Window 1

Wednesday,  May 27

   Yeah!  We finally have one of the windows installed!  A real house can't be far behind.
    Since there were showers off and on yesterday, I decided to get some more of my Iris rhizomes in the ground while the soil is soft.   I have about 20 more rhizomes and 50 gladiola bulbs to plant down a fence line tomorrow.  Sometime soon I plan on digging up some large light pink daisies that seem to grow wild back here. I want to replant them by our entry gate and hope they reseed.  They are about 2 feet tall with a big black center.  The petals hang towards the ground instead of pointing upward like most daisys.

I am tacking the Tyvek before we installed the window

Joe getting tools together for window install

Electrical started

Tuesday, May 27

       I have either been too tired at night to write on my blog, or just not inspired to write as I like to post pictures with my posts and there is sometimes a day or two delay in my pictures showing up in the options I have for downloading them.  I will regroup and just deal with the picture issue or lack of picture issue.
       Joe and I cleaned up the inside and out of the construction site.  He hauled off a flatbed trailer of old wood cut out of the house.  I swept and used the shop vac to clean up.  We like working in a clean site.   Over Memorial Weekend, we made decisions about where to put our outlets and switches.  Since we don't have any plans other than those we have designed, we are making many decisions as we go.
      I am happy that Joe and I got all the outlet and switch boxes put in so quickly.   Joe has all the ceiling fan mounts in and about half the can light boxes set.
      I am mainly a helper today handing Joe tools, taking boards he has cut down, or just being supportive.   I have started cutting and fitting the Tyvek so it covers the wall and fits up under the rafter tails on the patio side of the house.  Too bad I am not getting paid by the HOUR.  This Tyvek job may take awhile to finish as I measure, cut , staple, then have to scoot the ladder down 16 inches and repeat the process.  I am really glad we are not paying workers by the hour to do this!
      As Joe went around inspecting things, he found a few rafters he had to replace and several places that needed to be finish nailed.  I think we are ready to continue the construction and electrical by ourselves this week.
        All the interior walls and closets are framed.  Two toilet closets should complete the framing!

New riding mower - pictures

   May 18
   The old riding mower finally gave up the ghost.  With about an acre in lawn, which seems to grow while you watch it, we needed a new mower.  The self propelled mower is great for small spaces but not the whole lawn.  I mowed twice with the self propelled mower and I swear the grass had almost grown back by the time I finished mowing for two days.
    Today we took the plunge and bought a Husqvarna 54 inch riding mower.  It took no time at all to mow the back yard and most of the front yard before dark.  So glad we bought the new mower!  It will make weekly mowing a breeze.
    Seeing the mower on the trailer reminded me of the story my mom has told me.   When I was about 2 years old, Mom and Dad took me shopping with them.  I saw a red trike that Dad let me sit on.  When it came time to leave I would not get off the trike.  My parents decided to buy the trike for me but when they went to put it on the counter to pay for it... I pitched a fit and clung to the trike.  Dad just put the trike on the counter with me on it and paid for it.  I rode home in the back seat on that little red trike.
     I could not help but thinking I could have ridden home on the mower on the trailer if it wasn't  against the law.  Silly I know, but a fun thought anyway.

   
 

Memphis

May 14
I have been visiting my son and his family for a few days to help out while he had oral surgery.  Doug still has some infection so he is on more antibiotics for another week so surgery was postponed.  I am having a wonderful time with the Grandkids and Doug and Misti.

Some Flowers

    It seems that each month has new flowers or trees blooming.  The wild pear trees were the first to flower.  They were absolutely covered with white blooms in March.
   April was the month for Dogwood trees to bloom. The blooms on he wild Dogwoods seem to have only white flowers.  The trees are scattered through out wooded areas and planted in yards. They are spectaculars as they dot the countryside.
   The daffodils, jonquils, and tulips bloomed in March and early April.  I was pleasantly surprised at all the yellow and white daffodils that sprang up in bunches around the backyard.  A few red tulips bloomed out by the yard bar-b-q.  I haven't see many tulips being grown in the area.
   May has brought the Iris.  It seems like almost everyone back here has Iris in their yard or by their garden.  Our driveway around the back yard is lined with Iris.  So far, I have white, purple, yellow and root beer colored Iris blooming.  The pictures are of some of the flowers coming up in the backyard.    I do not know what the pink or purple flowers are called.

 
       

 

Construction update

May 9, 2014

Finally, the internal walls are almost all up and the new ceiling and window framing in the fireplace room are almost finished.  Bracing blocks between the wall studs and ceiling beams is next.  Electrical can't be far behind.
These are a few pictures of the construction progress this week.
Window, ceiling started, bearing beam.           Hall to guest rooms, bath, & addition
  
                Guest bathroom.                              Guest room and closet
  
Master bath, bedroom, & closet.                          Progress  made up to April 28
                                                                           Master bath hall wall

Road Trip to Oklahoma

Saturday, May 3
     Road trip to Oklahoma to pick up a Fireplace X.  We couldn't believe we found one on Craigslist!
We are going to heat with wood so wanted a sealed fireplace unit.  We have talked about wanting one of these fireplaces, but $5000 is just too expensive for our remodeling budget.  But.....can you believe it? ...Joe was looking on Craigslist and found one in Stillwater, OK.   Stillwater is about an hour out of Tulsa and 5 hours from us. We decided we might never find this brand again on Craigslist and at 1/4 of the original cost. The savings more than paid for the diesel to go to OK.  We got up Sat. AM, fed the animals, packed a few things should we decide to stay overnight coming back.  Of course Muffin went with us.
  When we got to Stillwater,  the guy already had the fireplace on a pallet and forklifted on the front of a HUGE farm tractor.  He set the fireplace on the trailer and off towards home we headed.
   Since we still needed a dishwasher, I decided to check Craigslist for a Kitchen Aid stainless dishwasher with the controls on the top of the door.  We have been looking for over a month for this particular dishwasher since we are trying to keep all appliances the Kitchen Aid brand. Low and behold there was exactly what we wanted between Stillwater and Tulsa!!  We got a one year old dishwasher for a fraction of the original cost of $1500.  We picked up the dishwasher and started home.  Joe decided he didn't want to leave the fireplace and dishwasher on the trailer parked outside some hotel so we kept on heading for home.  We got in about 1:30 AM
 We were tired, but had a fun trip seeing new country and getting quality products at great discounts.

The bottom picture is how I hope the fireplaces looks in our family room

Morel Mushrooms

Wednesday, April 30

     We found our first two Morel mushrooms!  They were right outside our gate.  Bill and Leslie introduced us to Morel mushrooms.  Morels are very distinctive looking - sort of like sea sponges on a stem.These mushrooms are quite rare so hard to find.  They only come up for about a month  each year so you better find them while you can.  They grow under the big cedar trees and in the cedar glades.  I have had Morels fried in batter that Leslie and tiffany have cooked? YUM is all I can say!  I cooked several chopped up morels in my spaghetti sauce the other day.  The morels could replace meat in the sauce.
   
   

Size comparison

Fried and uncooked

District 1 A championship

Thursday, May 1
     Congratulations to the Lead Hill Lady Tigers softball team!  The girls played two teams last night . The first game started at 5:50 and the last one ended about 11:30 pm.  What a long and cold night for the girls and fans.  Callie is in the back row on the left hand end, and Emilee is in the front row on the left hand end.

District 1A Softball Champions. May 1, 2014

Oven

Thursday, May 1
     It is hard to believe that May is already here!  The weather has been in the 50's the last few days.  This weekend the warm weather should return and hopefully spring and summer weather is here to stay for awhile.
     Joe and I took the day off and went to Fayetteville to pick up our double oven.  We bought a Kitchen Aide that has never been used but has a small ding on one side that goes in the cabinet so will never show.  The great news is we got it for only $650.  We tried it out to make sure it works before we left the store.  Worked great.

     Before we left Fayetteville, we stopped at the Habitat for Humanity restore and found some mounting boxes for the outside lights for about half price.  I was hoping to get an interior glass door but didn't find one.
      When we got back to our place we checked out the house progress and were pleased to see the hall way,  guest bedroom walls, and one bedroom closet framed.  All the sub flooring is of course down.  I am excited to see the interior walls being framed and the house taking shape.