All-in-all it's just another hole in the wall

I woke Saturday morning around 815am. I half expected to have a hangover or at a minimum, a headache but thankfully woke with neither. I felt really good. Mindy asked me to stay in bed but I couldn’t. Once I’m up I’ve got to get moving. I started coffee and then my exercise routine. Soon Ykraps and I were out the door. Weather-wise, it wasn’t half the day it turned out being Friday. It was cloudy, cool, and wet. It rained extra hard overnight. In fact, I recall hearing rain pounding against the windows as if in sheets. The forecast called for clouds and temps in the mid 50’s with only a moderate risk of more rain. Mindy still wasn’t 100% and wasn’t sure if she’d be upping for yoga or not. I left her sleep. I dressed and left for a run around 930am. I ran four miles for the second day in a row. No problems. I called Lindsey after returning home from my run. Mindy & I agreed that we’d pick her and the boys up around 3pm. I communicated as much to Lindsey. Soon the Buckeye game was underway. We were playing a grossly unmatched opponent, New Mexico State, but even then we weren’t able to establish much consistency offensively. I lost interest in the game and allowed my mind to wander. What was bugging me most was the long overdue water seepage repair on the left side of the fireplace. It’s been leaking for well over ten years and probably longer. I had M/I Homes out but to no avail. I ended up caulking the joint where the stucco meets the brick chimney eliminating most of the seepage but by then the damage was already done. I’ve been putting off cutting into the wall to measure the extent of the damage for years. Today was that day. I got out my razor knife and carpenter’s square. I started only about 18” high on the wall and about 12” out from the brick fireplace. The bad news was that I needed to remove the drywall even higher. I cut up another 18”. Between the last stud and the brick was a 3” gap filled, of course, with fiberglass insulation. It was minimally damp, but wet just the same. I kept going higher. I finally made a cut at about the 6’ mark – about on par with the chimney’s exterior transition upwards. It felt dry up there, but I could feel old wood rot from about 5’ down, most of which was dry now, meaning that my caulking years ago stopped most of it. The good news was that there was no mold or anything like that, just water damaged wood. Unfortunately, the water damaged the studs, sill plate, subflooring, joists, and wood trim in the immediate area. Meaning a quality repair will take some work. Years ago, after caulking, I purposefully planted English Ivy along the chimney thinking that would deflect any direct water contact along the brick/stucco seam. However, after seeing that some water is still finding its way in, I knew immediately that I’d have to remove it to find the newest entry point. That would have to wait until Sunday. Mindy seemed shocked when she came down after her shower and saw the hole I cut into the wall. I was covered in drywall dust and insulation. I asked if she would mind fetching Lindsey & the boys. She agreed to after putting the finishing touches on her hairdo. Mindy was back home with the boys and Lindsey around 330pm. Lindsey wanted to do some internet research for school. It was difficult getting the boys to leave her alone but they finally did. We love having the boys over but they require so much interaction and effort. It’s exhausting to say the least. We were planning to attend brother Bobby’s Halloween party sometime between 5-6pm. While everyone else got in their costumes, I went for a much needed shower. I had been torn as to whether or not to wear a costume but decided to do it. When I came down from upstairs Chrissy was over with the girls. They were headed to a family Halloween party too. She and Kenny were going as the two main characters from Grease. Her hairdo was fitting. Jimaken brought Bella home so that she could join us at the party. Jacob didn’t want to go. I got into my old-man mask, Carharts, and cowboy hat. Mindy went as the good witch again. We left for Bobby’s party soon after I walked Ykraps. On the way, we stopped at Ashley’s to pick-up Olivia. Olivia’s costume was as cute as Landon’s. He was an elephant and Olivia a giraffe. Rocky was spiderman and Bella a pirate. We arrived at Bobby’s close to 6pm. Don’t think we’ve seen he or his family since his brief summer gathering when Glenn was home – mid-July. Bobby’s definitely dumped some cash on Halloween decorations. He must’ve had six or seven full-sized animated characters along with countless other Halloween props, and that didn’t include what he had outside in the backyard. The little ones were terrified of the animated ghouls. Don’t think we’d seen Dodie, Randy & kids since last Halloween – Penn State/OSU party. They showed up, and so did Connie. Don’t believe we’ve seen her in nearly two years - Xmas party 2007. There was conversation about Shawn and the suspected break-in at Margie’s place. Lots of circumstantial evidence but nothing damning, at least yet. The food was exceptional. Like the décor, all the food had a Halloween theme or spin. I enjoyed one of the beers I brought but no more. Mindy & I tentatively planned a date after taking all the kids home. We learned that Adam and Hillary are split up. Their two-year old daughter Hailey kept referring to the headless bride as mommy. Very funny! Mindy and I both acknowledged being tired. I suggested that we simply keep Bella for the night in lieu of driving her to Jimaken’s. Mindy agreed. Bella seemed excited about it. We left Bobby’s shortly after 8pm. We dropped Olivia first then the two boys. We were home by 8:40pm. And after all of us got into our PJ’s, we plopped on the sofa to watch the Oregon/USC game. When we joined, it was 3-0 USC, but that didn’t last. Oregon put a whippin’ on ‘em. And for my money, they’re the best team I’ve seen all year, Oregon that is. It wasn’t even close after the second quarter. We all headed to bed soon after the game.