Day 17 – Cold again, 39 degrees this morning at 6:45, partly cloudy. Chris already got back to us with the answers to a couple of questions we had, some references, and as requested, a sample of his contract for us to review. Another good thing about Chris, he’s always gotten back to us quickly, whereas several of the contractors have yet to even submit a preliminary draft estimate. Oh, and guess what? We have again made a few more changes to our home plan. We’ve had several requests that we share the home plan on the blog. Thank you for your interest! Once we’re relatively sure we’ve got it finally together, we will do so. I mean, at some point, we’ve got to stop, right? Grin.
Fall 2020
Monday, Sept. 14, 2020
Day 16 – It was cloudy & 62 degrees this morning at 6:45. We’ve spent a lot of time thinking about & discussing Karl & Chris, our top choices for general contractor. This morning we decided we were leaning slightly towards Chris Goodwin. We’ll be asking both of them for references later today.
Sunday, Sept. 13, 2020
Day 15 – 7 a.m., sunny and 42 degrees. Reeking with garlic from last night’s pizza, we met with Karl Rossi this morning. Poor guy. He was really good, so now we have two favorites that are hands-down the standouts. It will be really tough to decide which to use. We’ve now talked to six of the eight contractors we contacted when we got here. If the two remaining contractors did get back to us, we can’t imagine they’d be as impressive as Karl Rossi and Chris Goodwin were. Hopefully, we’re finished with the interviewing. Continue reading
Saturday, Sept. 12, 2020
Day 14 – We were cold this morning when we woke up, and surprised to see that it was 37 degrees outside. We hadn’t left the heat on when we went to bed; pretty cold inside! 6:30 a.m., clear & sunny. Rob saw a seal in the harbor this morning just below where he was sitting at cliff’s edge. Both the seal & the temperature were a surprised.
Harbor Seal, Cliff Haven, ME
Friday, Sept. 11, 2020
9/11, almost 20 years later, brings back memories…….and how will 2020 be remembered 20 years from now?
Day 13 – Back to the daily stuff here: 6:30 a.m., 53 degrees, breezy & cool. Rob took a walk this morning checking out all the roof lines he could find. At 10 a.m. Chris Goodwin of Goodwin Carpentry out of Pembroke came by. After looking at “the package” Rob had printed out, he took a walk around the site & we talked about the project. Chris came with very high recommendations. We were impressed with him. He will get back to us with an estimate. We hope he comes in with something that works for us.
Thursday, Sept. 10, 2020
ZONING BOARD MEETING.
Day 12 – 7 a.m., 58 degrees, foggy. Last night Chris Goodwin of Goodwin Carpentry out of Pembroke returned our call. We’d really hoped that Chris would call back & could fit us in. He’d been highly recommended by Alan, the head of GO Logic, one of the passive homes we’d considered first – a really good company, but we couldn’t afford them. He’d said that Chris did such great work on the fairly new building that was built at the Cobscook Learning Center. We’ll be meeting with Chris tomorrow.
Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2020
Day 10 – At 6:30 a.m. it was 54 degrees & foggy again. This time the fog lifted by 10 a.m. We called all eight of the contractors we’d contacted from New York, leaving all but one a message letting them know we were in town & wanted to meet with them. Now the game of phone tag begins. We’ll know soon who is interested in our project.
Monday, Sept. 7, 2020
Day 9 – 51 degrees, 7 a.m., FOGGY. And it stayed foggy until close to 4 p.m. There goes the view! LOL. We’d forgotten about the fog since it was so beautiful & clear here yesterday. It’s usually foggy much of the time we’re here; the day we arrived was somewhat of a shock. Well, fog has its own charms, but I wished we could see the water. It only got to 58 degrees.
Sunday, Sept. 6, 2020
TRAVEL DAY – ON TO OUR LAND.
Day 8 – It was 49 degrees this morning at 6:30 a.m. & partly cloudy. We’re looking forward to getting to the land. The last time we were there it was mid-November. We think our land is the best campground we’ve ever been to. Grin.
Saturday, Sept. 5, 2020
SMOKE GETS IN YOUR EYES, AND THROAT, AND LUNGS.
Day 7 – It was sunny & breezy, 56 degrees, at 7 a.m. this morning. We went in to Belfast to pick up sandwiches for lunch, planning to take them with us on a long drive to try & get more house ideas. First we went to Chase’s Daily. This place is a favorite of the locals & tourists, known for its sandwiches & baked goods; the line was clear around the block. It must be good! We didn’t want to wait in line, COVID & all. Instead we drove to another sandwich place we’d read about, Bell the Cat, also a town favorite. Grabbed a couple of sandwiches and headed east to Unity, looking at houses along the way.