I See Copper

So we got the roofers back to put copper in the valleys. It was a little more money, but we decided since this was a once in a "lifetime" roof, we should go ahead and get what we really wanted.



I feel a little bit guilty not doing anything the whole time they were working. Well... ok... so I wasn't "not doing anything" - but I wasn't working on the outside. We were busy cleaning up the inside - leather cleaning & polishing, slipcover washing, mopping, dusting... It's amazing how filthy dirty the place gets on the inside when you're focused on the outside.

While cleaning the house, we had HGTV on pretty much non-stop. It's a bit of a love-hate relationship. Especially the "My Big Amazing Renovation" - or whatever it's called. We have absolutely no sympathy. And we're not sure we believe the "What's My House Worth", where a homeowner has spent lots of money on a renovation and want to know if they've increased the equity in their house so that they can do more renovating. Of course, I haven't seen an episode yet where they didn't increase their equity... And then, there was a show where they took a perfectly quaint bungalow and turned it into a modern decorating monstrosity - complete with an "art piece" of copper tubing and glass knobs screwed to a painted board.

But there's also a Love part of the relationship - and we just can't stop watching it. Like right now. We're watching the 25 Biggest Decorating Mistakes and of course, comparing our own decorating... we just... can't... stop... watching!

So we are pretty much at the end of the outdoors season. With the cleaning and all the HGTV watching, we've been thinking about all the different things to do inside over the winter. Like
-Stripping the interior doors with a million layers of paint on them.
-And I bought some fabric to make a new comforter cover.
-And I need to put new baseboards in a few of the rooms.
-And the kitchen radiators could use some covers
-Oh - and I'd love to have a dishwasher.

And then we start thinking about bigger things... like the dream addition. I'll post some drawings that Jim put together.

And then that brings us back to "not until the roof is paid for"
But, what a pretty roof.

Roofers in Progress

It's so much faster when you're not doing it yourself... oh, and when it's professionals working in teams...









Yet another dumpster in the driveway (only this one will probably be gone the fastest):



The only wierd thing is that we could have sworn that we were getting copper in the valleys. So when I saw the valleys this morning:





I was a little bummed out. I went back to the contract we signed, and sure enough, it says "Weave all valleys" Jim swears that he talked to them about copper in the valleys, though. Not sure how we missed it on the contract. ALWAYS THOROUGHLY READ YOUR CONTRACT! I think we were so focused on the type of shingle and making sure that the right parts got done or not done (like the center of the bay between the first & second floor). It's not going to kill us, but it is a little classier with the copper. Jim's going to call O'lyn and see what's up.

But I think the color and the look is nice. I wish I could take a picture from the second floor of the neighbor's house - but I think that's the teenager's party room. "ALEX!!!"

Roof Teaser

Very early yesterday morning, a flat bed truck parked in the street just outside the house. I had just come home from the gym, and was in the midst of my frantic morning routine - and freezing because I was wet from gym sweat and because it's now cold outside. I looked out the front window, and definitely saw that our singles were on the truck.

I thought, this is great - I was working from home that day - so I'd be able to watch the progress.

I showered (during which time, the dog barked incessantly) and then came back downstairs, to find the 3 pallets of shingles in the "courtyard":



I waited all day, but nothing else happened...

Jim left me a text this morning saying they were going to start today - I can't wait to get home and see how it looks! the anticipation is almost killing me...