Updates…

Wow, that short hiatus to do some maintenance on the site, turned into two weeks. The site initially crashed, then when I got it back up, there were incompatibility’s with the theme and plugins and I got the notorious “white page of death.” My web hosting service had to get involved… needless to say, I am back up and look forward to updating you all.

All the PODS have been delivered and emptied into the garage and now we are back to parking outside! Oh well! We are sorting through, trying to locate at least 50% we can live without. I keep the “want vs. need” mantra foremost in my mind as I am doing this. It is not easy but so necessary.

Steve is busy working on the upstairs. Just to recap, we tore out all the tongue and groove pine walls, ceiling [painted white in the front bedroom (first pic) and stained in the hall & back bedroom (second pic)] and removed the rough framing, as we are changing the layout slightly. We then had a hollow shell (third pic).

The collar ties (horizontal boards you can see in the pic below) were limiting the head room, so those all had to be moved up. In the second picture there is one collar tie still at original height and the rest behind it are all raised and leveled.

 

Next the original pine floors had to be removed because the front bedroom was not level. He decided to work on the front half first and keep the back half for tools…

Steve leveled out the floor, beefed up some joists (which required temporary removal of the knee wall), put down a tongue and groove sub-floor and then replaced the knee wall.

 

With the front half done and his tools moved, it’s on to the back half (below). Once that is complete then we can move on to rough framing.

The Sharpe’s, who built this house 75 years ago, did a remarkable job. The foundation is still in excellent condition and that was paramount in our decision to purchase and restore this house. Obviously construction practices have improved since then, so along the way Steve is finding things that could be improved and although it takes more time, we want to do this right. The original owner/builder’s son, Gilbert and his wife, Nellie (now in their 80’s) live up the road in a home they built in 1965 on what is left of the original farm land. They have been by once and were so happy when we told them we were restoring the house and we cannot wait to have them over again to show them how it is coming along.

Gabi came home over her Spring break the second week of March. It was a much needed break for her and it was great to have her home. I love cooking her all her favorite foods. She has been bothered by two wisdom teeth trying to break through for the past 5-6 months. She was scheduled to have them removed over Christmas break but she came home so sick that it had to be cancelled. So, the time had come. She was nervous but she had the nicest Oral Surgeon, Dr. Michael Coleman. We met him the day before the procedure, for a consult, and in that 15 minutes he put her at ease. He explained everything to her and instilled confidence in both of us. The following morning we arrived and in a short 55 minutes, were on our way back home. Everything went well. She recovered well, with no dry sockets.

Gabi is doing very well in school. She made the Dean’s list the first semester and just missed a 4.0, carrying a max load. She has been considering switching schools for next year, maybe one closer to home, maybe one closer to the ocean, maybe one in the mountains… She has a lot of options open to her. In the end, after talking with her adviser and realizing she will be 60% complete with a degree at the end of her freshman year, she has shifted her focus to doing whatever it takes just to be done. So as of today, she is staying where she is at. This summer she will take Anatomy and Physiology I at a local college and then she will have all the prerequisites to apply to the Nursing Program, to begin in Spring of 2017. In the fall she only has to take one class, so she plans to find a job and work. She has really grown up this past year and although it hasn’t been easy, she has survived and we couldn’t be more proud.

I have to dry my tears. Okay.

Zach is still growing, he is up to 6′  2 1/2″. The nurse, at his doctor’s office, told him he has to quit growing because she cannot reach any higher when trying to measure him. He obviously is taking after his father in the height department. Zach is doing really well in school. It took him a little time to find a place to fit in and start making friends and although that never seemed to bother him, it is all past him and he is doing great. His first semester teachers were so good to him, knowing he was new, they would check in on him throughout the day. He joined Future Business Leaders of America to meet people and really has enjoyed that. He has some crazy business ideas, so beware if you get a call from him trying to pitch an idea to you. The block style curriculum they use here in NC has been a perfect fit for Zach. He has 4 classes each semester for 1 hour and 45 minutes each. During that semester they complete a full year’s worth of work. It’s definitely more intense but he isn’t having to try and focus on 6-7 different subjects like in WI. His grades are A’s to high B’s. His core teachers have been pushing him to take Honor’s classes, telling him he is too smart for regular math, English… so next semester he will try Honor’s math. He has had a computer science class each semester and really likes them, by the end of this semester he will have the skills to build a computer from the inside out. Outside of school he loves to play his electric guitar. Lately he has been in a Metallica phase and thankfully he enjoys rocking out in the garage, where he can turn his amp up as loud as he wants.

He has his Learners Permit and has really enjoyed being my chauffeur. He is a great driver, probably helped that he started driving at age 2 in his sister’s Barbie jeep. He will be eligible for his “restricted” drivers license after one year of driving with an adult and then at 18 he will receive a regular license. It is very different than Wisconsin and we are learning as we go. He is on Spring Break this week and has enjoyed staying up late playing video games, online with friends in WI and then sleeping until noon.

Consider yourself up to date with us here in NC.