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| We went to Vermont recently to visit Helen's
brother John's son Jay and his wife Marion. They are building a
house up in the hills just outside of Plymouth. The picture to the
below is John, standing, and Jay and Marion, sitting, on what will eventually become the
front porch. Jay and Marion designed and are building the house
themselves.
There is no requirement for a building permit where they
are so most of the plans, except for a few sketches, are in their heads. |
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| I was quite impressed with their skill.
You really appreciate the attention to detail they have put into this
place when you see it up close. Jay says he got a lot of tips from
watching This Old House and Norm Abrams.
There are 6 small dormers on the house and each has a
sitting area on the inside. It is finished enough inside to be
occupied. Electricity, water and indoor plumbing are complete. Jay
and Marion are now living there. Heat is provided by a wood burning
stove in the basement and from upstairs fireplaces. A central
heating system is planned and will be installed sometime in the future.
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| These two pictures are of the back of the
house. In all the excitement of the day I forgot to get a still of
the front. It is very similar along the roof line but the porch runs
completely across the front. In addition to the six small dormers
there is one large dormer which you can see on the right hand side.
The driveway comes up the hill from the right and that is the view you get
when you first arrive. I didn't get any stills inside of the house,
but what is finished is beautiful. When they talk about what they
are doing with rest you can feel their excitement and pride, and proud
they should be. |
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| When they first purchased the land they
decided they needed a place to stay during construction so the first
project was a camp, complete with an outdoor kitchen and a real working
outhouse. |
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| A view of the camp taken from the front of
the main house. |
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| A view of the main house taken from the camp. |
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| Jay picked up all of the materials for the
camp free of charge from projects that were being torn down or from
bartering.
The door on this side is to a small room where Jay
stored his tools during construction of the main house.
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| A view of the kitchen and dining facilities.
Stove (Block fireplace) in the lower left, dining room table behind it and
outdoor kitchen on the porch.
Inside there is a double bed with a single bunk bed
above it on the right side, a table attached to a short wall in the center
with a wood burning stove on the left side. Jay says when he lights
the stove the temperature inside goes to 98 very quickly |
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| Jay's Masterpiece, An Outhouse with no
door. Much easier to get to in a hurry. Actually there are no
close neighbors so there is no need for a door. The only onlookers
are the animals, you know raccoons and black bears and the like.
Don't you girls just love it. No window treatments or wallpaper to
worry about, although it could use a picture or two. Us guys still
need to remember to put the seat down though. Actually I am just
teasing them, we have seen outhouses in the white mountains that you
couldn't go near due to the dilapidated condition and odor. This is
quite respectable. |
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| If you have any outdoors spirit at all or if
you love camping you would die to have a camp in the woods like
this. They have it within walking distance of their house and use it
quite often. The picture below is a view looking up the hill from
the outhouse. You can see the wood shed to the left rear. If I
were Jay I think I would build 6 more of these around the property and
rent them out for $20.00 to $25.00 a day. At $25.00 a day that would
be $1,050.00 a week. If they were rented 50% of the year that would
bring $27,300.00 a year. Of course that would be a little less with
the discount to family, chuckle chuckle.
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| We had a cookout and I tell you hamburgers do
taste better in the woods than they do in the city.
We are about to leave so I gathered everyone together
for a picture.
Left to right:
Jay, Jay's wife Marion with child, Jay's sister Laureen,
Jay's uncle Sid, Jay's father John and Jay's aunt Helen. I am taking
the picture, can't be in two places at one time.
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Thank you Jay and Marion, We had a
great time. |
| On Monday December 24, 2001 at 3:12 in the
afternoon Samuel John Mitchell arrived weighing in at 7 pounds, 15 ounces
and being 20 inches tall. |
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| Sam at five and a half months. He looks
about one year old. Must be something in that Vermont water or Jay is
working him to hard. |
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