If you give a Harris a task

This weekend we decided to take the lattice off the front porch. We're getting ready for the painters and have looked over everything inside so many times it all runs together. It was also about 85 all weekend so being outside was pleasant!

We started by knocking out the lattice. Then Harris unscrewed the 1x6 screen that shielded the north side of the porch.

Pretty good until taking the boards back to the shed for playhouse construction a bungee cord whipped around the dolly and smacked him squarely in the jaw. He counted his teeth after that one.

Today, fully rested and full of firework joy he set out to finish up. He pulled a nailing board up and part of the porch came up.

Sunday thus became a daylong project of sistering the porch joist, rebuilding a railing, pulling down remaining boards, and laying some new porch boards.

I'm still impressed he managed to do this with only one HD trip and the loan of a framing nailer from a friend.

The girls hung out cooking, watching Lydia, napping and reading Harry Potter. By 6:15 Sunday we had a stable and fully functioning porch again, that, because of the temperature, we ate dinner on.

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a second kitchen design

Taking into account comments, good ideas, and original plans I think we have a new contender. No, before we hadn't thought about where the microwave would go or the trashcan. :) Originally Sara had us putting the range on the chimney and running counters all around it. We couldn't figure out how in practise that would work and started dreaming about dual ovens and cooktops in counters and all sorts of things that are fancy and pretty, but not really needed for how we live now or plan to live later. This one gives Harris a gas cook top and me a convection oven. Dual fuel from bosch and we're both happy. It also creates two separate work stations on either side of the range and will fit around the door that will exist for the next year, but not forever. I like that this way we're not building out something that will have to be torn out in 12 months. I really really hate that. ...

Bill's new smile

Before reading this, know I have Bill's full permission to share. Most of my friends know Dollar Bill is my daughters' self-proclaimed godfather. The girls run in delight when they hear him approaching calling their names. For our youngest, he's decided she goes by her middle name, asking for little Hillary. What you might not know is that this summer he's experienced some hardships that require surgery. His remaining upper teeth have suddenly failed, making eating, talking, chewing difficult for him. He also doesn't smile as much anymore. Bill had some dental work done when he joined the Navy in the 80s. They pulled teeth and left him with partials that have now failed. The VA won't fix this for him and he doesn't have dental insurance. While you can't see his teeth, his roots are intact - necessitating surgery before he can get dentures. A reputable local dentist has examined Bill and come up with a plan of treatment to remove his root...

Budget

Dad was asking about the budget and how we're doing so far. Initially we had a total budget of about $350k for the house. As we negotiated the purchase price up and found more information about what the house needed that budget went to a maximum of about $415k. As of today, we anticipate spending around $400k or ~$111/sqft. As a comparison, Oakwood cost us $90/sqft and we sold for $106/sqft and the new owners are doing all kinds of neat stuff we dreamed about doing. So far we're under budget in a couple of areas, within budget but ahead of schedule in some (which can also be read as over budget...) and just going to be way over in a couple of key areas. Our original plan including making a temporary kitchen that we could live with, but would be massively overhauled within a year or two. Instead we decided to do it right the first time and enjoy it the entire time. To this end, our temp budget for cabs, appliances, and counters, was initally $5,600. However, that's g...

Adventures at The Bunny Manse

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