Michael's parents, Ted & Donna, very graciously spent their weekend with us, beginning on Friday afternoon and lasting until nearly 10p.m. on Sunday. Ted and Michael were hard at work buying materials, measuring, nailing, lifting (and even a little bleeding) to get the shed built. Donna and I tried to keep them hydrated and fed at regular intervals.
Our friend John helped out on Saturday and Sunday, lending an extra pair of hands and getting to experience an authentic "shed raising," which I like to think is not too unlike the barn raisings of the past, when neighbors would all pitch in to get a barn built in a day or two. And now, if he feels a hankering for a shed of his own, he knows exactly what to do to get it!
The guys were up early on Saturday (like 6a.m early), as they wanted to get as much done as possible before leaving for the wedding reception later that day. I had a couple of appointments in the morning, so I ended up meeting Michael and his parents downtown at the venue where the reception was being held. The weather couldn't have been nicer. And to tell the truth, it was the first really nice day we've had this summer. It felt so good to walk outside without my coat, to feel the sun warm my head and shoulders, and to see other Portlanders out enjoying the sun in tank tops, sundresses and shorts. It was like everything, including us, was reborn, and it was heaven to put on our sandals, get outside and remember what the sun feels like.
The reception was held down by the waterfront at a cute little wine bistro called "Thirst." When I entered the restaurant, I was serenaded by the sounds of keyboard and saxophone by two musicians stationed near one of the entrances. I soon found Donna and her cousin Jan who is one of the mothers of the two brides, Bobbi and Kelsey. Bobbi had been to our wedding back in 2004, and we'd seen her at various family gatherings over the last 10 years since Michael and I have been together, but neither of us had yet met her now-wife. We were only able to chat a bit, as seems to be the case at most wedding receptions I've attended, but she seems like a sweet girl, and the two of them look very, very happy together.
We were served a very lovely luncheon of salmon or steak, a excellent rice pilaf dish, potatoes, caesar salad and whatever the bar had that we wanted to drink--I was delighted with my glass of sparkling water (Perrier), and in fact downed a couple of bottles of it during our time there.
After lunch there was a heartfelt toast given by Kelsey's cousin, wishing the two brides happiness in their new life together, and then we were invited to sample one or many of the cupcakes provided by a local "cupcakery", St. Cupcake. They were bite-size bits of heaven, truly heaven, and I could have eaten a whole lot of them. My favorite was the red velvet cake, although the vanilla cupcake was also divine. And how could they go wrong with cheesecake frosting? Mmmm, the best.
It was after the cupcakes that the guys excused themselves to head back home where the beginnings of the shed were patiently waiting to be assembled. Donna and I lounged at a sidewalk table outside the restaurant for at least another hour, enjoying the sun and the slight breeze coming off the river.
Finally we said our goodbyes and headed back to the house where it seemed to be much, much warmer. The men were parched and Michael was already sunburned. I slathered his neck, face and forearms with sunscreen, and sent him back out where he was happy as a clam working alongside his dad and John. I'm sure it was a nice change of pace for him to use his hands for something other than clicking a mouse and using a keyboard as he does for 50+ hours a week at work.
The shed progressed quite rapidly . . . Donna and I tried to remember to run to the backyard every so often to take pictures of the latest stage of development. I was most nervous when it came time for the roofing, as I was worried someone would slip and fall. I was right to be wary of an accident, but I did not guess that it would be the nail gun to fall off of the ladder, instead of one of the men.
Ted was the unlucky one who was in the path of the falling nail gun, or rather, his right thumb was--it got him good, tearing a chunk of flesh loose and cracking part of the thumbnail. Michael, John and I were standing nearby when it happened, and what scared us most was that we knew something had happened since we heard the nail gun fall, but we didn't know what. That and Ted's response to our questions about him being okay--a quiet "no." One of the man's heroes is John Wayne, and he is just as tough, so hearing him say that he was not okay made us all very worried. Luckily, it was "just" his thumb (and not his head, as Michael feared, or his leg / foot, as I feared), so in that respect, things turned out well.
He let me put one Band-Aid on his thumb, then asked Michael to bring him some painter's tape so he could tape the rest of it up and keep working. I pointed out that one corner of the wound was still visible in the middle of the bandage, and told him we should put something over it so he didn't get dirt in there. He smiled and replied, "Dirt will just stop the bleeding." Tough as nails, that man.
The guys were outside until after nightfall, and finished up everything but part of the roofing and the door. Michael said he could do those last bits on his own later in the week. They came inside for a dinner of homemade chicken soup, courtesy of Donna, and then both of his parents headed off back home to The Dalles. We tried to get them to stay with us one more night, but they were planning to leave for a week's stay in Welches, and wanted to get home so they could finish getting ready and leave early the following day.
Michael and I were both so grateful for their help; it was a job that Michael couldn't have completed half as well without his dad there to guide and oversee the operations. And his mom kept me company and even weeded a good deal of our yard for us. We are lucky to have them.
 |
2 comments:
The shed looks great! And that must be the brilliant lilac bush you mentioned in one of your notes -- beautiful (and cute picture!)!
Thanks! I need to post more pictures now that the door is on it and the roof is finished. All that is left is trim and paint!
It's hard to tell what the flowers are because the picture is so small. It's actually our clematis vine. I love the deep purple shade of the flowers. So lovely.
Post a Comment