This is Labor Day weekend, the supposed end of summer (Summer began on Memorial Day). The weather was absolutely perfect…sunshine, breeze, warm, not humid. We had the windows open all weekend.

I started off the beginning the week by making 17lbs of Sloppy Joes for our contribution for the meal at St Paul’s Kitchen on Thursday. On Thursday, I stopped at McQuestern Farm in Litchfield, NH and got a dozen silver queen corn. It’s almost white and very taste. It’s a late summer variety.

We had some friends over for dinner on the deck on Saturday. They brought another painting for Michael. Earlier in the day on Saturday, the sofa set we ordered from Macy’s was delivered. It’s been moved around at least 3 times so far. We need to find a rug for upstairs.

On Sunday, another friend from Nashua came for lunch, again on the deck. Afterwards, Michael took her on a 2-hr tour of Gloucester and Rockport. On Monday, we did nothing except house work. We took a drive around Gloucester, starting at the Fisherman’s Memorial, then onto Rockport. We parked and went for some ice cream. It was quite crowded but manageable. Everyone wore masks. On the way back the house, we stopped at the Granite Pier. I need a better camera because it was a beautiful view of Rockport but it’s too distant. I’ll bring my other camera and take some better picks.

On Tuesday (today), the shower stall guys came and installed the shower stall on the 2nd floor. This should be the last project for the current living space. We need to finish the basement but that’s a winter project.

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Again, not much happening. Got word that the shower stall installation will be on Sept 8th, the day after Labor Day. Finally.

This was ‘sales tax free weekend’ in Massachusetts. It only happens once a year and it’s good for goods under $2500 and doesn’t include cars or restaurant food. This weekend we also hit with the remnants of Hurricane Laura. All we got was some rain not the 120 mph winds that hit Texas and Louisiana. The fridge that I ordered from Home Depot was delivered on Thursday. During the afternoon, I got a call from Doyon’s about the fridge I had ordered from them, it was in also. So, I had to cancel that one. The last time I talked with them, they weren’t certain when it might come in. I saved $60 on the Home Depot one, got free delivery and 6 months no interest. A bah-gan as they say.

So, on Saturday, we ventured out early to Costco. Not too many seniors, it appears stock up on things, so we got some basics like toilet paper and kleenex and some laundry detergent, all free of tax. Made it easier than buying it in NH (no sales tax there) and bring it down. Michael had cleaned the basement so we had plenty of room. After Costco, we went to pick up a trunk he had bought on FB Marketplace. Then we went to a nearby Home Depot (which was crowded) to get a few little things (like mirror brackets and night lights and some things for the upstairs bathroom). I noticed there was a good supply of 5 cu ft and 7 cu ft chest freezers. Freezers and fridges have been out of stock since March. We didn’t have room in his car so I waited until we got back to Gloucester. We stopped at Market Basket for some more food. Our pastor and her husband are coming out on Sunday for an early dinner. When I got back, I started looking at the freezers again. A 7 cu foot freezer was $229 from an original $429 price. I tried one of the Home Depots in Danvers and Peabody but Salem (where we had been) was the only one with them, 15 of them. So I ordered one and quickly paid for it. A while later I got a confirmation that my order had gone through with pickup on Sunday morning. So, this morning, we were on our way at 7:20am for Salem. Got the freezer and was back by 9am.

I had mentioned the weather. On Saturday, it rained and the poured for most of the say. We could really use the rain. I finally had to turn on the A/C to get rid of the humidity. When I got up on Sunday, no humidity and bright sunlight and blue sky. What a difference. So, we have the doors and windows open and will be eating dinner outside. I had put a tarp on the table and chairs to prevent them from getting wet.

Next week is St Paul’s Kitchen at our church. I have to cook 15lbs of ground beef to make Sloppy Joes and drop them and some chips, cookies and rolls off at the church on Thursday before coming back to Gloucester that morning. Next weekend we might have some other friends out. It’s Labor Day weekend, the end of summer. Typically schools start he day after but this year some are not starting until mid-Sept and then it’s a combination of remote and hybrid classes.

The last pictures are of the lotus near the mailbox

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Not much happened with the house this week. We did have 17 of our Cambodian church friends come out for a BBQ and a walk around Gloucester. They arrived a little early but we were mostly prepared. We started to set things out on the deck when the sky started to turn dark. Soon, it started to rain, not heavy, but rain anyway. So, we dragged all the food back into the house while Kevin manned the grill. Michael got out one of our canopy tents and set that up. Then the rain ended and the sun came out. People stayed mostly inside, some wearing masks, other not sitting too close to each other.

After everyone had their fill, Michael took them on his walk to Lane Cove. They were gone about 1.5 hours. When they came back, they started to pack up the food and leave. Michael took 3 cars on a tour of downtown Gloucester. I started to cleanup the kitchen.

Last week I finally got a small blower I ordered a couple of weeks ago. It makes cleaning up the deck much easier than with a broom. I had also ordered some pot racks for our only pantry. Michael put them up on Sunday morning and re-did some of the shelving to add to our storage. Now we have to clean the basement up a little. Hopefully, the fridge I ordered from Home Depot will be delivered on Thursday and it’s going into the utility room. That keeps it close to water in case I want to do an ice maker or just fill ice trays.

Not much has happened in the last 2 weeks. I had to go back to Nashua the first week of August to prepare Sloppy Joes for St Paul’s Kitchen. They resumed serving take-out meals at the church in July so this was our first shot at it. It’s takeout, so Sloppy Joes, chips, fruit cup, cookies and water. Come in, take it away. I dropped everything off on that Thursday morning and headed back to Gloucester. They served about 40 people for dinner (down from 120 or so that they previously served). There are other places in Lowell for the people to get food.

So, last week, the plumber came to install the toilet, vanity, shower control and shower head. Took them just under 2 hours and it looks so good. Now we’re waiting for the shower doors which should be available in a couple of weeks.

We finally got our pantry shelf more than a month late. At first I thought it was going to be too small. Their picture showed a bigger unit on a normal door. Our door is a smaller door so it fits perfectly and gives us a lot of storage space.

Michael’s been shopping on FaceBook MarketPlace. He found a wall-mounted unit and it’s a perfect fit for the bathroom closet. He painted the closet on Saturday and early today and mounted the shelving unit. We had stopped at The Container Store in Peabody last week, nice stuff, lots of $$$$. This unit was $75, so a bargain and it’s fits the bill. Before, stuff was either on the big shelf on the right or on the floor. Now, everything is neat and we can easily see what we have/don’t have.

Next week we have a bunch of friends coming out on Saturday so not much will happen. I ordered a refrigerator on July 6. I talked with the local store and they have something like 115 on order with 80 or so coming in just after Labor Day. So, I went back to Home Depot’s site and ordered one there with a ‘suggested’ delivery date of Aug 26. We’ll see which one gets here first. Who knows when we’ll get another freezer.

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Not much has happened in the last 2 weeks. We finally had the tree in front of our house taken down. A branch from that tree fell last fall and took out our service line and cable, leaving us without power for more than 4 days. So, the tree has been cut down to below the wires. We also had 2 fallen trees in the back cut up. Who know how long they have been leaning but they were dangerous.

We also finally heard from the plumber. He’s coming out next week to install the toilet, vanity and shower control. It would have been this week but I’m back in Nashua until Thursday. We met up with some friends on Saturday afternoon on their deck. We have several of Kathy’s pictures in both Nashua and Gloucester. There’s a painting of Venice that I’ve been looking at for years and she finally allowed me to purchase it. I’ve been to Venice once, back in the mid-70’s for 3 days. From what I’ve seen in pictures now, it’s overcrowded. Back then it was manageable.

On Sunday we had an open-air service in Shedd Park in Lowell. We probably had close to 50 people there. Everyone wore masks, brought their own chairs and socially distanced themselves. Even the passing of the peace, we stayed in our chairs and waved at people. There was a nice breeze the whole time.

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The weekend started off with a trip to Manchester By The Sea to pick up a chest that Michael purchased on FaceBook Marketplace. We got there a little early and went to Singing Beach. Of course, you can’t park, residents only but we went around the circle a couple of times. The tide was out so there were no crowds.

We went back to pick up the chest. The woman’s son, Adam, helped bring the chest and a night stand out. Know what? The chest wouldn’t fit into Michael’s car. Adam said he had a truck and would gladly bring it to Gloucester. So, we loaded the nightstand into Michael’s car and the chest into Adam’s pick-up and headed to Gloucester. Once we got to the house, Michael and Adam starting talking. He’s a student living in LA here for the summer, I believe. We told him if he wanted to use Plum Cove, to park in our driveway. So, if you see a black pickup with CA plates, it’s Adam.

We did manage to get the chest upstairs. It was pretty heavy. Prior to that we had to bring the new bathroom vanity that Michael had brought out upstairs also. It was 133 lbs.

Michael painted the upstairs bathroom the same dark grey as the downstairs bath. I called the plumber, who is the same one that plumbed our house last year. He’s coming out on Tue or Wed to give me an estimate for installing the toilet, vanity, shower control and shower head. Hopefully it won’t cost too much.

It was incredibly hot this weekend but the A/C did its job.

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I’m late this week in updating this blog. The weather started out very hot. We went back to Nashua on Sunday afternoon. Michael needed to get his Prius inspected, so we did that on Monday. On Tuesday, we were able to see our dear friend, Ann, who is in assisted living in Westford. We haven’t seen her since mid-March. The meeting was 20 minutes long, outside, but it was wonderful to see her.

When we got back to Nashua on Sunday, we went to Home Depot and purchased the vanity for the upstairs bath. Once that is in Gloucester, I can contact a plumber and get all the fixtures installed. The vanity weighs 133 lbs.

As I said, the weather was very hot but that broke on Wed. Top temps for Wed and Thur were barely in the upper 60’s, low 70’s and no humidity. I guess the beaches were inundated over the weekend so this weekend, they are closing the beaches to residents only. I guess even Plum Cove was packed but we never ventured down there so I don’t know. We tend to go out shopping in the early morning and then stay put.

Michael got the 1st bed put together on Friday night and was able to sleep on a real bed for the 1st time here. The 2nd bed was not as easy. Seems they missed some holes, so he had to drill them. But, they are together. He’s found a dresser and nightstand that he’ll get tomorrow night.

His Lotus bloomed last week and then the 2nd one. They only last a couple of days before the petals blow away. He’s got another Lotus near the house and 3rd pot with water lilies.

Here are the pics of the furniture we bought for upstairs that won’t come in until mid-Sept. The big bag is filled with the styrofoam from the beds. There’s another bag upstairs still that will go back to Nashua.

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There was nothing to write about last week so I didn’t post. This week Michael finished tiling the upstairs bathroom and grouted the wall and floor on Sunday. We brought out the toilet last week so all we need now is the vanity and we can call the plumber to install everything.

Last Thursday Michael said he had bought a bureau in Brookline, NH. When he came out on Friday I was amazed at how big it was. It took up his whole SUV. We attempted to take it out on Saturday but it is quite heavy. So, he took out the drawers but that didn’t make a whole lot of difference. On Sunday, we managed to get that hunk of the furniture up the stairs without damaging anything. This had to weigh 200 lbs or so. It’s made by Thomasville so it was a good buy.

On Friday, Michael’s 2 beds from Pottery Barn were due to be delivered. I watched their progress on their app. They made a delivery in Rockport and then headed to our address. Normally, when you come in that direction, you have to go past our street and turn around at the next street. I could hear a truck trying to get up the hill and then noticed they had backed the truck up the street. Amazing. After a dozen or so trips up and down, the beds were delivered. We decided to put them together ourselves. That’s next weekend.

This week, the mattresses for the beds are due to be delivered on Tuesday.

We had some friends out for a BBQ, staying outside most of the time. The day had started out cloudy and just as we sat down for lunch, the sun came out. Even with the sails, it was hot. After lunch, they all went for a walk while I cleaned up. When they came back, it was too hot to sit outside so I turned on the A/C. We had a Tres Leches cake and a Chocolate Mousse cake from Costco. Yum!

Last night we had a huge storm blow through with lots of wind, rain, thunder and lightening. Fortunately, no damage was done. A quick check of Nashua and everything appears to be OK.

I also ordered a sectional sofa, chair and ottoman for the upstairs living area. They won’t be available until mid-September but we are not in a rush for those.

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Another gorgeous weekend in Gloucester. It was hot and humid but with the AC on, not bad. During the week, the chairs we ordered from Lowe’s were delivered. They were supposed to come on Thursday but early Tuesday morning I got a call saying they’d come that day. I was finishing up lunch and saw someone with a two-wheeler walking back down the street. I thought maybe they were checking out the hill to see if the truck could make it up. I looked out my window and there was a big box in the driveway. It didn’t look big enough for 6 chairs but upon opening the box, there were 6 chairs, at least 6 chairs needing assembly. I dragged the pieces back to the deck and started to assemble them. The first one took 30 minutes, the 2nd 10 minutes. After the 3rd chair, my Worx driver ran out of juice so I stopped for the night. The next morning, after it warmed up, I assembled the remaining 3 chairs. In the pic, you can see the new table and the chairs.

Michael continued to tile the upstairs bathroom wall and finished that on Sunday morning. He started to tile the floor. The goal was to get the wall tiled so it can add the grout next weekend. On Sunday, our friends from Arlington came over for a BBQ. We all stayed outside and away from each other. Mitra brought some nice porterhouse steaks, some portobello mushrooms and some asparagus. We had also made some chicken kabobs. For dessert we had some fresh fruit and a chocolate mousse cake we got from Costco. When they arrived it was about 82 degrees outside but it soon turned a little cloudy and them temp dropped to 75 with a cool breeze. Mitra and Michael went down to Plum Cove to watch the sun set.

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What a gorgeous weekend. Both Saturday and Sunday were cool, no humidity and about 72 degrees. We had the windows open and just enjoyed the refreshing weather. Went to Ace Hardware on Saturday morning. Couldn’t believe the number of people out. Stores were allowed to open last week with a limit on the number of people that can be in them at one time. We waited about 15 minutes. Unfortunately, they didn’t have what we wanted. Michael wants to setup some rain barrels and divert the rain from the drain pipe. Anita showed him what she had gotten and then found out she got it at the Ace Hardware in Rockport. So, I ordered a set from Amazon.

Michael brought out the remaining piece to the shed so that’s all put together. He also brought out the table. It weighs about 150 lbs, so we took it out of the box, brought the pieces to the deck and put the legs on. That table is going no where. I also had ordered an additional sail and we put that up. The 2 sails now cover more than half of the deck. At lunch and dinner time, the table is completely shaded which will make entertaining much more comfortable. The chairs are due in sometime this week or early next. I’m having them delivered to Gloucester to avoid having to make trips from Nashua to bring them out.

Michael continued to work on the bathroom upstairs. He put the bead board on the floor and then started to tile the shower wall. You can only do so many courses and then wait for them set before adding more. So he has about 1/3 done. One of the hardest parts is cutting the hole for the shower control but he did a good job. The plate will cover it when the control is installed.

On Sunday afternoon, we went to the Ace Hardware in Rockport. Again, so many people are out. There was a line of cars waiting to get into Halibut Point State Park. They are limiting the number of cars admitted so the line backed up the traffic on Rt 127. There was also a line of cars waiting to get into The Lobster Pool restaurant. They do have outdoor seating (all that’s allowed at this time). We stay away from that place on weekends anyway during peak season. The Ace Hardware in Rockport is opposite the train station. I sat in the car while Michael went in. I was surprised at the amount of business they do. People were in and out, all wearing masks. So we’ll use this place more since it’s closer to the house and less traffic.

The flowers, Bellflower (Eustoma), were a gift from Marla who lives in Mr Duffy’s house. Michael had brought out some donuts from Top Donuts in Dracut and shared them with Anita and Marla. Much better than Dunkin!

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