In response to those who question me as to my motivation, who want to know what's in it for me, whose primary curiosity appears to concern why I'm wasting my time on a project that isn't going to make me a million dollars, or even contribute in a major way to the running of my household, I say this: I want to and that's enough.
But, they say, it doesn't make sense. It makes sense to me, say I.
To those who wish me to justify myself, I rarely respond. My talents are few and inconsequential; however, they are mine to do with as I choose. That's something I don't take for granted.
For a very long time, one of the cruelties of the (now-ex) man in my life was to denigrate and ridicule every creative impulse I allowed to surface. The words still rose inside of me, refusing to be stifled, but I kept them to myself. Yet, even then, I wrote.
So when people ask me why, how can I say, "I must!" and let it go at that? People need reasons for everything. No matter that this is my business, as much a part of my life as most people's careers. No matter that its value; the intrinsic nature off which confounds the mercenary mind and challenges the pragmatist; its value surpasses that of a fortune.
I can live in relative comfort without a fortune. I cannot live in any comfort at all without words and color. Those who will, or would, leave a legacy of dollars to their heirs, or who would devote their time, thought, energy, and full attention to accumulating money and possessions are justified in their goals and aspirations. I do not question their reasoning; it is obvious.
My goals and aspirations, what my motivation is, what I want to achieve, are less overt; therefore, questioned. I use words and color because it is my nature to do so. The resources I have at my disposal are limited; my gifts to those I love are, of necessity, creative rather than expensive.
As a work of love, I put time, thought, energy, and often a great deal of attention into this project; its value, my motivation, what's in it for me, the WHY of the question, lies exclusively in that love; past, present, future.
No, I'm not rich, nor do I want to be particularly. Yet the internal wealth of knowing the love, the strength, the individual and collective survival and life skills of all the women whose choices led to me being here, to each of us being the women we are - to you who ask me WHY - it's acknowledement to those who came before and will follow.
That's WHY.
Ask me no more.
Saturday, January 28, 2012
COUSIN QUAKER JOHN CAPTURED BY INDIANS
[On July 7, 1780] Thomas Branson [Eli’s 1st cousin] was granted a certificate to travel with the famous frontier Quaker Reverend Thomas Beals into the Ohio territory (to search for his son?). Lois Branson, John Branson's sister and daughter of Thomas, married a nephew of Reverend Thomas Beals who could be the storyteller as he was John Bowater Beals ... in any case, John Branson and John Bowater Beals would have definitely known each other.
NATHANIEL, WILLIAM, THOMAS, JOHN DAY (BROTHER TO OUR THOMAS), THOMAS (1ST COUSIN TO OUR ELI), JOHN (3RD COUSIN TO OUR JOHN, son of Eli and Keziah and born January 12, 1764)
The following was going on while Eli was in his Tory mode with Cornwallis, getting captured at Yorktown and being a prisoner of war, although he always got home to his wife Keziah one way or another.NATHANIEL, WILLIAM, THOMAS, JOHN DAY (BROTHER TO OUR THOMAS), THOMAS (1ST COUSIN TO OUR ELI), JOHN (3RD COUSIN TO OUR JOHN, son of Eli and Keziah and born January 12, 1764)
Eli’s brother-in-law, Daniel Huff (Hough), Keziah’s brother, subsequently married Thomas Beals’ daughter Margaret (widow of James Horton).
This John Branson was born May 26, 1764 in Frederick, VA.
Biography of John Branson
In about the year 1781, while Thomas Beals was living at Blue Stone, Giles Co., Virginia, there was a company of six or seven men, connection of Thomas Beals, his son-in-law, James Horton, and a young man by the name of Branson were among the hunters who were camped out towards the Ohio River. A squad of hostile Indians attacked them and the hunters scattered and ran, each man for himself. Horton had rheumatism and did not go far until he went into some thick underbrush and as Branson came by Horton raised his gun to shoot an old Indian chief, but miss fired. He then said to Branson, "You're not going to leave me, are you?" He said "No," and stopped. The chief came up and took them both prisoners. They were not allowed to see each other after their capture. James Horton was taken to Old Chillicothe, now Frankfort, Ohio, and there put to death. Young Branson was taken further north and ordered burned to death; but the old chief stopped it after the dry splinters and wood were prepared for the execution. The dry splinters were to stick in the flesh, so they would cook the flesh before death, but the old chief, whose prisoner he was, appealed to a higher council and he was taken further north and the council ordered him put to death by shooting. He was tied to a tree to be shot; the chief then appealed to a council of chiefs. He was then taken to the shores of Lake Erie and there ordered put to death.
The old chief, who had been befriending him, said he could do nothing more for him, but if he would look at his feet that night after all was still he would see something bright and if he got loose to meet him at a certain large tree outside the camp.
Branson's hands were tied together, also his feet and he was tied between two braves with leather thongs. After all was still, he looked at his feet and saw a knife. He worked his hands and got hold of the knife. He cut his hands loose first, then cut himself loose form the two braves, crawled out of the camp, got to his feet and went to the tree designated. There he found the old chief, who had Branson's gun and all that he had when captured, also a sack of provisions. The chief told him to go towards the moon (for it was nearly in the south) until he struck a branch, then to follow it until it came to a larger one, then follow it until it came to a large river and follow it home. Branson followed his directions and reached home. His folks did not recognize him at first, but after a few hours they recognized him but he was broken down in health and mind. He had been a prisoner three years and had been prepared for execution twice and ordered for the third time. He only lived a few years after his return.
This site maintained by Sandra Branson Young (source of story)
Friday, January 27, 2012
Turning a Window Into a Door
The new kitchen in my house used to be the back bedroom.
It's a long story.
Anyway, one of the windows of my new kitchen looks out into my courtyard, which is on the opposite side of the house from Duke's yard.
I want that window to be a door.
Since inevitably the things I want do not just automatically or magically happen all by themselves (sigh) I guess it's up to me to turn that window into a door.
My mom gave me a door and frame, even a screen/storm door with it, so I've got the door. That's good news.
More good news is that, unless my artist's eye fails me, it ought to be a good fit. As soon as I take out the bit of wall that's beneath the window. Actually, I set the door in its frame smack up against the window. Since the tops line up and the sides line up, my artist's eye tells me that the idea is not outside the realm of possibility.
How hard can it be to take off the trim, remove the window in its frame, cut out the bit of wall beneath the window opening, reinforce the exposed framing, set the door in its frame into place, and put back the trim, using the part that's now beneath the window to fill in the vertical gaps at the bottoms of the sides?
Think how nice it will be to just walk out the door from my kitchen to my courtyard!
Of course it would be a big step down from the door to the ground, but building the decking and ramping for that is another project.
It's a long story.
Anyway, one of the windows of my new kitchen looks out into my courtyard, which is on the opposite side of the house from Duke's yard.
I want that window to be a door.
Since inevitably the things I want do not just automatically or magically happen all by themselves (sigh) I guess it's up to me to turn that window into a door.
My mom gave me a door and frame, even a screen/storm door with it, so I've got the door. That's good news.
More good news is that, unless my artist's eye fails me, it ought to be a good fit. As soon as I take out the bit of wall that's beneath the window. Actually, I set the door in its frame smack up against the window. Since the tops line up and the sides line up, my artist's eye tells me that the idea is not outside the realm of possibility.
How hard can it be to take off the trim, remove the window in its frame, cut out the bit of wall beneath the window opening, reinforce the exposed framing, set the door in its frame into place, and put back the trim, using the part that's now beneath the window to fill in the vertical gaps at the bottoms of the sides?
Think how nice it will be to just walk out the door from my kitchen to my courtyard!
Of course it would be a big step down from the door to the ground, but building the decking and ramping for that is another project.
Fencing
To begin with, as soon as the ground isn't frozen I have to move a big section of my wooden fence line.
I want easier access to my back door from the outside, which the current fence line doesn't allow for, the reason being that if Duke went out either the side door or the back door he'd still be in a yard (his is the side yard, which has an additional fence line separating it from the big back yard).
Since I have now decided that the best place for my garden is in the big back yard, Duke no longer gets to have access to it, too bad so sad. He's got plenty of running room in his own yard. Plus, if he has access to my garden he'll eat all my tomatoes, and I want to eat them my own self, and can some.
Besides that, given the current economic situation, I want a ramp going up to that door. What, you may ask, does economics have to do with ramps? Well, bad knees run in our family. Mine are fine so far but you never know what the future holds.
My mom told me not to worry, that medicare/medicaid would provide me with new knees if necessary, like they did hers. By the time I need new knees those programs may well be defunct, the way things are going, so I'm figuring that I'd best make my own plan. That includes handicap access to my home, as well as making the inside as chair-accessible as possible.
Hence the ramps.
Hence the moving of the fence line. I'll build the ramp alongside the new line, right up to the back door.
Moving the fence line isn't going to be complicated.
All I have to do is disconnect the sections, dig out the posts, dig new post holes, put the posts into them, and reconnect the sections.
Piece of cake.
I hope.
Once it's moved, I'll paint the big back yard fence so it matches the house and Duke's fence, and do some touch-ups on his, and be done with it.
I want easier access to my back door from the outside, which the current fence line doesn't allow for, the reason being that if Duke went out either the side door or the back door he'd still be in a yard (his is the side yard, which has an additional fence line separating it from the big back yard).
Since I have now decided that the best place for my garden is in the big back yard, Duke no longer gets to have access to it, too bad so sad. He's got plenty of running room in his own yard. Plus, if he has access to my garden he'll eat all my tomatoes, and I want to eat them my own self, and can some.
Besides that, given the current economic situation, I want a ramp going up to that door. What, you may ask, does economics have to do with ramps? Well, bad knees run in our family. Mine are fine so far but you never know what the future holds.
My mom told me not to worry, that medicare/medicaid would provide me with new knees if necessary, like they did hers. By the time I need new knees those programs may well be defunct, the way things are going, so I'm figuring that I'd best make my own plan. That includes handicap access to my home, as well as making the inside as chair-accessible as possible.
Hence the ramps.
Hence the moving of the fence line. I'll build the ramp alongside the new line, right up to the back door.
Moving the fence line isn't going to be complicated.
All I have to do is disconnect the sections, dig out the posts, dig new post holes, put the posts into them, and reconnect the sections.
Piece of cake.
I hope.
Once it's moved, I'll paint the big back yard fence so it matches the house and Duke's fence, and do some touch-ups on his, and be done with it.
Building With Stone
I really hope this spring, summer, and fall are beautiful.
I won't mind if it rains during the nights as long as there's time for everything to dry out so I can get my projects done. Rain days are the pits.
Whether or not I'll be able to accomplish it or not, one of the things I want to try to do in the coming three seasons is to learn to build with stone.
Rock piles abound in this area. I have a little four wheel drive pickup. I'll take all the rocks you want to get rid of that I can carry.
There are several stone projects I'd like to try.
One is a house for Duke.
One is my raised bed garden.
One is for the ramping to my back door.
Having a reasonable modicum of intelligence, I did some on line homework and am fairly certain I can do this. If not, you can have your rocks back.
I already have many of the things I'll need for these projects:
Plywood, which I'll cut to the sizes of frames I'll need;
2x4, for reinforcing and stabilizing the frames;
1x2 or 2x4, for width spacers;
Saw, for cutting the above;
Wire, to hold the frames and spacers in place;
Wire cutter, to free the frames;
Spade/shovel, to dig the foundation trench;
Measuring tape;
Level;
Square;
Five gallon pail, for mixing concrete;
Stir sticks, ditto;
Plastic scoops, for scooping globs of concrete as I don't plan to use my hands for that.
I'll have to buy the concrete as the stuff I bought way back when is probably useless by now, and I'll have to go rock-collecting.
The simplified directions are to (once your materials are on hand and your frames are built) dig the foundation trenches the way you want them (which would be deep enough and wide enough and squared at the corners), fill them with stone and concrete, let set up and backfill, assemble the frames and get them on the foundation, fill with stone and concrete, let set up, then remove, reassemble and do another row or level. Wherever you want an opening, build a framework for it and work around it.
Yes, there's a bit more to it than that. Did I not just say these are simplified directions? But there's not much more, unless you're building a house and have to plan for roof and floor joists and such.
I have to remember, when I'm building my raised beds, to put sections of pipe through the rock walls down low for drainage. The same goes for Duke's house (although not for drainage) in case he ever wants inside plumbing, or electricity. Easier to build in the accesses than try to put them in after the fact.
Really. I ask you: how difficult can this be?
I reckon I'll find out.
I won't mind if it rains during the nights as long as there's time for everything to dry out so I can get my projects done. Rain days are the pits.
Whether or not I'll be able to accomplish it or not, one of the things I want to try to do in the coming three seasons is to learn to build with stone.
Rock piles abound in this area. I have a little four wheel drive pickup. I'll take all the rocks you want to get rid of that I can carry.
There are several stone projects I'd like to try.
One is a house for Duke.
One is my raised bed garden.
One is for the ramping to my back door.
Having a reasonable modicum of intelligence, I did some on line homework and am fairly certain I can do this. If not, you can have your rocks back.
I already have many of the things I'll need for these projects:
Plywood, which I'll cut to the sizes of frames I'll need;
2x4, for reinforcing and stabilizing the frames;
1x2 or 2x4, for width spacers;
Saw, for cutting the above;
Wire, to hold the frames and spacers in place;
Wire cutter, to free the frames;
Spade/shovel, to dig the foundation trench;
Measuring tape;
Level;
Square;
Five gallon pail, for mixing concrete;
Stir sticks, ditto;
Plastic scoops, for scooping globs of concrete as I don't plan to use my hands for that.
I'll have to buy the concrete as the stuff I bought way back when is probably useless by now, and I'll have to go rock-collecting.
The simplified directions are to (once your materials are on hand and your frames are built) dig the foundation trenches the way you want them (which would be deep enough and wide enough and squared at the corners), fill them with stone and concrete, let set up and backfill, assemble the frames and get them on the foundation, fill with stone and concrete, let set up, then remove, reassemble and do another row or level. Wherever you want an opening, build a framework for it and work around it.
Yes, there's a bit more to it than that. Did I not just say these are simplified directions? But there's not much more, unless you're building a house and have to plan for roof and floor joists and such.
I have to remember, when I'm building my raised beds, to put sections of pipe through the rock walls down low for drainage. The same goes for Duke's house (although not for drainage) in case he ever wants inside plumbing, or electricity. Easier to build in the accesses than try to put them in after the fact.
Really. I ask you: how difficult can this be?
I reckon I'll find out.
Roofing
Roofing isn't a new thing to me, thank goodness.
Before I even begin, I'll have to make sure I have decent scaffolding and all the supplies I'll need. And I'll say a prayer because this will be the first time I've tackled a job of this size all by myself. Pre-organization is going to be crucial.
As soon as the weather gets nice (yes, this has been an exceptionally nice winter - knock on wood - in our neck of the woods, but it's still North Dakota and I'm not getting on my roof YET) I'll be up there taking off two layers of cedar shakes. And I'll be doing it carefully because I'll be salvaging as many as I can for future reference. It will no doubt be time-consuming and people will ask me how come I don't just rip them off regardless of whether they get broken into bits. I have my reasons for doing things my own way.
As I go, I'll be pulling out all those nails (there are a lot more of them with shakes than with asphalt shingles, believe me) or pounding in the ones I can't pull.
The next step, as I go along, is repairing or replacing roof boards that need it, and fascia, mainly around the bay window. My 100 year old roof isn't sheathed with plywood, nor would I want it to be. It's got a variety of boards from a variety of sources, and I like it that way.
Also as I go along, the result of each day's work gets covered with that sticky-backed black stuff that's usually only put on the edges of a roof - it's to keep ice from backing up behind shingles and loosening them - but it goes onto every bit of my roof instead of tar-paper. Because I want it that way, that's why. Remember I'm going to be up there all by myself; I want my footing to be as safe as possible and this stuff has grit embedded in it besides adhering to the roof securely. It won't slip or tear like tar-paper might. And it won't blow off no matter how windy it gets. That stuff is truly wonderful. Its adhesive is good and when reinforced with a few staples it flat out ain't going to come off. Plus I can cut it into sections small enough for me to handle comfortably and carry a small stack of those pieces up with me instead of trying to fight with a big roll. Once the shingles are in place you'll never know what a patchwork it looks like under them.
As I work my way up, I'll be nailing 2x4s onto the roof over the black stuff so I'll have something secure to support me. You take a 2x4 of whatever length you're comfortable handling up there, nail three or four pieces of tin (about three inches by seven or eight inches, or more, however much you want) onto one side of the 2x4 so it's got tin tabs sticking out, enough to nail into and hold the 2x4 when you use the tabs to nail it to the roof. That's so when you get done putting the new asphalt shingles on all you have to do is snip the tin tabs under the edge of the shingle so it won't show; the 2x4 comes right off and the tabs left behind just disappear under the shingles - you can't even tell they're there and leaving those nails in place means no nail holes are exposed, even under the shingles. You can dab a little tar on when you nail them on (to be on the extra-safe side) if you want but it really isn't necessary.
For the first row of shingles you can either buy the edging shingle rolls or just cut the tabs off the regular ones so there's a solid edge of asphalt along that bottom roof line. Getting the first row perfectly straight will mean the rest of it will be fine, as long as you have a good eye and keep it that way. Using a chalk line to double check is a good idea, too. Assuming the edge of the roof is straight (which it had darned well BETTER be!) you just measure the same distance up on each end, fasten the chalk line securely to one end, stretch it TIGHT to the other end at the measured spot, and give it a good snap or two. If you're concerned about a level, straight line, use your level along the line you snapped to double check. Me, I mainly want the rows of shingles to be spaced evenly and straight with the edge of the roof. For all I know my 100 year old house has settled crooked. If I go with the bubble level I might have a shingling job that's level all right but crooked on the roof.
Because I have a hip roof I have to cope with four diagonal lines going down from the hip to the corners. All you have to do is trim the shingles along that line to fit that edge as you go. When you've finished the top row of shingles, cut shingles at their tab lines (vertically) and start at the bottom of the roof line, overlapping them as you go up, like the shingles. Use a couple of nails on each side of the edge and make sure they're tight as you go. This is a good place to use quite a bit of tar, as the last thing you want is for those pieces to ever come loose. The same goes for the ridge on top. You should tin there too, under the shingles.
Working around the dormers is when things can get dicey. Although I've done two of them already I'm already nervous about this third one. The first row or two of shingles are easy enough, as they go below the dormer, and the ones that butt up against its sides won't be too hard. It's weaving the ones on the roof of the dormer into the ones on the main roof that gives me fits every time.
However, even before worrying about the shingles, I have to make sure the seal around the dormer is good. That means, to me, a LOT of tarring at the seam. And getting the tin secured just right, with lots of tar over nail heads, none of which can be in the valley itself but HAVE to be on nails that go into WOOD, not empty air under the valley tin. Complicating things, the siding on the dormer can't be removed to fit the tin under it. At least I'm not going to tackle that beast. All I can do is the best I can do. I figure it doesn't have to be absolutely perfect; it just has to look halfway presentable and not leak. Critics are welcome to get up there and fix it any time they want.
Roofng the dormer itself is the scariest part of this whole project. For the rest of the roof I'll have as many 2x4s as I want for support and stability. For the dormer it's different. I'll be able to reach well enough from the roof to get a couple of rows of shingles done without undue anxiety but from there on up I'll have to be perched up on the top of the dormer basically working upside down. The parts I can't reach from below HAVE to be done from above and that, my friend, is no picnic.
Be that as it may be, it will get done.
I'll begin with stripping off all of the cedar shakes and getting the entire roof and dormer roof sealed with that black stuff, then seal around the dormer liberally and thoroughly. I will NOT have leaks.
Then on go the shingles, actually the easiest part of this whole thing. Up the roof front to back to where the roof of the dormer merges with the main roof, and back to front the same way. THIS is why it's pretty blasted important to make the rows of shingles uniform from the bottom on up. Because by the time you get to the merge point those front and back halves of the roof's shingles had better be lined up right or the whole roof will be cockeyed. Bad enough that you'll have to be weaving shingles from the roof of the dormer, which sticks out of the main roof at a 90 degree angle on top of the diagonal lines of its slopes ... the rows of the main roof have to meet up at the peak of the dormer where they'll merge and you'll then have straight through front to back rows up to the top (those last rows are a huge relief after the trauma of the dormer and weaving and valley tinning and yada yada, let me tell you!).
That's the biggest part of my summer-to-come right there. Roofing. I've got the long south side of the roof to get done, with the dormer in the middle of it, and the shorter back with no dormer thank heavens. Then it's just finishing up the ridges and I can rest about my roof for thirty years.
Fortunately for me there are tree branches overhanging the first part of the roof I'll be working on. Every once in a while someone will nag me about cutting them back but I'm leaving them in place until that part of my roof work is done. Until I get my roof legs I like the security of having them there where I can grab them for balance if I need to. Not only that, but I have an enormous rope that I used when I did the other side of the roof. It gets securely fastened inside of the dormer on the other side of the house, goes out the dormer window, runs over the top of the roof to the side I'm working on, and I can either hold onto it or wrap it around me if I want that extra security.
By the time I'm done I expect I'll have a pretty strong right arm. I intend to pound in every nail my own self, with a hammer, so I know I'm nailing into wood and not air. Because the roof is made of an asortment of boards, there are gaps of varying sizes, none very big, but they're there; it's not a uniformly solid surface. I think that may be a not-so-bad thing, now that I think of it. It allows for seasonal contraction and expansion, cold and heat.
Before I even begin, I'll have to make sure I have decent scaffolding and all the supplies I'll need. And I'll say a prayer because this will be the first time I've tackled a job of this size all by myself. Pre-organization is going to be crucial.
As soon as the weather gets nice (yes, this has been an exceptionally nice winter - knock on wood - in our neck of the woods, but it's still North Dakota and I'm not getting on my roof YET) I'll be up there taking off two layers of cedar shakes. And I'll be doing it carefully because I'll be salvaging as many as I can for future reference. It will no doubt be time-consuming and people will ask me how come I don't just rip them off regardless of whether they get broken into bits. I have my reasons for doing things my own way.
As I go, I'll be pulling out all those nails (there are a lot more of them with shakes than with asphalt shingles, believe me) or pounding in the ones I can't pull.
The next step, as I go along, is repairing or replacing roof boards that need it, and fascia, mainly around the bay window. My 100 year old roof isn't sheathed with plywood, nor would I want it to be. It's got a variety of boards from a variety of sources, and I like it that way.
Also as I go along, the result of each day's work gets covered with that sticky-backed black stuff that's usually only put on the edges of a roof - it's to keep ice from backing up behind shingles and loosening them - but it goes onto every bit of my roof instead of tar-paper. Because I want it that way, that's why. Remember I'm going to be up there all by myself; I want my footing to be as safe as possible and this stuff has grit embedded in it besides adhering to the roof securely. It won't slip or tear like tar-paper might. And it won't blow off no matter how windy it gets. That stuff is truly wonderful. Its adhesive is good and when reinforced with a few staples it flat out ain't going to come off. Plus I can cut it into sections small enough for me to handle comfortably and carry a small stack of those pieces up with me instead of trying to fight with a big roll. Once the shingles are in place you'll never know what a patchwork it looks like under them.
As I work my way up, I'll be nailing 2x4s onto the roof over the black stuff so I'll have something secure to support me. You take a 2x4 of whatever length you're comfortable handling up there, nail three or four pieces of tin (about three inches by seven or eight inches, or more, however much you want) onto one side of the 2x4 so it's got tin tabs sticking out, enough to nail into and hold the 2x4 when you use the tabs to nail it to the roof. That's so when you get done putting the new asphalt shingles on all you have to do is snip the tin tabs under the edge of the shingle so it won't show; the 2x4 comes right off and the tabs left behind just disappear under the shingles - you can't even tell they're there and leaving those nails in place means no nail holes are exposed, even under the shingles. You can dab a little tar on when you nail them on (to be on the extra-safe side) if you want but it really isn't necessary.
For the first row of shingles you can either buy the edging shingle rolls or just cut the tabs off the regular ones so there's a solid edge of asphalt along that bottom roof line. Getting the first row perfectly straight will mean the rest of it will be fine, as long as you have a good eye and keep it that way. Using a chalk line to double check is a good idea, too. Assuming the edge of the roof is straight (which it had darned well BETTER be!) you just measure the same distance up on each end, fasten the chalk line securely to one end, stretch it TIGHT to the other end at the measured spot, and give it a good snap or two. If you're concerned about a level, straight line, use your level along the line you snapped to double check. Me, I mainly want the rows of shingles to be spaced evenly and straight with the edge of the roof. For all I know my 100 year old house has settled crooked. If I go with the bubble level I might have a shingling job that's level all right but crooked on the roof.
Because I have a hip roof I have to cope with four diagonal lines going down from the hip to the corners. All you have to do is trim the shingles along that line to fit that edge as you go. When you've finished the top row of shingles, cut shingles at their tab lines (vertically) and start at the bottom of the roof line, overlapping them as you go up, like the shingles. Use a couple of nails on each side of the edge and make sure they're tight as you go. This is a good place to use quite a bit of tar, as the last thing you want is for those pieces to ever come loose. The same goes for the ridge on top. You should tin there too, under the shingles.
Working around the dormers is when things can get dicey. Although I've done two of them already I'm already nervous about this third one. The first row or two of shingles are easy enough, as they go below the dormer, and the ones that butt up against its sides won't be too hard. It's weaving the ones on the roof of the dormer into the ones on the main roof that gives me fits every time.
However, even before worrying about the shingles, I have to make sure the seal around the dormer is good. That means, to me, a LOT of tarring at the seam. And getting the tin secured just right, with lots of tar over nail heads, none of which can be in the valley itself but HAVE to be on nails that go into WOOD, not empty air under the valley tin. Complicating things, the siding on the dormer can't be removed to fit the tin under it. At least I'm not going to tackle that beast. All I can do is the best I can do. I figure it doesn't have to be absolutely perfect; it just has to look halfway presentable and not leak. Critics are welcome to get up there and fix it any time they want.
Roofng the dormer itself is the scariest part of this whole project. For the rest of the roof I'll have as many 2x4s as I want for support and stability. For the dormer it's different. I'll be able to reach well enough from the roof to get a couple of rows of shingles done without undue anxiety but from there on up I'll have to be perched up on the top of the dormer basically working upside down. The parts I can't reach from below HAVE to be done from above and that, my friend, is no picnic.
Be that as it may be, it will get done.
I'll begin with stripping off all of the cedar shakes and getting the entire roof and dormer roof sealed with that black stuff, then seal around the dormer liberally and thoroughly. I will NOT have leaks.
Then on go the shingles, actually the easiest part of this whole thing. Up the roof front to back to where the roof of the dormer merges with the main roof, and back to front the same way. THIS is why it's pretty blasted important to make the rows of shingles uniform from the bottom on up. Because by the time you get to the merge point those front and back halves of the roof's shingles had better be lined up right or the whole roof will be cockeyed. Bad enough that you'll have to be weaving shingles from the roof of the dormer, which sticks out of the main roof at a 90 degree angle on top of the diagonal lines of its slopes ... the rows of the main roof have to meet up at the peak of the dormer where they'll merge and you'll then have straight through front to back rows up to the top (those last rows are a huge relief after the trauma of the dormer and weaving and valley tinning and yada yada, let me tell you!).
That's the biggest part of my summer-to-come right there. Roofing. I've got the long south side of the roof to get done, with the dormer in the middle of it, and the shorter back with no dormer thank heavens. Then it's just finishing up the ridges and I can rest about my roof for thirty years.
Fortunately for me there are tree branches overhanging the first part of the roof I'll be working on. Every once in a while someone will nag me about cutting them back but I'm leaving them in place until that part of my roof work is done. Until I get my roof legs I like the security of having them there where I can grab them for balance if I need to. Not only that, but I have an enormous rope that I used when I did the other side of the roof. It gets securely fastened inside of the dormer on the other side of the house, goes out the dormer window, runs over the top of the roof to the side I'm working on, and I can either hold onto it or wrap it around me if I want that extra security.
By the time I'm done I expect I'll have a pretty strong right arm. I intend to pound in every nail my own self, with a hammer, so I know I'm nailing into wood and not air. Because the roof is made of an asortment of boards, there are gaps of varying sizes, none very big, but they're there; it's not a uniformly solid surface. I think that may be a not-so-bad thing, now that I think of it. It allows for seasonal contraction and expansion, cold and heat.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
My Garden
This summer I intend to have a garden.
I'm not sure right now exactly what kind of garden I'm going to have but chances are it will not be a traditional one. The plants will be traditional, of course, with tomatoes, carrots, onions, potatoes, beets, spinach, cucumbers, and probably some kind of squash - along with whatever else seems to be what I want at the time.
The non-traditional part will depend on how much time I have to work with (i.e. whether we have an early spring or a late one). If it gets nice enough soon enough I might have time to begin the raised bed garden I want someday to have. If not, I might have to make do with the only garden space I have right now, which is mainly my flower beds. They'll grow vegetables as well as flowers, you know.
Even so, I would prefer to have my garden in my sunny back yard. If I can't manage to borrow a tiller this year maybe I'll just use my shovel to dig trenches for the root crops, a post hole digger to make holes to put tomatoes, cucumbers, and squash plants into (and use 2 liter pop bottles with the tops and bottoms cut off to line them), plant spinach in the over-sized flower pot I have out front, and call it good enough.
With some major projects that need to get under way as soon as the weather gets halfway decent, the garden may have to take a back seat - but we shall see what we shall see.
Since I'll have to be rock-hunting anyway, I may as well hunt some to use for the raised beds. They might give me good practice.
I'm not sure right now exactly what kind of garden I'm going to have but chances are it will not be a traditional one. The plants will be traditional, of course, with tomatoes, carrots, onions, potatoes, beets, spinach, cucumbers, and probably some kind of squash - along with whatever else seems to be what I want at the time.
The non-traditional part will depend on how much time I have to work with (i.e. whether we have an early spring or a late one). If it gets nice enough soon enough I might have time to begin the raised bed garden I want someday to have. If not, I might have to make do with the only garden space I have right now, which is mainly my flower beds. They'll grow vegetables as well as flowers, you know.
Even so, I would prefer to have my garden in my sunny back yard. If I can't manage to borrow a tiller this year maybe I'll just use my shovel to dig trenches for the root crops, a post hole digger to make holes to put tomatoes, cucumbers, and squash plants into (and use 2 liter pop bottles with the tops and bottoms cut off to line them), plant spinach in the over-sized flower pot I have out front, and call it good enough.
With some major projects that need to get under way as soon as the weather gets halfway decent, the garden may have to take a back seat - but we shall see what we shall see.
Since I'll have to be rock-hunting anyway, I may as well hunt some to use for the raised beds. They might give me good practice.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Cedar Shake Sky-scapes With Silhouettes
One of the benefits of having a 100 Year Old Home is that on the roof are quite a few 100 Year Old Cedar Shakes. As I progress in getting the roof shingled with modern shingles (have you priced cedar shakes lately?) many of those 100 Year Old Cedar Shakes get put into boxes. I use them for lots of things, from shims to kindling to ... well, artwork.
State Of The Union
Oh for heaven's sake.
Somewhere in cyberspace is a post I was just working on.
Perhaps it's just as well.
The gist of it was that I'm not overly trusting of our politicians these days to follow through with action on the words they say but realize that making me happy isn't in their job description - that's MY responsibility.
We can moan and groan and post comments all over the internet, which is fine and dandy and a convenient vent - but really ... no matter what, we DO get to choose our own personal level of happiness.
As for the State of the Union: who am I but a little old lady living in my tumble down cottage on Main Street of Small Town USA. When I hear some good ideas it makes me happy. When I realize that few if any of them will come to fruition, and read a lot of comments on line from VERY unhappy people, it saddens me a bit.
But then I get back to the job of creating and maintaining my own personal happiness, serenity, whatever you want to call it, and all is well.
Who cares if my post filled with words of wisdom is now out there somewhere besides on my screen?
It's not like a shortage of replacement words has ever been much of a problem for me.
Gists are shorter than originals, anyway!
Somewhere in cyberspace is a post I was just working on.
Perhaps it's just as well.
The gist of it was that I'm not overly trusting of our politicians these days to follow through with action on the words they say but realize that making me happy isn't in their job description - that's MY responsibility.
We can moan and groan and post comments all over the internet, which is fine and dandy and a convenient vent - but really ... no matter what, we DO get to choose our own personal level of happiness.
As for the State of the Union: who am I but a little old lady living in my tumble down cottage on Main Street of Small Town USA. When I hear some good ideas it makes me happy. When I realize that few if any of them will come to fruition, and read a lot of comments on line from VERY unhappy people, it saddens me a bit.
But then I get back to the job of creating and maintaining my own personal happiness, serenity, whatever you want to call it, and all is well.
Who cares if my post filled with words of wisdom is now out there somewhere besides on my screen?
It's not like a shortage of replacement words has ever been much of a problem for me.
Gists are shorter than originals, anyway!
Monday, January 23, 2012
Where Do I Begin?
For more decades than I like to think about people have been encouraging me to write my life story.
The problem is that I've been too busy living it to have time or energy for such a project. The chapters just keep piling up and there's no ending in sight.
On the other hand there ARE a few things that have been written along the way which could be put to good use, with some illustrations thrown in.
I think it may finally be just about time to do something about that.
The beginning is a good place to start, this I know.
The problem with THAT is this feeling I have that I'm only just now beginning.
So...where DO I begin?
The problem is that I've been too busy living it to have time or energy for such a project. The chapters just keep piling up and there's no ending in sight.
On the other hand there ARE a few things that have been written along the way which could be put to good use, with some illustrations thrown in.
I think it may finally be just about time to do something about that.
The beginning is a good place to start, this I know.
The problem with THAT is this feeling I have that I'm only just now beginning.
So...where DO I begin?
Friday, January 20, 2012
Oh Yeah That Recalcitrant Child Painting ... It's Done and Accepted !!
This is not exactly the best photo in the world but ...
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)