Treasures in my Attic

Today I was finally putting my Christmas tree up in my attic and I decided to spend a little time cleaning and sorting while I was there. I have been putting off doing this because it is a major undertaking. Ever since my son shored up the roof and floored the attic (he did this when he was in high school) I have been moving things up there to store. It had been in need of going through for some time as is evidenced in the blog post from November 2007. I think I can pretty well say that nothing more was moved up to the attic since that post and some of the boxes were thinned out BUT then we had the house re-roofed. They didn't just add another layer of shingles, they couldn't, we were at the limit. Since they were having to strip off layers my husband pointed out to the insurance agent that the very bottom layer was wood shingles and REALLY needed to be removed. They were a fire hazard. Well, when the wood shingles were stripped off there was wood and dirt and nails that fell down into the attic. I had attempted to staple plastic and cardboard up underneath and did manage to divert a good portion of it to the sides. But it's still a mess. I get nice and dirty when I get up there moving things around and sweeping up the roofing material. So today I decided to at least attempt to clear an area in the center where I could work, somewhere to sort things. In the process I came across the Commencement Program for my South High Class of 1974.

(right-click on pictures & open in new tab/window to enlarge)

I enjoyed reading through the names, realizing how many there that are familiar to me.
And also realizing the names, like my own, that aren't there.

For myself, on May 6, 1973 I became a married woman. On May 13, 1974 I gave birth to my beautiful baby girl. So by the date of Commencement I was a young wife caring for a two week old baby. I'm happy to say that thanks to Facebook I have reconnected with many of my classmates that DID make it through to graduation. So here's to the Class of '74! Well Done!!!

My Pretty New Roof

The roofers arrived around 8am this morning and were finished up before noon. The color of the shingles is called "Golden Harvest". My daughter came by when she got off work and said that the new roof really makes the house stand out.
I really like the blended golds and browns. We had vents installed along the eve in the back. I had asked Terry about installing a solar powered vent with thermostat, but he said that these simple vents actually work just as well and without the expense. Now I've just got to get up the energy (or desire) to climb up in the attic and clean up the mess left from the wooden shingles coming off. I had covered a lot of the inside with plastic, and when I ran out of plastic I used cardboard, but that only redirected where it fell. I think I really need to haul the shop vac up there and make quick work of it. Maybe tomorrow.

A Roof Over Our Heads

25 years ago Terry Horner put nice new shingles on our roof. He was able to put them over the existing layers but told us that it was at the maximum layers allowed. In 25 years we didn't have a problem one with the roof. No wind damage, no hail damage.... nothing.
This last year the hail storms and winds storms took it's toll on roof and we decided it was time to re-roof.

Because we were going to have to have layers removed the hubby decided that we should take it all the way down because the bottom layer was wood shingles, as can be seen below around the edge and...
...as seen looking up from in the attic. The old wood shingles were a potential fire hazard, becoming more flammable as they dry out.

The roofing crew came out Thursday morning and stripped the roof completely down where sun was shining into my attic.
Then they put on plywood and tar-paper.
They got a good start on the shingles but it got dark before they finished up. Tomorrow they'll be out to finish up and I'll post pictures of my pretty new roof. Terry has had crews working all over town this summer and these men do a wonderful job. They do excellent work, they're fast and keep things cleaned up. When they leave, you hardly know they were there.
Turns out my tree in the front yard makes a great stand for a water cooler.