After waiting a month and a half for construction to start…
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Our rarely seen contractor is really picking up the pace. I’m starting to think he might be an elf, as we never actually catch him working.
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All the facing boards and bottom moulding are in place…
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And it won’t be long before we’re bellying up for our inaugural beverage. Ironically right after we discovered the new updates a friend and his son showed up to check the progress.
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They hadn’t been here in months and were shocked at the transformation.
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Darts were played.
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Beer was imbibed.
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And shock was expressed that still live rounds were prominently displayed.
Continuing in the if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em paradigm, I gifted the husband some nice new pool sticks.
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Canadian maple of various colors and weights.
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I also gathered some of the military patches he’s had stuck in his drawer for years.
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I’m trying to think of some way to display them… you know, a way that doesn’t involve sewing. Because my love only goes so far.
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A few man cave appropriate books were dropped on the table…. and then –
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Our bar building contractor showed up with the top of the bar.
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I have to admit I was liking the 3 different shades of wood colors….
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Until I realized that was the unfinished side. But after it was sanded down and smoothed, even the husband agreed it would need to be stained before the polyurethane.
Victory is mine!
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And that called for a drink. Or a cocktail in a pretty can as the case may be.
Was for the Barn Mahal bar to be finished. Seeing that we came home and discovered its beginning framework in place in mid November….
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I didn’t think that would be too much to ask. But alas, our builder didn’t agree.
Oh, he’s sent updates via text messages.
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Like the layout of the rough unfinished boards on his shop floor.
I thought the 3 graduating colors would be interesting…
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Until he sent the next update of those boards being sanded and glued. Bye bye color.
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He assures me work is progressing steadily and that he hasn’t forgotten us, but it seems the only way I’ll be bellying up for a toddy will be like this:
That’s the sound my checkbook made when we drove down to the design studio to purchase the custom made bar chairs my husband had his heart set on.
We met the two very pleasant Lithuanian immigrants who own the business and found they do interesting work.
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Their furniture is starting to catch on and has been written up in numerous magazines.
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Maine restaurants and businesses have contracted large orders….
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And its only thanks to Covid that they considered a small order like ours.
These are the 30 inch swivel pub chairs my husband fell in love with.
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Made from 120 year old reclaimed barn boards and strong enough to seat an African elephant, they’re remarkably comfortable as well.
The designers explained it would take 6 weeks to make our 6 chairs because they just had to lay off most of their people due to the virus. A huge order from L.L. Bean had been cancelled, which while bad news for them… was great news for us.
They were even kind enough to let us take a sample chair home for a test run.
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We sidled it up next to the (still unfinished since the contractor seems to have taken a powder) bar and the height was perfect.
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I’m hoping to match the front facing of the bar to one of the medium shades on the chair.
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If the builder ever decides to return.
A few days later when we brought the chair back, I decided I needed some matching shelves for my liquor bottles.
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They’ll look like these. The wood will match the chairs… which pleases me, and the brackets will be made from old railroad spikes… which pleases the husband.
Two shelves on either side of the bar window for a total of four. What the hell. If you’re going to do it, do it right.
We came home from the grocery store yesterday and found this:
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The contractor had been at work in the barn and started the bar!
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My husband was thrilled… but had to check the measurements to be sure.
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Can you picture me standing back there mixing margaritas?
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I’ve been battling for a nicely stained finish but the husband is trying to cheap out and go natural. I fear neither of us will be fully satisfied… but at least we’ll have someplace sturdy to belly up to soon.
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On second thought, don’t. Some things are simply too frightening to contemplate.
And a few vintage WWII propaganda posters from 1943 I’ve been meaning to frame were framed and displayed.
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It was during this time we decided the ugly bracing pole in the middle of the room… which was never supposed to be there but was deemed necessary when we noticed the top floor bounced when we walked on it during the original construction…. needed to be spruced up.
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The (now lovely) wood walls and trimmed windows demanded it.
I expected to blog about the normal nightmare of measuring and cutting and cursing but things went remarkably well.
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Maybe we’re finally getting the hang of it.
So…. the before.
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And the after.
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Please don’t ask why he put my porch barrels on the loveseat. I have no reasonable explanation for that.
River's world..... 