We were soaked today -- it rained off and on from sunup to sunset. By evening, there was 5 inches of rain in the rain gauge, though Dad said an inch had fallen in the past few days and he hadn't emptied it. But 4 inches in a day is plenty enough!
We had leaks to deal with from all that rain. The porch roof on this old farmhouse did not leak after the foam and sealer that was applied last week -- at least we have that to be thankful for, since in previous storms the porch was nearly as wet inside as it was outside.
But the water dripping into the dining room that we thought, in previous rain showers, was just from the window being left open in an upstairs bedroom turned out to be a leak from the roof, somehow leaking through the wall. We're still not sure where all the water was coming from. It made for a mess that Mom was working on mopping up all day. There was apparently another leak in the studio, probably where the two roofs meet, but we couldn't find the source of that leak either -- we just found the puddle of water on the floor, perilously close to all our computer cords.
Dave went and checked the new house -- no leak under the new chimney! That's good news. The addition, which wasn't yet sealed off and has big holes where the front door and south window will go, were soaked. And there was some water around the window that Dave and his dad put in yesterday, but Dave is pretty sure that's just because they hadn't sprayed the foam around the window yet. He thought he'd double check that they installed the window correctly, just in case.
... Erik had something closer to a regular schedule today, and I got a decent nap in in the afternoon. Hooray for naps! They keep me that much closer to sanity.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Sunday, August 10, 2008
AUG. 10 UPDATE: A view west
First, here are the pictures of the new chimney that I didn't get posted yesterday.
It should keep the smoke out of the house!
Don and Dave worked on putting in the combination window on the second floor's west wall. That's the one window that's a little tricky to do, being bigger than the other windows and on the second floor.Here are a couple views of the finished window.
So, eventually, the railings on the west and east sides of the open area will be walls, and there will be walls that line up with the railing on the north side. The bedrooms upstairs will need some privacy (or at least we will need some privacy from the kids, who will eventually be teenagers, living upstairs!), so the walls were needed, but I want to be able to get a cross breeze upstairs as well -- so the solution is, there will be windows on the interior walls as well. They will line up with the exterior windows, so a person could look in the east window and look all the way through the house, to the view out the west window. We'll look for some old interesting windows for the interior walls, I think. We could even put window boxes below those windows. I think it will look really nice!... Don and Mary left to return home this afternoon, Don after coming to work two weekends in a row, and Mary after staying for the week, helping with the cooking as well as spending a lot of time with Sofia and helping however else she could while I got used to having my hands full with a newborn. Thanks so much for all your help, Grandpa and Nama!
Saturday, August 9, 2008
AUG. 9 UPDATE: Nearly ready to turn the heat on!
I am missing a key picture of progress for today: A photo of the finished chimney! Naptime and rain interfered with my photo opportunities, so I'll have to get that picture taken tomorrow.
In any case, the chimney is finished! Don arrived late last night, and by 9 this morning he and Dave were out working on getting the chimney installed. Dave perched himself on top of the roof, and Don climbed up the tall ladder inside.
After using a laser level to figure out just exactly where to put the hole for the chimney, Dave cut out the hole for it. That was tricky enough -- I still don't really know how they lined up everything inside and outside -- but the really challenging part was getting the chimney in place.
They tied a rope to a length of 2-by-4 and threaded the rope through the bottom of the chimney, which is basically a 7-foot-long shiny tube, so they'd have a way to lift it. The goal was to get the tube up into place -- sticking out through the hole in the roof, and set down into the metal box Dave had put into place earlier. The chimney was very slippery, however, and Dave didn't have a good way to maneuver it from his perch on the roof. Don tried to help the first time by pushing up from his position on the ladder (about 20 feet in the air), but he could only get a few fingers below it (and it was fairly heavy) without leaning too far out.
They eventually got it into place by moving the ladder so Don could push up from straight below the chimney tube, balancing it on his head at one point to get a better grip.
I was helping (mostly just watching) with this project from the safety of the stairs, so I didn't get any pictures of this work.
There was several more hours of work getting the rest of the chimney parts in place, but by the time the men came in for a late lunch, the chimney was there, in all its shiny metal glory!
... Then, after lunch, they started in on the next project: Getting the 475-pound stove into the house from the van.
I didn't actually see how this was accomplished -- I was saddled with the duty of putting Sofia and Erik (and their sleep-deprived mother) down for their naps, so I didn't get out to see the event until it was nearly over.
The plan had been for Dave to call the neighbors, the Petersons, over to help when he was ready for a crew of brute strength. The neighbors had a work weekend at their farm, and they said yesterday when they stopped over to ask if we had any scrap lumber (we had a little to spare, I think) that they could help with that project today.
Well, it turned out that Dale and Connie Groop drove up just as Dave was getting ready to call the Petersons. "You're here just in time," Dave told them, and he talked Dale into helping with their moving project. Dale is known for being clever with such engineering problems, so we were happy he showed up at that moment and was willing to help.
So how did they do it? Well, first they backed the van up onto blocks, so it was at the same level as the door into the house. Then they put rollers -- steel cylinders (my dad is holding one in the photo above) -- under the pallet that the stove was on, and by moving the rollers ahead as needed, they got the stove into its spot on the tile pad.
The idea of rollers was my dad's -- he gave the example of St. Luke's hospital in Aberdeen, a four-story building that was moved several blocks by using rollers.
But the stove was still on the pallet. How could they get the palette out from underneath the stove?
Well, they built up another platform under the stove, using scrap 2-by-4s, as you can see in the photos, until the stove was resting on the platform they'd built and not the pallet. Then they unbolted the stove from the pallet and pulled it out from under the stove. Then, using a crowbar to lift and lower the beams of the platform, they pulled the scrap 2-by-4s out from under the stove, one by one, until the stove was resting on the tile pad.
Voila! A stove (nearly) in place! (It will still need some slight adjusting when the stovepipe is put in.)
... As I mentioned, it did rain this evening, and Dave was pleased to see that there were no leaks, despite the hole he'd cut into the roof just that morning. Apparently they'd installed the chimney correctly!
... After all that work, by late afternoon, the men were told to quit for the day. So we even had a little music in the evening! Mary played her mandolin, Dave played guitar, and Sofia added a little "picking" of her own.
... OK, off to bed for me! Erik's next feeding is surely impending.
In any case, the chimney is finished! Don arrived late last night, and by 9 this morning he and Dave were out working on getting the chimney installed. Dave perched himself on top of the roof, and Don climbed up the tall ladder inside.
After using a laser level to figure out just exactly where to put the hole for the chimney, Dave cut out the hole for it. That was tricky enough -- I still don't really know how they lined up everything inside and outside -- but the really challenging part was getting the chimney in place.They tied a rope to a length of 2-by-4 and threaded the rope through the bottom of the chimney, which is basically a 7-foot-long shiny tube, so they'd have a way to lift it. The goal was to get the tube up into place -- sticking out through the hole in the roof, and set down into the metal box Dave had put into place earlier. The chimney was very slippery, however, and Dave didn't have a good way to maneuver it from his perch on the roof. Don tried to help the first time by pushing up from his position on the ladder (about 20 feet in the air), but he could only get a few fingers below it (and it was fairly heavy) without leaning too far out.
They eventually got it into place by moving the ladder so Don could push up from straight below the chimney tube, balancing it on his head at one point to get a better grip.
I was helping (mostly just watching) with this project from the safety of the stairs, so I didn't get any pictures of this work.
There was several more hours of work getting the rest of the chimney parts in place, but by the time the men came in for a late lunch, the chimney was there, in all its shiny metal glory!
... Then, after lunch, they started in on the next project: Getting the 475-pound stove into the house from the van.
I didn't actually see how this was accomplished -- I was saddled with the duty of putting Sofia and Erik (and their sleep-deprived mother) down for their naps, so I didn't get out to see the event until it was nearly over.
The plan had been for Dave to call the neighbors, the Petersons, over to help when he was ready for a crew of brute strength. The neighbors had a work weekend at their farm, and they said yesterday when they stopped over to ask if we had any scrap lumber (we had a little to spare, I think) that they could help with that project today.
Well, it turned out that Dale and Connie Groop drove up just as Dave was getting ready to call the Petersons. "You're here just in time," Dave told them, and he talked Dale into helping with their moving project. Dale is known for being clever with such engineering problems, so we were happy he showed up at that moment and was willing to help.
So how did they do it? Well, first they backed the van up onto blocks, so it was at the same level as the door into the house. Then they put rollers -- steel cylinders (my dad is holding one in the photo above) -- under the pallet that the stove was on, and by moving the rollers ahead as needed, they got the stove into its spot on the tile pad.The idea of rollers was my dad's -- he gave the example of St. Luke's hospital in Aberdeen, a four-story building that was moved several blocks by using rollers.
But the stove was still on the pallet. How could they get the palette out from underneath the stove?
Well, they built up another platform under the stove, using scrap 2-by-4s, as you can see in the photos, until the stove was resting on the platform they'd built and not the pallet. Then they unbolted the stove from the pallet and pulled it out from under the stove. Then, using a crowbar to lift and lower the beams of the platform, they pulled the scrap 2-by-4s out from under the stove, one by one, until the stove was resting on the tile pad.
Voila! A stove (nearly) in place! (It will still need some slight adjusting when the stovepipe is put in.)... As I mentioned, it did rain this evening, and Dave was pleased to see that there were no leaks, despite the hole he'd cut into the roof just that morning. Apparently they'd installed the chimney correctly!
... After all that work, by late afternoon, the men were told to quit for the day. So we even had a little music in the evening! Mary played her mandolin, Dave played guitar, and Sofia added a little "picking" of her own.... OK, off to bed for me! Erik's next feeding is surely impending.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
AUG. 7 UPDATE: Painting and shingling
Just a couple quick photos to let you know that I haven't completely given up on blogging with a baby!
Mary volunteered to help us paint the wood trim of our new skylights, so she was out working on that today.
I think she got two of three windows primed today. Thanks, Mary!
Dave went back to work on shingling yesterday evening and this evening. He went on a junket -- I mean, to a work-related training session on Tuesday and Wednesday, so he was in Bismarck overnight Tuesday and got to get away from the craziness here for a bit. Though he said he didn't sleep well, even if there were no crying babies or calls for Daddy in the middle of the night!
Dave got himself some new overalls -- a pants-loss prevention purchase, he says. (I suppose it would be inconvenient to have your pants fall down while you're up on the roof.) I've been calling him "Farmer Dave" this evening, since I saw his new fashion statement.
... Life with baby is intense, as one might expect these first few weeks! But it is a lot of fun to watch him start to get more alert and aware of his surroundings. He has had an alert (and not eating) period for the past three mornings now.
... Little blessings I am appreciating now as a member of the no-longer-pregnant club:
1. The ability to touch my toes and put my shoes on without odd contortions.
2. The choice of more than one pair of shoes.
3. The ability to fit into and reach things at the back of my walk-in closet.
Even with sleep deprivation, the health balance of this new mother is on the positive side!
Mary volunteered to help us paint the wood trim of our new skylights, so she was out working on that today.
I think she got two of three windows primed today. Thanks, Mary!Dave went back to work on shingling yesterday evening and this evening. He went on a junket -- I mean, to a work-related training session on Tuesday and Wednesday, so he was in Bismarck overnight Tuesday and got to get away from the craziness here for a bit. Though he said he didn't sleep well, even if there were no crying babies or calls for Daddy in the middle of the night!
Dave got himself some new overalls -- a pants-loss prevention purchase, he says. (I suppose it would be inconvenient to have your pants fall down while you're up on the roof.) I've been calling him "Farmer Dave" this evening, since I saw his new fashion statement.... Life with baby is intense, as one might expect these first few weeks! But it is a lot of fun to watch him start to get more alert and aware of his surroundings. He has had an alert (and not eating) period for the past three mornings now.
... Little blessings I am appreciating now as a member of the no-longer-pregnant club:
1. The ability to touch my toes and put my shoes on without odd contortions.
2. The choice of more than one pair of shoes.
3. The ability to fit into and reach things at the back of my walk-in closet.
Even with sleep deprivation, the health balance of this new mother is on the positive side!
Guest blog--skylights
Mostly I am here to help with the new baby, but today I painted the trim on the skylights. Compared with the baby and toddler uproar in the old house, it was very peaceful and calm, just painting away all by myself in the empty loft. Every now and then a barn swallow flew by a few feet from the skylights.
When I came back with paint on my arms, Sofi asked me what I'd been doing. Painting in the new house, I said.
After dinner we went outside to pick berries and Sofi stopped, puzzled. "The house isn't painted!" she said.
So we went upstairs and I showed her all my hours of work--the frames around three skylights.
She was matter of fact about it. Nothing surprises her-- I could spend all afternoon and the result could be that the entire house would be a different color--or it could be just three little frames. Both are equally plausible. I like seeing how her mind works, how differently she thinks than we do.
But sometimes I think, we all have unrealistic expectations. Ours are just slightly more reality-based than hers are. Or so we hope.
My expectation is that Dave and Heidi will be in their new house by this winter. To me, it seems plausible!
-- Mary
When I came back with paint on my arms, Sofi asked me what I'd been doing. Painting in the new house, I said.
After dinner we went outside to pick berries and Sofi stopped, puzzled. "The house isn't painted!" she said.
So we went upstairs and I showed her all my hours of work--the frames around three skylights.
She was matter of fact about it. Nothing surprises her-- I could spend all afternoon and the result could be that the entire house would be a different color--or it could be just three little frames. Both are equally plausible. I like seeing how her mind works, how differently she thinks than we do.
But sometimes I think, we all have unrealistic expectations. Ours are just slightly more reality-based than hers are. Or so we hope.
My expectation is that Dave and Heidi will be in their new house by this winter. To me, it seems plausible!
-- Mary
Sunday, August 3, 2008
AUG. 4 UPDATE: Housier all the time
I haven't blogging the last few days and finally came to the conclusion that I need to adjust my blogging schedule -- Erik seems to be awake and hungry at my usual blogging time (between 10 and midnight or so), so instead I need to blog by day. Or at least daylight, since it's already evening for today's blog.
In any case, here are some pictures from the last few days to catch up.
Dave and Dad were able to start shingling the roof of the new addition Sunday evening.
They got several rows done before quitting for the night.
... We had been trying to keep Dad off the ladder. Apparently Dave failed in that, but at least Dad wasn't up on the roof. Mary said she hopes she's that determined when she's 84!
Looks pretty good, doesn't it? Dave and Don got all the trim pieces up on Sunday afternoon.
... Here is a historical photo: Erik is the first male baby to be born at (or come home to) the Marttila farm in 91 years! His great uncle Leo, holding him, was the most recent baby boy before that. My uncle Arnold had been the first male child born at the farm; Leo was the second. My grandparents had two more boys in their family of 11, one being my dad, but they were born in the years when the family moved to town and rented out the farm. Dad, the only one to marry and have children on the farm, had just Mari and me -- so you can see that this baby boy is some cause for celebration!
Little Erik still likes to be in the little frog fetal position, so here he's had one of his admirers get him all cozy for a nap.
... We're working on getting some estimates for someone to put siding on the house. I think we're going to go with fiber cement siding -- vinyl siding is much cheaper, but somehow I don't like the way it looks, and I've seen warped vinyl siding on many houses (though from what I've read, that's an installation problem more than a problem with the siding itself). I read up on what was the best environmental alternative, and basically there isn't one kind of siding that stands out above the rest, though vinyl is not as good as some others. (Frankly, what I really like the look of is wood siding -- OK, what I'd really, really like is some combination of a stone foundation and wood siding, but we won't even bring that up around Dave -- but after spending several summers scraping, sanding and painting our house in Boone, Dave declared absolutely not on anything that required that much maintenance.)
... The plumber will be coming next week.
... So I started this post at about 7. I was interrupted by a hungry baby, and guess what time I'm finishing up? 10:30, right at my usual blogging time. I guess baby Erik isn't much interested in my attempts to set up a schedule yet!
In any case, here are some pictures from the last few days to catch up.
Dave and Dad were able to start shingling the roof of the new addition Sunday evening.
They got several rows done before quitting for the night.... We had been trying to keep Dad off the ladder. Apparently Dave failed in that, but at least Dad wasn't up on the roof. Mary said she hopes she's that determined when she's 84!
Looks pretty good, doesn't it? Dave and Don got all the trim pieces up on Sunday afternoon.
... Here is a historical photo: Erik is the first male baby to be born at (or come home to) the Marttila farm in 91 years! His great uncle Leo, holding him, was the most recent baby boy before that. My uncle Arnold had been the first male child born at the farm; Leo was the second. My grandparents had two more boys in their family of 11, one being my dad, but they were born in the years when the family moved to town and rented out the farm. Dad, the only one to marry and have children on the farm, had just Mari and me -- so you can see that this baby boy is some cause for celebration!
Little Erik still likes to be in the little frog fetal position, so here he's had one of his admirers get him all cozy for a nap.... We're working on getting some estimates for someone to put siding on the house. I think we're going to go with fiber cement siding -- vinyl siding is much cheaper, but somehow I don't like the way it looks, and I've seen warped vinyl siding on many houses (though from what I've read, that's an installation problem more than a problem with the siding itself). I read up on what was the best environmental alternative, and basically there isn't one kind of siding that stands out above the rest, though vinyl is not as good as some others. (Frankly, what I really like the look of is wood siding -- OK, what I'd really, really like is some combination of a stone foundation and wood siding, but we won't even bring that up around Dave -- but after spending several summers scraping, sanding and painting our house in Boone, Dave declared absolutely not on anything that required that much maintenance.)
... The plumber will be coming next week.
... So I started this post at about 7. I was interrupted by a hungry baby, and guess what time I'm finishing up? 10:30, right at my usual blogging time. I guess baby Erik isn't much interested in my attempts to set up a schedule yet!
Friday, August 1, 2008
AUG. 1 UPDATE: Home again, plus one
Hello, all!
Mari did a nice job of filling in for me while I was dealing with more urgent matters! I'm glad she was able to get some pictures of our new addition -- the cute little one, not the one that will house the mudroom! -- up right away.
Here are a few more hospital photos:
Erik really had a furrowed brow when he was born! It's smoothed out some since then. Now he looks a lot more like Sofia did when she was a baby.
Sofia is very interested in her baby brother!
Here are all five grandchildren -- Amara is not the littlest one anymore!
All four girls had pigtails when they arrived at the hospital for a visit, but Amara's didn't stay in very long.
Wednesday afternoon we decided it was family nap time. I had already taken my nap when I got up to take this picture.
We are now home, adjusting to life with its new demands, challenges and joys -- last night was a little rough for those of us who like to sleep at night, which apparently does not yet include little Erik. I didn't get to sleep at all until close to 2 a.m., and then I slept about an hour at a stretch before being awakened by an absolutely ravenous little boy, until 8 a.m. Then I did get to sleep for almost two hours before I got up for the day. He actually was hungry all that time -- my second milk had not fully come in yet, but apparently his "second stomach" had, and the minute amounts of colostrum just weren't cutting it for him. But I just let him nurse as much as he had energy to do, knowing that's the way to get my body to produce milk sooner. And by midmorning, my milk was in, so the rest of the day has gone much better -- he doesn't have to work so hard to get his tummy full. And he's asleep now, letting Mommy have a little time on the computer!
Sofia is having to adjust a bit, too, of course -- mostly to the fact that Mommy can't pick her up right now (no heavy lifting after the C-section), and I'm not always available to help her when she needs it, if Erik needs me right then, too. But that's going a little easier because I've got backup for the week -- Dave's parents are both here for the weekend, and Mary is staying until next weekend. Sofia always has a good time with her Nama.
... OK, time for a nursing break ... I'm back!
... And, since Don is here, too, work on the house continues! Dave took the whole week off for the big baby event, so he and Don took advantage of having an extra day to work on the house today.
They accomplished a lot on the addition in one day, I'd say.
The walls were up and all the roof trusses were on by suppertime.
You can see the difference in roof pitches here, but I think it still works. The pitch of the addition and the pitch of the main building's overhangs are nearly the same.
The men went back to work after supper, putting up some sheathing on the roof.
... Just for fun, here are some pictures taken by Sofia this evening. She's not a bad little photographer!
Mari did a nice job of filling in for me while I was dealing with more urgent matters! I'm glad she was able to get some pictures of our new addition -- the cute little one, not the one that will house the mudroom! -- up right away.
Here are a few more hospital photos:
Erik really had a furrowed brow when he was born! It's smoothed out some since then. Now he looks a lot more like Sofia did when she was a baby.
Sofia is very interested in her baby brother!
Here are all five grandchildren -- Amara is not the littlest one anymore!All four girls had pigtails when they arrived at the hospital for a visit, but Amara's didn't stay in very long.
Wednesday afternoon we decided it was family nap time. I had already taken my nap when I got up to take this picture.We are now home, adjusting to life with its new demands, challenges and joys -- last night was a little rough for those of us who like to sleep at night, which apparently does not yet include little Erik. I didn't get to sleep at all until close to 2 a.m., and then I slept about an hour at a stretch before being awakened by an absolutely ravenous little boy, until 8 a.m. Then I did get to sleep for almost two hours before I got up for the day. He actually was hungry all that time -- my second milk had not fully come in yet, but apparently his "second stomach" had, and the minute amounts of colostrum just weren't cutting it for him. But I just let him nurse as much as he had energy to do, knowing that's the way to get my body to produce milk sooner. And by midmorning, my milk was in, so the rest of the day has gone much better -- he doesn't have to work so hard to get his tummy full. And he's asleep now, letting Mommy have a little time on the computer!
Sofia is having to adjust a bit, too, of course -- mostly to the fact that Mommy can't pick her up right now (no heavy lifting after the C-section), and I'm not always available to help her when she needs it, if Erik needs me right then, too. But that's going a little easier because I've got backup for the week -- Dave's parents are both here for the weekend, and Mary is staying until next weekend. Sofia always has a good time with her Nama.
... OK, time for a nursing break ... I'm back!
... And, since Don is here, too, work on the house continues! Dave took the whole week off for the big baby event, so he and Don took advantage of having an extra day to work on the house today.
They accomplished a lot on the addition in one day, I'd say.
The walls were up and all the roof trusses were on by suppertime.
You can see the difference in roof pitches here, but I think it still works. The pitch of the addition and the pitch of the main building's overhangs are nearly the same.
The men went back to work after supper, putting up some sheathing on the roof.... Just for fun, here are some pictures taken by Sofia this evening. She's not a bad little photographer!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)