Unlike this cat*, we have been feeling the advent of September with a great deal of discomfort.   It has been the "School is coming and we still don't have the roof fixed yet" variety of discomfort that only teachers and the spouses of teachers can fully appreciate.  We worried about it for a while Monday because of the rain and because of our exhaustion and because we were beginning to feel just a little bit helpless and hopeless. 

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.)




Wednesday.  Day 2.  Tin gone.  Decking gone.  Naked rafters.  Scary things falling from the sky.

























Thursday.  Day 3.   Old rafters gone.   (I worked at the Arts Council so did not get to witness scary things falling from the sky nor all of the silly horseplay on the naked roof.)   New rafters up.  Dormer framed up and built in.








Friday.  Day 4.  New decking.  Tin begins to be cut.














Saturday.  Day 5.  Will it rain?  If it stays dry, we'll  get our tin on. 

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.)

What was I thinking?

Here's a slice of reality for anyone following this blog who thinks everything is all rosy and well - or who thinks I've got my little Mormon colored glasses cranked up way past reasonably happy.

Things are difficult around the Beorningstead lately.  The last few weeks have been crazy busy what with Bry planning and then running YM's Camp, work week at Mom and Dad Burnett's and trying to get the Ft. Jackson house cleaned out so as to be ready for drop-of-the-hat walk throughs.  I say we have been crazy busy, but aside from getting the Ft. Jackson house cleaned out (thank you mom, Lue, Molly & Chrissy!) we have made absolutely no headway on the Beorningstead AT ALL.

 We've got 3 weeks left of summer to get the back roof done.  Bry is planning a dormer and thinks he's got the plans pretty well hammered out.  He bought lumber today and the long term forecast predicts about 4 clearish days between now and Saturday.  Perfect.  Except he doesn't have any help lined up and several of the men who could and would help are either out of town or leaving town this week.  Part of me wants to just say - forget it.  We'll do the roof next summer BUT

We have thousands of dollars tied up in the bathroom project that cannot be reimbursed from escrow until the bathroom is finished.  The bathroom is under the roof that needs to be replaced.  Without getting that bathroom done, we can't afford the cupboards for the kitchen or our new appliances - washing machine, drier & dishwasher (oh, please, give me a dishwasher!).  In the meantime, I am functioning in a kitchen with seriously inadequate cupboard & counter top space.  This wouldn't be such a big problem except that the kitchen keeps getting filled up with more and more boxes of stuff that magically appear from the Ft. Jackson house as soon as there is room for them.   Some of it is stuff I don't want to keep but haven't had time to sort, some of it is stuff I want to keep but don't have a place for yet and some of it is stuff I need to use right now but can't get unpacked because there's too much else in the way.

There is also a serious mouse problem in the pantry area so all the dried goods and chewable packaging has to be stored in a bin.  I think I could have bought that coveted dishwasher with the money I have spent on bins during this project.  (That bag of dog food right there?  They love it.  Molly stuck her had in to get Ziggy a scoop of food last week and a little mousey ran around on her hand and arm.  Squeeal!  The dog food has been transferred to a bin.)


We're also using the Ft. Jackson house as our own private laundromat.  This is slightly inconvenient.  Especially when the pump or well or something decided to take a break in the middle of a big load today.  This means that on top of everything else, we have to figure out what that problem is and fix it fast before someone actually decides they want to buy the place. 

My studio is a wreck , though I am trying to get that sorted out this week.  (That top photo?  That's my dying table.  It looks worse than that today and it will stay that messy for at least a couple more months.  It just doesn't make sense to move all of the tools out to the tool shed -which is full of bins- or the barn - which is full of scrap metal waiting for a good hauling day- until we've got more finished up inside.)  The kitchen, studio, shower and small bath still need to be painted even though they are now filled up with boxes and other stuff and/or are being used frequently.  The living room still needs its wall board and electrical outlets, switches and light fixtures installed.  The windows all lack sills.

We still have not received a letter of reasonable assurance about Bry's job next year.  In June, he was told he'd be working full time again but with Albany playing games and school districts not having any trusty budget to work with, lots of teachers have been sweating it.  The household account is running low and I'm counting on a big infusion on September 15th but what if that doesn't come?

It is all very overwhelming.  I wigged out today.  Yelled at my husband, even though none of this is specifically his fault.  He grumbled back.  Maxx threw the kitten on the ground and was sent to time out and got a spanking when he wigged out about time out.

Nerves are frayed.  Tempers tight.  I'm trying hard to resist my stress eating/spending behaviors.  I can feel my will power crumbling fast.  We all really just need a few hours to relax on the porch.  And a case of Ghiradelli - one of the dark chocolate varieties.  That might help.