Fences and Toasty Tootsies

I’m a little late on my posts as I intended to post this Saturday or Sunday.

Where I left off.  We had finished the one field fencing that took us 3 weeks.  But at least it is done. Now we have to work on the electric fence around that same middle pasture.  Remember Lynn was having a hard time trying to keep it working which prompted fixing at least that one side of the pasture so the horse couldn’t escape to the neighbors and possibly the highway? Well we are back to trying to get the electric fence running. I had a guy that helped me out when I needed the painting done on the trim of the little house we were selling.  He does odd jobs on his days off and after work sometimes. He came by and used his tester on the fence so we know that it is working to a point, so at least we have a point to start at.  Lynn will be running some new wire tomorrow and if he doesn’t finish it when I get home, I will.  Then maybe we can put the horse in the back pasture and start working on the front fence. The broken one in the paddock. That has to be fixed as that is April’s winter home.

Speaking of the front fence, we bought the lumber this weekend so at least that is done.  That worried me because it meant we had to take the flatbed trailer and go to Home Depot and get the lumber, 20 miles away. And I have never driven a trailer and I didn’t really want to learn. The problem with doing this was getting Lynn in the frame of mind to hook up the trailer; get the tail lights to work; unload the lumber (scraps) he can’t bring himself to part with; drive it to Walla Walla; then buy the lumber and load it on the trailer. We succeeded and I memorialized it in photos.  Which I will post shortly. That means that maybe next weekend we can, maybe, put the horse in the middle pasture, and begin fixing the damaged fence.  More pictures will come when we start doing that. I’m thrilled. Lynn not so much. He always looks forward to Monday’s when I have to go back to work and leave him in peace.

Oops!! I have the lumber pictures in my phone and don’t know how to get them downloaded.  Sent them to my email, but they haven’t arrived yet. Where is a teenager when you need them.  I will post those later. I will load what I have from my camera.

My handyman Martin, is going to change out the Chandelier in our entry.  We bought it years ago, (maybe 10-15 years) when we were buying things we liked to eventually put them in the house. Well through the years, our (my), tastes have changed and after the Chandelier was installed at great risk to the electrician. It was 20 feet in the air and the railing on the stairs wasn’t put in yet so they used scaffolding and ladders. I didn’t watch and I am so glad I didn’t as I would have had heart failure. But they took pictures and showed me later. Risky is all I could say, they were really brave. So how could I say, um, I hate that Chandelier, take it down and risk life and limb to put up another one, when I didn’t even have another one? So my dilemma, buy another Chandelier, which I immediately did.  One that really fits my current tastes. And it is now almost 3 years later. My handyman Martin is an electrician and he just looked at the job and we have a plan to get up there and change it out. Then that will be another job I can cross off the never ending list. I am excited that that will get done before winter gets here.

Now for the other thing that we got accomplished this past week was the tanks and stove was installed.

I am thrilled with the stove.  It is a Lopi which I purchased from Blue Mountain Stoves out of Milton Freewater OR. It is gorgeous and the installation was done in one day. (I could really get used to things getting done quickly). I recommend them highly, as the owner, Jerry, did everything that he promised.  They installed the stove and then the tanks were installed by Morrow County Grain Growers out of Pendleton OR. Then Jerry came back and lit the stove and made sure that it was running good. I couldn’t be happier. Bow Sewell of Cowboy Enterprises did the carpentry which took a little bit of work to vent the stove.  His work was great. He really paid attention to the little details. I recommend them both for a job well done. No more cold feet for me.  Yeah 🙂

They did an absolute awesome job. I am still learning how to set the thermostat but I want to tell you the heat is wonderful. It is a propane stove as we decided that we were getting too old to haul and chop wood, and pellets were heavy also. Since it isn’t our primary source of heat, it just makes it more comfortable in the living room. I will let you know how it works at the end of winter when we have had a good chance to put it to the test.

Last year we had a rough winter.  It didn’t get below zero much but consistently stayed in the single digits long enough for pipes to break and for me to think I would never get warm again. The heat pump bills were so high I thought I would have to take out another mortgage to stay warm. I am prepared this year.

This has been a busy summer and a lot of things have gotten done. Still there is more to do. Stay tuned.

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Liking my new stove, fits just right in the corner.
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Our new stove. We get propane tanks on Tuesday. Looking forward to firing it up.

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Cozy fire
My beautiful view out my office window. I will be able to mark the seasons from these windows.

The wind was actually blowing through that big cottonwood tree. So peaceful. A river runs about 100 feet past the tree.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog.

Annie, Getting it done.

 

“Never Give a Hillbilly a Paint Brush!” Markeeta Littlewolf

I remember Markeeta Littlewolf coming in to our hardware store to buy some paint one summer with her husband Mike. Lynn asked her if she was going to put Mike to work painting and the response was “You never give a hillbilly a paint brush.” Absolutely love her quick come backs. But I had the feeling she was being a little truthful. Anyway, I thought of this infamous quote when I pulled out the paint brush and roller today.

A new weekend and some progress from last weekend. First and foremost, I got some pictures uploaded from the camera. Yeah.

Here are photos from my paint job today:

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Before my painting today. I stopped painting 2 or 3 years ago. Don’t remember why I didn’t finish, but I probably ran out of time before winter. The white is the primer. Boy did it hold up good.
After the paint
After my painting today
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What NOT to do. Leave blue painters tape on the outside for 2 or 3 years.
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Next year, I promise I will finish this. Got to caulk, prime and paint.
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Assessing my paint job from the pasture.

Now for some photos from last week. As you may remember from my last post, we basically finished the one fence in the pasture. Had the top wire to put on and hog ring to the fence so, hopefully, April won’t be able to bend it down.

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This is what we completed last weekend
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Looking down the fence line.
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Putting up the electric fence insulators (aka thingies)
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Not very clear, but this is a hog ring, for all those city folks that read my blog.
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A roll of top wire for the fence. Lynn has been doing a little bit on finishing the fence.

Now for the stove and the skies. Yep, I’m going to be ready for winter this year. Blue Mountain Stoves and Cowboy Enterprises did a fabulous job on installing the stove. That will be one more thing I can check off the list.

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Liking my new stove, fits just right in the corner.
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Our new stove. We get propane tanks on Tuesday. Looking forward to firing it up.
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Glad it didn’t rain while I was painting.
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Winter’s Come’n

Okay, well that just about brings us up to date. The nights are coming quicker and the days are getting cooler. I have to be ready for completing my inside project and hunkering down while waiting on spring.

What I like about winter: I can spend more time writing; get indoor stuff done; read more; curl up under a warm blanket when it’s bedtime; and loving the green of my lawn with the rye grass. Yep, my yard looks terrible in the summer but is green in the winter. Go figure. A sprinkling system and landscaping was on my list for this year, but it didn’t happen. So it has moved to next year. Stay tuned.

Annie, a hillbilly with a paint brush.