More Then 1/2 A Ceiling

Thursday night I arrived home to such a welcome sight. All the guys - working away on the porch ceiling. It made my evening, for sure. And in just a couple short hours, we went from 1/3 ceiling to 2/3 ceiling.

Check out the funky angles - all an effort to reduce seams and keep the bead board running straight. Don't forget, this porch is funky in that it is a fat L shape, with a large portion near the french doors. So as we go into the bottom line of the L, we switch direction on our bead board. Yes, that's not the ideal situation, but again, to avoid mad seams, we decided to make the switch.

 So this portion in the pic above, it's hard to tell, but the direction is flipped. Note that the hole has been cut for the fan box. Additionally, all the outlet holes have been cut on the "done" side of the porch. (Quote unquote)

Meanwhile, today begins MA's famous tax-free weekend! Yes, from Sat - Sun, you could save the 6.25% sales tax on any and all purchases under $2500. (Don't think I'm not dreaming about a fridge... but not right now.) Just this morning I was at BJ's 5mins after it opened to do a large shopping trip. Glad I did too, it was already getting busy!

Soooo.... yeah. I'm also dreaming of some additional porch building materials. I have no clue what we need next. No clue if Mike will be available to shop with me. No clue if Morse Lumber is open on Sunday. 

But I do know that if worse comes to worse, we need paint and we need a fan. We need railings - which I want so bad. But I just don't know what kind or how many. Should we go with the more expensive no-maintenance forever and ever kind?! Should we go with the economical pressure treated that needs painting again and again? Then there's trim.... And what about some lattice for the lower third? Oh - and stair stuff...

Ahhhhhh - overload!!!

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Clash of the Carpenters

It's Sunday night. And I'm looking at 1/3 of my porch ceiling. Yes, things were delayed last week... and having jinxed myself repeatedly, I decided not to type a word when the schedule changed to Saturday.... then Sunday.

And being Sunday, Mike was already booked fixing TJ's truck. So there we were... dual carpenters, one porch, a truck with no brakes, neighbors in and out, and so much madness. I was concerned it would be out of control, with everyone tripping all over each other. But it turned out. It really turned out. As you can see from the soon to be beautiful results.

But before you can say that doesn't look like a lot for a days work, the strapping for the rest of ceiling is done too - so we're ready to pretty much slap up the rest of the bead board at some point next week.

The next step, besides the obvious getting up of the bead board, is the removal of all the gutters across the front and side of the porch. That way, it'll be able to be trimmed on the outside. A very very good thing. After that? Stairs.

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Wired!

Wiring is complete! Mike finished it up last Friday night. Saturday, I even cleared the porch of all I could so that construction can commence whenever possible. I still can't believe it'll be happening soon.... imagine... a ceiling as early as this week. It just doesn't seem possible.

As you can tell, I'm in pretty good spirits. After last week's downturn, our luck returned over the weekend. Mike finished the wiring, I discovered my Sat night plans were not ruined because of stupidity, we salvaged that important document we lost, bids started flying on both my ebay auctions... then some no-feedback ding dong cancelled his winning bid on 4Runner #1 in the last 20mins of the auction. What an incredible idiot!

And it's not just like, "Oh, that's fine - I'll just list it again." No - selling vehicles on ebay is actually tricky business. I can't just plop it back up again - the same 4Runner shoppers from last week will likey still be there... and now that they saw my 4Runner make it up to the reserve amount.... they know what that amount is. And they won't bid.

I had a similar problem when selling a motorcycle some years ago on Ebay. Some crafty fellow slapped on a high bid, just to see what the reserve was, then retracted the bid. After that, the auction creeped up by pennies, because everyone knew what that reserve was and they were all clammering for a deal. Those swine. It's like they're all in cahoots.

Anyway. I read him the riot act. THEN he had the nut to tell me that since I'm an experienced Ebayer, I should be used to people doing this sort of thing and know how to handle it. That response did not dignify a response-response from me. (And by the by, this particular situation of having to file a claim with Ebay to cancel the transaction and that sort of thing - has never happened to me in all my many years of Ebaying.)

At least the soft top sold with no muss 'n fuss. Phew! Plus, I have a whole bunch of response to my craigslist ad for 4Runner #1... including a gentleman who is so near-to-sure he's going to purchase, he'll come to my house on Monday with a flatbed to pick it up if no one else has purchased yet. Hey, maybe that Ebay ding dong was just meant to be.

So, returning you once again to home-matters - I'm even more super psyched because the guys are supposed to come over tonight to begin work on the porch ceiling. Today's time is ticking by super slowly just to twazz me out. I cannot cannot wait.

Mike warned me in advance that we'd probably be getting another laundry list of materials from Timmy as progress progresses. No problemo man.

It's going to be finished before the end of this month. I can feel it.

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Bummin'

It's been a rough couple of days. After that whole affair with the crazy wiring problems, we've had nothing but bad luck. Loss of important documents.... loss of mind which may result in the cancellation of a big event for this weekend.... no big money on either of the Ebay auctions as of yet....

I feel so frazzled. And don't ask me what we were doing on Wed and Thurs nights because I really have no idea. I made some squah at some point. Yes, squah. Squee-Squah. "I'm a squeaky guy." Wow. That just came from way out in left field. (Strong Bad email reference.)

The wiring will be completed tonight - I think. Not sure if the guys will be able to start on ceiling construction this weekend. Timmy's usually more available on weekday evenings. But hopefully then I'll be able to pull my head together.

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Great Event, Great Cause

Hey all! A fellow blogger clued me in to a great event happening this Sunday 8/1 from 9-3 in Chatham!

So well said by my fellow blogger at The Bitch Stopped Cooking, "There will be music, food, and some pretty fabulous things for sale including antiques, handmade items and jewelry, and lots of plants. There is also going to be a raffle for red sox tickets, patriots tickets, and some other great stuff."

Make sure to check it out!

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Snakes and Ladders

Never assume anything is going to be easy. That's rule #1 of home renovation, but for some reason, we all seem to forget it every time.

Last night I decided to nix dance class so Mike could continue on the porch wiring. As you noticed yesterday, the majority of the wiring was done. Tonight's task: feed the wires down to the basement, hook it up to the panel, and run the speaker wire. Easy? Seemingly.

Mike got a wire snake from work, drilled a hole, and proceeded to fight with the snake, the wire, and the wall for the next couple hours. Something in the wall - some unknown obstacle - made the job near to impossible. Even when the wire and the speaker wire successfully emerged from the wall and into the basement, the even-seemingly-easier job of removing the snake proved to be absolutely impossible. It snagged on this unknown object in the wall and could not be freed. Mike had to cut it.

He was not happy at all.

Further troubles then prevented him from connecting everything to the panel and he finally threw in the towel for the night, incredibly frustrated.

Good news is - we measured, and the 48" fan will fit nicely. I won't dare to say that the hard part is over with, but hopefully we're at least nearing the top of the hill, with completion of the wiring tonight.

Also, I'd like to share with you a great resource, dedicated to your front porch! Aptly named, "Front Porch Ideas and More" this site has pages upon pages of porch photos! (Say that five times fast.) So whether you're looking for inspiration on landscaping, furniture, entertaining, railings, ceilings, decorating, and more... this site is definitely for you. Check it out!

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Let the Finishing Commence

4Runner #1 is on Ebay..... The soft top is back on Ebay.....

And with those two items taken care of - we begin the wiring of the porch. Right now? Right now! Well... technically Right yesterday. But that's even better then right now, because right now, the wiring is 75% done. Sometimes I am so amazed at what can be accomplished when you have a couple hours of sheer motivation.

Unless Mike is feeling totally energetic after I get home from dance tonight around 8:30, the wiring will be completed on Wednesday night. I browsed the outdoor ceiling fan collections at both HD and Lowes and found that HD had much better prices. I personally like this fan. But I'll have to measure to see if the 48" is enough. If we have to go up to 52" we'll be looking at a more expensive fan for sure.  Not that we'll be getting the fan at this very second. In fact, it'll likely be the last thing on the list. But never hurts to make your design choices early. This fan also features the pull chains, which is good, since we're going to avoid a switch altogether. It'll just make things easier.

Side note - since the lamppost will have to be its own separate thing, we moved that project onto a later date as well. I thought it might be easy to tie into the porch wiring, but not the case. Oh well.

What time is it?! ADVENTURE TIME... no wait... CEILING TIME!

The bead board is wood, but not good-wood and not pre-primed. It will need to be painted. Sky blue, it is. Mike did get the pre-primed trim boards though, which is very good.

Of course, when I look at this pile, it seems to me like we have WAY too much. But my judgment is generally wrong. I'm no good at estimations of size, distance, or weight. So don't ask me to guess anything... at least not if you're hoping for a close to correct answer.

I'm not sure yet when we can start installing the bead board. When we're finished with the wiring, we'll check in with Timmy on his schedule. I'm not sure the next step after that. More trim? Stairs? Railings? Lattice to keep the animals from going underneath? I guess I'll be finding out soon enough.

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Boxed, Fixed, Ordered, Delivered

Yes, I finally got my box!!! And now the soft top is packed up, taped up, and ready for weighing at my local postal office. I cannot wait to get it back up on Ebay tonight.


Also ready for posting - 4Runner #1!! I detailed it on Saturday, Mike completed all the final repair touches on Sunday, and just this morning I took all the photos I need to sell. Posting will commence tonight. Another weight soon to be off my shoulders and out of my driveway.


But the biggest and best news of all came late Sunday afternoon. Mike and I were on the porch, discussing all things electric, when our neighbor Rich pulled into the driveway. Apparently, Timmy (who did our garage roof) was asking about the porch - if we had wired it, if we had ordered the materials, if we were ready to go on it... because he was available and ready to work.


I didn't hesitate. "Mike can get all the materials tomorrow," I told Rich. 

Mama don't mess around when it comes to availability. Timmy made us a shopping list a while ago, plus, we now knew what we wanted in wiring. "Just go down to Morse Lumber tomorrow and order it all," I told Mike after Rich left. And he did.


The unfortunate news is that we couldn't get exactly what I wanted for the ceiling. The traditional thing to get is that bead board stuff - you know, like wainscott, 2 1/2 inch wide wainscott bead board, whatever you want to call it. But I really wanted something a little meatier - like a 4 inch or even 6 inch wide bead board. Something different, you know? Well, Mike investigated all the options this morning and discovered that there is a HUGE price difference between the normal 2 1/2 inch vs wide board. We just couldn't go wide. For all that we needed, the 2 1/2 inch was about $680. The next level up jumped to $1300.... and the next after that.... around $2500. Ouch. For just the ceiling!!!! Ouch ouch!


So, traditional it will be. And, in case you didn't know, it's also traditional to paint your farmer's porch ceiling blue - like the sky. I'm not sure if Mike got the pre-primed white stuff or the true-wood stuff or the fake-wood stuff. If it's pre-primed white stuff, I'll definitely go with the lightest tint of blue. If it's true-wood or fake-wood, I may go with the rustic, wood look. I'll find out tonight since Mike's order will be delivered today.


And at this very moment, Mike's on his way to the DeepHo to pick up all the electrical. We decided on one fan to go over the fat section of the porch and 10 outlets, to be distributed evenly, about one every 10 feet, across the perimeter of the porch. No additional lighting. Why? The outlets will be so much more versatile. I can string holiday lights, (which normally come in 10' sections, hence the 10' spacing between the outlets) rope lights, pendent lights, and so much more depending on the season, holiday, event, or occasion.


That, and I want to purchase these nifty railing cap lights.  (PS - This dekor website, linked to the left, has all sorts of nifty lighting. I like the "deck dots" too.) They'll be great for stairways, especially (Speaking of which, I am SO looking forward to having proper porch stairways.)

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Roof - CHECK!

It's finished!

Yes, the guys came over last night and worked tirelessly to finish the job and beat the rain. And it looks beautiful. Plus, Timmy got Mike all excited when he told him - "Yeah, all you have to do is this and that and this and you can take down the wall between the old garage and the addition and just have one big garage." (I'm paraphrasing here, of course.)

Mike asked me, "Do you think I should do it?" Pshaw! No contest! I said def! That way Mike could move his giant toolbox and work bench to the far far back wall and free up some much needed work space. I keep having the urge to run out and buy new garage doors so that Mike can move the old door to the garage addition... but I need to hold myself back. We've got the porch to finish.

Stay tuned! Wiring begins on Sunday! (And I'm going to do a lamppost at the same time, just like I've always wanted!)

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The Roof The Roof The Roof Is On Fire

Well, not really. But I do want to raise the roof because believe it or not - it's better then half done.

Doesn't that look awesome? I had an insider tip that the guys were planning on coming yesterday... but I didn't want to jinx it by posting it up on the HB. (house blog)

And here's the other side - soon to be completed - tonight!!! (That is, unless severe thunderstorms roll through... because the forecast has just been all over the place this week and I have no clue what's going on and neither do highly paid meteorologists. )

Unfortunately, all this good news comes with a little bit of postponement news. We won't be able to purchase the rest of the wiring materials for the porch on Thursday. Turns out, Mike needs to do some work to the tractor to get it race ready for the big tractor race event on Friday night.

So how much more redneck could we get?! Hard to believe we're from New England, isn't it? Cracks me up - I love this lifestyle! Never a dull moment!

Also - Mike FORGOT MY BOX again. Oh, I'm sorry - I need more emphasis. AGAIN!!!!
At this rate, I'm going to need to show up at his work on Saturday and pick up the durn thing myself... wait, I have a potluck dinner to cook for. Thwarted again!

Ok, back to good news. With the roof on the GA nearing completion.... wait for it.... the porch is next! Woo-hoo! And I don't want to rush the guys who are helping us out - but I am so psyched for this. What I will be rushing on is the completion of the wiring and purchase of raw materials. Next week deadline. I'm pushing for it.

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Cleaning Up

Last Saturday night, while trying to finish up repairs on 4Runner #1, we couldn't find the intake boot. The garage was a mess, the yard was littered with misc boat parts and beer cans, and Mike and I were both very frustrated about it. Luckily, after over a half hour of searching, Mike finally tracked down das boot in the garage addition, amongst another pile of misc.

But the whole debacle was enough to spark a Sunday Morning Clean Up. So first thing in the AM, Mike loaded up all the old boat trailer rollers, cans, and every other piece of junk on the side of the garage, in the garage addition, and in the regular garage - to the dump to the dump to the dump dump dump....

And here's the resulting "after" shot. I don't have a before shot for you. Too gruesomely messy for even the internet.

Upon returning from the dump, Mike set about REALLY cleaning out the garage. (It's been a disaster zone ever since he threw out his trash can... not the smartest move.) But I must admit, after just a couple hours in the AM, plus a few more hours in the PM (after we returned from our Clambake and BDay party) he made great progress. Half of the garage is clean.

4Runner #1, I may have forgotten to mention, is now fixed and running perfectly. I plan to clean it up and take pictures on Saturday, time permitting. I'll try and get it on Ebay... although now that it's the dead of summer, first gen 4Runner prices are down. I expected that, which is why I really wanted to take care of this back in spring, when every 4cyl manual sh*t box on there was going for 5,000+. This is a V6 auto... and sure it's rusty with a host of small issues and mileage up the wazoo - but it's still a V6 auto. And that's worth something to a lover of these. It just needs some TLC from someone who's willing to take the time with it. It's still the wrong time to sell. But I'll give it a go anyway. Winter is certainly not the time and I'd like this thing outta my hair.

Today - Mike will hopefully remember my box for the soft top. No bites on the craigslist ad yet.

Next up? The wiring of the farmer's porch! The speaker cable should be in by now - Thursday night we will probably purchase everything else we need. (Tues is my dance night, Wed is the demo derby at the fair, Friday is a tractor race, and Sat night is a potluck dinner - Summer of a Million Events continues!) So we probably won't be able to wire until Sunday at the earliest.

Will the roof be done by then too?! My sources say yes if weather permits. Can't wait!

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Pleased as Pie

After waiting so long to start on this list, I'm amazed at how quickly we've been able to cross things off of it. In just last weekend and this week:

1. Mow the lawn (dang, it was at the point of seeding itself on the side and back lawns)
2. Jess muffler & Tailpipe (yes, I lost my tailpipe last week. LAST WEEK)
3. Jess wheel bearings (these have been bad for over a month now)
4. Jess oil change
5. Jess wheel spacer & new wheels (I've been wanting to get this taken care of since I got that flat tire.... oooo, more then two months ago)
6. Remove current 4Runner soft top, package in a box, and put back on ebay to sell.
7. Put on other 4Runner soft top.
8. Purchase parts and fix the old 4Runner #1 - SELL
9. Wire the farmer's porch for lighting, fan, speakers, and outlets. (Speaker wire already on order.)
10. New windshield for Mike's truck
11. Fix up Dodge #1 - SELL
12. Fix Dodge #2 - SELL

AND, if that weren't enough, the guys came by to do the garage addition roof!!! But we didn't have any drip edge. So Mike purchased that this week and now, hopefully, we are 100% ready for them to return and knock it out. (Again, it's been super hot and humid, so I don't really blame them for the delay. Plus, they've been working on another house, getting it ready to sell ASAP - so again, no blame again. I know they've been super busy.)

Tonight, Mike is going to finish up the repairs on 4Runner #1 and it will be ready to tidy up and put on Ebay for sale. The old soft top is back on craigslist (Click here to check it out!) Although Mike's been having some technical difficulties bringing home a giant box to pack it in for Ebay purposes. Once someone threw out the box on him. Another couple times he was on the bike and couldn't bring it home. Another time it was pouring rain out.

Today, he's on the bike again, so no box. But he's going to set aside a BBQ grill box for me. That's disappointing. I was hoping to be at the PO this morning to weigh that thing so I could get it up on Ebay.... At least it's on craigslist. No bites yet though. Amazing. These things are so rare, especially in New England. There must be SOMEONE like me out there who's desperately searching for one.

Anyhoo. Sunday will be a wash since we have a clambake, followed by a bday party. The following weekend, we'll be back on the job (hopefully!!)

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Another Infamous List

The 4th is over! And believe it or not, we had a fabulous time out on the water... despite a last minute blown head gasket discovery. Yes that's right, Mike discovered the problem on Thursday, but managed to fix it in time for our outing on Sunday.

Here we are, waiting for the fireworks to start in the bay. It was a great night with friends and two other boats, and we had a similarly fun time on Monday.

Here are the Mikes cooling off in the tube.

So, despite the great time, I was very happy to get it over with. Now, we can move on to the crazy to-do list that has been just racking up for the last few crazy weeks.

DA LIST
(in order)

1. Mow the lawn (dang, it was at the point of seeding itself on the side and back lawns)

2. Jess muffler & Tailpipe (yes, I lost my tailpipe last week. LAST WEEK)

3. Jess wheel bearings (these have been bad for over a month now)

4. Jess oil change

5. Jess wheel spacer & new wheels (I've been wanting to get this taken care of since I got that flat tire.... oooo, more then two months ago)

6. Remove current 4Runner soft top, package in a box, and put back on ebay to sell.

7. Put on other 4Runner soft top.

8. Purchase parts and fix the old 4Runner #1 - SELL

9. Wire the farmer's porch for lighting, fan, speakers, and outlets. (Speaker wire already on order.)

10. New windshield for Mike's truck

11. Fix up Dodge #1 - SELL

12. Fix Dodge #2 - SELL

Phew - I'm out of breath just thinking about all that. And I know what you're all thinking - what's up with the garage addition and porch?! Well, we got all the remaining materials we needed for the garage addition roof. But then, we got a heat wave... and I honestly don't blame Timmy for not coming by to finish it. I wouldn't want to be up there in that heat. Hopefully, we'll hear from and see him soon. Believe you me, I haven't forgotten. If we don't see him this week, I'll probably have Mike check in on his schedule. Sometimes he gets crazy busy like us.

And as for the porch - well, we need to wire first. So that's that for that.

Ok - now, I'm happy to report that after only one week on the job, we're well on our way to smacking out each item on the list.

Mike fixed his lawn tractor blades on Wednesday evening and mowed the lawn! Meanwhile, after Mikey was in bed, I trimmed up one of my cherry trees and weeded along the driveway a bit.

Thursday, Mike picked up the muffler and tailpipe and installed them last night. I picked up the oil filter and oil. (Penzoil special at Advance, filter and 5 quarts for just $16.99)

Tonight is wheel bearing time! Tomorrow - soft top time! The only thing I'm missing is the box to pack it in, which Mike hasn't been able to bring home from work since he's been riding the bike. (I nearly wrote, "riding the box.")

The speaker wire for the porch should arrive on Monday too, although next week will most likely be about 4Runner #1. (Which Mike is dreading... but I am so excited to sell it. Whatever it goes for, I will be so happy just to see it gone. And Mike will be happy too, since I've promised to transfer those plates to his '69 Camero.)

As a side note - as the summer has progressed, the state of the bathroom has degressed. Yes, I'm just waiting for the day when the floor gives way. Why? Water is leaking onto it from places unknown. It's totally squishy and wavy. The tiles continue to fall off. The stoopid linoleum is dry and cracking all over the place. The tub is so disgusting, we continue to bathe Mikey in his infant tub. Mold and mildew are everywhere - even cropping up back on the ceiling, which I painted with exterior paint a couple years ago to try and combat the moisture. The window is fulla dead bees. (I suppose I could clean that... but I really don't want to.)

So stay tuned! The coming weeks will be so exciting! And already I can tell, winter will be even more so.

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Thwarted By the 4th!

I seem to have forgotten last week that this week holds the infamous 4th of July holiday. The 4th is traditionally Boat Day, as Mike and I and our compadrates set sail for the Lewis Bay fireworks. (And when I say "set sail," what I really mean is "not in a sailboat because I hate sailboats.")

But alas - our new boat was not yet ready to go.... If you may recall from a bz'gillion years ago, it was on stands in the backyard... sans trailer... which was in the sideway (side-driveway)... sans functionality.

So Mike took as much time as he could on Sunday - had a friend of his over to help - and worked tirelessly to fix the trailer, pull the boat on, and replace the power steering lines..

The roof? Not yet. The porch? Not yet.

But I'm still quite pleased. The separately parked boat and trailer were taking up double space in the yard and sideway. Now, with the boat on the trailer, the back yard is... well, it's not clean. There's still that stupid Dodge #2 back there. But it's a yard minus a 23' boat - so I'd call that progress!

This weekend? There's that 4th to contend with, of course. Plus, in typical 4th fashion, a party on the eve of the 3rd. I've got the 5th off, but no doubt we'll be dealing with the repercussions of the 3rd and 4th if we even make it to the 5th in one piece!

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Ready to Rock and Roof

Step flashing? Check. Ice & Water? Check.

We're officially ready to roof! Not sure if Mike's talked to Tim yet. He had some errands to do last night in addition to picking up the flashing and ice & water and didn't get home until late. And tonight we're supposed to be getting some potentially severe thunderstorms... so tonight is out.

Maybe Friday night?! Oh I am so excited, you have no idea.

Meanwhile, Mike is going to order some a/v cable from work so we can wire the porch for speakers. In talking about it, he estimates it'll take less then a day to get all that taken care of. I'm thinking Sunday might be that day. Yes, we have a bday party smack dab in the midst of the day, but if Mike can start early, break to go with me to the partay, and then come back to finish in the evening, I'd imagine we'd be golden.

Of course we'd have to prepare for that scenario by purchasing all materials today or tomorrow.... that's doable. Hmmm. Plans 'a brewin over here. (This is what happens when I start writing - I get crazy idears.)

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Excitable Me

How happy was I to see Timmy in the driveway when I got home from work last night?! He and Mike were on the porch... with a tape measure. A tape measure! I could have cried tears of joy.

And suddenly the entire world was filled with hope once again.

Mike just has to pick up some flashing and some ice and water for the garage roof. Tim will be over later this week some day after work to bang it out. The whole thing! In one evening. I'm overjoyed.

For the porch, we have an initial materials list in terms of wood 'n stuff. Our to-do list includes wiring and ceiling decisions. And, while Tim was over, we made another big decision regarding the porch steps. One set of steps is easy - it will lead straight out from the front door area to the lawn. Yippee. The other set of steps is not so easy.

Currently, the temporary side steps leading to the french doors jut right out into the driveway, cutting off massive parking potential. Not the ideal situation considering our vehicle situation. We need as much driveway as we can muster! But, stairs to code would land in near to the same spot. The solution - twist 'em! Yes, rotate those stairs 90 degrees, so they'd be parallel to the house. This will still cut into the driveway, but not as much as a straight out, smack-ya in the face stairway.

One problem - solved in an awesome way. Love it!

And the electrical? It won't be a big to-do, in my opinion. But we do want to wire for speakers, lights, a fan, and outlets to be placed in the ceiling. (Why outlets?! Think xmas lights and other cool decor, my friends.) We already have some wiring in-house, plus some other materials that may come in handy.

And the ceiling? Tongue and groove pine board or whatever it is would be totally swank.... but totally expensive. And as much as I love that 2" wainscotting... I'm not too hip with that on my ceiling either. I'm thinking maybe a similar pre-fab product with a wider design. Something along the lines or 4" or maybe even more. I'm going to see if I can get the Lowes-down (get it?) for some idears.

Once that decision is finalized, we'll order all the mat's from Matt over at Morse Lumber. Our plan for the time being is to complete the ceiling, stairs, and all trimblies essential to the exterior of the porch. Yes, I know it's all exterior - but you know what I mean. As in NECESSARY not DECORATIVE. Railings and such can come at a later date if need be. Although we'll see how it goes. Timmy is very much like Mike in so much as when he's working - he works like crazy until the job is done. And he gets it done quick. And he gets it done right.

So as you can imagine, I'm just going crazay. I can't believe it's all about to happen!

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Renewed and Ready

Back from Laconia, Beek Week.... beek week?! Did I seriously type that? Could have been worse. Could have been Beek Wike.

Yes - Bike Week. The trip was nice - relaxing, fun... short. Too short. But I suppose vacations always are. I can't remember the last time Mike and I had a moment to have something that wasn't an argument. That sounds terrible. Makes it sound like we're not getting along. And that's not true either. We're just under a lot of stress and highly testy.

Now, going back to good news, one of the conversations, of course, was house related. As in, I'm sick of stagnation. As in, "I know you]d rather start a new project then finish the old, but we need to. We made the decision to seek Tim as soon as possible. (You know, Tim the roofer.) That garage addition roof is #1. Also, we want Tim to place a bid on the completion of the farmer's porch. Yes, that's right. The farmer's porch. I made the executive decision on this one. We don't need much that we can't do - but we need it done. (Say that 5 times fast!) Furthermore, we need it done immediately, or sooner if possible. After the difficult stuff is complete, we can do our own staining, railings, etc. etc.

Which brings me to my next point. The yard. With all these new additions, it's time now for landscape planning. And I am no good with plants or researching plants. I want someone to do a design. Mike knows people - so talk to people! Get them over! Do a drawing, give me an estimate, I don't care just do it.

It all starts now. Yes, MB is still in NH until tonight, but this morning our neighbor Richard stopped over. Turns out that while we  were gone, Timmy actually stopped by - ready to roll on the roof! (Figures, right?) Well, I told Richard - we want the roof and we want the porch. And I know Timmy always tries to refuse money. Not this time. No way.

So Richard will talk to Tim, Tim will talk to Mike - maybe even tomorrow - and get started. He told Richard he could finish the garage addition roof in just a couple hours, with only a couple more little materials. (ice & water, that sort of thing) Sweet...

Wouldn't it be awesome if we could get this whole porch done in just a couple weekends?! The very notion....

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Gifts for Above

Upon returning home Wednesday or Thursday of last week, a surprise out back by the garage addition. Roofing shingles!!

Where did they come from? No doubt our roofer Timmy dropped them off. Now the only question is, when can he return to install them? Don't know. Do we need more? Probably. Some other materials too? Probably. A step in the right direction? Sure! Any progress is good progress.

So what is going on at this very moment and why isn't it roofing? Well, Mike is trying to rushedly fix our new boat before the massive thunderstorms and possible tornadoes hit. (We made it on Storm Master G's TorCon forcast with a number 3.) After all, this is the last of our free weekends before the 4th of July. More events events and other events!

Last weekend we worked on the boat trailer - yes, I helped. And then Mike diagnosed the boat so he could purchase parts over the week. I'm most looking forward to just getting the boat off of the sketchy stands at this point and onto the trailer. Reclaiming near to the entire back yard won't be so bad either! Give the grass a fighting chance to live through the rest of the summer...

Who knows if that will happen today though - especially if these storms hit.

Also last week my strathwood chairs arrived. I've been waiting to get these durn things from Amazon for ages. Every time I had money - they weren't available. No money - available! It drove me crazy. So finally, seeing that the ones I wanted were once again available, I just said heck with it and snatched  them up. A couple years ago I bought a chaise and I've been so happy with the quality and the price. (Yes, I sound like a commercial don't I?) In fact, I signed up for this nifty amazon product feature thing just because I wanted to tell y'all about strathwood.

Look elsewhere for wood and/or teak outdoor furniture. It's expensive. We're talkin like $200 per chair - $300+ for a chaise?! That's highway robbery. And I despise plastic, wicker, and metal. With strathwood, the set of 2 chairs WITH CUSHIONS were just $150. Yes, set of 2, $150. Awesome.

I found a rocking chair at OSJL (ocean state job lot) that matched for $140 and I snatched that thing right up, since strathwood doesn't make one.

Of course now I have all this nicey nice furniture on an unfinished porch that's partially taken up by entire house-side's worth of siding. I told Mike I wanted to stain the deck and that's when he reminded me, "hey, who's going to move the siding and to where?!" Grrrr. But a valid point. A frustrating point. I hate that feeling of unable-to-do-anything.

But at least I have chairs. How'd we go from roofing to boat to chairs?! That's just how my mind works I guess. Loyal readers are used to it by now.

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MemDay Already?

No news to report. That's it - end of blog.

Can you believe it?! This is normally our season of doing. But this year it's another season of doing nothing but going around in circles. When did we build that garage addition? May 1st it was pretty much completed... and here we are on the 30th and still no roof.

Shameful.

This very weekend Mike is sick and not too happy about it. He's dying to purchase the roofing shingles, but every Monday something else seems to play roof-block. And tomorrow's a holiday, so there ya go. He managed to mow the lawn today, just to say he got his butt outside for a few.

And me - I wish I could do more. I asked Mike to get the stain and deck stainer device from work so I could do that this weekend... but turns out he was too poo'd to go in on Saturday. Would have been a perfect time too - no rain for the weekend and the baby has been taking great naps all day.

At least I got one of my 4Runner soft tops sold. Woo-hoo! And with my new found wealth, I'll be purchasing the parts needed for 4Runner #1 so that it may too be sold. Woo-hoo2! I'm waaay too happy about that prospect.

I mean, come on?! What sort of a goal is it just to sell a 4Runner in an ENTIRE summer. Pathetic. In the olden days, we could have had the garage addition done, porch finished, and a whole 'nother side of the house re-sided by now.

I'm beginning to see why it takes normal people so long to do these renovations.
Although the scariest thought is this - next year at this time we'll be trying for our second child. Maybe I should start re-evaluating all my improvement goals. To think I wanted to have a second bathroom by spring 2012.... I still do. But is it realistic? Not so much.

Depressing.

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Attack of the Yard

Little Mikey turned 1 last Sunday, but to avoid Mother's Day plan conflictions, we scheduled his party for this coming Sunday. Weather's going to be beautiful.... the yard, not so much.

Mike and I spent some quality time with some good friends of ours last Sunday, which was a nice change of pace for sure, but left the yard in the same shambled condition it's been since the last garage addition building session. Our roofer told Mike, "Just get the shingles, let me know, and I'll just come by and roof the whole thing. It'll only take me a couple hours." Mike considered picking them up last Monday, but just didn't get to it. That means this Monday for sure.

No roof for the fiesta.

What really bugs me is the boat... the new boat. Oh I'm going to love it on the water for sure - it's huge! In the yard... on stands... so it can't be moved.... not so much. Repeat: It's huge! So we have a boat on stands in the middle of the back yard and an empty boat trailer in need of some TLC before the boat can be set down on it. Taking up double space.

Then there's 4Runner #1 - which, you'll be proud to know, we finally moved off of the side yard, giving that grass a fighting chance to survive the summer. Now it's in the driveway. And with prices back on the upside for Ebay 4Runners, now is most definitely the time to fix and sell. It's on our to-do list. I had hoped to get this taken care of this week, but that, in hindsight, was wishful thinking. No fear - always next week. Although I don't want to go much longer then that, as prices are sure to go down when we hit the heat of summer. I need to sell my second soft top too. Another item on the to-do list.

I digress.

So I guess I may have given away my anxiety about the state of the yard on FB, since yesterday afternoon our neighbor Dana came over with his weed whacker and did the entire yard. Even though I hope he didn't go to any trouble... I really love that he did. The hill in back and the scruff up front are both looking very well groomed. Mike would have never had the time to do it himself.

Speaking of MBSR, he began tidying up last night. He moved the Pontiac motor off the driveway and into the new garage addition. Then, followed that by a random dirt bike, random lawn tractor, and finally, the skid steer. Hey! Less then an hour to fill the entire space. Imagine that. A new world record.

I haven't been back to check it out yet. Hopefully they'll be enough room for the tables and chairs and the bouncy house and all the other fun stuff we have planned for Sunday.

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PlyDown

This past Sunday, work continued out on the garage addition. This time, with the addition of plywood. I arrived late in the afternoon after a weekend away to find that the wood portion of the show was nearly complete.

And I'll tell you one thing - with that roof on there, that addition looks BIG. I feel like I have no backyard left, even though there's been that concrete slab of the same size there for years. Must be the inability to see through to the other side of the yard. Then again, there's all the random junk still littering up the remainder of the back yard. None of that helps any.

In looking at it now, it almost appears that we just purchased a dang big shed and installed it at the butt of the garage. Hopefully when everything's painted up it'll look at least a little more cohesive. Maybe I can add some shrubs there on the side and the back. Oooo! There's an idear. Or we could get a canopy to attach to the side there, string up some lights, and put down one of those nifty fire burning tables. Oooooo!

Of course the whole place needs to be cleaned up.... again. Doesn't it just feel like we just cleaned up the yard?! I told Mike, once this garage addition is finished, he's got to get the trucks done and out. Sell one, drive one, sell two, buy a better one - I don't care. Just doooo it and lets be done with this giant vehicle fiasco we've been dealing with since LAST SUMMER.

Uuuhh. Makes me sick just to think I've been looking at this junk pile for near to a year.

On the bright side, the front yard is looking lovelier by the day.

The trees are in bloom! (And certainly not dead, which is a very good thing.) Most of the lawn is looking good, save for the spot where we removed that old tree and the spot where we had a trailer fulla siding for half of last summer. Luckily, even those spots are starting to come up now thanks to one of those "grow anywhere" seed products.

I only wish the porch was done. My hope is dwindling there though.

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Ruffin It

Remember when I mentioned that our good roofing pal Timmy came by and measured/made a materials list for the garage addition a couple weekends ago?

Well, last Saturday night, Mike went to the HD and purchased the first load of said materials (No trim, just the basics.) And when he got home he said to me, "That's a LOT of wood, I think it's too much. You're going to sh*t when you see how much wood that is."

Jokingly, I replied, "I'll probably sh*t when I see the bill." Unfortunately he turned to me seriously and said, "You probably will."

But we both thought at the time, "eh, some of it will go back."

Nope.

The guys worked on Sunday - Mike, Timmy, TJ - even our friend Shawn was over. (Meanwhile I was hanging out with 3 other moms, 3 other babies, a 6 year old, a 7 year old, an 8 year old, and of course my own little Mikey. Total full house! But that's another story.)

And yes, the guys used all 24 16' 2x8's in construction of the roof.

They didn't have time to start plywooding, but as you can see, everything's ready to go.

Of course I have yet to look at the bill for it all, but considering how much I can't wait to get the yard cleaned up, there's no doubt it'll be well worth it.

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STREZZED OUT

Hard to believe that just a year ago yesterday I was 39 weeks prego and Mike and I were on our big last hoorahh trip to Boston. That little weekend escapade was so incredible and relaxing. Wish I could have done it again this year... unfortunately no time to take a day off. Not so much because I have a teething baby, although that doesn't help things any, but because work has been just overwhelming.

Plus I have so much personal junk that I just haven't been able to do because I need a day off from work to do it all and I haven't been able to take a day. And it's not that my boss said "NO" because he said "Sure, whenever you need to go." But I just haven't been able to. Too busy. I could take a day... but then that would mess me up on all these tight deadlines, presentations, shoots, and other madness I'm trying to juggle. It's getting so frustrating.

And in the midst of all this, there's a million events coming up I need to plan for. Bday parties, bachellorette parties, graduation parties, bridal showers, bike week, the annual dance recital we shoot for work.... So there's presents to buy, invites to send, RSVPing to do, babies to arrange.... I just can't seem to get a leg up on the pile.

So why am I taking the time to complain about it when in the time it takes me to write this blog, I could have made 5 phone calls, shopped online, printed some invites, and coordinated my calendar?! I dunno. Don't ask me stoopid questions right now. I'm too twazzed out.

As you can imagine, with a mental load like this, I've been less then proactive in the hacienda department. But, with this past weekend as rainy as it was, who really cares, right? Good time just to hang in and try to get a grip on yourself.

But our good friend Timmy who did the roof on our house stopped in to take some measurements out at the new garage addition and write up a materials list. He's going to give Mike a hand in building and roofing the roof, hopefully this Sunday if the weather holds out.

And as for the porch, I still don't know, but I'm beginning to think not, which is pretty disheartening. I think if I'd known that things were going to be this crazy now, I would have definitely shelled out the cash to finish the thing the same year we started.

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One Addition Please

Behold! Garage addition sans roof!

Yes - there it is. One Sunday = one addition please. And Mike's really pleased. In just a day, he purchased all the materials and built this. The opening you see is for our current frontal garage door, which will soon be moved to the rear upon purchase and installation of new frontal garage doors.

Also yet to come - or I should say, yet to come down, the giant CB antenna. (Because it would just be so backwards to build that in there, wouldn't it?) And all that scaffolding stuff should really go back where it came from too. Plus, a roof would be nice. Luckily, we probably have enough roofing leftover from the rest of the roofing job to complete a nice little roof on the addition.

And as for me, I'm dying to get an answer on the porch completion front. That way I can figure out whether to be excited or not.

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Nothin Like a Rust Basket for Easter

Welcome to Easter Sunday!

Mike brought me home a lovely rust basket yesterday... the 1/2 a trans am I mentioned earlier in the week.


And despite my reservations about messing up the yard just two weeks after we finished cleaning it, I'm pretty happy with this thing. I mean, Mike was out there for less then an hour when "Vrooommmmm" the engine fired right up - no problem, ran perfect, leaked nothing. All he's got to do (all - yeah, that's a loaded word) is pull the engine and anything else worth salvaging - then junk the rest.

Today? I doubt it.

Today's more about his garage - or, I should say, the back of the garage where we poured a cement slab nearly 3 years ago. At that time it made a great dance floor for our backyard wedding. But its real purpose was yet to come - garage addition.


Well, thanks to the sale of one of our welders, Mike is now able to fulfill his add-on dreams and build the durn thing. (And it's a 'thank you' from me for all his hard work to get the house ready for that appraisal too.)

So today, his mason friend Tom is coming over to raise that foundation a bit with cement blocks, thus avoiding wood to ground contact. (Because that's just never good.)

Meanwhile, our neighbor Dana will be burning our combined brush from those trees Mike took down near the line of our two properties. We gave most of the logs to Dana for his wood stove, so he was more than happy to offer to tend the burn for us.

Not quite your traditional Easter celebration, but very much us.

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