Notes from Maine - 2024/08/25
I got up at 3:50am in order to get Mom to the airport this morning. She called while I was driving home—security was busy, but she made it through and was waiting at her gate. They ended up leaving at 5:54am (six minutes early—when does that happen?) and I was back home by then. Albert (German Shepherd) and I went out back to find Earl (Shire horse) in “Dumb Jail.”
Dumb Jail is when a horse wriggles under the electric fence and gets himself trapped between the tape fence at the gate out back. Earl had trapped himself in a tight space with just enough room to turn around, grab some weeds that have grown up on the other side of the gate, and chew on them as he looked dumb. Maybelle (his horse wife) was off grazing pasture, like a normal horse would.
As soon as I broke Earl out of Dumb Jail, he ran back to Maybelle who greeted him with an angry flick of her tail. She used to get upset when Earl would trap himself somewhere. Now she just walks away and ignores him until I set him free. I’ve never seen a horse roll their eyes, but I bet Maybelle does it on a daily basis. Later this morning they will go in the barn to nap during the hottest, buggiest part of the day.
I have roofers showing up in a couple of hours. They started the project last Friday and I think they’ll be done by tomorrow. It’s a tight crew of seven and they work fast. Each day they tear off only what they can replace before they’re done for the day, and they clean up fastidiously before they leave. Bent at the waist, all of them picked through the grass behind the garage to pick up nails for ten minutes the other day. The nails holding the old roof were aluminum, so the big magnet is of no use. The new roof is on the back part of my house. It’s being replaced because of the tree that fell on the roof in April. It’s the same company and same brand of metal roof that I had installed 16 years ago on the front part of the house. It matches perfectly. I guess the old one didn’t fade at all.
I’m sick of house projects and dealing with deadlines and change, but there’s still a bunch more to do. Kitchen cabinets continue. I have to trim out and re-hang the doors. I’m starting to believe that the counters won’t get installed by November. That was my unofficial goal, but I have to add at least a month to the estimate that the counter people gave me, and they said, “Probably October.” If the counters are installed this year, I will be surprised.
At least the roof will be done soon. I can roll into winter without worrying about leaks. If another tree falls, my sanity will be out the window. To that end, I have a tree company coming to look at the dead limbs of the maple near the driveway. Another contractor to deal with. I’m not cut out for this. I solemnly swear that if I make it through all these stupid projects I will not start a new one for at least six months. My aunt is coming tomorrow—that will be fun. It has been a couple of years since her last visit. I’m excited to catch up with her.
I’m leaving in a few minutes to get donuts for the roofing crew. I don’t know what etiquette requires, but I thought it would be nice for them to have a treat since they’re working all weekend. So far, we’ve gotten away with great weather for the project. There hasn’t been a single drop of rain, and the temperatures weren’t bad at all. As I say that, I’m checking the weather to see how much I just jinxed myself. Fifty-percent chance tomorrow. Fingers crossed.
