THE PINESA GOIN UP April 5, 2013

 

We began the new season a'runnin. I packed all the tools that I needed for work at home during the winter, chop saw, paints, compressor, caulking, and we lit out for the cabin on Friday evening. Saturday, herself lit out for town(s) unknown. I started getting things ready for whatever we decided needed done. The choices was paint the porch deck or get going on the living room. As it was to windy to paint, we decided to start putting up some of the pine planks on the wall. I always try to purchase materials well in advance of us needing them, but it allows me to find the best prices, and when we need it, it is there.  So, the pine planks were purchased September of 2012 and have been stored away in the loft all this time.

So, we started by installing a base board, making sure it was perfectly level, then started installing the pine. It actually went quite smoothly, the pine being full of knots, knurls,  holes, and quite rough in places. But, that's what we want: rustic.

 

 

 

The next day, I worked on trimming out the windows while herself continued installing the pine boards. We only had one chop saw, but most of the time no one had to wait more that a minute or two to use it.

Herself did GREAT!! She had to cut out for the outlets, and I have to say, they were as close to perfect as anyone could have done. As the windows take quite a while to trim out, herself just plugged along and went right up that wall, and was waiting on me to get the window in the south wall done so she could continue. I was holding her back!!

These two days were the most herself has been able to help me at one time, as usually she keeps busy corralling grandkids, shopping, cleaning, and cooking. So this was a real treat having help. We accomplished more than I had ever envisioned. So, two walls down, and two to go. Then we will have to decide on a coating to put on the pine.

 

Heart Strings



I have been reading a book of journal-like entries.  An Indiana farm wife, back in the 60s, with a bent for writing.  She published her diary with the entries arranged by season and as my Iowa March waned into April, I was reading her Indiana March and April spring entries.

She was naming wildflowers . . . She named names.  Haha 

Trillium, Salt and Pepper, Mayflowers, Dutchman's Britches . . . and it all put me in mind of my early spring discoveries in the timber at III. 

 

Himself and I found a whole river bottom of Bluebells several times. 

I have never seen anything like it in all my years.

Extraordinary. 

 

 

We found the Fairy Flowers.

We only had one super-duper Fairy Flower year but it was a 

spectacular display of Fairy Flowers

amd worth the wait.  It is something I will always remember.

 

We had young lady redbuds dressing in their spring finery

wafting through the timber.

 

We had leaves frozen into the ice on the pond.

 

We had moss and fungus and puffball mushrooms

 and things I had never heard of before. 

 

Don't be eating any of those mushrooms!

I can only identify the Puffballs 'rooms and

there is not a single solitary morel in the bunch.    

Don't eat these at home. 

 

We had all manner of insects . . .

bees and ants and beetles and walking sticks.

 

 

 

Looking back through all the photos of these beauties of nature and top those off with memories of my children and grandchildren at III and all the adventure, and misadventures and you won't have to wonder why the memories of III still tugs my Heart Strings.

 

Opening Season

Yesterday, March 15, in Iowa the temps got up to 57 degrees and the forecast sounded good and should be better yet in Mo so we packed up and came down.  We had a lovely evening.  It was 60+ degrees and there was no wind.  We sat on the porch and admired the nice evening and weather and our decision to start the season early.

Today, we got up to overcast skies and cooler temperatures.  We were planning on coming back down Monday evening and staying thru Thursday but the weather forecast changed.  Snow is predicted tomorrow night and the highs will only be in the 40s. 

Last evening, I climbed down in the ravine across the road from the cabin.  I was on a mission.  8 or 10 years ago, I found colored glass down in that ditch.  I carried up a couple of broken pieces and stashed them under the cabin.  In working on the new cabin, we thought about putting transom windows in above the bathroom and bedroom doors.  We talked about louvers or stained glass.  Well if we like anything, we like frugal and reuse and repurpose and I thought of that lovely heavy blue glass down in the ditch and decided I would see if I could find the rest of it.  I had my doubts as debris has been thrown over the edge of the road as a way and a means to stop erosion.  I supposed the glass would have been covered over and/or broken. 

Donned my boots and vest and down I went.  I started out across from where I remember finding the glass because access was easier.  I wended my way through brush and mud and poison ivy vines, walked across the bottom of the ravine and after poking around a couple of minutes came up with a 10" X 24 " pc.  This blue glass is 1/4" thick and heavy and I thought it looked to be just the right size for a transom.  I carried it up out of the ditch and on up the hill to the big cabin and I was a huffing and a puffing.  It 'bout wore me out!  Anyway, we measured and thought and supposed --  and I said I'm going back.

This time I went down the steep side of the ravine, above where I found the big piece and lo and behold!  there's 3 more pieces.  These were smaller but all in all, I have enough glass for the two transom windows.  This time, it was even harder getting out of the ditch as it was straight up and I was carrying three pieces.  I scrambled them out, the glass and me still all in one piece and carted them home.

Now, I will take the glass to Creston and have it cut to size.  We'll figure out later, how to frame them in and make them work. 

Back to the weather, just a year ago today according to my 2012 cabin calendar, Craig and Traci bought their cabin here and the weather was 80 deg!  80 deg on March 17 and again on March 31!  Last year set Spring temperature records and the summer set records for being dry.  I hope we don't set either one of those records this year.  I hope it rains and pours and lots of thunderstorms move through!  I hope all the trees we planted last year survived the drought and the winter! 

2013-A NEW YEAR

It is Feburary, 2013. The days are getting longer, and although the winter has not been to bad, we are looking forward to spring and getting to work at the cabin.
Hopefully this year will be a little easier on us, at least a little more relaxing.  We got all the drywall up, which after wiring, sewer, and water was a main  project to have gotten out of the way.  My goals for this year are:

1. Get the pine up on the living room walls
2. Put down flooring of some kind in living room
3. Move in
4. Finish spray foaming under cabin(joy)
5. Railing for porch
6. Plant a couple of pine trees
7. Do some landscaping
8. Think about another door from old cabin kitchen to new cabin steps
9. Think about dogtrot
10.Think about heating system
11.Think about finishing loft for the kids
12.Think about a tree house
13.Relax and drink a beer!!
14. Another beer, please

Of course this is all in addition to mowing the kids' lots, mowing our lot, maintain equipment, taking care of old cabin, and on and on.

But it willl hopefully keep us young!!

BOI

Dry Spell

I have been through a drought, a long dry spell.  I haven't had a desire or motivation to write which is exactly why I couldn't be a full-time blogger or even a weekly newspaper contributor.  Once you make a committment to a newspaper, you have got to come up with a column each week come hell or high water.  Lazy? don't want to write.  You have to.  Sick? can barely sit at the keyboard?  too bad.  It's what you get paid for.  Away on vacation?  So sad.  You gotta have that weekly column.  And a nationally known blogger?  you must have an entry at least every other day or we fickle citizens will quit checking in once a day.  We'll find another blogger that posts each day.

The Pioneer Woman has it figured out.  She has, what, five categories?  She actually has co-bloggers, well at least one for the Home Schooling category, anyway.  Maybe more.  Pioneer Woman doesn't blog every day in Confessions but if she doesn't have an entry there, there'll be a new entry in Cooking.  The Pioneer Woman has it figured out.  And she gives away great prizes (not that I can win even one : ( 

So back to me, I tried to recruit help.  I go through spells where I have so many articles in me that I auto scheduled them out 10-21 days.  But then I have droughts. Long, dry, unproductive spells where absolutely  nothing gets posted for days on end.   So I went and recruited Himself to write for Too at Twin Lake (orignally in III) and he did write some and he did help the interest level but he was more irregular than I was. 

And then he struck off on his own -- he has his own blog!  And he's excited and enthusiastic about it (and so am I) but now he'll never, ever write again in my blog.  There goes my co-producer.   I think and suppose. 

In the big scope of things, I guess where ever we write and whatever memories and activities and "moments" we can tell about and record for ever after, is good.  Limited or not.  And I already knew that I'll never, ever end up a famous, nationally known Blogger. 

Finishing Up for the Year

2 months ago, frustrated because I couldn't get a day of vacation approved at work, I randomly signed up for vacation on November 9.  Didn't have a thing planned.  Just simply wanted a day of vaca.  

So we loaded up and took the scenic route to Too.  The two photos above were taken earlier in the fall, in October.  The trees are not nearly as pretty today as they were in the pics but we took the back roads and wandered our way to Too though Ringgold County, Lamoni and across on the Pleasanton Road to Mo.  We checked out the cabins and winterized the washer with the Instructions Himself got from the manufacturer. (yes, you use antifreeze in it, just like a toilet or sink drain.)  I put the wasp killer jar inside so it wouldn't take on any water, freeze and break.  We picked up a last item or two, moved the picnic table, re-locked the doors and headed home.  But not directly home as we wandered on over to Mt Moriah. 

I am so disappointed in the pic of the week old piglets.  I want to go back and use my camera instead of the phone.  These little darlings are adorable!  They are being pastured, rather than being raised in a barn like in the old days when I was a kid.    The piglets were out in the fresh air and the sunshine --  giving "cute" a new meaning.  Of course, they will end up on someones plate in a few years but meanwhile they are happy and free. 

The pigs are on the farm of Tim and Maryanna just down the road south and west of III.  These folks were our neighbors at III and Tim and his Amish helpers (and include Himself in the Amish helper category : )  built the big cabin.  Tim and Maryanna have raised and homeschooled a daughter who is in nursing school in St. Joseph and their son is a senior this year.  They used to travel the midwest in an RV helping to build churches.  They are now trying to be homesteaders and to live off the land growing vegetables in a greenhouse, raising pigs.  They have 180 chickens and sell eggs to the Amish (who sell the eggs from their Amish Country stores).  They have started a shiitake mushroom patch in their timber and Maryanna canned 32 pints (quart?) this summer.  They may or may not raise vegetables next year to take to the Kansas City Farmers Market.  The answer to that depends on which adult you ask. 

I found the tour of the farmstead and metal fabricating shop extremely interesting.  I like the idea of self-sustainability and re-purposing.  I like the whole idea of raising organic vegetables, pigs and chickens and living off the land.  I do. 

I have decided it is best that the piglet photo didn't come out so good.  If you could see how really cute and adorable they are, you would all run out and find a little piglet to keep at home!  see . . . better you don't go do that. 

After our visit and tour, we wandered our way back home -- to Bethany for a sandwich, north and then west thru Harrison Co and Worth Co, Mo through the old towns of Hatfield and Allendale.  Then again, taking the backroads thru Mt Ayr and Diagonal to slide on home before dark.  It was a good day. 

The photo above is just to let you all know that I have finally found a way that I can make me a Root / Storm cellar at Too.  I can do it this way!  I wasn't sure I would be able to dig down, get the floor and walls in and lay my door at a slant, etc . . . blah blah like in the standard old farmstead cellar of yore.  But this I can do!  So I'll research what vents and hardware I need, figure out the size of the door and before we all know it, I'll have us a storm cellar!  Oh, I mean root cellar.                                  

                                                                   You all come back . . .

Living Room Ceiling, DONE!! Another milestone

The picture above is what the living room looked like before any drywall was installed.  It looked hopeless.

Herself with her tool belt on ready to work!!the year, 2011

The next picture above is the day the drywall was installed.  I think  it was Memorial Day weekend, with Dana, Chad, Craig and myself doing the installing. the year, 2012

This picture is after I came down on a Thursday, taped, mudded, and sanded to prep for the final ceiling finish. October, 2012

And this picture is the finished ceiling with the the ceiling fans installed.  AND, THEY BOTH WORKED!!

Next step will be to start installing pine on the walls, but that will have to wait till next year.

Hazard Pay, or the pleasures of foam insulation

These boxes look innocent enough, but they contain "foam it green" spray insulation, fun to use, easy to install, saves money and time.  What more could a person ask for???

The picture below is one of the instructional videos provided by the manufacturer to aid us in what was ahead.  Looks clean and neat, so far.

\\


The picture below is me prepping for my journey into the unknown.

The picture below is ME, looks just like in the above mentioned video!!

The picture below is me lying on my back on rocks, sewer and drain pipes, trying to spray as much an area as I can without moving, and according to the instructions, if you stop spraying for 30 seconds, you must change spray nozzels. And as we were only provided with 13 of them, we had to move fast.

The picture below is me covered in my hazmat suit, covered with foam insulation, leaves, sticks, and whatever else.

The picture below, almost finished, as we ran out of spray with only about 10 square feet unfinished, however most of the cabin is now completely insulated. I am anxious to see if we have done any good, or if this was a waste of time and money.  Someday, i hope to finish the rest of the spray insulation, but may have to see if I can recruit a son, or son-in-law, to finish it for me. Over and out.
The BOI

And, now for the rest of the story.  HORRORS!!!!!.  It wasn't bad enough that i could barely move under the cabin. I was supposed to hold the nozzel approx 18 inches from the target, so most of the time i had to look straight up while shooting foam, which meant the overspray was coming directly down on me. It was a darn good thing I had the suit on, and the respirator, and the googles, but eventually the googles were so covered with foam that I couldn't see, and the respirator was becoming clogged so it was difficult to breath, the hazmat suit was catching on everything and eventually came off my head, which allowed some of the overspray to get into what little hair I have left, which in turn attracted dirt, leaves and sticks to be entanged in my hair.

Thanks to herself and a shampoo using acetone we got most of it out.  My sinuses were completely clogged up unitil today, my eyes were burning so bad i could hardly open them until this morning. 

And it was probably a good thing I had the respirator on, as it no doubt kind of muzzeled all the not so kind things I was muttering.  Hopefully no one heard as I even shocked myself a few times. I even told myself to shut the hell up once.

Anyway, its over. I feel much better today, and someday I may even be able to laugh about this.

And herself did a fine job. As we had to change nozzels quite often, that job fell to her, of which she did great. And she had to lug those 60 pound tanks around so the hose would reach wherever I needed to spray.  GOOD JOB!!!!

Fine Fall Day

I love this pic but I took it today with my phone and I know it won't print . . .  not enough pixels or pixies or Fairy Queens.  Not enough quality to print any size at all -- so it won't win any County Fair prizes.  In thinking about this beautiful photograph tho,  it is probably going to win the Too at Twin Lakes photo contest! 

How's that for taking care of myself!   

This weekend (or this Sunday and Monday visit) Himself is going to spray insulate the bottom side of the new cabin.  He has researched this procedure and insulation product.  He has asked questions.  He has purchased the pressurized tanks of foam, his haz mat suit and a respirator.  He is ready.  My role tomorrow is to call 911.  Not that I'll need to do that because Himself has done the research.  But.  Just in case. 

So, the pressurized foam had to be brought to room temperature which required 24 hours and to apply the material the outdoor temperature has to be 60 - 80 degrees.  The weather forecaster predicted warm temps so that is what brought us on this Sunday/Monday visit.  We came down this morning.  Lit the heater in the little cabin and Himself carried in the tanks of goop.  Then, with the day ahead of us and not wanting to just sit and watch a pressurized tank warm up (how could we tell ; )  we went to work. 

Himself puttied and primed and sorted and sifted.  I finished putting together this wood pile stand.  Then, we proceeded to fill it up.  We had a pile of wood on the ground, in a soggy pile so we sorted and stacked.    

We picked up logs and threw logs and stashed and carried and kicked logs.  We gotter  done!  Got the messy pile picked up, got the wood off the ground so it can dry out and opened up a path so that we can get a golf cart, a Dodge Journey or even a delivery truck down the hill to our cabin, if we need too.  Another benefit of getting the wood up off the ground is that varmits like rats and snakes and Mama Cats with 7 kittens can't be making nests in that wood pile.  Whew!  disaster averted! 

Come back soon for the rest of the story -- insulating the underside of the Big Cabin. 

Summer's Gone



This picture was taken in September and it always says to me that summer is over.

A young girl fresh from hot summer days.

Fresh memories of warm water and feet in hot sand.

Now the air has a chill; the water so cold.

Wind 'cross the lake raises goose bumps

on young girls' bare skin. 

Yep; Summer's gone. 

     



Fall Tour

We are in the cart.

Pedal to the metal.

Chuggin up hill

and zipping down. 

Maddie drives,

then cousin Gabrielle,

Audri declines.

We don't ask Bella.  Yet : )

We are taking the air,

checking the view.

Admiring Fall

in Mo, at Twin Lake. 

Reflections in the water.

Yellows, browns.

 Red leaves.  

Blue skies and impromptu days. 

Girls, crusing.

Hair blowing in the wind.

Silly and laughing,

enjoying life.     

Maybe next time

you all can come along

for the ride. 

Tree Trimmin Time at Two .

There's a person in that tree! 

Craig is up high in PaPa's and my treehouse tree.

That dead branch has hung there for about 3 years. 

Okay; maybe 4.  It wouldn't fall.

It was such an awkward area.

Himself climbed up with the chain saw

a time or two

but couldn't make the angle.

Son John climbed up with the handsaw

and was able to cut that dead branch down.

So after our tree-house tree was trimmed,

the crew moved up to Traci and Craig's.

Someone is in there, under the boughs of the cedar.

Someone is cutting and trimming. 

The bottom limbs were cut down, bottom up.

and acres of cedar boughs hauled away.

Tons. 

Some were saved to start bon fires.

Sawed up for another day. 

Joe's doing. Good Man!   

Traci and Craig's yard size has been doubled.

Their view of the lake is magnified.

The amount of shade they have to sit under

has increased dramatically! 

A good day's work is done.

One man's chore

is another man's entertainment : )

I have waited for and wanted this!  Isn't this great?  We had it delivered this past Wednesday and I had washed 3 loads in it before we left early Saturday morning.  The washer will save us carrying sheets/towels/rugs/clothes back and forth.  We have a dryer too but will have to wait until we get our electrical system updated but that's okay!  Right now, I love using the clothes line!  And I have an old fashioned drying rack upstairs in the big cabin for when it rains or for "dainties" that I don't what the world to see.  And I will hang shirts on hangers so as to avoid wrinkles.

The dryer will stack on top of the washer. 

And I'm living high on the hog! 

(PS:  it looks like I'm growing whiskers on my chin in this pic -- but I'm not!  There's a fan sitting beyond me and the controls of the fan appear to be growing on my chinny chin chin.  And let that be a lesson -- do not believe everything you see!  )



new room; bedroom

Himself and I spent a week at Too. We went down on a Saturday and stayed until the next Saturday morning.  That is the longest we have ever stayed there. The weather was good, it warmed up nice during the days and cooled off for good sleeping at night.  The Lake is still low, the area still needs rain but we had a couple of rains and the grass greened up and we even had to mow.

Good thing we had plenty of work to do!  It kept us moving and pretty much out of trouble.

We worked on the cabin a little, put together a closet unit for our bedroom, trimmed the "to-be" tree house tree, mowed, planted perennial flowers, cleaned and ate and slept!  We got in a couple of golfcart rides and even a walk or two.  I witnessed a spectacular sunshine one evening -- the sky tinted pink and as I watched intensified in color to darker pink, rose and finally deep bright red orange.  It was glorious! 

I love Hollyhock green.  What do you think?  our little bedroom will be sunny with two big windows but will look warm and cozy decked out in hollyhock green. 

Down to the big box store, we stumbled upon a closet organization kit.  We thought (and both agreed!) that we would like it for our bedroom closet -- rather than a real closet.  Of course, admiring an assembled display piece and taking home a 2X4X3' box and dumping out a couple of hundred pieces on the floor are two entirely different things.  We lay out all the pieces and instructions, looked at each other and asked "what the heck are we doing"?

Two days later and lots of muttering, mumbling and brow beating later, we were making progress.  (We are standing at the north end of the bedroom looking out the door at the stairway.  

Due to the nature of our installation and the amount of room we had, we had to make some mighty major adjustments but our persistance (and our frugality) paid off and we will end up with a unique storage unit for our new cabin.  





a projected weekend . . .

Himself and I had a long Labor Day weekend in Mo.  We went with intent and purposes and some of the intentions got done and some of the purposes completed.  (PS:  I wrote a post last evening only to have Blogger hiccup or my internet connection burped . . . but I lost the just completed entry in one fell swoop.  Now here I am, again, getting a warning that my entry has not been auto saved.  ????)

We went down Friday evening after work and got up bright and chipper Saturday morning.  The day started in our, now, familiar routine.  Himself went to work texturing and painting and I went to town.  This time I drove over to Bethany to Eckards, the flooring store.  We wanted carpet tiles and they assured me, over the phone, that they had them.  I like Bethany and hadn't been to shop since the days of III so in I jump into the Flintmobile and off I went. 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, our bedroom was taking shape.  I love the shade of green.  I do.  I like the ceiling fan and once we get the carpet smoothed down, I'm going to like it too.  At Eckards, I found only commercial grade, flat napped carpet and we wanted something a little more plush so Eckwards presented this old roll of foam backed carpet and I scooped it up and ran. 

We stained some pine to trim our windows and now just need window trim and baseboard.  I have my curtains, I think.  We'll need a new bed and bedspread and one room will be done! 

Himself's next self-assigned duty is to tape and mud the ceiling in the livingroom.  We have a whole week planned, coming up, so hope to make a lot of progress in that time. 

Meanwhile, when I wasn't able to help Himself, I was cleaning out corners of the little cabin and dragged out this 3/4 finished chair.  I had started it back before III came and went.  I had been dissatisfied with my work; didn't like the pattern; but after dusting it off and finding that I had the cane I needed to finish it, I plopped down on the front porch in the shade and finished it up.  It certainly isn't professional and I don't like it as well as the first seat I ever caned (this is the second) but it'll do. 

I am either going to paint the whole chair antique blue, seat and all, or just darken the wood and stain the seat to make it look older than it is. 

I dragged out more bits and pieces.  That long board in the photo above used to be the top back of that old blue buffet that was in this house when we bought it and which was used upstairs for years for storage.  Did you recognize it?  That and some gingerbread pieces got a coat of black spray paint, then I fastened them on to our old screen door to dress it up.  I like the looks of the door and it gives little hands a place to push other than on the screen.  Wish I had taken a picture of the finished product. 

Now, this old chair is probably 150 years old and hold the first seat I ever caned.  I have moved this chair from here to there and back again . . . and with the #9 wire holding it together, it did hold together.  Then some time in the building of the big cabin, this antique got broken.  I don't know if I'll "githerdone" but my intent is to glue and wire and shore up this old chair.  I want to put it back together.  It still has some bits and pieces of old white paint on it and the top back rail is worn smooth as silk from all the hands that picked it up and carried it and pulled it out and pushed it under the table or desk.  I hope I can at least get it to hold together "for decoration".  I know it will never be a functional chair again. 

So some of the "projected" is done, some not but the fun is in the doing and planning;  and the success or failure, keeps us moving on.  Thanks for stopping in.