Cue up the dramatic music......dun, dun, dun, dunnnnnnnnn. Yes, today's post is all about
The Project! Yup, the
most dreaded Project of all. Giggle....man, I sure hope I don't get into too much trouble writing about this one.
First, I believe I have to backtrack a little before diving right into
The Project. Remember last year when my wonderful studio was delivered? Even though it was only a shell of a building when it first arrived, after several weeks of labor we had transformed it into an awesome space for me to use while pursuing all kinds of creative endeavors. There was just one issue, It wasn't connected to the house. Yet. Oh, man.
Now why would that be a problem, you ask? Well, we're not in sunny Florida any longer. It rains a lot here, it gets icy a lot here, it gets really cold and snowy here. And having to put on a heavy coat, shoes, gloves and a hat to walk thru the mud to get into the studio wasn't a problem. Um, not much of a problem. But then, when nature calls half an hour later and you have to put all that paraphernalia on again and walk thru the mud to use the facilities in the house and then go back to the studio, well, let's just say, that routine gets old pretty quick.
And then you know what happens next......I decide a cup of cappuccino would be nice, so, I put all the above mentioned attire on once again, and head to the house to make said cappuccino, and then trudge back to the studio to enjoy it whilst I sew, and then! You guessed it. An hour later I need to use the facilities once again. Grrrrr.......after a few weeks, and then months, of this trudging back and forth, I was getting a little, shall we say.....irritable?????
Please know, I am thrilled to have such a luxury as my very own space in which to create all manner of crazy sewn and crafted items. But the idea of lining up the studio upon its delivery with the end of the porch was that we would be connecting the studio to the house for 24 hour access. Who knows when the creative urge will strike? Right? Come on, you know what I mean. And I've been spoiled by having a sewing space in each of our homes where I could pad out there on a moments notice in my jammies to satisfy some sudden creative urge. That just wasn't happening in the muddy overcoat trips back and forth.
And so, after more than a year of begging, pleading, cajoling and explaining why I need to have the studio connected, we are finally making it happen. Just before Thanksgiving we began the process of bridging the gap between the two buildings. Much to my glee! First, gather all the materials and tools. Second, load up loving husband with much caffeine. Hey, don't judge! It just so happens that I know what has to be done to get the project started.
There was one major issue.....the studio had "sunk" a couple of inches since it was first brought to the farm. Uh-oh. Now, we had to decide if we made a little step down into the breezeway connector or just slope the floor toward the studio? Neither option was appealing to Joel and took a lot of thought before even one little nail, screw or piece of wood was applied. We finally decided that a 2-1/2" step would be a tripping hazard and opted for the slope instead.
Once the platform was up(which was a couple of days in the making because of the issues I described above) the studs went up really fast. Then it was time for the rafters for the roof. Another snafu. You see the pitch on the studio at the right? Yeah, it's a peak. But the roofline of the house at the point where the breezeway is being built is a slope. Of a different angle. With not enough room to put in a roof on the breezeway with enough slope to drain water properly.
Another couple of days pondering how to fix that issue. Well, we got creative and made it work. If you wanna know how, I'll tell you in secret in an email and then I'll have to swear you to secrecy. It's our trademark roof now, I'll have you know. We're just brilliant. ha! Our joke is that two minds are one......meaning that we are both getting a little older and our minds are not as bright as they once were and some days it takes the two of us to have the brain power of just one person. Whatever works!
Here is Joel, happy to have the breezeway closed in and ready for me to paint. We lucked out and got the whole thing closed in and the roof covered with a membrane just before 5 days of rain yielding over 6" of the wet stuff blew in. Whew! We dodged that bullet. We still need to purchase and install the green metal roofing, but that can be done at our leisure sometime in the next few months.
So, what exactly are we looking at here? Joel, of course. Ohhhhhhh, yea, this is the window in the house's porch.....that is perfectly lined up with the side door of the studio.......and will soon be my passageway to Nirvana. But first the phone line that runs thru the wall under the window and the electric outlet have to be moved. Huh. Another 3 days of pondering and figuring out "how to" ensued. See? It's all the little things that drive us nuts. I mean, seriously, how hard does it have to be?
Well, my ever clever husband figured it all out and the phones are still ringing, so I guess he did it right! I was never as excited as I was when I watched him finally remove the last remaining remnant of wall that had been blocking my access to the studio. Whoop. Whoop.
We took a much needed break for Thanksgiving and enjoyed having Jeremy come home from Chattanooga to eat, drink and be merry with us. His humor always cracks me up.....he is ever the witty one. I have absolutely no idea where he got that from. Stop it. That's not nice of you to say that! I can hear you talking to your computer screen.
I even coaxed Jeremy to play photographer for us while we shot some pics to use in our Christmas cards this year. Joel in a red plaid shirt and me in my favorite bib overalls. That's us! Just hanging out on the farm.
This is the view of the mess on the sleeping porch that is now connected to the studio. For any of you that know me well, you know how this pushes my buttons. I am the organizer. I clean up as I cook. I pick up threads after sewing. I despise piles....of any sort....and so, living with this for a year has pushed buttons in me I didn't even know existed. I'll be so glad to be able to finally put all the tools and construction materials and excess piles of "stuff" away.
We were so fortunate to have enough left over ceiling planks from the studio to do the ceiling in the breezeway that I only had to buy one pack of planks at Lowe's. Yippee. I love using up odds and ends and not being wasteful.
THIS is what construction looks like on our once-pretty back porch. Can't. Wait. To. Clean. It. Up.
Doesn't everyone have a huge saw on their porch to trip over as they bring in the groceries each week? Now listen, I'm really NOT complaining.....I'm so tickled that we are finally getting this project built that I'll deal with anything. And just in case you weren't aware, here's the #1 fact. Joel and I enjoy doing these kinds of projects together a lot. It just so happens to be one of our favorite hobbies to do together. I even like the smell of sawdust in the morning. With my cappuccino. All the while wearing my bib overalls.
Ok, that's enough for today. Tomorrow I'll show you some more of "The most dreaded Project of all."
Debbie
