I said goodbye to my brother Andy, who left yesterday morning to return to his home in Chicago. He was instrumental in our home renovation projects. He takes after my father, and he is quite handy with plumbing, electricity, flooring, etc. I learned a lot from him this summer. We spent our last day together flooring the front porch to convert it into my yoga room. He reminds me so much of my father with his mannerisms, voice, etc. He was not adopted like me and my other brother Jimmer, coming as quite a surprise to my parents after they tried to have children for 8 years. They adopted me in 1967 and my brother Jimmer in 1969. My adopted mother gave birth to Andy in 1972.
We installed laminate flooring in the porch. I cut plywood sheets, and our neighbor, Rocko, drilled them to the asbestos siding that was on the left side of the photo above. We are putting in new windows this fall to give it more light and air. The room is not heated, so we probably wouldn’t use it in the winter if we were here, but during the late spring, summer, and early fall, it will be a nice room to do yoga in. I used to sleep in the room as a kid during the summers because our second floor was too hot. We don’t really get hot weather so often, and many of the homes in the Upper Peninsula, especially the older ones, don’t have central air conditioning.
I took the first shower in our new bathroom yesterday. The water pressure was a bit low. Rocko discovered that the occlusion was behind the faucet, and now it works great. I have never been so enthused to take a shower before, but with all the work we put in, it is satisfying to have it done. I am taking a growth mindset to home renovation, and it is fun to learn how things work in a home, and more importantly, how to repair or improve them.
This morning Nadia and I went for a walk on the Apple Blossom Trail in my hometown of Caspian, Michigan. It follows the Iron River, which flows 30 miles through Iron County. The headwaters are southwest of the town of Iron River and flow through Caspian and Gaastra before connecting with the Paint River. The Paint River connects to the Menominee River, which eventually reaches Lake Michigan’s Green Bay. It was such a gorgeous mid-summer morning in the Upper Peninsula.
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