Why Have I Written Before?

Time for a little Firesign Theatre nonsense (with a little ad libbing and forgotten lines - help, Geoff).

Dear Dr. Whiplash
Why have I written before? Cause I still suffering froma sama complaint? What should I do?

Still
Hideo Gump

I can't believe where my energy has gone since the move from Niagara St. Although I am well and lovingly ensconced at the Rodger's home near Ruth's Ridge, I am living out of boxes, without a Mac hook-up to the internet and exhausted almost beyond belief. I am typically in bed well before 9 p.m. and find it almost impossible to rouse myself before 7 a.m.

As I mentioned to DND yesterday, it seems that the Gold Ring seems further out of reach the closer we get to it, and closer we are.

This is Davis' last week. As of a week ago Monday, his contract with the Pembina Valley Humane Society is confirmed and he will commence with that project with the ground-breaking ceremony on Saturday. Ruth & I wish him all the best with this new and challenging project.

What has moved forward since last I blogged? Today Don Morrison of Manitoba Hydro came by and inspected the electrical rough-in (not entirely completed). With the exception of having to increase the size of a number of receptacle boxes, he was sufficiently pleased with Nathan's & my work to sign-off. Tomorrow, Deryl Brook, one of the inspectors with the South Interlake Planning District will be by to check the dozen small fixes on the structure and framing. That means we can start installing the insulation, vapour barrier and drywall that arrived yesterday.

Yesterday was fraught with a little frustration as the drywall delivery truck rolled off my new driveway and required almost 2 hours of our combined efforts to get him on the road again. That was followed by my wrenching my left ankle as Delaeno & I wrestled 2 sheets of drywall into the basement. Happily the ankle swelling was down by half this morning and caused little discomfort. Very lucky.

Today, we also got our well and pressure system hooked up. The plumbing rough-in is approved, as is the heating & ventilation rough-in. Wiring rough-in should be completed by Monday. Thanks, Nathan. (And a happy birthday to you this Friday.)

What else? The siding is out in the back of the house awaiting installation, likely in spring. Soffit and fascia should be installed by Friday. All the interior stairs are in, and Deryl says they are beautiful compared with most prefabs he sees. Thanks, Delaeno.

My life experience has narrowed dramatically in the past couple of weeks. Haven't attended church but once since the beginning of September and, hence, have desperately missed singing and the people in the choir... and Muriel Conner and Ray Turner and Rev. Jim Draper and Jeanne and so many others. Haven't seen Winnipeg friends like Geoff & Barb or Allan & Audrey, haven't seen much at all of the five children. This house increasingly continues to absorb all my time and thought.

I have to keep reminding myself that this is the major project I wanted and that I am truly home already - despite not having a bed, wife or animals, family & friends there with me.

That said, I can't begin to describe the breathtaking and soul-stirring sights I've experienced driving to and from the Ridge over the past couple of weeks. The sun rising through frozen, whisper-thin layers of cloud. A scrawny oak growing out of clump of field boulders haloed in glowing mist. A crescent moon, all bleeding against a deep blue evening sky. The dying golden fields ablaze in fused morning light.

Must simply push on.

Love to all.

Where Have all the Flowers Gone?

Long time passing, as with so many other things. Ruth & I are now homeless, although not without warm friends and beds to give us solace.

The move from Niagara Street occurred on October 13th and 14th, when Lee & Brendan of Rolly's Transfer swept in and away with our worldly possessions. Happily, and most thankfully, Davis asked me at about 9:15 a.m. on the 13th whether we had considered using a semi-trailer to store our stuff until the house was done. Truth was, I had and had also dismissed the idea because we thought at the time that we'd be further along on the house build by now. Also, there was the issue of miserliness. Then he mentioned the added difficulty of drywall dust coating everything. Well, I rushed off to Jim & Johanna's and, within three hours, a trailer was parked on Ruth's Ridge awaiting the arrival of our stuff.

As that day and the next passed, I was repeatedly grateful for Davis' suggestion as Nathan & I began the task of wiring the garage and workshop. The congestion would have absolutely driven me to distraction, not a trip I seem to need any help with these days.

I can't believe what Ruth and daughter, Jill, accomplished in preparing for the move and cleaning up thereafter. The new owners called last night to express their gratitude for the effort that went into preparing the house for their arrival. When I arrived at Niagara St. on the evening of the 14th, Ruth was nearly delirious from exhaustion and lack of food, but she persisted that she was nearly done cleaning. She'd swept and washed sidewalks and garages, touched up paint, etc., etc. Jill had vacuumed and dusted and cleaned and washed windows, etc.

There was a moment's concern when, upon arriving at the McPhadens' to drop off some of Ruth's stuff, I saw that she'd sent over the Gucci boots I've never seen her wear. She has since, however, made a couple of visits to Ruth's Ridge and I am comforted that she intends to bring her boots with her when she rejoins me.

I, on the other hand, have been brought into the proverbial bosom of Abraham.... I am now a most happy and contented resident of The Olde Tree Farm, otherwise known as Chez Argyle, the home of Jim & Johanna Rodger. The food and wine are wonderful and liberal (uh, sorry, socially democratic) and the hospitality and friendship even better. Rebus & I have happy hour with J&J, enjoy a completely home-cooked country meal, head to bed, rise to a country breakfast, head 6.5 miles to Ruth's Ridge. It's as close to being home as one might wish. I'm even allowed conjugal visits from Ruth on weekends. Will blunders never cease, I hope.

On the Ridge front, we've accomplished a lot since last I posted, I think. What did I last report? The mind is addled at this time of night.

The basement floor has been poured, the driveway is complete, the septic tank has a pump, the stairs from basement to loft are complete, the structural framing necessities are all but complete, the soffit & fascia should be commenced this week (a little late), the DWV plumbing is done and awaiting inspection, we're well along with rough-in wiring and hope to be near complete this week. The heating & ventilation folks should be in this week to being installation, the water system will be installed shortly, the siding will be delivered mid-week, and I finally have pictures of Ruth on Ruth's Ridge - as well as her new pooch, Sadie, the white earth-bound comet.

Unfortunately, I'll have to figure out how to upload photos to Picasa from a PC so that I can populate this blog with images. Another learning curve, another day.

Anyway, the really stressful issue - the move - is now behind us and the weather has decided to cooperate with warmer temperatures for this week. Must head to bed in order to be at the site by 8 a.m. on the morrow.

Sleep well, Ruth (and all).

Love

Gord, the Excited but Weary

Okay, Now it gets Interesting

It's October 10th, a day after Ruth's birthday and the day she returns from a well-deserved getaway with daughter, Allison, and granddaughter, Kate.

It's also the morning of first big snow for Ruth's Ridge and much of southern Manitoba. The garage roof at Niagara is blanketed in about 4" of the white stuff. What a mess. The temperatures are accordingly cool at a couple of degrees below freezing.

And Tuesday is move day.

And, with freezing temperatures now hitting the Lake of the Woods, we'll need to take a day to get up to the cottage to winterize it after an entire season of not having made use of it. One wonders how there will be enough hours to accomplish even the absolutely necessary.

As of yesterday afternoon, we have lock-up on the house, except that soffit and fascia need to be installed next week to effectively close up the house. Then, build stairs, get the electrical rough-in done, pray for a satisfactory inspection of the framing, plumbing rough-in and electrical (when Manitoba Hydro ends its first-ever strike), install insulation , vapour barrier and drywall.

And Davis is getting anxious to get started on a contract he was just awarded after months of maybe's.

Yep, it's time to stop blogging and get packing.

More sometime soon.

Long Time No Blog

It's been a week of rejigging, general contracting duties, seeing Ruth off on a much-needed vacation, trying to dam the leaks in the project management schema. Add to that, I sent my point & shoot camera with Ruth, so I didn't take any pictures until today.

When last I blogged, we had installed 19 or the 20 windows and had much of the roofing done. As of yesterday, we have the windows done, the roofing done, 70% of the doors done, the basement ready for concrete, the plumbing almost complete, and the electrical just barely started.

I've been able to secure the best possible option for our drywall finishing... in the person of a longtime and not-often-enough-seen friend, David Ives. David is a British-trained plasterer who has done work for us in the past and, beyond being a prince of a fellow, is a superb craftsman. More good karma is headed for Ruth's Ridge.

That said, winter is heading our way. Ruth and I spoke on Wednesday night after they arrived in Wyoming on their way to Brian Head, Utah. They drove through lots of snow from Belle Fourche, SD to their destination that night. Here on the asteroid, we've already had one night of frost, with bone-chilling winds and cloud during the days. Among my multi-various medical complaints is one recently identified as pernio. Bluntly put, I am biologically allergic to cold. Anything below +8° C causes infarcts on my fingers and toes. These, in turn, cause the skin to split and create such nerve damage that even the slightest touch is excruciating. So far, gloves have both protected me from its onset and have provided a great excuse for my non-productivity this past week. Unfortunately, excuses will not get the house done any sooner and, given that the plumbing and electrical must be done and approved before we can apply vapour barrier and insulation, I can't afford any excuses or delays. I'll have to find some way of soldiering on.

Speaking of soldiering, we have a new canine in the family. The mnenonic connection is her adoptive name of Sadie. Ruth obviously missed Judee much more than she'd imagined, as she began poring over online listings and fielding many offers from her fellow-pooch loving friends. Long story short, she inquired about a four year-old Maltese/Bichon cross and, two weeks ago tomorrow, she answered the door to a woman carrying a kennel with said dog. She (Ruth) was apparently an answer to prayer, the woman having reverse-searched our address from the name and having driven 80 miles into Winnipeg. After five or six days of abject confusion, Sadie seems to have adopted us. Unfortunately, having identified Ruth as her alpha, alpha left for Utah. I, the non-alpha, became the principle caregiver. As such, Sadie joined the daily pilgrimage to Ruth's Ridge. Yesterday and today, after a couple of days of orientation, I unleashed the hound and, in the process, discovered that Sadie is really a white comet. She screams over the terrain, white hair flapping violently in the vortex she creates. Hers is, literally, a boundless exultation in joy of movement. I need to learn from her, although my limping, muscle-strained dance of housebuilding is an attempt to express that same joie de vivre.

So, today (Saturday) I did my best to be onsite by 9 a.m. As I pulled in around 9:12, I found Rick & Julie Fast's car already there. They are friends from All Saints' Anglican, who were first friends from our abortive attempts at ballroom dancing. While they and Ruth glided, I bombed.

Anyway, Rick & Julie love building projects, having for the past number of years worked together on their dream cottage north of Gimli. They and I share an employment history in corporate communications: Rick as Director of Communications for MCC Canada, and Julie as owner of a graphic design business. Based on a conversation with Julie at church, Rick opted not to work on their cottage today, and offered to help me get started with the electrical wiring phase of Ruth's Ridge instead.

To add historical meat to the mix, Jim Rodger had been an admirer of Rick's first professional work as a communicator when he was editor of the Stonewall Argus. Jim & Johanna showed up with Freya, their pooch, and a loaf of Zuccini bread in the early afternoon. Between mouthfuls of baked goods they got reacquainted. A six-some for dinner on Ruth's Ridge is to follow sometime after 11/15.

Last night, I arrived at Home Depot around 9 p.m. Happily, I found Gord (not the Gord in plumbing) working in the electrical section. Within 45 minutes, he helped me source and spend $3,000 on wiring bits & pieces. Today, after a leisurely introduction to my past 11 weeks' work, Rick & I began installing same around 10 a.m. By 4 p.m. we had installed the boxes in the workshop and garage... slowly having found our rhythm, as Rick put it.

I've had personal experience with the trinity of Gord. Most evenings when I walk into Home Depot Polo Park, I enjoy communion with Gord in electrical or Gord in plumbing. Both are about my age and know alot more about their respective areas of expertise than I do so, when I buy with their help, I become enlightened by their knowledge. What a deal. And fun. And educational. And relational. What this project was meant to be.

Time for some sleep and another kick at the Ridge tomorrow. (Unfortunately, both Ruth and I will miss participating in an All Saints' evensong featuring Bach's "Jesu, meine Freude." The prices we pay.