Renovating

This winter was a rough one at my grandparent’s place. The pipes froze and the roof leaked… Dad had issues of his own without water and then the transmission on his truck went out. I was amazed that there was never the sound of defeat when I’d call home. He managed, and as always, taught me a lesson about life – sometimes it’s enough to just get by.  And wouldn’t you know, summer came and life’s been good.

Of course, at some point you’ve got to tackle the projects. Our family pulled together a couple of weekends ago to do just that.

Bill and Uncle Glenn spent a couple of days tearing down the old “Tom Sawyer” room. This room was a fun little nook added to my grandparent’s place when it was a cabin and belonged to my Great Grandpa Holombo. Apparently, the roof started  leaking and instead of fixing it he decided to build a bed room.  It wasn’t a big space – there was no entry from inside… just a staircase off the deck, and eventually a vent from the utility room to warm it up a bit when my cousin Mark stayed there one winter.

Apparently Grandpa Holombo liked to use nails, which added to the extra fun of the demolition process.  Here’s a picture of the guys hard at work on a hot day!

Of course, tearing it all down was just the beginning. That weekend Dad, Jesse, Matt, Mark, and Uncle Rick joined Bill and Uncle Glenn to build a new roof.

You can see the structure in the back, though I haven’t taken a picture of the final project… there are still shingles to put on

.

And so, our front yard has been transformed into some piles of demolition matter. Dad’s truck finally came back this week (!!), and a couple of the loads have been removed since this picture.

I couldn’t help but feel fortunate for a couple of reasons… a) I am not construction savy, therefore my only job was to make some pizzas and peanut butter twists. 🙂 b) My family continues to pull together and make things work.

Thanks, everyone, for all of your hard work!