Autumn in the North Cemetery.

Sixty miles west of Boston, Massachusetts there is the small New England town of Sturbridge. Located at the junction of I-90 (The Mass Pike), and I-84 it has become known as the "Crossroads of New England". The town was first settled over 300 years ago, and like other small New England towns it has grown just enough over the years to be in a difficult place today. How do we embrace the future without forgetting how we got to our present? How do we attract the right kind of growth, and maintain who we are? And, what about our culture out here in Central Massachusetts?



These pages will cause one to think about how to protect what we have, our future direction, and how to move on in the very best way.


Those thoughts, and other ramblings, will hopefully inspire more thought, conversation, action, and occasionally a smile...

...seems to be working so far

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Rainy Day Fun On Brookfield Road

It's raining. Actually, right now it is pouring.

Big surprise in this summer that isn't.

Dark, gray skies, wet grass, and puddles the size of Lake Huron. The Summer of '09 will certainly enter the record books as the wettest, coolest, and less sunny summer in some time. I wonder if the planets axis has shifted. Seattle is having over 100 degree days. What's up with that? The countries northwest corner, the place famous for fog, and Amazon-like rain, where ferns grown to the size of minivans is having a heat wave. Global warming? I have no clue. I think the axis is off. Too many people on one side of this globe and throwing the whole planet out of whack.

I have a fix, though. On the count of three, I want everyone in the far east to take ten steps west. That should do it.

In the meantime, while I am waiting for the sun to come back to the western hemisphere, I need to do something around this Old House otherwise I will loose my mind. Mowing the lawn is out. I'll need a machete soon. Looks like a day for indoor projects. Let's look at the list.
  1. Makeover the Master bedroom. Naw. That'll take a least a week.
  2. Tile the hallway to the sun porch, and garage. Nope. Need to replace the 60 year old door to the garage with a fire resistant door first.
  3. Replace door into garage. Hmmm. It's an indoor project. I'll be dry. Won't take a whole lot of work unless I find surprises beneath the trim. I could have it in place in a few hours.
OK, that's it. It's off to Home Depot. I wish there was a Home Depot at the end of my street, or a Lowes. Sometimes I just like to wander the aisles and "dream-build". It's a lousy hobby, but it's cheap, and keeps me off the streets at night.

So, it's off to Auburn. The rain is slowing down. Wouldn't you know it. Too late. My mind is made up. It's door replacement day at the Hersee household. Mary will be so surprised. She loves to get flowers, and doors.

There is nothing too good for her. Next sunny day, I'm going to seal the driveway for her.

5 comments:

  1. Wally, if you haven’t left for Auburn yet, I’d like to share an idea:

    Pull into a driveway of one of the houses on Route 20 in Auburn or Oxford and sit a minute and compare the setting to your own driveway and homestead. If you give it some thought you might not wish for a Lowes or Home Depot down the street from your house.

    Next time you’re in Klems, Lameroux Greenhouse, Fortunatoes, Penney’s, Velvet Green, or County Line strike up a conversation with the staff and you might realize that supporting local business is more important than the convenience of having a Lowes or Home Depot down the street.

    Our society sometimes gets caught up in quantity and loses interest in quality. We need to have more, more, more and we need to have it now, now, now. Big Box Retail comes at a cost. It creates traffic, which in turns has in impact on our air quality. It takes away decent jobs offered by locally owned businesses. It impacts small businesses, which often are owned and operated by local families.

    Sure there are times that we need to rely on Home Depot, but for those times is a twenty minute drive that big a chore? I don’t think so.

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  2. I think she like other thing as well. Maybe you should ask her? Although you do a great job in anything that you do.Your such a perfectionist and is shows in your work. Keep up the good job........

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  3. I don't want a Lowes, or a Home Depot in town for everyone, just me. Sorry, I'm selfish when it comes to this type of thing. It's a convenience of self sorta thing. I use local businesses all the time, in fact, tomorrow I will be off to Howelett Lumber for some trim. I agree with you entirely, but there are times I wish the beach was in backyard, too.

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  4. Wally,

    Did you finish the door? Curious about the accuracy of your hours estimate...Thinking about donating to the pincic tables. Mary deserves the best! Signing off from the Cape, with the beach in my back yard.

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  5. I am jealous. I did do the door installation in about 3 hours. Had to take the door I bought back for one a bit shorter. Duh. Old house, people were shorter then. I should have known better.

    ReplyDelete



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