Rafters

The first though that comes to mind with the word rafters is the rafting trip Momma Owen took for her 85th birthday. The group said that she was the eldest that had ever been in one of their boats. Today, she is in the hospital recovering from not being active enough. It is not quite that simple as there are other factors like severe arthritis of the spine which causes her great pain. God bless you Momma Owen.

For the rest of this life, the second thought that will come to mind with the word rafters is the tree through our roof. The engineering is finally done. The engineer and the general contractor arrived yesterday (Jan 23rd). The trusses will be ordered this week and arrive in two to three weeks. They will be placed in the east yard immediately so they will be available when the work starts. The work window will be defined by ten or so consecutive days with little or no rain. Once the window has been predicted and before it arrives the house will be emptied and the electrical wiring will be removed (oh yeah, we will be removed too). A crane will then remove the roof and trusses and a tarp roof will be set up. The new trusses will be placed, the roof will be added and so on.

During the three weeks when our house is unavailable, we may be living in an similar house. I am beginning the process of locating our temporary home. I will start with finding out where Judith wants to live for three weeks. "Hawaii would be good" she says. A sunny place would truly be good for Moma's recovery and as a chance for Judith to have a change. We consider caring for Momma a blessing but three years of increasing need has been a challenge and the most difficult period probably lies ahead.

When we move back, we get to unpack. I imagine that there will be many to help. And a couple of rooms will be painted that would not have been (because they have been emptied I will quickly paint them).