I told Mr. FixIt yesterday that it felt like we’ve been running at breakneck speed since spring. And, I suppose in many ways, we have. It’s been an incredibly busy year and we have accomplished so much. Getting the roof over the family room finished was our biggest goal before we shift gears into winter and we are so relieved to have that part behind us.

This has to be one of the most stressful weeks we’ve ever had since we’ve been married…short of the two small strokes Mr. FixIt had in the spring of 2020. Everyone worked so hard and we are so grateful and so proud of them. I honestly did so much stuff yesterday, I can hardly remember it all…it became a blur after a while.

We had a heavy frost on yesterday morning so it was a bit of a late start. Which is ok from the labor standpoint. Everyone is working so hard…especially Mr. FixIt Jr. I know he is a chip off the old block because his dad is a really hard worker and has been all his life. His body is just pretty beaten up and his balance is off since the strokes. He just can’t get on a roof anymore. But that didn’t keep him from working hard in every other way from the ground.

The cedar trees are gone!

We got a fairly early start yesterday. The very first thing on the agenda was scrambled eggs and toast. We’ve been eating a good breakfast every day and I think it’s helping me keep from noshing during the day. And, I’m sleeping better. I may have lost some weight, but I haven’t stepped on a scale in quite some time, so I’m not quite sure on that.

We had all the tools set up and ready for the “crew” when they got here. By “crew” I mean my stepson. After classes were over, his youngest and her boyfriend came out to help. Other than that…it was us. You will be happy to know, we did NOT get up on the roof, nor did we climb the ladder any higher than two rungs to hand something up to them. Mr. FixIt Jr. go almost all the shingles scraped off. Mr. FixIt Sr. and I picked up all those shingles off the tarp and threw them in the back of the truck. We’ll take that load to the dump this morning. The young ones will go with us to help empty the truck.

Hopefully today is the day the fellas get started on the roof. I’m not the one in charge of that particular chore, so I don’t know all the ins and outs. My job is to keep them fed and have bandaids ready…just in case. Mr. FixIt and I have totally different ways of approaching jobs that need to be done. He puts a whole lot of time and effort into the thinking about how we’re going to do it. Not me. I decide to do something and by golly you better get out of my way because I’m starting it…NOW.

I usually go with the flow fairly easily. After all…change is my middle name. However, on occasion…under the right set of circumstances, a quick change of plans can throw me for a loop and that occasion came yesterday.

We are preparing for the roofing to begin tomorrow. There are several things that have to be put into place before that can happen. We have the shingles and the plywood. The flashing and the ridge vents. We still need the underlayment and we need to rent the shingles elevator so no one has to carry the shingles up the ladder to the roof. What we needed yesterday was a nail gun and the roofing nails for it. 

Truth be told…I suffer a little from FOMO….Fear of Missing Out. That’s what drives me to check my social media too many times a day. That’s what keeps me tuned in to what’s going on so I don’t miss anything. FOMO is an extension of the dreaded C-word…Control. If I can see what’s happening, I can rehearse a hundred ways to respond. I can plan out conversations in my head so I’m not caught flat footed. If you find yourself doing that too, you could be sitting somewhere on the autism spectrum, like me.

Ugh! The thing I hate talking about the most is money. I was never good with money. Well, let me rephrase that. I was never good at SAVING money. I was most excellent at SPENDING it…especially when it wasn’t me that was working my butt off to make it. Hard to admit, but there it is. I used shopping as a self-soothing medication that got way out of hand on numerous occasions. When I think of how much money I’d have now if I hadn’t done that… *sigh*

When Mr. FixIt and I were first dating and I lived out on the farm, I was complaining about the little flashlight I had. It just wasn’t very bright and I couldn’t see very far with it. When you live alone out in the country, you darned well better be able to see more than a few yards in front of you. But the bigger spotlights are so heavy with all those batteries. Then there’s the fact that more powerful lights use more energy so you go through batteries and they aren’t cheap.