows parking area and even though it is spring time, it managed to look fairly ‘Spooky Hollow” forbidding.
According to the trail guide published here, Two Rod Road was built to service the Blood family – who settled the part of Carlisle where my new house is and they where the family that built the sawmill in 1660 that is on my property.
“Two Rod Road and Estabrook Road:
There are two roads within Estabrook Woods that connect Concord with Carlisle to the north . Two Rod Road was built about 1697 at the request of James Blood of Carlisle so that he would have a road from his house to Concord. It was built within a right-of-way between two stone walls set 33 feet (two rods) apart. In 1735, a second, better-known road was built from Concord to Carlisle, the Old Carlisle Road which became the Estabrook Road. This road, really a cart trail, was the route used by Minutemen from Carlisle and elsewhere to join the fight at Concord, April 19, 1775. It is the only known Minuteman route-of-march that remains in its original condition. “
A nice walk – but you could definitely feel the snow in the air – a raw day
Goings on at the house are exciting and picking up speed. The slate floors are all in as of the end of last week and Paul is planning on starting the sanding of the oak floors tomorrow (Monday). The slate and the tile look great. Atlantic Industrial Models was doing machine work on the I-Beam last Friday – so it should be finished Monday or Tuesday. My Dad is going to pick that up as well this week.
