OUTSIDE

JUNE 1, 2011

Frank consolidated our left over wood and recovered it.

The grass he planted there is up and green. Most of his bushes are growing. We do need to replace a few of them.

Something comes at night and roots through the hay Frank put on the area to help the grass sprout. Glenn K. thinks that it is probably skunks or 'possums. I don't know what it is, but I'm very unhappy with them. I had been using grass for mulch in my flower beds. Whatever it is roots there, too. They have rooted out some of my flowers. I have replanted them over and over and over, but I still find them rooted out. Of course, this is not good for plants, and several have died. I am working on weeding. It takes so long because I think that I have to replant the grass! However, some places are looking green that hadn't been. This is my shade bed by the lower drive way. See all the weeding I still need to do?

This is the area I added to this bed. My seeds are coming up by the wall and behind the main row.

This is my row of bushes and flowers to the south along our boundary.

Frank bought and installed an "air chair" in the gazebo.

Frank put tongue and groove in and on the carport.

He also stained it and under the deck.

This was to go with the last post. Since then, another of our "girls" died. We get six to eight, and occasionally nine eggs a day--one for each "girl".

PROJECTS

MAY 23, 2011

We finally finished the stairs to the basement.

John and Tonya bought an "Egg Carton" which we promptly filled with twelve "girls"--laying hens. One died the next day, so Tonya disinfected the coop right away. All the other hens have stayed well. I think they get 8 to ten eggs daily--and once or twice have gotten eleven! The roosts, nests, food, and water are "upstairs." They can go down and scratch in the grass. The whole thing is on wheels, so it gets moved every day. This way, the chickens are actually "free range," but also entirely protected.

Frank planted grass to the north and south of the shed. He also planted bushes to the south and around the gas tank. He planted raspberries to the north of the shed. The bushes are to mark the boundary between our lawn and the woods.

Frank took one of the first warm, clear days of the year to finish the roof. (The flashing hadn't been finished.)

He also finished around the garage door.

One day we went to the Pittsburgh Zoo with John, Tonya, and some of her friends. There were seven adults and nine children. That kept four mothers busy! The polar bear was in a playful mood, but the pea hen was camera shy.

Here is a project I started in 2002. We also worked on it in 2008 and in December 2010. We have mostly new plates from the grandchildren, although I kept an older one of Brandon's. They are now displayed over my sink and bar. (I never said that I was fast!) They are pictured here in family groups.

This is a picture that John took lately. We like it. I hope you do too.

GOING TO THE TOP

APRIL 7, 2011

It all started with Frank cutting and sanding boards. Then I went into action with staining and finishing those boards.

The gazebo was completely unfinished. The walls looked like this. The ceiling looked like this.

And the chimney chase looked like this.

First Frank made a door for the chimney chase. Next he attached tongue and groove to the walls. Note the fancy door knob saved from our Cumru house.

And the ceiling. He sanded and I finished the collar tie. He reattached the lights.

I stained and finished the windows. Finally, he put down the floor tile.

Isn't it beautiful?!

LONG OVERDUE

MARCH 25, 2011 I wanted to show you this progress weeks ago. Frank added the fake beams to the great room ceiling. This shows before and after.

He added more lighting over the kitchen bar.

In February Frank and the girls tapped several maple trees that they had tagged before the trees lost their leaves last fall.

After the sap was gathered, we had to boil it down. It takes 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup. The weather didn't cooperate very well. We needed below freezing nights and warm days to make the sap flow. The temperature was either too warm or too cold. This is the first syrup we made.

Frank built in an entertainment center. He built it by the stub wall at the top of the basement stairs. He built in our speakers at the ends. Beside them are shelves for DVD's.

In the middle are shelves for the components with a drawer at the bottom for CD's and other items.

Here it is all completed.

Next to the entertainment center he built in a boot bench. The second picture shows the bench with the top up to display storage for gloves and the like.

You can approximate the times these projects were done by the dates on the pictures.