33. Another Busy Friday

Wow.  Another week has passed - they seem to be going so fast!  Things will slow down now though.  Again, I am sorely lacking in photos.  It was one of those days when I was so pooped at the end this was all I could muster.

Rob and Ken were back today for about a half a day.  Rob finished the landing in the staircase, as you can see here, with 1 x 3 tongue-in-groove boards.  The two stair treads that are visible here are going to be replaced - just didn't have the wood for them to do it yet.  Ken worked away on that door (my "coffin" door) because it was loose and not secure at all.  He rebuilt the jamb and made it shut so nicely, and put on the deadbolt and handle set I had gotten from Superior Dave.  In this picture you can see where the little pass-through to the kitchen is going, from the living room side.  I also outlined in pink where the AC supply and return duct work will go.  The AC guys will put it in, then I will frame out a chase with 2x4s and probably finish it with paneling.  I will lose one side of that cute little bench - it has doors you can lift up and it looked like they used to store wood in there for the fireplace.  I just love this little detail of the house, and I'll try to make the chase look like it is supposed to be there, not to detract from the cuteness of this area.

While they were busy doing this I did try to stay out of their way.  I tied Roscoe up outside and I thoroughly raked the yard of  little pieces of trash that collected over the years - lots of cigarette butts, old Pennysavers, even found someone's car keys from who knows when.  Also all of the flotsam and jetsam that had floated down during the fire next door - all gone now.  I intended to do some weed eating, but somehow the desire departed when the temperature hit 95 degrees.  I was tempted to investigate a little boarded up concrete room at the side of the house - but I promised Duke I would wait until he came back for a visit so it's still intact.  You can kind of see it in the back of this picture from a previous post:

I also met with Don today, who is going to do the fence - I think he will be able to start Monday.  So I am putting Ken and Rob on hold for now.  They will come back in a couple of weeks to do the front door for me and put the kitchen ceiling in.  Until then I will be plugging along on other stuff - there's still that wall of lath and plaster in the kitchen to demolish.  Then I will finish the kitchen wiring, with my son Steven's help on Thursday.  It's helpful to have an assistant when you do electrical wiring, feeding lines up from the basement, etc.  It's also handy if you need CPR or someone to call 911.  Just kidding folks - don't panic.

I am looking forward to the weekend to relax, hit a few yard sales, and on Sunday attend an orientation so I can have Roscoe certified to visit children in the hospital.  Unless I find something fabulous at the yard sales that just can't wait - I won't be posting again until Monday.