Fun and rain.
Luke was quite disappointed that Uncle Matt didn’t get up nearly as early as he did. In fact it was about a three hour wait. He was rewarded though and had a fun morning. After lunch he and I had quiet time, then we went for scenic drive, along with Liz. He fell asleep after a little while and had a nice car nap. The rains returned just after we got home and so we spent the rest of the day inside. Luke played with Tchopa a bit and then we had dinner and the normal bed time routine. He is actually not yet asleep and it might take a while. I will wait until tomorrow morning to drive to the Mountain.
Shortened Saturday.
This morning I took my trailer to the job site, returned some joist hangers at the lumberyard, and transferred a lot of stuff from my car to the storage unit. Back at the cottage I washed clothes and cleaned the house. I went next door to chat with Debbie and Charles for a bit before driving home. Luke wasn’t napping when I arrived a couple of minutes after one. I ate lunch and then we went for a car ride, during which he napped for a bit. We played with Legos this afternoon and he helped Liz clean the apartment in anticipation of her brother Matt coming up from New Orleans later tonight. Dinner and the bed time routine went well, although he was disappointed he couldn’t stay up for Matt’s arrival.
A day that did go as planned.
I was a little slow moving this morning, but did get to the job site about 7:45. I finished up the big back deck on the first house without too much trouble, just a trip to the lumberyard to exchange some boards. After lunch I started on the porch railings. They are going well, although I need some more materials from the valley. My final task was to start screwing down all of the deck boards. I worked until nearly dark. After showering at the cottage I went to Piggly Wiggly for some food. It has been a nice, relaxing night here and I hope to go to bed soon.
A day that did not go as planned.
Luke had a very rough night, including a fever and not much sleep. So he was not fit for school and thus I stayed home with him. This morning his fever was gone and he seemed to be feeling okay, just congested. After playing with Legos for a bit we went to a church playground downtown and then to Kroger. Back home we played some more and he actually put himself down for a nap before lunch. After his nap we ate and then played for most of the afternoon. We stayed indoors because it was so hot out. When Liz got off work at 4:30 I drove up to Monteagle, grabbed a couple of things at the cottage, and headed to the job site to meet with the plumber/electrician. We chatted for about an hour and got everything squared away for him to start work next week. This evening I have just been looking at stuff on my phone.
More decking.
This morning I again arrived at the job site around 7:30 and quickly finished the first back deck. Then I moved on to the second and made a lot of progress before I needed to stop for the day. I went to the cottage for a shower and lunch. Once clean and fed I went to the bank, dump, lumberyard, and Goat Market. It was nice to catch up with Eric. I drove home via Bell Buckle, and arrived to find Luke in a bit of a mood. Fortunately a snack helped improve his disposition, and we played with Legos a bit. Dinner and the normal bed time routine followed. Now I’m just waiting for Liz to come out of his room.
Decking all day.
I got to the job site around 7:30 this morning while it was still relatively cool. I put down more decking on the first house and the lumberyard delivered more for the second house. I finished the posts and joists on the back deck and now only lack joist hanger nails and cleats for it. After lunch I finished most of the front and back porch decking on the second house. On the back porches I’ll be able to put down all of the decking. On the front porches I first need to put in short posts, but in order to install those I need to paint behind where they will go. I did put paint samples on each house though, a dark blue and a light gray. I like the latter but am unsure of the former. I returned to the cottage about 7:15 and have just been eating and relaxing. Hopefully I will talk with Liz soon then go to bed.
Sunny all day.
This morning I drove down to Home Depot in Manchester for some lumber and screws, then returned to the job site. After unloading everything I went to the lumberyard for more lumber, then got to work. On the second house I installed the joists on the front porch and the blocking on both porches. On the first house I installed joist hangers and braces on the front porch. I went to the lumberyard again this afternoon in order to get some deck boards, which I started installing. Once my batteries for my tools ran out at about six I packed up and left. I showered and ate dinner at the cottage and went to Piggly Wiggly for some fruit. I have since just been reading Wikipedia articles on my phone.
Finally a day without rain.
The was a chance of rain in the forecast today, but thankfully it never arrived. This morning after breakfast we went to Target then Port Royal playground. After lunch Liz and Luke did quiet time while I mowed grass for a few hours. It felt good to get most all of the yard cut. We went to the nature park this afternoon and Luke rode his tricycle around there. Back home we did a video call with my parents and Lauren, and Luke showed off his new hanging bar. We had dinner and Luke took a bath. Afterwards I said goodbye and drove to the Mountain. It was nice to leave a little earlier than usual, around 7:15. Now I am washing some clothes and will go to bed soon.
It seems as if the rain will never end.
Luke got up super early this morning, and so the rest of us did as well. It was of course raining. After breakfast we went to the farmers market and chatted with folks for a bit, in addition to buying fruits and vegetables. We dropped those off at home then went to a peach orchard to buy a bag of fresh peaches. Back home we had lunch and Luke took a nap. It was a little sunny when he woke up so we went to the playground then Lowe’s in Spring Hill. Dinner was a white bean chili that I made in the slow cooker. Now it is storming again.
Muddy, abbreviated work day.
For some reason I woke up feeling very sluggish this morning. Kind of odd since I was excited for the work day. Anyways, I got to the job site at about 8:45 and started installing more joists. That was slow due to the mud, but I was making good progress. A little before noon Liz called to say that Madeline had lost her sense of taste and was going to get tested for the virus. So I started packing up and preparing to head home. After showering and having lunch I did just that. The drive was quick and I arrived about 3:40. About halfway home Liz called to say that Madeline had tested negative and instead had an ear infection. Luke was upset because it was too hot to go outside, but after snack he calmed down and we played with Legos for a while. We had an early dinner and bed time. He was asleep around seven. Liz has gone to the grocery store now and I hope to go to bed before too long.