Awake: 5:50am Temp 32 Freezing rain—then cloudy Overnight @ Nicktown
Before driving to church, I pour 3 large pans of warm water on our
windshield to melt the ice enough for us to see our way to the parking
area for 7:00am Mass. Mass was early today as a large group was being
bussed to Washington, DC to march for “Pro Life.”
After breakfast, we calculate the main roads have been traveled enough for
us to find our way to the Foote house this morning arriving @ 10:00am.
Kathy will do the Foote’s weekly laundry while I try & help Kevin remove
an 85 yr old cast iron sewer & vent pipe.
Kevin spent many hrs knocking plaster off the walls & ceilings upstairs in
the bathroom; then removing, too numerous to count, lath wood in prep for
insulating the walls, re-plumbing, re-wiring & replacing that old cast
iron sewer & vent pipe….thus creating a new & modern bathroom, with a
steam shower, bathtub, & double sink. Easier access to all this technical
updating plus the dreaded cast iron removal was only made possible by
Kevin’s persistence of tearing down to the studs.
Removing the cast iron pipe, about 22 ft of it, was challenging. Kevin had
a head start, using a mini sledgehammer & just pounding on the 4 inch pipe
until it began to weaken & crack slowly into pieces. The biggest problem
was: getting enough space to get to the pipe itself with enough room to
swing the sledgehammer. The pipe was in its own narrow 3 sided box like
structure. We did have a break for lunch & to let Matthew take a 1.5 hr
nap before finally removing the last stubborn piece around 3:00pm. Whew!
After that workout, I spent a little time holding Andrew & playing with
Matthew…then we return to our bus @ 4:35 & both take showers…ahh!
7:05 dinner: Pork chops, (3) rice pilaf (white, wild & brown rice), mixed
salad & toast.
Evening time: watch “Ice Skating with the Celebrities.”
High today: 35 Lights out: 10:34pm
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