It was 7:15 a.m. when Ed and I arrived at the house with his tool trailer in tow. (I think everything a person could need on a project is in that trailer. I even tried to order a sandwich and drink as a snack this afternoon!) I digress...

Kelvin and Byron were already there waiting on us and we 4 began our work. Frank, Ron and Mark joined us soon thereafter and we worked hard today. Suffice it to say that we'll sleep well tonight!

Despite the threat of rain, we got right into it by removing the trim pieces, assessing the extent of the damaged siding, and opening up the side of the house by cutting out all the lower damaged areas. (Remember that trailer of Ed's? Well in it was this super-duper, very handy Fein oscillating tool. An amazing little device that I made use of all day today. I've got to get one!)

We ended up having to replace all the framing where the bathroom window was. Mr. Ed led a crew through that little project and it would have been completely covered from the elements had Ed not mismeasured. Yep, he of 'tool trailer' fame mismeasured!! Now with his reputation shattered, Frank says, "you're just one of us now!" Frank manned the chop saw all day and did a superb job at cutting all those 2-by's. Mark and Byron took turns manhandling the pneumatic framing nailer and were more than ready to hand over the 'beast' by the end of the day! The circular saw was my primary tool today as I ripped the OSB boards and did all the cut outs for the water lines, vent pipes and wires; they needed someone with extreme skill and attention to detail for those assignments. (I know that was a self-serving statement, but hey, I'm doing the blogging, o.k.?!)

We had a gourmet catered lunch, complements of Carol's Deli. We especially liked the pretty pastel flowered napkins that so carefully wrapped the plastiware utensils! Ah, a lady's touch!

God was good to us today in that, even with the threat of rain, we almost managed to finish up without getting wet. As it turned out, it only rained a little while but it rained A LOT! We managed to get all the tools back in the snack trailer-- I mean tool trailer-- but Frank, Ed, Byron and I got SOAKED. We looked as if we had jumped in pool. You can use your imagination as to what that ride home was like!

Enjoy these photos from today and I'll try to keep the posts up so that you can follow our progress by checking in here on this blog.

Rest well everyone. It's 8:00 a.m. tomorrow.