Wood you, Cood you ...

Wood you, Cood you ..., originally uploaded by Tall Pines Lodge.

Today I had Bob McKenzie bring me a big ol' red dumptruck of firewood. Now we're ready to ward off the fall chill. This is a mix of oak, ash and cedar, two-year seasoned and ready to enjoy alongside the fall's red wines. This type of living, my friends, is the country. Romance abounds.

Video Con

Video Con, originally uploaded by Tall Pines Lodge.

Yes -- so from the city, this is how I keep an eye on the house. Like, its good for me know that the place hasn't burned down or fallen prey to a wayward pine tree. In either case, State Farm is there, so no biggie. But sometimes, its just nice to know.

As you can see, we're still in the process of making this room nice!

First Fire, Fall 2009

DSC_6258 - Version 2, originally uploaded by Tall Pines Lodge.

Tonight was the first night I've come home from work and thought: Damn! It's cold!

Not a problem. Crumpled newspaper + kindling + fire wood + lighter = the first fire of Fall 2009. Outside it's 50º, but in here it's toasty. More so when you pop open a bottle of the good stuff. Oh yeah, and let's stream some jazz in from the internet.

A Quick Coat of Paint

A Quick Coat of Paint, originally uploaded by Tall Pines Lodge.

Finally, we tossed some paint on the walls. Its the same color as a Frosty from Wendy's. A coincidence, but a happy one. Also, that's a 9x12 sisal carpet on the floor.

Color Sampling

Color Sampling, originally uploaded by Tall Pines Lodge.

We're doing some color work up here at Tall Pines. Making good with a bunch of color samples on the walls, a swatch of this here, a swatch of that there. I can't show you the colors -- yet. The photography just isn't doing it justice. But soon, we'll be out of the land of "Color by Kilz." And then I'll have plenty of photos.

The 'mater

The Mater, originally uploaded by Tall Pines Lodge.

LP took up gardening and this is one of the many fruits, so to speak, of her labor. This small little guy got picked tonight and he's ripening a little bit on my window sill. Soon, we'll celebrate the little by by slicing him up, dipping him in olive oil, pairing with some bocconcini and basil leaves, some salt, some pepper. Then, down the hatch!

Fireplace: After

Fireplace: After, originally uploaded by Tall Pines Lodge.

Instead of just picking new fireplace doors from a supplier and writing a check, I decided to add one less thing to the landfills and refinish the doors I had.

They were a god awful glossy gold (a "before" photo is right here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tallpines/3810612988/) before. With awful hardware. And of the awful hardware, some of it was missing.

So this was one of the weekend projects. Bit by bit, I am really getting ready for some good autumn fires.

The Tall Pines Crest

The Tall Pines Crest, originally uploaded by Tall Pines Lodge.

TP designer DA has been working on this for a while. Looks pretty good, huh? Well, it's a work in progress. Initially, I loved it too, but now I'm kind of sour on the whole thing because I don't think this will translate well to wood etchings and cattle brands. Nevertheless, its wonderful as is, and just needs a line-art version, really.

Call it a Vacation

DSCN6260 - Version 2, originally uploaded by Tall Pines Lodge.

Tall Pines -- the blog -- has been suffering from neglect the past couple of weeks as I have been planning for a ten day motorcycle trip. I just finished that trip today. An exciting 3,300 mile jaunt from Tall Pines to upstate NY, to Toronto, to Niagra, to Detroit, to Dayton, to Nashville, to Birmingham, to Chattanooga, to Asheville, to DC and home again. A great time, with my high school chum RP.

Today while I was on the final leg of the trip, would you believe I started thinking about insulating the basement? True story. I guess with the trip completed, its time to turn the attention back to the house. Well, so be it!

Anyway -- if the motorcycle trip interested you, you can read all about it at http://moto3our.blogspot.com. And see photos from it right here on Flickr.

Cairo!

Cairo!, originally uploaded by Tall Pines Lodge.

MM's little pup, Cairo has been visiting Tall Pines while his daddy's been out of town. Cairo and I were roommates back in San Francisco back when he was a new-born pup, fresh off a non-stop flight from Dallas, nothing more than a few pounds of new dog.

Since then, he's all grown up, and like MM and myself, migrated back east. He's been here for a few weeks and tomorrow he goes back to the city. Of course, he's been great to have and I'll miss having him up here with me at the house.

I'm sorry, what? Yes, that's right -- he's a pure bred Pharaoh Hound. A 2004 model. He's relaxing on the balcony, pictured.

Route 206

Route 206, originally uploaded by Tall Pines Lodge.

Hey there -- so get this. Many of you know I am a motorcyclist. Well, I have been distracted a lot in the past couple of weeks in preparation of an annual week+ long motorcycle trip called "motoTour." My best pal RP and I go on it, and we're gearing up for it right now. The trip starts Friday, July 24.

Last week, I went down to DC via the BoltBus and brought back a whole new touring bike, a Kawasaki Concours (pictured). Its a real dream machine, about the best sports-touring bike you can get dollar-for-dollar, pound-for-pound. Those who appreciate a bargain will be happy to know I got it for a song.

So, even though LP and I spent some time this weekend trying out sample wall colors around the house, for the next week or so, Tall Pines will be turned over to house-sitters DA and KD and their two tots, while I hit the road for the third moroTour, moto3our.

If you want to check it out, RP and I will be joint blogging and tweeting the whole adventure at http://moto3our.blogspot.com. And my pictures from the trip will be getting uploaded here. And of course, on Twitter @moto3our.

Enjoy that! And we'll get back to renovating Tall Pines after this break. Speak to you soon!

In from Cairo

In from Cairo, originally uploaded by Tall Pines Lodge.

Well, MM has got me watching his pooch for the week: Cairo, the Egyptian Pharaoh Hound. He's lots of fun, but he doesn't come when you say 'come,' sit when you say 'sit' or any other commands. He just stares off into space. Kind of aloof, this guy.

And he likes waking me up by coming into my bedroom and looking at me sleeping. At 6 am.

Tall Pines Tea Party

Independence Drinkers, originally uploaded by Tall Pines Lodge.

Had some great friends up from the city this weekend for the 4th. We has some grub in Cold Spring, then popped off to Tall Pines to polish of a half dozen bottles of wine. This was just when we were getting started.

Be sure to check out that new addition (temporarily, at least) to the Tall Pines family, Cairo. More about him later; He'll be here all month!

Happy Independence Day! (And Happy Birthday to Mom!!)

L to R: Angie, Kiki, LP (not pictured), Sarah, EG and Cairo.

Frank and Joe

Frank and Joe, originally uploaded by Tall Pines Lodge.

A little bit of set dressing here, some props for the house. Appealing to some classic nostalgic need for mysteries solved with just that touch of nuance, I got a collection of Hardy Boy books for the place. 28 books in the first installment, two shipments.