Giving Thanks

I am grateful that...

...the more than 10" of snow we received two days ago has not leaked through or torn the tarps on the JayBee. (In fact, not all of it has even managed to stay on top of the tarps.)

...my plow guy did not hit the JayBee during the first plowing of the season (even if he did manage a direct hit on the septic pump).

...my family agreed to a Thanksgiving plan that allowed us to enjoy time together and share stories and laughter.

...I have managed to get enough rest over the last few days that my sense of humor is intact and my flares of temper/irritation have been brief (silent, internal) sparks rather than huge, expressed explosions. (I do recognize that sometimes there are only a few degrees of separation between a blessing and a disaster. :-)

...I have a few more days at home to use as I choose.

Roof Rafters 8

Last weekend, Dale and Arlen came over to help install rafters on the northwest corner of the roof.

Two and a half hours later, when they had to leave, we still didn't have the first three-foot corner rafter installed. They now have personal experience with the joy of figuring out and cutting multiple compound angles to make a rafter fit.

I finished up the corner rafter and installed it this weekend.

Also see:

Roof Rafters 1

Roof Rafters 2

Roof Rafters 3

Roof Rafters 4

Roof Rafters 5

Roof Rafters 6

Roof Rafters 7

Roof Rafters 9

Roof Rafters 10

Roof Rafters 11

Roof Rafters 12

Roof Rafters 13

Roof Rafters 14

Roof Rafters 15

Roof Rafters 16

Roof Rafters 17

Roof Rafters 18

Roof Rafters 19

Roof Rafters 20

Roof Framing Wrap-Up

Buttoning Up for Winter

My back problem finally improved after a week and three chiropractic adjustments. The first day I could get out of bed without crying or whimpering, I had a heavy cold by the end of the day. I think my body is sending me some clear messages...

House-wise, my recent focus has been on making sure my dilapidated house is buttoned up for the winter. Last weekend, my brother helped me put hay and plastic around the foundation. I've learned the hard way that this is the only way I can be assured I won't have any frozen pipes during the winter.

I also applied a bit of roofing tar to the roof, removed the roof rack from my car, and installed some storm windows. My brother moved the willow tree (that had come down during hurricane Irene) completely out of the track the plow guy will need to plow.

This weekend, I repaired the decrepit bulkhead. The timbers (against which I install styrofoam to help insulate the basement door from the cold) were completely rotten and shattered,

so I removed them...

and installed pressure-treated new ones.

This project ended up being fun because nothing about the bulkhead is square, level, plumb, or even. A perfect situation for a slap-dash hacker job! I simply cut timbers to fit, wedged them in there, screwed them together, and sealed the edges with expanding foam.

The river is looking gray and barren these days now that most of the leaves are down.