The Weekend

I don't say this very often, but I am glad this past weekend is over.  We had a BIG project on our plate, and it is now completed.  Well, the main part of it is.  We are still dealing with the "after-math" of big projects, but that's ok...I can deal with that part of it.

The BIG project for the weekend:  Shingling our house.  I now have a whole new respect for those people who shingle for a living.  Holy cow, it is a lot of work!  We started early Friday morning, at 7:00AM, and didn't get off the roof until 9:00PM that night.  That is a long 14 hour day of shingling.  I could hardly move Friday night, as I stumbled into the house, and still needed to take a shower.  It felt so good to crawl into bed that night, as my whole body was still aching.  Rather sad how out of shape I am, huh?  I think so!

We got a lot done on Friday.  More than anyone thought we would.  So, that made Saturday a short(er) day for everyone, which was really nice, and much needed.  We started again at 7:00AM, and were finished at about Noon.  We had a few hiccups, and needed to make a Menards run, but other than that, everything went smoothly.  Carl and I will probably be picking up for a while yet, but that is fine with me.  That is to be expected with this project.  The magnet has become a good friend of ours.  Right when we think we have picked up all the nails in a certain spot, the magnet catches another. 

Our whole crew was absolutely amazing.  We had about 6-7 people up on the roof for most of the time, and everyone was so helpful.  Nobody complained, despite the crappy job at hand.  We were chucking water bottles up to people, handing out scotcheroos and cookies to the hard workers, and doing whatever we could to try and thank everyone for their hard work.  And, let me tell you, it was hard work!

I am so happy that we have this project checked off our to-do list.  We found some rotten wood under the old shingles that needed to be replaced.  So, it is a comforting feeling to know that it was taken care of, and we don't have to worry about any major issues from that.  Carl is still working on the soffits, and some other finishing touches to this project, but the roof is covered, and that's what matters most.  Not to mention, the new shingles look fabulous!  Next up:  new gutters.  The old ones were ripped down with the shingles, but they were pretty bad anyway.  I think that is the last project for this year, and we will start in again next Spring.  I think, anyway.

Thanks again for everyone who lent a helping hand!  Whether it be up on the roof, watching Carson, dropping off ice and water, making food, running after last minute things, or baking cookies....it is all much appreciated!