Slippin' & Slidin'

I arrived back from Grand Haven last night about 6:00, intending to drop off the light fixtures I'd brought north.  A light snow had been falling, covering everything in a film of white.  As I approached the passenger side of the car, my feet suddenly flew out from under me and I hit the ground, flat on my back, banging the back of my head on the ground as I fell.  "Well, that was unexpected," said I as I picked myself up.  Then I carefully took a four fluorescent fixtures in hand, turned, and was instantly back on the ground, hitting my head a second time.

What that light dusting of snow had concealed was a sheet of glare ice, apparently frozen runoff from melting snow near the house.  I did get the fixtures inside — taking care to avoid the passenger side of the car — and made a note to return today with ice melter.  Last night I spent several hours monitoring myself for signs of a concussion, but the only residual seems to be a sore neck and a slight headache.  This morning I applied a half-bag of melter to the area, but in fact the entire driveway is iced up.  I will have to think through the drainage issue, at least near the house.

My icy driveway.  That patch of ice in front of the car is
where I took my two pratfalls last night.

There have been several changes at the house in the last week and a half.  Foremost is installation of the white oak flooring, which is now covered up with equipment, stacks of wood, etc.  But enough oak remains visible for me to see how good the floors look, even before being sanded and sealed.  White oak is a variable material, being predominantly white with a slight rosy tone, but also with shades of gray.  Interesting grain and flecks of darker color will make this a very attractive floor surface.

The unfinished oak floor in the dining area.

The downstairs of my house looks like Santa's Workshop when the elves are on coffee break.  Kyle and Dave have equipment and material stacked everywhere as they work to complete the project.

There's a kitchen back there somewhere.

The living room...

...and the dining area.

At the moment much of the equipment is being used to construct the permanent stairs.  This week Kyle built the run of stairs from the ground floor to the basement.  This section is standard tread-and-riser, since the stairs will be carpeted.  The run of stairs to the second floor will be tread-without-riser to create a "floating" stairway.

Stairs from the ground floor to the basement
are now in place.

The plumber was back at mid-week to install water lines, toilets, and to stub in the plumbing for the island sink and dishwasher.

Water and waste lines await the kitchen's island.

Finally, I refilled the bird feeder before leaving today.  Black-capped chickadees have been raiding the seed supply with considerable gusto.  Look carefully at the photo below and you will see a Deli patron sitting on the feeder's rim.

I need a telephoto lens for this kind of picture!

A winter storm advisory has been issued for northern Michigan, starting tomorrow (Sunday) about Noon and continuing into Monday.  Since I'll be stuck here at the rectory, I'll run another series of today's photos in a post tomorrow, showing tile work, bathrooms, porches, etc. •••