The Old Frontenac place: March 19, 2013; a virtual tour

On this unseasonably frigid and windy but gloriously sunny March day, I took a careful drive down to my beloved Old Frontenac, Minn., zipping along on mostly dry roads but frequently slowing down in alarm when I'd go over a rise on Highway 52, 50 or 61 and suddenly encounter a little whiteout whipped up by that dead-serious Northern Plains winter wind, with a resulting patch of snow and ice flanked by multiple signs of spinouts along the rural roads' margins. I didn't spin out, I am glad to say. In Old Frontenac, the dream house is about two-thirds done on the outside, about half done on the inside. It's being built by Mike Willers' Willers Construction Co. of Lake City, Minn. Here's a virtual tour.
 

The gravel driveway will be on the house's east side, off Leroy Avenue, one of Old Frontenac's quaint gravel roads. This photo was taken looking west through the ridge of lilac bushes (and buckthorn, which will go away this summer, when I have more time down there) toward the front of the house and the driveway. The snow is covering a dirt and debris pile that will be gone when it's all done.

The wood siding is a gray-blue color that I chose because it resembles Lake Pepin on a day of tempestuous weather -- blue in some light, gray in others. This photo was taken looking west from inside the veil of lilac bushes toward the 1 1/2-car garage and the front door. I'm not a big fan of the muzzle-garage design, but in this case, we had to do it to shorten the driveway and give the front door and yard some privacy. At least that's what the house's designer thought. (The house's designer is that well-known house designer, me. A real architect cast my napkin drawings into a blueprint, though, never fear.)

The small front yard. There will be a sidewalk from garage door to front door, with a small inset concrete patio in front to set a lawn chair on hot days. The gutters and downspouts aren't up yet.

The front door, a wooden number with prairie-style glass, one of the few things I splurged (well, kinda) on. Not sure what color I'll have the front door yet. Leaning toward ... bright red. The little window is from a bathroom. We'll probably need a little curtain there, eh.

Inside the front entry, looking back east, out the front door. The inset on the left will be a coat closet.

Ah, the great room. Gas fireplace in the corner, big window. The hallway to the left leads to the two bedrooms and one bathroom. For now, the walls are painted in a cream-beige color. After I spend some time there and see where the light falls and how I feel about things, I might repaint them more vibrant colors.

Another view of the great room, looking west out the back window toward Van Blarcum Avenue and Wakondiota Park.

Looking straight west from the great room, toward the big window and the sliding-glass door that will lead to a screen porch.

Looking northeast in the great room. To the right, there will be a small kitchen, bordered by counters and appliances. The dining room table will go in front of the sliding-glass door. The floors will be wood everywhere but the bedrooms, where there will be blue carpet.

Looking east in the great room, toward the kitchen area (there's a temporary furnace there to keep the workers warm, and toward a hallway that leads to the laundry room and the furnace/mud room and garage. The alcove to the right will hold a built-in desk.

Looking south from the front entry/great room area, this hallway leads to the two bedrooms, one bathroom and a small linen closet.

 The hallway bathroom. Tub is in, but nothing else yet.

 The small guest bedroom is on the house's southeast side. Has one window and a small closet (though compared to my closets in Robbinsdale, it's a HUGEEEE closet.)

The master bedroom is in the house's southwest corner. It has two windows, a walk-in closet and a bathroom with a shower. The bedrooms will be carpeted in blue.

 

The bathroom off the master bedroom has a small skylight and a shower.

Look at that walk-in closet! I'll have to go buy some more clothes.

Back in the kitchen area, you can look out a window and see Mom and Dad's old place, now owned by good neighbors Nathan and Jeananne Oppedahl. Cousins, think Mom and Dad and the departed aunts and uncles would be pleased to see a family place going up in the former Miller-Kulseth family conclave?

The garage is big, but not too big. Don't like having a garage big as a house. This will shelter my car, a lawn mower and a few lawn tools. No basement in the house, so whatever has to be stored will go in the garage. No hoarding will be possible here!

The house will be heated by LP gas, the usual in this rural area. Here's my brand-new old-fashioned tank, which sits where the old red outhouse used to sit. Just wrote a big check to fill it up, woo boy. Having two houses means some careful budgeting, I'll tell you that right now. Kind of like having two kids?? Well, something like that. (I only have one kid, but two houses, which is the opposite of what I always imagined, but hey, for better or worse, life doesn't turn out as we imagined.)

The house sometimes looks big to me, sometimes small. Next to the spruce and maple trees in the yard, it looks pretty modestly sized.

Looking west toward the back of the house and the screen porch from Van Blarcum Avenue. The tangle of grapevines between the gravel road and back yard serves as a snow- and windbreak. The grapes are a little too bitter to make wine out of, I am sorry to say.

I scanned my scarlet maple trees for a sign of spring, but there were none. Still cold, still windy, still snowy, no buds. Can't be far off, though. The birds were singing quite enthusiastically. They believe in spring.

Homeless no more

I've been missing my dear departed old cats, Lucy and Turtle, but had decided not to get another pet for a while. But the Robbinsdale house just felt too still and cold. Meanwhile, at his south Minneapolis apartment, Noah was feeling the same way. So we went to the Humane Society -- Noah in December, me in February -- and looked for strays. I wanted an older cat, one no one else might want that would nonetheless do well in my home. Noah wanted a kitten.

The Humane Society in Golden Valley had taken in a batch of unwanted kittens, one of them this 10-week-old female. Who'd want this mottled little calico with the pleading meow?

Her name is now Cosette (after the heroine in "Les Miserables," who was also an orphan), and she happily rules the roost at Noah's place, where she likes to hide in paper bags and race up and down the wooden-floored hallway.

In February, the Humane Society took this photo of a sick, scared, tattered older stray with frostbitten ears, nose and paws that someone had brought in from the extreme cold. The staff named her, not without irony, Paris. When Noah and I went to the shelter scout out cats, that name caught our eye, so we did a little visiting with her. She was shy and affectionate, and I fell for her.

She's not quite as regal as the city of Paris, but she IS sweet, so I named her Dulcie, Latin for "sweet." Her frostbite is healing, her mats are gone, her cold is vanquished and she's a quiet, sweet, affectionate pet. Still miss longtime pets Lucy and Turtle, but this new little waif is finding her way into my heart, too. Thanks, Noah, for helping me pick her out!

Dulcie is a polydactyl cat, which means she has extra toes. Hers are so large they make her paws look like mittens. A lot of people don't want poly cats, but I didn't mind. Here she is with her beloved catnip mouse, made a few years back by Mary Jane Smetanka's late mom and found recently under my piano, where Lucy must have pushed it a few years ago. A gift from old cat to new!

Postscript: I know my beloved Joe and Mavis are very allergic to animals, so no worries, we won't be bringing Dulcie or Cosette down to the Old Frontenac place, but will keep that place allergy-free for them. But it's nice to have the animals warming our Twin Cities homes!

Discontent with winter

Tired of this seemingly endless winter, Chris Miller and his brood (minus Hannah, who had to be in class at the University of Minnesota), headed once again for Orange Beach, Ala., to enjoy the sun and surf. It was a little cool there, they said, but nothing compared to what we're experiencing up here. They got back today, just beating another snowstorm expected tomorrow. Oh well. Here are some beach photos Mary took to help us live vicariously through their vacation till spring comes.

CMill was lifeguard for Elizabeth and Avamarie as they built things on the beach. Those are some realistic-looking condos they built behind them!

Mo proved once again that she can fly. Or she might have been celebrating the good news that arrived during their vacation, that she's been accepted into the dental hygiene program at Minnesota State University in Mankato. Go, Mo!

Mom Mary and daughter Moriah shared a delicious margarita on the beach.

E and A played on the shore as, farther out, Zachary and Moriah had several near-drowning experiences in the wild surf.

The little ones on the beach. Another beautiful photo by that truly gifted photographer, their mom, Mary Miller.

Zachary explained various mechanical things to little sis Elizabeth at the nearby U.S. Navy Aviation Museum. E appeared quite interested.

They probably weren't supposed to, but that wouldn't stop the Miller kids from climbing all over the displays. Ava, Zack, Moriah and Elizabeth hijacked this one.

Congrats to Britta and Larry!

Congratulations to Britta Augustin and Larry Ruiter, married March 8! May you have years of happiness!

Harry and Florence

A sweet couple -- Harry Greason and Aunt Florence Sprick Bye. May we all do as well as Harry is when we're 92!

Second cousins

This one's from a while back, but it made us smile ... second cousins Nick Broberg and Moriah Miller, amused at something or other. We think this was taken at Thanksgiving 2012.