Bud Shaftoe and I liked drinking gin martinis. We enjoyed going down to the NH State Liquor Store to buy Gordon’s Gin which, he said, was named after him. Either that or it was cheap. And he often ran out of Vermouth but who says you have to cut the gin with anything else? Those were some strong martinis!

No matter, Bud and I started the plans for our new addition to Camp Singley after one or two drinks. Okay, maybe four. It was to be an ambitious project, expanding the whole length of the waterfront side, adding a family room and a master bedroom. The first step was to figure out the placement of the concrete block piers anchoring the addition to the ground. Bud drew a map of where each one was to go. That being a Sunday afternoon, Bud and Prilly later left for North Attleboro. They had to work in the morning. I left too to get back to the church.

So Sandy and the kids dug out the holes for the piers.

You may know that New Hampshire is known for rocky soil. Really rocky soil. So rocky, in fact, that shovels alone would not do the job. So Sandy and the kids took spoons to dig out the rocks. That’s why we have no spoons in the kitchen! Only kidding, but they did “spoon out” all those holes for the foundation piers.

Fast forward to the next weekend. Bud and Prilly returned to the lake and paddled over to Camp Singley to check on the progress. Sandy and the kids proudly showed off their handiwork, deep “spoon dug” holes ready for concrete to be poured.

“Hmmm,” Bud muttered. Taking out a tape measure he checked the distances between the holes.

“They’re not right!” Bud said.

“What do you mean ‘they’re not right’?” asked Sandy. “We put them exactly where you told us to put them. Here’s the map you drew!”

Lesson learned: do not draw building plans under the influence of alcohol!

So the holes had to be re-dug and even then they weren’t exactly right.

Framing up on a not-exactly-placed pier!

We learned that lesson again a while later when Bud and I added the doorway to the side of the addition. It was a little crooked. Swung closed all by itself. Sandy said, “Something’s wrong with that door!” Bud said, “That’s good that the door closes by itself! You don’t have to do it yourself.” I said nothing. Just poured us another martini. The next day we took out the door and built a wall instead.

The Camp Singley building project came in over budget and way past the deadline. But we had a hell of a great time doing it. Along with Bud and Prilly, a bunch of our friends from North Attleboro spent weekends with us swinging hammers, ripping boards and bringing our dream to life. We laughed, and drank, and sat around the campfire at night listening as Bud and Prilly paddled their canoe back to their place across the lake. Ever notice how sound carries over a lake at night?

“Bud, there’s a rock up ahead!”

“No, Prilly, that’s just a shadow!”

Thump.

Splash.

 

Sandy’s Construction Co.

 

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