The windows are getting finished off.

The windows are almost finished off. Scott has been really slow but the ones that he has finished look very nice. The sills are about a foot deep. Nice for plants!
Tuesday I am going to Ikea to check out a few item...I should probably leave the checkbook home! Deb is going with me and we're making a day of it. I am shopping for closet insides. What type? How many? Do I want the "California Closet" stuff or something like armoires? Decisions, decisions... So far we've gotten the bathroom vanity and countertop...the picture of that didn't turn out. I'll try again later. And I bought beautiful dark patterned slate for the bathroom floor. I also got the mirror and the vanity lights set for that, too.
But that's the extent of my forays. I go alot but usually just come back with what Dad had ordered..a.k.a. foam and duck tape! Oh...and his famous pot lights, that I tried valiently to not have again, but I was outvoted. Even the electrician likes them!

Dad's Upstairs Office Area..

Things have come along the last few weeks and we are nearly ready to get started moving Dad up to his new digs. These are shots of his upper area where the extra mags and books will be stored. Dad's E-Bay business will also be up there. I think that the insulation make things look so much more clean and put together. We will be covering most of it with plywood, finished on one side. The walls will be lined with shelves and counters anyhow. A few pieces of furniture will be up there, too. Dad's old couch and perhaps the single bed for his... guests.
This shot is standing at the head of the stairs, looking right and left, respectfully.

New Camera Brings Updates!

Well, we're back in business! I like this new little "Cool Pics Nikon".
Anyhow...this is the new guest bedroom! Does it make you want to be the first to rush home and visit? Well, give me a few more weeks and we'll talk again. It is all enclosed, and that's something. The bats seem to be gone entirely. We haven't seen anything (guano) to tell us differently, so that's wonderful.
The two windows are installed above the front doors and I think once I get used to them they'll be all right. They will serve for ventilation and a little natural light up there. So you won't all be totally in the dark!

HEY YOU GUYS!! Come to the Fair with Kris & Wayne...

We went to the county fair last night and saw the animals, of course. The weather has been much cooler than usual so they were all in much better humor than past years. Even the flies seemed less bothersome. We were there at suppertime and the sheep and the pigs seemed ready to tie bibs on! They all came to the fences and were grunting and baaing all over the place!
The midway was lacking in so many ways...it seemed dirty and rather rundown this year. To both Dad and I the whole fair seemed much smaller. Where you usually have tons of vendors in that strip in the eating area, this year there was only one implement dealer...with one tractor! The wood stove guy is always at all of these events...but other than insurance, and a few tel-coms guys there was nothing! We were a bit stunned. We actually saw the entire fair...except the horses, in about 40 minutes!! They have moved the horse barns over to the far side of the fair, way over behind where the stadium area is!! It is a healthy walk over there and no easy way to get there...duck behind the ferris wheel, or something! Anyhow, we brain cells couldn't figure out how to get over there and there were no maps, so no horses for us this year.

No Butts About it!!

One BIG Mama!!

This Holstein is absolutely HUGE! She nearly spilled out into the walkway.

Couldn't resist this pair. The Mama was so pretty and looked so contented laying there with her little calf. We watched them for a few minutes and she never stopped chewing her cud and half-sleeping.

Really Cool Little Guys!

A few of the specially pretty chickens and one huge rabbit. We threw the geese in because they were honking with Dad. Unfortunately, I was taking the pics and several of the ones with him in them...actually talking with animals did not turn out...or did he delete them? We'll never know!

The Windows are Nearly All In.....

Somehow all this stuff gets done by little elves or something...but this week all the windows on the main floor were installed...professionally yet! They all work well and have screens, etc. They are the type that unlatch and pull inward so that you can clean both sides, from the inside! Neat huh!!

The Front Doors Are Going in...

The front doors are looking pretty good, although we are having some paint issues. They are taking longer than usual to cure up and we are having problems there. However, we have more doors to take care of, all relatively the same color, but we are going to try another type of paint. The blue around the glass part is "painters tape" just so ya know. It won't be there long.

This Years' Hosta Bed...

I think they are doing pretty well, despite the lack of rain the past few weeks. If a certain grandmotherly-type I know would get out there and weed it would also look much better, too.

Storm Rolling In....

We could really use some rain all of a sudden. Things are getting very dry everywhere. We got a good twenty minutes of straight down rain out of this storm. I'm sure it might have actually saved some of the corn.

My Main Contracter...

This guy has been working his heart out lately. He gets up every morning about 6-6:30 and rushes back to the office and snatches a look at E-Bay and his E-mail and then he's out the door. He love it up there!!
Then I get up ...let's say, a bit later...and drive up to see what he's up to. I usually find him like this...totally sweaty, covered in sawdust and cobwebs and smiling like a little kid! He has done a wonderful job putting everything together. When we need cash for something, somehow
he finds it..and its done. So far...our only mortgage holder is still Home Depot!
I know this is going to work. And best of all...if the bottom falls out down the road, and ANY of you needs to retreat, the ark will hold us all. True...the tall ones will have to stoop upstairs, but there will be room for everyone! So I'm happy, and I feel safe...it's wonderful, and it's going to work! Now, about that dishwasher...

This is the opening above the front doors that we have decided to stick skinny little windows in so that we can have some natural light upstairs. The room that they will be installed in is actually the bedroom area that most of you will be staying in when you visit. I hope that you will all like it!!

We have cut through the beams upstairs too. Look carefully...you can see all the way through! The beams are all supported from beneath and the sides as well.

Doors!!

This is the opening for the porch door, that is actually in our bedroom. It makes a lovely window too.

Back to Work!!

Its' back to work we go! Finally we got the kitchen window installed. We actually had to have a stonecutter come and saw through the terra cotta blocks to make the kitchen window fit. Everyone felt that it was problematic, with the strong possibility that the entire wall in that area would collapse. But, wonder of wonders...nothing happened and we quick stuffed beams under the bottom bricks to support the wall while we waited for the carpenter to return.
These are pics of the window actually installed...this will be my sink, dishwasher, etc. wall.