Writing by Ear

Lest you think all we do is worry about the election, we have also been moving along on house projects. With the long-awaited, anxiety-ridden sewer project behind us, we’ve at last been able to make progress on putting the front porch back together (half of it at least) — this time, enclosed to make a sunroom.

First, Mike had to return the yard to some semblance of normalcy after heavy equipment and the giant dirt pile had pretty much decimated it. (I was overwhelmed at the mess so he handled it by himself, thank god.) We’ll probably have to totally redo the lawn at some point, and add more topsoil near the porch as it settles, but that we can handle. (We already did that once, adding a couple truckloads of topsoil a couple years ago to level it up from when they installed the original sewer line from the street a couple years before we bought the place. Nothing like déjà vu all over again.)

The brick piers holding up the porch had deteriorated badly, so we had two of them rebuilt (the other two and the other half of the porch will have to wait). It took one guy one day — after we’ve been fretting over it for 3 years. What a relief.

With that key step done, Mike shoveled in 2 tons of gravel (by hand) to fill most of the giant hole under the porch. Can you say, “Oh my aching back!”? Even torn apart like it is, it’s really the best it’s ever looked!

Next he’s installing new floor joists. With the nice weather this week, we’re hopeful we can maybe get a floor back on before winter. Mike thinks big and would actually like to enclose the room, but I just don’t think that will be possible. It’s likely the windows and sliding door we’ve already purchased will just have to wait out the winter in the garage.

In the meantime, I’m thrilled we’ve gotten this far and look forward to someday next year enjoying the view of our beautiful Japanese maple from the new sunroom. It has the most amazing fall color. I’ve always said it’s the best part of the house. But maybe if we keep going the way we are, the house itself might just catch up.

Why one of our 11 trick-or-treaters exclaimed, “I love your house! It’s like a mansion.”

This despite the unfinished driveway piers, the ripped up porch, the construction debris…wow. I wanted to give that sweet little girl a big hug and a big handful of candy. Out of the mouths of babes…

I can live for two months on a good compliment.
                                                   ~ Mark Twain