You Don't See That Every Day

Hello old friend,  I came across this post I forgot to publish way back in July. I decided to go ahead and publish it now and then come back and update ... How have you been? I've been gone awhile. Sorry about that. I think this spring and summer have been the busiest, most stressful time of my life. Ever. So many things have fallen off my To-Do lists and down into the cracks of the abyss, you being one of them. Not because of anything you have done. No, it's all me this time. My mind has been traveling too fast, for too long. over too many roads. Our daughter graduated from high school this past June. We've been through the process once before, so you would think I would be prepared for it. And I was! I had the announcements ordered in time, and her grad party planned out ahead of time. Of course, I put it on a weekend when a lot of people were not in town - Memorial Weekend. Not a smart move there, but we got it done. It still amazes me how much is involved in gradu...

Owning a home allows a person to have a great dating life. As long as those dates are to stores like Home Depot. The Mr. has been working on the upstairs remodel as time and money allow. And we are nearly done with it! The bedrooms are 99% complete and the bathroom is getting there. The countertop and sink and that tile is in. One light is up, but not attached. The shower has taken the longest time. He had to cut the concrete board and get it fitted for the shower. The sheetrock in the bath is nearly all up, and the mudding process will begin soon (I think). Then it will be tile, floor, toilet, and turn everything on! But then the front deck rotted out, and we've been working on that. Since the plate below the door also is gone, we have to replace the front door; which means we actually have to go down together and pick out a door to order. Which means we have to find time to do this together. Looks like another date night to Home Depot. Along with all this fun we found ano...

When owning a house, one does not simply own a house. Sometimes it feels as if the house owns you. We knew there was a board in the front deck that needed to be replaced. We knew it had gotten wet and was soft and unsafe. We thought that maybe it was because water had pooled under the front door mat. We hoped that it was an easy fix. But when is it ever an easy fix? The Mr tore into the deck boards this weekend, and this is what we found:  Not only were the top 3 boards wet and rotting, the under supports were not even supporting the deck. We're fortunate that nobody fell through! So what we hoped would be a weekend project is turning into something much more exciting (!?) The Mr and son tore out the entire front porch and steps, leaving behind the dirt and nothing else.  For now the front access is blocked by a sawhorse. I will probably set our cowbell outside in case anyone comes to our front door. We get to pick out a new door, new decking and teach the kids how ...

April is full of birthdays in our family. Starting last Thursday and running through to the end of the month, we'll have 10 family birthdays (this includes my family and G's family also.) So we celebrated G's birthday yesterday, just the 7 of us having a fun time at home. He almost got breakfast in bed; but a certain almost-3 year old thought it would be fun to sit on his head. So he didn't stay in bed. Instead he got a special breakfast, made by his children, served to him as he sat and watched some TV. This in itself was pretty amazing - not that the kids made breakfast but that he actually got to sit and watch some Sat. morning football! Not too much was really exciting during the day. Birthdays get like that as a person gets older. Although I was pretty stoked when we actually went down to a store and handed over the $$ for a brand new dishwasher!! Wahoo! And then - it gets even better - G installed that evening and he even loaded it and ran the first batch of dis...

 This room here will someday house a boy. And his football posters. And his OSU t-shirts. This week, or maybe next we will be able to paint it!! Do you know how completely over the top of excitement this is? Well, it is not quite up to moving-in-day excitement, but it is still pretty great! We can paint it! Today (if we had time!) Maybe tonight after the swim meet we could paint it. One more step taken on the path of remodeling. Our two older kids spent some time at Farm Camp this week. Farm camp, for those not in the know, is time spent with my parents at the family farm; it usually involves a lot of weeding and hoeing, especially among a crop or two of garbanzo beans, and in the family garden. It also involves lunch out at a favorite fast food place. This week it even included ice cream. Grandpa was feeling extra generous I think. So I was the one to pick them up yesterday afternoon out at the farm. It is just so pretty out there in the summer. The whe...

Last Friday we had the sheet rock delivered. Some was put down in the garage, the rest was hauled into the upstairs. They had a really cool truck and 'swing' that carried the bundles over to the window, and then the guys hauled them in and set them in one of the rooms. On Saturday G and his brother, G., worked at getting some insulation in the garage ceiling, and even managed to get the time to hang one board of sheet rock! Hurrah! It begins! While they were working hard on installing a window, and stuffing insulation, the kids and I were shopping. For puppy supplies!! We found a crate we think will work for awhile, at least until Puppy is much bigger. For now, the kids find it a fun place to read, and play in. Little K. really enjoys hanging out inside of it! Last night - Sunday - our church held a Talent Show. And what talents we saw! There was an older lady who played the saw! Yep, like one you would use to saw a log in half. Well, you might not use it, ...

It is looking more and more like ... like nothing. We're losing the trusses - on purpose. Down, down, down they come The view from the backyard by mid-day is even more exciting There's no roof! Are the walls going to fall in?! And now, there is nothing left above us. And a peek into the attic I'm not sure what the next day's surprise will be. The garage with no roof looks so much bigger, and yet all that light makes it seem smaller. It's just strange!

At the beginning of day 3, the boards holding the gutter - my husband calls them the fascia boards - are being brought down. The boy gets to use power tools. How cool is that? The helpers were eager to get back on the roof, well what was left of it. They weren't up there for much longer. By mid day it was truss-removal time. But wait, the electrical lines needed to be dealt with. So G spent a long time making sure he didn't cut any lines while taking out the trusses. The side wall of the garage is down. At the end of the day, one truss, or is it 2, are down. Along with the wall that formed the peak with the roof.Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!

When I looked out in my garage this morning boards still covered the tresses. We still had a 'roof'. And then these meddling kids got ahold of some hammers, and their dad did too; And they went to work! The first board is removed I tried to nab the perpetrator who started this whole chaotic scene, but could only nab this minion of his: By mid-morning the garage had a light airy feel to it. By afternoon, the sun was finally shining and my garage was lit up like there was no roof on it. Oh yeah, there wasn't: At the end of the work day only the trusses remain. I wonder what those hooligans have up their sleeves for tomorrow! (psst .. I'm sure I'll be pleased when I find out)

Phase I. We spent Saturday destroying our roofing. (I use the term 'we' very loosely.) The minions were great helpers while I kept them fed and ran the errands when needed. A glorified go-fer, that's me. G and the minions took off the shingles and tar paper along with hundreds of nails. My brother came down to help but didn't make it into the pictures. We had only two full pickup loads to take to the dump (or wherever G took them) Notice the different sky? Oregon weather has been so weird. It has been gray and cool every morning for the past few days and then by noon or so it turns sunny - perfect for working on the roof though Today - Monday - they are back up there ripping off these beautiful boards you see here. I'll keep you updated.