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.
Limited work but maximum productivity.
This morning I left at the same time Liz and Luke were headed to preschool. I stopped at the bank in Manchester before coming up the Mountain. After going by my storage unit, the dump, and the lumberyard, I drove down to the new Food City in Winchester. There I bought several nice items that Piggly Wiggly doesn’t have. Back at the cottage I relaxed and did some computer work. Finally around 2:40 I decided that the rain was finished and headed to the job site. Boy was it a muddy mess. I worked for about four hours installing joists on the back decks. That went pretty well. Afterwards I drove to Lake Dimmick but decided not to hike due to new no parking signs at the gate. I talked with Liz a little earlier and she said Luke did well at school today. My parents are with him now so she can watch a concert online.
Decked out.
This morning I went to the lumberyard for a bundle of 2x12s and then started cutting them, along with some 2x8s at the job site. My dad came a little later and we started installing joists on one of the front porches. The mud slowed us down a bit but we still made good progress. My dad installed blocking between the joists while I cut more for the back porch. By the time he left we had all of the joists and blocking installed on the bigger of the two front porches. I left not long after and returned to the cottage for a shower. I drove home in the rain and arrived to play with Luke a bit before dinner. He was in a good mood and did well cleaning up after we ate.