Four More Windows Installed
Spring time is turning to summer, as the warm ocean breeze is carried from shore to shore. The sounds of buzzing bumble bees hurrying along collecting nectar — springing from one flower to the next is a notable depiction of our current back yard landscape.
Among the mountain tall piles of lumber and materials, sprouting green grass and weeds of all varieties break through the dirt — pushing through cracks and reaching for the sunlight between pieces of wood. The once misty and foggy climate we were accustomed to has turned over its page to a new chapter. We are basking in the sun’s life-giving rays while admiring the beauty of our surroundings — giving Jesus the praise for the work that He is doing in our family’s life!
Nature is re-animated after what seemed like a long nap through one of the harshest winters our family has experienced yet on this coast. New life and energy is rekindled in this season, and we are very much anticipating new milestones to be reached on renovating our home!
During this week’s projects, I have taken the role as an observer, with my camera in hand taking quick snapshots of the work that Michiel is doing. Much of the labour, though much less physically intense, involved measuring the windows’ dimensions, installing those windows in locations where they flowed easily with the design of both the interior and exterior of the home.
There was one window in particular that had been installed and re-installed three times. The second installation occurred when I noticed the paint peeling off the window trim, the third installation happened when I noticed the window not being centred to another window sitting above it. It was noticeably awkward-looking when viewing it from the house exterior.
As Michiel scurried from one end of the room to the next, lugging wooden boards to feed through the table saw (set-up semi-permanently in our new living room), I couldn’t help but notice how quickly and carefully he worked. The carpenter pencil that seemed to always be missing when he needed it most, seemed to just disappear from the pocket of his pants without any logical explanation. A disgruntled craftsman on the job site can be a disheartening sight for a wife who comes to cheer him on the work he is diligently tackling. Thankfully, the disgruntlement was short-lived, only lasting a time-frame of losing the pencil to finding it — approximately five minutes.
In the kitchen, two openings were cut out and framed for the two large windows to be installed. Michiel made sure the windows were placed centred and directly below the two new windows installed on the second floor. We’ve learned that it’s not enough to just assume you know where something goes, even though you have a good visual of the space you’re in — and where such and such item should go. It is always a wise idea to measure the area and mark where exactly something needs to go! …That is, if you haven’t lost your pencil and spent the last five full minutes locating it.
Our youngest child was staunchly against her Papa installing her bedroom window without first summoning her to witness the task. When asked to come upstairs, she immediately rushed over, leaping up the narrow servant stairs off the end of the living room, skipping over boxes of materials sprawled across the unfinished floor, and landing right in the wall studs between her room and ours — giggling and prancing, she twirled and hopped — unable to keep still as she watches her Papa screw the large new window into the opening he had prepared.
So many changes have been made since these windows have been installed. It is a challenge to keep up with documenting all the renovation details as they unfold on a daily and weekly basis. Between installing more structural beams in our master bedroom and cleaning up the renovation mess throughout the house, planning where our light switches and wall plugs will be located in each room has been our main focus this week.
Michiel and I have intentionally walked through each room in the late evening — after supper, a few times this week playing “house”. We imagine where we would reach for the light switch as we come in the front door and as we move between rooms. The wall plugs would have to be located in practical areas where we know we can easily access them when needed, but not be in the way of furniture or cabinets.
Often times, planning and envisioning require more effort and time than the actual physical work of building the space. We would think through several scenarios of how we plan to use each room — where we can see changes be made to those rooms in the distant future; how we can make the spaces be versatile within limits of their main purpose; and how we can make each room be completely functional and comfortable for both our family and our guests.
There is a high level of excitement to be felt while building a home for our precious family, yet there is a daunting shadow that casts over us — as we wonder if we have left out an important detail or forgotten to include other details.
One thing is for sure, as we step back and take a deep breath — pondering on our now two year journey in this particular home, we are acknowledging with gratitude the tremendous work that has been poured in. It has seemed for me that our family is climbing a very tall mountain from day one. “Just keep going…we will reach the summit soon!” — is the thought that is on constant re-play in my thoughts, as we reach closer to our big goal!
Our next major step is to hire an electrician and have this portion of our home be inspected before moving forward with installing insulation and gypsum walls.
The warm days have been a blessing and a major motivator for us to keep moving forward with the renovation work. Please continue to pray for our family and for the next milestones to be met with ease and grace!
More updates to be posted soon! Keep checking in for more stories in the coming days as we trudge forward in this new season on the beautiful coast!
Good night and sweet dreams, dear friends and family!
