STUMPY THE SNOWMAN

 

On Thursday morning, Larry went out to bring in the last trash can and found this on the porch.

It came with a note:

Mr. and Mrs. Collins,

This is Stumpy The Snowman. He was turned from a piece of wood that we removed when the lift was installed. (The grain looked like redwood, but it may be something else.) The body and hat are one piece, the limbs were taken from a neighbor’s bush, and the pipe was cut from chopsticks.

Enjoy!

Mark

We were fortunate to have had this talented craftsman and excellent woodworker contribute to the construction/installation of our lift. We got to know him and realized he was as much of a perfectionist as I am.

This little guy was a complete bonus surprise.

When I first saw him, I thought about the snowman decoration I grew up with. Ours was made of Styrofoam balls and toothpicks. I know Mom didn’t buy it, but I think she attended a luncheon and won the centerpiece.

My little brother named ours “Frosty.” Not too original, but it worked.

Frosty came out every year and was a mainstay of our holiday decorations.

When Mom sold the house, my brother took all the family decorations. Each year, he brought out everything, including Frosty.

When my brother died in 2020, we cleaned out his place. Unfortunately, we didn’t find any of my family’s decorations. I assume they were broken or fell apart over the years.

This little reminder of Frosty brought back sweet memories of childhood holidays.

Stumpy will now become a part of our future holidays, just like Frosty did in my childhood family. And he will be a reminder of Mark and his talent. I can’t thank him enough for this sweet gift.

 

GETTING A LIFT

 With all my physical issues this past year, I became more aware of how difficult it might become living in a house with two stories. Larry had surgery this year, too, and he realized the challenge our stairs could pose as we get older. We discussed downsizing to a single-story house. We’ve even begun to dispose of some of our “stuff.” (Not a bad idea altogether.)

However, we have already made a lot of improvements to this house consistent with the way we live.

Larry started researching the alternatives to allow us to stay here, even with the stairs.

For several reasons, we eliminated the option of a chair lift. They take up quite a bit of room on the steps and partially compromise the treads. Also, our stairs have a 90-degree turn in them, and it would pose a challenge.

He finally located a small one-person lift—like an elevator but smaller. He made an appointment for the salesperson to come out to the house to see if it would work.

The engineer (Larry, of course) had picked out a location  he thought might work, but he was afraid the unit would be too large.

However, the representative from the company (Stiltz) suggested coming to the house to check. We agreed.

Ryan arrived with a neat app on his phone. He could point it at a spot, and it would tell him if there were room to install the equipment.

He found one location in the living room going up to our guest room. Uh…no. Then he found another from our dining room to our office. Nope to that one, too. He finally checked the area Larry had selected—and it not only would work, but it would fit perfectly. And we wouldn’t need to cut a hole in the ceiling.

Last Monday morning at 8:00 a.m., Mark arrived to begin the installation. By early afternoon, our hall was completely draped in plastic, heavy tarps were secured to the stairs, and the floors were covered in cardboard. It looked like we were going setting up for a haunted house!

The first item was to cut out a section of the 2^nd floor handrail for access to the upper hallway from the lift.

I didn’t realize the pieces of the section of handrail would be used to build the external gate—and that it would match the existing handrail.

Then came days of drilling and hammering and sanding to construct all the other parts necessary for the installation, including the electrical work. The dust and dirt were confined to the hallway because of the plastic installed there.

At last, the unit itself and accessories arrived.

First, the supports were brought in and installed.

Finally, on Saturday, after six long days, the installation was completed, and the lift was ready to be used.

The lift sits in the curve of the stairs. It works very simply and holds only one person at a time. But it really makes living with the stairs easier!

I think we are going to be very happy with this solution.