October Update

October 2, 2015
      So much to catch up on.
       We basically have about a 90% functional home.  Walls are textured and painted.  We have laid a little over 1100 square feet of flooring in the addition and guest bathroom.  Next we will floor the hall ways and then progress to our bedroom and master bath.  Joe can't set my slipper bathtub until the bathroom flooring is down.  He might be afraid I will quit work and just soak for days on end.
      The dark flooring really sets off the white cabinets and the it brown pin striping.  The kitchen has turned out to be gorgeous and functional beyond my dreams.  This next month we will paint the molding and put it around the top of the cabinets like crown molding.  We will reset the base molding , hang the pantry doors and Walla, we will have the kitchen finished.  I have even taking up cooking meals.  My new cooking interest though is baking white bread.  This is something I just couldn't master in Phelan.  I think it had something to do with the altitude.  I have been baking two loaves of bread daily or every other day for over a week.  As the old saying goes, "Practice makes perfect".  I am now cranking out consistently good homemade bread -- no I am not using the bread machine.
   Since the weather is cooler, we have been taking some time to weed, plant flowers, work on the chicken coop, and bush hog more of the pastures.

Living in a construction zone

May 19, 2015
     I guess it is time to return to my blog. I haven't written since the end of January.  I'm disappointed in writing on my blog since I can't get pictures to download anymore.  But, I need to update my blog, which is also my journal of this project.
     Where to start.  We moved into the house in February full time.  We had the addition drywalled and hung plastic over the hall entrance to try to keep the heat in.  We burned the fireplace 24/7 just to keep a livable temperature.  The HVAC guy finally got the heat up and running!  What a difference that made though we were still hemorrhaging heat.  We started the task of mudding and taping, sanding, and mudding again.  This has been the worst part of working on the house so far.  This is mid May and we still don't have it all taped.  Joe's back and leg are bothering him so work is slow.
      Joe did get the kitchen cabinets set about two months ago.  Peterson Marble and Granite were able to salvage most of the granite counter tops that came with the cabinets.  We only had to purchase one slab to be used where the old granite couldn't be put back together.  What a difference counter tops make!!  Joe hooked up kitchen electricity, the double ovens, cold water, the refrigerator, and the glass top stove.  We now have a pretty functional kitchen.  I have even been cooking.  The youngest granddaughter , Meghan, in 7 th grade, came over after school one day and baked in both ovens.  She made a birthday cake, cupcakes, and brownies.   It was so fun to have her over and us use the kitchen together.
      We are almost finished taping and mudding the addition, both guest rooms, and our bedroom.  We have started on the guest bathroom .  Joe put mortar down and set the shower pan.  It has dried for two days so we will be ready to hang the concrete board and run the plumbing.  I can then start tiling the shower.  I expect to be showering in the guest bathroom within a week.
       Guys are coming the first part of June to finish the last coat of mudding on the 10 foot ceiling and a few joints. Then,  they will texture the inside of the house.  I have drawn a line in the sand about us trying to texture.  Not happening!!!!!  I think we can finish everything else once the walls and ceilings are textured.  Oh, the texture guys said everything has to be out of the house so they can work,  except what's in our closet, and the counters of course.  Those have to be covered.  Back to storage with the bed and TV.  Where to put all the tools.  I think Joe needs another big tool box.
      The underlayment for the laminate flooring was delivered last week.  One of our major problems is finding dry areas in the shop to store things.  The Shop needs a new metal roof, but that is not even on any to do list right now.  Most of the Flooring is stacked in our walk in closet, along with the dining room chairs we bought to go with our dark table.  I am not putting the chairs in the shop and there isn't room in the storage unit.  The rest of the flooring is stored in one of the guest rooms.
      How could I forget to mention one of the most exciting happenings this month?  Joe hooked up a  washer and dryer we were given.  They are older but work great.  They are out in the shop but who cares.  I can wash clothes here.  Thank goodness Leslie and my mother- in- law have let us shower
and wash clothes at their houses.  Don't think we would have survived without their help.
     Don't think I posted about it before, but several months ago Joe's sister and her husband bought a house and 40 acres in Lead Hill.  Joe's mom moved with them and is just getting settled in a nice new double wide on Val and Sam's 40 acres.  Rumor has it his other sister and her husband may be moving back by summer.
     Well, that's the quickie update of life in the construction zone.

Pictures aren't uploading????

January 26, 2015

     I can't figure out why none of my pictures taken after December 23 are available to add to my blog posts.   I gave even tried pasting a picture to the blog, but it doesn't show up.  I have checked my privacy settings and it is checked to share photos.  I am at a lost as pictures were available through December 23.  After that, no new pictures are available.  I am bummed.

Guineas

January 26, 2015

     After a colder, drizzly Sunday, the weather is supposed to be sunny and 10 degrees warmer today. Next Wednesday should  be 68 degrees then possible flurries on the following Saturday.  Crazy weather.

      Now for the exciting news...I think we may have 3 Guineas that are Buff colored or partial buff colored.  Buffs are fairly rare.  I hope at least one is a female so we have a chance to get some buff colored keets.  I have orders for any keets we have this year.  We have our original 4 Guineas and 9 of the ones the lavender Guinea hatched.  The young ones move around like a giant  amoeba .   They just seem to flow as they move all close together.  So funny to watch.  The youngsters were raised with the 4 little chicks so when the chickens come for bread , here they come.  The older Guineas try to keep all the others away from the bread, like it is something bad.  Quite entertaining everyday as I feed some bread to the hens and Guineas.  The bread store in Harrison sells shopping carts full of bread, some of which hasn't reached its expiration date, for $6.00 .  It's an inexpensive way to supplement feed for the birds and Rosie, the pig.  

    

Drywalling continues

January 17,  2015
     It's a heat wave here today - 56 degrees!  We spent the entire day outside.  We met with a wonderful lady from the local USDA office.  She came to the farm and evaluated the place for cross fencing, ponds, and pasture rotation, now called "prescribed grazing".  We spent several hours with her and learned a lot.  Since I am a woman farmer, and under served by the government, I was able to get free pasture insurance, which pays me for the loss of pasture should here be a drought this year. I

   Joe and our son-in-law cut a fallen tree off one of the cross fences.  We now have firewood stacked on the porch for the next cold spell.  It felt good to cut our own firewood from a fallen tree on our property.
   We are considering buying between 15 to 20 bred cows to get our little cattle operation up and going.  I think we will try red angus or black angus cross cattle.  Those seem to sell the best back here.  We would like to sell grass fed beef to individuals as opposed to selling the calves at auction.  We will see how that goes as it will take marketing on our part.
   With the cold spell, we have just been working in the addition where we have the fireplace blazing and occasionally turn on the blast heater for a shot of extra warmth.  Joe and I are the only ones working so progress is slow, but everyday we make progress.  Half the addition is drywalled!  Joe just finished blocking for the cabinets.  I need to start cutting and hanging insulation so we can get more drywall up.
  Having the big TV and the fireplace make it a lot nicer to work in the addition.  Of course we watch DIY and HGTV.

Winter Advisory

January 10
     A Winter Advisory has been issued for our area.  We may get a bit of intermittent ice tonight on through Sunday afternoon.
     Last night the temperature dropped to 12 degrees.  Thank goodness we have a good little electric heater we keep running at night because we ran out of propane during the night!  The little heater managed to keep the trailer 47 degrees.  Our little 5 gallon bottle is only lasting a few days in these low temperatures.  I keep two heavy Afghan blankets by the side of the bed .  They were "Looking at Afghans" but last night! they became "Using Afghans".  We stayed toasty under the covers.   Muffin and I stayed hunkered down until Joe got back with propane.
      Both of us are taking a break from much lifting today but will finish hanging drywall in the hallway and entry hall on Sunday.
     Monday, Joe and Wayne should hang the last of the ceiling drywall!  Let the mudding begin!!

   

New Year 2015

January 2, 2015

     Joe and I hope everyone had a joyful Christmas!  We wish everyone a Happy New Year foe 2015.
We are excited that we are getting so much closer to having the plumbing and drywall in.   Mud and taping may be challenging, but we have made it this far so believe we can also tackle that job.
      The weather has been quite cold the past two weeks and even colder weather is predicted around January 5.  Thank goodness most of the work is inside for now.
     Joe and Wayne got the soffits and trim up on the high end of the roof lady week.  We had to hire a tractor with a lift to reach that high.  They wound up putting a ladder on our scaffold strapped to the lift to reach the peak! Thank goodness that part of the soffit is finished.  We probably won't put up anymore soffits or siding until warmer weather.  The house is wrapped in Tyvek so it is water tight.
     As soon as we can get the HVAC guy back out to finish the last vent and connect the system, we will have heat and air in the house!  Miracles never cease.
     My granddaughter, Meghan, and I are visiting my son and his family outside of Memphis.  It is my grandson , Jackson's, 3rd birthday on January 3.  So happy to be here for his birthday.  Little Evan who is 1 1/2 years old is such a character and so glad to get to spend time with him also.
     I hope our Red Wattle sow, Rosie, waits to have her babies until I get back home as I would like to be there to see the babies.  Joe is great at helping with animal deliveries if need be.
     The 12 foot sheets of drywall for our walls were delivered Dec. 31, so we are just now ready to start hanging it.  I can help Joe with the walls as that drywall is so much lighter than the ceiling drywall.
     Joe and I took a two day break and went to the Chateau Resort in Branson.  So wonderful to have room service and rest.  Really recharged the batteries to keep us working on the house. Muffin and Freckles even went to stay at a dog retreat in Branson so we knew they were safe and cared for while we were away.
     I decided to make some time to paint a 4 ft tall soldier to go by our front door for Christmas.  Callie and I made peppermint star shaped tree ornaments one day.  I misread the cooking time and our first batch cooked for 30 minutes, not 3 minutes!  That made pretty pink blobs , but they were not star shaped ornaments!  We  worked out the kinks and finally made some darling ornaments.
     Happy New Year and may your dreams come true !