The Good, The Great and the Very, Very Ugly

I took yet another Friday off and the extended weekend produced a mixed bag of results.

 

The good: My neck and shoulder have healed. (Crosses fingers.) On Friday, we got the second side of the patio roof enclosed.

On Saturday, Lawrence got the drainage work completed, including attaching all the drip edge, so we’re ready for shingles.*

 

The great: I finished the brickwork!!! (Waits for vault of Heaven to open and cherubic interlude to the Hallelujah Chorus to begin.) We also managed to get half of the special project done. We only got half of it done because it took twice as long as anticipated. sigh. Stay tuned for details on that in its own post.

 

*The very, very ugly: Something is amiss with the shingles. I discovered this late yesterday, only after the mother kept nagging me about it. One half of the shingles are the color of our existing roof, as they should be. The other half? A weird mishmash of varying colors. Why? So far, no one can tell me. The solution? Hell if I know.

 

The end result of my one step forward, three steps back weekend put me in sort of a funk. Add to that Mother Nature's latest handiwork. We're being plunged into the deepfreeze as I type this. It was over 60 degrees today (and a day I had anticipated that Lawrence could shingle the patio roof) but tomorrow the high will be 38. Yes, 38. WTF, Mother Nature? Et tu?

 

Let's say that and a small family drama haven't done much to improve my somber and sullen state. On the bright side ...

 

This cold snap is only supposed to last through Thursday. By Friday and through the weekend were back over 50 degrees. And, I am taking yet another Friday off. (This is what happens when you take two vacation days all summer and maybe only three or four others the rest of the year before that! You scramble to get all of it in before the end of the year.) With the holidays upon us -- another thing that is irritating the crap out of me, the endless countdown of days 'til Christmas -- I'm going to get mighty spoiled by all these three- and four-day weeks. I think I deserve it though.

 

Besides, it's not like I'm sitting around eating bon-bons. I've been working my *ss off. As a result, I am the tired, grumpy and frustrated individual writing this post. I promise I will return soon in an improved frame of mind and will update with photos as soon as the weather relents.