The Hairs

Well… it’s been some time since I’ve posted a blog entry. I have a few to post including:
1) Links to picture sets of Riley.
2) Updates on Riley - what he’s doing, saying, etc

Before those entries - thought I would give an update on our winter weather. We have had a very cold and snowy winter up to this point. This morning, we unexpectedly awoke to some 2-3″ of snow. This will be the fifth time I have to pull the shovel out. Great exercise but… come on - it’s not even February yet! Compared to last year, the temperatures are much colder as well. We have not been above freezing for a week and the low on Friday night was down to 1F.

Needless to say, long underwear is the norm especially when the winds pick up. It can cut right through you without it…

So.. more entries to come. In the meanwhile, please check out the Photos page.

An update for family and friends not around our general vicinity: we’re expecting 4-8 inches of snow late tonight/early tomorrow. For those in the Northeast, this is hardly a huge amount of snow but does represent the biggest weather event of our winter. The temps are going to be in the lower 30s to upper 20s so shoveling will be a bit annoying. Wet snow is much heavier and takes more time to clear. I can hardly wait!

I believe the contractors have finally done the work the right way. There’s quite a bit of cleanup and some mortaring for the drainage pipes that left over but major progress has occurred. We had a fun round of discussions with the GC and his attempts to get money out of us early. We finally sent him a stern note explaining that he needs to complete the contract to get the rest of the money. What an annoying time we’ve had, but as noted previously, we’ve learned alot!

Hope they’re out of here within the next 2-3 days. Considering the work started in early March and was to be completed by mid March, it’s been a lot longer than we expected…

Perhaps this is not the 55th entry but it seems like it…

The contractors have finished repouring all the sidewalks and the garage. However, one of their guys had the balls to come and ask me for more money since “their balance was getting low at the cement company.” I replied that I was not interested in talking to him but only the GC in the matter. Danielle suspects the GC told them they had to get money to get paid but I don’t really care - just want them to finish and get out of here. Then, they’ll get the rest of their money.

So.. what’s left:

If I forget anything then I’ll be sure to add it. I was getting over the time annoyances since the job has taken 4x longer than originally estimated. Sure, a good part of that is due to rework. Had his crew not hit us up for money again then he would might be getting four stars out of five for having done the right thing and redoing the work. Now.. I’m not feeling so generous…

We’ve learned a lot from this experience and will hopefully be wiser the next time around.

From CNN:

More than 5.5 inches of rain fell in the New York region Sunday, shattering a record that had stood for more than 100 years, the National Weather Service said. The previous record for an April 15, measured in Central Park, was 1.8 inches in 1906. (Watch the New York storm surge demonstrate the nor’easter’s dangers Video)

Sunday was the second wettest day on record for Central Park, the National Weather Service said, where 7.5 inches had fallen by midnight Sunday.

Had to dig a trench during the storm since water was finding its way into the house. With the dirt from the trench, I dammed the water away from the house and it worked effectively. However, there’s a temporary eyesore until the landscapers come to regrade.

I will be SOOO happy after both they and the current sidewalk contractors are gone…

Oh, yeah, re: sidewalks - too much water for them to do anything today. They were planning on pouring tomorrow. I don’t know how likely that is!