I Am Woman...

Today, I've been working on building headers and framing out the spots where the built-in dressers are going in the kids' rooms.

I was thinking about how much I've learned in this process, and someday, after this house is long finished, it would be fun to keep building things. I have ideas for another chicken coop, among other things, but I also would really like to use what I can do to help other people. Maybe get involved with Habitat for Humanity, I thought, and as I thought it, that memory came back to ruffle my feathers again...

See, I used to work for a guy that had/has his own business in the AV world. There wasn't always work to keep us busy, so we'd do other things. His uncle was very involved in Habitat, and it happened that they were in the middle of a build one of those times we didn't have much to do, so we went to help one day. As I remember it, when we arrived on site, we found the guy in charge of the build, explained to him that we were there to help, and almost immediately, he turned to me and asked if I could go get everybody some drinks. If there was ever a time when I wanted to give someone the birdie, this was probably it. It is true, mind you, that I knew nothing about building houses at the time, and the most helpful thing I really could have done was get refreshments, but he didn't know that. I could have been a highly-skilled carpenter, but all he saw was a little girl and made an assumption.

So as I've been working, I've been daydreaming about pulling up to a Habitat build in the truck some day, and if some guy asked me to get them a drink, I could hand him one from the cooler I brought, and say something like, "There you go. Now, would you like me to build some headers and frame up for the windows going in over there?" with a look that says something else.

The Kids

Well, school is in full swing, complete with daily homework struggles.

I have come to the conclusion that Finley has a built-in resistance to the memorization of math facts. My heart sank when a letter came home the first few days of school from the math teacher, stating that it was very important that the kids know all their math facts and be able to recall them instantly. I am sure that this is due to the pressure teachers are under to make sure that standardized testing scores are good.

Don't get me wrong. As a college graduate that minored in math, I am well aware that the instant recollection of math facts is incredibly useful and makes doing math infinitely easier. But trying to explain that to a nine year old doesn't always work, so sometimes, you have to be sneaky in helping your stubborn kid memorize things instead of shoving the memorization down her throat. I fully believe that if Finley could take her time and do math problems by recalling skip-counting songs, eventually she would remember them (and maybe even enjoy math). But standardized testing has no patience for those sorts of things. So we struggle.

In other news, I noticed a dove out in the yard a week or so ago. I watched it for a minute before I realized something wasn't quite right. It was obviously injured, most likely resulting from a tussle with one of the cats. Chris caught it, and we put it in a cage on the porch. When the kids walked out on the porch for supper a little later, Finley saw it and exclaimed, "Who's this?!" Such a typical response from my math-resistant daughter, instantly recognizing and valuing the little life form. She fed and doted upon it until the next day, when we thought we'd try to release it in a safe location.She was in tears when she saw it wasn't any better and insisted that we try to keep it until it was well. It died that night.

Joe, with whom I had no problems last year, has taken to groaning about his homework and doing what he can to avoid it, including lying. What happened to the kid that would come home and immediately finish his homework so that he could play? Apparently he is more interested in (literally)climbing the walls in training to be a future American Ninja Warrior.

 

Zivah completed her first full week of school last week, everyday telling us, "We got to sleep in school again today!" Rest time is such a novel thing for a kid who hasn't napped since the age of two. She got in trouble one day for not following directions and didn't get a smiley face sticker on her behavior chart. The benefits of being the baby of the family who can slide under the radar and not really do what she's told are slowly being peeled back a bit. Thankfully, she's loves kindergarten, so hopefully I won't have any drama from at least one kid this school year.



Kitchen Lighting: Any Advice?

I've been working out in the house this morning, trying to finish up the reinstallation of the electrical lines... And looking at our lighting plan for the kitchen, have realized that I'm not entirely satisfied that it is a good plan. So I would like some input...

 

This first drawing shows the current plan. Orange dots indicate the lights I am sure about. The three in a row will be pendant or fancy recessed lights over the dining table. The orange light over the sink is (obviously) task lighting for the sink. We are also very sure that we will put under-cabinet lights that light up the counter tops. The blue dot is a potential fan &/or task light, and the green dots are recessed lights... A window over the sink and the sliding glass door provide a lot of light. The corner where the fridge is will probably the darkest part of the room.

 

My worry is that, although I imagine we will mostly use the cabinet and sink lights, those two recessed lights won't be enough if, for whatever reason, I really want to light up the whole room.

Would it be better to install some like this?

Or will I want a couple of lights over the island? The potential  fan might kill task lighting for the island, as the blades might interfere with them, and the idea of using a fan light as a task light sounds silly, so should we just scrap the fan? We could put a couple lights over the island and have them on their own switch. Or would two good lights (or one big light) over the island be enough for the whole kitchen??? We also don't want to spend a lot of money on lighting that we won't use.

I am in the turmoil of indecision, and need to get it figured out soon. hellllllp meeeeee.......

Mid-week Update

It's 7:37 a.m. The kids have been dropped off at school. And here I sit with a cup of coffee on the covered porch while the rain rattles the tin of the roof. So lovely.

This past weekend was a good one. Just after we had gotten the last of the reinforcing joists up Sunday morning, my brother, Mike, and his family showed up to help. He and Chris started adding the blocking between joists while I worked on reinstalling the electrical lines. As a result, we got a whole lot more done that we had thought possible. A few more hours of work on the electrical, and our snafu will officially be behind us.

Monday, Zivah's first day to Kindergarten, I cleaned the trailer like I mad woman. My goal was to get the bathrooms to a state that I wouldn't be terribly embarrassed if anyone needed to use them. I was sure somebody would, because I was having company that afternoon. I was having such a fun visit with my long-time-no-see friend and her significant other, that I had to be reminded to go pick up the kids form school!

Tuesday was a desperately needed trip to the grocery store, and some lawn mowing. In the middle of all this activity, I still manage to do some worthless, self-indulgent things, such as ride up to the mailbox on the riding mower when I could very well wait until I an in the van picking up the kids.

Also, I took the time to record a video of the turtles, then edit it into a nice little movie. It's completely pointless, but strikes me as funny. If it doesn't make you laugh, well, I guess your sense of humor isn't as refined as mine.

Now, I must go. For the past five minutes, I can hear a constant bellowing coming from the stand of trees in the neighbors' pasture. A steer in distress? I must find out.

We Do It Right...

'Cause We Do It Twice.

 

 

I laughed the first time I heard it. A co-worker of mine was joking that it should be the slogan for the company we worked for. These days, it sounds like a good motto for Chris and me, although for us, it could take three or four tries before we get things right.

 

Most of the time, after discovering some little goof, one of us will quote our motto, and we laugh and fix the problem. But when the inspector comes out and points out a major mistake in the framing that both we and another inspector missed- well, it doesn't seem funny at all. Just appropriate.

 

Turns out the lumber we used for our ceiling joists was a little too small. The 2x10s we installed were spanning nearly 18 feet across the living room and kitchen, when they should span only 15 feet. We should have used 2x12s. Oops.

 

The inspector told us not to lose sleep over it. All we needed to do was sister another 2x10 joist to every other joist. I glanced up at the ceiling:

All those electrical lines and light fixtures, the blocking nailed in to stiffen things up, it all needed to come out. All that work...

 

Instead of letting it get us down too much, we took the bull by the horns. Yesterday, I picked up the lumber we needed, and today, we threw ourselves at the task of fixing our mistake. We started off carefully prying up the staples holding the electrical lines down, taking out wires, and hammering out the blocking. (There's nothing better than getting frustration out with a big hammer and some demolition work.) Then, we started in on the joists.

 

First, we would bevel one corner of the board so that it wouldn't catch too much when we flipped the board up into place. When the board was ready, I would apply construction adhesive to the existing joist, then Chris would lift one end of the new joist up onto one wall, then go back for the other end. With each of us on ladders at the ends, we would next flip the board up almost into place, then, using hammers and clamps, force them into place. Clamps every five feet or so ensured that the boards were tight to each other while Chris nailed them together.

 

I have to admit, it went more smoothly than I expected. We got ten joists done today, and have five or six more to do tomorrow. Maybe, just maybe, we'll have the electrical rough-in done by October, like I was hoping, and be ready for insulation. Maybe...

Art Table Clean-Up

Before.

After.

So much better. And it only took me three hours. At this rate, I'll have the trailer all nice and clean in about a month.

Back To School !!! - among other things

With the kids fighting a cold, and the hot, sticky weather outside, the kids spent a lot of time last week on Lego creations. Finley likes to build houses, carefully striping them or limiting the block colors. Joe builds symmetrical, Star Wars inspired ships with hidden guns. Zivah builds things like this:

Cold sometimes lead to ear infections, so I found a rarely napping Z out for the count in Daddy's chair.

 In the garden, that is suffering from severe neglect, I found a big watermelon hidden in the weeds. It was a whopping 20 lbs. I checked the 'spoon' leaf and tendril and they were both dried up, so I assumed that it was ripe.

 I was wrong. Apparently, thump tests are necessary to determine ripeness, as well. At least the chickens enjoyed a treat.

 And today, I got to drop the older two off for their first full day at school. (Zivah starts next week.) Finley is sporting quite a few stripes along with her ear-infected-induced, fake smile.

My smile is real, however, as I anticipate an opportunity to get some serious house cleaning done.

Zivah's Bird

Z: Mom, how do you draw a bird?

Me: Why don't you try to figure it out on your own?

 

I'd say she did a pretty good job.

Tuesday Morning

I am trying to enjoy the last few lazy mornings I have before the kids go back to school. Next week will start the hectic mornings, getting all three kids ready for school and out the door by 7:15. I am toying with the idea of having the two older kids make their lunches if they don't want to eat the school lunch.

The kids and I have been fighting colds for the past several days. Saturday, I was so miserable, I sat in bed all day and watched the four made-for-T.V. Jesse Stone movies (starring Tom Selleck) that are available on Netflix.

I am hoping that with the kids back in school, I can really focus on The House. When I am asked how the house is coming along, and I say, "Well, we've got the plumbing roughed in, and the electrical is almost done. Then after that, we just need insulation and drywall," it sounds like a walk in the park and we should be moved in by winter. But then these gritty little details pop up that suck up half your day or week, like finding all the silly little leaks in the plumbing, tacking up scraps of lumber in corners so that the drywall has something to attach to, and building front steps and the side entrance landing. And when the inspector comes and tells you need to do such and such, so while your husband is at work, you do such and such, but the inspector calls your husband and tells him he didn't tell you exactly right, so that what you did needs to be redone... Well. It feels like it will be another three years.

I am trying not to get too impatient. I am trying not to complain when I am dragging around the trailer with a runny nose and the air kicks on and it smells like mildew. I am trying, instead, to channel that discontent that rises up when I see that slimy, black mold growing again in the drain of the cheap, plastic, bathroom sink into motivation. Maybe it is possible. Maybe we could move in this winter... After all, the plumbing passed the pressure test.

95 lbs. of pressure and holding