So ... you like squash?

There's a frost warning here tonight, so we did a quick run through the garden to see what we could save. We started with the wheelbarrow; when that was overflowing and we hadn't even gotten out of one squash patch, Dave went to get the truck. It's been a good squash year! (On the to-do list: researching how to store squash through the winter. And finding friends who like squash.) On the downside, our tomatoes got a blight, so there were far fewer tomatoes to process than there usually would be. Actually, this year, I'm going to count that as being on the "upside," since we don't have time or patience for canning with the house taking all of our focus.


... Sofia and I painted the one wall of stripes we were planning in her and Erik's room. It's quite busy, but I think for one wall it's OK. I'm not sure if we quite achieved the effect of the Finnish national costume dress we were aiming for, but it looks awfully Scandinavian to me!


... Sofia helped Dave get the baseboards for her room into place. They are all finished now, as are the windowsills, but I didn't get out to get a picture of them yet. I also varnished the wall in the living room, and the stairs. Now the railings await! I've started sanding them. It's not much fun, I have to say. But I'm reminding myself that I only have to do this once, and then it's done! Then I can move on to staining, then varnishing. And then I can stop thinking about the stairs for a while.

Maybe by then the tiling will be done! The tiling crew is supposed to be here mid-week, which hopefully means Wednesday or after, since there's still a fair amount of lumber piled up where they need to put the tile.

Dave's been working on the front steps, which is what the lumber piled in the dining room is for. He worked until it was nearly dark, then he put this crazy headlamp contraption he bought the other day and continued working into the night.

It apparently worked, this headlight of his, since at 11 p.m., this is what we had:

It's quite nice, I think! After much discussion, I think the stair heights are just right -- 6 inches high, with steps 11.25 inches deep. We wanted to make the height low so that people who don't walk so well anymore can make it up the stairs with as little trouble as possible. The railing still needs doing -- we'll see if the rain in the forecast holds off long enough for Dave to finish that. (And for me to prime and paint the whole works.)

When I went out to take these last photos, the coyotes were going nuts out there, and of course the dogs were, too. Dave said he was working under the steps when they started up, and his first reflex was to grab the hammer. They were close -- my guess is just beyond the slough. Not sure what set them off -- just howling to hear the echoes in the cold still night, perhaps?