Sunday, May 11, 2014

Bye Bye Red Cedar Shakes

The men set to work removing the rest of the cedar shakes.  My little superheroes jumped in on the action.  Armed with crow bars and safety goggles, they removed a good portion all by themselves.  I was a nervous wreck.  I mean.. I was sure one brother was going to accidentally clonk the other brother on the head with his crow bar.  Or one of them was going to step on a nail.  Or any other myriad of "what ifs" that could happen to them.  BUT I kept my inner maniac mommy mental madness to myself and just tried to offer some praise as they were doing a really good job. 

Without further delay, here are some pics.

{front of house}





It was a very rainy day.  This helped keep the dust down and kept the wasps away!
We found acorns behind the cedar shakes (pesky mice) and about 125 old wasp nests.  And of course 900 million stink bugs.  The stench of stink bug lingered in the air!


 
Here's a before and after of the side we worked on too.
 

 

We are removing the side porch completely.  There will just be a window there when we are done.

Thursday, May 8, 2014

A Mother's Day Poem

As I look around my house, all I can see is a jumbled up mess.  It seems that no matter how hard I try, my house is always in a muddle.  This poem is exactly what my house looks like right now.

Happy Mother's Day everyone!
 
There's a pirate ship in my living room and cowboy boots in the hall. 
Flip flops left where they were kicked and I just tripped on a ball. 
 
Olaf is under my dining room table. 
Captain America’s shield has been disabled. 
 
Last night’s jammies still in a rumple.
A basket of laundry sits looking hopeful. 
 
I can barely keep up with the dishes. 
I’m trying to cook a dinner that’s halfway nutritious.
 
My countertops are a jumbled mess. 
But Jesus, our home, has truly blessed. 
 
For I have two little boys that are growing up fast. 
These moments will soon be in the past. 
 
So I pray dear Lord, let me slow down. 
Take in this mess that’s all around. 
 
Let me handle each moment with love and grace. 
And share lots of kisses on each one’s sweet face.

Monday, May 5, 2014

On One Side....

The hubby was on vacation last week.  He got quite a lot accomplished.  Here's a little of the progress he made. 

Our house has three layers of siding.  There are red cedar shakes on the majority of the outside then a layer of wooden siding.  Some parts of the house have white textured boards.  And under that is some kind of crazy sheet rock stuff.  The shakes, white boards and wooden siding are coming off.  The sheet rock stuff is staying on because we are pretty sure it contains asbestos. 


This is the back of the house.  Check out all the moss growing on the shingles!
 
 
 
 

 

And I wonder where all the stink bugs are coming from!
 
 
 
 
 
 
This is the view from our back yard. 
Even though it rained all week, we did have some beautiful skies.

 
 
 
 
 
 
We did most of the work on one side.  All the windows are being replaced.  None of the windows in the joint have headers, so hubs had to make some headers and prepare smaller holes for the new windows.
 
 
 



 
 
 

Two more windows will be installed on this side.  But they will have to wait until another day.