I’ll have a Reuben, crispy on the outside, please.

"Too few people understand a really good sandwich."
                                                                                        James Beard

Possibly. But you don’t have to prove you understand a good sandwich by keeping the pass-through windows from the kitchen to the hub room. From old pictures we’ve seen, it looks like the hub room may at one time have been used as a formal dining room (though what they then used the real dining room for, I haven’t the foggiest) which would explain the sliding glass “sammich windows” between the two rooms. There will be a few disappointed people out there (Susan and Christine in particular) who were so looking forward to having sammiches served to them through the windows. The glass was removed, studs installed and drywall hung over the windows. Besides, I don’t know WHO they thought was going to be making these sandwiches anyway.

You wouldn’t know it from this photo, but the house is actually surprisingly cozily warm. We were worried that the original Pella windows would require replacing, but they are holding up admirably. They’ve really been put to the test this week with temperatures stuck at -27C…the only window with any frost is the one where I broke the storm window. It has since been fixed, but that doesn’t help us if we don’t pick it up from the repair place and reinstall it, does it? There is a draft around the front door, but a bit of weather stripping will fix that. However, Rory’s philosophy seems to be the hotter the better. Since we haven’t had the need to dig out the electric space heater we bought for the old house, Rory found himself a substitute in the form of a halogen work light. The discovery of the worklight made Rory’s previous ability to move out of the way of construction obsolete. It’s difficult maneuvering around with a dog laying right in the middle of the floor of the room we’re trying to work on.

Once the carpet was up and drywalling started in earnest, we really had to find another spot for Rory. He obviously wouldn’t lay on the newly bare floor but with some encouragement (snort) made his way onto the previously forbidden couch. Now he’s out of the way and enjoys sunbathing in the glow of the other work lamp which is on a stand at about waist height…perfect for those afternoon naps on the couch. Note the lovely linoleum …that’s what we discovered under the carpet. That and the carpet underlay which had long since dissolved into dust. I can’t imagine vacuuming would have done any good – it likely would have just pulled the underlay dust up to the surface of the carpet. I’ll assume the previous owners never lived with an asthmatic child.

Oh, and Tamzin? Speaking of bobbleheaded dogs…

And when you just can stand anymore….sit. My arms were so tired from drilling into the ceiling and overhead, I was happy to sit in the corner like this.