Well it’s been about a month since my last entry. I haven’t written much because I have been busy shoveling snow and digging out my snow boots which I had shoved into the farthest reaches of the closet. Oh yes, spring has arrived in New Hampshire, and with it, cold temps and a fair bit of snow. It is not snowing right now, on May 1st. That would be ludicrous (but not unheard of, and frankly, not that surprising). But we have gotten more snow in April than I care to remember. Here is a picture from April 12th:
Yeah, that snow is still hanging around in shady patches and on the north side of the house, which will henceforth and forevermore be referred to as Far Siberia. This hopefully will help to illustrate how spring in New Hampshire is like a box of Happy-O’s. Happy-O’s are our grocery store’s generic equivalent to Cheerios. They are in a similar box. They are round, and made of oats. They have a hole in the middle. And, they cost a fair bit less than Cheerios. It is easy to get fooled by the oh-so-persuasive Happy-O’s. Heck, how different can they be? They look the same. Similar ingredients. They are even next to each other on the shelf. Why not buy them, and save a few bucks? So you do.
The following morning, your error in judgment strikes you squarely in the palate. The Happy-O’s instantly become a soggy beige mass of fibery gunk that looks as if it would do an admirable job patching holes in plaster. And the taste is…off. It is just not right. In short, there is little to be happy about with your big box of Happy-O’s. I scatter a few on the ground outside and even the birds are smart enough to not eat them. They approach, cock their heads quizzically, and then I swear they shoot me a dirty look before flying off.
So the lesson here is not to get fooled by the calendar. Trusting in early spring to be warm and sunny is like trusting generic Cheerios to provide a fulfilling breakfast. It’s just not going to happen.
Aside from bitching about the weather, and fighting off a never-ending cold, we have managed to make some progress on the hillside. We are basically at the point where most of the tasks are being done to get ready for plumbing and wiring. That means building interior partition walls, adding some insulation here and there, and cleaning out our wreck of a basement. The insulation has proved to be interesting. We decided to continue our efforts to go as green as we can, so we purchased some recycled cotton insulation. It costs much more than the regular fiberglass stuff you usually use, but it is completely safe to handle, and there are zero harmful chemicals. It is mostly made from recycled denim scraps from blue jean production. The insulation is primarily being put around doors and windows. We will also insulate the walls of the bathrooms, for sound-deadening purposes, since some things should really remain private, if you catch my drift.
The interior walls were another challenge, the main one being deciding on a final design and sticking with it. The two small bedrooms were pretty straightforward, but when we got to the master bedroom and bathroom, and closets and pantries, it was like a G7 summit. There was bargaining, give and take, compromise, stonewalling, bluffing, capitulating and good ol’ wheelin’ and dealin’. When all was said and done, we came up with some good solutions to some tricky problems, and I think we are both satisfied that the layout meets all of our needs gracefully. Once things were decided, I could go ahead and construct the walls, which are now done for the most part. Upstairs is a warren of studs and headers, but if you know what to look for, you can really see the space defined. It is pretty cool to have finally made it this far.
Next is plumbing and electrical. This week I will be getting together with our electrician to map out our strategy. The plumber has already been through once to tell us what needs doing before we are ready for him. Luckily, it was not much, the biggest task being to actually buy our tub, shower, toilets and faucets. Then he can get started, and the hillside will be that much closer to completion.
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