Winter Weather & Christmas

WEEKS TWELVE & THIRTEEN: We spent the week before Christmas trying to tighten up and cover up. Because of the shape of the house, we had cut four large triangular pieces off the tarps. By taping two of these together, we made two large tarps that we hung from the sill plate over our possessions. These we draped so that if moisture came in, it would run off onto the floor. We also went up on the deck and examined those tarps. We patched with tape the weak places that we found.

That Saturday we received 7 or 8 inches of snow. During a lull in the action, we blew snow off the deck. Frank had trouble coming up the long lane. He went into town and bought chains for his car. One of them came off while he was coming back up, he lost traction, and slid into the ditch--at least on the high side of the lane. After removing the chain that had wrapped itself around the axle, he pulled with John's tractor, and I drove the car up the lane. That night we packed for our trip to Lancaster County.

We started about 8:00 Sunday morning. The worst roads were getting down our lane and off the mountain on the back roads. We saw places with less snow than we had, and places with more. The most was about 18 inches down in parts of Maryland. For the most part the roads were in good shape. Some were even dry!

We spent parts of every day with Frank's dad. This was the main reason that we went there. Frank and his brother Glenn and Dad met with the attorney, and took care of some legal things. We visited with Frank's brothers and sisters and in-laws in the area and ate way too much delicious food. Thursday we also went up to the Reading area and visited friends, relatives, and former neighbors. We were able to attend the Christmas Eve service at Exeter Meeting. After visiting Dad again briefly Christmas morning, we started back here--just as the next storm began. The roads were much worse this time with slush and fog, but we arrived back safe and sound.

Saturday Frank worked on finishing Tonya's guest bathroom. Tonya and her friend had tiled it the week before, and Tonya grouted it while we were away. Frank also hooked up their wood stove.

Now it looks like we will have another week or two of winter weather. I doubt if we will be able to do anything on the house for some time.

WIND, WIND, WET & COLD

WEEK ELEVEN: The title says most of what happened this week. The wind blew and blew and blew. It rained. It snowed. The temps were low during the days and nights, and the wind blew--hard--making it bitter cold. Frank has been working on Tonya's guest bathroom during weather like this. The shower and lighting are functional. The plumbing is ready to attach the stool and the sink. He has added drywall and spackling. This week Tonya painted the room. Her friend will be coming to help her lay the tile floor. (Frank was going to do this until he realized that he did not have the tools needed for the job.) This friend did her own house, and will be glad to work with Tonya on this project.

We keep working on getting the basement dry. We are still having problems with the first floor deck leaking. We had ordered large tarps, and they arrived. We were able to lay them over the deck and place boards and weights on them to keep them in place. It also snowed while we worked on this, so we weren't sure how well it would work. We went out one day and cut one of the tarps to fit, put in new grommets and tied it to the perimeter box. Since the wind was blowing that day, that tarp was not tight, and water came in anyway. Finally, Saturday, the weather was CALM, although cold. We again worked on the first tarp--making it fit tighter. We also blew off the back half and cut that tarp to fit and tied it down. When I looked over there Sunday morning, the deck was flat for the first time all week!















We have made progress on the leaks. The back half was dry. The front half still leaked with the rain we had all day. We think that all the flapping in the wind made holes or weak spots in the tarp. If we have a couple dry, calm days, we will see if that can be fixed.

We did look at appliances and order a washer, dryer, and refrigerator to be delivered in March, I think. Frank heated up the basement and worked on internal basement walls.

Monday was an exciting day! We were able to lay our first log! We have 1/3 of the first row of logs
up.

HUNTING SEASON, RAIN & SNOW

WEEK TEN-- The title tells the tale for this week.

Frank set up his hunting blind on our first floor deck. The weather was miserable--cold and wet. Tuesday evening he took a shot at a doe.....and missed! That's not like him. Neither he or John had sited in their rifles, so it's our theory that it/they were not sited properly. John spent more time out than Frank did. He shot a doe from off the back porch, where it was dry, Wednesday afternoon. He got it, but not where he tried to. (More proof of not being sited in.) This was his first success in eight years of hunting.

Frank was able to put the shed where we want it.

Most of the week was cold, wet, and windy. We tried to work on the house, marking in where doors, windows, switches and outlets were to be placed. The cold and damp made it raw and not suitable to do any thing. We gave up on all but trying to keep water from going through the deck into the basement. Wednesday morning we decided to try tar paper. I tore the plastic off, and blew water off the deck. Frank went for the tar paper. Just as we started putting it on, it started to rain. We finished half of it, getting soaked and cold, but gave up after that. Friday our large tarps came. We planned to put them on Saturday. Frank awoke to snow on our back doorstep (by the radar.) He hurried out to spread the tarps. By the time I woke up and got out, the tarps were on, and so was some snow. I helped with weighting it down.

The next sunny time we have, we will try tying it down around the sides. We would also like to try to do the layout again.


Since the news is sparse, I thought I'd add this picture of our driveways. Notice the fancy "K".

TIME AWAY

WEEK NINE: This has been a short week because of Thanksgiving.

On Monday Tim (brother) and Maggie (sister-in-law) from California, and Phyllis (sister) from Greensburg, PA, came to check on our progress with the house. Frank had an appointment to meet his new doctor.

Tuesday was rainy. We checked the basement and found much more water had leaked in. We by-passed the urge to give the deck another coat of paint, and put plastic over it instead. I also moved my outside plants from Tonya's back porch and heeled them in beside the house.

The same PODS man was back to pick up the unit that brought it. He wished he had his rifle, because he had seen deer on his way up the drive. He had a trainee with him. This guy wasn't too swift. Before leaving the regular was glad he didn't have his gun--felt he might have used it on the trainee.

Wednesday we traveled to Ohio for Thanksgiving. We went a "new" back way, enjoying the scenery. We had an adventure on the way. Only Wava (sister), Tom (brother-in-law), and Mom were there when we arrived. Phyllis had scratched her cornea, and Tim & Maggie had taken her to the eye doctor. Leland (nephew) and family were out shopping. Visiting went on non-stop for the next day and a half. On Thanksgiving Day there were over forty of us eating together. We were able to take pictures with Mom and all five siblings, and all of us with our spouses. Tim does not come in often, so we are seldom all together.

We returned on Friday to find the back part of the basement (where our furniture is stashed) dry, but the front part still leaking because the plastic had blown loose. We stretched it out and fastened it again.

Saturday Frank made a skid, and we moved the shed over to our area.

In the evening, he started working on leveling it's final resting place.

The weather looks either wet or cold for the next week or two. We will have to wait and see what we can accomplish in December.

SYNOPSIS

WEEK EIGHT: This will be a quickie. I had a post almost ready to post on Sunday, and it disappeared! I want to get something on before we leave for Ohio for Thanksgiving.


Vangie gave the deck a second coat of paint.






Frank made two temporary windows.






















Then he made a window well for the big window in the basement.


Vangie cleaned and applied Extend, a product that stops rust, on our four metal shelving units. Frank emptied the Gypsy Wagon onto the first one. Here are the other three after we filled them.

Collier returned to do the back filling around the house.

Frank and I worked on emptying the PODS unit and we basically moved into our house. After one Gypsy wagon load, plus what we had already taken out, it looked like this.

Perhaps seven loads later, plus some tractor runs, and a couple big trailer runs, it looked like

this.

And our basement looked like this. See? There's still plenty of room!

Surprise! Guess who came this week!!

The deck was leaking, so we put sealant on all the seams of the sub floor.

Have a pleasant and thankful Thanksgiving.

FAIR WEATHER, FAMILY, & FLOORS

WEEK SEVEN We have been blessed with mostly good weather this week. Therefore, we have been working hard.


I started helping Frank with the first floor joists. He soon decided that he could do them himself, and gave me the job of doing the bridging. Let's see. Just for the top joist installation there are 6 nails for each joist. Five rows of bridging across the house. I don't know how many joists, but that's a lot of nails to pound! I was absent for one of the rows of bridging, but still, I think I'm developing muscles in my right arm! I'll have to find something to do to exercise my left arm. Tonya suggested hammering every other nail with my left hand. I don't think that would work. I'm not sure how many fingers would be operable on my right hand!


Another job he gave me was installing hurricane ties. That's 10 nails per joist around the perimeter of the house. Again, a sizable number of nails!



Besides joists, Frank has been working on building the walls for the mechanical room in the basement. He has two walls up, plus the chimney chase.




Another project this week has been the electrical conduit and trench. Craig dug the trench last week. Frank put the conduit in. The inspector came and okayed what was done, but said his men couldn't come until the trench was filled in. Frank bought and installed another conduit before he filled the trench. Both were fitted with ropes to pull the wires through. The telephone sent a man to install the wires. When he saw no trench, he decided that he was early. Frank told him about the conduit. He simply left a roll of wire for Frank to pull through, and told him how much to leave on both ends. He said he would be back to pick up the extra wire! Of course the wire does us no good as they have to expand service before we will be able to get a land line. We have no idea when that will be. Also, we have not seen hide nor hair of the electric company, so are still using a generator every time we need electricity.



Wednesday evening Frank's sister and brother-in-law, Richard and Rosella Schrock from Missouri, stopped by on their way to Florida by way of Lancaster County to visit with Mom and Dad King. They stayed on Thursday to help us with the first floor deck. We had over half of it done by Thursday afternoon, when we had to stop for want of daylight. Thanks Richard and Rosella!!







Friday, I did the last of the bridging, and we put down another two or three rows of sub floor.


Thursday was also my birthday. Now I am officially old enough to retire! (Someone said they think we're working harder than ever!) Tonya fixed a wonderful supper for all of us, plus a very yummy and gooey chocolate cake. I also went to meet my new doctor on Thursday, which was why I missed one row of bridging.


Friday, Tonya and the girls took me to Sisters 4 Tea for lunch. Four sisters started a tea house. They have hundreds of tea cups and saucers. You choose your own cup. I think Tonya and I drank two pots of peach tea, and the girls had a pot of a different kind. There are many crafts for sale there, also. It was a nice treat, and an interesting place. Thank you, Tonya.


Our garage door was to come next week, but Danny called Thursday, and said they would be out to install it Friday. So we have a garage door! Frank plans to make a temporary door for the "people" door, so we can make the basement critter proof, and unload the PODS into there. The biggest problem is that it keeps getting darker inside, and we have no lights!



We finished up the sub floor on Saturday morning. I went all over the entire floor, checking to be sure that all required nails were in, and pounded in far enough, plus removing extra glue. I blew it off twice. Then we painted it with all sorts of returned paint that we could get. We had to buy several more gallons to finish it. So now, it looks like this--red, white, and blue. Patriotic?



Saturday, Frank made a "people" door. Now we can lock up the basement. If we only had windows.....



We're getting close to laying logs! We need to finish the bridging on the bottom of the joists. That will be Frank's task while I paint a second coat on the first floor deck to make it water proof. Some of you wanted to help stack logs. It won't be long now! Make your plans to come.

SUNSHINE!!!

WEEK SIX After a week of what felt like "putzzing" around, we turned a corner and got to a place where it feels like things are moving faster. We began with putting up the perimeter box. This was four by ten (inch) lumber that sits on the sill plate, and goes around the perimeter of the house. This made our house almost 10 inches higher all at once.

Most mornings, the first thing Frank does is blow leaves out of the basement. He pulls out and opens up the Gypsy Wagon to access the tools we will need that day. The Gypsy Wagon has worked well.

Craig made the trench for our electric service. Frank put in the conduit, and ran a rope through. Now we can do nothing more on this front than wait for the power company to come and hook up our service. It certainly would be handier than starting the generator each time we use a power tool. Also, the basement is getting darker as we add more floor joists. We need to seal up the basement so we can unload the PODS unit.

There followed a couple days of rain and/or cold wind. However, we didn't get any of the white stuff they were forecasting. Frank said that it was "raining little balls of ice." The inside days I filled with working on the games I'm making for Lauren, mending and sewing, and shopping. I hadn't been in to town for over two weeks! I wasn't able to find everything I wanted to, but it was enough. I was glad to come home again. This was my first foray out on my own. I was able to find all the places I wanted to go, and get myself home again without getting lost. And it was even dark by the time I left town! (For those of you who don't know, I think I can get lost simply driving around the barn!)

Now it is sunny and warm. We are working hard while the weather holds. As soon as we had fastened several floor joists, Frank said, "Look! I'm walking on our main floor! The first third of the joists had a lot of detail work with measuring for and reinforcing around the stairway up from the basement.

The next third was mostly attaching the joists across the center of the house. We had to only work around the chimney, and cut a couple shorter joists at the very edges by the walls.

While Frank set joists, Vangie practiced her hammering skills. She put up the hurricane ties, and added the bridging to the joists.

Long days of work in the fresh air bring on yawns in the evening--plus a few sore muscles. It's all very much worth it as we see our dream taking shape and becoming more and more substantial. It's also good to see some of those many bundles of materials getting smaller and even disappearing!!