Tying Up Loose Ends... Or Should I Say Shingling

Another major project on the Lodge got underway this weekend, giving new meaning to the name Memorial Day!

Siding and trimming the peak is difficult not only because of the height and danger involved, but the amount of figuring and 45 degree angle cuts (thank goodness they are ALL 45 degrees!). What with the print shop, we were unsuccessful at getting all our materials ahead of the weekend, so a large part of Saturday was taken up by that. Eric had put the staging up the previous weekend, but platforms had to be built on which to safely walk and we had to stain all the shingles and allow them to dry before they could be put up.

We decided to buy pre-primed wood, cutting a lot of time there. Thank you Pete, for your amazing offer to come and help on Saturday. We are so greatful and sorry that we could not get everything aligned, mostly cuz it would have been great to spend the day with you. Thank you Erica, Drew, Vanessa, and Chelsea for coming up on Sunday. Drew's help with the peak was tremendous as Eric has put me on restriction when it comes to ladder work, so I could not have been much help to him holding the lengths of trimboard. Drew you were the guy!!! I don't know if you are truly as comfortable with heights as you seemed, but many thanks to you. Vanessa and Chelsea were Mulching Maniacs...spreading an entire truckload in a matter of hours. This task made much more difficult be the fact that my plants are already very large. Mulching is a much easier task in the early spring. Meanwhile, Erica and I were the Staining Dept. Donning our latex gloves we tweaked a drying system as our prowess grew. By the time Chelsea and Vanessa were done with the mulch, they took over my position on the staining crew with only two more bundles of shingles to go.

I went to the painting of the interior of the greenhouse which needed its topcoat. During all this, we had Lawson to keep us entertained. He played for the longest time in a large tub of water and some of Nutshell Cottage's toys. The Mayer Clan stayed until suppertime and we are so grateful for their help. Erica had the misfortune of agreeing to spend the night with her goofy parents... so had no escape from our crazy work habits... although I think she may have ended up pushing US longer than we did her! We needed to cut the lawn and of course many more shingles needed to go up. Since Eric is rather protective of his mower, she declared that she was brave enough to go up on the staging and shingle! Up she went and was not satisfied until the two rows of done shingles multiplied all the way up to the bottom of the windows! She was definitely battling for the last glimmers of daylight before she was done.

After that, there was the obligatory Cocktail Hour... this evening held in the Greenhouse by candlelight. We had a review of Casey's Aunts, Uncles and cousins in a somewhat futile attempt to learn enough about all of them to speak to them in a familiar fashion at the wedding. Don't think my memory will serve me well enough for that! Then there were the manditory showers and a 10:30 supper hour... no surprise for the Allens! By days end, the tally was... all trim boards in place, 5 bundles of shingles stained, shingles in place up to windows, inside greenhouse painted and ready for scraping of glass, and gardens completely mulched! Amazing!

Thank you family, both those that were there and those that were cheering us on as we tackled one of the remaining "gee, this really isn't so much fun" jobs of the Lodge.

Monday morning, it was my turn to brave the staging. I wished to help with the painting of the trim. Two coats were needed to make the Essex Green (very dark green) cover the white primer. I also needed to hold the stepladder as Eric needed to be on it... on the plywood of the staging to reach certain spots of the trim. There were a couple of times I said "No, this does not feel good"... and afterall we are dealing with the ladder better known as "Killer" (referring to my 12' fall taken a year ago). As the sun came around the corner of the building, it provided a legitamate excuse to take a break and go up to Moose Crossing for those last "few" plants I wished to procure to finish Oak Hill gardens. Upon return with our "wayback" filled to the brim, Eric was exiled back to the staging, and I began to plant, and mow the edges of the lawn where only the push mower dare tread. I also gave the cedars and forsythias a much needed grooming.

Once again, we were collecting our tools in the dark and actually needed the flashlight to lock up the tractor shed and the Root Cellar Pub! Yet another typically late dinner for the Allens!