Active Christmas Eve.
I finished up the screws I wanted to this morning (still have about 3200, or a whole day’s worth to put down), and headed home. I stopped at Lowe’s in Shelbyville for a few things we needed. I also stopped at a gas station deli in Chapel Hill for a few things I didn’t need. After lunch I went to Aldi for a few last minute items, but struck out on eggnog. This evening we took Luke to the playground, where he ran around and had lots of fun. The sunset was lovely too.
Getting closer on the deck.
I left the house pretty early this morning and drove up to the Mountain. I drove by the job site, saw that nobody was there, then went to the cottage for a nap. After lunch I went and installed the remaining deck boards. Two neighbors came by to chat, so I lost a little time, but it was nice to visit a bit. I left when my batteries ran out for the impact wrench, and will return tomorrow morning to put in a few more screws on the band. This evening I went to Dollar General for some Christmas decorations since Liz was sad that we didn’t have any. These probably aren’t what she had in mind. I also got a bunch of treats for Wild Dog’s Christmas.
Fun with Uncle Matt.
Luke did not sleep in today. The exact opposite in fact. Uncle Matt did sleep in, but Luke still got to play with him for a couple of hours. Of special note is the way that Uncle Matt rolled all three of Luke’s balls at once. Video below.
Bread, grandparents, Uncle Matt.
Luke slept in this morning and it was great. He was in a good mood all day. This morning we went to the farmer’s market to get some bread. We ended up talking to the bakers for quite a while before returning home to meet my parents. They hung out with us for a while, and played with Luke a lot. I think he was happy to see them. He had a good nap and we read a lot while Liz went to town. I made chili in the slow cooker using some pumpkin that Liz’s parents brought down. This evening Liz’s younger brother and his girlfriend came to stay with us on their way to New Orleans. They will leave in the morning.
Deck day 3, more dirt.
Another early start to the work day. Not as cold this morning. I quickly put down all the deck boards that I could before the blocking needed to be installed. Once finished with that I focused on cleaning up the site in anticipation of Daniel coming to grade. I loaded a bunch of scrap wood in the trailer and stacked the good wood. Also the electricians came and started on the wiring. That felt good. Once Kent came we worked on the blocking together, then Daniel came and we installed the drain pipes and he moved a lot of dirt quickly. After he left we finished the blocking and installed a few more deck boards. We could have finished but I decided to come home to have dinner with Liz and Luke. It was wonderful to see and read to him before he went to bed. Now I am in bed on the computer. My whole body aches. My hands are raw and my fingers split. But it was a good week and I am happy. It will be a busy weekend preparing for Christmas and New Year’s.
Deck day 2.
Another long day. Twelve hours in fact. Cold again in the morning, but I like that because the ground is frozen solid. Once it warms up everything turns into a muddy mess. So I had to wear my mud boots again today, and by the end of the day my knee was really hurting. I started the morning by installing the last joists. Then I started carrying up and cutting the deck boards. I installed some before Kent arrived. He started the blocking and once Jacob arrived with the four wheeler they hauled up some deck boards to the saw while I went to the cottage for a late lunch. After I returned we cut and hauled and cut some more. All 140 boards. We then cleaned up and called it a night. Two of the headlamps had burned out so we weren’t very efficient.
Deck day!
Well I happened to get over to the job site at about 7:30 this morning, and it’s a good thing that I did, because the deck lumber was delivered at about 7:45. Due to the mud he had to leave it at the end of the driveway. My dad came not long after and he helped me set the posts and build the band. After he left Kent, Jacob, and I cut joists. Kent installed the joist hangers, and after he left I hung most of the joists. I worked until about 8:30, then went to Piggly Wiggle for some food. I am tired and sore!
A nasty, unproductive day.
It was still sprinkling this morning and I had zero motivation to do anything. Eventually I got dressed and headed down to Winchester. I was planning on picking up enough of my lumber order to start on the deck today, but it was so wet and cold that I decided just to have them deliver it all tomorrow. I went by Home Depot and picked up a hoe for mixing concrete and then returned to the cottage. I did take a nap this afternoon which was really nice. My dad came up and after his nap we just chilled and chatted before going over to the campus dining hall for dinner. The selection wasn’t as good as last time, but it was still a great meal. It was bitter cold when we walked back to the car though!
Slow going Monday.
This morning I went to Kroger as Liz had a huge grocery list and no time to shop. Then I packed up my car and headed to the Mountain. I stopped at Lowe’s in Tullahoma to pick up some tile and reschedule my appliance delivery. The drive was easy and uneventful. I wasn’t planning on getting much done since the forecast called for 100% chance of thunderstorms. It wasn’t raining when I arrived so I went to the storage unit to unload from my car and do a little organizing. While doing that I got a call from the Daniel the excavator saying that he was on his way to do some grading behind the house. So I went and set up everything for him. Kent was already there caulking, so he helped as well. Daniel got the back all ready for the deck and then left, saying he would be back later in the week to prepare the driveway and get rid of the dirt piles. I was hoping he would finish today, but of well. I went back to the cottage to get my tape measures and spray paint, then Kent and I laid out and dug the deck footings. Ten of them, in hard clay. We went well into the dark, but it felt good to get done and beat the rain. Speaking of rain, it started not long after I returned to the cottage. Power was out for over an hour. The job site will be a muddy mess tomorrow.
Projects, playground, projects.
It was another great day. We hung Hatch Show prints in Liz’s office, set up her keyboard, and hung coat racks in the mud room. Things are really starting to come together. This afternoon we took advantage of the lovely weather and went to the playground in Spring Hill. Luke had a great time and was able to interact with a couple of other kids. Back at the house we played some more and read two new books that he got from Liz’s parents yesterday. I wanted to cook today but was missing some of the ingredients I needed. So we had leftovers. I’ll stay here tonight then head up the Mountain in the morning. It is supposed to storm all day tomorrow.
