Our new life in Wyoming

Nesting Boxes & First Free Range Day

2012-02-18T16:26:00.000-07:00

Chicken Tales

Things have been busy in the chicken coop!

We are up to 18 eggs a day now

(it would be nice if the people who said they would buy them..would!)

They like their new nesting boxes but

I think we need a couple more as I am

finding up to 4 eggs at a time in a box,

which leads to broken eggs just from the

hens being in there. The "rule" seems to be

1 box per 5 hens, we have 24 so I guess we need 2 more

I find eggs on the ground and outside if all

nests are busy OR I find 2 hens trying to set in the

same box at the same time. Kinda funny.

This little girl was the first to investigate the new boxes.

Today is the first day I have let the girls out of their yard.

Why, cause it is to cold out there, and I needed to stay outside

to see how things would go, it was 41 degrees.

They thought this was great and it was a good experience for us all.

See Tricksey there (by the wash tub), gives you an idea how small she is.

She has learned to respect the chickens.

There is alot for them to investigate.

Seeds and bugs to find, AND weeds to pull!

I worked a bit in the garden, but the ground is still frozen so

about all I got done was to move about 6 straw bales to a new location

All our dogs are really good with the girls

They are more interested in what I am doing

or rough housing together then bothering the chickens

The girls are a bright bit in the late winter dull and ugly landscape.

After about 2 hours the girls all went back into their yard, two

had gone back to lay eggs, the others I think were hungry

and thirsty, which was fine with me because the wind had started blowing

and I was cold even with my coat on. A very good first day out.

They will love it in a few weeks as it gets warmer and

the grasses start growing more, lots of chicken snacks to be had.

Thank you for coming over, we enjoyed your visit.

God Bless you always.

Our first EGG!

2012-01-24T16:10:00.000-07:00

Our First EGG

I knew the time was getting near.

This is the scene when I come up to feed and put the girls to bed each night.

They all gather in the corner and get very excited.

I call to them....chicky, chicky girls.

I get to the gate and they are right there, so excited.

It is hard to even get in the gate, as they rush it.

One of their favorite things is to gather at AND on my feet

and to untie my shoe laces. I do not dare wear shorts or

sandles this summer, they love to peck at my pant legs and

jacket, yesterday one of the girls got my leg through my jeans. Ouch!

Hard to believe just 20 weeks ago they looked like this

They are beautiful birds and friendly, they love attention.

We thought we had all girls but as time has gone by

we realize that our Winnie is a boy (below), he is beautiful and starting

to be all rooster, so far he is gentle and stays away from me,

which is fine, as long as he behaves we will be fine together.

No crow yet, but I am sure that is just a matter of time.

Today I found our first egg, so exciting!

Now Kirk has to get nests built.

Here is a store bought large egg on the left and our first egg on the right.

I have been looking for the last several weeks for eggs, but by gosh

at exactly 20 weeks one of these little girls started laying.

I wonder if she is the one Winnie was "playing" with yesterday......hummmmmm

It will be interesting to see how soon the others start laying,

I better be on my toes.

We have one little red hen that has figured out how to fly the coop.

I put her in 3 times today.

She comes running when I come out and the dogs don't bother her

she is learning to head right for the gate so I can open it.

She is one of the littlest so of course she is able to fly higher.

If it were not for her I wouldn't have found that egg for about

another hour, it probably would have been frozen by then.

All things work for the good....right?

Ok, that is it for today. I had better go for now.

Thanks for visiting.

God bless!

Tales of the Chickens

2011-12-18T11:27:00.002-07:00

Well the chickens are pretty much grown up now, they should begin to

lay some time around February.

Good morning girls, come on out into the sunshine

are you hungry?

Time for some food and recreation.

So much to do, house keeping of the yard and house. LOL.

I wish I had more pictures to share with some of the stories

I have to share.

This girl is Winny, she is a Winsummer breed, she is the biggest one.

She was our free chick.

Her cheeks are puffy, like lacy feathers.

The other hens are New Hampshires. They are so pretty.

We got a new puppy a couple weeks ago, she loves

to go in with the chickens and as you can see

no one is afraid of the other.

Tricksey is part Jack Russell and part Doxie,

she is about 3 months now.

Just a short story,

one morning this fall I was sitting in the chicken yard,

(I have a milk crate I sit on)

visiting with the girls, watching them do their

chicken things, when all of a sudden one of the black

hens jumped up on my leg, she was talkin to me

moving close and then crossing over my arm,

to my other leg and sat down, she stayed for about 5 minutes.

Next day, I was in their house fixen their water,

bent over and up she jumps on my back.

I stood up slowly as she backed up my back,

yes, backed up. She ended up on my shoulder.

where she decided to be a hairdresser.

I call her miss girl, she lets me pick her up

and I turn her on her beak (so to speak) to check for dirt feet.

then hold her to my chest where she tells me tales before settling in.

Well that is it for today.

I am headed out to clear the dread flowers and weeds from

Lady's grave and plant some wild flower seeds.

We are having warm weather right now getting up to about

40, so might as well take advantage of the

sunshine.

God Bless. Thank you for stoppin by

Chickens on the Homestead

2011-09-11T15:40:00.002-07:00

Chickens on the Homestead

On Sept 6th our little girls hatched out

they arrived here on Sept 9

It is amazing how they can travel through

the mail like that with no food or water

Here is a little video of them on their first day home.

First thing you have to do is dip their little beaks into water.

Now this triggers the digestive process,

their little travel box was clean, but within minutes of

getting their first drinks they begin to poop.

Now they spend their day eating, drinking, chirping and pooping.

LOL

With two lights in their little home no one was getting

much sleep, little naps here and there which, were

interrupted by someone else (chicken wise) jumping upon

the head. So we decided despite the need for heat that we would

turn the lights off, cover them and let them sleep over the night.

So I turned the lights off and oh my goodness the racket was amazing

they did not like this change from bright light to darkness.

In about 10 minutes though they were snuggled together and very

very quite. I checked on them about 4 times during

the night to make sure they were not to cold, but they were fine.

So now we ALL go to bed at night. Grin.

Today, 9-11 the girls are enjoying some time in the sun and warmth

of the green house.

We have also been working on the coop.

The inside is getting cleaned out, and the yard is fenced

and the front porch is in progress.

Looking at the coop from the house.
Fence is up, new roof is on

Work on the porch has begun

Gate is up, this is an old salvaged gate, goes perfect.

Roosts are up, walls cleaned. The white spots are from
wall paper that was covering the inside, well contact paper really
I decided to leave the really adhered pieces, to help
with the buildings history.
Starting to insulate the ceiling.
Worked on cleaning the floor, it was about 1/2 inch thick
in stuff to vacuum up.
The dogs love coming in with us.
They met the chicks today.
I am sure Bear (in the back) wanted to lick them
One of the windows, another is to the left.

The girls are growing fast, I will share more soon.

Thank you for visiting. Come on back.

May God Bless and Keep you.

Sheep Herder's Shack = Chicken Coop

2011-08-08T19:29:00.000-07:00

OLD OLD

Sheep Herder's Shack

TURNING

Chicken Coop

I had seen this building years ago at a friends place

and thought it was a neat old building.

Yesterday morning, Kirk came home with the idea

of turning it into a chicken coop since it

was going to be hauled off to the burn pile.

Of course, we will take the orphaned building.

It is perfect, reminiscent of a homestead.

The building is 10' X 16' and is on skids.

If you want something done Kirk and Terry will find a way if there is one.

After dragging it through part of town, it is time

to go up our driveway.

The drive is rather steep and then

Does a switch back

With a few things in the way, but

no backing was done.

Then on up the hill almost to the upper pad,

Now being pushed into place.

Not a beautiful building, very humble.

Hard to believe someone lived in this building out

in the wilderness while grazing his sheep.

It has two windows, well really openings with screens on them.

The roof is just slightly rounded and needs replacing.

Here I am giving you an idea of its placement to the house.

For those new to this blog, we are still in the building

process here, 6 years of work from

a dirt hill and just the 2 of us doing all the work.

This blog is all about the process, I invite you to explore.

Another picture to show placement of things.

The over grown late summer garden.

Note the grade of the hill to the left we are

half way between the top and the road.

We do not know the age of the building, but it is well made

and will make a great home for our chicks.

The wood is a wonderful grey.

I will update as we fix er up for the girls.

Thanks for coming over.

Please leave a comment so I know you came.

May God Bless and Keep You.

Family Visits.......Part 1

2011-07-25T09:45:00.000-07:00

This summer we have been blessed with visits

from our families.

At the end of June

Kirk's parents came for a visit

and brought along our grandson, Konner.

We spent a wonderful 4 days together.

On one of those days we went up into the mountains.

Looking for arrowheads, pretty rocks and wildflowers,

we were able to find rocks and wildflowers.

Dad, Kirk, Mom and Konner

in front of the Big Horn Mountains

Dames Rocket

As we walk around, Dad found this birds nest

on the ground under some bushes. So Sweet.

Papa and Konner had fun shooting and riding the quad.

One day we went to Cody for some shopping.

Konner was Kirk's constant shadow..

Some scenery on one of our outings. It was so pretty and green

from all of the rain we had this spring. In the 6 years

we have been here I have never seen it this green.

We so enjoyed our time together.

Thank you Mom and Dad for coming all this

way to visit and bringing Konner.

We have been so blessed by your visit.

May God Bless and Keep You and Yours

Hyattville Flooded Again........

2011-06-30T09:22:00.000-07:00

Hyattville Flooded Again

We had 4 days after the last flooding

to get back to normal. I say we, but really it is the folks

in town.

After 2 days of 95+ degree weather we knew

it was going to hit again,

though we hoped it wouldn't be so bad,

but last night about 1 am

it began again.

Now mind you these pictures were taken at 7:15 am

so the waters have gone down.

Same bridge I have shown you before (see last two posts)

and that is where the horse was swept under, 4 days ago.

This is the Medicine Lodge Creek.

The Paint Rock is down that road on the south side of town.

The creek (the Paint Rock) by the white house more swollen then ever, with

debris washing down, never a good thing.

A wider view.

Last night we went down for pizza, the water was pretty much back within

its normal track, on the way home from pizza - about

1 1/2 hours later, the water was back up to the road, yes that fast.

This is how it looks this morning. Its normal track is over among

those trees.

Paint Rock Creek. (right leg)

This time the two legs of the Paint Rock, overflowed and crossed the field completely.

Left leg behind those threes.

More water where it does not belong.

Looking back, toward the Paint Rock. BTW, we live on the other side

of that hill in the back ground, so we had no clue anything was happening.

The creek has overflowed it banks, this is the the Paint Rock (left leg of it)

In the middle of town looking toward the Medicine Lodge.

4 days ago, in order to release the flooding a trench

was cut across the main road. The county then

came in and put a pipe in the ground, but

it did not do its job (probably to small) and

it was ripped back out last night in order to get the water flowing again.

These will look familiar because the same homes and businesses were flooded,

plus some new ones.

This is new flooding.

And this is 3 times as much as it was 4 days ago, can you imagine

what it was like last night, since I took these 5 hours later?

Water flowing into the trench dug across the road. Even 5 hours later

it was covered close to half of my tires on my jeep.

In front of that green house, looking toward the Medicine Lodge

Remember the little white house on the creek, it got flooded

this time and see the water all around it?

Some furniture was removed and windows opened up.

Can you see the water mark on the chimney?

Looking back at the green house (see older posts).

Pasture where the horses where and to the right of the white house.

Looking across from the bridge and white house, the fields are flooded.

It is another warm day, so we are not out of the woods yet.

Still alot of snow on the mountains.

It may be another long night.

God Bless you and Keep you.

High Water - 2011 - Hyattville Wyoming, day 3

2011-06-26T20:36:00.000-07:00

Flood Update.

Early Saturday morning the

Medicine Lodge Creek over flowed its banks.

Flooding mainstree.

Here are some pictures

By time I took these pictures the water had gone down this much.

Today, Sunday the water is down a bit, the guys cut a trench across the road

to drain the water away. We are headed for some really warm

days so I don't think we are out of the woods yet.

A horse got swept under the bridge on Saturday

morning, but thankfully he survived.

May God Bless and Keep you.

High Water - 2011 - Hyattville Wyoming, day 2

2011-06-24T12:03:00.000-07:00

Day 2

Flooding gets a bit worse today,

it got pretty warm yesterday and we are seeing

the effects of that melt off.

Here is what the creek looks like today near our friends place

(refer to yesterdays post for comparison pictures)

It has completely overflowed its banks now, flooding the foreground area

Going on over into the pasture, giving perspective of the size

my jeep is parked on the side there

It continues on in front of the jeep and is beginning to cross the road.

and yet further out into the pasture, filling ruts left days earlier.

Another look, including the house, it is just amazing to me

when on a normal day you can wade in the creek, and it is only maybe

shin deep.

This also makes you notice things you don't normally consider

like how far back that water goes.

Over by the bridge again (see yesterdays post) the water

is about a foot higher, still quite a ways from going over the top, but has risen.

Here is the little white house again, the water is really getting up there and

spreading wider, only a rock pillar is holding up that corner.

Notice the water now in the field on the right.

This field was mostly dry yesterday, now it half way to the house.

This road was dry yesterday, and is the road to a house I showed you

yesterday, I need to go and get pictures of it today.

Another friends house, I know beautiful yard isn't it!

The water is getting ready to enter the grass at the back of their yard,

I just am in awe at how wide the creeks have become.

That water is scary fast and so, so muddy.

Yet another neighbors, the house is safe so far but the

horse arena is flooded.

Another look up stream (by the white house).

The water makes things look so different.

Lots of sand bags have been filled and place where needed.

Hopefully with a few cooler days it will slow down.

We just got a recorded call from the Sheriffs department

saying to expect another 6 inch rise in water in some

areas, mainly mentioned Shelly Canyon and Hyattville.

Shell Canyon has been having alot of problems

including damage to roads so it is closed now.

I will report more tomorrow.

May God Bless and Keep you.

High Water - 2011 - Hyattville Wyoming

2011-06-23T12:08:00.001-07:00

Flooding??????

Well, looks like high water is here.

With some reports stating 300% + snow pack

we could see some flooding in our little town.

This first picture is how one of our 2 creeks looks mid summer.

not at its lowest but getting there, just right for wading.

I went out and about to see what is happening, now that we

are hitting the 90 degree mark.

This next picture is taken at a neighbors place.

You can see the house and normally the creek is just

perfect for wading in. Not today, it is running hard.

and as you can see getting close to the house.

As I turned to my left and looked up the creek you can see

the church, which normally you can not see for trees,

which now are downed.

Just down stream from them.

is one of the bridges, (we have 3 in town)

water is starting to get into the yard of the house in the background.

Across the creek the water is

getting mighty close to this old house.

Which is usually about 10 feet from the water.

It is getting up there.

(Same bridge, little old house to my left).

On one leg of the other creek sits

our friends house. Water in the foreground, is normally

dry pasture.

Here you can see a bit better.

The creek generally runs between the bank and the first

set of trees. Not long ago,

well maybe 2 years ago, we had a graduation party,

with picnic tables between the first row of trees

and the second row. Of course when the water

goes down, we can picnic again.

So as of today this is how the water has risen, I will keep you posted if

it gets higher.

I know it has been a long time since I have posted,

so far it has been a very busy spring, with a lot of rain, thus

tons of weeds, BUT all of my plants are so

happy. I have heard from others that, they measured

about 10 inches of rain so far, that is a ton for here

on the high desert of Wyoming.

Getting ready for company, Kirks parents and

our grandson Konner, arriving this weekend.

In July Samantha, Andy, with grandsons Bryce and Tristan,

will be here after they visit Yellowstone.

No hunting company this year, so that will be lonely.

Stop on over to Decorating My Tin Shack for a

look see at some home improvements,

and

Big Horn Mountain Creations

for an update on quilting projects.

God Bless and Keep you.

Paint, Plants and Dirt

2011-05-03T10:31:00.000-07:00

Oh what a beautiful day it was yesterday.
I just had to take advantage of the wonderful weather.

So outside I went
with empty Nesquik, beans, dog food, and tomato sauce cans,
plus 3 cans of spray paint.

Lime green, yellow and teal.

Spray, spray, spray.

It really is a good idea to take off your rings when painting.

I got so jazzed about doing this job that I forgot.

What is interesting is normally I do not wear my rings

around the house, just to much to mess them up.

We had plans to go out on Sunday, so put them on and forgot

to take them off. Sigh.

Good news.....the rings cleaned right up, good as new!

So after painting my cans, and myself, I began to plant.

Are these not cute. Little cactus

Tomato plants

Aloe and Hens and Chicks
(Remember to click on the pictures to enlarge).

Next step is to add twine and little labels, these
are all being donated to a fund raiser here in our town.
I love how they came out.

Just to cute

God Bless you and this country.

The Deal With Teal

2011-04-16T21:15:00.000-07:00

The Deal with Teal

and

Playing in the Greenhouse

Oh my what a beautiful day it was today

I could not do anything but spend it outside.

Spinach, lettuce, sage, basil, green peppers,

pumpkins, cucumbers, watermelon,

parsley and nasturtiums were planted.

Beds dug in preparation for 25 asparagus crowns

and

Teal spray paint.

You must know that Teal has become a favorite color around here.

To most that may be no big deal, but it is here

because I am not a blue lover, except for my blue jeans that is.

So when I found Teal and realized I love it, well

you can imagine.

Now I have Teal glasses for my summer drinks (well really any drink)

Teal crystals on my candelabra

a Teal shower curtain and now Teal hanging planters

I also got these sweet spring colors when I bought the Teal

these are slated for a different project, but I will

just have to get another can of Teal paint, because

painting the planters was to happen today.

The planters before..........Teal.....just a bit ordinary.

Now doesn't that look better.......

Hanging to dry......I still have 3 more to do, but need more paint

going to town tomorrow........

So cute, now I can't wait to get flowers in them

I also played in the greenhouse today and

thought I'd share some of the pretties growing in there.

Hens and Chicks

awaiting moving to the garden.

More hens and chicks

hey there is another basket/planter....where is my spray can?

Got up to nearly 90 today in the greenhouse.

The tomato plants......just a few more weeks and they will go

outside into the wine barrels in their wall-O-waters until such time

as the night temps stabilize.

Geraniums, petunias (these are hold overs from last year, I kept them inside

all winter and they are blooming again, I have calendula blooming for a second year as well).

I have forgotten the name of this little one.

Next up, Catnip.

you can really see the square stem here, which means

catnip is a member of the mint family.

Well, now you know the deal with Teal.

I hope you have enjoyed the wee tour of the greenhouse.

I am glad spring is here.....

though I feel badly for all the folks who have been impacked

by the terrible tornadoes down south and on the east coast.

It has been a really rough 3 days on them.

Prayers for the families of those who died and

for those who lost property.

May God Bless you and keep you.

Nourishing Skin Cream

2011-04-14T13:19:00.000-07:00

Nourishing Skin Cream

Just finished making a batch of

Nourishing Skin Cream

I have been making this for about 6 years now

and love it.

I started experimenting with creams because

I was having so much trouble with over

oily skin and bad break outs.

Nothing on the store shelves worked for me.

I finally settled on 26 ingredients that feed

and protect the skin

2 jars are sold and I have 2 left

so I am putting them up for sale

$12.00 each + exact shipping

these are 4 oz jars

If you are interested or have any questions

leave me a comment

and I will get back to you.

Thank you and have a blessed day

JUST A NOTE TO MY READERS:
I know it has been awhile since I have posted here
that is about to change,
things are being to hop here on the homestead.
Veggies, chicken, sheep, cows
grass, asparagus, potatoes, alfalfa.
Have I peeked your intrest
things were pretty quite for a long time
working hard making a living but now
we are able to expand a few things
so I hope you will stay tuned.

First up, I have a wheat grinder coming
Wahoo fresh flour and bread.

See you soon.

Spring and Some Inspiration

2011-03-08T10:21:00.000-07:00

I saw this video this morning

something we all could work towards, even if only a little.

Of course they live were they can grow every month

of the year, but even a few months is better then nothing.

Enjoy

December 2010

2010-12-19T14:12:00.000-07:00

Wow, 2010 is nearly over!

I remember how unbelievable it was that we were leaving the 1900s

and here we are over 10 years into the 2000s.

This has been a busy year here on the homestead in Wyoming. We have been here 5 years now, and that is kind of hard to believe, too. If you have followed this blog at all you know we have been working hard, starting with a hill, that had to have level places made, building our home, starting a garden, adding on, putting in landscaping. This year we put in a few trees and strubs, WAHOO.

Work has also been good.
Kirk has been able to build lots of cabinets.

This kitchen, in alder

Master bathroom (same house) in cherry

Another kitchen, made in black walnut

No counter top in this picture, house still under construction

Computer desk

counter top is black walnut, base desk is wormy maple

(sorry about the not so good pictures).

knobs are miss matched because we made an extra drawer for the customer.

The shelves are out of black walnut, also.

In this view you can see the pull out shelves for the printer and other items.

These are just a few of the things he has done this year

there was also another kitchen (no pictures).

I have been quilting and have done 2 commissioned quilts. I will share them in

another post as this one is long enough.

I invite you to visit

Big Horn Mountain Creations

(my quilting blog)

and

Decorating My Tin Shack.

(house decorating blog)

We want to wish you a

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

May God bless you and your family

May God guide and bless this country.

Two Cute Give-a-ways

2010-08-17T19:42:00.000-07:00

My friend Candi is having a give-a-way, well really she is having 2

on her blog Quilts N Things

she is giving away 3 cute windmills

Also

on her blog Candi's Eye Candi

Aren't these cute. Go over and visit Candi and sign up for the drawings

Good luck.

We Have Landscaping!

2010-07-14T21:05:00.000-07:00

Landscaping! Yes, we have landscaping. We are finally to the point in our building

that we can put in landscaping so we got some trees and some shrubs.

So here they are;

Hawthorn - Paul's Scarlet

Spring Snow Flowering Crab Apple

Limber Pine - Vanderwolf's pyramid

Close up of Limber Pine. This tree is so cool,
it has 5 needles per bundle, it is kinda fluffy.

Purple Leaf Sand Cherry

Catmint - Walkers low

Russian Sage

I know this may not be all that exciting but if you are a gardener

and you have not been able to put anything in the ground

for 5 years it is exciting. Grin.

I wanted to take a moment to ask those who follow this blog for

your forgiveness. We have been so busy around here

I have been neglectful of this blog.

I hope to do better. I would like to invite you

all to visit my other two blogs

Big Horn Mountain Creations

and

Decorating my Tin Shack

both with links in my side bar.

Thank you for visiting and please leave a comment so I will know you came by.

Quilt Show and Cowboy Carnival

2010-05-31T21:36:00.000-07:00

I hope that everyone had a great Memorial Day Weekend. In our hometown we celebrate with a Cowboy Carnival. Things start out in the morning with horse races. We had a large turn out for the whole day, it was even more awesome that the rain skipped us this day, which has not been the case in the past.

The first two pictures here show a small part of the horse races (pun intended). Just look at these cute little horses pulling the wagons. The were such a delight to watch, and they even raced each other, here they are doing some advertising for a couple of the carnival's sponsors.

While your looking at the sweet horses and the cowboy, check out the landscape, everything is so pretty right now.......an well it should be, we have gotten (I hear) about 8 inches of rain in May.

Look at these skies, OMGosh is was the most beautiful day (and I have the sunburn to prove it, LOL). Along with the horse races, we also attended the sharp shoots contest, in its first year with 12 participants. There were dog races, bb gun shoot (for the wee ones), plant sale, book sale, bingo, 2 auctions, pie contest (which I was going to enter, but when I went to make my pie I found out I way out of butter for the pie crust........sigh), I know I am missing some of the events, but fun was had by all.

Then there was food, yummmmm. And look at that line, we stood in it for 45 minutes. Alot of people attended this year. This by the way is about 1/3 of the length of the line, and that line circles around to the back there where the meat was. We understand they ran out of silverware sets which they had 500 made up.

Also, the Quilt Show. You did not think I would post this with out some quilts. Now I have more pictures but did not want this post to be to long. I thought I would share with you my entries

The first is my Painted Quilt. It is a kit I bought from Sherry Rodgers-Harrison. She pre quilted it and sent along some pens to "color" the quilt with, but I could not resist adding embroidery, beads and crystals. It is 11.5 x 11.5 inches. Remember you can click on the pictures to enlarge them.

My second entry is my king size Log Cabin quilt "Colors of Wyoming" I chose the color for the quilt from the colors in nature here.

AND......................DRUM ROLL PLEASE..........................

My quilt took first place in the large quilt division. This is a viewer choice award. So those who attended got to choose their favorite quilts.

The quilts award.......................

And here is the quilt..........................I was so surprised and excited. I hope to enter these quilts in the county fairs quilt show in August. I just hope people enjoy seeing them.

Happy Memorial Day to everyone and thank you for visiting and I hope you have enjoyed a glimpse of our weekend doings.

It a Party!!

2010-05-16T07:12:00.005-07:00

I am joining this party, it promises to be fun and full of inspiration. I hope you will come along, join the fun and perhaps even share your creative space.
For info visit Karen @ My Desert Cottage

2nd Annual Where Bloggers Create party- June 19th, 2010!!!! It’s time again to share your creative spaces!!!

Is your space at the dining room table? Do you have a room of your own? Have you converted a closet? And what do you do in there? What kind of things do you create?

Update: See the button in my side bar to go to my "Where Bloggers Create" Post, and my studio.

Today in Wyoming

2010-05-06T08:48:00.010-07:00

This morning we woke up to 3 inches of heavy wet snow. Large snow flakes flying all about.
So I thought I get a few pictures to share (and for proof), since the south is having 90 degree weather today. LOL.

Need a little more wood for the stove.

Plants cozy in the greenhouse with the snow piling up outside. Here it is stuck in the chicken wire that will support my tomatoes later on.

Thought this was a fun picture

Love this one and how the snow is piling up on this, which holds my gazing ball.

As of this posting the snow has stopped, the sun is brighter, so the clouds have thinned. Soon it will be melting off and all the pretty clean white will give way to icky sticky mud. Icicles are forming along the roof line.

Spring in Wyoming, you just never know what you will get. They say if you don't like the weather, just wait 15 minutes.

Prayers Needed

2010-04-20T13:28:00.000-07:00

I am sad to report that Holly passed away this afternoon about 2pm central time. Please hold Mitch, the kids (6 and 10) and their families up to God in your prayers.

Prayers Please

2010-04-13T12:58:00.000-07:00

My daughter's friend Holly is in desperate need of prayers ...... here is Samantha's update in bit ago

Holly, needs extra prayers today! She is in a critical state with her lungs! We're praying for strength for her to fight this and for her husband to hold on to God and keep himself well! We're also praying for the Dr's that they will know what to do next!!! PLEASE EVERYONE STOP WHAT YOU'RE DOING AND SAY ...A QUICK PRAY FOR MY FRIEND AND HER FAMILY!!!

Please pray for Holly, put her on your prayer chain, anything. Help this young family.

Arrowheads

2010-02-25T13:24:00.007-07:00

Kirk's parents and grandparents spent many years hunting arrowheads and other Indian artifacts in several western states, including Wyoming. For several years his mom, Letha, has been wanting us to take the box of "rocks" and do something with them. Two years ago, she gave us several displays of arrowheads and we had not done anything with them yet, mainly because we did not know what we wanted to do. Sooooooooo.....after bringing the boxes of "rocks" home with us this last Christmas we began trying to decide what to do.

One day as I was cleaning the mirror in the bathroom it occurred to me that the frame that Kirk had made for the mirror would be perfect for the arrowhead displays, so when he came home I told him my idea. Yes, I get many ideas that he then implements when possible (see my last post). LOL. The picture below is what resulted. The frame is a perfect fit for the arrowheads, it is made from old barn wood. Then.................

A few days later he was out in the shop making more frames and expanded on the idea (his idea, not mine, he get really good ideas) and I love the way he did the 2nd and 3rd frames. Click on the picture to enlarge. Don't you love how they look with the eagle and fish he did and my rustic lamp shade. To say the least I am very happy with how this looks. Then.............................

we still had thousands of
arrowheads and other
items. What shall we do?
Something special.

A bar top? Why not!?
But how shall we do this?

So we had a slab of wood cut, and played with placing some of the artifacts on it. Ya, that is cool, but the only way to keep them there would be to cover them with resin, we did not like the idea of covering them like that, to us that felt wrong. So more thinking and experimenting and Kirk came up with

this idea...............and it worked perfectly.

He cut a recess into the slab, it is about 1 inch deep, making special wells for the large items to set into, these special wells would also serve to support the glass we wanted to put on top.

Here is a closer view of what he did.

and another. See how the well walls, that are the same height as the outer edge, will help support the glass as it spans across the area? He spent about 6 hours on the carving and created...........................

This beautiful bar that showcases the the wonderful arrowheads that were such a passion to his grandfather (Shorty), grandma (Josie), mom and dad. We still want to add a story and some pictures to the bar to make it even more special.

So now you know what you can do with a box of arrowheads and some wood.

Poor is as Poor does!!

2010-02-20T16:41:00.007-07:00

Have you ever had a dilemma?

We have been redoing our kitchen, adding cabinets. If you have been following this blog, you know we used to live in a 800 sq ft space. So when we put an addition onto the house all the rooms grew as things were rearranged, including the kitchen.

Problem, the stove is going to be moved from the current position below, across the room. For this new place we need a slide in stove, a stove without a back sticking up.....OMGosh have you priced a slide in stove without a back? Only 1,500 to 1,700 hundred dollars. Yikes, we can't afford that right now, besides I would rather have a dishwasher first. So one night while I could not sleep, I began to think about the stove we have. I got up and investigated.

See the stove in the picture below. See the back on it? (click the picture if you'd like a closer look) I lifted the burner top and looked, there is nothing back there, oh the wires to the clock, which died last year (this stove is 25 years old), and switch to the light in the oven (also dead). Other then that it is empty space, well except for the vent to the oven which comes up the back. Soooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Why can't we take the back off. Leave the vent grate and slide the stove into the new spot. So I gave the idea to Kirk and he looked and there is no reason. So off came the back.

It had brackets that stuck up, we could cut them off, but what a mess that would make in the house, lets bend them down.

Tuck them under, and add a self tapping screw to hold in place.

Now, will you just look at how that stove fits into the new space! The oven can still vent fine and we saved all that money until such time as we can get a new stove.

Looks pretty good in the new cabinets, doesn't it? Poor people have to make do. I am pretty proud of my idea. Grin

Now there is space for a dishwasher. Kirk is working on the cabinets for this side of the kitchen as I type. WaHoo. If you will refer to the first picture it will help you see how the table has been replaced with the cabinets in this picture. It will be nice to have all this storage and workspace.

2010-02-14T07:59:00.003-07:00

Happy Valentines Day

Today is the last day to enter the drawing on my quilt blog for a Crazy Quilted purse. Please stop over at Big Horn Mountain Creations. If you have time follow the link there for the One World One Heart blog party where there are 1038 bloggers from around the world sharing gifts to their visitors.

May your day be filled with sweet blessings.

2010-01-29T14:20:00.002-07:00

Pink Saturday is coming up.

What is Pink Saturday? Go here to see.
Also check out my other blog...Decorating my Tin Shack for my Pink Saturday post ( a wee early).

Kitchen Update 2

2010-01-22T16:23:00.006-07:00

This weeks progress is not as noticeable as last weeks. We have been working on getting the finish on the cabinets.

The picture below is how I stored my appliances before

Here is their new home. It will be so nice to have them close at hand and not have to clean them before I can use them. WAHOO. Check out the pull out shelves, there will be 4 more of those on the other side of the kitchen (left of the picture), once we get that set of cabinets built (humm, I should say once Kirk gets them built). LOL.

I am also replacing the knobs and pulls will we are at it. Here are the old ones, which were on the doors and drawers.

The new drawer pulls, they are pink, I know it is hard to tell.

The doors will have a mixture of colors, the knobs here (not the pulls). I will use the pink, green, blue and some clear ones I got, perhaps a few of the black. I also plan on using the left over knobs to make a hanging system for my silk ribbons that I use for my Crazy quilting. When the knobs go in I will be sure to post.

Construction Inspector On Duty

2010-01-10T20:10:00.011-07:00

Construction of the new kitchen cabinets began this morning and inspector Missy Mew was on duty. She was into every aspect of the install of the cabinets, pictures below.

Here Kirk is installing a pony wall (half wall) that will be the back of the cabinets and will hold the bar top.

I did not get a picture but inspector Mew, made sure the wall is straight and each of the holes for the plumbing (in the studs) are drilled all the way through.

Cabinet box is sat into position, inspector Mew checks that the shelf is secure, she later tests the shelf for sleep-ability.

This box will hold 4 new drawers (back view), inspector-inspecting!

Work is done for the day. We have (from left to right) new appliance cabinet (completely inspected by inspector Mew), pan cabinet, which will have pull outs on both shelves, temporary counter, space for stove, and drawer cabinet.

Front view of drawer cabinet.

Look of whole unit from front door, I love it, it is so nice and neat and beats the heck out of that table that was there (see last post). WAHOO!!

Thanks for stopping by, more to come, so come on back.

Kitchen Update

2010-01-09T19:24:00.005-07:00

First, I want to apologize for the mess the kitchen is in, but frankly I am not going to get to cranked up about cleaning it right now, because tomorrow everything will be upside down. For tomorrow we begin the expansion of the kitchen. Secondly, we just finished dinner, so nothing is put away from that. Grin.

In the picture above you see the table I have been using as a counter top since we moved the dinning table from there and put it into the former livingroom (right). I am thankful for the table but as you can see in this and the following picture it has just become a huge mess. The stove that you see here will be moved over to the table location and replaced with a dishwasher.
The table that the crock pot is on will be moved out and cabinets will replace it.

In this picture you see the other side of the table with the old microwave on it, the other one broke and this is where the old working one landed, in the last picture above the stove is the broken "new'' microwave, we will be placing the old working one there tomorrow. Back to the table, this will become a cook center with stove and cabinets and new hood.
The appliances on the cart used to be in the pantry and never used until the dinning table was moved and there became room in the kitchen, now there will be a cabinet to hide them all in in that space. Behind the cart is a heater that keeps the house warm when we are out of town, it will be moved to a new location.

So stay tuned, updates will be coming of the transformation, which will come over the next several months as we get the money to move ahead. Tomorrow the work begins.

WAHOO

Cherry Cabinets

2009-12-20T16:28:00.007-07:00

I wanted to share the Cherry cabinets Kirk made.

This is a master bathroom. There is no stain on the wood, just clear finish. Detailed pictures follow below. He did not do the counter tops.

Such a beautiful wood and beautiful cabinets.

A little more Christmas

2009-12-17T19:53:00.006-07:00

I thought I would share some close ups of the tree.

Why would I do that? Last year, because of losing all my
ornaments we did some improvising. I put those items
on the tree again this year. Earrings, were a good find for
decorating the tree. So if you need some new decorations
check out your jewelry box.

In the above picture, on the left you will see one of a set of
crystal grape earrings (remember to click for a close look).

After Christmas last year I also picked up some crystal garland and
ice cycles (well they really are plastic, but oh so pretty).

The white garland I have had for years and I love it, with its
white lights running through it.

Here you see a silver flower, that is made from a pepsi can
another of the free ornaments we made last year with a button
cover as a center. You will also see another earring (on the green
ribbon) and home made ornaments that my DD and grandsons made
for me from cinnamon dough.

The crochet ornament was made by my MIL, well she made
the coasters, I put satin in between two and stitched them together
and added a bead to the center.

More special ornaments made by my grandsons and DD.

You can see the whole tree in my last post, go ahead and look
and see God's tree farm, too.

Below is a quilt I made several years ago, it is my Christmas
quilt. Have to have a Christmas quilt.

I have more decorations to show, but will hold that for another post.

Shopping for a Christmas Tree

2009-11-29T18:54:00.008-07:00

Today we went up into the mountains for our Christmas tree.
Here is the "lot" where we settled on one. What a beautiful day,
about 6 inches of snow on the ground, 35 degrees. I love being
up in the mountains, no paved roads, rarely see another
person.

NOTE: Sorry about the color of the pictures, my camera
is in real need of replacing, the trees really are green.

We went to the top of the first range, you can see the second
range behind Kirk, with our little tree.

Some of the work Kirk has been doing this year has been at
cow camp, in the second range behind him. The crew has been
rebuilding a house back in there for the cowboys to stay in
while they tend the herds.

A rare picture of me......we are so blessed to live here. I can not
tell you how alive I feel when we are up in these mountains.

It feels as if the rest of the world does not exist when your
up here, what a breath taking place.

Here is our little tree, dressed up in Christmas pretties.
We are excited to be going to CA. for Christmas to see
our family, to do some much needed hugging, snuggling and
neck kissing.

Wood Stove Cooking & Spoiled Kitties

2009-11-06T21:16:00.004-07:00

Wood Stove Cooking:

Back in October we had early snow, 2 weeks of snow storms. During that time we also had a short (4 hrs) power outage. It occurred to me that it would be a good idea to try cooking on the wood stove that keeps us warm. So I found my dutch oven and put it on the stove with water to see if it would get hot.....it boiled nicely.

So the next day, out came the onions, carrots, celery, chicken, noodles and broth. The soup simmered nicely on the stove all day. It turned our really well and once the cold weather returns I will try cooking on the wood stove again.

The kitties in our house have become very spoiled. It used to be that they were not even allowed in the house, now they have taken over the sofa. Here is Missy Mew taking her afternoon nap in my chair (I cover it with a sheet to keep the hair off). She looked so cute I just had to share. Me Moew, has his spot as well, so when you come to my house and see sheets all over my sofa it is because of the kitties. LOL.

Summer & Winter

2009-10-10T09:17:00.005-07:00

Look at these beautiful tomatoes that were harvested from our plants last week as we approached our first deep freeze. I thought it ironic as I sliced these pretty slices for our
sandwiches, that outside it was snowing, snowed all day.

Here you see summers fruits above and below winters fruits, snow. We are about a month and a half early this year with the snow fall. This should be interesting to see what kind of winter we have, this morning temps 17 degrees.

Taken from the dining room window.

Looking out the studio window (below).

Wedding

2009-10-05T07:49:00.006-07:00

On Sat, Oct 3 we attended the wedding of friends. We have been to another wedding held in the same location and it is just beautiful.

The Medical Lodge Campgrounds and State Park is a beautiful place no matter the why your there.

Here are some pictures of the area where the wedding was held, sorry my camera did not even come close to showing the amazing beauty.

One more thing, I love Wyoming weddings, notice what everyone is wearing. Enjoy.

Herbs for cold and flu

2009-10-02T08:15:00.005-07:00

Rosalee on Methow Valley Herbs is having a blog party featuring bio-regional herbs for colds and flu. To see all of the country wide herblists who are sharing herbs of their area go to the Blog Party here

Here are a couple of local herbs for the Big Horn County of Wyoming.

Goldenrod, not to be confused with ragweed, goldenrod is a very valuable plant to have in your yard or near by, here we will only look at it use for colds and flu.

Goldenrod (Solidago virgaurea) is antiseptic, expels catarrah and soothes inflamation. It is useful in treating coughs, colds and sore throats, because it can reduce nasal secretions. (1)

From the (1) Secrets of Native American Herbal Remedies..."The Chippewa chewed the dried roots to relieve sore throat, while the Zuni chewed the crushed blossoms for the same reason. The Chippewa also drank a decoction made from the roots to treat lung trouble."

From The Complete Book of Herb's by Lesley Bremness...."Infuse 2 teaspoones of dried flowering stocks in 1 cup boiling water for 10 minutes, drink 3 times a day"

According to Jim McDonald..... put a dropper of tinture into a bottle of water and sipe to ease alergies.

Another herb that I have been learning about and am amazed at what it can do is

Red Clover (Trifolium partense)

Red Clover is expectorant, reduces spasms, is useful in clearing congestions and for calming coughing reflex in bronchial infections.

Mrs, M. Grieves in A Modern Herbal pg 208 says..."The fluid extract of Trifolium is used as an alterative and antispasmodic. An infusion made by 1 oz of Red Clover to 1 pint of boiling water may be helpful in cases of bronchial and whooping cough.

Two easy to find herbs that can help us during the cold and flu season.

Winter is A comin

2009-09-02T15:51:00.004-07:00

Winter is just around the corner, it is time to begin gathering wood for the stove. We heat only with wood, so we take several trips for wood.

The mountains are so pretty, I love being up there.

Below is the valley from a neighbor/friends land, they let us get our wood there. The day is was hazy so the picture is not very good, but if you will click on the picture you will beable to see better. In this picture you are looking down on the valley where we live. You can see the green around the creeks that run through town.

Here is the results of our day. We have to unload yet and cut and split, but that will be this next weekend. One more trip like this and we will be set.

Wood Siding

2009-08-29T13:48:00.008-07:00

OMG we are starting to look like someone cares about this place (why is this underlining everthing), I did not ask it to do that??? Sigh.

Last weekend, Kirk did the log siding on the bays. We have been oiling the wood over the last week or so, but believe it or not it can use more now that it has been up for a week and in the sun.

A close up view (where'd the under lining go, crazy). The log siding is in pine and the framing wood is dougfir, it has a red tint to the wood and stands out nicely against the pine. Note the upper windows.....lol, my paper curtains. The afternoon sun really beats in there (and below), and since I have no curtains up there as of yet, I taped paper in the windows to block some of the sun...thus the heat, it really helps.

Today the greenhouse gets its face lift, it has been OSB sheeting for so long, it is going to be nice to have the new siding on it. Just maybe we won't look so much like the "Helkies" (trailer trash of Hinkley (where we used to live)).

The BEFORE.........................................

No those are not ghosts
I have had to put row
cloth on my tomatoes
The dagone grasshoppers
are eating everything
although they are not eating the
tomatoe plants, just the
fruit............
It does kind of look like I
am ready for Halloween.

The AFTER...............

It still needs the facia boards, well the whole house does. My plan is to paint the facia the green of the shutters. I really like this green. I wanted the siding to be the green cement board but the greens they have are (in my opinion) ugly. Kirk wanted to do the logs, so that is what we did...er....he did. I put my 2 cents in where ever needed.

Though I haven't any pictures (new flower beds are not really so great to look at), I have begun 3 new flower beds on the edge of the hill. Another finaly, some landscaping. I have plans but it is not good to get ahead of ones self. It has only been 4 years since we started this adventure and I think we have come a long way from bare ground and 1 1/2 people doing all this work (I am the 1/2).

So tomorrow, I think we will be going to the mountain for wood. I have landscape pictures to share next time. We live in such a pretty place.

Blogs on Facebook

2009-08-26T16:35:00.001-07:00

I just added 2 of my blogs to FaceBook, they are suppose to automatically post via the RSS feed so I am trying it out.

Here goes;

Lilies...Flower Power

2009-08-10T06:20:00.008-07:00

I had to share with you the beautiful lilies I planted. These are the "first" flowers I have planted in the "landscape". We are still under construction so landscaping is not something to be done. It seem things are always in the way and changing. There is a spot on the edge of the hill that is safe to plant now. So I got these lilies and put the bulbs in hoping that they would grow in this nasty "dirt". It is so sticky when it is wet and turns to powder when dry. I understand clay soil, I had alot of it in CA. this is different, it sticks to the shovel and digging it is like hitting rubber. I have to figure out how to overcome this stuff.
In the veggie garden I have put in raised beds and will make my soil inside them. What I have found to be wonderful in these beds is straw and compost/red clay soil combo. It turns to a beautiful planting medium. My plan for the rest of the landscape is to cover it with cardboard, grass clipping (from neighbors) and hopefully cow droppings (after all there are cattle ranches all over the place). Then do the no dig method. I can only hope to get it deep enough for things to grow.

Well, on to the lilies.........if you have any suggestions for improving this rubber like soil...
please share.

If your noticing chewed leaves..........we have had grasshoppers really bad the last 2 years, they have eaten just about everything....even my yarrow is eaten to the ground. The only things they have left me is my tomato plants (eating the tomatoes) and the squash plants. GRRRRR

Porch progress

2009-07-22T12:28:00.004-07:00

The logs are all up, and the tin is going one next. It is taking awhile to do but it is getting done.

If you notice the one
pole is going
into the building
instead of down to
the ground. This is
where the ground
drops away.
Steps will someday
be winding around
the corner and up
to the porch in front
of the white spot.

As the tin goes on you can see the rafters to support it, these are boards cut from
logs with the wain (bark) left on.

A look at the porch from the front of the house, it does add some weight to the building,
so it doesn't look like a trailer sticking up in the air, well at least not as much.

This past weekend Kirk and I tried our hand at rock work, and yes I helped. Not to bad for
a couple of newbies. The deck to the porch will be about 8 inches above the rock and all 4 posts will have rock bases. We have 2 more to do and are rather pleased with our efforts and it is good practice before we tackle the front of the house and greenhouse. All the rock are found, of which we have alot to "find" on our property.

North Porch

2009-06-23T18:32:00.012-07:00

Sunny weather = construction. We are finally seeing sunny days after a very, very wet spring.

That wet spring, made getting this porch up even more urgent, because we had seepage in the new building because of all the relentless rain. Having rain hit the wall and soak the dirt was not a good thing.

Setting the post pads.

Looking the other direction. Note, we still do not have the siding finished, maybe we will get it done this year.

First poles and header, with a little adjustment.

More adjusting, oops a bit to high.

cutting notches for the beams to connect with the roof beams.

like this

Adding more beams, not he is doing this alone.

3 posts, 2 headers and 6 beams. That is enough for one day.

Now you can get a better idea of what is happening and an overview of "the homestead"
a bit of the garden in the foreground and...............

the potato patch in straw. Note the new water faucet, sure is nice.

Why the card board.......covered with grass clipping is will feed the soil over time and make it nicer to walk on the the dirt.

Until later.

WE HAVE WATER!!!!!

2009-06-16T15:37:00.007-07:00

Really, we have had water for about 2 weeks now, I am just a bit late in writing about it. Alot of things have happened in that two weeks, some a comedy of errors and the other the lose of our neighbor and friend.

The digging begins here at the meter pit, we have some of the worst "dirt", it is so sticky when it is wet and we have gotten so much rain this spring. We took the first opportunity and dry day in weeks to get going on this project.
Thank goodness we had this trackhoe to do the digging, it was even hard and laborious then. Because of the depth of the freezes here we had to go down 5 feet into the earth for 500 feet, over hill and dell.

Starting at 8 am this is the progress by 4 pm. The dirt is so hard and sticky, Kirk had to dig out the bucket because it got impacted. I took the picture at about the half way point, on top of the hill.

We have to go over the where the telephone pole is, we have plumbing up to that point for outside faucets. Plus a leg off to the right on the other side of those little mounds for a faucet for the garden.

The next day we had some help, Dave did the digging while Kirk put the line in. I stayed inside because I was cooked from the day before. It was ok with me, I am not to good at that kind of stuff and it was HOT.

The above picture is taken from the porch of the house, Dave is digging near the garden.
Below, is taken from upstairs and you can see all the dirt they moved on the second day.
We have running water, no more storage tanks, hauling water or pressure pumps coming on day and night. Ater nearly 4 years of hauling water, it is not hard to get used to. We do appreciate it though, oh and I can do laundry when ever the mood strikes.......LOL.

Oh and I had to share with you..............Missy Mew no longer fits in the thong.

Dance

2009-05-28T20:20:00.001-07:00

I got this in an e-mail and just had to share. Rejoice in the Lord God almighty!!! This new version of the 'footprints' story really caught me off guard at the end...What a blessing. JUST READ IT! FOOTPRINTS...A New Version Imagine you and the Lord Jesus are walking down the road together. For much of the way, the Lord's footprints go along steadily, consistently, rarely varying the pace. But your footprints are a disorganized stream of zigzags, starts, stops, turnarounds, circles, departures, and returns. For much of the way, it seems to go like this, but gradually your footprints come more in line with the Lord's, soon paralleling, His consistently. You and Jesus are walking as true friends! This seems perfect, but then an interesting thing happens: Your footprints that once etched the sand next to Jesus' are now walking precisely in His steps. Inside His larger footprints are your smaller ones, you and Jesus are becoming one. This goes on for many miles, but gradually you notice another change. The footprints inside the large footprints seem to grow larger. Eventually they disappear altogether. There is only one set of footprints. They have become one. This goes on for a long time, but suddenly the second set of footprints is back. This time it seems even worse! Zigzags all over the place. Stops. Starts. Gashes in the sand. A variable mess of prints. You are amazed and shocked. Your dream ends. Now you pray: 'Lord, I understand the first scene, with zigzags and fits. I was a new Christian; I was just learning. But You walked on through the storm and helped me learn to walk with You.' 'That is correct.' 'And when the smaller footprints were inside of Yours, I was actually learning to walk in Your steps, following You very closely.' 'Very good.. You have understood everything so far.' When the smaller footprints grew and filled in Yours, I suppose that I was becoming like You in every way.' 'Precisely.' 'So, Lord, was there a regression or something? The footprints separated, and this time it was worse than at first.' There is a pause as the Lord answers, with a smile in His voice. 'You didn't know? It was then that we danced!' To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven: A time to weep, a time to laugh, a time to mourn, and a time to dance. Ecclesiastes 3:1,4. Funny how you can send a thousand 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire, but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing. Funny isn't it? Are you laughing? Are you thinking? Spread the Word and give thanks to the Lord for He is good! Funny isn't it, when you go to forward this message, how many on your list are not receiving it because you're not sure they believe in anything? Sad. It's not WHAT you have in your life, but Who you have in your life that counts... Think about that. I ASKED GOD I asked for a flower, He gave me a garden. I asked for a tree, He gave me a forest. I asked for a river, He gave me an ocean. I asked for a friend, He gave me 'YOU.' Send this to whomever you think of as a friend.. I did. He is the Lord of the dance!!!

Studio Progress

2009-05-15T13:37:00.003-07:00

Work has begun on the walls, we worked last Saturday on the walls of the studio. This is the south wall, I will be inside my own wooden box. LOL. It is so peaceful working up here, I find it hard to stay away (in fact I should be up there right now, quilting). I have this idea for the windows, how to cover them...........should the quilts for over the windows depict a pine tree or a cherry tree in bloom?? Envision a tree outside the windows, a huge tree, as if you were looking right into it or perhaps even inside it. Each window will depict a part of that tree, and even wrap around the bay, pine or cherry?? I was going to do a cherry but am leaning toward a pine. What do you think?

We had a little visitor for about 3 days. We rescued it from the dog and the cat. We are thinking the cat brought it home (kitten style) and then sat it down, the Rocky (the big 80 lb lab) had it in his mouth. He did not hurt it, in fact it was not hurt at all. So we brought it in and gave it a box with batting in it.

After it rested, I gave it some
lettuce, and it ate a little.

Next day it would not eat,
but that afternoon, I went out
and cut some grass and
that was the ticket, it ate and ate
then it got all hyper, even
escaping from its box.

I was so happy to see it
doing so well. As you can see,
it is the cutest little one.
Next day, I took it down to an area where there is alot of grass and alot of places to hide
and released it. I had to give it a nudge but finally it is back were it belongs and we
got to enjoy 3 days with it in our home.

Next up, making dandelion jelly.............................

Studio Update

2009-05-07T18:47:00.002-07:00

The floor is down, the stairwell walls covered, finish is on AND the longarm is home.

Tonight we took delivery of part of the wood for the walls. In the foreground of the picture you can see the stairwell wall with the top plate on. I spent all day Monday sanding and finishing this area and the top part of the stairs themselves. Still have to put another coat of mud on the walls in the stairwell, then do the faux leather finish, and sand and finish the remainder of the staircase, but that is for another day.
Today, I worked on a birthday gift for grandson #2.
We are getting there slowly but surely, and paying as we go. It is wonderful working in this room, it is peaceful, bright, airy. Ya, I like it alot.

Until later.

Quilt Drawing

2009-04-28T06:56:00.001-07:00

I read about this family over on Robin's blog and wanted to help by posting their need here.

****************************

Donation quilt - Open Heart Surgery fundraiser
In September Don has to undergo open heart surgery to repair or replace the Mitral Valve - and we have finally come up with a way to raise money for what we will owe after insurance pays their part. To read more about Don's surgery - click here. I have been making quilts for years, it is one thing that I can do to contribute to our situation - and we've decided to use one of the quilts for the fund raiser, and it is the Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt that was finished just last year. It is hand pieced and machine quilted, by Julie from Idaho.

It is double bed size - the fabrics are 100% cotton, all tone on tones . . .
Julie did a fabulous job - using her home sewing machine . . .
It is Don's all time favorite quilt - he says it just makes him happy to look at it . . .For a donation of $5.00 you get your name in the drawing five times - a donation of $10.00 gives you 12 chances and $20.00 will give you 25 chances, etc.

To keep this from being an actual raffle - anyone can have their name entered without a donation (though we really do appreciate the donations, but completely understand if you can't donate, not everyone can in these economic times and we don't want you to feel bad about that). Send us your good wishes and prayers - they mean so much to us.I have talked to many internet and local friends - and they are all excited about this and we already have many donations and offers to take donations for us also.

The drawing will be Sept. 6 - Don's birthday - the surgery is scheduled for Sept. 4, at this point. Any money raised over the amount that is needed for our co-pay on the surgery (approx. $25,000 if everything goes smoothly) will be donated to another person or family with a medical need. We welcome ideas of who to donate to once we reach our goal.

To donate, - we are currently working on an online payment process - email for details.We also accept checks, just email for the address to send them to. Some of our friends are taking tickets already and gathering donations, which we truly appreciate. It is amazing the support and love we feel during this stressful and scary time.If you would like to post about this donation quilt on your blog, we surely would appreciate that - and you would get your name in the drawing 5 more times and for each person you send over this way who donates - another 5 times in the drawing.Thank you all for reading this post - and for your support and prayers.

Today's a good day

2009-04-18T14:28:00.002-07:00

Afternoon all! Yes, it is a good day. The sun is shinning, the wind is blowing (well it would be better if it weren't) and I am feeling well again. WAHOO.

I knew I was on the mend when I kept myself awake thinking about planting potatoes and onions, feeding plants with worm compost tea, and working the beds and compost pill on the top pad.

So today, though I did not do all these things, I did feed the plants in the greenhouse, and cut the potatoes and spread them out to dry (among household chores). This should be a perfect week for planting, temps will be in the 70's. Spring IS here.

No pictures today, but I will get some of the gardening to come.

Back to Work on the Studio

2009-04-14T06:17:00.009-07:00

We have begun work on the studio again. First we spent Sat before last finishing up the insulation. Then we ordered the wood for the floor............WAHOOOOO.

One of our neighbors helped us get a great deal on the flooring, but it was coming from Denver, shipping would have been $500.00. That almost stopped the deal, then the supplier said they would be coming to Casper and would only charge $150.00 shipping if we could meet them there. Casper is 3 hours (160 miles) south of us, (1/2 way to Denver). So last Wed we made a trip down to Casper, we also went to Home Depot and got the door for the stairwell, finish for the floors and went to Wally Mart.

The wood is already tongue and grooved, saving a ton of work. We have done this kind of work before in our old place, but we had to cut slots for biscuits and use screws to help hold it down.

This is half of the pile
of wood. Lengths range
from 12 to 14 feet, mostly
14 footers.

Here you can see the first run across the room. You may notice that the walls are not done yet and normally one does the walls first. We are going at this backwards for a reason. I need to get my longarm machine set up ASAP, I have clients that want some quilts done. So we are doing the floor, and then will work around the machine to do the walls when we get that wood. Yes the walls are going to be wood also..........I love, love wood......can you tell.

Another view to the other end, Rocky is such a helper (he is always in the way). Kirk is right about where the longarm will go.

Just a close up of the wood, it is pine and will remain light. I love the grain. It has so much movement and personality.

We worked Saturday and Sunday and this is where we stopped (below) so we could go down to the Easter egg hunt in town and have some well deserved rest and do some visiting.

You will notice a cut out on the upper left of the photo, that is where the hearth will go for the wood stove, we will be using rock and it will go up the wall there in the corner. My sewing table will go under the window at the left. The next cut out, (front left of the picture) is the door where we will put some kind of tile for the entry.

This is looking back toward the stairwell (the short walls), and the bathroom (door on the right). The small area on the other side of the stairs will be for scrapbooking, jewelry making and such.
Enlarge the picture by clicking on it to see it better. In this picture you can see the other half of the wood on the right spanning over the stair opening.

So about another day of laying the wood, then it gets sanded......well I will start the sanding before. Then the finish. We will get the wood for the walls at a later date, because..............

We also have to install the new water line to the house from the new town water system. Yes we are going to be able to stop hauling water, but first we have to hook up to the system which is slated to be finished sometime mid May. Alot to do this summer, as always.

It will take time to save up the money for this work, but that is how it will go, we can't put anymore on CC, as we are working to pay those off now from using them for all the work we did to get this far.

Thank you for stopping by, and for all your comments. I love visiting with other homesteaders.

Until later.

PS....I have had this wild idea...........should I write a book about our adventures? Would it be of value? Mind you I am only in the considering stage....LOL.

Happy Easter

2009-04-11T18:17:00.001-07:00

May your Easter be blessed, thank you Father for sending Jesus!

Happy Easter.

Contest Winnings

2009-04-05T17:38:00.001-07:00

A group of Herbal blogs have gotten together for a group contest.

Below are the details, there are still 4 weeks to go. Why am I telling you this, well because I have been fortunate enough to win twice. See my winnings below.

Herb Blog Group Contest(s)

Welcome to our Herb Blog Group Contest!
For the week between Friday, February 27 and Thursday, March 5 you can enter simply by entering a comment in response to this blog entry and take a chance at winning a full year's subscription to The Essential Herbal Magazine! The Essential Herbal is written by, for, and about herbie people and the things they love. It is a grassroots publication that talks about the things you want to know when it comes to herbs.
The following blogs are also participating, so stop over to enter with them for additional chances to win AND the chance to explore some cool blogs. If you are already a subscriber, we"ll just add the free year on the end. Be sure to leave an email addy in your response so that we can reach you if you win!

Possum Creek Herb Farm
Blessings of an Herbwyfe
Garden Chick ***
SunRose Aromatics ***
Herbs from the Labyrinth ***
Patti's Potions ***
PrairieLand Herbs ***
Aquarian Bath ***
The Rosemary House ***
Natures Gift ***
Torchsong Studio ***
The Essential Herbal ***

*** These blogs will be having contests for the next 10 weeks. Be sure to come back!

I want to say THANK YOU, to..........Karen at Garden Chick for the darling fairy cookie cutter, recipe, and frosting crystals that she gave as a prize. This cookie cutter will also make a nice pattern for applique and for making soaps as well. Thank you Karen.

Next , my THANK YOU, ..........goes out to.........Rosanne at SunRose Aromatics for the wonderful gift of Organic Liquid Castile Soap, Apricot Kernel Meal, and Organic Aloe Vera and Seaweed Gel. Thank you so much Rosanne.

I hope you will visit these websites, and HAY.......go join in the contest, there are still 4 more weeks to go.

Shoppe Additions

2009-03-30T10:35:00.000-07:00

Dream pillows on eCrater Shoppe

Hand embroidered with
"Sweet Dreams"
in purple

Lavender dream pillow with hand embroidery, makes a wonderful gift for yourself or a special person on you list.

Place your dream pillow inside you pillow case to help you fall asleep.
Lavender is know for its calming effect. Inside the pillow are lavender buds and soft cotton batting.

Hand embroidered with
"Lavender"
in raspberry

I made a pillow for my daughter-in-law and granddaughter, and had to make another for my son ....he said it really does make a difference, he sleeps much better.

So treat yourself or a loved one to sweet dreams with a lavender dream pillow. Perfect for your travel kit, helping to calm you in a strange place.

Note: After awhile you can add lavender EO to your pillow if you want it make it stronger.

Hand embroidered with
"Sweet Dream"
in raspberry.

To visit my eCrater Shoppe go here. Thank you.

Shoppe Open

2009-03-27T08:02:00.000-07:00

Good Morning All:

After a job scare, I have reopened my shoppe......I am trying eCrater this time instead of Etsy.

The reason being that eCrater doesn't charge to list, nor is there a time limit on your listing. Just a little savings. Please see my side panel to visit my shoppe.

I will be adding new items, so please visit often. All items will be hand crafted by me, today I will be adding some lavender dream pillows that are hand embroidered. This takes alot more time then without the embroidery but I think it is worth it. Jewelry will be coming soon, I am still honing my skills there. I have purses in the works as well. Soaps, too.

Thank you for your support.

Thank you
Gail

Spring come Spring..

2009-03-24T15:05:00.002-07:00

I am so ready for spring, it keeps teasing...........now you see me, now you don't!

A few weeks ago I told you about the growing rack Kirk and I put together.
Now you can see how it is working. The plants are doing good. I am on my second
planting of some things right now (the things on the upper right).

It has been nice enough to put them all out in the greenhouse for a few days, but the weather has turned cold again so they are all back inside. That bottom shelf is holding tomatoes, 6 of the 30 or so I have going. Lettuce in the OJ cartons and on the top shelf. Calundula's, marigolds and lemon balm next to the lettuce (second shelf).

Tnasy is going good out in the greenhouse, they look lonely without the other plants, it won't be
to much long and they will all stay out 24/7

I am thankful, we did not get any snow, everyone around us did. We do have alot of wind though, which is not normal for us, we live in a pretty sheltered area.

Until later.

Free Issue of The Essential Herbal

2009-03-21T21:13:00.003-07:00

Tina over at The Essential Herbal is giving a free download of her great herbal magazine. Read about it below. Be sure to check out her blog as well essentialherbal.com and leave her a comment if you take advantage of her generosity.

Also note that she is involved with a group of bloggers who are doing give aways over the next few weeks, join in the fun and explore some wonderful websites.

Free Issue of The Essential Herbal to Download

Last year at this time we did an issue that was devoted to the need to scale back, plant a garden, reduce, reuse, and recycle. The cover is a collage of posters from the Victory Garden campaigns of the 1940's. The issue is sold out, and now these topics are getting huge coverage. We were just a little too early.

So - we'd like you to download it and enjoy it. The link is:

www.essentialherbal.com/MarchApril2008forweb.pdf

Share it. Forward the link. Send it to your friends, and post it on the lists and forums you participate in. Post it to your own blog and share it with your readers. Help us spread this issue far and wide!

Happy Spring!

Update on Courage

2009-03-04T08:35:00.003-07:00

I want to thank each of you for the support you have given me. It really does make a difference to know your loved (I really did know that).

I know that the battle for courage is an on going one, it can come in such different places. For instance we have been battling the flu, and even in such a organic way there is a struggle for courage. Kirk went back to work after 3 days and I am hoping it will pass me by.

I can tell you the idea I had and was rather excited about, I have decided to abandon. I am basically a lazy person, and am being realistic when I say the idea of the work changed my mind. I will just stick with what I have going on and try to do a better job in those areas, that will be enough. Does it take courage to abandon something? I think maybe it does. I know it takes courage to say, no, when people want you to say, yes.

I know I do alot of things around here, and friends have said they don't know where I get my energy (I say that to others, too, because I don't think I have much), but really I only do the things I want when I want to (just look at my house right now, yikes, what a mess). It is going to take courage to get things organized again, some of these spaces are getting really scary, I will need to tie a rope around my waist and tie the end to a strong, heavy object so I can pull myself out from under if necessary. giggle.

I can say that I think I am finally gaining back my strength, both physically and mentally, and am getting some excitement going on beginning work on the studio again. We will be taking another trip to Billing sometime this month to buy the flooring and a door. Last trip I bought the light for the bathroom up there. Better get a picture so I can show you all.

Thank you again for your support, it has made all the difference.

God Bless.

Struggling with Courage.

2009-02-20T01:00:00.004-07:00

I am awake at 1am because I am wrestling with courage. Why am I wrestling with courage?

I have this idea, and it will take work and discouragement is setting in. It doesn't take alot for discouragement to get a foot hold and tear apart something.

I think of what God says about thinking on whatever is good. Courage is good, right?
Discouragement is the opposite of good, therefor evil, of Satan. Discouragement is like a cancer, it starts as a nagging little thing and grows into the death of an idea. I know that Satan does not want us to succeed, (well unless we are working for him) he likes to destroy us, he'd like us to just lay down and do nothing, to be a bump on a log, making no difference in this world, especially not a difference for God, let along doing something good for our fellow humans.

I struggle alot with discouragement, I want to lose weight and have the goal in mind when discouragement comes along and says.......why should you give up this or that, here have some M&Ms. Or I want to begin exercising and discouragement says....oh it is to muddy out to go for a walk, exercise is boring, why don't you sit down here at the computer (oh Adah) or read a book.

I know there are alot of things we have accomplished here that have taken pure courage, but it has not been my courage. I am a wimp when it comes to courage, I am easily swayed from things by the simplest remarks or thoughts. I would not, nor could I have done the things we have done here alone, I gain courage from my husband, but on the same note he can discourage me with a simple negative remark.

I need to gain courage to act on my ideas, despite what others may think, but how? I suppose courage needs exercise. I know I have courage, just like the cowardly lion had courage all along in the Wizard of OZ. It comes by baby steps, I guess.

How do I get discouragement to leave me alone, how do I overcome it? It comes in so many forms, such as the feeling of being overwhelmed, I get that one alot. Depression, too. It is like discouragement likes to stick out his foot and trip you up at every turn and then runs away laughing, as you fall on you face. It is usually a lie.....you can't do that, your not good enough, your not smart enough, your not good looking enough, your just going to fail and on and on it goes.

I remember how long it took me to get up the courage to make my first batch of soap, boy was I scared I would fail, it must have taken 6 months. I didn't fail and then I was off an running, but somehow courage requires new lessons with each new venture. Hummmmm.

That is it, isn't it?
Discouragements goal is to get you to fail before you even try. WOW.
What is the worst that can happen if one fails, of course depending on what it is.........at least in this case I won't die, I may have to pick myself up and dust myself off..............

Do you struggle with this?
Maybe I can sleep now, since I have talked about it with you all, thanks for listening.
Night.

Spring..Come..Spring

2009-02-14T16:53:00.005-07:00

Oh am I ever ready for spring. Beautiful sunshine days are really calling me......BUT.....
the temps are still to low and the ground frozen. Very Big Sigh.

While pouring over my gardening catalogs I found a lighted growing rack, oh that is what I need!
It is still to cold out in the greenhouse during the night so I can't start seed yet, but I could do the rack..........until I looked at the price. Depending on which company, the prices range from just under $600.00 to just over $900.00. Well that is just to expensive.............SO..............

After talking it over with Kirk, we came up with our on version for $260.00, now we can do that and we can feel good about the expense. So here is what we did.

At Costco we found this rack for $100.00..........this is a very good price, anyplace else the price is considerably more.

Then at Home Depot we got 4 lighting fixtures for $18.00 each and
the bulbs for $10.00 each X 8.

Now mind you that ours is not as fancy in such areas as the cords. On the expensive ones all the lights are wired in and you can turn then on one at a time.......but I can turn mine on one at a time also........LOL. Oh one other thing the other one has is 4 bulbs per level, which is probably better because the light is more even all the way across the shelf, but I don't think that is worth that much money to me.

On the fancy ones you can adjust the light height with the twist of a couple knobs, I adjust mine with chains and S hooks. I can do these things to save 400 to 700 dollars. My rack is very heavy duty, it is meant to hold lots of weight out in a shop, yet, it is very nice looking. The other ones are made of light weight aluminum. Both mine and the expensive ones come with casters so they can be rolled from place to place.

The ones in the catalog also came with grow trays, but really, I already had mine and they certainly are not that expensive.

Below, my seeds are up after 4 days. So we are on the way to having lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, lemon balm, and some flowers. I did notice the tansy (planted last year) coming up in the greenhouse, but it is still to cold for seeds, it won't be much longer until we stop freezing out there, but in the mean time...........I have a head start.

Chinking Again

2009-02-05T11:24:00.007-07:00

Slowly but surly we are getting back to work. All the hard work we did before Christmas, though it was way more then worth it, really kicked our behinds. LOL.

Two weeks ago, (now you see how lazy I have become) we worked on doing some more of the chinking that we neglected last time around. This corner used to be the livingroom, but is now the diningroom, so before putting furniture in place we decided to finish this up. The wall appears to be fine, but those dark lines are open spaces, nice homes for spiders, flies and what have you, not to mention dust. Plus it goes right through to the insulation.

We found this product at Bloedorn's (a local hardware store). It is a great product for chinking between the boards, of course it is made for chinking between logs. You can get it in several different colors, I wanted bright white.

To get it out of the bucket you need this metal gasket with the hole in the middle, you attach the big chinking gun to it and pull back on the handle (takes alot of muscle) to fill the gun.

Note: Do not leave your gasket in the bucket between chinking projects, it will rust and makes a bit of a mess in the bucket.

Here you can see the chinking gun, the tip comes off and that is where you screw it into the gasket. The tip has a rubber hose on it to direct the chinking where you want it. After Kirk put it in the opening, I came along and cleaned up the line with a plastic spoon. We tried several different processes for this and found the spoon to be easiest and it could be throw away at the end, saved on sour fingers as well.

The finished wall. We also did the ceiling in the bathroom that day. It may not seem like that big of a job but it is, alot of up and down the ladder, and squeezing the chinking out of the gun is hard on the hand and arm, (not something I would beable to do, it take muscle).

It won't be long now and we will be back at the upstairs. We fingure to begin about the 1st of March, as the weather becomes more stable. I have a new thing to share with you next week, it has to do with gardening..............Until then.

God Bless

Before and After

2008-12-29T14:03:00.009-07:00

Hi Friends, I hope you had a beautiful Christmas. We certainly did.

My last post was about taking down a wall at the last moment. Here I wanted to share the results of that action. First I want to apologize for the dark pictures, the flash on my little camera just does not do the job. Secondly, the before pictures are not recent, but taken about 2 years ago, they still give you an idea of how much things have changed and why I feel like I am rattling around in this new bigger space. LOL.

This first before is of the wall we took down, on the livingroom side, through the door you can see the old bedroom.

This is the new space, where the old bedroom was (new bedroom is through the door there).

Here is the same space from the kitchen area. Click on the picture for a large view and hopefully better detail.

This before is from the kitchen, you can see the old livingroom, and diningroom as well as the computer wall (which was removed).

Now the new space being used as kitchen and dining. The kitchen will be changed a bit in the future, but for now it is pretty spacious.

From another angle, the dining area which used to be our livingroom.

We are happy with this increase in space in alot of ways, though we have realize it is going to be alot harder to keep things as warm and we will be using more wood. Our little 800 sq feet was easy to heat, this new space, well you get the idea.

The extra space is wonderful for having company, at least now we can have dinner guests and have friends and family spend the night without having to get them a room elsewhere. It will be even better once we complete the upstairs next summer.

Hard to believe there is a new year just a few days away. So I want to wish you all a

VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pre Christmas Insanity

2008-12-20T21:35:00.007-07:00

Have you ever noticed how insanity strikes just days before a major holiday or event/party?

Well it struck our house. Now mind you we had plans on doing this but I was pushing to wait until after the holidays. Our oldest daughter and family are coming for Christmas. Kirk has been talking about taking this wall down. It is the wall between our old bedroom and the rest of the house. All I can see it the mess and frankly I am cleaned out. I say ok, reluctantly, if he doesn't make a big mess.

Well I have to commend my hubby, he did not make a big mess, he was very careful, putting up plastic and removing the drywall in big chucks. No smashing demo.

This is from the bedroom side.

And from the living room side, where the computer sat.

A view from the kitchen of the wall.

With the drywall down, from the bedroom side.

Here is the room after the wall is down, beams put up and computer in its new temporary position. Sorry the pictures are so dark, to far a distance for the flash.

The kids will be here tomorrow, so I will be back after Christmas.

Merry Christmas to all, may your celebration of Jesus birthday be joyous.

Just in the nick of time & A hole in the wall

2008-12-14T21:57:00.008-07:00

I have to tell you all about our Sat. morning. We needed to get our Christmas tree and there is weather comin in. So we get going up the mountain in the jeep. It is a good morning, but there are clouds to the North. It is about an hour up to the tree line and about 1/2 way up we also found the snow line. Pretty soon the snow was about 2 feet deep off the road area, so we started looking for the right tree, pretty soon we found it. It is a bit to big for the jeep so we stuck it in as far as we could and headed down the mountain with about 4 feet of tree hanging out the back end.
We got home just in time, Kirk got the tree out of the jeep and this is what moved in. It began snowin and did not stop till sometime after night fall. This first picture is 15 minutes after we got home.

And this is how well one could see, you can't see our neighbors house over there behind the trees. Can you imagine coming down a mountain with a snow covered road (dirt road) in this stuff, it would have been hard to see where the road was.

Here is what we woke up to this morning. Most of this fell yesterday afternoon. And yes there is our tree, it will be ok, besides we are still remodeling so it can't come in yet.

Speaking of the remodel, today Kirk cut out the new door way. Here you can see where the old window was and where the new door way is going.

The opening is cut out and the bottom plate being removed

The old bedroom door has been moved to it's new location in the new bedroom, trim is up. Part of the trim work is done on the old window, now door. You can see the steps to the stairs leading up to the studio.

From the inside of the new bedroom. Again you can see the stairs that lead to the studio. What a difference this change has made. We are now connected to the new part of the house.

We also got the closet poles up, so now I can move our cloths over there. Tomorrow I will be cleaning the floors and getting ready to move in.

Ordered new material for curtains, it should be here tomorrow. More to come, see ya soon.
Night.

Ferns, Sills and Fans

2008-12-10T21:32:00.007-07:00

Another update. We have been working on the final details of our new master bedroom.

While watching HGTV one day I was this gal do ferns on her wall, I decided I had to do this, so I started looking for the stencil. Finally I found it at Designer Stencils. com they have tons of great stencils, both for regular stenciling and sculptured stencils. So if your inclined to do this check them out, they have a great grape vine sculpture stencil.

So anyway, here is the stencil ready to be mudded. All I did is use drywall mud, but them of course this is new construction and the wall have not been painted before, so it worked fine.

Just spread the mud and trowel it off, and this is the result. There is a second stencil that produces the stem.

The unpainted wall with ferns on it, before stems.

Here the wall is painted, the color doesn't show up well, it is a pretty green. The stems have been added.

Another view from across the room. The bay window is to the right.
I am very happy with the result. All the painting is done.

Kirk has begun work on the trim, beginning with the window sills and trim.

We also got the tin up on the ceiling, what a pain in the neck to say the least.
The fan is up, now if I could figure out what I did with the bulbs. Sigh. I have searched high and low..........

It won't be long now until we can move in. Tomorrow it is cleaning day, time to clean the floors of all the drywall dust, wood shavings, etc., that have accumulated over the last week. Kirk has to hook up the plumbing for the bathroom and cut the door opening into the current part of the house, move a door.
Just a few more days until the kids get here for Christmas. Though the plan was for the upstairs to be ready, that is not the case, so we will share a cozy Christmas.

Until later,
God Bless.........

We are getting there.

2008-12-06T21:40:00.005-07:00

Wow, we have been so busy. We are finally getting ready to paint, wahoo.

Over the last several weekends we have been working very hard and of course everything takes longer then Kirk thinks it should. We are coming down to the wire, Christmas is just around the corner (as if you didn't already know that). We have had to modify our plans. We are concentrating on getting the downstairs finished, the upstairs is on hold right now.....it can wait until later, and BTW after Christmas we are taking a bit of a break and are going to veg out.

In the picture below, Kirk is working on getting the drywall up, he is in the closet. The shape beside his head is the upper part of the stair case, under it is a hallway into the bedroom, behind him, (though the white door) is the bathroom.

If you will notice the blue electrical boxes through the white doorway, you see what kind of looks like a ladder on the left.....that is the pocket door into the closet from the bathroom. So what is the white doorway, where does it go???????..........well into Kirk's new shop area, now he doesn't have to track through the house to........well you know. Yes, one goes through the closet to get to the bathroom from the bedroom. Albeit unconventional, it works and is as it is because we had to change the placement of the staircase AFTER the bathroom plumbing was in conrete (literally).

All the drywall is up and mudding is done, what a royal pain in the...........neck, not only do you get to put the drywall mud on the wall over all the seams and nail holes, but you then get to sand it off. Now don't laugh, but after sanding all this stuff smooth, I had white hair, skin, cloths and BUGGERS! This stuff was like paste in my hair and I have had the honor of doing this 4 times now.............I hate doing drywall, I sure hope it is worth it. Today we textured the walls so they are ready to apply ferns to and then paint, guess what I will be doing this week. What color are the walls going to be, WELL GREEN OF COURSE. Is there any other color (if your me)? Besides what color goes better with wood, after all most wood has a green head before it is cut down.

Kirk has all the wood up, isn't it pretty, it is really pink.....oh my favorite colors pink and green. LOL.

This is looking into that closet, notice the drywall dust in the air, now you know why I had white buggers. ROTFL (rolling on the floor laughing)

Here you see the entrance to the new room. RuthAnn mentioned while I was visiting with her that she was having a hard time knowing where these passages all went, so I plan to draw up the floor plan for you all and post it, perhaps your wondering also.

Well, my friends I am off to bed now. Tomorrow will be another busy day and we only have 14 more days until our oldest daughter, Samantha and family arrive....that really translates into 1 and a half more weekends.

Thank you for stopping by, I hope you will say Hello in the comment section. Night

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-27T00:29:00.002-07:00

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Sending wishes for a
day filled with love, laughter, family, friends and great food.
And many things to count as blessings.

Hugs
Gail

Construction Updates

2008-11-18T15:17:00.011-07:00

Sure seems like not much is happening these days on the building. We are at the point where the big, big things that make a huge impact are wrapping up. As you can see by this first picture the siding is coming along, in fact there is more done now then this one represents. The tin is around the front, and the door is now installed.
We made a trip to Billings, MT. for supplies which included, the shower stall, toilet, sink, the door for roof access (as seen in this pic), and the last window for the studio, not to mention bags and bags of insulation (my job), drywall, fan for the bedroom, a bunch of little stuff and a food processor.

Oh it will be nice when we can get the yard cleaned up again, construction such can make a mess.

Below, I am standing in the new bedroom and what your seeing here is the bottom of the stair well, and the wall where the door to our new bedroom is. Past the wall where the broom is leaning (which is part of the stairs) is where the closet and bathroom are located.

Now lets go upstairs to the bathroom up there.........go ahead, after you.

As I mentioned insulating is my job, so I have begun the bay and walls in the upstairs bath. It is amazing how much quieter it is with the insulation in.

Another of my jobs has been to spray foam and caulk all the cracks where air can enter and as you can see by this picture the logs presented a big gap. All the doors and windows have been done and all about the bays. It is amazing how much air comes in these spaces, it was really evident when the wind was blowing 30 mph the other day, it was like a fan was blowing, they are all filled in now. This space here will also get insulation, before being closed in.

Another of the things I can do is to pull the wiring for the electrical, yep the electrical is getting run. That is a puzzle all in itself, electrical, figuring out just how everything will be powered.

Back down stairs, Kirk has been building the walls for the closet and bathroom, installing the shower and the electrical for that area. There is a door into the bathroom from Kirk's room so he has easy access from there. The windows on the right are in the bedroom, you go through a small hall (under the stairs), into the closet, and through a pocket door to the bath. It is a small 3/4 bath, not a big on suite bath. No in our house we have 3 - 3/4 baths, LOL.

For most people our layout would not work, but this is a one bedroom house with a studio and a shop......this house is made for resident artists, not for a family. We are past that point in our lives, we have room for company now, but our everyday lives are about our art.

Next on the agenda, finish up the bedroom, closet, bath....tear down the dividing wall between the current bedroom (to be new livingroom) and current office/livingroom/dining room to open it all up for a great room.

Stay tuned.

Cats

2008-11-02T22:49:00.004-07:00

Cats..........you have the caddy cats and then the cats, cat. We have one of each.

Our older cat, who is 7 years old now, is a cats, cat. He loves to prowl about at night, and wants to come home for a nap all day, food and a little attention. Sometimes he gets himself into situations where he needs a little extra TLC, and on those occasions he will stay home for several days as he heals up. Sigh. He hears us as we come home and waits by the door to escape, and he is lighting fast. LOL. He gets along with the 2 dogs as best as a cat can, Rocky our lab puppy loves to wrestle him down and give him a Rocky do, you know a new hair style held together with dog spit. He came home tonight for his dinner, and normally he "gets" to say in all night cause "mom" won't let him back out....but "dad" forgot to cover the door on the new addition and Me Moew knew it was open and went out again.

Then there is the kitten, Miss Mew (or however you spell it), who is about 3 months old now, she is a caddy cat. What a hoot she is, too. While Me Moew would not even consider getting up on funiture, Miss Mew thinks all things belong to her.......so because of her insistence on using the sofa as a run way, she now gets banished to the garage during her crazy times. She loves to play with whatever and it appears her favorite things are, the empty tube from paper towels, a plastic grocery bag (which she jumps on, sliding across the floor and gets one handle in her mouth and runs with it behind her), an empty spool from thread, dried mud that falls from DH boots, lids from whatever, oh and she loves the cabinet doors...jumping up against them.

She races from room to room, and attacks everything including the back of ones legs, no claws, just jumping on you. She is into just about everything when she is in her crazy moods, thus the garage. She has taken to a new sleeping place, see attached pictures..............

This is my desk, where I am sitting right now typing up this post. You will notice how I have the drawer pulled out to hold a board for my keyboard, well.................................

She has figured out that there is a place for her to sleep in the space left by the open drawer, I was able to catch her in the act. She won't beable to fit in there much longer, but what a hoot. Again I say................CATS!!!!!!!!!

Contest/Give away

2008-10-23T10:04:00.001-07:00

Over on Frugal Mom there is a fun give away going on. Go check it out, one more day so you still have time.

This give away is introducing me to some new sites I did not know were out there, it is fun to explore these sites.

Building Update

2008-10-17T16:14:00.008-07:00

I know...it is about time I posted an update. We spent 2 days getting the roof finished. We got the second load of boards, Paul and Kirk got the grooves put into the boards. Kirk and I finished putting the remaining boards down. The next day we installed the electrical, put
4' x 8' x 2" insulation sheets down, then topped that with tar paper, then 1" x 2" furring strips ( pieces of wood that are 8' long), which we then secured the tin roofing to. I did not get pictures of this process unfortunately. So now the roof is weather tight. Ya!!!

With 3 days of snow forecasted (and realized), we moved indoors. Yes we have gotten our first snow of the year and it last for 3 days. Our next project is the staircase. This is the beginning, the first landing and the walls for the stairs. This is exciting. Our first piece of drywall is up, see that board on the right wall....that will be the door leading to the livingroom, well it will be bigger, but that is the place. LOL.

I had to share with you some fur baby stuff. Lady came in the house because if she hears shooting she freeks and it is hunting season, so anyway, she met the kitten and they decided to take a nap together. To cute.

Back to the building, Kirk is securing the floor around the new stairwell, with his helper Rocky.

Here is the new stairwell, taken from the second floor, it was very exciting to assend the stairs into the new studio area.

It took a while to get Rocky to go down the stairs, but once he did there was no stopping him. We are very happy to have this opening, now as the weather turns colder and colder we don't have to go outside, not to mention all the nasty mud that is on the north side of the building from the snow we had. Rain is forcast so this will be a really blessing.

I was just upstairs, planning where things will go. LOL.

She Sleeps in a Thong.

2008-09-30T09:41:00.001-07:00

I just had to share this with you all. We got a new kitten, not sure of her name yet, probably
Miss Meu. She is 8 weeks old and has pretty markings and blue eyes.

I was standing talking with my friend Susan Nixon of CQ4fun, who came for a 4 day visit with hubby Paul, and took my foot out of my flip flop, ya know how ya do and put my foot on my leg. Well when I wanted to put my foot back in my sandal guess who was asleep in it. I do not know what possessed her to do this but she did. She slept there for about 30 minutes.

We laughed and laughed over this. She does like shoes and we find her playing in them often. She is full of vim and vinegar. She loves to climb our pant legs (which can be a problem when we are in shorts), I now have a cat swatter instead of a fly swatter, LOL, thankfully it doesn't take much to detour her, she is persistent though. She has already taken over the house, the big cat is not to pleased with her and avoids her, I hope they will become fast friends. We have not let her be around the dogs to much, just because they are labs and she could get hurt, though I have a feeling she will make it known, that she is a tough cookie.

Susan and Paul just pulled out, we had such a good time together, it is already to quite/lonely.

More on our visit later.

Vacation

2008-09-24T17:22:00.000-07:00

Our vacation was so nice. We took a trip to North Dakota with Kirk's parents.

Our first stop was Mount Rushmore. This was my first time there and it is quite impressive. All the state in the union are represented. We spent about 2 hours learning about this amazing sculpture. Kirk even talked to one of the surviving men who worked on it.

Later that day we got to the exact middle of North America, which is in Rugby, ND. We took Flat Stanley with us on many of our adventures.

Our final destination is Cando, ND. Kirk's grandparents on both sides settled here long ago. It is a farming community and his cousins still have the Odegaard family farm. Of 13 children, 7 are still living and able to attend the family gathering. We did alot of visiting. I felt like I belonged right away, which is so nice. There was a birthday party for all the siblings, some turning 80 this year. After the party we were able to spend the evening in the former home of Kirk's grandparents, lots of good family memories were shared. There were about 60 family members present.

The next day we got to go out and see the family farm and we had a great time. We were treated to rides on some of the farm equipment like the sprayer below. These are all GPS guided and quite comfortable, I should have been a farmers wife because I was out on the farm and in the fields, not in the house with all the other women. LOL.

The crops that they are growing are wheat, corn and sunflowers. It is so amazing to see miles and miles of sunflowers, some will with their petals.....so beautiful. Flat Stanley had to have his picture taken with the big tractor and in the sunflowers.

Just look at all of the
sunflowers. I got to
bring a couple home for
fall decoration.

We also went on a tour of Devils Lake. This town is in danger of flooding. Back in the olden days people settled around this huge inland lake, as the water receded during dry years people followed the water line, building and farming on the now dry land. The problem with that is, the lake is rising and now alot of these farms and fields are under 15 feet of water, the town of Devils Lake has now installed dikes to hold back the water which is today 10 feet higher then the homes in the lower parts of town, which is over half of town. The lake has not reached it peak of an addition 10 feet at which point any excess can then drain away. It is amazing to me how people can ignore this fact, but they do. There is enough water in the lake to flood many miles of land. I guess Fargo is experiencing similar problems with the river that runs through it.

All in all a very enjoyable trip and a good time with family.

We are wrapped up.

2008-09-14T19:44:00.008-07:00

Praise God for beautiful, calm weather. As you can see by this picture we got the addition wrapped and the windows in. We worked hard to finish up. Now things are closed up against the weather.

From the inside of the upper bay window. It was quite a feat to finish this up, Kirk had to use the ladder truck to do that one side and then as you can see a temporary scaffolding on the right side.

The North side is wrapped now, too. Could not do this yesterday in those 30 mph winds. We also put in this window and the door. WE HAVE WINDOWS AND DOORS...........
There is one more window to put in on the other side of the door, but we don't have it yet.

There is the door! It is amazing how different having the door on makes the space feel. Rocky doesn't think it is cool, he can't come in whenever he wants, LOL. No more strolls on the roof for him.
You can really see the South wall of windows in this picture, under the middle 3 is where I will put my design wall. It goes up like that because the shop roof connects there.
Each step forward makes this more and more exciting.

Susan asked for a picture from farther away, to get the whole scope of things. Please excuse the construction mess. You can see the green house on the right, it needs to get finished, one of these days, one of the problems there is I can't decide what I want to do. As for the new addition, it will have the silver tin, but the bays will have river rock on them and the roof over the bays will have black or dark gray shingles.

You might be a red neck if you have
a tractor trail box for a shed. LOL.

You might be a red neck if you live
in a tin shack (that is what the
phone guy call our place).

Well, that is it for now. We will be taking a little break and making a trip to visit family in ND.
I will share some vacation pictures with you....see you on the flip side.
Until later.
God Bless.

Sunny & Warm........NOT!!

2008-09-13T19:51:00.006-07:00

I would like to introduce you to Flat Stanley. I had never met Flat Stanley before, though I understand he has several books out. Flat Stanley arrived in my mail box on Wed., sent to visit with Papa and I for awhile. Here is the letter that he gave to us.

Dear Nana and Papa:

This is Flat Stanley. He was flattened when his bulletin board fell on him while he was sleeping! It flattened him flat as a pancake!
Since becoming flat, Stanley has been on many exciting adventures. One day, his brother tied a string to Stanley and flew Stanley like a kite. Unfortunately, he got stuck in a tree.
On another adventure, Stanley's mother dropped her favorite ring into the sewer. Stanley tied a string to his belt and his mom lowered him down to get the ring. Stanley saved the day!
Please keep Stanley for a week or so, taking him on many more fun adventures with you. Then, write back telling me about Stanley's adventures with you.
You may also include any pictures, souvenirs, or even a video of Flat Stanley's adventures.
I hope you have an exciting adventure with Flat Stanley!

Love Bryce.

Flat Stanley went quilting with me the other day and today we showed him our building project, he wanted to give a tour.

Hi, Flat Stanley here. I wanted to give you a tour of Nana's new studio in progress. Papa is working very hard to make this very nice space.
Here you can see the new bay window, Nana's sewing area will be right here in front of the window behind me. Her long arm will be over there on the right.

Turning around now, you can see the wall to the other end of the studio, the bathroom is behind there.
I have to tell you, the wind is blowing very, very hard. Nana says it is about 30 mph out there, which means I can't stay out here very long, I don't want to blow away. I was going to help Papa do some work but the wind won't let me.
I can tell you that both Nana and Papa worked all day getting the sheeting on the bay windows on the front side of the house. Yes in the howling winds. They could not get the building wrap on the upper story today or the windows in, hopefully tomorrow it will be nice like the weather man promised for today.
Look!......at the lower bay, it now has windows....Nana and Papa are very happy and very, very tired. AND....the wind has slowed down. Oh ya, it rained a little, too. Hummm, guess the weather man got confused.
Ok, Flat Stanley signing off for now. Thank you for visiting.

Flat Stanley will be spending time with us, including going on our trip to ND, so stay tuned for more interviews with Flat Stanley.

Bay & Rain

2008-09-07T17:29:00.007-07:00

This weekend the objective is to get the roof section on the bay window. Sounds like a benign task, right? HA!!!

First, how does one work on something in mid air? So the morning is spent building a temporary scaffolding. We have been thinking how we might use this space under the scaffolding, other then just filling it with dirt, we have considered a shed, or perhaps a root cellar. Well, this is something for another day.

After much trial and error the ceiling of the bay is starting to take shape. We know there is a way to do this but we can't find the formula. Now at this point I have to say I have had this weekend off, nothing I can do to help figure this out except create more confusion. So I spent my Saturday cleaning the greenhouse, getting rid of things that weren't going to produce by time the cold hit. Washing windows and vacuuming up debris, it is looking alot better, still some things to do, perhaps tomorrow.

Isn't the bay awesome? I just love it. To think I have never had a bay window before and now I have 3. WOW.

Can you see the dilemma here? A shed roof really causes problems with the angles for this bay roof. See the clouds coming in........sigh.

After spending all day on the bay roof on Sat. Kirk got it sheeted and ready to put wrap and shingles on. Last night it started raining and rained all night and most of today, in order to get up and work on the building he cut a part of the stair space open and put a ladder to the second floor. He got the window sheeted, wrapped and the 2 small windows in. It is raining like crazy right now and we have a fire going in the stove. At least things are dry inside the building.

I started working on cleaning my sewing area, it sure needed it. As you know one thing leads to another and I ended up washing windows, too. This took some time cause the tracks were nasty and had to be cleaned as well. So that is it for now.

Until next time,
God Bless

WOW......what a week

2008-09-05T12:52:00.016-07:00

Rocky loves being up on the roof. Kirk and I were not even up there, but in the house when we heard the pitter patter of doggy feet and came out to find him over looking his kingdom. Since then he has gone up on the roof multiple times. The other night he greeted Kirk as he returned home from the roof, I was in the house cooking. LOL.

In my last post I mentioned the lumber we had prepared for the ceiling. Here you can see the cuts we made in the boards. We also cut shims that fit into the grooves, between the boards, kind of like tongue and groove would do.

The ceiling is so pretty, I still need to deal with the logs, alot of the bark is loose. Normally one would clean the logs before putting them up, BUT when rain is coming some things have to go by the way side for awhile.

Phopa of the week................make sure you figure your wood correctly. We are so use to getting word in board feet that we forgot to convert to square feet. SOOOOOOOOOOOOO, we are a bit short to finish the ceiling. We have ordered the rest of the wood, which we will have to cut grooves into, but it won't be here until next week. Sigh. So to fix the problem.....remember rain is coming. We had to use the 2x6's for the bays and sheeting for the siding to finish covering the roof. We......yes me, went up on top of the second story and put it down. I was very proud of myself...............I am so afraid of heights, I did not have a problem being up there. I don't know why but I am so thankful. After the sheeting was down we put a covering over it to shed the rain.

So now you can get an idea of what the ceiling in my studio will be like. Note the eves to the right! We did not get them covered. Not to mention the walls are still open. The rain came.
It poured, and poured and can you guess what happened? It all came in and ended up downstairs, so we were up vacuuming up LOTS of water. The water got between the buildings and came in our bedroom. It really was a bad time to get rain.

Kirk took 2 days off work to try and get this done before the rain, and we did get it done but it was not quite enough. So he also took Monday and Tuesday off, we got some rain again on Tuesday. So over the weekend thru Tuesday we........................

Put up the bathroom wall..................

Put in 8 windows.............

Wrapped part of the south wall...........

Built the bay for the bathroom................here comes the rain again.

Better get the bay covered.

Put siding up.................tarpped the north side (bathroom bay). And built the bay in the studio. Covered the eves.

Terry came up with
the ladder truck to help
put up the last piece of
siding that we could not
reach, note the ground
compared to the top
corner of that wall.

This is how things look as of Tuesday night. I told Kirk he needed to go back to work.......
I need to rest....

It is now Friday and I still have not gained back all my strength, tomorrow we will be back at it.

Notice the top of the roof, I was up there.............ya I was, walking around like it was nothing. I was thinking about it and it is not just 2 stories, but we are half way up on the side of a hill, that is way up there.

After putting up the blue tarp, it looks like we are under water throught the window in our room. LOL.

As we figured our finances, we realize we have just run out of money. We have enough supplies to get the building closed in, but won't be able to finish it until we can gather some more money. We will be able to put the stairs in, insulate and connect the bath fixtures in the downstairs bathroom. The bays will get their windows, but the window for the sewing area will wait, the door to the roof will wait, the other door will go in (we have it). We can start the electric. So it will be liveable for the holidays but not finished.

Kirk said it is pretty bad when the kids have to bring their camping stuff when they come to Nana and Papa's......it will be an adventure.

Well, that is it until next time.
God Bless

Not for the faint at heart

2008-08-30T19:00:00.002-07:00

Today we have worked on getting the roof boards ready and I can tell you this project is not for the faint at heart. Starting at 7 this morning we worked until 4 just preparing the 2x12x16 foot (the longest ones of which there were 12) ready to go up. Kirk wanted to have good thick boards up on the ceiling, these are rough cut lumber so they are every bit of the 2 x 12. First one side had to be sanded, not something we wanted to do but they were marked up, so..............
Next, on the table saw we cut a groove on the long sides, then with the router, on the short sides. We did this with 1,000 board feet of lumber. To say the least we were spent.

Then at 5 pm, Kirk climbed up on the roof, on top of those logs and began putting up those boards. Of course each one besides being very heavy was not enough, each one had to fight him. To say it is not disheartening to have to struggle with every step is an under statement. It can bring a strong, grown man to near tears.

Sometimes it may seem everything is going great because I don't tell all the difficulties, and perhaps that is not a good thing. It has been a struggle every step of the way in one way or another.

Would you like more of the gory details?

One I forgot to share was when we were putting up the logs, one fell. We were using our skid steer and one of the problems with it is the bucket jerks, well it jerked and the log jumped right out. It hit the floor and put 2 small holes in it, because of course it bounced. Thank goodness I was a long way from it. I will have to start sharing more of these kinds of things. I don't want to make it sound like things are just so easy...........heck, I am always asking God how come things have to be so hard.....of course I know the answer.

I will share pictures of the boards and ceiling at the first of the week.

We could use prayer, for safety, good weather (it is suppose to rain starting tomorrow night) and just physical strength.

Hugs to all,
God Bless

I

Log Rafters, Starting the Roof

2008-08-29T16:45:00.014-07:00

Time to begin cutting and fitting the logs that will be the rafters of the building.

Using the saw mill that he built before we moved up here, with the intention of cutting wood for other people, which of course did not pan out (what else is new). Kirk started getting the logs ready to become rafters.

First we need to make the top flat to accept the 2x lumber that will become the ceiling. So a slice is taken off the top.

After turning the log over, top side down, two cut outs had to be made so the logs will set on the walls.

With a template, Kirk measures his cut out. This still is not an exact measurement, as you know cutting free hand is not exact.

Next, he cut one end to accept another log, this end goes where the porch will be and is in the up position.

Now how do we get these things up there. Well you know how it is when your doing something for the first time. You try the hardest way first and that is what happened. You see that first log on the building, it was trailered over, and man handled into position and 12 more to go?!........there has got to be a better way. What about the skid steer.......well ours is not working all that great (never has.....that is another story). So we borrowed one and now he can carry the polls with it.....

Lift them up onto the building with it and even push the pole a bit with it (very carefully).

Then the man handling begins but this only requires a bit nudging, pushing and pulling before they are in place. All 12 of the remaining logs are in place by noon on the second day.

Of course on the first day, the chainsaw decided that now was the time not to work, so had to get another, and all the measurements and figuring how to do things had to be done. Yesterday was a beautiful day, but today......though sunny and clear was 96*. HOT, HOT, HOT.

Here is how it looks from the front.

And the back.

And then sadness................................I have to give up my most comfortable jeans. I can deal with a hole by the pocket, and frayed pant legs, but when the butt and crotch go...................

Until next time.

God Bless

We have Walls, Windows & Doors

2008-08-26T07:11:00.011-07:00

Oh my what a busy week, I even have a stiff neck/shoulder as a consultation prize.

Lookie, our first wall for the second floor/studio. I have a door and a window. WAHOO. Like the stairs to the door?

From the inside, the far window is where my sewing machine will be. It is exciting to see.

Rocky just could not stand it that we were up on the building without him. He would sleep at the foot of the ladder, so Kirk put him up with him. I was doing some things down stairs (dishes) and I kept hearing him running all around on the roof of the house. LOL.

He did really good and was up there with us for a couple hours, then he decided to go running around on the roof of the house again, looking down and all over, back and forth.....

what we did not know is........he needed to get down..............next thing we know he is pooping on the roof of the patio....LOL. We just laughed, poor puppy......the next day he was up with Kirk and I guess decided it would be ok to pee on the roof, too.................sigh. To funny.

All of the long walls are up, I won't bore you with all the details. We now have the 8 foot wall to the North and 10 foot to the South. The North wall has two windows and a door, the South wall has 8 windows and a door. The South wall will be my solar gain wall. Why the door on the South wall leading onto the roof........in case we get snowed in?...........well maybe, but mostly so we can access the roof without a ladder. Ya, I know....we are going to get alot of flack about it. No one said we did thing conventionally.

Just an inside view of the South wall...over there under the 3 high windows?......that is where my design wall will be. Kirk is standing in the bay for the bathroom.

Note the dirt level against the wall, Kirk did some back filling now Rocky can get up AND down all by himself.

The building is looking a bit strange, but once again...we are not conventional. I think once the roof and porch are on it will be ok. Terry says it looks like a row house, we are thinking a two story trailer........lol. Maybe we can be on the show "What's with that house".

After spending all day Saturday and 3/4 of Sunday in 99* weather building the walls, we went 90 miles to get the logs for the ceiling/roof of the second story. Needless to say we are both pretty tired now.

This next weekend will be working on the roof. Stay tuned.