A wiseman's rock

"What is that for, mom?" The footing molds don't look like much of the beginnings of a basement or a garage. "They are called footings. You know like in the primary song the Wise man Builds his House upon a Rock. This is the rock for our house." I thought that was a clever way to explain what was going on, but I didn't mean it for an invitation for the rains to come. Nature sure has a sense of humor.

Wednesday was spent setting up the forms and the cement was ordered to arrive at one o'clock Thursday afternoon. Around eleven o'clock Thursday the rain started and it was not the typical Idaho desert rain but more like an Asian monsoon. It came in a steady sheet that did not let up until the next day. But who would have guessed it would be like that.

The cement truck pulled up shortly after noon and they started pouring. The first half was done quickly so the truck pulled away and had to move to the south side of the hole to finish. This meant going through what was now a really wet garden spot. All went well until it tried to move up the ramp they had built. That big heavy cement truck started sliding right off the ramp and into my raspberry bushes. Two tries later and they decided it was not going to work. So it tried to back out to the road again. Mud was flying every which direction and I was sure that that truck was going to sink to its belly in the mud.

It made it and went back to where it had started. One wheelbarrow at a time and with a lot of labor, the footings were in place. I was glad to be in the house watching the process although a little shaken up by the sight of that cement truck sliding around. The next time a cement truck comes to visit I might have to go somewhere else.

digging a hole

Late Monday night we were still trying to get use to how the house looked without a porch, when a semi truck pulled up hauling the biggest piece of machinery we have ever had on the place. By the time they unloaded the thing I was a little sick to my stomach.

The feeling didn't go away really until it was back on its trailer Wednesday morning and pulling away. I couldn't help but watch as they ripped up the cement and dug the new basement even as it made me uneasy. I spent the morning transplanting tomato starts into larger pots and feeling the floor beneath me shake as he kept digging.

You know that line from the movie the 'Money Pit' "It looks like it was hit by a missile." That is now the state of our yard. If the porch coming didn't get comments from our neighbors the mounds of dirt and rocks did. A huge bulldozer had to come and push the dirt clear back past my chicken coop just to make enough room for the cement truck. In order to tend my animals I must walk around two mountains of dirt. Everyone assures me that it will all be put back in order.

All the workers were trying to be considerate of my garden, but it was soon apparent it was a lost cause. I am glad it was not tilled yet or better yet planted. Now the garden has a huge ramp of dirt to carry the cement truck in around to the south side of the hole. They were digging giant holes and I was digging up trees to move so they would be out of the way. I transplanted five trees and a few other plants to make room.

If you stand at my kitchen door you look over a huge hole and it amazes me how precise and careful the operator is with these powerful machines. I have never been afraid of heights but it does give you a weird sense of vertigo to be right on the edge of this hole when you are standing in your kitchen door.

taking off the porch

Demolition is kind of theraputic and sad all wrapped in one. The porch has been the catch all of junk I wanted close at hand but not in the house. Here is where we ditched the muddy shoes, tools, work gloves, balls and outside toys. It was great in the winter as a second refrigertor. But what an eye sore. This is the door that we always used, but I died anytime anyone else used it. I realized as I was rejoicing of the departure of the porch that once upon a time someone (Most likely Great-Grandma Emily) was thrilled to see it being built. Someone spent money and time to make it well enough to last all these years and it fulfilled its purpose well.

Peyton, my youngest daughter, has said every day since it was torn down that she doesn't see why it had to go. She misses the comfort of routine and familiarity.

We spent a day taking out the parts that we wanted to keep, all the old windows --what treasures and some shelves. I don't think that I have seen it empty like that since the day we moved in. Jay had to screw the door between the house and the porch shut so we were could lock up at night. I should have had a video of all the times one of our youngest girls kept trying to get through that screwed shut door. Very funny!

Remodeling our old home

Living in a home that is close to a century old has alot of history and charm. It marvels me how it has changed from a home heated by wood stoves and an outhouse out back into a modernized home. Some of those modern amenities have been very creatively included. We have lived in our home for 13 years and most of that time their has been some kind of improvement in progress. Some are aesthetic; ie paint and carpet, but most have been in an effort to make the house more efficient. Insulation in the walls and attic, new windows and doors and Just two years ago we finally finished painting and carpeting the last bedroom. We made improvements as we could afford it and had time. The yard has been under transformation as well. The one thing that we had not tackled was the exterior of the house. We have talked about adding on for many years and figured there was no point in painting or siding until we added on. Well that day has come.

Some of the big needs for this old house were more bathrooms. Everyone seems to want the bathroom the same 30 minutes in the morning. A connected garage and more basement space would be nice and a wood fireplace; a good idea if there is a power outage. All the original chimneys are not up to code and unusable. The stairs to the second floor have always been a problem having to turn a very tight corner at the bottom. This makes it very difficult to move furniture upstairs.

After months of looking at all the pros and cons of the possibilities we finally got an acceptable plan that should take care of these little problems. And so we begin.