A full moon is often used as a symbol for coming full circle – completion of a phase or task. Under Tuesday’s full Harvest Moon, we thought about how much we have done to make the old farmhouse look and feel like it did before we started. All the structural work is completed; now we are using paint and paper to make the place feel fresh and new but also cosy and familiar.

The most dramatic change this week was the transformation of the exterior. Painter Chris Purington has almost single-handedly painted the whole house wineberry red. We have been lucky with the weather, which has been dry and sunny.

Chris prepped and spray painted the facade with two coats of paint in just one day.

Meanwhile, master carpenter Ed finished a second set of stairs, made of red oak, that connects the first floor to the basement. Next week Ed will restore the old front hall steps. His colleagues installed a hidden set of pull down stairs that made a crawl space in the attic accessible.

Contractors weren’t the only ones working to complete their tasks this week. Nils fulfilled a long held wish to hire a stump grinder to use after felling poplars and cutting back overgrown forsythia. It was his first time using the heavy equipment, but he handled it well and got the job done.

We also had tilers back on site, cutting stone, installing and grouting tile in the guest shower. All this noisy activity was not to Caper’s liking. He is looking forward to next week when Kerry Munn, the wallpaper hanger begins his work in the brass bedroom.