It's a Mann's World (Let's Make a Home): Holy (SWEAR WORD)

I've been wanting to write a blog post for the better part of the week and now it's the beginning of a new week and I can barely keep my eyes open to type. But I NEED to get it OUT! I started this particular draft almost a week ago, after we had learned we better get a move on the outside of the house to help the whole refinance plan come together. After not quite a week, the front is pretty much done, except for some final painting and the actual front door to be hung--both of which we'll be doing tomorrow (if I don't collapse). And even though the rehearsal process for me has been fairly light this week, pretty much every free moment of daylight has been spent getting this house ready for its insurance photo shoot. And after tomorrow, another light rehearsal day, shit get craaaaazy. As they say.

So, let's go back in time a few days when the painting had yet to begin, and the smell of cedar was still fondly on my mind and in my nose.

I'm not sure if there is a smell more satisfying and nostalgic for me than cedar siding, though onions cooking in butter gives it a run for the money. My mother used to give me these cedar eggs to put in my top dresser drawer as a way to keep moths away and also to give off a nice fragrance. When they were brand new, the smell was so strong and amazing. I mean, hey, nothing else smells quite like cedar. As the weeks went by, the smell would begin to disappear. Sometimes I would take a piece of sandpaper and sand the egg to release more fragrance. So every time I smell cedar I think of my mother and my underwear drawer (you guys, that's totally not gross).

Now our entire house is in the process of being covered in cedar.

Cedar is one of the most expensive wood sidings you can get. It's known for being water resistant and durable as well as containing no knots, which can cause all sorts of problems when the wood is so thin, so...there aren't any. Siding must be measured constantly so it fits around windows and doors and in between those things and the edge of the house. But once you get everything cut, it goes up very quickly. RJ and I put up the entire 1st floor front siding in only a few hours over two days.

This is additionally satisfying for two reasons. One is that this job is something I can actually do. I like to leave the cutting up to RJ, as it can be very precise and he's had tons more experience with it. I don't want to shave something too short and waste anything. But I can put it up. I can even use a dang nail gun! (Yeah, you heard me.) Two: Putting up siding makes the house look...real and finished. The inside still has a long way to go, though the electric is being roughed in upstairs thanks to a friend of RJ who used to work as an electrician.

The paperwork is proceeding for the refinance, which is incredibly exciting and if this keeps up, things will be getting DONE! Take THAT, Mr. Appraiser!

But wait...what's this?! I'm rehearsing a musical?! Luckily I have not been called much in the last couple of days, so I've had time for house shenanigans, but I won't soon...have time. And for the first time since buying this house a little over a year ago, this makes me sad. I think of this house all the time. The possibilities, the progress.

And oh...progress it did. Siding, then caulk to fill in the tiny gaps between the siding and windows/doorframe/side of house. Caulk comes out of another type of gun and is tedious and messy until you do it for hours and then finally you aren't SO embarrassed about your lack of skills (yesiamtalkingaboutme). Then on to primer, and finally...paint.

As the siding went up, we tested some color. We'd originally wanted red, but then RJ thought that because the roof is green, it would look too Christmasy. So we thought maybe a dark grey with a colorful door. But we just couldn't get that RED out of our minds! So we did a patch test. Our particular red goes on very pink, but dries much darker, almost like a barn red, which is what we wanted. Even with the green roof, which actually has some browns and reds in it too, it looks really great and exciting. I've been attempting to take photos every evening when we finish and most of them I've posted on Facebook. But I'll post them again here.

On Saturday I came back to the house in between rehearsals and RJ had decided to do what RJ sometimes decides to do and put some "flourish" on the house. I may have found a man that is only .000001% gay, but that gay comes out in his wood flourish (yes, I know that sounds dirty--you are WELCOME). I just wish the gay would come out more stereotypically, like folding the laundry or doing the dishes. BUT I DIGRESS.

Now that the front is almost finished, work on the two other sides can begin and should take a heck of a lot less time because of fewer windows and doors and therefore less siding to custom cut. Jesus, it's a lot, but damn is it satisfying. When you stand back at the end of each day and look at what YOU made, it's damn good.

Damn good.