More construction notes

Kind of a disappointment. We love the newly formed room. BUT, and I've heard this from other folks who have knowledge of construction work, the handling of construction garbage is not even close to green. By construction garbage in a remodel, I mean the removed materials, 2"x4"s, light fixtures, flooring, etc. Also in our case, the old vanity, mirror, toilet. Since much of such stuff is still sitting beside our driveway almost a week later, I've had lots of time to look at it. I'd estimate 80% could be reused or recycled. I noticed there was no attempt to clean up and reuse paint brushes, rollers, pans, scrapers--just toss. Corrigated cardboard--filled with left over mud, paint, pieces of wire.

The contractor did say he would take the vanity, etc., to a recycler. The sink top and faucet went with the first load; the vanity itself is still here. Two trips to the recycler? Maybe everything goes to a sorting place? I did grab two almost full bags of the dry stuff that makes into wallboard mud which our painter friend said he would use.

During this project, our contractor received his green builder certification. I wonder if the construction leftovers are even part of the certification.

Construction

When one doesn't do home remodeling very often, like twice in 20+ years, one forgets. The first project was to add a four-season porch off the living room. This time, we're moving the door to the first floor powder room. Moving the door requires moving everything else in that bathroom.

One forgets the delays. The contractors have other projects to move along. I know, I know. But today we sit with no one working on the project until late this afternoon. During the porch addition, we would sit for a week with no one on the project.

One forgets the mess. Construction dust everywhere. Tools and parts and bits and pieces everywhere. A blue tarp over a heap of I don't know what in the front yard for a week.

I know this project will turn out well and I've thought about moving that door for over two decades--who wants a bathroom door opening to the living room? And I'm glad I'm not a contractor, especially a small independent one with a million details to coordinate who is also a construction worker.

Soon.

Ummm, pizza

We're meeting a friend Saturday night at the Red Savoy in St Paul. I can taste the Savoy Special--with sauerkraut--already. Best pizza ever and it was such an extra treat when this old-style windowless working class bar went smokeless.

Kitten Fix

We finally have kittens in our foster room again, after a long drought. The last two occupants of our foster room were chubby stray female cats with no spay scar. The humane society we foster for has to consider such an animal pregnant. In both these cases, they were not. So no kittens.

Of course it never rains but it pours. Someone brought in two pregnant cats and one with four 2-day old kittens. In the same week my shelter received two more pregnant cats and two pregnant dogs. We'll have a baby boom in no time!

The picture is one of the four, born March 18. The mom cat, I named her Bonnie Doone, is a little shy, loves to be combed, and an excellent mother. Three kittens look like this one, brown tabby, and I think longhairs. The only boy is a buff, probably shorthair.

Every day now they get cuter. Today at 2 weeks, eyes are open and vision is improving; ears are unfolding and hearing is improving; mobility is improving and they stagger around unsteadily. In about 2 weeks, they will be eating on their own and using the litter box.

I love being a foster mom cat.

Minnesota March

Western Minnesota doesn't have the problems that the northwest portion of the state does. But during our weekend trip to visit Alan's Dad, we found some of the 4" of rain seeping into the basement at the farm and spent a few hours rolling up carpeting and putting furniture up on 2"x4"s.

Driving back to the Cities on Monday, we saw many spontaneous lakes and rivers, adding exponentially to Minnesota's 10,000 lakes. We're experiencing what Alan calls the perfect storm of spring flooding: warmer than average temperatures, frozen ground, snow melt, rain. End result is much sandbagging in the flood plain of the Red River of the North and lots of flooded fields in the plains of western Minnesota. So odd to see ducks, geese, tundra swans bobbing around in whitecaps and corn stalks.

More smoking ban, please

We two Minnesotans attending a concert across the border tonight (wonderful Irish music and dancing) and innocently wandered into a bar for a nightcap. A wall of SMOKE hit us on the way in--we were in Wisconsin! No smoking ban and 10 people puffing away. We bolted down our drinks and escaped from Wisconsin. Thank you, Minnesota Legislature, for the Clean Air Act. And I say this as a reformed smoker.

Wally Lamb

I'm halfway through Lamb's "The Hour I First Believed" and I'm torn: I wish it would never end and I can't put it down so, damn it, it's ending. Well, it's also a library book so I have a deadline, so to speak.

This guy is a WRITER! Best book I've read in years. He weaves the story of a relationship around the Columbine school shooting. His descriptions and character development are absolutely riveting. At over 700 pages, it's daunting until you read that first paragraph. Then all you can do is hold on and keep turning those pages.