Monthly Archives: August 2010

Monday’s and the Storm

Posted on by

My Monday’s got very interesting this weekend.  I found out that I would be an adjunct professor for a social studies methods class at my alma mater– HBU.  A few weeks ago, one of my former professors contacted me and asked if I would be interested in the position.  I am just giddy with excitement.  I loved that class when I took and hope to do the same for this group of students.

As we were wrapping up the class for the evening, it started thundering and the wind really picked up.  Pretty soon, the sky opened up and the rain started falling.  After about 45 minutes it was just sprinkling so I was able to drive through the flooded streets and horrible traffic to get home.  The storm had just passed through and knocked out the electricity.  And when I say it knocked out the electricity, I mean everything, including the traffic lights.  It just amazes me that people do not understand (especially the UPS driver) that when the lights are out it is a 4-way stop and fly through intersections that are not operational.

My camera happen to be in the front seat and I took this waiting in the long line of cars to get through the intersection.

Wade fixed gourmet mac and cheese with hot dogs (real cooks have gas, so not having electricity did not hinder him from cooking dinner).  We ate by candle light.  Something we have not done since the hurricane 2 years ago.  The bad part was that we did not get electricity until 3am.  Being so hot and humid and not having AC makes for a bad combo.  I got very little sleep.

In the morning, we checked out the damage.  The winds were so strong, they moved the bball goal across the patio.  Some of the pots were flipped upside down and thrown across the yard.  Our bug zapper was ripped off of the eve and thrown on the ground.  AND my luffa fell down!!!  Wade and I are not sure what to do with it now.  The fruit is still not ready to be picked.

But…the playhouse was unaffected!  We built it to withstand a hurricane and it looks like it just might work.  We even have small pieces of wood to cover the windows if we need.

Playhouse- Part IV

Posted on by

After working all weekend, *most* of the playhouse is finished.  Now it is just fine details that need to be added.

This weekend, we had to finish the other 1/2 of the roof.  This time, we decided to put the shingles on the roof like roofers do.  Wade was able to get the plywood up on the rafters while I screwed it in.  We added the tar paper and then I shingled…in the dark since it was so darn hot outside.  This made for some interesting lines… 🙂  We realized as we got down to the very end, we were 2 shingles short.  UGH!!!  The next morning I headed back to HD to get 2 more.  Of course, I failed to get the right color so 2 shingles are tan instead of red.  I was NOT about to go back to HD for $2.  I put these last 2 shingles on at 7am…and I decided I WILL NOT BE A ROOFER in my next career!

Now we are doing the details.  Wade helped me put most of the trim on.  The door is finished, but we need bigger hinges.  The inside is painted.  The only major thing we have left to do is the railing around the front.  This weekend…I am confident we will finish!  At least we better!

Part I
Part II
Part III
Part IV
Final

Playhouse- Part III

Posted on by

To continue the saga of the playhouse, I dove back into working on it (yes, this project started in May and it is now August).  Mind you, it is now the hottest part of the summer here in Houston, TX.  The heat index is over 100 everyday.  But I wanted to have this finished before school started so I needed to work on it as much as possible.

To back up just a bit, when we left for vacation mid-June, Wade had the goal to get the siding on the frame that was already on the playhouse.  Without any help, and the monsoons that came through, the frame mildewed before the siding was put on.  The weekend prior, I unscrewed the frame from the deck and put it in a burn pile and we got new wood.

Having done it once already, we decided to put the siding on the frame, then put it on the house.  This would serve to square up the playhouse.  Before, we put the frame on the deck and then planned on adding the siding. This is what it looked like the first time:

Here we are working on putting the siding on the frame:

Once that was complete, I shingled one of the roofing sheets.  Boy did that make it heavy!!!

Wade and Calvin were able to slide it up to the top where I screwed it in but we decided that was not the smartest idea, so the other side we decided to roof it like a traditional roof…while it was on top of the structure. I put in the windows just in time.  Monday afternoon…a VERY strong storm came through.  Wade and I were able to get the other 1/2 of the roof covered with tar paper and a tarp.

Part I
Part II
Part III
Part IV
Final