Making Progress

Today I pulled the circuit for the upstairs stove, which requires a four-conductor, six-gauge cable. The cable is about half an inch in diameter and does not like to be pulled around corners without a lot of coaxing. But I did it all by myself. In fact, except for some wire feeding from Tom and a lot of telephone help from Andy (with some behind-the-scenes input from Dad as well), I have nearly wired this house by myself. I say nearly because I am not quite finished yet and there might be one or two things I decide to call on professional help for.

This is the first house that Karen and I have designed completely on our own. It is not exactly what we wanted, but it is a very workable design that meets our needs and our budget. And we really did it together, through many iterations. You should see how many different designs are still sitting on Karen's laptop. I'm very proud of what finally came out.

Time is running short if we want to leave for California on our preferred schedule. Now that the rough electrical work is almost done, we have to line up siding, decking, and insulation labor and get the drywall up in short order. Then the plumbing and electrical have to be finished, the power hooked up (water is already hooked up; it just needs electricity), and a bit of paint and flooring put in. And then we have to move, although we are only moving about 150 feet. All this in about five weeks? Possible? I don't know. All we can do is try.

Meanwhile, summer goes on. William starts swimming lessons next week, and the boys change to a three-day schedule. Thomas will go back to work as soon as he lands a job (lots of applications out), only this time he won't be leaving or cutting back hours to go to school at the end of the summer. I won't be appearing at the Village Players for the summer show, which is not unusual; That Darn Plot was my only summer show. But I will be sitting in the audience, and that's as it should be.

The boys will be down at the beach most days, especially if the weather starts treating us better, but this will be the last summer that we have our beach. Sad, in a way, but we'll still have access to the pond next summer, and a much more affordable house.

And the summer ends with lots of adventure for everyone. There will be big changes for the whole family. I think we're all a little scared, and I think we're all very excited.

And I think it's great that you will be able to read about it here.