Roof Project 2010 - Update 1

Before.

During.

After.

And Aftermath.

A busy Saturday.

(Not yet pictured, the whole back side covered in underlayment in preparation for the new roof - A busy Sunday.)

Thanks to our "volunteer" workers! We couldn't have done it without you!

Next: The front side of the house.

Roof Project 2010

If any of you were around for the roofing project we did on the last house, you know we tore off two layers of asphalt shingle, filling more than a whole dumpster. We also installed all the underlayment, cut a ridge vent and covered all the many hips, valleys, and ridges with shingles. It was a 9 day frenzy at the hottest part of the year.

Well, we seem to buy houses that need new roofs. Well, at least each one we buy needs one.

This time it's different. We're doing the tear-off of cedar shakes and paying a roofer to install a metal roof. Cedar shakes are lightweight. There are NO valleys or hips, and just one ridge. It's going to be 70 degrees instead of 90. We think it'll take four days, so we're doing it over the next two weekends (9/4-9/5 and 9/11-9/12). It needs to be done before the winter because the current roof won't make it. Our roofer says he can do it in Sept if we can.

So wish us luck and safe working, and, if you are feeling adventurous and want to help out, we won't turn down the help! See our house.... heck see areas of our house WE haven't even seen yet, like whatever is under those cedar shakes.

Breakneck Speed, Part One: The House

We are gearing up for a busy, project- and milestone-filled year, as we head into February. Here's just a peek at what's to come on the house front...

We've already been busy with some smaller projects, especially Jim, who has fixed our leaky tub and is in the process of painting a wall that was formerly quite red. Every now and then we hang a few more pictures, but there are still more to go, and more boxes to tackle at some point, too. The porch became a bit of a dumping ground, so once the weather warms up again we'll be sorting through that and making it into a cozy and functional space.

Of the many projects on tap for this year, the two biggest are replacing the roof (this seems to be an emerging theme for us... buy a house needing a full roof tear-off and replacement...) and remodeling the kitchen. The current roof is cedar shake but the plan is to replace it with a metal roof instead, with us doing the tear-off and a contractor doing the replacement. Jim is currently heading up that project and the next step will be to have a few contractors out to answer some questions and give us some estimates.

The kitchen is also on tap for the Spring and we are up to our ears in This Old House magazines (gotta love Craigslist!) and cabinet and counter catalogs. As you can see, the current layout is, shall we say, a bit lacking in storage... There are no cabinets and the only counter space is the island.

We currently have interesting solutions such as the toaster oven perched on top of the microwave, pots, plates and cups spilling off various shelves and baking dishes and extra food stashed in the bookshelves. It's livable, but not exactly workable for us. So we have the chance to make it something that really fits us, which is exciting and daunting. At this point we have lots of ideas that are starting to take shape but no final plan. What we have to decide now is how much we're willing or able to take on ourselves - and salvage from Craigslist, local or reclaimed wood and other such finds - versus saving some time and perhaps sanity by going the home improvement store-bought route. Stay tuned, we'll do our best to post updates along the way.

Other projects around the house that we're looking ahead to are putting in a garden and building a more functional chicken coop (at last count, 6 of the 8 are laying!). We're also planning to repaint Drew & Garrett's room for their birthday, to go along with the introduction of two very sporty race car beds. But more on that in Part Two, coming soon...

The 'Coon Whisperer

So we had some recent visitors, first announced by lots of loud scratching and chewing noises at the top of the basement steps. Luckily, the door between the kitchen and basement is locked. I first discovered that it was a raccoon about a week ago when I opened the door and there he was. While I went to get a trash can and don some protective gear (rabies is not something I want), he made his way out of sight. We thought maybe he left on his own as it was quiet for two days. Then at 1:00am one night there was a battle in the basement beneath our bed. For those of you not privileged to have heard a raccoon fight, it sounds a lot like a cat fight, if the cats are old and have been chain smoking for most of their lives. Once things settled down I went to set the trap we borrowed from my dad, baited with a hot dog. The next day I blocked the entrance they'd been using (an unfenced depression in the dirt leading under the porch) with rocks. With no noise and no trap sprung for three days we thought maybe we lucked out and blocked the entrance while they were not home. And I think we did. Because when they showed up again last night I found they had rolled away some of the rocks and dug a new entrance. So when Annie called me at work to tell me we had two coons sleeping in the basement and one very unsprung trap, I was prepared to come home to either do battle or change the bait in the trap.

When I got home, they were still there, and it was on.


The first one was climbing the hewn rock wall in the corner of the basement when I trapped him in a small trash can. I simply put the can under him, the lid on top of him, sandwiched him into the can and carried him out. The other I pinned against the wall at the top of the stairs until he was all in the can. I slipped a lid between the wall and can and escorted him out, too.


So now we have a raccoon-free house, an improved line of defense (with extra chicken wire and much bigger rocks), one still very empty unsprung trap with a hot dog in it, and a couple of extra cans of sardines. Does anyone like sardines? Hopefully we won't be needing them!

The Joy of Music

Some of the most beautiful, joyful things that I have found the boys doing lately have been related to music. Music has always been important to me, and we often have music on around the house. When Drew was very little, and still to this day, if nothing else worked, I could start singing "Motherland" by Natalie Merchant and he would almost always stop crying immediately and just listen. Garrett has always been a great dancer.

Recently I saw an ad in the paper for a free music class for kids 0-5. Since I'm always looking for something to do with them during the day, and it was music to top it off, we went to check it out. And then ended up signing up for the full 10 week session. So every Wednesday we now go to Music Class for 45 minutes in the morning and it's a blast. Before starting the class, the boys enjoyed listening to music and would ask now and then for us to turn it on, but since we've been going, music has become much more a part of their every day lives and something they are excited about. Some cases in point:

They love to play their little guitars they were given by two guys playing bluegrass at a flea market.

Garrett has recently taken to performing a song and dance routine that involves the lyrics "Awwww Statuuuue!" sung over and over and him bouncing up and down and swaying side to side while shrugging his shoulders. It is such a perfectly beautiful and hilarious thing, I can't help but feel happy and strangely proud whenever he does it.

They both sing songs from Music Class (we were given a CD to listen to outside of class), and now and then do some of the motions. Or at least try...

Drew, we discovered over the weekend, can play the trumpet! My first trumpet was up for sale at our garage sale and during a slow period, he asked to play it. So I explained how, and much to my surprise, out came not only a sound, but not too bad a one either, considering.

Drew also is completely in awe of people playing instruments, especially the guitar. We went with some friends to see Ekoostick Hookah play this past Friday, and while everyone else hung back, Drew pulled me right up close to the stage and was none too happy when I told him we needed a break from the loudness. You'd never guess how much he's enjoying it because he just stares, rarely smiling, never clapping. But he is concentrating so hard, taking it all in.

They also both make up songs for specific people.

What's so beautiful is that they have no concept of whether or not they sound good in their singing or look cool in their dancing - they are just having fun, and really feeling it - doing their own thing and being creative - full of joy. It's a good lesson for me, too.

And in an update of our crazy life, for those who may want to know: This past weekend we made some huge steps forward. We had our first showings - one on Friday and two on Saturday, both of whom stayed for about an hour each. No word yet, but that's to be expected. Both seemed interested, though, and we have one more scheduled for tonight. (*Updated Tuesday - We got a call last night that one of the couples who saw the house Saturday wants to come see it again tonight! Fingers crossed...) We also had a garage sale and are celebrating having made some good strides in lightening the load. So, keep good wishes coming our way for the right people to find this house, and we'll let you know how it goes.

New Homes All Around

At long last, the chickens have moved into their new home! Jim completed the renovation of half of our shed into a coop last Wednesday, and the next morning we moved the girls out of their cramped box in the porch to a spacious, happy home of their own. They seem to be enjoying it and it's great fun to watch them flapping their wings and running and jumping around. They are now about 6 or 7 weeks old and getting huge. Drew and Garrett insist that they are "still baby chicks grow up to be big mama hens." I don't know about still baby chicks, but they do have a ways to go before they start laying - probably sometime in December. In the meantime, they are eating like champs (sometimes out of my hand) and growing bigger all the time.

In other, unexpected, news, Jim and I have been furiously trying to get our house ready to put on the market. Yes, that's right, we figured our lives weren't hectic enough, why not buy a new house. We weren't looking to move, but sometimes an opportunity arises and you've just got to be willing to trust and roll with it.

Here's how it happened: We were headed out to visit some friends a few weekends back and decided to stop at a new farmers market on the way, which resulted in us driving a different way to our friends' house than we would have otherwise, down a stretch of road we rarely ever drive. Along the way, Jim noticed a wonderful house that had a for sale by owner sign in the yard, so we stopped and picked up a flyer. We looked at it, and both said "This is our house!", then went on our way. We called the owner that night and went to see it the next morning. It was one of those experiences that is quite surreal, in its unexpectedness and total rightness.

The house is an 1830s pioneer-built house sitting on 3 wooded acres with just enough open area for a nice big garden or two, and a long neglected orchard area to restore. It's beautiful. We had an immediate connection with the owners, too, who have lived there since they got married 12 years ago and have restored it with much love. We spent almost two hours walking through the house and woods talking to the husband and trading stories, including how after hearing Jim's message, he told his wife "these are the people that are going to buy our house". It is full of history and we are so excited to step in as the next stewards of it, and make it our own little homestead.

We saw it on July 11, and a lot has happened in the few weeks since then. We are expecting to sign a contract with the owners this weekend or early next week such that we will have exclusivity (they won't entertain other offers) for four months. We have made amazing strides in getting our house from a state of, well... normal life with two year old twins... to being just about ready to list - more than a week earlier than we had expected. So, drive by our house next Tuesday night and you'll see a sign going up in the yard. We are very excited. And also growing very tired. In the midst of all this, work has been pretty rough for Jim and he's had to work the past two weekends straight. Life is a whirlwind sometimes.

So, send us your best wishes for continued energy to keep getting this house in shape, and for a buyer to come along wanting a house just like ours (and if you know of anyone who's looking for a great house in the Strongsville area.....). If you've sold a house recently or have moved with small kids, send your tips this way!