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IT’S EXCITING living in the country! Last night at 12:45AM, I was awakened by the sound of a window screen crashing to the floor. I ran to my bedroom door, clutching my cell phone to call 911, looked toward the kitchen, and saw a shadowy shape moving across my kitchen floor. At first I thought it was a cat, but no, it was a raccoon, a 25-pounder if he (or she) was a pound. He must have been on the roof and fallen through the open living room skylight.
I’ve dealt with squirrels in the house before, in Brooklyn — never easy, because they panic and bounce off the walls. This raccoon was fairly calm, although when he saw me, he jumped onto the kitchen counter and started trying to climb the open shelves, laden with glassware. Remarkably, he didn’t break a thing. Using the screen as a shield and a prod, I managed to steer him toward the front door, talking to him sweetly the whole time. I opened it, and out he ran.
Needless to say, I didn’t sleep much after that adrenaline rush. I’m just glad he dropped in when I was at home. Imagine the destruction he could have caused inside the house for a day or two. I have five skylights and had been leaving them open for ventilation. No more.
That was the start of a no good very bad day. I hit a dozen yard sales in the morning. None lived up to their descriptions in the East Hampton Star (“amazing,” etc.) I was focused on finding two things: a rectangular table and chairs for the porch (thinking 1940s wooden kitchen set with an enamel tabletop) and some kind of pantry cabinet. Found neither; bought nothing.
Later, I got pulled over for not coming to a full stop at a stop sign in East Hampton village. Did I get off with a warning? No — I got a $185 ticket and two points on my license. “Here’s what you do,” the cop said. “Go down to the courthouse and plead not guilty. They’ll plea bargain, and since you have a clean record, they won’t give you the points, just the fine.” Thank you very much, officer. Actually, I have another outstanding summons, a parking violation (for facing the wrong way in a parking lot; someone has to explain that to me). At last I can take care of both at once, and make that trip to the courthouse worth my while.
Ah well, chalk it up to a newbie’s wake-up calls to the ways of “the prettiest village in America,” a title also claimed by Woodstock, VT; Wicasset, ME; and Sausalito, CA, among others.
I THINK I’m not in Brooklyn any more.
From the East Hampton Star:
- Dan Lynch’s weed whacker was removed from his patio on Fireplace Road Aug. 5.
- A man stole five boxes of cereal from the Hess gas station on Montauk Highway July 26 after a dispute over how much gas he had pumped.
- Daniel Weidmann’s yellow Acadia II kayak was stolen from Landing Lane between July 26 and Aug. 3. It had been chained to a cinder block.
- Eggs were thrown at Noela Fachinetti’s BMW while it was parked on High Street Monday.
- A paperback copy of “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” was stolen from Barnacle Books Saturday.
- Eugeni Palaguachi of Queens Lane reported that his town recycling center sticker was taken off his car between Aug. 3 and Aug. 5.
- An East Hampton town beach parking permit was removed from Jennifer Brussell’s car while it was parked at Atlantic Avenue Beach on Aug. 3.
- A section of snow fence was used to make a bonfire at an East Hampton village beach on Sunday night.
IT WORKED BEFORE, SO I’M TRYING IT AGAIN. I rented my townhouse in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, last month through this blog when six real estate brokers and Craigslist couldn’t do it. Now another of my rental properties is becoming available as of Oct. 1, 2009: a whole, albeit small, 1840s “trinity” house (3 floors – 1 room on each – plus basement and garden) in the South Kensington area of Philly, a few blocks from the trendiest of trendy neighborhoods, Northern Liberties, and not far from Fishtown.
The house is diminutive, like many old Philadelphia houses – about 200 square feet per floor, joined by narrow twisting stairs. (People with vertigo or bad knees need not apply.) It works for a single individual, a loving couple at most.
It gets great light, has a large-for-Philly backyard, original doors and proportions throughout. It’s totally charming, and the space feels good to be in. For an aficionado of old houses and vintage lifestyles, it’s a chance to live like a working-class family of the mid-19th century, but with more amenities (heat, indoor plumbing, electricity, etc.)
Kensington was once called “Little England” for the number of English immigrants who worked in the neighborhood’s behemoth textile and carpet factories, many of which have been converted to living lofts or artists’ studios.
The house is on N. Palethorp between Jefferson and Oxford, a nearly traffic-free alley around the corner from the magnificent St. Michael church. It’s actually the rear half of two back-to-back trinities under one roof (they’re entirely separate, each with its own entrance). It was renovated (re-wired, new kitchen, new paint job) in 2007. Here’s how the layout stacks up:
- Ground floor: kitchen/dining. Opens to garden.
- 2nd floor: bedroom/bathroom with pedestal sink, claw-foot tub
- 3rd (top) floor: open loft-like space. Could be a living room, studio, or large bedroom (with the smaller room on the floor below used as a living/sitting room).
- Basement: washer/dryer, storage
The rent is $850/month, plus utilities (gas for heat, hot water, and cooking, and electricity).
You were thinking of moving to Philly anyway, weren’t you? Email me at caramia447@gmail.com for more info or pics, with a few details about your situation and a phone number.
MAJOR IMPROVEMENTS RECENTLY in my humble East Hampton cottage.
I’ve managed to turn a drab 1930s stick rattan sofa, above, with no cushions, into comfortable seating for my screened porch. All it took was three days wielding a paintbrush (this thing has a LOT of surface area and needed priming), while listening to songs I didn’t even know I had on my iPod. That, plus $400 worth of cushions on sale from the Restoration Hardware catalogue have in turn transformed the porch into a second living room. I’m sitting there as I type this, feeling pleased with myself.
But that’s nothing compared with the fact that today, after three months of living without one (inconceivable, I know), I finally had a proper refrigerator delivered. It’s a stainless Frigidaire, and I like it. It’s not the blue Smeg of my dreams, but it’s not bad-looking — exceedingly plain. It’s fairly quiet (I would prefer complete silence, but this is as close as I’m gonna get), and it’s the right size for the space, not a monster.
For almost three months — after buying and quickly returning to Sears a cheapo fridge that drove me crazy with its grunts and groans — I’ve been living with an Igloo cooler and a fridge the size of a hotel mini-bar, with a freezer just big enough for a can of lemonade. I was really tired of all my fresh Long Island farmstand produce falling on the floor each time I opened the door.
I didn’t want to do the Sears/PC Richard route, so two weeks ago, I went to Bob Stevens Appliances, a real appliance store, located in the airport at Westhampton Beach (a safe distance from the runway). I felt I needed to see the things in situ, so I wouldn’t make a second refrigerator mistake, and it appears I have not. Now my vegetables and bottles of Long Island Summer Ale look lost in the depths of 18 cubic feet. I see a trip to the Bridgehampton King Kullen in my future.
I still want the blue, though, so my plan is to paint the lower kitchen cabinets Benjamin Moore’s Sailor Sea Blue, or something like it. This painting thing, once you get in the rhythm, ain’t so bad.
Oh, and the cellar is nearly cleared out of the previous owner’s stuff. Just a few more trips to the dump, and then it will be time to start filling it up with my own stuff.
Deer count, last 24 hours: 4 (a mother and two fawns yesterday, and a really bold one today who came within a few feet of my back door – eyeing the impatiens, I’ll bet).
ROCHELLE GREAYER, a Boston-area landscape designer and blogger in her own right, has decided casaCARA is her new favorite blog. In today’s post, titled “Will You Adopt Me Cara?” she writes:
“Through casa CARA, I get to follow Cara around the neighborhoods of her house collection, hear her stories of Long Island, New York, Brooklyn, old houses and most excitingly, I get to tag along while she boldly trespasses in gardens that she is curious about… I have spent more time than I can spare this morning reading and reading and reading her delightful blog…”
I’m honored. That makes up for a lot of lack-of-comments (hint, folks – I know you’re out there!)
Go to Rochelle’s blog, Studio G, for a laugh, and some garden inspiration too.
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