Time passes...

Well I figured I'd take a bit to put a little update in here on what's happened on the farm the past couple of months. Mike has been trying to get the coop done in between wind, rain, sleet and snow. Currently Saint thinks it is a great big dog house. He wouldn't even come out of there this morning when I called him to come back in the house. Just peaked around the corner at me. All that's left is getting the black paper and shingles on the roof, a door and some interior beautification and heat. We need to get the chickens out there because they are out growing their current quarters and starting to kill eachother off.

Projects in the house have been at a stand still for quite some time. I think we just need to regroup and use our time more wisely with good weather for outside projects and bad weather for inside projects. Spring will come at us quicker than we think which will be good for getting a lot more done.

Mama is still making us wait on the twins. She should deliver any day. Signs that I've read about having completely happened yet so I suspect it will be a few more days at least. I'm sure we'll have pictures to post once they arrive. Maybe she is just waiting on us to be completely ready for this event.

Hobbitt, our boarded horse and Rachel have turned out to be great to have around. She helps in the barn, turns out the goats in the morning and locks them down at night if we haven't. We help her too when she needs to go home or to a vet activity. Chris and Hobbitt are good pals now. Mike has had his chance too to take care of him while we were in Florida. Hobbitt knows when a newby is around. Isn't that right honey? Hobbitt didn't want to come in one night...gave him the business for a while.

The kittens are growing fast and appear to be doing their job because I really haven't seen many actually any mice around since a few days after they arrived. Either they are scaring them away or getting full bellies. Saint loves chasing them around the barn. They know how to stay just enough out of his reach to make him nuts.

I'm still having sad moments on a regular basis from missing my Bogie. I'm sure someday it will be easier to handle when I'm thinking about him.

Minimal decorating occured this year for Christmas. Hopefully next year we will be more organized and I can get the place really lit up and ready for friends to come over and enjoy the holiday with us.

Happy New Year everyone and thank you so much for your friendship!

Catch up or is it just time?

I haven't wrote since the end of October.

Why?

Too busy!! Nothing happening? Lazy!!

Probably lazy. Lackadaisical! Most likely.

Well, here I am. Today was a good day. Spent some time with my girlfriend.
Not sure she really want to traipse around town with me, but she did. I forgot all about going to VG to fix a pc for my friend's mom. Girlfriend just said drop me off and go. That was good. Though she would have been welcome.

Anyway. Been working a lot lately at the farm. Cleaning alot. Trying to decide what to throw away. Building.

Building!!!! Spending lots of money more like it. Building a chicken coop. Post and beam style. It will look good. And be good. Need to find a way to keep it 20 degrees or more in winter. That will be the hard part.

Got a vet med student boarding her horse at the farm. Works out well. When we leave for trips and stuff, I got someone to take care of the goats, chickens and dog. It is a wonderful trade off. Hell, today she rake all the hay and goat shit up. more than we would of done.

Back to VG. Fixed momma san's computer and drank her beer. Talked and had a good time. Then spent a lot of time with good friends.

I haven't spent that kind of time and talked to them in a long, long time. I feel really good about it. We talked about current events an we talked about the past. We talked about the future. Mainly we just shot the shit with each other knowing that whatever was said would be taken seriously but calmly. To coin a phrase from the past - "It's all good!".

And so it was. Hopefully some of what we mentioned will come to pass. That mainly is dictated by our resolve. Mine I know has been sorely lacking lately.

As some may now, my son is leaving to join the Army in July of 2009. I am proud of him for that. The Armed Services are a good thing. Yes, I would have preferred the Navy or Air Force, but his choice and I stand by his choice. I am proud of you, Jake.

Thanks for the conversation dudes. We should make it a habit to do it more often. it was good. I enjoyed it. there is never any... any... judgment on what we talk about it. i don't always get that and I enjoyed it.

Thank you.

It's with a very heavy heart....

....my sweet sweet Bogie had to be put down this past Friday. He was definately my third child and I feel great sorrow in my heart. For whatever reason he went behind my rear tire when I was moving my truck and his little lungs got bruised and was getting worse by the minute. Once the doctor said pain and still may not recover, Chris and I agreed to give him peace. We said our good-bye and shed many tears. The doctor confirmed we made the best decision for him as right after we saw him he turned even worse & there wouldn't have been any way for him to recover. The doctor took care to quickly eliminate his pain for us. We brought him home to lay in peace in our garden. It was the hardest decision I've ever made and cannot imagine how I will ever handle anyone else that is close to me passing. God will lead Chris and I through this and the hurt will fade, but the wonderful memories will never be gone.

Thank you to all my friends and family that have been so supportive.

Read this and though it was worth repeating

Because as I see it, we all have a choice: You can wake up pissed off or you can focus on everything you’re grateful for. You have to open your mind and your heart and accept everything that is happening to you, good and bad. Right now, I’m the happiest I’ve ever been. I’m living a no-bullshit kind of life. Just waking up every day is an orgasm — an emotional orgasm. I know there are more ahead of me. I live for that.

Death

Sadness
Despair
Blackness
Scary
Dark
Gone
Tears
Broken
Silence
Relief
Remembered
Free

There were many a good times that I will remember because only in memory can the order and goodness that you were prevail.

Rest well, Hook!!!

Catch up

A month and a half and no posts most mean that nothing is happening at the farm. Au contraire!!!

Goats - Added two more goats for a total of 5 or is that 7. Yes, one of the goats has twins and is due December 29. Christmas goats. On a sadder note, Papa George restaurant closed. Now who to sell goats too?

Dogs - Saint is getting big. 57.5 lbs this week and still growing. Another 50 pounds to go. Bogey is bogey, small and always cold.

Kitchen - about 90% done. Cabinet baseboard, window/door trim and some type of back splash yet. And the shelf unit idea I have for over the brick chimney.

Attic Room - Got some of the pine planking going up on the walls. Already three quarts of stain - unbelievable. I thought two cans would do all of it and not even half way done. Most of the electrical is done - just one more track light, a few outlets and switches to add. Ceiling fan eventually when I get that high. I'll have to think about what to do with the floor. Sand and stain or cover it. Hmmm.

Man Cave - made a small seating and TV area. It works great for having the guys over to watch a game. Starting to get chilly now and I will have to look at heating options. Maybe those bar type patio heaters or a kerosene heater. Right now I got a torpedo but the burning kerosene tends to get obnoxious.

Chickens - Yes, chickens are coming. They should have been here this week but the hatchery had an issue. They should be here on Tuesday or Wednesday of next week. I will have to create a coop for them. Or simply let them live with the goats. Anyway, I have to keep them at 95 degrees for a few weeks.

Well, there is the catch up.

Things progressing on the farm...

I don't have any new pictures to put up right now, but just to keep you up to date on things, Saint is growing before our eyes, the goats are getting along great! We tried to match up Valentino and Lilly but she wanted NOTHING to do with that. She is a little bigger than he is so he really couldn't over power her. Oh, well we'll get it done when the time is right.

Mike got one more light up in the kitchen, we purchased the toe kick and the tile for the bathroom but nothing further has happened there. One more light, crown moulding, trim around everything and the backsplash are also still hanging out there. Maybe he is holding those up for winter projects...tee hee.

The house is getting more in shape as I keep working on emptying boxes. I hope the weather cooperates this weekend so I can start getting the things that got dumped in the garage sorted, put away or trashed (burned). I want us to park in the garage this winter and that is NOT happening until I get this done. By the end of a regular work day I just don't have the energy to think about going out there and it has been so hot and sticky. This rain is supposed to cool things off, so here's hoping!

Well I think that gets the major updates done.

Our extended family...

Lily is our yearling, Valentino, is our stud and seems to know what to do when we're ready, and little Velvet is our sweet girl.






Left is just Lily and Velvet. Right is Valentino.

Now for the rest of the new creatures in our midst...

You can see the size difference by the way Saint is standing over Bogie. He will reach the neighborhood of 100+ lbs. He is starting to test us a bit to try to make the superiority move but Bogie and Mike and I are still winning.

Been a while - a lot has been accomplished

Well I kept thinking Mike was going to get the updates in here...I guess I will give a quick rundown of the last couple of weeks and he can embellish later.

Counter is in and absolutely beautiful. Now to get the backsplash done, crown moulding done and baseboards completed, that will wrap up the major touches. We'll get the last 4 cabinets and 2 light fixtures up over the next couple of days.

My house sold and the closing was last Thursday....thank goodness that step is done and out of the way. Now just to get all unpacked and either put away, burned or ready for a huge garage sale. Chris (my youngest) and I rented a truck on Tuesday last week and got the rest moved out. Mike joined in on the 2nd load. It is amazing how much stuff fits in a garage and shed. I went over on Wednesday and picked up the rest of my clothes and the very breakable stuff with my truck. I didn't want anyone to blame for breaking something.

All the kitchen stuff is unpacked and put away. Once the remaining cabinets are installed, I can get the food stuff moved into the kitchen and the front room cleaned up. Once this step is complete the downstairs will look like it should.

Ok, so let's see...oh I guess it would be good to mention that we have a new puppy, for about 2 weeks now. His name is Saint. He is a Great Pyreneese, all white with light carmel around his eyes. He will eventually be all white from what we've been told. Oh, and about 100+ pounds of pure guard dog.

Guard dog for what you might be asking yourself....well we have also recently purchased 3 goats. They are due to arrive on Wednesday this week. Mike and I worked the fences yesterday, purchased the necessary feeding supplies and are just waiting on a few new gates that will hopefully hold those tricky little critters from grazing the country side.

Of course pictures of everything are forthcoming. We have plenty, just somebody is a bit slow on the draw to keep things up to date. :) Love you honey!!

Kitchen

Most cabinets are now in. All base cabinets but 4 are secured. one to the left of stove is not and the 3 for microwave are not. They are all in place though.

Most electrical is done as well. I have 2 pendants left (waiting on the fancy round ball nuts to come in) and a sitch/outlet left.

2 rows of flooor left and that is done.

Have to buy that stuff you put at the toekick of cabinets. Counter people will be here tomorrow to template the countertop. That shit ain't cheap.

On a different note I had my first day at Busey bank. Mostly just looking busy and setting up my new laptop. Tomorrow will be setting up MS System Center Configuration Manager 2007 on a server. My first test. Should not really be a big deal. Everyone has been nice and friendly - giving me the benefit of doubt of being a jerk.

pictures later - yea, I say that alot but where are they?

Starting to look like a kitchen

A lot has happened in the last couple of weeks...prime, paint (a really pretty color), flooring almost done (darn floor stapler got mad with only two rows to go), 6 cabinets installed, stove purchased and working. There are pictures coming soon. As soon as the rest of the cabinets are in...within the next few days...the counter people can come and measure and get that moving. Us do it ourselfers have little tweeks to make here and there but for the most part it is beautiful! Mike is doing an awesome job!

Lots Accomplished while my man was away...

As stated in my previous post there would be more to follow about the weekend....well this is the rest of the story...

I decided since I was on my own for a few days I was going to get a lot of little projects done and one major one accomplished. Well you heard about Thursday night so that night was shot. Starting Friday night I set the plan in motion to get sanding and more mudding done in the kitchen on Saturday as well as have a large walk in closet constructed in the space next to our bedroom. We had discussed it so I knew I wasn't going to get it trouble for just doing it and I wanted to take a project off Mike's list. I enlisted my friends Cindi and Mike Raimer to come out and help. All the tools and necessary lumber was accumulated and set up so Mike R wouldn't have to go looking for anything. A few general instructions of what I wanted and he was off. In the kitchen Cindi and I start putting together this really nifty gadget they have that allows you to sand and not have the mess flying all over. It is wonderful!! I may never give it back. We got everything sanded and one more coat of mud completed. Tonight will hopefully be the last of the sanding so we can start priming and painting....woohoo!! Well at about 8 p.m. or so things got wrapped up for the day....not the end of my day, but the closet was completely framed and ready for my step on Sunday. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR HELP CINDI & MIKE!!!

I wrapped up Saturday cleaning, straightening and getting more laundry done, planted a perennial garden around the tree in the back yard, got the deck cleared of all the demo stuff, loaded (Mike & Cindi did this) and donated the old stove. Chris trimmed with the new trimmer I purchased (boy did we need one and I took into consideration the featurs Mike wanted) I think it was about 2 when I finally dropped.

Sunday morning, 6 a.m. was the time the birds and the sun decided I needed to peel out of bed. Got the curtain rods installed and curtains up in our bedroom. No more sunny mornings on weekends will push us out of bed! Did a little more unpacking of kitchen stuff from my house started another load of laundry and hopped in the shower. "mom, hurry up!" is what I hear when I'm genuinely enjoying my shower. Let's go kayaking! Here I thought he'd changed his mind. Oh well! He loaded up the boats while I finished my shower and off we went to get some breakfast, drop #1 son off at work and then headed to Kickapoo. Storms were coming in but heck we were in water anyway so what if it rained?! Well we were doing our thing for about an hour and the lightening started up. We were out and headed home. All of this and back home by 11 a.m. It has been a productive day already. After some lunch I proceeded to run the electrical needed for the closet and outside wall for my craft area to be organized later, drywall the interior of our new closet and install the rod for Mike's side....done! Decided to not put all the screws in over the area the electrical was run just in case I did something wrong. Taping an mudding to be done soon, but only after the kitchen is moving as it should. Will he be surprised, pleased or discusted...hmmmm jury is still out on that one. Sunday night I collapsed!

3 less pets

Well it has been a long few days with Michael basking in Alaska. Thursday night (the first night) we had a bird in the house and the dog got skunked. PEEEEEUUUUUU! My son sent me to get pellets and the bb gun. One down that night. Did you know, skunks are mates for life but they aren't very good parents. They start getting shot at the baby's are left to fend for themselves.

Oh, I caught the bird with a butterfly net and a box and he was set free. Only one mess to clean up. We were very fortunate.

Friday night...another one dealt with...another baby. According to Michael there were three. I haven't seen the parents since Thursday. I think they send the baby out to see if they come back.

Saturday morning the third one is out there all by itself. Chris takes care of him later that morning. You'll hear about the rest of this day later.

Sunday, Chris and I go kyaking at Kickapoo for a while until the storm comes in. Wasn't worried about the rain, but the lightening was pretty intense. Haven't seen any skunks lately. I think the mom & dad relocated...or they were the fur that was scattered in the mancave. Good Fox!

Time to mow...Chris won't until I move the remains. He said "I killed them, you can get rid of them". ....hmmmm....what to do. I'm not about to grab a leg and cart them anywhere...are you kidding? Ok, the pitchfork...scooped them up and hurled them over the fence into the prairie. I thought it would bother me more, but the feat of dealing with stinky dog reminded me they were pests not pets.

It was a busy weekend and as I said, more on that later. Michael gets home today, can't wait! Welcome home sweetie!!

New Pets

Have some new outside only pets. Wasn't sure what I wanted to get.

Goats, horses, chickens, peacocks, cows have all been thrown about.

But then these little beauties showed up and I am not sure how to get rid of them.

So stay they may.

Getting closer...

Decisions have been made as we needed to...this weekend we found the perfect granite for the countertop. With that came the paint color and the backsplash decisions as well. Yippee! We are still probably a month out from pulling it all together, but at least there is light at the end of the tunnel.

We spent most of this past weekend working on my house fixing things that needed fixing in order to finally put that "for sale" sign in the front yard. By the time I (we) go to bed on Tuesday night, the house should be ready for showing. The garage & shed should be the only messes to contend with from that point. I have built up a lot of stuff in the past unmentionable years of my life. It is time for a purge and merge. I have no problem purging, but my better half seems to so it should be interesting over the next few months when I'm pulling things together for a garage sale or donation as we organize our stuff under one roof.

Wish us luck!

Down Time

Nothing constructive got done on the house this weekend - not even the grass mowed. Oh well. I good time was hiking Starved Rock and Mattheissen state parks this weekend. So I am not complaining.

Found out that my girl and her boy are not in the kind of shape I thought they were in. The big boy scout hiking people just aren't used to that kind of movement. I think i can go longer than either of them. Ally did very well, but did tire out. Chris didn't do too bad but the nap he took just wasn't long enough for him to recover. Oh well.

So this week it is mowing, finish the mudding. I will then prime the walls and hopefully paint. Then I can hang cabinets and do the floor at my leisure. And that can be done alone with no help. Ally has to start concentrating on her house for getting it sold.

There is some stuff I will have to go over and help with, but it is fairly simple and quick to do. She needs to get her place painted and cleaned up. She did alot over there tonite, which was good.

As the kitchen comes to a close (which is still at least 2 weeks away) I will get more pictures up. It will be beautiful, once it is complete.

Burnt flesh

Doesn't look that bad but it hurt like hell. Good thing my widows peak go waaaay back. Didn't lose much hair.

Oh my aching...

All seams have their first coat of mud, some two....I used muscles I haven't in a while. Couple more days and painting will commence! Woohoo!! Taking a break this weekend with the Elliott's though. Headed North for a weekend of camping, hiking and relaxing. Will be re-charged and ready to get back to it on Monday!

Weekend Progress

Well he didn't curl up into a total ball...he did rest as he definitely should have. Once he got a good nap and a shower he was up and working on things. Got all the plumbing on the East wall completed and ready to plumb the dishwasher soon. He was stiff, but did keep moving. Sunday was a day of reckoning though. Finally got the sink out, the rest of the lath pulled and what little electrical that needed finished, completed. We even managed to go to a movie and relax. Monday, up at a decent time, breakfast with my brother, purchased a tiller and some plants. Back to the farm we worked on staking the fruit trees I put in on Saturday, mulched, planted a flower bed, prepared the tiller for its debut...too wet...prepared another bed for planting and burned a lot of debris. There was a booboo from that event too...I will let the boobooee tell you all about it. After the shock was over we finished the drywall in the kitchen...that's right....all the drywall is up in the kitchen. Mudding starts Tuesday night. Woohoo!!! Pictures to be added soon! Great job honey pushing through the weekend and getting so much accomplished!!

4x8 at a time

Two walls done, ceiling done, most of 3rd wall done....

We're making our way around the room slowly but surely. This weekend will hopefully be the weekend of great strides. A little plumbing to do in order to get the 3rd wall complete, then the dishwasher and sink finally get pulled out. A tweek on plumbing on the 4th wall and drywall is going up. My goal is to have mud and sanding done with walls ready to prime by the time Monday wraps up. Wish us luck!

Drywall going up

Just a quick update until the big guy decides to make time to do a full blown update.

Drywall went up on the ceiling on 4/27 with the handy helpful hands of Henley and a drywall lift after I had to leave to earn some money. It was nice coming back and the ceiling being something other than dark studs and having crap falling down on us.

Over the past couple of days the electrical has just about been completed and a little bit more insulation and drywall has started going up on the walls. We're getting closer. With the cabinets sitting in waiting out in the barn it is a bit more motivating to keep moving.

Well that's enough for now....I'm sure there will be more very soon.

Kitchen is progressing

added a few more power runs and rerouted some old ones in the kitchen. Cleaned out a few more area of old crap. Tomorrow will be insulating the northwest corner and nailing up the vapor barrier. I also hope to get the entire north wall completed as well.

Here are a few more pictures to peruse.

The kitchen originally

Dropping the drop ceiling and removing plaster and lathe

New insualtion in the ceiling, new drywall and some new wiring

Kitchen Ceiling

The kitchen ceiling now has drywall. Woot! Woot!

I'll get a pix up later. Now it is just finish the electrical wiring for the walls, insulate walls, vapor barrier walls and drywall walls. Not much huh? Oh yeah, and a few other minor little things that will be appreciated by the cabinet installers.

Also, the rest of the cabinets showed up Saturday. And A bought a lawn tractor for cutting grass. Not a zero turn, but it does have a tight turning radius and it cuts 54" swatch of grass.

Kitchen progress

kitchen is progressing.

70% of electrical is done

Ceiling insulation is done

All lights brackets are done

That's 3 dones and I think that makes a right.

Right?

Hopefully this weekend all electrical is done

and ceiling drywall is put up

that is alot of work. I hope I am not too dead after my 18 mile run on Saturday.

On another note, the remaining kitchen cabinets are ordered and may be here this weekend. I ordered the kitchen sink today.

Here's a pix of the island brackets and insulated ceiling.

Great strides...

It was a productive weekend at the farm. After a fun packed Friday night of food and drink with friends and family for Michael's 45th....yes 45th birthday....it was up and moving on Saturday to get the weekend going. With J & T we hit the auction, ate some lunch and got back in time for them to head on home. By the wrap up on Sunday wood and drywall were purchased, more demo was complete, support boards installed on just about half the ceiling, most electrical questions answered and a feeling of great accomplishment.

Chris spent most of a couple hours mowing the main area around the house. I did what would probably equal my entire yard and Michael finished that up. There is still plenty to do before it is finished. Guess we'll do a little each night and be ready to start again. A riding lawn mower is definitely in our future.

Oh...fun and games were had when Chris was riding the 4-wheeler too. Hit a dip in the field, he went one way and the 4-wheel ran into the fence....can't forget to fix that before we get goats a grazin. : )

Baby Steps of progress

It's been a bit since an update has been made so here goes....

Cabinets are ordered and coming.....hurray! Now the push to be ready for them.

Electrical is started at least a little and a plan of action is in place. Not too easy to get much accomplished after work but we're trying. I think there is stalling going on because the next big decision will be the floors and that is going to be a biggie! Wood or something else....hmmmm.

Then of course there is the counter. After seeing the soapstone in the house and all, I really don't think I would like it for everything. It is much darker than I imagined from the shows we saw.

The nice thought of actually making a meal IN the kitchen again is something to have a major celebration over. I'm envisioning a ribbon cutting event!

Lights, wire, insulation....

Decisions, decisions, decisions....

We layed out the imaginary island last night. I'm going to practice walking around it when working in the kitchen and get used to it. Maybe that way I won't get so many bruises when it is really there :).

It's time to make decisions on lighting and outlets. Unfortunately the open houses we visited this weekend were of no assistance at all. We purchased cans for the ceiling, are pretty sure which pendant lights we want for over the island. Now we just need to figure out what we want for the task lighting under the cabinets. There are so many choices. Reading things from various sources seems to help. All have common things we need to remember to do.

We are at that point where the sink and dishwasher are going to have to come out so we can get the electrical done and start the drywalling. I guess I will get good at washing dishes in the tub or all meals will be at my house for a while.

To do's:
Order sink and sink base (the one cabinet Schrock's just refuse to get in),
Finalize placement for electrical boxes,
Figure out how much drywall to buy and buy it
Dig out all the mudding tools (yep, this girl has all that),
and last but not least...get to work!!

Kitchen demo nearing completion

Yes, no stuttering. The demo is almost done. Soffit gone, lathe/mortar gone (except behind 4 base cabinets). Mess mostly cleaned up. By the end of the week it should be an empty shell.

Then all the wiring, insulation, vapor barrier ,deciding what to do with the floor, etc. My god, will it never cease.....

Kitchen saga nevers ends/The Plan

I have the kitchen cleaned up enough to cook in again. All the lathe is off the porch and out by the burn area. Speaking of, I had some serious striaght line winds last night. Blew the grill over and spread the lathe over the porch.

Just about all the drywall is off the soffitts except for where upper cabinets still hang. I am hoping Monday can be a very hard working day to get alot more stuff out of here.

I would like to see the rest of the upper cabinets down, rest of the soffitt/drop ceiling down and all the walls cleared except for where there base cabinets still sit. This also means moving the built-in microwave.

Then get it all cleaned up. I would like to start drywall next Saturday.

That's the plan.

Kitchen Trashed

and not by me. These damn dogs are going to send me into a drinking rage. oh, what dogs you ask. well I am dogsitting for a dachshund (girlfriend's) and a weimariner (Coach Zook's). separately they seem ok. together they are devil-dogs. yesterday they tore up some curtains and a blanket, the day before Lexi (Zook's dog) scratched the hell out of two doors and tonite the kitchen was trashed. enjoy the pix below...



Nice door scratches


Closeup


holes in curtain, worse than it looks


Pigpen didn't want his blanky anymore


and of course, let's play in the garbage can

Kitchen Again...

Seems like a never-ending kitchen story but someday it will end. I am just not in any big hurry. I did clean up the mess fromlast Friday's tear down and then I made another mess - removed the drywall from part of the soffit. But actually the goal for this week/end is too get all the tearout done. All lathe and mortar gone. Then I can concentrate on the real work.

THE RENOVATION!!!

Cabinet placement has been decided. It will be pretty much the same with a few mods and some extras. The stove will be moved north 18" and have a ceramic/stone backsplash with a pot filler faucet. The sink is staying just being changed to a fireclay or copper farmhouse sink (the ones that look like this ). A 6 foot island is being added in the center of the room with pendandt lights overhead. Countertops will almost definetely be soapstone and the floor is still questionable. Either flagstone or hardwood. I have lots of old hardwood that was removed from various rooms over time that is stored in the man-cave that can be reused. I just have to san and refinish after it is on the floor. and still more walls and part of the ceiling to remove. What a mess.

More Progress

Last night I was ticked off so in less than an hour 75% of the kitchen ceiling came down. Now I just have to clean up the mess before Zook's dog comes over for the week.

Yes, I am dog sitting this week for Illini Coach Zook's wife's dog - Lexy. She is a dog, mild-mannered dog. A big Weimariner.

I need a dog. I just don't know what kind of dog I want. And I promised earlier that I would post some pictures. I will make that a priority this weekend.

Tomorrow I take Allyson, Chris and Jake to Indy to catch a plane for Florida. Good thing they are staying in a gated community. It might keep Jake and Chris from being attacked too much.

Progress

Well it has been a while since our "day of rest" and there has been progress made. More old cabinets have been removed and part of the ceiling has come down. Michael, Jake & Chris took down as many of the ceiling joists that supported the dropped ceiling as they could without dealing with the electrical at this point. Now Michael can continue pulling down the original old ceiling....what a mess that makes! He decided he didn't want to do it with the kids and Bogie there because of all the nasty dust it makes. Even with a mask on it chokes him up. He bought a better one for the next round. Hopefully that will make a difference in how he feels when the dust settles. I'm headed to the dump today to empty my back end (tee-hee, wish it was that easy). I'm sure by the time the boys and I return from Florida it will be more than ready to be emptied again.

We did manage to find some old door pins at a vintage shop to get the door up between the dining room and living room. It really looks neat to have them up. Cooking some old hinges we found too to get all the old paint and such off of them so we can hopefully get the door up between the kitchen and dining. All in hopes of keeping the dust from filtering throughout the house. I'm thinking if we stop trying to dust all the time, maybe we'll reach that level of dust that no more will stick...kind of like in your car...seems like the dashboard reaches a level of dustiness and then never gets any worse. Its a thought anyway.

A Day of Rest?

Only talk of maybe doing a little more on the kitchen last night occurred. I think we both needed a break...I sure know I did. Unloaded all the garbage from the back of my truck at the dump yesterday. I told them I'd be back probably on a regular basis for a while.

So we relaxed...spent a bit of time looking for a farm kitchen sink on line and trying to be sure we can get the right cabinet to house it. Looks like we're good to go. Put Chris to work last night taking nails out of the joists in the ceiling. Kept him busy for a little bit, but left a nice mess for Michael to clean up from the floor. He just didn't get the concept that you manage your own mess. We'll be working on that. One less thing we have to do though.

Today I pick up the last of the base cabinets that Schrock had in their warehouse that we could use. So we have the cabinets for the island and most what we needed in bases with the exception of the sink base and a couple 18 inchers. I may be wrong on that, but we are close all the same. They didn't have anything we needed for the upper cabinets except the one we brought home a couple of weeks ago for the corner. That was a great find! We'll call Schrock's weekly to see if anymore come in that we need. Trying to avoid having to buy any of them at full retail if at all possible.

Now, do we strip the plaster and lathe off the walls and ceiling and put up drywall? That is the next big decision. I say go for it and eliminate the worry of things breaking apart later after investing all the time to make it beautiful. What's a little more mess? I can mud and tape with the best of them.

Kitchen Renovation #1

Well, started tearing the ceiling out of the kitchen last night in hopes of raising the roof back to the original height.

9 feet.

This meant me on a ladder.
This meant me with a hammer.
This meant me with a prybar.
This meant me with a razor knife.

Sounds like good ingredients for a bloodletting.
Nothing but a small paper cut. Damn. I mean good.



Pictures later.

New Homeowner Anality

Yes, I did fall off the face of the earth (because it's not round) but I have climbed back onto her face.

Here's the thing - last Thursday we get some snow and predictions of several more inches to follow. So I decide to be a kind and considerate employee and park the company car in MY garage.

My niceness is returned with a bitchy, f**k you attitude. The damn car dribbled dirty snow all over my garage floor.

After I was so nice to the car, it shit snow on my floor. So I was late to work because I had to shovel it out. I just couldn't let that dirty snow, dirty water lay on my garage floor. It had to be cleaned out.

How's that for anality.
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Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless Handheld

Surprise!

Well my Michael surprised me today! I was expecting to wait on a furniture delivery of our dining room table and chairs and very excited! Well not only did we get our table and chairs but he ordered the buffet and hutch for us too! It is so beautiful! With the exception of an area rug and refinishing the floors at some point down the road, that room is close to finished. A picture here and there, and some other minor decorating over time otherwise. Thank you sweetheart!!!

We were planning on having dinner in there tonight...but that is another story for another day.

Night Off

Tuesday was a night off due to visitation for the unfortunate passing away of my best friend's mother-in-law, Phyllis Kaskavage. I only met Phyllis a handful of times, but from that I could tell she was a great lady. All of us here at Grazing Grounds are thinking of you Jules.

To view her obituary or donate a memorial please go here...

http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2008/02/11/obits/130232.txt


Julie and Tony were in good spirits and I think pleased by seeing Tom and myself. It is a hard thing losing a parent no matter what age. But Phyllis was still young at heart and onery to the end... just like the woman I had come to know the few times I was lucky enough to meet her.

Rest in peace.

Dust, dust, dust

I have started taken the plaster and lathe off the north kitchen wall that is covering the fireplace. It is really hard shit but when it does break it shatters into teeny tiny dust particles.

So now I have a mess.
But that's what girlfriends are for - to clean up after their boyfriends.
Cheesy grinning now!!!!!!

Hammer, hammer, where fore art thou!!!

I lost my hammer. Woe is me. Soory Shakespeare.

If I can't find my hammer, maybe I'll just get hammered.

hours later. I found my hammer. Yay!!!!

Quiet Nights

Well, I have to admit it. At first I didn't want to. But now I have too. i love the life in the country.

It does not take away from or replace anyone, but it is sweet. I walk outside neekid anytime I want. Though lately there has been some shrinkage when I do that. Ok, alot of shrinkage.

But last night laying on the couch and just staying into space (or moving to that empty spot in my head)
I was at peace.
I was resolved.
I was happy.
I was HOME.

Of course how much of that will change after I make the first of 360 payments next month.

I am happy, not just because of the house and all it entails, but because of Allyson as well. She gives of herself freely, unequivocally. For that I am happy. Thank you.

But soon, the real work will have to start and I will begin remodeling. i can't wait.

Kitchen???

Well, slowly each day a little bit of the wall between the kitchen and the remainder of the house is being picked at. Yes...Michael is pulling down just a little bit at a time to cautiously see what is lerking behind those old walls. Last night he chipped away concrete to discover the brick from the back of the chimney doesn't really look too bad. Maybe his idea of having a bit of it exposed will work out. It will be quite a mess either way just getting the walls ready for whatever we decide to do with them.

I think Michael is just aching to start a project, but cautious enough to go at it slowly so far. We'll just have to wait and see. Kitchen designs are starting to come in from the places we visited. It will be interesting to see the different ideas and then making the decision on what direction to take. Good thing there is no hurry!

BTW...a little birdie told me the full affect of being in the country has taken hold of my Michael. He ran outside in his underwear last night!

Hooker's Man Cave

Man do you have a lot of work to do bro'.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O66S8srAyWs


also go down to the last dining room post and see it.

Dining almost done

With the exception of receiving the new furniture for the dining room, well table anyway, it is pretty much wrapped up. The buffet and china cabinet will have to wait a while. The new color on the walls is perfect. The curtains look great and even look good with the tablecloth I caught on clearance. All we have left for that room is sand and finish the wood floor, get some drape hooks to pull back the curtains when we want to let the sun shine in and get some wall plates. Woohoo!!

On to the next project...hmmmm....what will it be???

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fup9HT87QNo

Painting, Satellites and Washers

Dining is painted. Thx Ally, much gracias. And you too Cindi for priming and you Christine for cleaning.

Ally painted the whole room today all by herself - even the ceiling. Bet she has tired arms.

Satellite got put n at 8am this morning. Awesome looking at HD channels. And the tv makes them look pretty good too.

Best Buy delivered the washer this afternoon as well. Now I have to learn how to wash and dry clothes. I suppose I can be taught.

Any way, projects for the house. Getting the rest of my stuff brought over. Making plans for the kitchen - it really has to be redone some day. Bedrooms finished - floors, trim, paint. Sealing up the basement door now that basement deliveries are done. And just for you bro' - running cable out the the MAN CAVE!!! And a hundred other things to do.

Have spent a few nights out there and maybe a few more in the near future.

Grime, Grit and Ugly colors

Friday night, FIRST night, after clearing up the washer saga, was wonderful!

Saturday morning, up early, get moving, donuts bought to sugar up the help. The younger the help, the more appreciated the donuts were. Got back to the house just missing the guys off to pick up the load from Sullivan. Got groceries so had to have somewhere to put them that didn't totally gross us out. Cleaned the refrigerator....oh my so gross!! Groceries put away! Yippee. Help arrives with bucket in hand and kids in tow. Christine and I started from opposite sides of the kitchen, kids loaded up with bucket and sponges to clean the woodwork! Even kids were getting grossed out by the grime they were finding. After all it is an old house. Oops, have to get lunch started! Realizing I forgot a couple of things, Mike's mom graciously went to my house with Jake to get a few things so I could keep cooking and preparing for the guys to return. Cold day, Chili to warm the bones. Back to finishing the kitchen after taking a short break. Christine was like the energizer bunny.

Back to a short break but then decide to start cleaning the woodwork in the dining room to prepare for painting the next day. Michael's mom had already swept the room once, but I kept creating more mess as I was cleaning old painters tape off the woodwork and years of Uck and disinigrating sponges. She swept again. Soon Christine joined in to clean the walls when it was discovered how dirty they were when I hit a spiderweb on the mustard yellow by one of the windows. I cleaned hi and Christine and Joan cleaned low. Finally, lemony fresh, the room was ready to be painted.

As people adjurned their day and well wishes and thanks were made we had a couple hours to chill before joining up with some of our crowd for a leisurely dinner and a few drinks to calm the nerves. Kids had a great time, especially Matt, collecting tickets for "valuable prizes" at some later date.

Back at the farm...head to bed for a well deserved rest. Boys downstairs playing games until who knows when, but they had a great time.

6:00 a.m. Sunday morning... I roll over to see a jet taxi out and then take off. How cool is that?!?! Back to sleep until a bit later. ; )

Up we go...start moving in the right direction. Painting day has arrived! The blood red and mustard yellow are soon to be out the door! Between 12ish and 4:30ish two coats of primer later, the room is ready for new color. That will happen on Tuesday. God love friends that give up family time to help. My friend Cindi is a terror with the paint stick!

Rest of stuff that was dumped into the kitchen now put in a place and the house is back in order for the next round of what ever is to come. One day at a time.

Closed and Almost Moved

Friday - 1/25 - 10am
Signing my name and making initials over and over and over and over...
you get the point. But now -

the FARM is mine. House, morton building, quanset hut and acreage.

Spent Friday nite with Ally and had it felt really good. Saturday was cleaning out the Sullivan shed. It is empty and everything is at the farm. Moved some stuff from my mom's garage and tried to put make some sense of it in the new house.

Thanks to Bill Melby, Elliots (Tom, Christine, Jenna and Matt), Mike Henley, Cindy Raimer, Chris Dunlap, Jake Astrosky and especially Ally. Without all that help the place would be what it is now. And some of them will help in the future to make it what it will be become.

The Hookers came up to visit on Sunday and they seemed excited. The kids really loved playing around in the horse barn. I am sure I will see more of them in the summertime. Partying with Hookers. Awesome, baby.

And my thoughts are with you in your time of need.

So now, we have to come up with a short list of things to do. Strip this, paint that, build something. What to do? Ok, here goes and the order will channge.

1) Paint dining room - Toasted almond walls and fossil stone on the ceiling.
2) Strip wall paper
3) Refinsh hardwood floors - Bedroom 1 and maser bedroom
4) Add half bath
5) Add master suite
6) Add laundry room
7) Strip trim and refinish
8) Organize stuff already moved there
9) Get stuff out of mom's basement
10)Sleep

Stresses of decorating

Well, I do have to say it was a bit of a trial to get some things put together as "the necessities" needed immediately. All was going good with getting cleaning supplies and easy stuff like that but when it came to realizing the need of sheets...the stress level began to rise. We will need to keep the lists short to lessen the overwhelming capacities that are sure to come. Luckily found something on clearance to get us going. I'm going to keep it a secret that we still need a blanket and matress pad...don't want the cork to blow!

Friday and Saturday will be full and productive days. Thanks to the friends that are providing the muscle to help move things in and others that will be helping me clean. FYI...Painting parties are yet to be scheduled.

Holy Cow!!!

Man is it expensive trying to get ready for a new house. Over $100 just for cleaning supplies. Sheesh. And I have to open the bottles, they don't open themselves.

And bedding stuff. It is like gold thread. Anyways, bought a bed
bought bedsheets
bought soap
bought cashews
...hey can't clean on an empty stomach.

So I am going to keep a small running total on the cash outlay to go with the site.
So I know how much to ask when I flip it.

Settlin In

Suppose I should define what that means so the progress bar makes some sense. Since one can never be fully moved in - or can you?

anyway... settlin' in was going to mean in the house and beer in hand. But that is way to easy. So here goes -

- Sullivan storage shed empty
- Bathroom clean enough to use (this really means the shower since men can piss anywhere)
- At least a lawn chair to sit in (means I have furniture)
- Some grub and beer in the fridge
- TV (preferably satellite over rabbit ears)
- mattress to lay on (or be laid)

is there anything else that is really needed....

Clean clothes

I never knew it cost so damn much to have clean clothes.
$1500 for a washer and another $1300 for the dryer. Of course, that is probably top end for the CU area, but come on. I expect them to be on hangars and back in the closet for that price.

Still I need a pair.

So I bought a pair.

Hold on, I think I got a good deal. The dryer I bought was in the clearance area. Couple of scratches, one dent in the back and I get it for almost half the original price. But still that's alot of money for clean clothes.

Don't worry VGFatboy I am having them delivered.

A New Chapter

This is the start of a new beginning. I owned a house once long, long ago. Soon I will be owning one again. This will be the saga of that house. There will be many challenges ahead and probably a few headaches as well. But they will all be overcome. It will take time, but time I have until the end. There is no hurry, there is no deadline. There is only now.

I hope to have lots of help along the way. I hope to have lots of fun along the way. Jake said it best last weekend, "If you buy it, then we can have bonfires again." Bonfires - how long has it been since I have had one. Those bonfires sure heard and saw alot. Soon they will see and hear again.

The country and outbuildings, something I have wanted for a very long time. It is not the perfect place, but it is my place. No river, no mountain, no forest, but a few fenced acres and a few outbuildings and lots of opportunity.

There is a lot to do and the progress bars on the left will show how far I have to go to finish each one. As projects are finished new ones will be created. It will be fun. Just looking, offering and buying were alot. But there will be more on that later.

So kick back, blog if you you want and enjoy my trials and tribulations as I become a homeowner once again. There will be lots of pictures and probably some video as well. Tell one, tell all, this is the place to be.