Re-newed dormer

We have our 19 year old granddaughter Bethany living with us this year while she attends UNL. She moved in some of her belongings when she moved out of the Doane dorm in May, before returning to Ogallala for her summer job. Why we waited until now to strip the wallpaper borders and paint the room I do not know! Talk about poor planning ...

 

Valspar paint - impressed with coverage and cleanup.

Can't really tell from this sample the true color.

While it has "pumpkin" in color label, it is not that orange.

Welcome to our dormer ... a room divided in half.

One half guest room, entry half my office area.

The color has more yellow in it.

My little corner of the world -- pay bills and do correspondence, etc.

Beth's study area - yet to be organized, I think?

Upgraded from a 19" to a 32" inch t.v.

(much better viewing)

Starting to "embellish" her bedroom area ...

evidently posters go up first!

U-m-m-m her "unmade" bed. In her defense she got

back into room last night --- and had to work early

this morning ...

 

Once Beth has finished organizing her end of the room I can get in to dust and vacuum ...

 

Larry and I are so glad this project is finished! 

Clothes Dryer ....

We're gona take advantage of those Nebraska winds ...

 

... or screw the clothes line into the ground trying!!!

Cozy arrangement ...

New seating on upper deck! I'm looking forward to my morning mocha tomorrow ...

Beautiful spring-time moment ...

Really?

Woke up to this, this morning.

Picture is identical to some I took in February and March.

"Deja Vu all over again!" 

As "they" say ~~~ April showers bring May flowers ~~~

Here's hoping "they" are correct!

Mr. Sun

A wonderful addition to our "Sun" collection on the screened in porch. A gift from our "flower girl", Joyce.

It's already in it's new home awaiting warmer weather!

Little Bit

Roundy-tummy

Snuggly-nap

The Big Snow Storm ...

... that never was ... thank goodness!!!

For a week the weather report was that a HUGE snow storm was heading our way from Alaska. Projected snow fall would be at least 12 inches. So we prepared ourselves. Gassed up both vehicles. Stocked the pantry. Stacked firewood in enclosed deck. Had full gas cans for the portable generator. Charged up the cell phones. Did all the laundry. We were prepared for a power outage and being stranded by our road being drifted shut.

Flakes began falling ... so small ... and dry ... and slowly accumulating. To our east traffic was still moving slowly along highway 103.

By mid afternoon we could no longer see the highway as the snowfall was picking up.

By "night fall" the scene out the front door (east) noted very little change.

This morning we awoke to clear skies and sunshine, and discovered that it snowed through the night. The bulk of the storm had moved through our area with very little fanfare. What was projected at 12 inches, then 10, and finally in "ball park" of 8 inches...in reality measured at a little over 5 inches. A blessing indeed.

Our lane and road were not cleared until mid-morning, giving us this "quiet white" landscape.

The view out the kitchen window was just as "quiet" ... only sign of life were a set of coyote tracks. Discovered them running from road, across back yard, through fence and continuing through open field to railroad tracks.

While the snowfall was less than expected it is much appreciated and needed. It's beautiful and I'm so happy we don't need to be out in it! I rather enjoy viewing it from afar!

Getting-in-the-mood!

I'm loving my new and improved "sewing sweatshop"! After foundation improvements, fresh paint, additional work lighting and floor/carpet cleaning I was able to return everything to it's rightful place.

The sewing area was a snap ... if I didn't use it in that area it needed to find a new home. I soon discovered there was alot of freed up space. So the bulletin board, evidently, housed alot of used items -- but they did not need to be "displayed"! The pegboard housed ALOT of rulers and rotary cutters ... why? ... I don't cut in that room!!!

Because the cutting room sports four wall anchors ... two yet to be "disguised" ... an additional pegboard was mounted to cover two of the plates. A new home for my rulers and rotary cutters!!! Yeah ...

I am so lucky to have all of this organized space now. Fabrics, mags, quilt kits, and instruction manuals are neatly labeled and live on the bookshelves. Even had Larry install additional shelving "just in case" I found more fabrics, mags, quilt kits, etc. I just had to have!

I'm loving my new area and have even (after three years of waiting procrastinating), finally, begun working on a t-shirt quilt for Tyler.

Share-time

Proof that they can get along when there is an adequate sun spot. Sami is on right (or front) while Little Bit gets what is left, she obviously needs to sun her round little belly!

Our "furry" girls ...

Mama "Sami", 11-12 years old.

Even tempered

Loves kids

Tolerates dogs

Prefers to nap on or under bed

Likes her cat house

Loves sun spots

Cuddler--on her terms.

Has "adopted" me.

Sami's "daughter"

Little Bit - approx. 10 years old

Naps in recliner (or on Larry)

Is known to sleep under covers

Skittish, but inquisitive

Follows you like a puppy

Will fight her mom for sun spot.

Has "adopted" Larry.



S-l-o-w-l-y getting back to "normal"

Funny, when you hit the "60's" you also realize the good old days also included agile bodies! We have most certainly slowed down. What would have taken us a couple of nights to wrap up ~ takes a tad longer. It also would have included preparing meals and having three rambunctious girls assisting! Today it's two 64 year-olds creating a list of what needs to be done and in what order! A little perspiration, paint splattering, some cursing when stain won't come from under fingernails, "aha" moments when shelf pegs are offset giving shelving a comical appearance and deciding that the paint color chosen DOES work for space. Slowly but surely everything is coming together ... and patience is a virtue!

My vehicle is back in the garage. The door has been leveled and opener is operational. Still storing the front deck on Larry's side ... but that is slowly being remedied ...

... looks like an easy 'sit-down' job!

The "Dan-Mitch Walkway" has been replaced ... I guess it is just a plain old sidewalk now.

Much of the time has been spent in the "quilt/cutting" room downstairs. With multiple holes for the post-piers and alot of dirt on floor it took awhile to clean up before painting could begin. A good old wire brush on concrete brick walls then concrete paint to seal before the finish coat took a week-end. Wall color is "Oklahoma Wheat", kind of a creamy yellow ... makes the room bright and inviting. Re-staining window trim, touching up shelving and door trim took a couple more days ... I'm like my dad that way ... perfectionist (a good and bad trait). I found that my steam-vac worked wonders on the concrete floor. Was able to "extract" as much dirt residue as possible before re-installing carpet tiles.

One task I do not particularly enjoy this time of year is closing off the screened porch. We wrap it in plastic to keep the enclosure free of snow, which is a good thing ... no scooping! On sunny cold days the inside temps can be well above freezing too. What I don't like is the struggle of hanging the plastic and the inability to see out.

On the bright side our little Mum is still there. She will soon retire for the colder winter months, returning next spring to coax us on.





Dee-Dah ... Dee-Done!!!

Day Twelve - Tuesday - October 30th

Crew of four showed up today, Foreman Matt was home with a sick child. I was skeptical, not having a foreman present, how would work progress? I was pleasantly surprised ... all four stepped up to the plate, knowing exactly what needed to be done. Impressed was I!

Installation of the wall anchors continued to be a challenge. There was obviously something quite massive obstructing the progress. A second hole was drilled (first was patched) and threaded rod was inserted.

While work was continuing in the basement with rod installation, two were outside addressing the crumbling block problem. Everything was moving along quite smoothly. Again, impressed was I!

After lunch one continued filling the last remaining hole outside (concrete work had been completed). The three remaining were involved attaching outside plates to threaded rods, it was fun to observe. They worked so well together. At one point I had walked through dining room and noticed two feet sticking up. One of the crew was head down in a hole, while a second one was shoveling dirt into a hole ... fortunately not in the occupied hole!

By three o'clock they were in clean up mode. Two picked up all the gear in the basement and two filled holes in crawl space. Filling a hole takes less time than digging one and is a whole lot easier! As they cleaned gear out of the garage they even grabbed our push broom and swept it out! They were loaded up and done for the day by 5:30 p.m.

They were a fun crew to have around. The average age could have been 30 ... a most excellent crew, I was impressed.

It's difficult to see him ... but Dillon's feet are just visible above deck flooring. He was tightening bolts and removing "non-dirt" items from hole.

It was an interesting experience ... but one I don't want to do again. Alot of hard work done by the crew. Alot of noise, vibrations, holes and dirt. It's finished now. Time to make a "to do" list ... but for now I'll enjoy the quiet, getting to sleep late and hanging out in my jams until mid-morning!

~~~ Yawn ~~~ this is getting OLD!

Day Eleven - Monday - October 29th - Full Moon ~ perhaps that's the "hang up"?

Long story short ... they'll be back tomorrow. The crew got a late start today, arriving around 10 a.m. due to mechanical difficulties. They showed up with a crew of five, a bobcat (tractor not animal) with an auger and bucket shovel. They set to work right away, alternating between filling holes - manually and with bobcat, tamping soil as they didn't want the compactor to disturb the "fragile" walls of living room crawl space.

While that crew was playing in the dirt, the foreman was digging four holes with bobcat/auger for installation of the wall anchor plates. Back in the basement the drilling through four basement blocks was successful. However, drilling a long threaded rod through a hole to the anchor outside became the challenge. Evidently roots from large maple (the swing tree) brought that installation to a standstill.

All of the concrete was taken away and heavier equipment was also loaded up (jack hammer, etc.) to be taken back to shop.

The soil is so dry, even at the four foot depth, that it sifted through your fingers like sand. Now that's some serious drought!

Fortunately the weather today was very pleasant - low 60's with no wind, and alot of sunshine! The crew was in good spirits, Larry and I are still talking to one another, but I think every one would agree that it sure will be nice when this job is done!!!

... our butterfly bush (knock on wood) has survived the process ...

and so has the chrysanthemum!

A Day of Rest ...

I chose to take a day of rest yesterday ... didn't take any pictures of foundation progress ... or post any new pictures from Day Ten. I was quite frankly mentally exhausted from the whole week. Most of my morning was spent dusting, mopping and vacuuming the first floor. It was a rush job, and rooms sure looked a whole lot better than they did on Friday! The only number one labor related task was to get the water heater up and going again, so Larry spent his morning painting the "furnace room" before moving it back in. I'd like to say that everything went smoothly, but nope, water softener connection won the bout and a new part was ordered! While we are without "soft water", we do have "hot water"! Yeah ... no more "house camping" for us!

As I walked around the exterior of the house I decided there was no need to take additional photos - holes are holes. The interior shows remarkable improvement. NO MORE DIRT PILES!!! The holes in the large room were filled in and there's new concrete. The bookshelf wall has painted so shelving will soon be re-installed.

Day Ten - Friday - October 26th

Friday's schedule was to finish installing piers in furnace room, then lift the basement and the crawl space. Finishing the hole became a challenge as dangling water connections didn't allow enough "head room" for the hydraulic ram. Fortunately Foreman Matt had been a plumber in a previous life and was able to do plumbing work ... disconnecting AND reconnecting! What would have been a fiasco for us, was a piece of cake for him.

I'm pleased to say the lift went without a hitch. Owner Phil is on site when lift occurs and remedied the faltering concrete block wall situation. We were also told that block "missing" at northwest corner of crawlspace foundation will be replaced. What a relief that is!

Monday's schedule should be to finish filling/compacting holes around exterior and filling those in crawlspace, install four wall anchors on west wall of big room, and the clean up of yard/garage (tools, concrete, plywood, etc.).

It's coming along ... the light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter!

A Well-fed Crew!

The crew worked later today, so there are no pictures for Day Nine until tomorrow when I have natural light to take them!

I would like to share that they are a well fed bunch of young men! On cooler days they have had bowls of homemade chili or ham/bean soup to compliment their sack lunches. They are also receiving a fresh cup of coffee upon arrival, mid-morning they are served sweet rolls, etc. and for afternoon break there are cookies! They really seem appreciative of our hospitality ... and we are appreciative of their skills!

It was a long day, still no water heater and water was shut off most of the day so last pier could be installed. We're still calling it "camping"!

Scarey Sounds

This was by far the most unpleasant of days. Vibrations, bumps, crunching sounds ... icky pooh!

After crew left for the day I found out why I got spooked so many times. Living room foundation was r-e-a-l-l-y bad.

All of the push piers have now been installed. Living room crawl space and basement foundations will be lifted tomorrow (Friday). Foreman hoped that wall anchor installation would also be done tomorrow. He also commented that the crew would be on site Monday to finish up their work.

Work began today refilling all of the holes on south side. A lot of manual labor along with a compactor - that decided it didn't want to work today, probably the mid 30's temperature? The south side yard is looking better ... only half the dirt remains. We can also exit the garage through patio door and not fall into a hole! There was a lot of structural damage to concrete blocks and mortar on the garage foundation. Really sickened me to see ... means more repairs may be needed in the near future.

Still doing without the hot water heater, amazing how we adapted to the situation. Boiling water to do the dishes and showering in the camper ... well it's almost like camping!

Here's to tomorrow ~~~