IT'S HOT!!

JUNE 27, 2010




A week ago today we returned from celebrating Father's Day with Frank's family in Lancaster. Frank insulated the Gazebo walls, and then started insulating the bedroom ceiling. He continued going counter-clockwise from there. The process goes like this: First, put up the Styrofoam that channels outside air from the soffits up the roof.










Second, add the insulation itself.














Third, cover everything with plastic wrap.












This shows how the whole venting system works.








With temperatures in the high eighties and low nineties, and humidity nearly as high, we hoped the insulation would keep the house cooler. Both Frank and I have been sweating "showers" several times a day. Even with the door open and the fan drawing outside air inside, the temperature inside dropped by six degrees. That's with the insulation still not complete! It was a noticeable and much welcomed difference.


Meanwhile, I started sanding in the study. If you remember, that was the room that I first stained, and we didn't like the color. I decided to more than lightly sand it, and try to make it lighter. It did. It also made it uneven. So, I put a little of the stain we like on the too light places, to try to make the color more even. That worked better than I had hoped. It is still too yellow, but now not as dark yellow. I added two coats of the clear finish, and called it finished.





I have the Laundry/pantry and our bedroom to do yet. I am waiting for more stain. We ordered more, and, evidently, it came in, but someone else took it before we even knew it was there. Everyone in the store has looked and looked for it, and Frank and I did, too. We have no choice but to wait until more can come in.




I decided to work more on flowers. I harvested, then thinned and transplanted my window box lettuce. I added some trailing plants to the window boxes. I repotted some irises and lilies. Here are the lilies before I repotted them, but after I knocked them down off the deck. I still divided them into three pots, even after breaking some off. I also planted wax beans in the garden.

Tonya has decided that we now have a compound up here on the Ridge. Their pole barn is up.

The new tractor presides inside. It has already taken water down to the hex house for me to water flowers, and brought a large, round bale of hay down from the neighbor's field.

The hay has weathered a year or two, and will now supply much mulch to the garden.

AND MORE LOOKING OUT

JUNE 21, 2010

Last week Frank installed all five Gazebo windows.



















Then he started on insulation in the Gazebo. First he did the ceiling insulation.


Vangie continued finishing the Great Room walls and collar ties. I posted a good picture of that last week. I will show you how the house looks from the outside with the Gazebo windows.









Here is a picture of our neighborhood from the next ridge over. John and Tonya's house is on the left; ours is on the right.

This is one of our many Poplar blossoms this Spring. I wanted to prove that this is Poplar Ridge.

It was a short work week because we went back to Lancaster County early Friday. We spent the remainder of this week, visiting friends and relatives there. Sunday evening we had a special King Sibling and Spouses Get-together to honor Dad King. We ascertained that this was his 72ND Father's Day. Monday afternoon we came back home.

LET THERE BE LIGHT!

JUNE 14, 2010

I finally finished sanding, including the five collar ties! I went on to staining--I did the whole Great room, including the collar ties. We like this color much better.






















The old color is in the background. Can you see how the new color is less yellow? It looks like natural wood.



Frank finished the wiring. The inspector came. He wanted a couple things changed, but told Frank to go ahead and hook up the lights and outlets. He gladly started working on that. He started in the basement, and did all the lights and outlets. Onward and upward! He did the Great room, kitchen, bathroom, pantry/laundry room, then bedroom, study, and gazebo. First he did the lights and then the outlets. He ended with the fire detectors this afternoon. Yeah! No more extension cords all over the floor!

















And the breaker box looks like this.

I am now working on the clear finish in the Great room. I have one collar tie and the east wall with one coat, and some places two coats. Of course, I had to sand before each coat.

I thought I would share my lily with you. We also had "window box" lettuce for supper last night.

SPROUTS!!!!

JUNE 7, 2010

Our garden exists thanks to our neighbor Thomas who plowed and disked the land, John, who did a lot of work constructing (what we hope is) a critter stopping fence, and Tonya, who helped with the fence and has pulled out roots and stones, and planted seeds and young plants. I must say that the girls also helped. Anyway, our garden may be late, but it is sprouting.

Meanwhile, Frank has been making sprouts of a different kind. Our walls our sprouting!! Electric wires keep me from walking through many of the walls anymore. He has the Great room ceiling fan, the study, and the bedroom to do yet. See all the sprouts!

The electrical panel is looking like this.

This pile is getting smaller........

while this pile is getting larger.

He has even been up in the Gazebo with his sprouts!

He has installed the basement door. We are waiting to install inside doors and the Gazebo windows until the electric is completed and inspected.

I took a couple half days off for various things, but otherwise sanded. I did plant two tomatoes and some strawberries. We also raked up and carted off more sticks. There will be a time when our place looks like it is in a park.

Several weeks ago I planted some lettuce mixture in a couple of my window boxes. It's nearly ready to harvest!

Friday afternoon we went to Lowe's and Home Depot in Uniontown to do some kitchen planning. Next week the neighbor who came, will bring his estimate. Then we will decide what to do for that room. We have also chosen a company to put in our heating and air conditioning system. And that's the way the money goes!!

MORE LOOKING OUT

MAY 31, 2010

The rest of last week Frank installed windows on the main floor. I continued to sand. Here are windows on the south facing side(s) of the house. These are all in the Great Room.

And this is the view from my kitchen window! It is so very good to have the plastic off, and be able to see out, and let the breeze in!

This is basically the north facing side(s) of the house. The first window (left) is in the extra bedroom/study. The other three windows are in our bedroom.

We're retired, so holidays don't always mean anything to us. (Since we're retired we don't get three-day weekends!) It's just another work day. Frank decided to take time to put the log siding on the bottom of the house over the sill plate and the perimeter box. See the difference?!!

With my stain finally in hand,I cleaned and began staining the extra bedroom/study. We don't like it. I did finish the room. Our objection, more than anything else, is that it is too yellow.

What do you think? I guess we will have to live with it in this room.

Actually, we did take a day off--last Friday. Frank's friend and former CFO, Paula, and her friend Sheila, took a vacation in Pittsburgh. They stopped in here on their way, to see the house. We went to a local restaurant for supper. The next day we went "touristing" with them in Pittsburgh. We visited a few shops and took a tour via boat. After lunch, we went to the Phipps Botanical Gardens.

We were outside when the first rain drops began to fall. Paula did a superb job of navigating unfamiliar streets in a downpour! When we went uphill, the water was a couple inches deep going downhill. We thought of the Biblical Noah! We followed the lights of the car in front of us. What he was following, we have no idea! After supper at Primanti Bros., we came on home. Thanks, Paula and Sheila, for a good mini-vacation for us!