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.
Wet, but happy.
I got to the job site a couple of minutes before seven this morning and it was lightly raining. I started off digging six more footings for deck posts. That was tiring but went well, and I was mostly able to avoid the rain. Not the mud though. I went to the lumberyard and picked up some treated boards in order to start the bands around the porches. I was able to get all four done. Back at the lumberyard I got 20 sacks of concrete, most of which I poured into the bases of the new footers. I went to the cottage for a very late lunch, then returned to measure and mark for joists. Back at the cottage I ate dinner and worked in Sketchup to determine joist lengths, since there will be some variation. I will try to find a new book to read and go to bed early tonight.
Pretty productive again.
I slept in a little bit and wasn’t too motivated to get going due to the rain. I did an Insanity workout then ran some errands, mostly because I wasn’t excited about my main task at the houses, which was installing the final two porch posts on the second house. They were challenging but I was able to get them done in a couple of hours or so. Then I cleared everything away from the houses in anticipation of the evening’s earth moving. I returned to the cottage for lunch and to make a bean dish in the slow cooker for dinner. Next I went to the lumberyard for some cable and accessories to secure one of the access roads to the new property. That ended up taking a second trip plus a visit to Ace Hardware. Once that was complete I went to the cottage for my trailer that was loaded with lumber. Back at the job site I waited for Chase, who was going to do some dirt moving for me. He arrived a few minutes after five and worked for a little over three hours. He graded under the porches, unloaded my trailer, and helped me haul a huge stump away. We stopped work at dark. I came back to the cottage for a shower, dinner, and a phone call with Liz. I will hopefully sleep well tonight.
Mixed day.
First thing this morning I drove up to Walmart for a printer, some birdseed, and a few other things. Liz and Luke made pancakes while I was away. After eating we went into town and rode his tricycle at Riverside and played in the splash pad before going for a walk around the downtown square. Back at the house we had lunch and Luke and I attempted naps. I was more successful, but later in the afternoon he put himself down for a nap. I did a little organizing in the garage while he slept, then we played a bit until dinner. After dinner we cleaned up which took a while and he had a bath. I left afterwards and drove up to the Mountain. It was an uneventful drive and fortunately not very rainy.
Hot but fun day.
This morning after breakfast we went out towards Santa Fe to visit some friends from the farmers market, Sam and Daniel, along with their son Joe Hickory, who is a year younger than Luke. It was a pretty morning – overcast and not too hot. They had a lot going on – ducks, geese, chickens, cows, sheep, and lots of plants. Luke had a great time seeing everything and meeting Joe Hickory. From there we drove to the farmers market and got a few things. Luke rode his tricycle around some also. After lunch Luke and I both tried to nap, without success. I took trash to the dump and then Luke and I messed around in the garage and covered up the water line that was dug up last weekend. He went to bed early but it took him a long time to fall asleep.
The hoped for productivity did not arrive.
This morning after breakfast I went to Kroger with a shopping list from Liz. I messed around for a bit in the garage before Luke and I reinstalled an access panel on the side of the house. Then we went next door to chat with Mister Jerry until it started raining. We went inside just in time for lunch. I did some computer work then fell asleep for a bit. Upon waking Madeline had to leave early and so Luke and I played until Liz got off work. Then we all went to Riverside and Luke rode his tricycle all over. We picked up dinner in town and ate it at home. Despite my nap I am still tired and hope to go to bed early.
A day that went differently than expected.
This morning at 5:45 I got a text from Eric saying that he had just run a couple of guys off the job site who looked like they were up to no good. So that was how the day started. We took Luke to his first day of preschool and he only cried a little as we left. I dropped Liz off at her office in Cool Springs, then went to Home Depot, Chick-fil-a, Lowe’s, another Home Depot, and Goodwill before returning to Liz’s office. We went to lunch at a Mediterranean place before we returned to the office. I sat in the car reading one of my books from Goodwill until it was time to go get Luke. He was in a good mood when we picked him up, and we took a scenic route home so he could see some construction equipment. I stayed at the house for a little bit before driving to Monteagle. Fortunately it didn’t look like anything had been stolen, but I took all the ladders to the cottage to be safe. Then I drove home to find everybody asleep. I might try to finish my book. It’s pretty good.
A disjointed, but productive day.
I was sluggish this morning but got to the job site at a reasonable time. I decided that the big posts would require a helper, so I focused on cleaning the sites and taking down the temporary porch supports. It felt good to be organized again. Next I drove down to Chapel Hill for another load of interior lumber. This afternoon I went to the Goat Market and chatted with Eric for a bit, and cleaned up the inside and outside of the cottage. I drove home this evening and the sky was lovely, although it did rain a bit. Luke was heading to bead when I arrived. Pre-school starts tomorrow and he is excited.
Wrestling posts.
Last night I stayed up until after midnight reading, and read more this morning. It was about eleven by the time I finally got to the job site. I started measuring and cutting the 6×6 porch posts. Then I went to get the chainsaw to make things easier. I got eight of the ten posts set. The two remaining are the tallest, and they will be tough.
