Happy New Year!!!

The motto for 2012 around here is:  no new demolition until we finish something! We have learned that it takes much less time to destroy things than to put them back...

T is busy rebuilding the walls of the office.  It looks like two of the original windows have been removed and filled in with scraps.  He has the outer wall insulated and is working on the back wall which a carpenter's nightmare and requires a lot of new framing.  We are going to insulate the back wall as well (originally it was the end of the house).  The room beyond it was an old porch and has very little insulation and is always cold.  We usually shut that room off in the winter, but right now it has no door.

Fantastic new years discoveries:

1. While ripping out the back wall framing, T managed to put a hole in the baseboard pipe.  So now we have to empty a drip pan every day. He tried clamping it, but it still leaks.  In fact I think his fix made it leak more.  It looks like he may need to shut down the furnace and drain the lines to repair it.  What a great time of year for no heat...
   
   [caption id="attachment_598" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Leaking Pipe"][/caption]


2. During a particularly heavy sideways driving rain storm we discovered that we have a leak.  Because the back wall is torn apart we could see the rain dripping down the inside of the wall.  This means yet another delay as he has to fix the flashing where the old porch (aka playroom) attaches to the main house.  There is no end to the fun.


3. We ripped out all the old wiring and many, many junction boxes buried in the ceiling and walls, not to mention a live wire that disappeared into the dining room ceiling and didn't go to anything.  So while the new wiring is roughed in and inspected we have to wait until the wall board is up to connect it.  Basically we now have no power in that room.  Not sure when we will be back on the grid (see #1 and #2)...and yes Virginia, this is affecting progress on the bathroom.
   
   [caption id="attachment_601" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="The current state of the bathroom"][/caption]

Here are some quotes for you...

T:  "So, what do you want for Christmas this year?"

Me:  "A floor in the bathroom"

T:  "No...really."

I did not get one.

Me: "I need to take down the Christmas tree soon."

R: "If you leave it up the mice won't chew it."

After getting pulled over for speeding...and finding out my license had expired (another reason I hate January birthdays - don't worry he did let me go straight to the registry to get it renewed):

R:  "Mom, can we go slow this time?"

Jack bought Rory a Christmas present this year with his own money.  Rory was dying to know what it was, but Jack would not tell him anything because he wanted it to be a surprise.  Rory was trying to wheedle some clues out of him and finally came up with this:

R: This isn't a question about the present.

J: Okay.

R: Where did you buy the present?

J: ???!!!