Vacation
officially started three days ago, but I’m a little slow off the mark getting
this blog post out – when I tell you why, though, I am sure you will forgive
the delay.
The
last really significant time (I mean more than a long weekend) I had off work
was in November of last year – which is really a little too long for me to go
without a break. I get crabby and tired
and have a lot of trouble focussing on the task at hand – because all I can
think about is how much I need a break and how much I want to do stuff for me,
at home!
I’m
not terribly different from anyone else in this, I’m sure.
Anyhow,
this particular vacation will be a dilly for me! I have two weeks off now - a week
and a bit at the cabin (where I am right now) and then a little less than a
week at home. Typically I try to work it so that I am at the cabin for the
beginning of my time off so that I can catch the cat well in time to get home -
and so that if I don’t catch her right away, I can come back in order to secure
her and get her home before I have to go back to work! This strategy was put into place a couple of
decades ago, and due to experience!
Anyhow,
this vacation has all the earmarks of being a great one. My planned week (and a bit) at the cabin is
promising glorious weather (for which I am grateful) and while I am here,
relaxing and taking my ease, my living room is being gutted.
Ok
– so to back things up – the windows project was left ever so slightly
unfinished because the long wall, where the biggest of the windows was being
replaced, was starting to bow out. Yes,
the wall wasn’t strong enough and the weight of the roof was bowing it
out. Instead of just putting the window
into a wall that would eventually bow enough to crack it (and lets not discuss
the safety issue of the weight of the roof on a wall that was starting to bow)
I opted to put a hold on the final window until the wall could be dealt with.
I
got quotes for two options: First, reinforce what is there; Second, gut the
whole space (right out to the original 10-foot-high ceiling), build a wall
inside the outside wall (which means some more wall plugs AND insulation!) and
have the space all re-finished. Though the second was three times the first,
that’s the one I went with – because it is a long term solution, and one that
will take a few things off of my goals list.
Since
I was having the room gutted and completely changed, I also elected to just
have the carpeting done – better to have ALL of it done in one go - so when I
get home, though it won’t be fully complete, by the time this vacation is over,
my house will be looking almost brand new on the inside!
The
prep work for this project meant getting everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) out
of my living room. To help me with that, my parents gave up a day and came up
to help me. In addition to the movement of furniture, though, they also helped
me to fulfill another dream for the house – the beginning of the pantry
project! Yes! The doorway has now been completely filled in, insulated, and
vapour-barriered!
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| Work area |
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| First a base was nailed into place Then we framed up the door filler THEN we used a sledge hammer to install it! Dad nailing it into place |
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| Plywood on, Tar paper going up! |
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| Look at that - insulation and everything! |
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| Done for now - the rest of the siding will Go up in a couple of weeks |
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| BOOM - vacation bomb has exploded! |
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| Living room nearly empty. Jasmine is unhappy. |
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| Last before pictures! |
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| On the way out the door! |
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