Kris - Kristen Ann McLaughlin

Building the ADU: A Year Later…

Nearly a year ago I ended my last post on the topic of Building the ADU with “The next step: pouring the foundation.” And then, throughout the rest of 2024 and into 2025 – silence here, although I did keep a daily stream of building updates with photos on Facebook . The problem there, now, is that to find the beginning or follow the sequence of what happened requires scrolling down through dozens of posts. I want to have some kind of easily obtainable record for our family to look at – or that others who are interested in the building process can check out. So: back to this blog.

I should have known I couldn’t post here as well as Facebook while also working on scripts with zooms and deadlines (see my Writing page) and manuevering through all the daily decisions, with Buzz, on getting our new house built, including picking out kitchen and bathroom cabinets, showers and sinks and hardware, a stove and refrigerator, dishwasher and washer/dryer, and all the other items that must be decided on and purchased.

And then there was the ordering of whatever supplies our builders needed, be it windows and doors or lumber and nails. When I think of it all now, I don’t know how we did it. Just day by day lists of items that had to be dealt with and then checked off one by one. But we got through it all and now are reaping the reward: the joys of living here.

The phase we’re in now is landscaping. Last summer Hamilton Excavators dug the foundation and put in our septic, and this summer returned to move boulders, bring in topsoil and crushed rock, and seed the new lawn we’re now trying to keep watered . We bought several dwarf blue junipers and a few new perennials and are planting those in front of the porch. We’ve got a long way to go to finish (actually landscaping is never really finished), but sitting on the porch at the end of the day with a glass of wine definitely helps.

Next time: laying the foundation, putting up the frame, and whatever else I can get to…

Building the ADU: preparing the site

It began at the end of June with the arrival of heavy machinery needed for digging the foundation. But first, a number of trees had to be taken down that were too close to the proposed “new wing,” otherwise known as an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU). You can find out why we needed to add onto our house here. A daily blow by blow with videos can be found on my Facebook page here.

Finding Cathrineholm

One person’s giveaway is another person’s treasure.

Recently friends of mine were cleaning out their closets and garage and getting rid of items they no longer needed or wanted. Knowing I had an Etsy shop, they asked if I’d like an enamelware bowl to sell. As soon as I saw it, I knew what it was: a Cathrineholm lotus bowl in avocado and white.

The HELOC miracle

It took three months to get our HELOC (Home Equity Line of Credit) for building the addition to our house, otherwise known as an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU – see my last post). The whole process was a roller coaster. Without the thrills – that is, until the last day when the miracle happened.

Another building project: The ADU

We thought we were done building, that this would be our “forever house.” Never say never. Or plan too far into the future. Life has a way of taking curious and unexpected courses.

Last year our daughter, son-in-law, and two youngest grandchildren decided to return to New Hampshire after several years of living in Vermont. They moved in with us “temporarily” while looking for a house to rent. After months of searching, however, they couldn’t find anything suitable. There’s a severe shortage of houses for rent right now, a situation that appears to be occurring throughout the country.

Lectin-free cooking: beginnings

I didn’t begin the right way. When I headed off on my lectin-free cooking adventure, I hadn’t read Dr. Steven Gundry’s “The Plant Paradox.” If I had, I would have discovered his three-phased approach to this diet.

Instead, I simply found his “Yes” and “No” lists, copied and carried them with me to the grocery store and used them to choose my produce. Then I decided what to make for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Advice: read “The Plant Paradox” first.

The lectin-free experiment, part 2

It’s been about nine months now since we started this experiment, and several months since my last post about how and why we began, but after eating this new way for most of the year, I can say with certainty that we’ll never go back to “the way it was.”

Not that this new diet doesn’t come with its drawbacks, most notably in the area of eating out, whether at restaurants or at the homes of friends, which can be challenging. Being “gluten free” had its challenges, too, such as the lure of French or Italian baguettes and “real” pasta (in which case I usually indulged and simply ached in my joints for a few days afterwards), but being “lectin free” means, in addition, trying to avoid dishes containing ingredients such as white potatoes, tomatoes, eggplants, cucumbers, peppers, and other potential gut disruptors.

The lectin-free experiment

Something was wrong. I was eating a totally organic, gluten-free diet of fresh fruits, vegetables, free-range chicken, and wild caught fish. No fast foods, no packaged foods. I made almost everything from scratch. But after meals, I often was bloated. Why? Did I have irritable bowel syndrome? Or “leaky gut”? Bloating would indicate one of those.

So I started poking around the internet, investigating both IBS and leaky gut and reading articles. I didn’t “check with my doctor,” as my own experience told me that all roads starting from that source inevitably lead, after multiple tests, to one or more pharmaceutical drugs – something I definitely wanted to avoid. I didn’t want to put a band-aid on my situation, but find out what was causing it.

The pursuit of health, part 2

In 1962 Rachel Carson published her book “Silent Spring,” which detailed the effects of DDT and other pesticides on wildlife, the natural environment, and humans. Many years after its publication I read that book and began wondering if some of my health problems were due to the widespread use of these pesticides in conventional farming.

Becoming interested in the foods we were consuming led me to Adele Davis, now considered the most famous nutritionist in the early to mid-20th century. Her books praising the value of natural foods and criticizing the diet of the average American include “Let’s Cook it Right” (1947), “Let’s Have Healthy Children” (1951), “Let’s Eat Right to Keep Fit” (1954), and “Let’s Get Well” (1965).

The pursuit of health

My health problems began as an infant, starting with the DPT shot (otherwise known as Diptheria-Pertussis-Tetanus) I received as part of the usual childhood round of vaccinations. My parents tell me I was immediately rushed to the ER with breathing problems. They didn’t know if I’d survive.

Fortunately, here I am, but not without a history of physical problems along the way, such as allergies and asthma, acne, and migraines.