First, the roofer came...

and it was good. The old shingles came off beautifully; one single layer removed from the garage in record time. They were in pretty bad shape, but we have been blessed. Underneath, the sheathing is as clean and pretty as the day it was put on some 20 years ago. This is the secret of a newer house - there's only one layer of shingles and it tends to be over a beautifully intact structure. It's a relief for us - the last roofing job we did was about ten years ago. There were three layers of shingle on some ugly rotted old stuff on our old house. In fact, the ease of maintenance had a big role in how we chose this house. "Imagine..." we thought "straight walls!" You have to understand we came from what was originally a corn-crib recycled into a four bedroom "house" (I use the term loosely) with one closet and one bathroom. And four kids. For us, one layer of shingles is a miracle. More than one bathroom is a gift from God. And the closets? I still hyperventilate when I count them, and it's been two years. There's...seven of them. SEVEN.

But the best laid plans of knitters and men sometimes go awry. Take for example our new handy roofing material slide-through door attachment. No easy way into the garage? Not a problem. Paul here will make one just the right size for sliding lumber, drip edge, and other items into the garage without the aggrivation of that whole annoying open-and-close the garage door thing. I think Gene was more worried about the glass on the garage floor by his bike than anything else. It reminds me of our old house, with the cracked siding from baseballs thrown too hard, and the three missing panes of garage door glass from who knows what that we never replaced because 'they'd just break them again'.
Dumpster delivery right to your front door is not a problem for this crew! Getting the truck back out of the front yard while leaving the grass intact? Well, a bit more of a challenge. All you need to do is dump 120 or so pounds of pea-gravel onto the grass. Voila!! A new driveway! See the kid? When all was said and done his father turned to him and said "See all this gravel? I want it all back in the buckets." I think he's still raking.
Think of me today, as you go about your work and play. I will be here, waiting for what thrills today may bring.

No, mother, the roof is not the surprise.