A Week of Cool Weather - Threatening Storm

By the by.  This week saw the majority of work go into the Northwest bedroom in Allies Place.  She has received two coats of flexible, moisture proof primer on the old plaster ceiling and walls.  Quite a prep job.  Multiple layers of venerable wallpaper whose adhesives qualities had long given up the ghost in some spots and in some spots still clung with very unseemly determination.  Plaster chunking out in spots.  This place had a severe leak at some time, it might have been a rough spring before the new roof went on.  All wooden trim also got prepped, and two coats of very good quality alkyd primer.

Work went on with The Pipe in Question.  It is finally buried, bedded well I think, by Orv.  He advised waiting a few days of rainy weather to let it settle before back filling, and I can say that, with the sand and fines gently washing in around it, it had definitely sort of firmed up to its trench.  Jim stopped by to pick up his pipe vise, which he had loaned to Orv (though Orv doesn't use a pipe vice.  He is of the old school, over the knee, freehand cutting, with an old, whipped out saw).  He also wanted to get a billing address, and look at the work of course.  He stayed for some minutes and passed the time in a friendly manner with Alison and I.  We spoke of electricity; the Three Gorges Dam, windmills he had seen in Spain, small hydro plants in Maine.  I may have mentioned... I was also pretty satisfied with the way that the cellar wall rocked up, the mortar set up good and strong, though it cut the hell out of my hands.  Now it's just a question of spreading out the flag stones and letting everything settle in over winter.  In the spring, I told MK, we can brush some seed mixed with soil into the gaps; two or three varieties of nice, vigorous thyme I should think.