Workdays Number Three and Four

Yesterday, Tom started repairs on the little well cover roof. The posts were rickety, so he took the roof off and skinned it of it's three layers of shingles. In the coming days, he's going to replace the posts and the roofers are going to come back and put shingles on to match the house. I'm not sure, but I think that used to be a real well and was capped off when the new well was dug.

Today, he finished scraping the grass out of our garden plot and we started a compost pile. I read that it's good to start a compost pile with brush and branches on the bottom, then put compost material on top of that, then more branches in a pyramid shape, then more soil and other compost material. Supposedly, the branches create an air flow that is helpful. So, that's what we did to start our pile.

After helping Tom start the compost pile, I went inside and started the kitchen tear out - taking off paneling, wallpaper, nails, curtain rods. I got the breakfast nook done. The only thing left to do in that part of the kitchen is to take out the door and block it up and remove the old sound system that is there. The radio works well, but it has an 8-track system circa 1970's that has got to go. Then Tom has to do some electrical work.

First Disaster

We spent the whole day at the farm yesterday. First, we went to the organic supply store and bought our organic fertilizer, horticultural cornmeal, and dry molasses. I really don't know what all of those items actually do, but it seemed a good idea. I read an article in the Dallas Morning News by Howard Garrett that said those are what you need to prepare a garden plot...only his recipe included lava sand and expanded shale. Common sense told me that since our soil is very sandy, I didn't need to add any more sand to it, so I skipped those ingredients.

Coincidentally, the store owner decided to give me a book on gardening since I'm a newbie and the book was written by Howard Garrett! I told the man that I had e-mailed Garrett to ask where to get all that stuff and he had recommended that store! I guess he liked me, 'cause he gave me a free bag of fertilizer, too...or maybe it was pity. heh.

We also ordered eight yards of organic cotton burr compost to be delivered (it's made of all the leftover cotton products after the cotton is harvested). After it is delivered, hopefully tomorrow, Tom will till all of the ingredients into the garden plot. Brian (our friend who had come to visit) and I marked 30x30 feet out in the front pasture for the garden. It sounded like a good sized plot to get started with, but after we marked it out and Tom scraped the grass off, it looked more like a postage stamp. But...we're going to stick with that size and see how we handle that for starters. We can always add to it later if we need to.

So, Tom started working on the tractor and I started mowing on the Toro again. The first pass down our very long driveway, I bumped a water spigot and it popped into the air, followed by a geyser of water. So I raced back to the barn where Tom was to find out what I should do. Brian and I found the shut-off valve in the well house, I borrowed a repair kit from Joann, Tom capped off the break, and we all went back to work.

We worked until dark, were exhausted, and covered head to toe with dirt. Ahhhh, the joys of farming.

Couple of Pics

Here's Pearlie the pup enjoying country life. She is not being good. She seems to think she doesn't have to come when I call her while we are out there. Bad, bad dog.

And a picture of one of Joann's foals. There are two that were born two-three months ago. Pearlie is very afraid of the horses.

The Tractor Has Landed

WooHoo! We brought the tractor home today and also towed the trailer with the riding mower out to our place. Tom taught me how to drive the zero turn Toro lawn mower, so I had a blast zipping around mowing the yard while Tom tinkered with the tractor.

...think we like red?

Moving Day

Well, it's not really moving day for us, but the previous owner finally did move out. She cleaned the place up nicely and even got rid of all old equipment, etc. in the garage and on the property. So we towed our ski boat out there and parked it in the garage (that is really semi-enclosed carport).

We moved the boat out of our garage so Paden could put his lawn equipment into it until he sells the rest of it. Now that he's taken that equipment out of the trailer that we bought from him, we will tow the trailer with mowers in it out to our new place. While we're there today, we're supposed to pick of the new tractor.

Then...let the mowing begin.

Fini!

The roof is finished. I love it. It's such an improvement over that tired ole' asphalt shingle. Eventually I'd like to change the color of the trim on the house from the dark brown. I'm thinking...light tan might brighten it up a bit, but am open to suggestions. The top picture is the front of the house and the bottom picture is the back porch.

The little pump house got a new roof, too. Cute. That happened sort of accidentally. I had asked the roofer to leave me some scraps so that I could roof the little well cover beside the house. Somehow he misunderstood and ended up roofing the pump house. They charged me for it, but since it was their mistake, they knocked a few hundred off the price.

And...Wisteria

Wisteria arbor is in bloom...beautiful! Click on any of these pictures to see the BIG version. You can see some Texas Longhorns in the background of this one. There are a couple of calves (there's a white one beside it's spotted momma in the picture) out there now. Rumour has it that those longhorns escape frequently and roam all around.

Roofing Progress

The roof is almost done. It looks great.

Wasted Day

It looks like my whole day is going to be wasted. The girl from Sears delivery was supposed to call me back on Wednesday evening or Thursday morning to let me know when they were going to deliver the appliances on Thursday or Friday so I could meet them out there. Also, we're getting another barn estimate and a woman from that company was supposed to call me back yesterday to set up a time to meet her today. So, I was planning on going out to Athens today to receive the delivery, meet with the barn builders, and go look at a tractor that Tom wants me to see. In addition to all of that, the roofer told me they were going to try to roof today before several days of rain commence. I wanted to be out there for that.

NOBODY called me back. I don't know how to reach Sears delivery, so I can't call them. I called the barn person and she said she'd just run out there to see the place herself. I'm still waiting on a confirmation from the roofer, but I'm doubting they got out there. It doesn't make sense for me to drive all the way out there to look at one tractor. So I'm in a holding pattern here at the house until I hear from someone and it is so frustrating.

Rain and Roofs

Tom finished the rafter repairs today so I sent the roofer a message that they could put the new roof on any time now. He wrote back that the materials were supposed to arrive on Thursday and he scheduled us for Monday. Oops. I checked the weather forecast for the next ten days. It's supposed to rain Friday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. I asked could they possibly move it up to Saturday and am awaiting a reply.

I got a call from Sears and my appliances, that I ordered last week and were supposed to take four to six weeks to be delivered, have arrived. They wanted to deliver them in the morning. I was able to put them off until Thursday or Friday, so I'll be headed out there later this week to take delivery and find a place, in the still-occupied house, to store them.

Roof Removal

The roofers began removing shingles today.

Rescheduled

The rain did affect the roofer's schedule. We're pushed out to Monday.

I ordered my appliances today.

Rain...and More Rain

We've been having a constant downpour all day. I doubt there is any roofing going on today. I hope it doesn't set us back by much.

Cabinet Mania

Finally, the kitchen plan is complete and the cabinets were ordered today. It was a surprisingly draining experience. It took four meetings with the designer, the last one being today and that lasted four hours. The cabinets are scheduled to arrive in four to six weeks, which will be around the end of April. That should give me enough time to get the existing kitchen torn out and prepared for the new installation...after the tenant (ex-owner) moves out.

The next steps are ordering the appliances, sink, and faucet, which I've already chosen, then choosing the granite, wood flooring, and tile for the back splash.

Roof shingles are supposed to be torn off some day this week. We're having storms for the next couple of days, so it may be toward the end of the week. Tom got the breaker box changed out yesterday.

Bigger Is Better?

Ack! I think our barn has grown a few feet. We met with the barn builder out at the new place to show him what we wanted to build. To enclose the current barn structure, it looks like we'll hav to lay a perimeter foundation around the whole existing structure, which adds a foot or two to the size, at least width-wise.

I had wanted to have that perimeter anyway because I was afraid that the barn wouldn't look finished if two-thirds of it had a concrete foundation showing and the other third just had metal siding down to the ground. I was also concerned that varmints would burrow under the foundationless side and invade the barn. Tom was hesitating on the perimeter foundation, so I'm glad the barn guy said he needed it.

We still don't have a quote on the cost, though. That may curb our enthusiasm a bit.

While walking the barn site, trying to imagine what it's going to be like, I noticed that the living quarters will have a lovely view. The windows and the outside door will be all down one side and looking out over the pastures with big trees, which will also shade that side. Maybe some day we can put a little porch out there for guests to enjoy the view and the summer breeze.

We also had the opportunity to drive around the town quite a bit.. We found a church that looks promising. It might be full of old people, but the building was fairly new and smallish. We'll visit there as soon as possible.

Athens seems to be a bustling little town with quite a lot of traffic on the square. I stopped at the visitors center and picked up a bunch of literature about the town and a phone book. There's plenty to see and do....at least for a day. lol And they have a nice civic center with an inside pool, conference rooms to rent, workout rooms, walking trails, etc. Also, an arboretum. I'll have to check that one out to see what grows well in that area. Apparently, Athens is the black-eyed pea capitol. Who knew?

Measurement Challenged

Well, I did say that I was not to be trusted with a measuring tape. My kitchen plan did not get finished today, despite a three hour meeting with the designer. I had made a couple of measurement errors that required some changes in the plan, in addition to the few tweaks I had made in the original plan. I have another meeting with the designer on Saturday. Maybe we can finish it up then. I sure hope so because she's leaving the company on the 18th and I don't want to have to switch to a different designer in the middle.

Living in the Barn

For those of you who may come to stay with us someday, we're planning an apartment in the barn (we'll also have two guest rooms in our home, for those who object to barn living ;o) ). Tom and I are actually having some fun planning it. Who knew? Anyway, since our barn has morphed into a much larger space, the apartment has grown along with it.

The current plan is that down one whole side of the barn, all 64 feet of it, will run, from front to back - Tom's 12x12 office, a bedroom, bathroom, living area with kitchenette, and another bedroom at the far end. There will be a door that opens into the barn from the living area and also a door that opens to the outside, plus some windows.

The finishing out of the apartment is some time down the road, but we have to plan it now so that we can put in the plumbing before the foundation is poured.

We had planned on giving our bedroom furniture, which we inherited from Tom's grandmother, to one of Tom's many newly married cousins. Fortunately, none of them seemed to want it. So, now that I know we're planning an apartment, I'm glad I still have it because I can use it to furnish the place. There is enough to furnish both bedrooms except we'll need to get one more bed. And since the new house is smaller than our current house, I'll also have enough living room/kitchen furniture to furnish both places, which is great.

We're going back out there tomorrow for more measurements and again on Wednesday to meet with the barn builder.

And...They're Off!

Roofers are scheduled for a couple of weeks from now. I've got an appointment on Monday to finalize my kitchen plans. Hopefully, I can get the cabinets ordered this coming week. I had a contractor go out to the house and remeasure the kitchen for me because I'm not to be trusted with a tape measure. Then I have to get a few bids on getting the work done.

Our barn has grown much larger than we had orginally planned. There is a barn on the property, but it's kind of an eyesore and is not totally enclosed. However, it has some very nice, sturdy stalls and a tack room. We plan to take off the old tin that is currently on it and have it completely enclosed as part of our new barn. So, we'll have the stalls on one side and a big open area in the middle to park tractors and do barnly stuff. On the other side, we plan to put in an office for Tom and a small apartment for guests. We're going to go ahead and put the plumbing in before the concrete is poured so that we'll have it when we get around to finishing the apartment.

Luckily, the kitchen appliances are pretty new, so I can put them into the apartment's kitchenette.

Landowners

We did it! We bought the land. We signed our closing papers this week and FedExed them to the title company. The seller will be signing today or tomorrow.

I've begun to plan the kitchen remodel. Whew, there is so much to do just for that project. I signed up with Direct Buy with the expectation that they'll save me a lot of money. They have a kitchen designer on staff that is drawing up my plan on the computer. That's a big help. Now I have to pick out door styles, colors and appliances before our next meeting. I have to get a crew to tear out and install the kitchen, put in new floors, and do some drywall work for me.

I have to schedule the roofers for the new metal roof. It will be metal that is made to look like Spanish/Roman tile; plan a barn and get that started; plant a garden when Tom decides on a tractor; put in a new septic system when the seller's 30-day lease is up; and Tom has to change out the electric box.

We have to decide when to put our current home on the market, trying to schedule it so that we all have a place to live until the new house remodel is finished and Paden goes to school.

Either during or after we've finished all those projects, we need to build a henhouse, get chickens and learn how to keep them alive and producing eggs. Hopefully, they pretty much know how to do that themselves. Heh. We also need to get some milk goats, Nubians I think, from which I hope to get our milk and actually make butter! And get some Boer goats for meat. I'll have to stay away from them as much as possible lest I get attached and can't eat them later.

I'm sure there are a million things that will have to be done that I just don't know about yet. But, I just tell myself to take one day at a time and do what I can.

The Money Changers

We've signed the contracts and money has changed hands. The title company should have the closing papers ready withint 10 days. If the title is clear, and we think it is, we will actually own the property soon.