Draper House

It's pretty much official – the roof is off.

Compare with this photo taken from the same vantage 2 weeks ago.

This was taken from the top of the staircase looking eastward. This is the result of 2 brothers, a long weekend, a couple of saws with sharp blades, copious amounts of liquid refreshment and one very big, very heavy sledgehammer (there were several moments when I stopped to wonder if I was still swinging the sledge or if we had swapped roles and it had started swinging me).
 
Next time you're sitting around in your house, stop and think of all the little things that go into a house that are specifically designed to prevent this kind of thing from happening. Houses have all sorts of layers and connections and reinforcements that are intended to resist this kind of destruction. It can be done with enough determination, but as it turns out – it's an incredible amount of work.

With the amount of demolition going on and all the century-old rusty nails that are an inevitable by-product of such demolition, I suppose it was only a matter of time until one of the aforementioned rusty nails found its way securely into the sole of my foot. At least I can say that I've got the tetanus shot out of the way now. Funny thing is that I was wearing my big, industrial boots recently purchased for the sole purpose (pun very much intended) of maintaining the safety and security of the soft (dare I say almost caress-able?) undersides of my feet for the duration of this project. The big black rubber soles are even emblazoned with the word IMPERMEABLE. I guess the saying, "dumb as nails" bears some truth as it would appear they cannot read. I suppose it's my own fault – I should've sprung for the IMPENETRABLE model. During the entire 2 hour span I waited in the E.R. to be seen by a doctor, I had on mental repeat a C.S.I.-worthy, full-screen visualization of the nail puncturing my foot, scraping the nearby bone and then exiting the way it had entered. It even had the appropriate squishing sound effect. Watch out Anthony Zuiker - your job may be in jeopardy. Anyhow, here's the accompanying crime scene photo clearly illustrating the nearly 1 full inch the nail intruded into my foot. Yes, that's dried blood. This post should be rated TV-14.