A day off.

Didn't get much done today and that was by design. The rebuild is going to be a long haul. In order to maintain our sanity, we need to take the occasional day off.  Besides, Mom is in town.

The one place we have always wanted to take her was Multnomah Falls and the Columbia River Gorge.

So we went.

Oh yeah, this place.

We remembered to bring Mom.

We drove down and took the scenic highway. Our first stop, well, after the produce stand... and the overlook to take that picture, was Vista House. Yeah, that little place in the picture.

Pretty

Insert random picture here.

But then it was on to the main attraction: Waterfalls.

The hike down to Latourell was still lush and green

The flow wasn't super awesome, but we kind of expected that

And we remembered to bring Mom...again.

Still beautiful though.

The low flow of water and really warm day presented us with an opportunity we hadn't seen before.

Going behind the falls

So many new photograph opportunities.

And textures

Mom decided to stay out in the sunshine.

Max, on the other hand, decided to get as close to the falls as he could.

He paid the price of getting soaked.

 Then it was down the road a piece to get to the one Mom had wanted to see for a long time.

Multnomah.

Yes, we still had Mom... And Sarah.

And the kids, it was a banner day for remembering people.

 Of course, I had to do it.

Wait for it.

Waaaaiiitttt for it...

BAM! Long exposure shot.  Feels so good.

 We finished our tour of the waterfalls and headed into Portland for a stop at Powell's Books.  What an amazing store. 

IT has about 600 Billion books, rough estimate.

And it has this...so awesome!

I dunno...Looks kinky

The Grimoire of the Mages...How cool does that sound?

By William Penn!

Holy Cow!  The book is from 1480!

This would be such a cool book to read. 

Then it was time to head back home to rescue our poor lonely puppy.  Tomorrow, back to work.

Oh yeah, and a job interview for our new potential employee.

 

We have roof!

Wohooo!

There was a ceremonial signing of the check and it was all ours.

Purty ain't she.

Of course, there still isn't a floor in the utility room.

I had to reinforce everything.

  Hey, I'm working a full-time job too.  Now if I could find someone to pay me to rebuild my own house... I don't think I'm fit for reality TV though.

And I built this thing.

Doing a little jig!

I found the idea on the internet. It helps me cut 2x4's and 2x6's nice and even without anyone there to held the boards for me. Dead simple too, just line up the marks and follow the guides.  

But it hasn't all been work.

Really Dad? Could have fooled me.

Nope, the huckleberries are in full fruit as well as the thimble berries. Life is sweet.

We had the electrician out to replace the main power panel.  Turns out melty wires aren't good. Who knew?  I suppose that's why I hired a professional.  But we are up to full power now.

I thought the heat meant it was working.

Things are progressing. I'm trying to keep the blog updated because fun and interesting things are happening. However, it is freaking busy! Oh yeah, and I'm trying to finish the edits on the Adventure Nickel book.  I think we have a cover! 

We are getting things back into shape, rescuing things where we are able and trying to bring things back to life. But we are also trying to find places to make improvements.

Like everything else though, it is unfinished.

Can you see the potential?

Where were we?

Where were we?  

Oh yeah, tansy. 

 

 

Tansy is gone... at least mostly.  We'll pull whatever else pops up.  

I got the porch resurfaced.  It isn't the prettiest, but it will do the job.  It doesn't matter because we will probably have to pull it all up anyway.  Turns out, there is some rot behind it.  I'm betting that isn't the last time I say that. 

 

Yeah, there was no flashing at all. 

 

 

Working on a neat jig nailed to the corner there, tell ya about it later.

 

Yeah, and we will be replacing all the siding too. So, it was a temporary job from the start, but it still had to be done.  Can't fall through the porch and injure ourselves. We are far too busy for that kind of nonsense.  

So, I started in on the floor in our future laundry room.  There was a leak (another one) and the floor was warped. I pulled up all the sub floor and started framing in to put some new stuff down. 

Demolition isn't as fun as it sounds all the time.

Oh yeah, and Mom is here!  She came into town to see her (hopefully) future home.  She quickly saw the same potential we saw.  I was very glad to hear that. She knows things like this and her opinion was very important to me. I hope she contributes her wisdom to many future projects too.  

Interesting Saturday night. We were showered and in our PJ's getting ready for bed. Sarah was scouring Craigslist as we both are wont to do. She was looking for a deal on a washer and dryer. She found one nearby for $200 that was no great shakes, but would work. We were going to go pick it up on Sunday. While browsing, Sarah found a new ad for a much nicer set, steel drum/no agitator, for $350. She texted them to see if it was available to pick up tomorrow. If she got these we wouldn't have to upgrade later. They said it was available, but for that night only. 

It was 10:30 pm. 

She replied we didn't have $350. She did have $200 we had taken out for the other set. They said they would let it go for $250 if we would pick it up right now. They were moving and had to be out of the house. She offered to pay cash and a $50 check. They said yes. We were on our way. 

It was an hour drive to their house. We got their around midnight, loaded up and headed home. 

On the way we saw a rocking chair along the side of the road and decided to pull over and throw it in. We got home around 1:15. 

Life is weird sometimes. I think it is important to be available to take advantage of opportunities when they arise. 

And we are looking to hire on some permanent help.  More on that as it develops.  

Lance the roofer is almost finished with the roof. It look lovely.  That is huge.  None of the other repairs matter if the roof leaks.  

 

The roof was awful and the root of most of the problems.

Just peeled up. The material was the consistency of dry crackers.

Improving by the minute.

 

Oh yeah, and termites.  We found termites at the single wide.  

Adventure = discomfort. We are having a hell of an adventure.