Pictures of the Week

Well. Matt commented that my pictures of progress on the house sort of stalled out. Unfortunately, the frequency of posting is directly related to the amount of work happening at the house.

If I were to post pictures of this week there would be one of me working on insulation Thursday afternoon. I was itchy and grouchy, but determined. The boys in the background were even grouchier than me.

There would be a picture of Kendall working on the snow blower today for a couple hours. He just wanted to quickly get it running so I could clear off the drive while he worked on the house. (It never started.)

There would be a picture of Kendall and I walking around the house, cold and tired, deciding where to put lights, switches and outlets.

There would also be a picture of the four of us sitting dejectedly in our new house eating oranges and drinking coffee. We are dressed in full winter gear, right down to the snow pants. (Except for Kendall and that explains why he was so cold in the last picture.) We’re taking our morning break, only it’s a lot less exciting than the morning breaks were when our families were here and so much progress was being made. The boys are chomping at the bit to...I don’t know what...go home or fight or something and Kendall and I are just plain overwhelmed.

Thankfully, I didn’t take pictures of any of these happy occasions.

This week it was back to the real world. The two weeks prior were a frenzy of family and building- a good old fashioned barn raising. This week Kendall went back to work. We made it out to the house 1 ½ days. Next week it will be even less. Kendall has a work trip to Thunder Bay from Monday morning to Wednesday evening. (I get to tag along.) Then Kendall works night shifts Wednesday and Thursday and day shifts Saturday and Sunday. That leaves Friday afternoon for Kendall to work at the house and maybe a few other moments squeezed in here and there. When I think about that, I feel a bit like I’m stuck in a bad dream.

But then tonight Eli goes, "I don’t want to go out to the dumb house anymore." (He has a tendency toward negative thinking at bedtime.) So I explain that we just have to keep our "eyes on the goal."

As a way of keeping our eyes on the goal, I will include one last "picture": The sun is streaming in through the many windows in the addition. Looking out the picture window, I can see the snow heavy on the trees in the winter wonderland and the frozen bay. I can hear the boys playing out in the snow. I can picture our cozy couches and the kitchen. I can almost feel the heat from the wood stove in the basement.

That happened today too.

Amazing Progress

October 20, 2010

November 9, 2010
Hip hip hooray!

Can you even believe how much this place has changed in the past 3 weeks?! It's been so exciting to see the progress. The weather cooperated and has been amazingly warm for this time of year.

Monday morning the inspector stopped by. (No mothers bragged about any borderline activity this time.) Later we heard that he told a mutual friend, "They still want to put an entrance on the house. I don't see how they're going to get that done." Well, it's on, thanks to the amazing support we've had.

Donut Day

On Tuesday the power went out. It was a scheduled Donut Day around here and the dough was already rising. So the Donuts must go on. We found a propane stove in the basement and made do. (Thanks, Lyndakers. We'd pay for the use of your stove in donuts, but they really aren't as good when they're not fresh.)
At lunchtime, Eli's assistant principal brought him home from school. They let out early because of the power outage and hadn't been able to get a hold of us. They first went out to the new house following Eli's directions. We were all at home eating lunch, so then she brought him home to find us when they saw that no one was there. We thanked her with a fresh donut. Ah, small town life...

Hard Workers

New Furnace

I'm happy to say goodbye to the old furnace and duct work. By the time the old duct was torn down, our basement was filled with disgusting grime. I don't even want to think about all the cat hair and other stuff that would have been circulating through our home.

More Fuel for the Fire

Watch out- She's got a hand saw. It's a wonder we have any trees left on the property.

Actually, it looks great. The snow can come now since the large majority of junk is gone and we don't need to see the ground anymore. (The snow must have sensed my permission ahead of time- It's already falling.)

Pyromaniacs

The mother figures have just been itching to get their hands on the burn pile. The pile has grown considerably since the photo I posted 2 weeks ago. Mom M. and Mom H. have done lots of outside clean-up, adding to the pile.
So Saturday they started burning. The pile was way too big to just burn as it was, so they decided to make a smaller fire to the side, adding as necessary.
This morning they had the fire going again. I noticed a truck driving by slowly. Then it came back again and turned in. I soon saw that the man who got out was wearing a jacket with a Fire Department logo. I was on the phone at the time and he made his way over to the fire-burning women. As I got off the phone, I heard him greet them. They had yet to notice his jacket and here's how the conversation went:
Strange man: "How's it going?"
Gloria: "We're having fun!"
Twila: "Are you a fireman?" (joking)
Strange man: "I'm the Fire Chief."
Strange man (a.k.a. Fire Chief): "We received a complaint about the fire."
Twila: "Did you get the call today or Saturday? It was a lot bigger Saturday! Not to brag..."

Thankfully, this was a very nice Fire Chief and he okayed the fire. But I think I might start hiding the mothers when official inspector-type people stop by. They are more than helpful in a clean-up, work-hard situation, but I'm starting to wonder how helpful they may be in a "I'm-here-to-investigate-a-complaint" situation.

Feeling very thankful for these hard-working pyromaniacs today.

This is how it looked inside our front door just 2 1/2 short weeks ago.

This is now.

And here is a photo from inside the new part. (Notice the boys up on the old roof. We tried to figure out a way for that to be their secret hideout, but gave up. :) )

The Big, Beautiful Window

More Reinforcements

We're so thankful for more helpers. Leonard and Twila and Rod all arrived Wednesday evening. They've already gotten so much done. Rod left for home tonight.

Eli and Evan loved time with their uncle. Here they pose with a heaven-sent grouse...or something. Kendall was right by the house. He heard a thump on the window above him and the grouse fell right down beside him. Meat.

Belated Birthday Party

The arrival of grandparents and an uncle brought with it the excitement of another birthday party. The boys have been in high gear, thoroughly enjoying our visitors. So they were more than happy to celebrate once again. Nana Twila made a wrestling cake complete with wrestlers fashioned by Eli. She had wrestling matches planned for all males, but the men claimed they were tired from working all day and backed out. Eli and Evan received a tool box, tool belts and plenty of real tools to fill them with.

We had a great time with this relay. Get dressed up...
and find a specific page in a book. (My team won.)

Trusses

Odor Update

When we pulled up the carpeting in this room, the foam backing stayed glued to the floor. Here I am sanding off the foam in an effort to get rid of anything stinky and prepare it for sealer. I'm smiling, but it hurt! Hoping this helps with smell.
Speaking of the smell, it's getting better. Kendall has been lighting a fire in the wood stove. It's drying things out. Tomorrow my Mom and I will paint the subfloor with a primer to seal in any smells. Then we'll power wash the basement and put a dehumidifier down there.

Here's a "before" picture:
Again, if only it were scratch 'n sniff...

Plan C

Did I mention that we dropped Plan B and moved on to Plan C in dealing with our rocky roadblock? We were going to rent a pricey chipper in an attempt to defeat the bedrock. The chipper ended up being unavailable for quite awhile and we heard a fair amount of "That will never work!" So we finally gave in and accepted that up here in the boreal forest of the Canadian Shield, bedrock almost always wins. And it certainly wins against lowly people like us without access to large quantities of dynamite.
So Plan C was formed. The basement addition will be approximately 16 inches higher than the rest of the house. So we will step up from the old part into the new living area. Not my ideal, but it will add interest. We will build our house on the rock.
Here is the footer.
Evan asked Marvin for his trowel. Instead, Marvin helped him find another one and showed him how to smooth the concrete.



And here comes the basement floor on Saturday afternoon! Thanks to the muscles and brains that helped pull this off successfully!


By Monday afternoon, Eli and Evan were able to play in their basement. Here they pose in front of our basement window with a view.

Oct. 29- Reinforcements Arrive!

Yea for Mom and Dad! They got here Friday and jumped right in.

Here Kendall and my Dad demonstrate the mesmerizing Dance of the Sledgehammers. They cut a hole in the existing basement wall (a job Kendall has been dreading since Day 1). Then they rhythmically took turns swinging the hammer to break down the concrete wall.

And Mom jumps in and cleans up.

Halloween Fun