TRANSITIONS
The photos at right show the eastern
classroom as Rolland remodeled it. For four decades this was
Mary and Rolland's home. In 2001 we began to sort their
countless possessions--both useless and precious.
EXPOSING THE ORIGINAL WALLS IN THE EASTERN
CLASSROOM
REMOVING THE UPSTAIRS BEDROOM
CHORES
At left: Rolland had insulated the upstairs
bedroom with wood shavings. Above the eastern classroom: We
added bead insulation to the old rockwool and then covered all
with a blanket of fiberglass.
In 2002 visual improvement became evident.
At right: Some of the windows have been restored, and Dan sands
the maple floor. Soon conditions will be hospitable enough for
us to move in.
STUFF
We rented a truck and moved in spring 2003,
piano and all.
It would be more than a year later
before we would take the last of many loads to the auction
house. Most of the items were things Mary had collected. We
held onto an abundance of family heirlooms.
Shortly after we moved in, the dryer
stopped, the furnace broke, and a root closed up the tile
taking waste to the septic tank. Undaunted, we hung our laundry
inside, called the furnace repair guy, and dug up the septic
line. For a couple days, we pooed directly into the tank.
The windward side needed tuckpointing more
than the others, so Dan spent eight weeks replacing the mortar
in all the joints between the stones in this one wall.
We had the chimney lined with a poured
concrete liner. The workers had to build a bridge from their
scaffolding to the peak so as not to crush any of our brittle,
cementitious shingles.
Joy knocked loose the blocks from Rolland's
garage. Later Dan tried to jackhammer the garage's foundation,
but it proved too massive. (See landscaping webpage for how we
dealt with this.)
The Firebird garage, as we called it,
was more easily disassembled.
Our industrial neighbor, Payne & Dolan,
made a few changes in 2003, too. When installing
detention/retention ponds, they discovered contaminated soil
due to a former asphalt plant's leakage on the site. (See
landscaping webpage for updates on our landscaping in and
around the ponds.)
In 2003 our highway was also renovated,
giving us the opportunity to drop boxelder and mulberry trees
on the closed roadway.
