10/12 Pitch

I may not be afraid of heights, but I sure like to keep my feet on solid ground. This realization was instilled in my brain quite quickly with my first roofing job. Maybe a 10/12 pitch isn't the steepest roof around, but I'm not sure it really matters when you're standing on any angled surface thirty or forty feet off the ground!
My first day on the new job consisted of nailing tongue and groove to 32" spread log rafters. After putting tongue and groove on as high as we could reach, I got to learn what a "toe board" is (a long 2x4, nailed to the roof so your toes have something to catch to slow you down just before you fall down and go boom). Lesson for day 1: Tool belts are handy, especially when the surface you're standing on is too steep to set anything on. Also, roofing kills your ankles, toes, and back.
Day two began with a big fork lift with an extendable boom, dropping trusses down from above, with 3 of us standing on 4" wide walls, trying to stay balanced while the wind rocked these huge trusses back and forth. The rest of the day was carrying 4x8' sheets of OSB from the stack on the fork lift, onto the roof, over to the next roof, where I kept doing a face plant because the roof was so steep I couldn't get any traction. But at least I had a tool belt. Lessons for day 2: (1)good balance does come in handy, (2)always check your cutting depth on your saw before you cut, so you don't cut through 4 sheets of OSB all at the same time (oops!), and (3)"new guy" will be blamed for everything that goes wrong.
Day three was insulating, driving 8" screws, more sheeting, and more picking on "new guy," also known as "Richard," who "new guy" replaced because "Richard" was making mistakes all the time (as was "new guy," hence the new name of "Richard"). Day 3 lesson: "Richard" still gets blamed for everything.
Finally, day four. More sheeting, more insulation, and rolling out "paper" (waterproof barrier). What did "Richard" learn? (1) don't cut a sheet of OSB and lay it down on the roof unless it's going to be nailed to the rafters immediately. Or else someone, like maybe your boss, will come along and fall through the roof, cuss you out, and make you go clean up all the trash around the house. (2) If you want to get off the steep roof because you need to stand on solid ground for a while, cut a sheet of plywood and lay it down on the roof, but don't nail it. Then, maybe someone like your boss will step on it, fall through, cuss you out, and make you get off the roof to go clean up trash. Works every time.

Really, the week wasn't all that bad, but I did make a few mistakes and learn some good lessons along the way. Don't worry, my boss is okay, and I don't think he's going to fire me anytime soon. For now, it's Friday, I have a 3 day weekend, and I won't be back on a roof until Monday.

job update

Well, I didn't get the job at at Wells Fargo. No problem, that just means I have more time to find something I really want to do...not just the first thing that presents itself...although it was kind of nice to think one of us would have work so soon. So, as we both look at the next weeks to maybe months of unemployment, we are planning on making the most of it. This week (we were going to start today, but I'm a little sick) we are going to try to get out every day and do some hiking, or just something outdoors. This will hopefully keep us from overwhelming boredom. If this was summertime, there would inevitibly be more to do, but then again, we probably would have both had work right away if this was summer...hmmmm. However, we are not completely without leads on jobs. Nathan will hopefully have his Independent Contractor's License in another week, which will open the door for him to advertise his new business. There is also a couple at church who sounded interested in hiring him for some landscaping (namely, building a rock wall, which you can do in the snow.) For me, I have thought for a long time that I would love to be an accompianist for a school choir. When I found out that our piano player at church also plays for the high school choir, I thought I would ask her if she needed help, or if she knew of any way for me to do something like that in the future. She said she would put the word out, and that it actually might work out for me to jump in for the junior high choir because the present accompianist isn't very reliable. If this opportunity works out, I would be so excited! Also, she encouraged me to consider being a piano teacher as there are only two in the area and they are both teaching as many as they can take. That, my friends, is an intimidating thought, but a definite possibility. I also hope to find a way to sell some pictures here in town.

Work is on the way

Shelly was supposed to hear from Wells Fargo today about the teller job opportunity. Unfortunately, they didn't call yet. We should find out the status on the job tomorrow, given that they have made a decision one way or another. As for me, I have spent so much time trying to work out all of the necessary details in starting a business and applying for an independent contractor's license that very little time has been left for finding work. Fortunately, Adam made a call to a friend today, who offered us some work to do tomorrow...very similar to Summit-type work, actually! Instead of crawling under a little cabin, I'll be in a crawl space digging a hole for a pump and a french drain. It's a good thing I'm used to tight spaces now, I guess. Any kind of work is a blessing from the Lord!
Friday will be reserved for coyote hunting and searching for shed deer antlers. We have seen a few bucks in the area with only one antler, so we are confident they have started dropping their antlers. It will be fun to begin building up another pile of sheds so I can try my hand at making some functional items out of them! We'll give word when we find out about Shelly's potential job.