“It Should Be a Quick Job”

My father-in-law asked me if I would be available Sunday to help him swap a few deck boards at his place. “It should be a quick job. We’re only replacing a few bad ones,” he said. Well, it indeed started off with “a few bad” boards…

On the porch itself, we put in three new boards. On the ramp, we used 4 long boards to replace 7 boards. As you can see from the above photo, the thought eventually was to just go ahead and replace all the ramp boards. And we did.

It actually came out pretty good and only took about half the day. Then at some point, the decision was made to do the whole porch.

In the above photo, you can see the three boards we replaced. Once we knew we were doing the whole porch, we had to rip out the rest of the boards. It was a job! My father-in-law and brother-in-law ran up to Home Depot to get more boards and more screws while I ripped out the deck boards.

When they returned, they helped me with the remaining boards. We worked pretty much up until dinner time and we called it a day. We still had half the porch to finish which meant we were back at it on Monday afternoon. I stayed until about 6pm, and left because I needed to get the kids home, bathed and in bed for school the next day. They were almost finished when I left.

Tuesday morning, I had to stop over there after dropping Ella off at school. My wife bought something from a fundraiser and I had to bring over the money for it. When I walked up the ramp I saw that they had all but the very end board done. They didn’t finish it because my father-in-law was going to put in a different size board to avoid cutting the size they were using.

It looked fantastic. I can tell you, though, Sunday night I was sore. Monday night, I was stiff and sore. My hips were on fire, probably because we were hoping over deck boarding all day. My knees were killing me too because we were on them the entire time we were screwing in deck boards.

I’m always glad to help out my father-in-law. Lord knows how many times he has helped me! I’m happy it is done and that my mother-in-law is happy with the way it looks.

Now……pass the ibuprofen, please….

I Did It Myself!

If you have followed this blog, you know that the majority of the home projects I do are done with my father-in-law. He is always there to help me with things and I am so grateful for him.

Recently, you may recall, we got a second hand playscape. We knew it would probably need a bit of patch work. The other day, when Ella was climbing the rock wall, one of the rocks just fell off.

Most of the wood on it was starting to dry rot. So I went into my garage and took a look at the wood I had left from the deck/porch project. I had plenty of boards and a couple 2×4’s. That was really all I needed. I knew that Menard’s had the little “rocks” that were mounted to the boards, so I could pick those up after I put the new wall together.

It didn’t take long to measure everything out. The speed square I bought got a lot of use that day. Once the wall was finished, I packed the kids in the car and drove to Menard’s. The problem was, that they were out of the “rocks.”

I began to wonder how I could get around this problem. We looked at some of the other “swing set/playscape” accessories and there it was. It was a big plastic thing with holes in it. Basically, you build a square frame and mount this inside the frame. I, of course, thought “Why can’t I mount this thing right onto the wall I built?”

I ran to the tape measure aisle. Measured the plastic piece and saw that it would fit! So 8-12 screws later – it was mounted and guess what? The kids love it!!

An entire project finished without having to call my father-in-law for help!! Woo hoo!!

Project Update

The “Closet to Nook” project is underway. I neglected to get a true “before” picture, but I did get some pictures of the early stages.

The first thing my father-in-law and I did was rip out all of the shelving and such that was in the closet.

The above is a look directly into the closet. There was a shelf up top that had the bar to hang coats and such on hanging below it. That stuff came off the wall fairly easily. If you look in and to the right you can see where there were other shelves.

The shelves that were in there were hand made and thankfully didn’t take too much to get out. My father-in-law and I started framing things up as you can see above. Originally, my wife just wanted us to put a wall up and cover the hole back there. (More on that in a minute.)

The frame above the floor is where the bench seat is going to go. We added a couple diagonal beams (like a V) to stabilize the bench (especially for when fat guys like me sit on it!). Now let’s talk about Project Problem #1.

Because this closet was not square really anywhere, we had to make it square. Lots of adjustments and such. We got it as close as we could and started framing and putting every thing together. We were checking to make sure everything was level and there were plenty of screws and nails.

Once the bench frame was ready, we laid the premeasured bench board on top. To our surprise, it was about 2 inches short. We both stood there and looked at it. My father-in-law says, “You know what we forgot to do? We forgot to subtract that extra inch and a half off for that beam in the back.” So I asked him what we needed to do now. He says, “Well, we’re gonna unscrew all of those boards and trim them up and put it all back together again.”

Now, it took about an hour and a half to cut, frame, measure, and screw everything into place. The last thing I wanted to do was undo all that we had done. So I asked, “What if we get a bigger board?” He says, “Well, we could do that. We’d have to cut it to size, though.” Well, I spent the extra money on a new piece of wood, because it was the easy (and granted, more expensive) way out. Once it was cut, it fit perfectly!

The second day of work, we took all the OSB wood and cut them in slats. We’re going to paint the walls, so it won’t look like it does in the picture. My father-in-law asked me again about “walling up” the side of the closet where the shelves were. I asked Sam and she said that she didn’t want shelves and that we were going to put a wall up.

While my father-in-law and I were outside cutting the OSB into slats, Sam and her mom got to talking. (Sam’s mom was there watching the kids while we worked.) We came back in and we found out that they had been discussing the possibility of a cabinet in that wall. So her dad says, “We could do that if you want.” He explained that we had just about enough room to maybe fit one and place OSB above and below it. This, of course, meant another trip the the store.

My father-in-law is one of the brightest guys I know. In every project we have tackled, he has always been able to find a solution. So as we are walking in the store, he says we can do a cabinet or maybe a closet organizer might work. We looked at both and decided the cabinet would be the easiest way to get what we wanted. So we walked back to the cabinet area and spoke with someone.

We knew that we had 54 inches to play with for height. A 40 inch tall cabinet would work. We had 17 inches as our width. The cabinet we wanted was 18 inches wide. No worries, though, because my father-in-law told me we had an inch of wood that we could just trim out and make it fit. So we ask the gal to get us all we need. She runs all the numbers and says it would be about $160 for everything. Perfect. “Oh, wait a minute,” she says.

They didn’t have that cabinet in stock and would have to order it. My father-in-law looked at me and said, “Well, that won’t work.” So we asked what cabinet that size they did have in stock. She tapped a bunch of stuff back in the computer and found one. The door was different and it was about $40 more. “Ring it up!” I said. By this time I was so ready to be done with this!

I had no problem paying extra. It is for my wife and I want it to look good for her! So we brought the cabinet home and built something for it to slide in and sit on and mounted it. I was impressed with how easy this portion of the project went.

So all that we really have to do now is finish putting the OSB up along the side of the cabinet and up on the top of it. Then we have some trim we need to work on closer to the ceiling. We also are going to run a router over the edge of the bench seat edge. After that, we should ne ready to paint.

I can tell you that I would NEVER tackle anything like this by myself. My father-in-law has been such an amazing mentor to me when it comes to this stuff. His tape measure got caught on a board and got bent up while working on the project. When we went to the store to get the cabinet he grabbed a new one. When we got the the register, he picked it up and was going to pay for it himself. I grabbed it back from him and told him that I would get it! With all the things he has helped me with, I certainly wasn’t about to let him pay for a new tape measure!

More to come …

My Next Project

I have been informed by my Project Manager (my wife) that I am tackling a new home improvement project this week. Thankfully, I will once again be under the direction and guidance of the Site Supervisor (my father-in-law). All joking aside, I couldn’t really do anything without his help! He helped me redo our laundry room (with tile and grout), he helped me transform our dining room into Ella’s room, he as helped me with plumbing issues more than once and now he will be working with me on the new project.

In our living room, we have a closet. If you don’t count the linen closet in the bathroom, it is our only closet. Currently, it stores our winter coats and some other things that are hanging in there. It also has shelves off the the side and up top which are holding tools, various boxes, and other things. My wife wants a nook with a bench – so that is what we are going to give her.

The space itself isn’t too big, but I know we need to tear a bunch of stuff out of it to get what my wife is thinking. I am not 100% sure what she is looking to have, but I know she wants a bench, some coat hooks, and basket/bins to go under the bench.

It could look something like the above picture, but this one seems really in the open.

It could look like the picture above, but again, I think this is more complicated than she wants. If I had to guess, I would say that she wants something more like this:

This is deep, like our closet. The coat hooks are perfect for what she was saying. I’m not sure how she wants the baskets under the bench, but it is probably a bit more simpler than the above picture.

It looks like we will get supplies, and do demo of shelves and such on Sunday and finish it up by Monday. I’ll keep you posted.

Pass me that hammer …..

New Year – New Blog – A Recap

Hello and Happy New Year! I hope that this blog finds you well and that you had a fantastic holiday season! Wow, it’s 2020! For the next few months I will wonder whether to refer to it as “twenty twenty” or “two thousand twenty”! Which is correct?!?

One thing that was mentioned at work before the new year, and something I have seen posed on some local and national news feeds that is worth mentioning is that you should probably avoid abbreviating the new year on documents this year. When you abbreviate 1/3/20, keep in mind that someone can easily add 02, 17, or 10 to the end of it to make it 2002, 2017, or 2010. There’s my public service announcement for the year!

Sam and I were quite busy over the past 5 days! We have been in the process of taking our dining room and turning it into a nursery for the baby. We basically made a wall and a half wall, which created her nursery, a hallway, and added a wall in the kitchen. The dining room originally looked like this:

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The wall was erected just to the right of the light switch and ran right to the edge of the counter top you see in the lower right of the above picture. There was no wall in front of this part of the counter, so we built one to finish the room.

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December 31, 2019

On New Year’s Eve, my father-in-law came over to help me put up some of the final pieces of trim, and to put shiplap up in the kitchen. The original thought was that we would put up the shiplap and then paint it. However, when we saw it up, we liked the look of the wood as it was, so we will probably just stain it. We feel that it gives the kitchen a “cabin” feel. As a bonus, I was allowed to use table saws and a nail gun!

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By the time we finished, Sam and I ran out and grabbed some burgers and watched TV on the couch. Since we have been together, we have never been able to spend New Year’s Eve together, because she worked. Until this year, I’d call her at 11:55 pm, and tell her I loved her when the new year rang in. This year, it was just her and I on the couch, and we finally got to kiss at midnight. I felt like I was in high school again! I know it is something so simple, but it meant a lot to have her with me this year.

2020

This year I bounced from channel to channel. In year’s past, I always watched Dick Clark ring in the new year. As sad as it was to see him on the show after his stroke, it was still Dick Clark. New Year’s Eve and Dick Clark went hand in hand! Ryan Seacrest is everywhere, and while he may be a decent host, I always feel like they find annoying co-hosts to put with him. I don’t know who the gal was who co-hosted this year, but every time they cut to her, I felt like it I was dumber for having listened to her. I tried to watch Steve Harvey, who was also in Time Square, but everything seems forced with him. I found him even more annoying. Carson Daily was ok, but he was almost too relaxed. I bounced round and eventually stopped back on Seacrest for the ball drop. We kissed, and were probably in bed by 12:30am.

January 1, 2020

New Year’s Day, we met one of my oldest and dearest friends for lunch. Margaret and I have been friends since junior high. We are both Italian. My folks loved her, and her folks loved me. I think they probably both thought that we would date or something, but that never happened. We both went to a few dances together, but that was about as close to “dating” as it got. We were just really good friends and that made us both happy. We were officers in band together, we dressed up as twins for Twin Day, she and I both took a senior picture together, and spent many hours on the phone. She was/is one of my best friends!

When she had her daughter, Marissa, was born, she asked me to be her Godfather. I was honored to do it. When I got married the first time, sadly, I saw less and less of Margaret and my Goddaughter. Whenever I was supposed to get together with them, I was always informed that we couldn’t go or we had something to do with my exes family. After the divorce, Margaret was one of the first to reach out to me. She completely understood what was going on. I lost many years of our friendship, and I lost so many moments with my Goddaughter. After all of that, Margaret (and many other friends) had every right to just stop talking to me, but our friendship meant so much, that we have picked up where we left off.

When I attended my Goddaughter’s 21st birthday party, I pulled her aside and apologized for missing so many important things in her life. How do you explain that to someone? She didn’t bat an eye, told me she loved me and we all enjoyed a great evening! I remember driving home from her party crying my eyes out. It wasn’t fair to her that I missed so many things. It makes me angry to know that I missed so much, but I am also happy that I can try to make up for lost time with her!

We were going to see what Margaret and her husband, Walt, were doing on New Year’s Eve and found out she was working that night. So they met us at one of the nearby bars for lunch on New Year’s Day. It was a bit loud as the Michigan game was on. We enjoyed some amazing burgers, and enjoyed good conversation. There is always a lot of laughter when we get together, story telling with wild hand gestures (it is the Italian in us!) and usually some profanity! It was truly a wonderful afternoon. We hope to be able to do it more often!

During lunch, Margaret said something that struck a chord. It was something that made me sad, and happy at the same time. She said, “I have seen you more and talked to you more in the past two years, that the entire time you were married.” This made me sad, because of what I touched on early – a great friendship almost destroyed and the relationship between me and my Goddaughter all because of the stupidity of someone else. It made me happy to know that our friendship remains and will grow even stronger in the years ahead.

A few more things …

We spent the remainder of the week finishing up the nursery. My mother-in-law came over and helped paint. We had put a coat on the nursery and the hallway, but we needed another coat. We then had to touch up some spots and paint the door. We finished all of that today. Her room will have a book case, a glider, and, of course, her crib. My sister-in-law is bringing the crib this weekend.

Before I could build those things, there were a few other things we had on the agenda today. At 3pm, I picked the boys up for the weekend. I feel like it’s been forever since we saw them, especially when I got to see so little of them this month. For Christmas I had gotten them each a book from Barnes and Nobel – both of which were wrong. So we stopped at Barnes and Nobel to exchange them. Dante’ had also received a gift card from my aunt to B&N, so he got to look for a few things. In the end, they both got their books and were happy.

Hoping to see her

When we found out the gender of our baby, we went to a 3D ultrasound place. We were given a coupon to come back for a discounted rate to have another one done at 30 weeks. We came back and found that the baby was Frank breech and couldn’t really get any good pictures. So they rescheduled one for today. We left Barnes and Nobel and met Sam at the ultrasound place. The good news is that the baby had flipped out of the breech position. The bad news was that she was sleeping and not in a good place for us to see her. They gave Sam juice in hopes that the sugar would wake her up. She drank the juice and we even took a walk around outside. When we came back, we still couldn’t get a good picture of her face. They were, however, able to record her heartbeat for us.

BABY G_1

I thought Sam was going to throw up during it. The lady was really trying to get the baby to wake up. She kept rubbing Sam’s belly and poking and massaging her, but the baby would not move. We did get a semi-good profile shot. We also got to see that she has a lot of hair. We got a neat shot of her hand kind of making a fist, but NO good face picture. I admit, I was disappointed. I wanted to be able to take the 3D picture of her face and compare it with her birth picture like so many parents do, but I guess we just need to wait and see her beautiful face when she arrives.

BABY GIRL_4

They did say that her head was moving down, a sign that the baby is getting ready to arrive. We saw on the internet that cats will tend to be more cuddly with a pregnant woman as the baby is nearing birth. Our one dumb cat has been VERY close to Sam lately, so maybe its happening sooner than we think….

We ordered a pizza for the boys and we all came home. I built the glider and book case and placed them in her room. It is all coming together, and it is getting more and more real as each day goes by.

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The paint is dry, but we want to wait a bit before putting up the wall decoration, which looks like this:

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Cute, huh? I love it!!!

Well, it is late and I need to be up to be on the radio tomorrow. I will wrap things up for now. Tomorrow will be another busy day! After the radio station, we have to go grocery shopping, make a few stops, build the crib and hopefully get a second to relax before heading back to work.

Oh, and somewhere over the next 24 hours, we need to find our book from our birthing class….because our “go bag” still looks like this:

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Happy New Year!

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