Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Then and Now

Something going on today is really reminding me of my mother.  I told you some things about her here.  I remember so well our family watching the political conventions on our little black and white television set.  Mother got so excited about getting to see all those activities.  (Somehow they seemed a lot more fun in those days!)  I think they were her favorite television event.

Mother died in 1961.  Just think of how different the world is now from the time she lived.  Too many big and small ways to possibly count, but I often think...what would she think if she stepped back into this world today?  (Not that she would want to.  She's wearing that robe and walking those streets of gold that I've been singing about!)

What would someone who never flew on a plane think about our trans-world jumbo jet flights?  About our trips to Russia, Germany, and Japan--"enemy territory"?  The farthest from home Mother ever got was a trip to New York City in a car without air conditioning, packed with our family of five.  
She would surely think that almost $4.00 a gallon for gasoline is a mistake--not that Mother ever put gas in a car in her life!  Unthinkable!  She probably didn't even know the price, but it was about 29 cents per gallon.

I wonder what she would think about the fact that I wear pants most of the time--even to church!  I don't think I ever saw her in anything but a dress. 

This is a small thing, but I don't think Mother ever tasted pizza.  I'm sure it existed in that day, but it had not exploded on the scene yet.  (Jack Stovall helped with that!  He eventually built all the Pizza Huts in northwest Texas!)

What would someone who had one stationery dial telephone for a family of five think about every member of a family driving around in cars while talking into a tiny little instrument--or into the air because of something called--of all things--"bluetooth?"  Would she wonder how she lived without that?

In Mother's day, "first came love, then came marriage, then came the baby carriage"!  Courts were not packed with unmarried couples hashing out their differences after playing house failed.  (I know all about this from Judge Judy.)

Perhaps the one that gets me the most is the sign which is now posted near schools. "This is a drug-free, weapon-free zone."  What?

I realize this is far from a comprehensive list.  These are just things which keep occurring to me.  So...what has not changed at all?  Well, the sun still comes up in the morning and goes down at night.  It may be hidden behind clouds, but it hasn't missed a day since Mother has been gone.  The seasons still change as they did then.  The only constants in this world are the ones controlled by its Creator.

God's love is the same...yesterday, today, and forever.

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

I May Have to Quit Choir

Why, you ask?  One word: earworms.   Now for those of you who are not familiar with this term, I have done extensive research this morning.  Here is the best definition I have found: An earworm is the experience of an inability to dislodge a song and prevent it from repeating itself in one's head.

Sunday before last we sang the most beautiful new rendition of The Lord's Prayer, titled Our Father.  I absolutely loved, loved, loved this song--at least for the first thousand times I sang it in my head and out loud during the following week.  This week it was (is) Ride On, King Jesus. 

Ride on, King Jesus!  No man can a-hinder me. When I get to heaven gonna wear a robe.  No man can a-hinder me.  Gonna walk all over those streets of gold.  No man can a-hinder me.  (Repeat 6 times!)

Now this isn't all of the song, but it's the majority of my earworm--with repeats--and repeats--and repeats.  I'm glad it's a Christian song!

If I could draw a cartoon, I would draw a picture of Charleigh-Girl sitting on her haunches with her front paws covering her ears.  She would be saying, "Couldn't we please have a few choruses of "How much is that Doggy in the Window?" 

Saturday, August 25, 2012

Adieu, Roofers and Gutter Guys

It's already finished!  After one working day short of three weeks!  I got to sleep in this morning, and it's raining to boot!  Charleigh-Girl doesn't know it, but her life has taken a turn for the better.  She no longer has to protect me from those bad old roofers.

The roofers, C-G, were actually not bad at all, as I kept telling you!  They were the nicest bunch of guys ever--always pleasant and eager to please.  The problem was that there were only 8 of them on a good day, which did not include Mondays!   But those 8 did an excellent job.

Since it was misting when I went out, I don't have panoramic pictures, but here's what I got.  (Be sure to notice my nice new gutter at the left side of the photo.)







The color of this roof is rather an enigma.  When I chose it I would have told you it was shades of brown.  In these pictures it certainly looks to be shades of gray.  It actually didn't matter, since the Chicago used brick has both colors.  But look at this pic of the gazebo:





  • Looks brown, right?  Interesting!  Matching with paint color should be a challenge!  Oh, yes.  Now I need to have the wood trim painted!

O.K...I'll say this, and then enough already about my roof!  I'm so thankful to feel secure in my home when the rains and/or hail come.  I'm thankful for good insurance.  I'm thankful that I knew who to call about a roof because of Jack Stovall.  I'm thankful for good, honest roofers.  And, finally:  Charleigh-Girl and I are thankful that THEY ARE FINISHED!

Monday, August 13, 2012

Roof Progress Report

I know you are all waiting with bated breath to hear from me about THE ROOF.  No, there are no "after" pictures yet.  It has been one week today.  The roofers have been here every day in varying numbers.  It seems the number is always smaller on Monday!

The good news is that I had no leaks whatsoever during last night's scary storm.  The chief roofer (a very nice guy) came by yesterday afternoon and did a bit of work on the roof, and I was a bit nervous.  When the rain hit, I turned on all the lights in the house and walked around checking for leaks.  If it didn't leak in that rain in its incomplete state, I think I have a good, safe roof!

Since everyone is of the opinion (including me) that a roof will be completed in a couple of days, I somehow feel compelled to explain why mine is taking longer (forever).  I took these pictures to try to capture all the, well, I don't know what you call them, maybe elevations?  Maybe peaks and valleys?  Maybe little pointy things?






There just aren't many straight, flat sections on the entire roof.  Looks very complicated to me.

Also, before getting to this stage, the old Hardie Shakes had to be removed.  They are brittle and crumbly, making removal a tedious process.  

This photo is to try to show a better view of the new roof.  The best of the good news is, "I really like it!!"




I still have to have my car out and in the neighbor's driveway by 7:00.  I still have a bit of a mess on my driveway.  (See the shadows of the roofers?)

 

But the noise has lessened for the time being.  Charleigh-Girl is no longer in the closet.  She is actually sleeping on the floor right by me.  And, after telling the boss about the six nails in the driveway, I haven't found another single one!

This is so much better than having workers inside the house for this long.  I am dealing quite well with it in anticipation of my great new roof!

Thursday, August 9, 2012

And It Didn't Even Leak...Yet

When it came time to replace our initial wood shingle roof, Jack put on what was supposed to be an excellent replacement--Hardie Shakes.  I loved the color of the roof (not as much as wood shingles), but the material was faulty.  It faded, became brittle, and was the focus of class-action lawsuits.  We didn't participate in any of those suits, so we had to wait for ours to suffer enough damage from our frequent hail storms to deserve replacement.  I felt like that time came when we had that last storm,  with golf ball size hailstones at my house.  Sure enough--the insurance adjustor said it was time.

Here is a picture of the garage roof.  If you look closely you may see chipped shingles and dented gutters.



If you've never heard about Hardie Shakes, I can assure you all the roofers have!  I was inundated with roofers, licking their chops.  Jack had a roofer, however, and I wouldn't consider calling anyone else.  He does not do homes, so he recommended someone with whom he works to take care of my roof.

As I am prone to do, I thought I pretty much knew what to expect when getting a new roof.  I carefully decided where I wanted the material placed so that I would be able to get in and out of my driveway.  I'm all excited as the material supplier unloads the first of the shingles, etc.  Whoopee!  A new roof is on the way!








Well, in addition to the massive amount of shakes, there were these stacks of "radiant barrier panels."  Those sound and look great to me, but took up a lot of space.  Still had plenty of navigation room, though--even for Jack's Navigator which I was driving because my Prius was in the shop.  Here it is parked over in my neighbor's driveway, where I must place it before 7:00 A.M. each morning!




The first day (last Monday) was not too bad.  I even threw myself a birthday bash that night with all the family coming over for my chicken enchilada casserole!  We enjoyed dinner with roofers tearing off the old roof above us!

Tuesday wasn't bad, either.  Wednesday things became a little worse.  There was quite a bit more noise as more installation started taking place.  I failed to take a picture of what the back yard (where the neat stacks were) looked like when I got home from choir.  There was every manner of "stuff" piled in front of the neat stacks, including a giant pallet of trash, leaving me barely enough room to pull into the garage.  In fact, I had to move one of the heavy panels to avoid running over it!

Being from the Jack Stovall school of construction protocol, I had to place a call to the roofer and state that these guys just weren't cleaning up acceptably.  In addition to the mess on the driveway, they had left plywood and other junk on my grass, which looked absolutely perfect last week and like this now!





But...they did clean up better today--somewhat.  Do you think it is funny that they spent an extraordinary amount of time shoring up and trying to cram all the trash on this small trailer?  The dump must either charge by the load or be a great distance away!  This lovely item is sitting in front of my house tonight!



Now when Jay heard that I was finally getting a new roof, he called me to tell me two things.  First, that I needed to get away from the house because it would be so noisy.  Second, that there WOULD BE nails in the driveway, so I needed to check for them nightly before pulling in.  I don't think I really believed him, but...

Today hit a new level of noise.  The hammering isn't so bad, but they take those heavy radiant barrier panels up on the roof and drop them.  They sound like a bomb.  I jump out of my skin, and poor Charleigh-Girl has cowered in my closet all day.  I finally moved her "palace" (crate) in there for a little more comfort.

And...before I pulled the car in, I did check the driveway, even though the roofer had assured me it would be carefully run over with a magnet to be sure there were no nails.  HA!  Here is what I found.


This is all going to be wonderful when it is completed!  I also get the new roofing material on this swing and gazebo that Jack had built.





 It's just going to be a little lengthier and more trying than gullible me thought it would be!  Stand by for some "after" pictures.  I hope you don't have to stand by too long!