Roofing Is Fun! Not Really.

Yesterday, I came in to work only long enough to process payroll. It was a beautiful day and I jumped on the bike for my quick trip in to work. At least I got a nice little ride out of it! The wind was nice and it was just gorgeous out. Man I love having a bike.

Once I got home, the dumpster had been delivered and we got our sunscreen on and gloves and a hat, for me. Hubby, his brother and I got up on the roof and started ripping off shingles. The youngest boy (nearly 15) was up most of the day with us as well, working as hard as the rest of us. There was 3 layers of shingles on the roof and nails AND staples. This is really hard work! The middle boy is still stuck off his foot with a sprained ankle and the oldest boy worked for a while, but then he stepped in the shingle pile on the floor and got a nail stuck in his foot. Yipes!

As hard as it was, it was a nice breezy day and we all had a good time chatting and laughing. We actually enjoyed ourselves. We all were in a good mood and it makes for easier work. Of course, at the end of the day, we were operating at more exhaustion than anything else and our movements were more shaky than sure. We ripped off the shingles from the front of the house and one of the sides. But we were only able to remove the staples and nails from the front of the house. That is some tedious work!

I worked a path, while sitting on the roof, all around me, about 5 feet wide. I worked down the roof removing everything I could. One strip down the roof took me an hour. It's just tedious, long work.

It's really hard to see here, because it was so sunny, but the shingles are off and most of the nails were at this point. At lunch, we stopped long enough for a quick peanut butter and jelly sandwich. The protein and carbs were perfect for the energy we were expending. We drank a ton of water, too.

I put more sunscreen on, but still got pink on my shoulders. And at one point when we were on the roof, hubby looked over at me and noticed that while I was diligent in sunscreening every visible spot of bare skin,  I had overlookd the fact that when you're on the roof and bent over, well, my lower back is red. There's a red patch in the shape of a smily face across my lower back. BEAUTIFUL!

Here's a close up of the roof. It's planks, not plywood. Which means that the nails and staples kept trying to fall down between the planks and into our attic. We tried to toss off as much as possible. Of course, now we have 'The Clean Up'.

Luckily, we were able to find some teenagers desperate for some money. They are going to help scoop this into the dumpster for some extra cash. Thank goodness for desperate teenagers. And yes, there is a tarp under that.

We also have a large magnet that the girl is going to run over the lawn with once it's more picked up and get extra nails/staples. When she got home from school, she was a big help picking up extra shingles that fell around the edges. She wore thick boots and stayed at the perimeter to be out of the middle of it, but she worked hard also!

I have to be back at work today, but the firemen friends will be assisting hubby and his brother today. The youngest boy is on his 8th grade field trip to Six Flags and the oldest boy is at work all day. Hopefully, I'll be able to help some when I get home today.

Needless to say, I did not ride to work today. My arms are TIRED. My hands hurt. I hopped in the Jeep and sat comfortably while it brought me to work. :)

On other news, I have to say how proud I am of our youngest boy! On Saturday, he graduated from 8th grade. Now, we'll have 2 in high school! Yipes!

THat's him in the middle. I have better pictures on my regular phone, but it's easier to update with my camera phone. I juggled the two camera's taking pictures between. I also tried having my daughter take pics on the regular camera. That's her head at the bottom of the screen trying to get a good shot.

That's him directly afterwards, holding up his diploma. Go kid! I'm proud of him.