Sam and the Screwdriver

Yesterday (Saturday) was a very disappointing day.  We started the day with the intention of finally getting the bathroom ceiling fan/ heater up so that Rick could connect it to the wires he so patiently threaded through the attic and wall.  He cut the opening for the fan, lifted it up, and discovered that putting a fan in the master bathroom was Mission Impossible.  (Where is Tom Cruise when you need him?)

We learned that with the fan in place, we had a maze of ceiling joists and rafters in the way.  We finally were able to finagle the fan into position, but we discovered that it still would not work because there was no way the exhaust vent could be connected to the fan or travel out to the soffits without major cutting of supporting structures. Since this is the corner of the house that already has its integrity compromised due to the block walls being cut for the medicine cabinet (and probably the shower plumbing), we were not about to tempt Fate any further.

So the ceiling fan came down, the gapping hole in the ceiling was patched with a giant square of drywall, and the fan went back into the box. Rick spent the rest of the morning adding 1/4" drywall to the ceiling for a smooth surface on which to apply a fresh coat of paint.

Another repair job was building a frame to hold drywall across the hole left by the medicine cabinet.  We stuffed the hole with batt insulation to try to keep the structure insulated, and then Rick filled that hole with another giant square of drywall.  At Home Depot yesterday, we bought a heavy-duty scraper to scrape off the most protruding "bumps" of rough plaster on that wall.  Hopefully, then, Rick will be able to apply a thin coat of drywall mud in order to make that a smooth wall to match the rest of the room.

Our house is in such disarray that we keep misplacing things.  Three days ago I used a special electrician's screwdriver to take off the faceplates in the bedroom before we painted the walls.  When I went to put them back on, I could not locate the screwdriver.  We looked everywhere... in the places it was supposed to be, in the places it might be, and even in the places it was highly unlikely to be.  No go.  No screwdriver.  Our standing joke since that time is that whenever we cannot find a tool, it must be with the missing screwdriver.  That leads me to the pants...

We got up this morning with full intentions of going to church.  We found a really nice WELS church in Clearwater, so I showered and laid out my "church clothes" with the intention of getting ready.  Then Rick came in the bedroom and said, "Where are my good pants? I know I packed them."

We looked everywhere-- in the closet, on the hangers under the good shirts, in the now-confirmed empty garment bags, and even in the suitcases packed away up in the closet.  No pants.

"They must be with the screwdriver," I said.  I did not want to go to church without him, so we both changed into paint clothes and got to work.

New outlets for the bathroom with Rick showing his prowess
in the background. Bet you didn't know that wild turkeys
can be found in Florida!

While I was in the garage painting the pocket door casing and frame, Rick said, "Your friend is back."  Yep, there he was, standing on the front walk up to the house, looking for breakfast: Sam the wood stork.  I quickly shut the garage door since I really did not need help with the painting, and then I came into the house.  While Rick was working again in the bathroom taping joints in the new drywall, I looked out the front bedroom windows.  Sam was still in the yard, pecking at bugs in the grass.

Suddenly, he reached way down in the grass and pulled up something bright yellow, and I watched in horror as he tilted his head back and tried to position in his 8 inch long beak the entire structure of my missing electrician's screwdriver!

"Ack!" I screamed.  "Sam's trying to eat my missing screwdriver!"

When I said that, Rick jumped off the ladder in the bathroom to run to the front door.  Simultaneously, Sam seemed to have discovered that a screwdriver was not listed in Audubon's book as a part of a wood stork's diet. He dropped the screwdriver and took a few steps away from it as Rick went running out of the front door, telling Sam to "Shoo!" As I took the bird-saliva-ridden screwdriver into the house for a washing, Rick mused, "Did you see if he had my pants?"

Renovation "decor" in the Florida Room.

The pants are still MIA, but we found enough to keep us busy the rest of the day.  We now have a painted pocket door for the master bath, painted casing to surround it, and 96 feet of newly painted baseboard that will have to have a second coat tomorrow.

No medicine cabinet, a new ceiling, and
scraped walls waiting for a new coat of
plaster and paint.

I also took the scraper we bought yesterday and attacked the bathroom walls.  Hopefully Rick will be able to add edging where the new and old walls meet as we continue to add drywall mud in layer after layer.  (Did I mention that stock in Home Depot and Lowe's would be a good idea?)

Another accomplishment this very humid afternoon was the completion of the dryer vent.  I now have a fully-functioning dryer that does NOT exhaust hot, humid air into the garage.  Yes! The vent is now located on the north wall of the house, connected to the dryer by a long run of aluminum to carry the air away.  No longer will we have to trip over the dryer vent pipe as we leave the kitchen, and having the hot air out of the house is an added bonus.

Each day we work hard and accomplish part or all of another task.  We can see the progress with each task that we do, but we also see all that needs to be completed yet.  Someday I hope that we can come down, actually enjoy some of our hobbies, ride our bikes, and putter around in the garden, transforming that into something beautiful that we can enjoy.  Who knows?  We may even be able to someday sit outside and watch Sam as he walks across the yard...wearing Rick's missing pants.