Wednesday, October 12, 2016

Of Roofs and Stairs and Horses and Shares

Photo copyright Aji, 2016; all rights reserved.

He looks so happy.

I'm happy, too. That's what the guys did today. No, not the stairs we were talking about a couple of weeks ago, which were ridiculously priced, even at the lower end. Also not the stairs that were in the blueprints, which were not merely utilitarian in the extreme, but at an unsafely steep angle. But I'm getting a little of the spiral-y effect, at a nice easy grade with big, broad steps, and done in a traditional way.

I can also now climb up to get photos of the upper-level work, which, as of yesterday, I couldn't, because my illness no longer permits me to frig around on extension ladders.

Also, what will be our bedroom:

Photo copyright Aji, 2016; all rights reserved.

What will be the guest room/office space:

Photo copyright Aji, 2016; all rights reserved.

The crew, posing on their handiwork:

Photo copyright Aji, 2016; all rights reserved.

And what today's delivery (and an absurd amount of money) looks like — the lumber and waferboard for the roof, which they will begin on Monday:


They're finishing the stairs tomorrow, and they've got a little more to do on other things. But something under half of the roofing materials cost is now behind us, and that's a big deal. On the 17th, they begin putting the roof on; the following week, they begin plastering to close it on. It'll be strange not seeing those beautiful bricks.

But there's a long way to go. On the plus side, it keeps these guys employed consistently, provided we can continue to fund it. On the not-so-plus side, it's going to be cold very soon. Normally, I welcome the first snow, but this year, I'm kind of hoping it holds off just a bit longer. We've had another couple of days of Indian Summer, warm enough to wear shorts and T-shirts until, say 3:00 in the afternoon. Then the mercury starts to drop fast.

So, of course, we need continued and consistent shares to get this out in front of the widest possible audience. Shares of the link to our YouCaring page via the widgets provided, and especially via the widget code at lower right that produces this image:


Share of Wings's Web site, to pay the bills and help keep the construction funded and the crew paid. Folks contemplating commissioning holiday gifts should also contact me now; the creative process takes time, and Wings is already well into the process for this year.

Many thanks to everyone for you help in getting us to this point. I have at least one more day of running before I can stop and catch my breath (and maybe catch up) a little bit. Tomorrow afternoon, the horse vet will be out to check Cree; now that the weather is changing and winter is around the corner, her founder is flaring badly. This was both predictable and expected; when a horse's coffin bone rotates all the way through the sole of the hoof (yes, that means what it sounds like), it's a long, laborious process to correct it. It's not always correctible, either, but we've been lucky. But she has years' worth of abscesses slowly working their way down the hoof wall, and she's now at a point again where proximity and weather are combining to make things really, really difficult for her (and for us in managing it). So, tomorrow, the vet takes a look, makes sure that this is something that will continue to improve, and then plots strategy for managing the winter months with her. After that, I may — may — be able to use the weekend to catch up a little bit.



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2016; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

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