"Peace is present right here and now, in ourselves and in everything we do and see. Every breath we take, every step we take, can be filled with peace, joy, and serenity. The question is whether or not we are in touch with it. We need only to be awake, alive in the present moment."

~Thich Nhat Hanh

I read this this morning and thought to myself that my life has not been full of peace lately.  Immediately I also thought that while events around me have been chaotic, I don't feel that way inside.  I am feeling peaceful and content.  I have faith that things will work out, that the chaos will come to an end and my outer environment will reflect my inner environment.

It is less than 2 weeks before Christmas and there are so many tasks to accomplish.  I am not sure why I am not feeling any urgency.  I think it's because we have long held the belief that "what gets done, is what gets done" and what doesn't?  Isn't going to ruin anything.

On the train this morning, Pk and I made a list of our favorite baked goods and it's not terribly daunting.  Having the pollyanna relieves some of the stress to find perfect gifts for everyone.  Pk is easy to please and provides me with a very explicit list (just like when we were kids with the Sears Wishbook).  We will only need one or two shopping trips and a few nights of baking and a major grocery shopping trip since I didn't go shopping amidst all the construction last weekend.

So, in the midst of all the chaos that is my life right now, I feel peaceful inside and there is a real sense of Joy at the coming of the holidays.  How are you holding up?

Mr. Building Inspector (who reminds me of the actor William Daniels right down to the glasses), came yesterday morning and passed our construction.  He did tell us we had to add something called "collar ties" (they hold the rafters together in the A frame part of the roof) and hurricane clips.  We promised to make them happen and he gave us the coveted white sticker.

Then he told us he will be back to inspect the insulation but not until the 19th since he will be on vacation.  (this was right after he told us we had to get R30 insulation which is 45 dollars a bundle.  We had R19 which was about 11 dollars a bundle.  Quite a price difference there). 

What this means is that we will not get our sheetrock up before the holiday since I need more than a day or two to put the living area back together before Christmas Eve.  We'll have insulation (covered by a plastic vapor barrier) so it will not be drafty and cold but it will look like a construction zone.  With garland and lights.

And a tree!  We went out yesterday and bought a Christmas tree.  Pk found it as soon as we walked onto the lot.  It's about 10 feet tall.  And then he walked a few steps and found a 14 foot tall tree. Now, mind you, we have 9 foot ceilings (or we will once we put the sheet rock up) so a tree that tall would be out of the question.  Except that this year, we have no ceiling and for once, Pk could get the tall tree he has always wanted.  I said "go ahead.  get it".  He hemmed and hawed and finally came to his senses and we got the 10 foot tree.  It's beautiful and with our new "open plan" we can put it anywhere so it's going right next to what we've taken to calling the totem pole.

This week, Pk will put the wiring in for the fixtures/outlets and then put in the insulation.  The roofer will put in the collar ties on Saturday and we'll attach the hurricane clips one night.  They're not hard, there are just a lot of them.  Then on Sunday, I'll clean the windows and walls and sweep the floors and we'll put down a carpet remnant and begin to move the furniture back in. 

Since we have a new space, we're trying to imagine things in different places.  It wouldn't do to put everything back where it used to be.  That would not use the space well.  It's exciting and will be nice to have the insulation in so the room is warm and we can come out of the bedrooms for a while and not have to be doing construction work.

It's hard for me to believe that there is only 2 weeks until Christmas.  It's plenty of time to get things done and I'm not feeling panicky or anything.  My mind has been so focused on getting a roof over our heads that I haven't had the brain cells to pay attention to much else.  That will change after the weekend when we reclaim some of our living space.  I have moved back partially into the kitchen.  It's so much bigger feeling without the walls.  I think I love it.

And I understand that not everyone knows what a pollyanna is, at least where it pertains to gift giving.  Everyone puts their name in a hat and you choose one person to buy a gift for.  It makes it easier if funds are short or there are just too many people in a family/group to get everyone an individual gift.  What it means in reality is that I only have to shop for my "pollyanna" and for Pk instead of all three girls and their SOs.  I made sure Pk and I didn't get each other so we can shop together.  There's a set limit for spending which is agreed upon ahead of time so it keeps things fair. 

I have done a small bit of knitting.  I finished Bigger on the Inside for Elanor.  There is no lovely outdoors modeled shot as it has been grey and raining for days here.  She loves it.  It's just a small shoulder shawl with sparkley bits.  It takes the place of the last four pairs of socks for this year.  When I finish the foot of the purple pair I'm making for her, I will be done and I can make some socks for me (or Pk, he's been waiting and waiting).  The woman at work who was trying to make the shawl is ready to try again after Christmas. I have a good start on the other one I was making so I can work with her on getting hers underway.

 I showed El how to block a handknit so she can block the Feb Lady Sweater I made her a few years ago.  She threw it in the washer.  Not a terrible tragedy since it's superwash wool.  But then she put it in the dryer.  I'm not sure how well it will block out if she wets it and we try to block it but it's worth a try.

I am waiting for the roving for my sweater to come in the mail.  Joan said she finished dying some roving in heathery colors to match my swatch and was going to put them in the mail this week.  It means I'll have to find time to spin some yarn so I can go back to knitting my sweater.  Probably after Christmas before we start the rest of the construction work.

So, what do you think of this fan?  The one with only two blades that looks like a propeller?  I like it a lot and think I want to put it in the dining room.  Having a fan in there really makes a difference in the summer.  It creates enough breeze so we don't feel stiflingly hot.

The fan we had stopped working and I missed it and knew I wanted to replace it and now I have an excuse to get a new one.  I really like the clean lines of this one.  Em told me it looks like an alien robot that is going to feed our brains to it's evil brain-eating overlords.

I think she watches too much television.

I'll post an update when we get the furniture back in place over the weekend.  I find I am really excited about this even though it'll be our old furniture for now (and for probably some time to come unless one of Pk's lottery tickets comes up a winner). 

Christmas is coming!

 

Here is the update shot of our new space.  This is taken from the front corner of the living room.  The kitchen is in the right corner and the dining room is to the left and we're standing in the living room.  We call the main support beam the "totem pole".  I think if we had thought about it more, we could have gotten a thicker one and carved penguins into it......
but who knew we'd be getting rid of all the walls?

The weather which has been so cooperative (even giving us positively balmy days last weekend) was not so cooperative this weekend.  It was foggy/rainy yesterday and today it out and out rained most of the day.

The roofer guys got most of the shingles up, just a few rows left, before they ran out of shingles on Saturday.  They were going to finish today but even I could see that they couldn't get up there on the wet tar paper safely so it'll have to wait until next weekend. 

It's ok.  The room is still dry.  Cold, but dry.  You can see the light through the ends of the rafters.  We can't seal that up until the inspector guy comes tomorrow and approves the work.  It should be fine.  And then Pk will put in the electric boxes for the fixtures and then the insulation. 

After that, it's sheetrock and light fixtures and then clean up and we'll be able to get ready for Christmas.

 Kate got us a plant because we "needed a bit of color".
Putting up the holiday decorations will be a challenge since most of the walls are gone but I'm looking forward to it. 

A new dumpster will be delivered this Friday and they'll take away the full one.  We'll fill the new one with all the debris that is now cluttering our yard. 

I am so looking forward to Christmas.  We're doing a pollyanna this year and I am so thankful.  Pk and I can shop together for our pollyannas and then I can get him a few things and he can shop for me.  I don't have to do all the shopping/wrapping for everyone.  I think I might like to do this every year.

Thursday and Friday Pk had a fever and was really out of it but he kicked it by the weekend by passing it off onto me.  My brain is so foggy.  I am slightly feverish but not overly so.  There's some intestinal distress involved as well.  I am considering a mental health day tomorrow. I would like to be here for the inspector and after the inspection, we can go get our tree.


And this potrack.  It has lights and will hold the pans I use the most.  It's planned to be suspended over our counter (which we don't have yet) since the ceilings are 9 feet high, it will fit nicely and I will be able to reach things.  I don't think I'd like to store bread and vegetables on it but maybe a plant?  For the moment, I'll use the old countertop resting on the sawhorses.  I can't wait to get things moved back into the kitchen area so I can find them!  We will put in new cabinets and things but not now.  We've spent enough money for the moment.

That's all our news.  Well, not ALL the news but since most people (but not me) are on Facebook, I imagine you all know.  Last weekend Jim told us he wanted to ask Em to marry him and asked if it was ok.  We (of course) said yes and today he asked her and she said yes.  So, there will be a wedding in our family in the future. 

And we couldn't be happier (and yes, Em, I cried).

I have it on good authority that this is what all the cool kids are wearing this year.

This is my first pair of work gloves.  I've owned gardening gloves before but have never owned my own work gloves.  I always put on Peter Kevin's and of course, they were way too big.

I have small hands with short fingers.  These fit me perfectly.  They have suede palms with reinforcement over the knuckles and palms. 







I wear them when I'm doing this.  Yes.  I am using a circular saw.  Also for the first time.  I have screwed down the floor boards and cut some pieces.

I don't want Peter Kevin to feel like this is all on his shoulders.  I am capable of helping somewhat and even though I know he'd probably move faster without me (kind of like when you allow children to "help") sometimes, he shows me how to use the power tools and I give them a try. 

I don't actually do much but I am doing what I can. 

We got about half of the floor covered with plywood at this point.  Elanor has been a great help, ripping up the old flooring during the day so we can come home and put down new stuff.  Tonight we decided to do some work and then eat so I'm sitting here at 9:00 at night eating a bowl of turkey soup.  It's delicious and not too heavy since I'll probably be in bed in another hour.

This has been a real learning experience for me and I am becoming intimately acquainted with parts of my house that I never gave too much thought to.  Like joists.  And studs.  We're going to buy a carpet remnant to put down for the time being so that it will be a bit more comfy for the holidays.  The room is slowly getting finished inside which is good since the inspector is slated to come out on Monday.  Cross your fingers.  It all looks good to me but what do I know?

Today we bought something called Hurricane clips.  They hold the roof onto the house in case of hurricane weather.  Not such an outlandish idea since we've had hurricanes in both of the last two seasons hit our area.  Ours are similar to this one.  We're not sure if they're required but our neighbor who is providing the know-how for all of this says that he has to use them all the time. 

So, that is where we are.  The floor will be done by tomorrow night or early Saturday morning and then the shingles will be done on Saturday.  Then we can clean up and get ready for the first inspection.  After he gets a good look at the framing and rafters, we can put up insulation and can stop heating the outdoors as my grandmother used to say.  There's space between the rafters and the walls which is open to the cold air.  We've been so lucky weatherwise.  It's been fairly warm this past two weeks.  And this Saturday should be warm as well.  Our guardian angel has been working overtime. 

I don't think there's enough Advil in the world for the soreness that is my body.  Every muscle seems to hurt. 

We had a bit of "normal" yesterday.  We got up and went to work and picked up some Chinese food for dinner and just relaxed.  No demolition of the floor, no hammering or prying or anything.  I was so tired, I fell asleep at 9:00.

When I got into work yesterday, there were 17 voice mails needing attention.  I dealt with them and then tried to get organized.  I think I was still running on adrenaline from the weekend.  We got through the day and collapsed.

I slept like a rock.  I could have slept more hours but the ones I did sleep were deep and restful.  I think that's the first night since last week that I can say that.  It felt good.  Today, however, every muscle is saying "hey, notice me!".  And I'm supposed to walk up with my group to see a traditional light show at one of the local department stores.

I love Christmas and all the kitsch that goes along with it but this light show is not part of that experience for me.  I didn't go as a child so I don't have the fond memories attached to it.  It's a light board that has accompanying music and the lights flash shapes. 

Our Social Rehab group is walking there and then touring the Dickens Village.  We do this every year and I'm not all that enthused (can you tell?).  I'm sure once I'm there, I'll enjoy it.  I'm just tired.

Pk is tired and it's starting to show.  He's a bit cranky and easily frustrated.  Unfortunately, we can't take time to just relax but have to keep going this week so we can finish up by the weekend.  We really want to have the inspector come in on Monday and then Tues/Wed to finish up so we can just clean up and take it a bit easier. 

And if we ever needed a reminder that we are no longer 18 , this is it. 

Can someone pass me that bottle of Advil?

Monday morning 9 AM.  This is a progress shot of the inside.  I am standing right inside my front door looking into the kitchen dining room.  That island counter is coming out today and the blue tarp on the side is coming down and the roofer is finishing up the walls.  We'll put the windows in the back and start ripping up the old flooring and putting down temporary flooring in a short while.

I just got back from the bank (oh my goodness have I been spending money this weekend), Walmart for some frozen lasagna, salad fixins and plastic plates so we can have a real meal for dinner.  I've been throwing things into the crock pot and that's been good but we need a more balanced meal.

I hear Pk and Ken (roofer guy) down there now so I have to drink the rest of my smoothie and take my medicine and head down to help.  Hopefully, by the end of today we'll have most of this stuff cleared away and we can use the kitchen. 
We're headed off to work tomorrow (for some rest!) and then maybe get the first inspection on Wednesday afternoon.  With any luck, we can get the other inspection Thursday or next Tuesday and then we can enclose the ceiling and we'll have reached our goal of things to finish before Christmas. 

It's totally doable, just keep moving forward.

Oh my goodness I am tired.  Bone weary, deep down tired.  And the thing is?  I didn't work that hard today.

This is the front of our house.Well, it was the way it looked last Thursday.  Today it looks quite different.   See the tarp on the left side?  That flat roof has to be replaced and this weekend was the one that we chose to do it. 

It was just the beginning of a rennovation adventure.  Thursday, Pk tore down the sheetrock and insulation from the inside.  What a mess!  El and I bagged it up and put it into the dumpster that is sitting in our driveway.

It was yucky and messy and hard work.  Friday was more of the same but worse.  Pk went up onto the roof to tear off the shingles and sheeting so we could have the new pitched roof put on.  Parts of the roof were soft and he had to be really careful so he didn't fall through.

He got about half of it done and on Saturday morning, the roofers came in and took the rest off.  In the process, they discovered that the back wall wasn't strong enough to support a new roof.  It seems that our siding was not installed properly and water has been getting down the back wall of the house.  The wood was rotted in places so the whole back wall had to come out. This was the view from my living room through the back of the house.  Literally.  It's such an eerie feeling to be standing next to walls without a roof or ceiling. 

Our roof was an angled roof- 9feet in the front and 7 feet in the back.  If you look at the photo, you can see where the wall on the left ends and the new ceiling will begin.  We are gaining almost 2 feet of room.  The back wall has been rebuilt and has some osb sheets on it.  It'll get wrapped with tyvek and the siding will be put back.

See how the new roof angles up?  It will make it harder for it to leak.  At this point, the roof is installed and has tar paper on it but no shingles yet.  The guy may be back tomorrow to finish it or he may not be able to come back until Saturday.  Either way, it'll be done by next weekend.

The upshot of all of this is that the ceiling has been raised by several inches and we got a chance to see which interior walls we really wanted to keep.  The answer?  None.  We got rid of the closet that Pk built when we first moved in and will replace it with an island that has storage space.  It makes for an open area with the kitchen on one end and the living/dining room on the other.

So far, I love it.  It's not nearly finished and we'll have a ton of work to do but it'll be a gorgeous room when it's done.  We started to make it nice when we moved in here 28 years ago but then the girls came along and it seemed more important to spend time with them than to work on the house so we lived with an unfinished house.  Redoing the roof has given us the incentive to make the space nice for us.

But it's exhausting to think about.  Having to tear out that wall cost more than I had planned and so the aesthetic parts will have to wait until the spring but that's ok.  We'll have a sound roof and some new space to play around with.  We'll take the opportunity to update the kitchen and make it more user friendly for us to cook together. 

At this point, we have to pass the framing inspection and then the final inspection (when the insulation is in place).  Then, if we're lucky, we'll get the sheetrock up before the holidays.  If not, the decorating theme this year will be the Pink Panther (he's the mascot for Owens Corning, the company who makes the insulation that will be showing).  It won't matter.  We'll be happy either way.

I'll take some more photos and try to get one of the space.  I don't know how I managed to forget that at the end of the day.  I think it's just exhaustion.  Four days of picking up debris and cleaning up and making trips to the store for things that are needed for the construction has worn me out.  Tomorrow, we're replacing the floor with some plywood until we decide what we want to put down (and then save up some money to do it!)  Our deal is whatever is finished by the 15th (inside) is what we'll live with for the holidays.  I want/need some time to pull out some decorations and put the furniture back and clean up so we can all get together and have a good time.

So, what's new in your world?