Flowers at Too

 

This is the purple cone flower.  A native plant to the Midwest prairies.

 

This is the first of my Hollyhocks at Too . . . and more Purple Cone Flowers.  I thought I had yellow cone flowers started in this bed too but they didn't come back this spring.  I will have to go find some.  I will track them down and transplant them here. 

 

This is Purple Cone Flowers blooming away east of the steep bank, east of the bridge.  Perhaps this whole entry should have been titled "Purple Cone Flowers"  ???

 

 

This is a May Apple.  When they sprout in early spring they make me think of a newborn baby.  They are so delicate and pretty : )

 

 

This is "The Bank".  Himself has planted some new plants on this steep bank just about every visit this spring and summer.  He is determined (and rightly so) not to have to mow it anymore.  Eliminating this bank from the mowing schedule saves Himself about an hour each time he mows.  

 

That is significant and adds an hour to the Porch Sitting time. 

 

This is "The Bank" in April 2013 after a late snow. 

 

This late snow saved Himself an hour's mowing time. 

 

In this case that hour saved didn't impress us so much

 because we had an hour's snow shoveling and tree cutting time. 

Thinking about III

Click this link - - - >       and missing the adventures we had there . . .

and just practicing too . . . seeing if I can remember how to 'link back' to previous posts.  There is another, cleaner way . . . then this so I will keep practicing.  I hope you enjoy some of these links. 

THE NEW PORCH RAILING JULY 13, 2013

 

In the picture above, I am applying, finally, a coat of fresh, gray paint. I have wanted to at least get the porch floor painted, but other projects keep popping up that needed done more so than the painting of the porch.  The temperature is in the lower 80's, a little breeze, perfect weather for painting. Herself worked on her bookcase surrounding the stair opening to the loft. Please note the green shirt I am wearing. It must be at least 50 years old. It is my Army fatigue shirt, issued to me sometime in 1967. It was old when I got it.  It still fits (as long as I don't button it).

 

 



The picture below is the spindles we will use for the new porch railing. 

The picture below is after herself and I finished the first section of railing.

A fresh coat of paint, everything off the porch, it looks huge, and clean.

 

 

Another view of the first section of porch railing.

NEW WOOD LAMINATE FLOORS-INSTALLED-FINALLY!!!!

It is Monday, June 24, 2013  and I got word that my little granddaughter would not be coming to stay for the two days I babysit her for. So, I asked herself if it would be all right to go to the cabin and get some work done. It was agreed to, so all day Monday I scurried around getting the yard mowed, watering, cleaning, etc. so that Tuesday morning I could head for the cabin.
The first thing I did on arrival was to clean the newer metal storage building. I had some super cleaner to spray on, then had to scrub to get all the grime off. Then I applied the first coat of polyurethane on the pine.

Wednesday morning, I sanded, cleaned, and applied 2nd coat of poly.
Then, since it had been quite some time, I spent the rest of the day working on mowers and 4-wheelers, cleaning lubing, changing oil and filters, then went down and mowed the lake lots.

Thursday, I mowed Craig's lots and then our lot, then worked in the cabin on finishing up some molding around staircase so herself could finish putting up more pine. Then moved everything out of the living room and cleaned the sub floor so I could start the laminate flooring.  Then I rested.
Friday morning I fired up the mower and mowed a neighbors lots and did the weed eating for her.

About noon, I decided I just couldn't sit, I had to move on. So, I started installing the laminate flooring. And once I started, I just couldn't stop, and by the time herself arrived, I had most of it installed except by the staircase, which we finished up Sat. morning.

 

 
 
 

  

                                    


The dark wood flooring with the lighter pine on the walls has totally changed the appearance and the mood of the living room. It now has a cozy, warm feeling, just what we wanted. Also, notice the nice new, old fashioned curtains that herself has worked on. She picked out some nice ones, and they fit in perfectly with the woodwork.

 

 

 

I don't understand how the camera always seems to find me sitting in a chair, but somehow it does. 

 

 

 

 

So, now the downstairs is pretty much finished. We have a little bit of baseboard in the bedroom, and some finishing to do in the bathroom, but nothing critical. All the tools and saws have been lifted to the loft which will require a lot of work, mainly finish trim on the windows, and mudding the drywall seams to prep for painting. But before the upstairs, I want to put a railing on the porch, and before that we have to clean, seal, and paint the porch deck.

We will have worked inside for almost 3 years, mainly on weekends, and only in the summer, and we are now feeling like we have accomplished something.