Thursday, January 30, 2014

More Tile, and a Boy Band


On Wednesday, Phil spent the morning cutting tile. Two walls required cut tiles, and one corner needed a tricky corner cut.

In the afternoon, he mortared the tile in place.

When my sister and I bought the tile back in November, we overbought by 10% or so. We ended up with a total of two, yes, two, extra tiles. Apparently that corner cut was more tricky than we expected. But what a relief to have that done.

The boys and I read most of the day, finishing Dumpling Days, the third book about the young Taiwanese-American, in which the girl and her family go to Taiwan. What an interesting cross-cultural experience. Phil was a bit sad that he didn't get to hear it all: the cutting was too loud, and we were too impatient to hear what happened to wait for him. (Look at Joe, ignoring the camera. He only listened to some of the book.)

Caleb fell asleep in the jumper. I think we have photos of all the boys asleep like this.

Caleb might be the one with the chubbiest cheeks, though.

Phil and I spent hours today getting the trailers organized. We have excavated a good many things from the storage trailer, and removed a good many things from the house trailer, but what is left has been stagnating in an incredible disarray. Boxes of books without a home (not enough bookshelves yet); boxes of boys' clothes in various sizes; engineering texts and random art supplies and suitcases and unused dresser and shelving. What to do with it all?

I am helpless by myself. I needed Phil to come and help me strategize, and to come and hang shelving. If it were up to me ... it wouldn't get done. But Phil knows about how to hold the level to make sure that the shelving units will work. (I did make Phil smile to himself at one point, though. I could not get a particular shelf to sit properly on the three supports. I would move them up and down, but it was a mystery. Phil showed me how to count the slots. I thought I had done that, but when he counted to three, he had a whole different experience than mine. His shelf was level. I was relieved.)

I should have taken before and after photos, but it felt like a constant race: see how much you can do before Caleb is hungry or wet. (Since the high today was about 25, I left the littlest brother in the warmth with the other brothers, and they would run to get me every hour or two.)

At the end of that time: we had shuffled a good many boxes. We had two walls of hanging shelves, mostly populated, including some books that Phil hasn't seen in four and a half years. We had another wall with a large shelving unit there, mostly stocked with boys' clothes.

Phil figures he has at least two days consolidating his space in the storage trailer to the house trailer. I think he's right, though I suspect a week might be more accurate.

In the evening, after we made pizza pie and apple pie, Phil worked on the grout between the tiles. All of these little things have multiple steps, like: scrape between the tiles, wash the tiles really well, press in the grout, wash the tiles really well. The grout took about two hours. But it looked so wonderful when finished! Wow!

Oh, and as for the boy band? They're a fine-looking bunch, though they tend to be rascals when it is time for photos. Just look at the camera! No tongues out, no hands on face, eyes open, mouth normal, look at the camera, ahh!

I give up.

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Laying Tile, Part I


Caleb appears to be teething. I laughed one evening last week when I noticed that his shirt was wet to his navel. That was an overnight change. He figured out how to hold a chew toy today.

He is one strong baby. Phil put his pointer fingers in Caleb's hands while Caleb was lying down. Caleb held on, and raised his head off the ground, and Phil gently pulled and Caleb went into a sitting and then standing position. If Caleb sees us coming to pick him up, he lifts his head eagerly. He loves to sit in the Johnny-jump-up and watch the brothers playing. He jumps so that both feet leave the ground.

Phil and Isaiah worked on installing tile today. They did about half the space. They had time and inclination to do more, but because of the corner where they started (and they picked that corner purposefully), they needed to stop in order not to walk on what they had already accomplished. Tomorrow the mortar will have set, and they will be able to continue on.

Then Phil cut the plinths that are meant to go over the cabinets.

But we opted to leave the cabinets plinth-free. They are just a bit too ornate, or something. We like the sheer, straight lines.

Phil kept the fire going all day today, using wood that we've had stored behind the barn. We are pleased with how long a very little wood lasts.

The boys and I spent yesterday reading through The Year of the Rat, the sequel to the book we read Saturday. And today we started the third, Dumpling Days. That is fun!

January 27: Phil's Day of Happiness


Monday morning dawned sunny and dry. The ground thawed, which meant mud, but the temperature meant it was a good day to cut a hole in the ceiling.

And then a hole in the roof, too.

There was more to it than that, always. But all I really noticed was that, some hours later, the opening was now closed and covered.

Some amount of banging and exclamations of frustration later, the stovepipe was intact.

And then the boys were playing pioneers, with all the lights out. (The camera flash obscures the fact that they were sitting in a completely dark room, enjoying the smell and sight of the flames.)

We had enough construction scrap lumber to keep the flame going all evening. For some hours, it wasn't overly pleasant, as the paint cured: the smell of industrial materials filled the space, and we had windows open and vents going. But after that, Phil sat in the easy chair in front of the fire, enjoying the warmth. What a load off his mind, too: come loss of electricity, we have a source of heat (and, in extremity, food preparation). This has been a concern, and now that concern is allayed.

The boys would go outside to see the chimney and any smoke. I have been luxuriating in an indoor life, so I haven't been out to see the chimney. One of these days I'll go.

Monday, January 27, 2014

January 24 and 25: Finishing Touches and Beginning Tiles

Eventually, we have high hopes for the entryway. A bench on which to sit; some area outside to get off the bulk of the mud. But for the moment, three entry mats (all filthy now) and some crates are the shoe storage available.

Phil grew tired of tossing down his wet jackets, or having no good place for the spotlight (very necessary near the front door: on occasion, Shadow will bark in the middle of the night in a particularly vicious way; Phil gets up, gets dressed, and goes with the spotlight to see the intruder), or losing his gloves amid half a dozen pairs of boots.

So a shelf with hooks became a priority purchase. It arrived, and Phil put it up, a bit low on the wall in terms of ideal decorating, but the right height, we think, for the five sets of small hands that will be using it.

"I really like it," Phil said multiple times.

After that, Phil got started on finishing the pocket doors. This required some wood on the interior faces, as well as the standard sides and top that face into the rooms. Note how much nicer the one door looks, though!

We immediately hung up the Johnny-jump-up, and Caleb had a great time bouncing away.

Then Phil did the second pocket door, and all the other doors, except one interior where we need to put down tile first.

With the scraps, he was able to finish off a little bit of floor. I was so thankful, too, because that spot was where the enormous bulge had appeared while we were away. The bulge had maybe settled down a little, but with that finishing trim pushing down, the floor is back to the way it should be. And that one spot looks so wonderful! I stared at it for some time, admiring how, well, finished it looks! Trim is not high on the priority list, but I will be so happy when it makes it to the top!

With ever-smaller scraps, he did manage to finish off between bookcases and beam.

It took some creative cutting, but, hooray!

On Saturday, all four of the older brothers played Cars together, for hours. I read them a whole book, too, the delightful first in a series of Taiwanese-American tales, The Year of the Dog.
bros
Phil emptied the one not-yet-really-started room and vacuumed it.

He laid out tile, too, and researched the steps to put that down. We talked through the size of grout lines between tiles: there are options there. When he went to cut the tile, though, it didn't work nearly as well as he would have hoped. Since he would be going to town on Sunday, he opted to just wait, and make a thorough shopping list of all the bits and parts needed.

Thursday, January 23, 2014

Hearth Stone


Wednesday was another indoor office day for Phil. The only thing of real excitement was that Caleb turned over three times in a row. He hasn't done it since, but we were all very proud of him.

Phil ran errands almost all day today, including picking up the hearth we ordered and the chimney. The hearth was far too heavy for me to help him carry, so he used the tractor to bring it down, put it on his boot tops and rocked his way inside. We slid it along the floor on cardboard, and gently set it in place. I don't know what it would take to get it up again.

Phil and my sister had scooted the wood-burning stove inside, once the tractor had moved it to the French doors. It has sat against the wall for the last two months, so when Phil pushed it to the hearth, and then somehow manhandled it, miraculously, into place, both the empty wall looked surprising, and the reading nook did, too.

I look forward to the day that the screens and trim are all hung, the assorted tools are put away, and the boxes of random books find a home. There will be so much more space then!

Isaiah made an interesting design today on the Etch-a-Sketch. It's the interior of a plane: three windows, three seats, and the row of lights at the floor.

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Indoor Hours


On Saturday, Phil ran to the hardware store. He had thought he bought enough shims earlier in the week, but the openings proved wide enough he needed more. (Shims go around a door to hold it in place; he had figured a package per door would be enough, but he ended up using two or three packages.)

He put in two door handles, as well. I have a door that closes and locks now. That's pretty cool.

On Monday, we noticed that Catherine was being bred now, almost eleven months after delivering. Why do our cows not breed back after two or three months, like most cows should? She wasn't even being milked, to put undue pressure on her! This is absurdly frustrating.

She broke free of the pen, perhaps trying to avoid the bull's early advances. The bull broke out, too. Phil stepped out to try to put them back, and returned about a minute later. "That would be really stupid. If I get close to her, the bull is going to see me as a threat." No kidding.

When he brought hay down to the cows this morning, they were both happy to rejoin the herd. Easy!

Phil has spent the last two days, and Saturday night, working in the office trailer on office stuff. He probably put in more than 14 hours yesterday. I don't see him much, and I know he isn't thrilled with what he's working on. When he helped wash the boys in the sink on Saturday, he thought it was time to start working on the bathtub. I'm glad to hear that he'll get to it soon.

As for the boys and I, we are having a great time. Jadon has been building Lego sets for hours every day. With the pieces divided by color, he can find what he needs somewhat easily.

The other boys took out many of the finished sets today, and played with them on and off until Isaiah said the room was "stifling," and they began a frenzy of cleaning up. Just finding the right bag for the different sets, and making sure any pieces that had fallen off got put back on, took a long time.

We have had a dusting of snow today. Abraham was getting suited up until Phil told him that the snow was paper-thin on the ground, and no good for snowballs. Bummer.

We've all been enjoying the wonder of pat-a-cake, though. Roll 'em and throw 'em in the pan makes Caleb smile, or belly laugh.

Sunday, January 19, 2014

January 17: Glass Doors


I sent Phil an "I'm going to bed" text at 12:30 this morning. He was in the office trailer, working. At 4am, he crawled into bed, freezing cold, as he had fallen asleep at his desk some time before.

We were both up before 8 (perhaps a bit unusually), and I mentioned that I had rather wished to move the wall unit down. I have been waiting for about two months now, but between muddy, sodden ground, broken ribs, and illness, there hasn't been a day yet. I've been watching the weather reports all week, hoping for a good freeze.

Phil went out to check and said, "We could do it if we go right now." And he was right. Another fifteen minutes and it would have been too late.

Phil must be doing significantly better, because he basically manhandled the enormous wall unit onto the dolly, and then pulled it, over uneven terrain. I did little except stabilize it. Together we carried it inside, and then Phil put a piece of cardboard underneath it and I tugged while he pushed. That was quite easy, and, thankfully, didn't leave any ugly scratches in the floor.

Then, because he has waited for four and a half years, Phil went right up and brought down the two heavy, antique glass doors, that we had left packaged for protection. I didn't know for sure that they had survived the move to Virginia intact. (They had.)

Caleb has not had such a good day of sleep in weeks. He would eat for a few minutes, then doze or drop back to sleep. That was perfect, because with the wall unit in place, I wanted to do nothing but populate it with books!

How lovely. I have Sonlight's Cores 530, 400 and 300, each on a shelf. I have a shelf with my favorite agriculture books, and blog books; a shelf with poetry and health and healing books; and three shelves with assorted books, mostly classics, along a few books that I simply like.

My photo albums, now wiped clean of mildew, fit nicely on top.

But that didn't entirely clean up that portion of the space. I had been stashing things there, such as Lego instructions. Over the four years of tight quarters, we would get new Lego sets, and the boys would build them. And often the instructions would get put away, but not always. Sometimes the instructions would end up on the floor, trodden under foot by (little) men. I ended up with a couple of gallon ziplocs, full of Lego instruction pieces, and I sort of despaired that I could ever play archaeologist enough to reassemble the pieces.

That day came today. An enormous pile of torn papers faced me, but after many hours, and most of a roll of tape, I have reestablished order.

And, again, I am blown away by how little real damage there is. Between all the crumpled, eaten, torn papers, the most demolished instructions were duplicates, and between the two sets of torn papers, I could make one full set. I am missing two pages of instructions, total, so far as I can tell. (And those two might yet be in the house trailer.) Considering how many footsteps went on those dozens of instructions, I am astonished by how little real damage occurred, once taped together and reassembled.

One of my mentors said that a lady is a civilizing force, bringing order and peace. (I believe his exact words were, "You are humane to the degree you order yourself. You have peace to the level of order you maintain.") I have not felt like I even knew how to bring order and peace to my world. We did more than simply survive, but order ... that is not a word I would have used.

Today was a day to bring some order. It was a good day.

Phil, among other tasks, installed the final door all by himself. I don't know how he did it, without anyone to hold it in place while he held the level and hammered and such. But he did.

January 16: "Six Week" Appointment

I had my "six week" midwife appointment today. It's a joke because we kept scheduling it and having things come up. So it's really more like a 14 week visit.

Caleb is far too big for the infant scale, but, as near as we can tell from using an adult scale, he is 16 pounds, 2 ounces. That is impressive, at three months! Considering I have a niece who, at age two, is barely over 20 pounds, Caleb is definitely doing well in the weight department. No wonder he outgrew another three cute footie pajamas today. He is flying through these sweet little clothes!

Sometime around 4:15am, Phil got up to start chores. The ground is still frozen at 4:15, so he brought hay to the cows. He left at 5:30am for a meeting, then from there bought some supplies at Lowe's and took the car in for its state-mandated inspection. I am thankful he was feeling well enough to go.

When he came home, he installed the double doors in front of the washer and dryer. (I fell asleep last night, listening to my new servants "Dryer" and "Dishwasher," and was so thankful for their efforts on my behalf. But I digress.) Somehow we ended up with a good many extra handles, so he put handles on the doors, too.

Then he installed a door to the bedroom. I haven't had a door on my own bedroom in four and a half years. I was helping in some small capacity (holding the door shut with a finger, while Phil shimmed it from the other side, I think) and I stood there, in my bedroom, with a closed door, and it made me well up with tears. Privacy is precious. I don't think I realized how deeply I missed it.

Although he tried three times from scratch, he never could get the door to stay shut on its own. I don't know if most doors will stay shut without a handle to help them latch; ours does not. So I don't have a fully private bedroom, yet, but it is coming.

January 15: Our Driveway Works Again

After another day of complete prostration for Phil on Tuesday, the ground was frozen enough that we were able to receive delivery of a dump truck's worth of large gravel.

Our driveway has been just a mud slick, impossible to drive up, after four and a half years of driving on it (any extra gravel we received during the major construction was either scraped up and repurposed or buried underneath mud on tires, or simply pressed down). The slightest rain makes us unsure of actually leaving the land.

A friend recommended that we do like the Romans: larger gravel on the bottom and mash it down, then cover that with smaller gravel. (The smaller gravel is what we've had in the past, the larger is what we received today.)

We have been waiting for a good freeze to do step one, and happily, today was the day. By 8:40am, when the dump truck arrived, the ground had begun to thaw, but the driver backed his way down. The dump truck's tracks pressed that large gravel until it was level with the clay. No wonder we've been almost getting stuck, if a truck could mash in large rocks level. That was one mushy drive!

Phil headed back to bed after receiving that delivery. Unfortunately for him, we also were receiving delivery of some interior doors today. Finally! We ordered (and paid!) for them before Thanksgiving, and I am ready to be able to shut the door and feed the baby without an exuberant son bouncing in to see what I'm up to. I appreciate my familial popularity, but I could use a bit more privacy.

Anyway, it can be hard to hear trucks, and the driver's phones don't always work out here in the boonies, so we try to wait for deliveries where we can greet the drivers easily. Droopy, sick Phil headed up at 11:15, as the delivery window was 11-1:30.

An hour later he came back. The delivery window had changed, and they would call. The call came just before 1pm: delivery from 1 to 2. So Phil went up again.

At 3 he came back, having sat in the car, dozing, for a total of three hours at that point. Within five minutes, we heard the truck. Ten minutes later, the doors were inside.

Phil put the large double doors in place, held by a screw. Physically, that was all he could do. The doors are not really installed, but they aren't actively falling around and damaging the floor.

As for me, I spent the entire day reading to the boys. Well, I fed them and such, too, but we were captivated by a book, The Ides of April, the prequel to another book we recently enjoyed, Beyond the Desert Gate.

And it felt just a little productive as well—Jadon managed to put together an old Lego set we have, the Toy Story Pizza Delivery truck. We couldn't find about ten pieces, but using substitutes, he put it together. It is so cute!

I think we have dozens more sets to assemble. I have spent time, while reading aloud, separating the colors (such multi-tasking!), but there are so many pieces, even when divided by color, the sets take time.

January 13: Sprucing Up

Phil made my day today. His ribs are not fully healed, but he is back in a limited capacity. He decided to simply grit his teeth and put in toe-kicks for the storage cabinets. Did I mention that we hired a designer to maximize this space? Modern Family Kitchens takes IKEA cabinets and does creative, marvelous things with them. I had done my best, and fit ten cabinets in the space. The designer, in the same space, fit 21. And the walkways work far better. Best $400 I spent, I think. (I got an order list, too, and a contact person at IKEA, so I just had to call to touch base, email my list, and wait for my shipment. I loved that.)

Anyway, the one issue that we ended up with was that the toekicks were not quite tall enough, so there is a 1" gap between the top of the toekick and the bottom of the cabinet. From most vantage points, this won't be terribly obvious, but it is one of those emotional blah things that make even starting a project discouraging.

But Phil put the toekicks in. He raised the dishwasher, which had been about an inch below the counter. While it was lower, it worked, but if both racks were out at the same time, the dishwasher tipped forward. That was disconcerting. I'm glad it is firmly in place now! He raised the stove, and re-leveled it.

The entire island had to be raised just a bit to allow the toekicks to fit (those toekicks! Arr!). I don't know how he did it, but he got the island raised, without emptying all the drawers and cupboards.

We no longer see yellow electric line, or massive dust-and-construction-debris bunnies underneath. Phil was surprised by how much better the cabinets look, now that they are finished on the bottom.

And we washed the exterior of four windows and put up four screens.

I think they are surprisingly un-obvious. We have seven more exterior windows to wash, and I am waiting to wash interior windows until construction dust is mostly finished.

At the end of all those hours (not everything went smoothly, so that took much of the day), Phil suddenly started to feel sick. We have really had a go of sickness lately. I don't think we've had more than a day or two of all of us feeling well since December 23. Many of the boys have been hit twice now. Jadon finally got it for the first time. I think I was starting to get the feverish aches, and I took a homeopathic Aconite and immediately felt better.

In other news, Abraham, feeling under the weather, went through about nine months of his drawings from last year. It was amazing to see the progression of an artist, from stick figures early in the year...

... to negative space in a cowboy hat ...

... and intricate drawings by the year's end.

He lives and breathes art. We were reading about an ancient culture last week, and the line was something about the "food, art, and military" and Abraham cheered, "art! Yay!" and stuck his arms in the air. He's a funny guy.

Going through the box of drawings, he whittled down his production (perhaps 750 sheets of paper or so) to a surprisingly small handful. But when I mentioned that we could keep the others, just rubber banded to remember that they could be disposed of, I think he was relieved. "I don't really want to get rid of them because they represent a large amount of effort," he explained. Of course. And I am so glad that you explained that so cogently, with your adult vocabulary, oh 7-year-old.