Living in a Construction Site

There are much worse things than having a water pipe burst in the house. But that's been enough to disrupt things for this household.

We've been in the rebuilding stage for a while here. And, since my desk and computer are in the north room, just off the kitchen, I have a sort of front-row seat.

As I wrote in another blog, earlier today:

"It's quiet at the moment, but pretty soon this area will be suffused with the rhythms of a staple gun, the shrill sonority of a rotary saw, anon hammerings and scrapings.

"Tranquil it ain't."
(Apathetic Lemming of the North (October 8, 2010))

I took some photos on Wednesday, while the floor was mostly taken apart in three (or four, depending on how you count them) rooms:


Tearing the floors up uncovered a few things that needed fixing. (October 6, 2010)

I'm not going to say that having an indoor water feature in the house was a good thing - but taking up flooring, and what the flooring was sitting on, showed a few spots that needed attention - and made it possible to get the fixing done.


Here's the floor at the foot of the stairs going from the ground to the second floor: or, rather, the floor joists and old subfloor. (October 6, 2010)

If you look closely, the gaps between the old subfloor planks aren't very dark. There's a reason for that. You're looking straight down into the basement, where a light's on.


I'm going to miss being able to see into the basement from the first floor. But not much. (October 6, 2010)

There's smooth flooring in the rooms that needed work now, for the first time in - quite a while. There's going to be a finished surface that goes over that - but I'm glad not to be walking on rough planks and the occasional screw or nail any more.

Just to keep things interesting: as of - early today, I think it was - the refrigerator is in the north room, behind me and to my left as I sit at the desk. It's plugged in, so our food supply is okay. The stove? It's somewhere else. And not plugged in.

I'm going to be glad when the various repair/reconstruction jobs are over.

For the season.

There's quite a lot of work that needs to be done on the east wall of the house - but happily that can wait until spring.

One more thing: My wife and #3 daughter have been off with the Soo Bahk Do class, down in the Twin Cities (Minneapolis-St. Paul to non-Minnesotans). Some sort of test. I expect them back in an hour or so.

Knee Surgery and the Fast Father-in-Law

Fast at recovering, that is. Compared to me, anyway.

My father-in-law abandoned his walker, and has driven around town, as of a day or so ago.

Not bad: at this point, I was working at getting out of bed by myself. Of course, we're comparing hips and knees, but I'm impressed.

Father-in-Law is on His Feet and Outside

Good news from the other side of Main, here in Sauk Centre. My father-in-law's recovery from double knee replacement is moving along.

And so is he.

I heard that he took a walk with a friend today, in the alley behind his place. Good news!

The recovery process brought a contingent from part of the extended family up to Sauk Centre. It's been a good chance for my wife and the kids to be with kinfolk.

I got asked how he was doing at Mass this evening, and realized that I hadn't updated this "Through One Dad's Eye." I still don't know whether he's still using a walker.

Chiggers, the Sequel

To date, my son seems to be chigger-free.

In all the excitement of this week, and last, I'd neglected to get back to the tale of the lake, the boy, and the tiny pests.

Meanwhile, my father-in-law's recovery from double knee replacement is proceeding. He's got a contingent from another part of the family looking after him 24/7, and representatives from my family over during the day, minding the store. And, of course, visiting with kinfolk.

Cousins, Convalescence, and Transitions

Over in Glenwood, about 20 miles west of here, it got up to 98. I'm glad to have stayed inside today. Except for grilling lunch. For that, I've been known to go out when a thunderstorm is coming.

My father-in-law's recovery brought a contingent of cousins up to Sauk Centre. The bulk of them will be leaving in a few days, but one will stay here to help. (The "cousins" here are actually a subset of my nieces and nephews, but since they socialize mostly with our kids, this family calls them "cousins".)

I'll say it now, if I haven't already: I married into a great family. There's enough expertise and manpower among my wife's six siblings and their progeny to handle most situations. And, at least as important, the willingness to help. ('Manpower?' I know - but people power? person power? hesheitpower? forget it.)

Folks coming and going, thinking about Independence Day, and a task or three, kept me away from this blog for the last few days.

Meanwhile, over in the Red River Valley, my father is making preparations to move into an assisted living center in town. He and my mother moved to her childhood home when he retired. Now, decades later, she has long since required a nursing home's care. I'm proud of my father's good sense and practicality, and the care he's taking to help prepare the family for the generational transitions that will come.

Extended Family: Great to Have Around

My father-in-law is still recovering from his double-header knee replacement surgery. My wife called his home earlier this morning for a progress report.

There's a contingent from another part of the extended family staying there, and one of them reported how he slept, and how his recovery is going. He's still outdoing me, in terms of speedy recovery.

I understand that a therapist is with him now. My wife and at least some of the kids will go over, later this morning most likely. Between the two family units that are close enough, and have kids the right age, my father-in-law and his shop are taken care of 24/7.

It gets a little quiet around here when most of the folks are elsewhere, but that makes it easier to concentrate on my work.