Today was getting all the work done on the ground. Went to Walla Walla to pick up groceries and more supplies. Took my list and got everything on the list, even the Blizzard, yum. I couldn’t believe the bill. The cedar shakes were outrageous at $45 a bundle. We bought 2 bundles. Finish nails for the nail gun. We had been unable to find them until today. More primer and of course a new putty knife. I am a happy girl 🙂
Got home at noon and unloaded the car. Lynn was so tired, but he went out and cut the shingles so I could get them painted so he would have them for tomorrow. We ran out of the first course which are just straight. The others have to be cut in the decorative acorn pattern on the scroll saw. I have a bunch of those, but not sure if we have enough. We will know pretty soon.
I have included pictures from the bundle stage to the finish stage. I also included my I-pod which has my audio books loaded on it. There is nothing I like more than reading from my Kindle or listening to my audio books. I would much rather listen to a good book than music, though I like music too. I am now listening to the third book in the King of Thrones series. Interesting, but my favorite series is the Outlander series. Waiting patiently for her 9th book, I think. Due out next year.
This is going to be a short update as I need to go back out and put a final coat of green paint so they will be ready to put up tomorrow.
Well Lynn and I were moving a wee bit slow this morning. Dilly dallied around and didn’t make it out there until about 9:00. Lynn was exhausted when he work up, but went out anyway and started putting up some of the trim. Before you know it the siren goes off signaling lunch time. Oh, for those that don’t live in a small town with a volunteer fire department, maybe an air-raid siren going off, would give you pause. Well, this little burg has a fire siren that goes off every day at noon. The siren also goes off at other times summoning the volunteer fire department for fires or accidents. It is really comforting to know that the volunteer fire department is on hand for these emergencies. It is truly giving yourself to your community and your way of life. God Bless all our volunteer firefighters and EMT. Can’t say enough good about them all.
My job today was to tape and paint the colors on the post. That was slow and tedious and tomorrow we will put it up and take another one down.
Lynn went back up in the lift after lunch, which I know took all he had, but he wants to make some progress before we take the lift back. He started adding the shake shingles. First he puts up the straight pieces then overlaps the cut pieces. Unfortunately, we ran short on the straight pieces so that hampered our best intentions. Off to Home Depot or Pro Build tomorrow to see if we can get another bundle or two. Then Lynn will cut them to the right width and I will prime with Kilz Premium Exterior Primer, of course. You would think I got paid for plugging their product, but that is not the case, I just want others to learn from my mistakes. Then two coats of Sage Green Behr Acrylic Exterior Semi-Gloss paint. A little detail you don’t see looking straight on, is that each one of the shakes has a red detail on the acorn cut-out that can be seen from the ground. (On the thick bottom of the shake). So it will probably be Sunday before that dormer is finished.
While he was doing that I applied several coats of the decorative paint to the post and primed and caulked more on the porch side of the house. The kitchen side to be more specific. It looks awful, but that will change in the next week or so.
Tomorrow is a shopping day, so Lynn probably will not be working on the house. Have to make my list. Another gallon of primer; cedar shakes; 2″ blue painters tape; a couple more brushes; a new 2″ putty knife; and a Strawberry Cheesequake Blizzard. Now, how did that get in there?
We have been doing the diet thing, but I promise myself a Blizzard once a month. Gotta have something to look forward too.
A couple of photos of our progress. Just 2 more weeks of the lift. Will we meet our goal? Stay tuned.
Annie, the Palm Sanding Wizzard.
The shakes are going up
Unpainted shakes on the garage. Put up about 10 years ago.
After yesterday, I didn’t hold much hope that I could get Lynn out there again today. Fooled me. After seeing how good it looked yesterday he was excited about going out there to finish up the trim. He thought it would take about 4 hours and he didn’t even stop for lunch. He said if he stopped he may not want to go back out. What a guy 🙂
I started out sanding and sanding some more on the post and had it ready to paint about 10:30. Put on one coat of primer and waited for that to dry, then two coats of Behr White Semi Gloss Exterior Paint. Letting it dry between coats. Now the post will rest for a couple of days before I can tape and paint the rings. Then on to the 3rd post.
Things went smoother for Lynn as he learned better ways to do things.
I wanted to help, so after he put his time in on the lift, I went back out and tried to face my fears of heights by walking around on the porch roof, hanging onto the lift, of course. That was tough, but I did it a little bit. Put up some of the tar paper, but when I ran out, I couldn’t make myself go back up there. I will try it again later, you can bet your britches on it.
With the day ending, I had some Domestic Diva stuff to do. My friend Mary has a Birthday tomorrow, and she looooves to celebrate her Birthday. I made my famous cheese-ball, past down through the family. I will share the recipe with you at the end. Then I made German Chocolate Brownies. Her request. Tomorrow we will feast. Guess what I am at the end.
Annie’s Cheese Ball – only 5 ingredients (double batch)
2 – pkgs cream cheese (not low fat)
2 – Tbls dehydrated onions
1 1/2 – tsp. garlic salt
1 – pkg (sm) Budding wafer meats (torn in small pieces) (I use chicken)
2 – Tbls Pace Picante Sauce (secret ingredient – I like medium)
Remove your rings. Put all the above ingredients in a medium mixing bowl so you will have room to get your hands in there and smoosh it altogether. There really isn’t any other way to get it done so it is blended well. It will be tackie so just form it into a ball and put in the frig to firm up. Before serving I roll it in pecan chips, but you can roll in sunflower seeds or parsley if there are pickie eaters who don’t like nuts.
I make sure I bring crackers to serve with it. I like Wheat Thins and/or Triskets. I make sure the crackers are plain, as you want to taste the subtle flavors of the cheese ball.
I spent the day working on the post. I have been the “Bondo Queen”. Still not satisfied with the results. Two sides done and two to go. Almost there. Should get it painted tomorrow.
Lynn took over control of the lift today. He actually spent more time in it than I thought he would. He was actually living up to his monicker of ‘ole snap & snarl’. He was one cranky guy this morning. I didn’t even want to be around him. But he eventually came out of it.
He spent about 3 hours working on the right gable. He hopes to finish the trim work tomorrow and then we will start adding the shakes. Maybe have it done by this weekend. One can only hope. He doesn’t trust me to do it. I think my expertise is in the ‘post area.’ Too many angles on the trim work. I spend the day cutting pieces and running up and down the stairs handing pieces of trim out the window to ‘Snap.’ Oh, and mind reading. That was what Lynn expected me to do. Kinda good at it after 24 years, but not perfect yet!!!
I sure hope Lynn feels up to working on it tomorrow. I have to go to work on Thursday and then will be off for 3 more days.
A fairly productive day. Now for some proofing and new shows to watch with the hubby. 🙂
Annie, the Bondo Queen
The right side of the gable with some of the trim.
Put in a full day. Finished putting 2 coats of Cream paint on the shop. Then trimmed the white and put a final coat of white on the garage door. A full day. Not sure what I will start on tomorrow. Need to migrate to the front of the house again, but the weather side of the shop also needs attention. I guess I will wait until tomorrow morning and see what feels right.
I have also been working on the post, will probably do a little more on that in the morning.
Lynn still isn’t feeling up to par, so I am thinking about seeing if he will walk me through the front. I know that I can do it. I did put the cedar shakes on the garage, so I think I would be able to handle the front. We will see.
Too tired to write much tonight, but I did take a couple of pictures.
Going to spend some time proofing the book I have and then some quality time in front of Dancing With the Stars tonight with my hubby.
More photos to come tomorrow. Maybe.
Annie, novice painter and Master and Controller
The front is done. Yea, can mark that of the to-do list.
Removing the blue tape. The way I use it, I need to by stock in the company.
Nice door, now about the rest of the garage. Just need to turn away, that isn’t happening this year!!
Up and ready to go by 8:00. Had a bowl of cereal and out the door. On a mission to get lots done on the shop (aka Lynn’s dog house). At least it will be if we ever get moved into the house. Luxury dog house at that.
First thing I did was sand and get the post ready for bondo. Put Bondo on one side so it could be drying while I was painting on the shop. Put another coat of Premium Kilz Primer on all the weathered wood on the shop. I can’t sing the praises of this primer enough. I had put it on the side of the shop last year. That was as high as I would go on the ladder. Then 2 coats of Behr Semi Gloss Exterior Paint. The color is Cream. Which is a creamy yellow. It held up real good through the winter. The siding doesn’t seem to have a problem holding paint. The bare wood is another thing. So two coats of primer on it.
After I put the second coat of primer on the bare wood, I had to caulk all the cracks and joints. It is very important to put caulking on. It is better to put it on before the finish coat of paint because, even if you use clear, it gets dirty. I put on the primer first then the caulking, then two finish coats of paint. Then it look like a job done by a pro, not a sixty-plus (my son’s name for me) grandma.
While I was up there painting, I decided to get some pictures of the view. God I love this place. It is wonderful working for the American Dream, my Dream. Not afraid to work, just wish I could work faster. I am a picky painter, as I am with most things. Not a perfectionist, just picky.
Put the Cream on a big part of the Shop before I had to stop for the evening. It was 5:30 and I was pooped. Went out on the back porch and worked on the post, sanded then put more Bondo on. Oh, the photo I have included in this blog, is what “not to do” to a post. At some point, in the past, when trying to squeeze the posts together, I hit it with a hammer that looked like a meat tenderizer. It was a hammer Steven, my son, sent to Lynn from Japan. What possessed me to do that I don’t know. Now I gotta fix it. No problem, I got Bondo.
For the next 4 days, I will be skipping work, unless it gets to be bad weather. Only have another 3 weeks to get oodles of work done. Lynn may be giving me lessons to fix the front of the house. I have been his apprentice for 24 years now. I have learned a lot and still learning. I am amazed at all the things he can do. The amazing thing is he taught himself as he was raised by a single mom. All you have to do is not be afraid to work. That is truly the key.
One of the pictures is of the garage and the kitchen side of the house. It really looks bad there, but that will be done this year too. The weeds are really high around the house, that darn gardener has been playing in the lift. I guess I am going to have to talk to her.
When I am not working on the house/shop then I am proofing my favorite author’s (Shanna Hatefield’s) books, working on a quilt, hand quilting, or playing on my Facebook page. I have neglected all my flower beds so that is something I am going to need to prepare for winter too. Well for now, I am just going to end this post and see y’all tomorrow.
Annie, the novice shop and post painter.
Kitchen side of the house
Pot with hammer marks
Primer is on
View of the front pasture and my neighbors across the highway
Mooney the llama & April the paint.
Out of paint in the roller pan, means it time to call the quits for the night.
Think polyester. I think everyone has some polyester clothes that they absolute hate. Well, I have found a good use for my polyester clothes. Use them to paint in. You just don’t care how much paint to get on them. As a matter of fact they look better with paint all over them. So I put on my best poly and set out to make them look great. What a palate for all the different colors. When the house, garage and shop are done, I will celebrate by burning them in the fire pit out back.
Well today started slow as I thought it would. I went out first thing in the morning at 8:00 and painted the white trim around the garage door which took an hour. By that time Lynn had his coffee and was ready to go. So we to Walla Walla for groceries, making several stops and having lunch in the park.
Home around 1:00, the groceries are unloaded and I am back in my best poly. We have to re-position the lift and I am on my maiden voyage in the lift. I had Lynn take some photos as proof that I really did go up there. You know it was a little wobbly, but when I got my sea legs, I was good. I began to put on the Kilz Primer on the weathered boards and siding. I used a brush and roller. It sucked the paint up like a sponge. As a matter of fact, I will probably have to use two coats of primer on some of the weathered boards. The photos show where I was at about 3:00, well I went back out and painted for another 2 1/2 hours and got more primed, but still have more primer to do. Luckily, we didn’t have any wind or thunderstorms which were a possibility.
You are probably asking, why didn’t I rent a sprayer and do it the easy way? It would have been faster and easier, I am sure. And, I have tried sprayers before, as a matter of fact we had one in the hardware store that we rented out. The problem that I always had was they would get plugged up, or wouldn’t spray enough or would spray too much. I just don’t have the patience to mess with it. So I do it the old fashion way.
Tomorrow I will be back up there first thing, as Lynn isn’t ready to use the lift again. His legs have been giving him a lot of pain. He will be doing other things like mowing and changing the sprinklers, and giving the horse, April, carrots. On occasion, he will stop and give me some pointers or words of encouragement. If I get an early start, I may get around to putting on the main coat. I tend to work slow and deliberate. Not very speedy.
Now for the pictures.
Annie, the happy little painter 🙂
Annie flying solo
Moving the lift into place
Get familiar with the up and down buttons
Two more hours of daylight, and the hard part is behind me
Annie’s new toy. Photo taken from the front porch of the house.
Well, we got the lift back about noon today. Just delayed my working vacation for a week. I will be taking M,T,W & F off next week. Got to go in to work for a potluck on Thursday. You don’t expect me to miss food, I need my strength to keep going. Besides I will be celebrating my friend Mary.
Plans for tomorrow: Grocery shopping is first on the agenda, then when we get home, Lynn will probably be too tired to work, but I’ll just be catching my second wind.
I plan to finish painting the garage door. Work on the post, if I can’t get up in the lift. If the weather allows it, I may try to get some high-up painting done. We will see how it goes. Too many things need to be done, but the priority will be on getting the front of the house done to keep the foul winter weather at bay.
I will up date the blog as much as I can in the evening. Wouldn’t want you to forget about me. I may even get a picture of me in the lift, I just can’t look down, and the wind has to be calm.
The nasty part of this week is all the wildfires in the State of Washington. We have smoke, ash and dust so thick that the sun is almost obscured, and not good for breathing. They are predicting 20% chance of lightning storms this weekend. What we need is rain. It would slow down my work, but it would settle some of the dust and smoke in the air, plus assist in fighting the fires. Well, I will do my happy little rain dance tonight and maybe that will help.
Have a wonderful weekend and I will keep y’all up dated.
Well, we are supposed to get the boom-lift back tomorrow. Had to work for a living this week. Hopefully, back to the house on Saturday. I guess if it had to break, this week was the best time. We have hundreds of wildfires in the State of Washington now, and the air is thick with smoke, ash, and dirt. Air advisories are to stay inside unless absolutely necessary. It is really gloomy and still. Wishing for wind, is a two-edged sword. You want wind to blow this gunk out, but it would just feed the wildfires.
Some progress: The second turned post is glued together and just waiting for me to work my magic. That will probably be Saturday afternoon. This is moving way to slow for me. Sometimes I have so much that needs to be done, I don’t know what to do next. So I guess, I will just do some reflecting.
Now where was I, oh yeah, 1998. That was the year that we built the Garage and started on the Shop. Lynn did most of the work, but I helped. I put on the cedar shakes. That was when I wasn’t scared of getting on the roof. They still need painting, maybe next year.
We did have the cement floor for the shop poured at the same time as the garage. Work on the shop I believe began in 1998, also. We found a plan for a 2 story garage/shop at Lumberman’s in Walla Walla. It was off the shelf for about $12.00. It was just what we were looking for. It simulated a barn-style shop which fit well with our outbuildings. Those plans were more detailed than the plans for the house. It detailed where every board went. Though Lynn didn’t need that much detail, I was amazed. Of course, we had to tweak it to our liking. I believe he made it wider and deeper. I just hope to get it painted this year as it looks like a patch-work quilt now. That is definitely the plan for the lift in the next 3 weeks. Note: There is a barn-style door in the upper-level middle of the shop. It is framed in (and sheeted over for now), but probably will not be put in until next year.
I plan to take at least part of next week off to work on the house. Winter is fast approaching and we have a lot to do.
Note: None of the buildings had ready-made-trusses, Lynn hand-framed all of them. In hind site he would probably have saved himself a lot of grief if he had ordered them. He is just old-school, you know, “I can do it myself!” The stubborn Scotsman.
I will try to find some pictures of the garage and shop to post. I think we are on our way to 1999.
Annie, the house-bound novice carpenter.
The shop as it stands now. Need to paint the top floor.
Well the boom lift is at the “lift doctor.” So there wasn’t any work done on the house yesterday or today. Not sure when it will be released, but hopefully in a day or two.
Had to go to my real job, but have permission to take more time off when we get the lift back. In the meantime, Lynn worked a little on the post but will do more tomorrow. He is recovering from last week. I think I may have pushed him a little too hard.
So there isn’t much to report on today so this will be short.
Plans for the future are: Finish the East gable then the West gable, then the center over the front door. In between the times that Lynn will be doing the structural part, I will fancy things up a bit. I plan on painting the upper part of the shop and if time allows we will move to the side and eventually to the back.
We did finish up the back lower deck of the house earlier this summer. There is also a small upper deck that needs some attention. Oh my as I am writing this, even I am becoming overwhelmed. Nothing has been done inside yet.
Plans for the inside: We will have a master bath, two full baths in the upstairs and a half-bath by the back door. Three bedrooms upstairs and a large bonus room. First floor has a formal dining room, a country kitchen, family room, laundry room, master suite, living room and finally the library/office.
Hopefully, it will be ready by the time I retire. Sooner I hope. With Lynn already retired and hopefully I will in another 5 years, we could actually lose each other in this house, which may assist us both in surviving retirement.
Oh, I forgot, his shop is every mans dream. I believe that he owns most of the power tools that Sears has produced. I should have bought stock in Sears years ago knowing they had customers like him. He has a compound miter saw that I bought for him about 5 years ago, and it is still in the box!!
If you had noticed from the photos, his shop has a second story. Well right now that is storage, but the future plan is a model railroad room. Lynn still has many model trains he had when he was a boy and various model railroad stuff he has acquired through the years. (He boarders or being a ‘hoarder’). Hmm that rhymes.
Well, I just got carried away. I told you this would be short. So I will post more as the week moves along.
15yearsandcountingdream 