Things are cooling down for the old-war-horse!!

Getting cooler weather and lots of rain has put our little project on the back burner. Oh, yea, and my Birthday. We celebrated by going to The Red Robin in the tri-cities. Had a yummy burger and dessert. Stuffed to the gills. Back on the diet as soon as we left the restaurant. Haha, you know how that is…. you always diet better on a full stomach.

Feeling guilty because I haven’t done anything on the house.  So, I headed out to the house and glued up one side of the post.  This post was the most difficult to get apart, so needless to say it will probably be the most difficult to get back together.  I will just have to take it slow and easy.  Gingerly, that is a new word that I have been seeing in some of my readings.  So I need to use new words, to show you I am educated and all, so here goes!  I glued up one side of the post and brought the other delicate side gingerly up to mesh perfectly, before clamping.  Who says you can’t teach an old ‘war-horse’ new tricks.   Just heard that ‘war-horse’ term this week when my boss was referring to some of his ‘minor villains.’  Almost fell off my chair laughing.

Back to the story.  Thought about cleaning up some of the dust, but with the overcast skies, it started getting dark inside, so it will just have to wait until next weekend.  Working full time really limits how much I can do.  Now it is dark when I go to work and dark when I get home.  Ugh.  Don’t like the shorter days.

Lets do some reflecting on the dream house.  Okay, this is about 1998 & 1999 maybe even 2000.  The 2 car garage (not attached) has been built and sided with a kind of lap siding.  Liked it at the time, but believe that I like the cement board siding better.  Cement board siding is a little more labor intensive, but will probably hold up better.  Got the double garage doors on it, but didn’t get the entry door or the sliding door on it at this time.  We extended the garage in depth about 4 or 6 feet, can’t really remember.  The area in the back was to be used for parking lawn tractors and such back there.  Lynn and I did mix up some concrete and poured a ramp leading in through the sliding door in the back.  Not my first concrete pour.  Probably not my last either.

The shop came next.  It has the appearance of a barn, but it is actually a shop where he can do all the little things he wants to do when he gets this ‘little ole house project’ done.  The shop we actually made longer too.  Again I don’t remember the feet added on there either.  Well we got that up and sided.  Remember it is two stories.  I thought I would die trying to help him put up the ridge board.  I was up on a 10 or 12 foot ladder, and you know how much I love ladders.  Well, it was a little harry at best.  Wobbly knees, but we did it.  I was a little younger and a little more foolish.  Thought we had the shop behind us when he decided that we needed to add 5 more feet to the back for a tack room and a wood room.  God help me!!  So we poured more concrete and added 5 feet to the length of the back of the shop and framed that and now we were ready for the roof.  We did hire the roof out.  I am done roofing and Lynn doesn’t bounce anymore.  A girl can only take so much.

Now we have a garage full of stuff.  Oh yeah, we have a car in their somewhere.  Someday we will have to take it out and clean it up so we can park it back in there.  A man and his toys.  The shop has almost every power tool Sears has made.  Many bought in the 60’s and 70’s.  Again, a man and his toys.

Wondering what has been happening with the house?  Um, not very much.  Somewhere around this time, we put down the floor joists, pony walls and OSB flooring.  But we didn’t get any wall up.  Covered the flooring with black plastic to get through the winter because we just ran out of time.  You gotta give me credit for my patients.  I think I was just too busy working for a living, to get worked up about something I couldn’t do anything about.  We discussed getting a home loan and just finishing it, but business at the hardware store wasn’t any good either.  Home Depot was breaking ground on a big do-it-yourself store, just 20 miles away.  So the worry of what that would do to our ‘mom & pop’ business loomed in the future.  A year later, Walmart came to College Place, just 25 miles away.  We could see the writing on the wall, but that was something Lynn didn’t want to believe.  He looked at diversifying and putting in product that Walmart didn’t carry.  A struggle at best.  But we still had the dream.  And you work toward your dreams.

Stay tuned for more reflecting.  Posting a few pictures.

Prayers are going out to all those on the East Coast, be safe and stand fast in the coming Super Storm.  Prayers, love and light to you all

Annie, A little be older and a tad bit wiser.

Love the clouds and winter wheat along the hills. Also about 2005

Scenery going toward Walla Walla. Taken about 2005