morning on the upper west side

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roof, day two

You may be asking, "What happened to Day One?"
and that would be a very reasonable question.
The answer is, I fell asleep immediately after supper.

It wasn't even dark yet.

I don't know why I was so tired! Unlike the porch job, when I opted to do all the clean-up myself and reclaimed lots of lumber for smaller projects, this time there will be no reusable materials. None at all. Strange but true. So I had the full clean-up rolled into the estimate for the job.

Which means that - apart from frequent discussions with Carpenter Matt about which way I prefer to do some particular thing which will impact the way other particular things will be done farther down the line - I have nothing to do.

Getting the lowdown on combining new and original materials.
Is the perspective puzzling?
Matt is on the roof of the Poultry Palace and I'm on the ladder at the gable peak of the house.

I'm not even doing my own outdoor projects, despite great weather. Instead I've been spending most of the day in the house, hoping to be a comforting presence. I underestimated how much Moxie and Della were going to be upset by the noise and activity. Very very very upset. So I've been puttering a bit. Yesterday I made a big pot of baked beans, and also (finally!) wove the ends in on a knitted sleeveless sweater I plan to donate to the hospice shop. Knitting detour snapshot:

I wanted to make this popular pattern - called Shalom - for ages, and it was fun and turned out very comfy and nice. But when I put it on, it also turned out to be "not me." I hope someone buys it for a few dollars at the hospice thrift shop and enjoys it for years!

End of knitting detour.

Back to the roofing project.

Like the cats, the goats aren't happy about the kerfuffle. But with the weather so nice, they can wander and snooze in the sun and go to the farther end of the Upper West Side and feel more relaxed. Or so I thought until I found this in the clubhouse under the stilt barn. It's possible the herd is planning an escape!

I hope they bring me back something nice.

Piper is the only one not troubled, and I really think her increased hearing loss is working in her favor this time. Even the compressor for the nail gun doesn't disrupt her nap schedule. She walked with me to collect the mail today and we had this view from the Lower West Side:

Which contrasted pretty nicely with the view at the house: 

But isn't this a clever system? Starting by using the plywood roofing sheets to protect the exterior walls while sliding the old roofing materials to the ground. And covering the ground with heavy packing wrap recycled from the lumberyard to later gather everything for appropriate disposal.

I think these fellows have done this before.

On to Day Three!

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in the works

Guess who's coming back.

Last year I decided that 2017 must be The Year of the Roof.

My insurance company concurs.

Vehemently.

After the very successful porch renovation project almost exactly three years ago - can you believe it? I had to check the date twice, but I started taking down the screenwalls in November 2014! - I definitely wanted the same Excellent Carpenter for this next major job.

Stepping back to 2014 for a moment:

my first carpenter/handyperson had to stop partway into the porch reno project due to the onset of severe carpal tunnel issues. (Happy ending: after months of waiting for an appointment, he ultimately had surgery and was completely relieved of all pain! Huzzah!) And meanwhile I was unbelievably lucky to find the Excellent Carpenter who was willing to step in and get the porch buttoned up in a very short timeframe.

And beautifully.

Remember?

Ahhhhh.

Okay, back to 2017.

When we spoke in March, the carpenter told me his first available slot would be sometime in October, and I said, "Please pencil me in. No, use INK." And as good as his word, he came out on the 5th to discuss details, as there is actually more to this project than replacing shingles or even replacing the roof. I've been doing a lot of planning and pricing and pondering and running around ever since. There have been unrelated complications: my vehicle was in the shop three separate days; medical issues (human, canine, feline, and caprine); and my Occasional Helper and I have had mostly out-of-sync schedules. Also, migraines. Oh well.

But after that meeting on the 5th, and some back-and-forth on the phone, and a follow-up visit at 7AM on this past Friday for final measurements, enough decisions have been made to Get On With Things. Tomorrow evening at 4:45 the carpenter and I are going to meet at my Town Hall (the Building Inspector has only 2 office hours/week) and apply to pull a Permit so work can begin on Tuesday.

Tuesday!

Unless there's a problem with getting the Permit. There shouldn't be. But I mentioned the time so you can send good vibes if you happen to think of it. 5PM Eastern time. Thanks.

"Pull a permit"...an odd expression, isn't it? For filling out a form, presenting a plan that complies with local codes, and writing a check to the town? Tell me, do you need permission to replace, remodel, build anything over a certain size, where you live? If so, what is that process called? Are you also pulling something?

So, on we go. There will be lots of process/progress updates on this somewhat scarily major project. Hopefully beginning Tuesday!

Meanwhile, looking back on a moment of calm, Friday evening:

 Actually, it was more like two hours of calm.

In a stocktank filled with hot water.

Spa 2.0

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thursday 4:13am

Strongly encourage a left-click to embiggen.

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rather wordy wednesday

New England asters!

Well, you know what this means...

1) Found the camera!

2) It is now Autumn!

Autumn is not a sad time for me, though I understand why many see it that way.

I feel it more as a beginning than an ending.

There's certainly plenty going on in the plant world.

Some plants are just beginning to blossom for the first time:

Others, like this Queen Anne's Lace,

are already investing most of their energy in the future:

Plants influence my daily activities in many ways. Collecting seeds. Arranging for the goats' food supply. Watching the candy roaster squash grow, and planning where to store them if they make it to storing size.

A new experiment: biting insects arrive before the jewelweed in the Spring, so next year I'm hoping jewelweed in the form of ice cubes will provide similar itch-relief as the fresh plants. Do me a favor? Next Spring, when I mention the blackflies and mosquitoes, please remind me that I did this. It is entirely possible I will forget what those little brown blocks are, tucked away in the freezer.

Speaking of the freezer, early Autumn is also the gastronomically interesting time when I try to identify and eat everything left in the chest freezer - lots of soups and berries this year - prior to defrosting and cleaning.

 All in preparation for...apple season!

I love Autumn.

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