Miser family update: old house, new house, fish house, stair house

Life continues to be rich and full in the Miser Family household.  It's the week of house-related things, for sure. 

First of all, we've done the walk-through inspection of the new house and asked the owner to do a few safety fixes, and that's all been agreed; the other repairs the inspector suggested went into a giant list that my favorite construction guys have agreed to tackle in early August, right after we move our stuff in and I head out of town for math meetings.  It's going to be an exciting time!

Three drills: one for the regular holes, one for counter-sinking,
and one for screwing in in the screws.  What a great set-up!

Second of all, we are now under agreement on our current home, with a family who has four very active kids all set to move in just as soon as we move out.  So packing begins in earnest, even though the move date is still a bit more than 2 months away. 

N-son, off at school for building maintenance, is involved in a different kind of house:  he told me with great excitement that he made fish houses with his class.  I'm not sure whether a fish house is (a) a restaurant, or (b) something Minnesotans take out on the ice, or (c) something you stick in an aquarium, or what.  But he's happy -- and with any luck the fish are, too.  On the other hand, his phone burned out and stopped working.  So my husband drove out to see N-son today and help him get a new phone set up. 

Not a fish house.  My daughter's porch stairs, upside down.

Old stairs upside down near us;
new stairs under construction at the porch.

Speaking of my husband, he's closer and closer to being back to normal.  His flexibility is now beyond target (instead of merely flexing 0-120, he can flex 0-125).  He's on the bike, and he's back at yoga, and traveling to and from Philly for chemical conferences and protests. 

I've had a wide assortment of activities this week:

• a day-long workshop on inclusive learning, 
• a trip to Philly to give a talk, 
• a bunch of work around the home,
• a fabulous theater performance of Sophisticated Ladies with my daughters & husband, and
• a bunch of grant proposal writing, and
• making stairs at my daughter's home.  

This last bit was an extension of last year's birthday present to her, which was to stabilize the stairs to her porch.  We did a good job with what we had on hand, but agreed that this year we'd purchase some new lumber and make the steps much more sturdy.  This year, I came prepared with my giant green wagon full of tools and pencils and drill bits, and also a set of plans from last year.  My daughter helped out by standing on boards that I was sawing and by handing me screws, and I got to cover myself in sawdust.  So much fun!

Last thing: clean up carefully. Thanks, A-child!

And that's the news from our family, which continues to be wealthy in our adventures.  May you and yours be similarly prosperous.