Tuesday, August 16, 2005

Renovations

Carrie is off visiting her dad in Michigan this week. And everyone knows that the mice will play while the cat is away. Wait a minute -- I thought I was the cat!

In any event, with Carrie out of the way, it seemed the perfect opportunity to do some major work in her bedroom. Originally, the cottage came with two 8 x 10-foot bedrooms. Hardly room enough for a bed and dresser, let alone the stuff that teens require. So the wall came down (it was a temporary wall from the previous round of renovations) and Doug and I have been working continuously in there.

My new job description is "carpenter's helper." The duties are (to date): vacuuming (and here I thought I could escape it!) the work site, drilling holes, inserting screws, nailing in the trim pieces, shimming window trim, trimming foam, finding studs, and removing staples. This means that I now have operated the electric drill, the screw gun, the electric nailer, the chop saw, and the stud finder. Such fun, eh?


And here you see the finished window! Posted by Picasa


There is yet another window in the room which is completed, and a little window that will get the slightest of trim. Carrie plans to install a poster over the window, so a full trim-out isn't required at the moment.

Today the baseboard has been installed, and it looks fabulous. We are hoping to get someone to come in and sand, patch and refinish the existing pine floor. It is in pretty rough shape as pine doesn't wear well, and there are places where the original wall used to be which have never been finished.

The plus side of my new occupation -- when the carpenter doesn't need me, I get to sit and knit!
Doesn't that just break your heart?

I'm working on a baby blanket for the wife of a friend from my teen-age years. Unfortunately, she recently suffered a miscarriage with all the attendant grief. I have continued with the blanket, knitting each stitch with a prayer for healing and in confidence that they will one day have a precious baby to wrap in the blanket. Since baby blankets don't appear to change much from day to day, I have decided to wait until it is complete before making a photo opportunity.

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