Behold the power of the lowly termite!
We got a lovely little surprise today while working to get the house ready for the wedding. A friend of my father’s was here working with Billy to reinforce the deck. We’re having about a hundred guests and we wanted to make sure the deck could take the weight.
Well…
They removed one little plank and the entire side of the stairs fell off. The beams are practically hollow from termite damage. The one good thing is that it’s all old damage–no sign of active termites. But now the wedding is less than a month away and there is major work to be done on the deck. This is on top of all the other mucking, swabbing, painting, scraping, drilling, cleaning, decorating etc that is still to be done…you know, the stuff that was already on the to-do lists. I guess this is just how it goes with houses, especially old houses…
While Bob and Billy worked on the deck, I spent today unpacking the last of the boxes from the move. Yep. We still had like fifteen boxes that had just been moved from room to room over the past eight months. I sorted through them all, repacked the things that were to be stored in the basement, put the rest of the stuff away and broke the boxes down. It feels good to have all the boxes dealt with, especially the ones that were in the bedroom. Not so good to have the room where you’re supposed to feel most relaxed looking so very transitional. I’m hoping to get the bedroom painted next weekend.
Gah. Why, oh why didn’t we elope?
Of course, what’s a few termites when compared with the infestation of Republicans this week? I hope this weekend’s protests and those to come make the delegates aware of just how very unwelcome they are here. NYC is at least 85% Democrat, for crying out loud! Shouldn’t they be meeting somewhere in the Bible Belt?
Protests? Excellent. Sadly, Boston had very strict protest rules, meaning I never got to see any. And I so wanted to.
Posted by: claudia
Hey honey. I just had to check out the full termite story — ah, if only the Republicans could be fixed with a lot of wood, nails and some elbow grease. Hmmm….
Anyway, also wanted to mention that I finished my tour of your FO section. I had no idea that many of the fashionable garments I’ve seen you sporting were by your own design! I’m fascinated with the socks — can you teach an old dog new knitting tricks?
Posted by: Cree Tyrone
We don’t want ’em!
Good luck with all the house work. You’ll be glad you did it when all those close to you are gathered around and you’re having a lovely time and then they leave and you have a house in great shape!
Posted by: Carrie
Hey – that’s a Cree post there, just there! He was my freshman PC. Hello Cree!!
That SUCKS about the termites! Kerstin over at http://www.crazydaisy.us was just writing about the same problem. As a soon to be house hunter in New England, I gotta say that’s a little discouraging – especially since I prefer older houses. Maybe I’ll just get myself a nice vinyl double wide and call it a day.
Posted by: melanie
Well, this is quite frightening, really. this is the 2nd post today about termites I’ve seen. (see At My Knits End) Is this a message? Or IS it just coincidence that we all think of termites in conjunction with the RNC?
Posted by: Norma
Protests? Excellent. Sadly, Boston had very strict protest rules, meaning I never got to see any. And I so wanted to.
Posted by: claudia
Hey honey. I just had to check out the full termite story — ah, if only the Republicans could be fixed with a lot of wood, nails and some elbow grease. Hmmm….
Anyway, also wanted to mention that I finished my tour of your FO section. I had no idea that many of the fashionable garments I’ve seen you sporting were by your own design! I’m fascinated with the socks — can you teach an old dog new knitting tricks?
Posted by: Cree Tyrone
We don’t want ’em!
Good luck with all the house work. You’ll be glad you did it when all those close to you are gathered around and you’re having a lovely time and then they leave and you have a house in great shape!
Posted by: Carrie
Hey – that’s a Cree post there, just there! He was my freshman PC. Hello Cree!!
That SUCKS about the termites! Kerstin over at http://www.crazydaisy.us was just writing about the same problem. As a soon to be house hunter in New England, I gotta say that’s a little discouraging – especially since I prefer older houses. Maybe I’ll just get myself a nice vinyl double wide and call it a day.
Posted by: melanie
Well, this is quite frightening, really. this is the 2nd post today about termites I’ve seen. (see At My Knits End) Is this a message? Or IS it just coincidence that we all think of termites in conjunction with the RNC?
Posted by: Norma
We didn’t invent the Republicans~don’t send them down here. We’re all in this together….
Posted by: avril
Good grief. Another friend of mine just told me that they have the same problem. (Termites, not Republicans.)
Maybe instead of bag of rice, you can give wedding guests a handful of nails and a hammer? Let ’em put in a little work before they get the free cake.
Posted by: David
Well as for meeting in the bible belt, honey it’s boring there and the hookers are not so plentiful…I don’t know why NYC? Sorry about the horrible hassle.
Just get all your convention coverage from Jon Stewart and you’ll make it through…
Posted by: Silvia
OMG. Termites? Just before the wedding? SO glad you found them in time…I do NOT want to read a *deck collapses at reception* post.
(Shaking of head)
I can’t help but giggle (I am in DESPERATE need of a giggle right now…) as I scrolled down and saw that we have…
The Same Computer. With a post it note in the same place. This just Made me Happy. I’m easy to amuse these days….
Posted by: greta
Think of it this way: if the Republicant’s were meeting in the Bible Belt, it would only be a love-fest. This way, we actually get a better chance to SHOW them how we really feel. All of us!
Posted by: Jon
I kinda thought the RNC chose NYC b/c of wanting to associate W with Ground Zero.
Sorry about your bugs. Old houses never are ‘finished’ – they always need something. Remember that the house is not the reason your friends and family are visitng your home. They want to share your special day and the setting is just gravy. With luck you’ll have additional stories to share for years to come!
Enjoy!
Posted by: pattie
i think the republicians wanted to try to use 9/11 … i think if they thought they could get away w/ it, they would have had the convention this week instead..
Posted by: martina
We didn’t invent the Republicans~don’t send them down here. We’re all in this together….
Posted by: avril
Good grief. Another friend of mine just told me that they have the same problem. (Termites, not Republicans.)
Maybe instead of bag of rice, you can give wedding guests a handful of nails and a hammer? Let ’em put in a little work before they get the free cake.
Posted by: David
Well as for meeting in the bible belt, honey it’s boring there and the hookers are not so plentiful…I don’t know why NYC? Sorry about the horrible hassle.
Just get all your convention coverage from Jon Stewart and you’ll make it through…
Posted by: Silvia
OMG. Termites? Just before the wedding? SO glad you found them in time…I do NOT want to read a *deck collapses at reception* post.
(Shaking of head)
I can’t help but giggle (I am in DESPERATE need of a giggle right now…) as I scrolled down and saw that we have…
The Same Computer. With a post it note in the same place. This just Made me Happy. I’m easy to amuse these days….
Posted by: greta
Think of it this way: if the Republicant’s were meeting in the Bible Belt, it would only be a love-fest. This way, we actually get a better chance to SHOW them how we really feel. All of us!
Posted by: Jon
I kinda thought the RNC chose NYC b/c of wanting to associate W with Ground Zero.
Sorry about your bugs. Old houses never are ‘finished’ – they always need something. Remember that the house is not the reason your friends and family are visitng your home. They want to share your special day and the setting is just gravy. With luck you’ll have additional stories to share for years to come!
Enjoy!
Posted by: pattie
i think the republicians wanted to try to use 9/11 … i think if they thought they could get away w/ it, they would have had the convention this week instead..
Posted by: martina