Cold temps, warm hearts

Happy Chilly New Year!

The temperature this afternoon is 7, with a windchill of -14. If you've been wondering about how construction can continue during the brutality we call an Iowa winter, join the club. We were worried that progress would grind to a halt, but thankfully, that hasn't happened.

On Wednesday, Nelson and Joel were here most of the day working on the wood brackets that will support the copper roof on the driveway bumpout. We called Cathee with a question about the roof shape, and she zoomed over for a quick consultation, which was fantastic.

Yesterday, while Doyle and I were off having his gallbladder removed (he's recovering nicely, thanks) Joel was here working all day despite the frigid temperatures.

Before he left, Joel set up two heaters in the driveway bumpout to help cure the concrete on some fill-in brick he had laid. Unfortunately, the circuit breaker tripped and the heaters didn't heat. Thankfully, the concrete is fine, but a lack of insulation in a different part of the same bumpout caused the dishwasher connection to freeze up.

When Doyle thawed it out this morning, some mysterious but necessary dishwasher part broke and we had a small flood in the kitchen. After we turned off the water to the dishwasher and mopped up the water, we sent Nelson an e-mail. We didn't know if he'd be checking e-mails instead of watching New Year's Day bowl games, but thought it was worth a try.

Nelson called us within 30 minutes, and made it here an hour and a half later. He checked out the situation, put in more insulation, apologized for the problem, and said he would pay for the dishwasher repair. We couldn't have felt any more taken care of. As soon as I knew he was coming, I baked some chocolate chip cookies to send home with him.

It's a fact of any construction project, especially for an older house: There will always be problems and surprises. But it warms our hearts on this frosty start to 2010 to know that Nelson is looking out for us, even on a holiday.

Here's to 2010, the continued adventure that is kitchen remodeling, and the family, friends and workers who are helping us along the way. Happy New Year!