In addition to writing posts about the history of the house and the steps we’re taking to renovate it, I’m also going to write periodic posts explaining how I do things. Here I’m going to go through how I did some of the door framing, focusing on the downstairs bathroom. […]
On Thompson Farm
Bringing in the Water
Our First Water The house had no water. For the summer, we figured we would run over to my mother-in-law’s cottage a few times a week to fill up about a dozen jugs with water at a time. It was an eye-opener to discover just how much we required, even […]
A Tale of Two Chimneys
This is a story of removing one chimney and restoring another. It was the best of times,it was the worst of times,it was the age of wisdom,it was the age of foolishness,it was the epoch of belief,it was the epoch of incredulity,it was the season of Light,it was the season […]
Where We Put Our Energy
Global warming and climate change have led Devon and me to think hard about how to reduce the long-term environmental impact of renovating and then living in the house. This we take to be a part of our stewardship of this land and its waterway. We want to manage our […]
From Vision to Plans
gut, n.//Pronunciation: Brit. /ɡʌt/, U.S. /ɡət/ Forms: OE plural guttas, ME gotte, ME–16 gutte, ME gowt, gute, ME–17 gutt, ME– gut.//Etymology: *guttu- ( < pre-Germanic *ghudnú- ), < the root of Gothic giutan , Old High German gioȥȥan (Gothic gieszen), Old English géotan to pour. 2a. To clear out the […]
Statue in the Stone: Prentice Hammond, Jr. (2007-2020)
“Ogni blocco di pietra ha una statua dentro di sé ed è compito dello scultore scoprirla.” (Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it.) – Michelangelo Michael Agnelli, the owner prior to Prentice Hammond, Jr., had been unable […]
Making Camp
Where We Started Out Prentice Hammond, his wife Deb, and his brother, had done a thorough job of prepping the house for renovation. Some electrical wiring remained, so that meant we would have power. But the house was also fully gutted, with no plumbing, heating or cooling, or insulation. Some of […]
Following Nathaniel: The History of a House
When we bought this house, we knew only that it had stayed in the Thompson family, that it had been a working farm into the early 20th century, and that Prentice Hammond—from whom we bought it at the end of 2019—had taken it on in 2007 so that a seriously […]
Nathaniel Thompson’s Farm
In memory of Nathaniel Thompson, on the 235th anniversary of his death (May 29, 1726 – June 25, 1785) The house on Thompson’s Farm stands on lands (N’dakinna) originally occupied by the Abenaki / Abénaquis (People of the Dawnland) of the Wabanaki Confederacy (Dawnland Confederacy). Yet, as blogger Janice Brown […]