We Have Logs!

The tree people came today! They had given us the rather vague window of “in a few weeks,” so we were thrilled when they pulled up with their big cherry picker truck and giant mulching machine. The big maple at the corner of our garage had to go because its roots have been breaking and cracking the concrete blocks of the garage. The other tree on our hit list was the even bigger, but mostly rotten, maple at the front corner of the house. The excellent Dan had already cut most of the branches off that tree because they were on the roof or tangled in the power lines, and the half of the tree that wasn’t growing into the lines was dead and decaying. To round things off, we decided to have some of the lower growing or dangling branches cut off the oaks in the back, both to let in some sunlight so that someday we might have grass back there, and to avoid having giant branches falling on our heads as we stroll the grounds. It took the guys about twice as long as they expected, but the job is done, and, we have enough logs to keep the town warm all winter (unfortunately, the logs are scattered artistically around the yard, rather than being neatly stacked, but that is a job for another day).

Our original fix-it guy, Wayne, was scheduled to start work on the front porch yesterday, but that project is off to a slow start. Wayne has guys who work for him, and heavy equipment, so we are going to have him doing some jobs and keep the excellent Dan doing others (priming kitchen cabinets and cutting pine trees along our future fence-line, today!). Anyway, Wayne showed up yesterday morning to say that he wouldn’t be able to get the concrete for the porch until Monday, at the earliest, and he wasn’t going to start breaking up the slate and concrete on top of the porch until Friday because it was supposed to rain hard Thursday night. We saw him later in the day in Tony’s yard, bulldozing some dirt and moving railroad ties. It wasn’t until after he left that we happened to notice that he had tidied up Tony’s yard by moving the dirt and ties into the back corner of our yard. Grrr! When he called this morning to say that he wouldn’t be coming because his truck’s transmission had died, and that maybe we were bad luck, it was just as well that Ed had answered the phone. I would have been tempted to suggest that it was divine retribution. Ed did mention the addition to our landscape, and Wayne assured him that the ties would burn in our future bonfire. What do you suppose are the chances that he will show on Monday?

In case anyone is not tired of helping us redecorate, I thought I would ask for opinions on our kitchen and bathroom flooring options! The “new” vinyl flooring in the kitchen was of such poor quality and so badly installed (as in, flopped on the floor and not glued) that it has already ripped in many places. I thought we might put in ceramic tile, but Ed pointed out that this might not hold up well in a house that seems to shift a bit, and the floors are not at all flat. Pretty laminate floorings are not in the budget, so that leaves us with some sort of vinyl. Lowes did not have an impressive selection of rolled vinyl, but some of the squares of vinyl, the sort with peel-off sticky backs, are attractive enough. Ed, however, thinks that our best choice would be the kind of thick industrial (?) tiles where the color goes all the way through and you glue them down. He put them in the pizza place he once had, and was apparently very impressed with their durability. The durability, actually, is my biggest issue with them. They are ugly, bringing to mind a cafeteria or Walmart bathroom floor, and I know they would last forever! I wouldn’t mind humoring my darling on a flooring choice that we would be replacing in ten years, but I am a little more reluctant when it is likely to survive me. For your viewing pleasure, I have taken a picture of the three samples we are currently considering. The attractive one is the stick-on flooring, and it is currently third in the running (Ed might not admit that it is in the running at all). The other two choices are 1) white with splotches of dark taupe, and 2) tan with splotches of dark taupe. The kids like the white better, but the darker color might hide dirt better (we will also be putting it in the area just inside the back door). Either one would be okay with the colors in the kitchen (not great, not inspiring, but okay). Anyone with horror stories about this type of flooring, please feel free to tell us (Ed!) about them!