Progress, but only on some tasks - and a bit of quilty news

Strike two items off my home improvements list, but keep most of the tasks on the list labeled "pending".  We got the turbine vents replaced on the roof.  It didn't cost a fortune and there are no roof leaks because of the work.  I know that for sure because we got a humdinger of a rain last week - over 3.5" in a day.  So that's done.

Monday the plasterer finished fixing the hole in the wall behind the washer that was caused by plumbing troubles.  I also did something I have been wanting to do for a while - I swapped the old flexible dryer vent hose for two rigid metal elbows and a metal duct, so no more air leaks and eventual splits in the dryer vent.  And we unhooked the washer and reconnected it without a leak (hey, it's a big thing to me!).

But the new steps at the front porch are still only a dream.  Last Friday a carpenter came out to give an estimate for the work.  He said he would call me Monday with the numbers.  Monday comes and suddenly he's too busy to take the job.  I would have figured he knew his workload on Friday evening just as well as on Monday morning.  I guess it wasn't a big enough job for him to tackle (i.e., not enough money).  Is it a component of the much-discussed "bad economy" that people are just too lazy to work?

I also talked to a guy who does odd jobs and he was leery about building the steps because they would not be the proportions in the building code - that is, they would have a deeper tread and shorter riser than the building code standard.  He didn't want to do it because he was afraid of liability and non-code compliance issues.  I personally can't imagine building steps that are easier to climb than what the code specifies as being a liability issue but there you are.  We are in a lawsuit-happy age.  So no steps.

My bathroom flooring is still on order (two and a half weeks) but is supposed to be installed next Wednesday.  Here's hoping.  Something still has time to go wrong.

I'm  not even going to think about painting the inside of the garage right now.  The fact that I got two jobs done without lapsing into a disaster is pushing my luck enough.

To rescue this post from complete pessimism, here are photos of my QAL's, BOM's, block of the week's and mysteries as they stand right now:

Grandmother's Choice Block of the Week:

How Far Will You Go? QAL

Benjamin Franklin mystery:

Note:  I fixed that mistake in the upper right block!

Thread Head QAL:

 Burgoyne Surrounded QAL:

Animas mystery:

I have to say, the people at Animas Quilts are good - I have all these blocks made and still can't figure out how they go together.  I even drafted them on EQ and fiddled around - they have me stumped!

Of course, there are a few personal projects in play too, and Bonnie Hunter is starting a new mystery at Quiltville after Thanksgiving!