Raise the Roof

This past weekend, I went out to San Andreas to help my father build a barn. Yep, you read that right, to build a barn.

The shot on the left is about halfway through Saturday's progress (after we'd realized that the panels were upside down and had to take half of the structure apart and reconfigure...).

Now, anyone who knows me knows that I'm not exactly a fan of exercise, let alone hard labor. But, my father asked for my help, so being the dutiful daughter that I am (translation : doormat), I agreed to come out and work. So, this weekend was spent hauling these giant steel panels around (admittedly, my Dad and brothers did do the bulk of the heavy lifting, but I did help haul a few around) and fastening them together. Still more strenuous activity than I am used to.

My father's goal was to get the whole steel structure up and together this weekend. The hardest part was the roof - which Dad finally decided to try hoisting up over the base using the tractor. It worked like a charm! (Beats having to have 3 people support the panel while walking up ladders, all the while jockeying it into position and trying not to fall to their deaths...)

Above are two shots of the structure after we finished up on Sunday. And after all my worries (or expectations, rather) of injuring myself somehow on the construction site...how do you suppose I hurt myself this weekend? Well...let me tell you a little story... Saturday night, after we finished up as much as we could before dark, we returned to my father's house where I blissfuly showered (don't think I've ever been so dirty before in my life!). We started watching Coach Carter in the living room, and I filled my dinner plate and headed back in there. My fork dropped off of the plate on my way, so I put down my food and removed the fork from the dog's mouth (okay, she was only licking it - it wasn't in her mouth), and walked into the kitchen to get a clean one. I then slipped on the tiled floor, my foot flying out from under me, and fell hard on my derriere, right on the bone at an angle...also smacking my elbow against the corner of the cabinet, before smacking it on the tile too, along with my outer wrist... I sat there stunned for a minute (or less), and then the pain hit. It hurt so bad that I almost couldn't breathe. But, as far as I know, nothing is broken. But, I do have a slowly emerging bruise on my elbow and tushie. It's just like me to put up a barn without hurting myself, only to cause injury at home. So, although my upper back/shoulders and arms are sore from the heavy lifting and from ratcheting the nuts and bolts tightly, I'm surprised that my lower back isn't acting up. (I'm not complaining about that part. And my left wrist and butt hurt from the fall. I'm a klutz!)

And it's weird for me to think that as nice as the weather was in San Andreas (sunny and slightly cool - perfect for working outside), my Aunt was housebound in Buffalo without power since late Thursday. I finally talked to her today, and she said she's been bundled up in at least 3 layers, and has put up blankets in the doorways to the dining room and hallway, living only in the kitchen and family room where it's slightly warmer. All of the lit candles help heat it up a bit, and she's been out in the yard and neighborhood picking up fallen branches and running the snowblower. She can see her breath in the other rooms of the house, when she's in them. Her street still is out of power today, though most of her friends have their electricity back (she did go over to a friend's house to do a load of laundry). (Sunday!! That's a long time without power, but she says she's getting used to it. She does have a generator that she borrowed.)