It is my sad vanity to infer that no progress occurs around here without my participation.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  In fact, since my physical ailment (as still, undiagnosed) made its appearance, we seem to be making more progress than before I was sidelined!  Consider this:

We now have a swing hanging from the beams on our front porch.  It was “picked”* on a recent foraging trip to Zebulon, GA, home of Greg’s sister, Patty, and her husband Clyde.  (FYI:  Clyde, a former manufacturer’s rep, has the most interesting stuff piled up in and around his “warehouse”.  In just one trip, we scored not only the swing, but also a propane fireplace that is now installed in the basement apartment, gorgeous cabinet doors that will soon flank the cabinets on either side of the fireplace, 2 handmade, ramrod-straight ladder-back chairs, and several Riley-sized rockers!)  Dad primed and painted the swing Bravado Red, to match the front door.  This perch has become my favorite spot to enjoy the 70-degree February days that have comprised our “winter”!

The drippy, leaky, faded, tomato-soup red roof is gone!  While the fireplace was under construction in early December, our contractor called in his roofer, Jim, to install flashing around the fireplace.  When Jim and his almost-toothless sidekick arrived at our job site, they exited their truck, folded their arms, and both said “HMMM” in unison.  Me: “what does HMMM mean????”  The sidekick replied: “I ain’t never seen a metal roof put on a house like that.  You might put it on a shed that way…but I wouldn’t”!  It turns out that all we had over our heads was metal; no underlayment or roof felting, just metal!  That is why condensate always caused “rain” on the porches every morning, before the sun came up.  It’s also why, when the wind blew during precipitation, the rain would find its way between the metal joints and cause waterfalls in the living room!

While Jim was installing the flashing, he noticed major pitting to the roofing metal, which was the result of HAIL DAMAGE!  This discovery was like manna from heaven, because we desperately wanted a new roof, but it was not even a line item on the remodeling budget.  Enter Nationwide Insurance, who presented us with a meaty check that almost covered the cost of a new, properly installed roof.  Now, all we need is for the rain to stop, so the new, dark gray metal can go on!  (Pictures of the completed project will follow.)

We now have shingles around the garage doors, and on the back side of the garage.  The glass French doors that “graced” the front of the garage when we purchase the house are long gone, replaced by wood and tar paper.  Likewise the 2 big picture windows on the back wall of the garage have been removed, providing lots of wall storage space inside. 

During construction, we purchased Hardi-Board shake shingles to clad the chimney. Cedar (which is on the rest of the house) is beautiful, but requires major upkeep.  There is no way we wanted to stand on that steep metal roof to paint shakes every couple of years!  Anyway, we ordered enough of the concrete shakes to cover the front and back walls of the garage.  Dad has almost completed their installation, and it looks outstanding!

The bookcases around the fireplace are in place.  I am working (albeit VERY slowly) to finish to them (an experimental combination of paint and tinted wax).  It is supposed to rain again (still?) all weekend, so we will install the stone veneer around the firebox opening, and above the mantel.  Then we can hang the cabinet doors and enjoy the ambience!  :>)

*We are hooked on the History Channel’s series “American Pickers”.  We DVR it, to assure we don’t miss one show! Even Greg, who has to hold his nose to enter an antique store loves watching “the picking”.  We try to analyze what the attraction of the program is, but can’t quite pinpoint it.  We have likened it to vacationing in Key West, where we always have a great time, but can’t really explain why!  :>)