It was a pretty good day. Unfortunately it started at about 4:30 when Luke woke up. We spent the day reading, playing, then finally eating.
Very productive last day of the week.
Due to Thanksgiving this was the last work day of the week. I got a little later start than usual due to being lazy and stopping by the lumber yard for some materials. I finished up the stairs and railings and then was starting to pack up when my helpers texted that they were on the way. So I went to the cottage and picked up some siding. We were able to get in a bit of work, going into the darkness. My new lights are very helpful. We put up a bit of siding and caulked a lot. I felt like we made great progress, although to be fair we focused on installing siding on the easiest parts of the house. It will be considerably more difficult when we are working higher up and around windows and doors. After packing up I dropped off tools at the storage unit, spent a few minutes with my family at the cottage, then returned home. The drive was long, but uneventful. Liz and her parents were waiting for me. We chatted a little while then called it a night.
Steps and siding.
This morning I started building the porch steps. It was a fun and challenging project that I got really caught up in. So caught up that I nearly neglected to prepare the siding for when my helper arrived. He came and did a lot of caulking after which we started putting up the siding. It actually went up pretty well and we made good progress. The picture below represents only about an hour’s worth of work. After it started getting dark and Kent left, I pulled out the floodlights and continued work on the stairs.
Finishing trim, getting materials.
It was a lovely and productive day. I put up the last of the cedar trim, which took a little longer than expected, but it looks great. Jacob went and got lumber at the supply store in Winchester, and also picked up electrical and plumbing fixtures at the Home Depot there. The former came to the job site and the latter went to the storage unit. After dark I drove down to Lowe’s in Kimball to pick up siding and fence boards. They loaded down the trailer pretty good, but I made it back up the Mountain.
Still a little snotty, new friend, more slow cooking.
Luke is still a little congested, but doesn’t seem to be feeling bad. We did lots of reading this morning. After lunch we went to the playground in Spring Hill. There were a number of kids there in the beginning but eventually most of them left. There was one little boy about four months older than Luke and they interacted a lot while Liz and I chatted with his grandfather. It was really fun to see Luke playing with another kid. It ended up being a lovely day outside after a couple of gross rainy days.
I cooked a couple of dishes in the slow cooker today – sweet potato chili and potato chickpea curry. Both are recipes that we’ve had before and really enjoyed. This evening I’ll head up the Mountain in order to get an early start tomorrow. The weather is supposed to be very nice tomorrow and I want to take advantage. They are now saying that Tuesday should be nice too. Rain Wednesday. So hopefully I can get a lot done before Thanksgiving.
