We awoke to our first snow this morning. We usually rejoice in this yearly event. Today, we wish it had waited just 24 more hours. It did not. Instead, we have had flurries all day, and a hard rain came at sunset.

Even so, we got all the metal up, but for the corner. We need one more burst of warm weather, and some double-sided butyl tape, to put up the corner piece.

We began the siding project with putting up new soffit on October 4. Michael’s father used Lauan, a very thin plywood, for his soffit. Because it was so thin, he didn’t put in any vents, as the Lauan wasn’t strong enough to support them. This worked as long as no one lived in the house in winter. Lack of vents means cold air can’t circulate in the attic above the insulation. A warm roof melts snow, but the eaves are colder, causing ice damming. This backs water up the shingles and into the house. Never a good situation. We covered the Lauan with half inch plywood and added vents. The house breathed a sigh of relief. The sturdier plywood should also prevent warping and gaps, reducing the number of places for insects to come inside.

The next step after the soffit was putting up J channel along the top of the walls and around windows. The bottom trim also went up at this time.

It took us half a day to find a template to cut the roof slope. I had one last year, but the various moves of storage items made my old one disappear. Luckily, Michael found a piece of scrap from the tractor shed project from about 7 years ago. It worked. Hooray for being pack rats!

Installing the outside electrical box took another half a day. Part of the problem was finding all the parts we purchased a month ago…and then lost in the general mayhem that is our lives. I look forward to having a space that is construction free. Someday.

All the photos are of Michael working. That just means he was too busy to take photos of me up a ladder. Note there really are two ladders here. We would both climb up to install the pieces above windows. For the ones that went around windows, I’d be up top to make sure the metal went inside the J channel and Michael did the lifting from the bottom. Then I’d hold things in place while he hammered nails. I have a series of bruises on my legs and arms from ladder rungs.

Having this project take ten days seems really slow. But we take off Saturdays to be with our children and the Grands.

We take time to marvel at apples and lilacs blooming in early October, and a cob growing where a tassel should have been.

We take time to make good things to eat from the bounty of our gardens. The last photo is pumpkin juice. I make Petra a pumpkin spice cake, which required removing water from the baked pumpkin. I couldn’t bear to toss the water, it smelled so wonderful. Michael agreed that it was fit to drink…straight!

We take time to marvel at the special light of this time of year.

We take time to celebrate all these gifts we have been given and marvel at all the life around us. Family. Friends. Strangers just waiting to become friends. I am tired to my bones and happy to no end.