Screws of Doom

Sorry no new pictures recently, I am not quite sure where the cord to our camera is. Everything is crazy around here. We are pretty much living in our basement right now, with no kitchen to cook in. There are boxes everywhere, today we will finally be able to set up our king size bed. The full size mattress is just a little cozy for the three of us. Joy has been here since Monday and has played a key role in us actually being able to get anything done. She is currently taking a nap with Layden, it is his third for today. I think the hot weather, moving, and new home have him all worn out.
Today we finished laying down the backer board for the kitchen floor, it should have been a one day job but it wasn't. What's wrong with us? Nothing, at all (in turns of backerboard installation). It is the screws fault, and the unknowledgable employees of the hardware store. Problem number #1, they told Oli that you only need a thin layer of mortar under the backer board and suggested a 25lb bag, which covers ~50 sq ft, the floor is 180 sq ft. Not true, we used 2 50 lb bags and had just barely enough. Problem #2, they either didn't know or didn't mention that when laying the board over an existing floor you need to add an acrylic additive. Said additive is not available in Colfax, necessitating a drive to Pullman. Problem #3, screws. The screws reccomended by the hardware store for this purpose are not appropriate for this purpose. Yesterday we were trying to use screws to hold down they board because they are supposed to be easier and do a better job. Not easier, only our heavy duty drill was capable of getting the screws in, Oli went through a box of drill bits, the stamping of the phillips head on the screws was not consistant, I had half of the floors worth of board laid down and Oli was not even halfway done screwing in the nails, in fact he didn't finish til 10 o'clock pm. The screws seemed to do a better job at raising the board off of the floor than holding it down and the heads will not go in flush with the board. At one point Oli was so frustrated that he had the urge to throw the drill at the screw, he decided it would be just as satisfying and more effective to hit it with his large hammer. It went in. The job went quicker and much more smoothly after that. Today we just went ahead and got roofing nails. Once I had finished laying the boards down Oli only had the last board to nail down. We were done before Oli had to get ready for work at 12:00. Tomorrow I will lay down the tile. This means that today I have to go get more mortar because we used it all up putting the backerboard down, which means that I have to drive to Moscow because it costs half as much there. Hopefully Saturday I can grout and the beginning of next week we can start using the kitchen and start finishing the wood floor.
The laundry situation is also special in this house. The dryer used to be next to the washer under the breaker box, with the washer on a nicely level spot. Now with the new box for them to be next to each other the washer can't be on the level spot. So the dryer will have to move to a different wall and the 220 will have to be rewired. Luckily the weather in Colfax is about as hot as the inside of a dryer so we will put off the rewiring and string up a close line. Furthermore the outlet for the washer is only 1 prong and the washer has a 2 prong cord. So that will also need to rewired and our quick fix is an extension cord. This will all have to get set up tonight because the basement is starting to smell of eau de diaper and it is the only cool place in the house.
Layden seems to have just gone through a growth spurt, I swear he is noticeably larger than he was at his 6 month check. He also looks older, less like a baby. He is still adorable and is getting very good at pulling himself up. Joy predicts he will be walking in a month. I don't think I am ready for that. He hates falling, even if it doesn't hurt he starts to cry. Maybe he is some sort of baby perfectionist and can't stand the failure that a fall signifies. He does not appreciate this hot weather and he appreciates even less that there are few places that are safe for him to crawl about and investigate.
Our neighbors still seem nice. When we were gone for so long on vacation they even got concerned that either something had happened to the baby or we didn't like them and weren't moving next door. The boys are very shy and I can only get them to talk to me if I ask a direct question like, "Where is your mom?". Yesterday morning they were throwing dirt at Joy's truck so Sarah came out and said
"Stop throwing dirt at the neighbors truck."
"Why?"
Well I think Dieter is here and if not I still have work I should be doing.