The Roof and More

Hubby called me on Friday and said that he called to see if our shingles were in yet and they said that they weren't supposed to be in until the 6th. Wait, what?

So, we took our recent which states that they should be in on the 27th and returned them. Got our money back and went back to Home Depot to get the original shingles that we wanted.

Remember these? The original choice? Yes, actually as time went on I was second guessing the other shingles and wanted these instead. So, it all worked out.

Adventures in Roofing in the Rain, Part Deux

Ok, so we had some leaks Tuesday night. My daughter woke me at 5am with a "My room is raining, Mom."

This is not fun news at 5am.

Actually, rain had gotten under the tarp and came down her light fixture. She just happened to have her fan on and it sprayed her. Wasn't actually coming through the ceiling.

We did get some drips from the vent stacks and such, but nothing bad.

Hubby took the tarps off when the forecast gave us 4-5 hours rain free. We were then supposed to get rain around 6 or 7pm.

He left the tarps off for an hour or so to make sure they were sufficiently dry and installed the ice and water barrier. This has an adhesive on the bottom, which has to bond to the roof decking.

In Which It Rains

Yesterday, my fireman, his brother, and hubby's his firemen friends were working on the roof. They tore off the remaining shingles and worked on taking the remaining staples and nails out.

Sun hits me hard. I did pretty good on Monday, but had a little remaining headache from the sun and probably some dehydration. I drank as much water as I could to replenish myself. When it came time to go home, I'll admit, I was not anxious to get on the roof and help pull staples/nails. I kinda dreaded going home. It wasn't fair of me, they'd been on all day and I needed to help, but I didn't wanna!

So, I took some ibuprofen and I prayed for a better attitude. Then I called my sister. I was able to vent a little and by the time I got home, I was ready to pull off my work clothes and put on my other work clothes. :)

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.

Field Trip and Dress Shopping

This Wednesday, I took the day off from work so that I could go with the girl on her field trip. I was in charge of 4 2nd graders (including my daughter). 2 boys and 2 girls. I had trouble getting the boys to stay with me and the girls with their drama. I'll bet that's hard to imagine.

They were really great, though. I enjoyed every minute of it. We went to a wildlife park just outside of town. They have animals that are native to the area, and the animals actually live in their natural habitat. The buffalo have a large roaming area, as do the elk and the wolves. They roam and you aren't guaranteed to see them, but the walkways around their enclosures help the opportunity. But this allows the animals to roam freely, similar to the wild. Unlike the zoo.

Roofing Plans

So, we bought our shingles for the roof. We are going to, at some point, paint the aluminum siding on the house. Cause, you know, It's currently two different colors. Someone added new siding in a different color.

Like, the house is mossy green, but most of the front of the house is a barn/burgundy red. Really.

Really.

What's up

The girl and the middle boy have to get a filling today. This is sad for three reasons, first of all, they will be hurting (awe), secondly it will cost money (yipes), thirdly they will be in an awful mood for the next 4 hours or so (groan).

I talked to hubby this morning about a vegetable garden. We were going to wait till next year to finish the backyard, but I thought it wouldn't take much work to till out a small garden this year. Enough to have tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, bell peppers and squash. Not a ton, just some. Hubby is very industrial. He says, "Well, it wouldn't take much to go ahead and make some raised beds." I'm up for that. So, we'll just do enough for this year, we can always add on next year. I'm excited!

Still haven't decided about railing for the porch or decided what do do about the roof. We need to nail down some answers there so we can move along.

Mother's Day

Hubby had to work this weekend and the boys were at their mom's for Mother's Day, so the girl and I went to my mom's for the weekend. It was a slow, relaxing weekend. My favorite.

On Saturday, we stopped for coffee/chocolate milk on the way up and listened to music picked out by the girl. Which means we listened to Miley Cyrus, Taylor Swift and The Chipmunks.

We also stopped by a plant nursery called "The Picket Fence" on the way to pick up some pretty flowers for my mom and my grandma. Super cute store! That way, my exposure to the plants was very limited. This is a good thing. Plants in the ground, no problem. Plants in a pot + me = dead.
Just sayin'.

We took my mom out to eat at a local pizzeria in town that she hadn't ever been to. Little rural towns are fun. I love walking around them and seeing the neat stores. The streets aren't full of Starbucks and Barnes N Nobles and Walgreens. Not that I don't love these places, but I also love trying Leaves N Beans and Preckshot's Pharmacy and The French Toast. Okay, so the shops I listed aren't in the small town we went for pizza. They are in another small town, one nearer to our house. I like to keep it honest here.

The girl really loved running around the farm, feeding the horses and petting them. There were kittens up in the haymow. Three little, black, fluffy things. They meowed SOOO loudly. I should have taken a picture, cause they were cute! She also had a lot of fun swinging on the swing.

The Food

Ok, so this post is going to be about my Cinco de Mayo feast last night! Lordy, it was good.
I took about 8 chicken breasts and I just baked them. Nothing fancy, just threw 'em on a cookie sheet with foil to keep them moist. Then, I gave them a nice chop and threw them into this stock pot with a large can of mild enchilada sauce. The sauce, it is good. I also threw in about half a small can of green chiles. You can add as much as you like the flavor/heat. They're not vey spicy, but have a nice green flavor. I also added about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of salsa. I like to have little chunks of veggies in my shredded chicken. Then I threw the lid on it and cooked it down for about 30-40 min, stirring occasionally.

For a good long while, all you have is chicken cooking in the sauce. Then all of a sudden, something happens. Something really magical. The chicken falls apart and sucks up the sauce and you have this.

Cinco de Mayo

Happy Cinco de Mayo day! No, I'm not Mexican, but I LOVE me some Mexican food. So, tonight, I am planning a Mexican feast! I am excited, I am in love. I just want my Chimichanga's man!

WHen I get home, I am making a shredded chicken filling and am making Chimichanga's and Quesadilla's and maybe even some taco's with it! We're having Guacamole, thanks to the hubby. His is the best. shhh Don't tell him. He's making pico de gallo. I have sour cream and shredded cheese and I bought Mexican Melting cheese. It's called Chihuahua cheese. I'm not sure why and frankly, I don't want to. It's smooth, it's tasty and it makes me jiggly.

If all works out right, I will be taking pictures tonight so that I can post some of my Cinco de Mayo nosh.

Oh, and Margarita's baby!

Feliz cinco de mayo!

A Hiking We Will Go

Renovating: Saturday, after my fireman and I did grocery shopping we painted our livingroom the dark green. And last night he finished patching the ceiling, so we may now call the plasterer to come repair the hole

in our ceiling from tearing down the wall. I have no idea how long it'll take to get him in, but I am excited to see the ceiling all patched and done!