New neighbors in Bath

Part of my office near the front door

Kitchen which we had to repaint as we did most of the rest of the inside of the house.  Took us about two weeks (with some great help from Sean, Christina and Tarak).

 

Friends and neighbors have been giving me lots of flowers to plant.  Here are some that I have put in the ground since moving in.  I've been doing some gardening every day for the past month and I love doing it.  I'm not the smartest gardener around but learning as I go. 

Two raised beds were fortunately here when we moved in and we planted pole beans on our first day.  Since then tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, and various herbs have gone into the ground.  Garlic was left by the previous owners which was nice.  I got a late start for Maine's short summer but only planted cherry tomatoes knowing they'd be facing a limited season.

Click on the photos for a better view

We are mostly moved into our new place in Bath.  Things began on July 1 in earnest.  We had to first have an electrian come for a week and replace all the outdated 'Knob & Tube' wiring which is considered a fire hazard.  He had to tear up lots of floor boards to get at it all.  It was loud and a mess but he worked very hard and did a great job.

Next we had to replace the old 1965 GE oil burning furnace which the insurance company insisted on before they would write a policy to cover the house.  Considered a hazard to breakdown in the middle of winter with pipes freezing and releasing water throughout the house.  So we got a new efficient propane furnace and that took another week.

In between we were cleaning and painting (with some help from a few friends, all with masks on).  And I was outside each day playing in the garden.

In between things we sat on our lovely porch hoping for a nice breeze from the Kennebec River which is just two blocks from the house.  While sitting on the porch we began to meet very friendly neighbors - some who were walking their dog down to the park along the river.

Just yesterday a woman and her husband rang our door bell (from two houses away, we'd previously waved to each other but not met).  In their hands they had cookies (which were glorious) and a basket full of blackberries from the bush in their back yard.  They've been in the neighborhood for 27 years.  We've repeatedly heard that many folks in the neighborhood have lived here for many years. 

We lived in another part of Bath for 12 years at the Addams-Melman House (with our dear friend Karen Wainberg and others).  But never have we seen anything like the friendliness that we are witnessing on our new street.

Quite a number of people around here now work at, or are retired from, Bath Iron Works which is just three short blocks from our house.  In spite of our political bumper stickers and yard sign it does not seem to matter as folks are still friendly to us which really is a pleasure to experience.

Needless to say we are quite happy here and I am so much enjoying being able to get outside again and play around in the dirt.

Bruce