The calm before the storm

The house is silent except for the breakfast-zone mini-fridge, humming away in the dining room.

Will is off somewhere, Doyle and Anna are shopping, and Ringo is snoozing.

But come Monday, things will change.

The sheetrockers will come back to sand and finish the drywall, which looks amazing so far. Meanwhile, the furnace people will remove the old furnace and put in the new one, change the giant flue to a somewhat smaller one, and swap out the hideous roof vent for something more tasteful.

We can switch to a smaller flue and vent because they will only be used for the water heater. We had considered getting a new direct-vent water heater in order to lose both the closet and roof vents entirely, but the price ($1700!) seemed awfully high. For that much cash, we can live with smaller vents.

The front step is nearly finished, except for some cleaning and a new concrete pad. We'll have that put in when Nelson & co. do the concrete back step.

Although, come to think of it, doing them at the same time would mean we couldn't use either our front or back entrances while the concrete is drying. Trapped!

If you see smoke signals coming out of the new vent, it means we need you to throw some provisions through an open window. Check this space for requests.