Bryan sat down and scribbled pictures of sticks on pieces of paper and tried to explain them to me. I nodded sagely and turned away feeling rather bewildered and, I imagine, looking quite a bit like Buttercup before she stepped into that patch of lightning sand. On Tuesday we looked at the weather forecast and saw that there were 5 days in a row that did not predict rain and certain doom for roofing projects. Bryan promptly climbed up on the roof and began tearing off pieces of tin. I began exhibiting small signs of extreme stress, like chuckling under my breath at strange and unlikely times and rocking back and forth for no apparent reason.
You see, last year my brother-in-law, Jonathan, tore his roof off with similar abandon mid summer. He blithely explained that he was going to build a few new walls, reinstall his rafters and put new siding on in order to have an extra story on his house. He anticipated that this project would only take a week or so, especially if the weather behaved the way the forecast predicted.
He took his roof off.
We had monsoons. Water poured out of the electrical sockets in his downstairs living room. All of his lovely sheet rock walls downstairs were destroyed. Several rolls of insulation were saturated. High winds and rain squalls persisted for WEEKS. It was like Jumanji without the stampede and giant alligator. The whole family played games with thunder and lightning in a desperate attempt to get Some work done whenever it was dry and light enough out to work and then to get SOMETHING over that house when the rainclouds invariably began rolling in. It was a nightmare. It was so traumatic that when his wife came home and saw that our roof was off, she almost threw up in her driveway.
Perhaps stimming in the corner is not such a bad coping strategy considering the experience I've had with absent roofs.
Perhaps my terror was unfounded. Progress has been good. Tuesday. Day 1. No great pictures because the day consisted mostly of Bryan consulting with Amish men (who do not enjoy having their photos taken), writing checks and hauling lumber on the hay wagon over to our yard. (You can see that my lens is a bit greasy in this photo.)
We're over budget but things are moving so beautifully fast and smooth. It looks very promising. Dad and Jonathan and Trenton and Ken and Mickey and Robert and Mom and Greg and Nichelle have been so incredibly helpful. The men and Mom have all pitched in on the actual labor and Nichelle and mom have helped me out by taking turns with me to prepare meals for everyone. It's been great. I'm still rocking and chuckling quietly, though.
*(This cat believes herself to be Queen of the Universe. And she can climb walls. She has actually Climbed Up The Side of The House and gotten in through the construction project. There is no keeping her out. She is every cliche' you have ever heard about stubborn, persistent cats who keep coming back. And she's absolutely adorable. I'm trying SO hard not to be in love.)
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I can't believe that I'm missing it! I miss all of you guys so much! i wish you could put Grainne and my Tom Hanks movies in a box and send them here!I can't wait to go home... <3
Molly Bryn