Monday, November 29, 2010

Garden Shed - The Big Reveal

One little red leaf left on the dogwood in the front
Whoosh!  That was the sound of November rushing by.  I really must be getting older 'cause every month seems to go by faster than the one just before.

I took that picture (right) this morning, looking  out the dining room window...AKA my office (or, droffice, if you will...:) to document the last leaf left on the dogwood tree in front of the front porch. Mr. T spent nearly an hour with the leaf blower, trying to corral all the ones that had fallen on the sidewalk and driveway, blowing them back into the area we call the Natural Area.  It's a hopeless cause if done before all the leaves fall, but we are pretty close now.  Only the oak trees are holding on to theirs now.  Winter is truly on its way.

The last full month of Fall has been a busy one for us here at Casa 3917.  As you know from reading the previous posts, building a garden shed has taken up most of our spare time. 


The Shed Begins on 11/11
 You will recall this project started early A.M. on 11/11, with the delivery of the kit from Home Depot, along with the pictorial instruction booklet, and the extra pieces and parts like the foundation and the roofing supplies.  We had a perfect spot in the back yard for the shed to fit (photo to left)...and so it began.

It took seven days spread out over 3 weeks, but together we finally worked our way through the booklet, drawing by drawing.  When we reached the final page, we had built an 8 x 12 garden shed, complete with built-in workbench and extra storage in the "attic" and on shelves on both long sides.  And, possibly even better news to report: we did that without having to file for divorce!


Gus and Duchess check out
the new garden shed - 11/29/10
 Ta da!  There she is (right)!!  Isn't she beautiful as well as practical? 

Did you notice the difference in quantity of leaves on the limbs in the before and finished photos?  Now, there are more on the ground than in the trees.

When I started to move some of my gardening supplies inside, I was met with the "left-overs" from the building process:  paint cans, extra roof shingles, ladders, tools, etc.  Hmmmmm.  Soon, however, Mr. T carried that stuff back to "his domain,"  AKA the workshop area of the garage.

All that being said, finished is such a relative term, don't you agree?  We still have to add a front step or stoop (that's just an extra pallet you see in front of the purple Blooming Wisteria doors). We are also going to add a cupola with a weather vane to the roof.  And, we have a couple of windows to add to the rear wall, so that I can look out over the garden whenever I work at the workbench inside.  The never-ending project...

The new shed is certainly going to come in handy...real soon, too.  I got my letter of acceptance into the Master Gardener certification program with Guilford County Extension service on Friday (hooray!), so I'm guessing that gardening will move into high gear...in the New Year...around here.

Friday, November 26, 2010

We Give Thanks

What a wonderful day it was!  Even though the weather outside was not the best (drizzling rain, cloudy, etc.), we were dry and warm and well-fed inside.  For these and all our many blessings, we continue to give thanks.


Table Turkey
 Anyone who knows me knows I love to decorate for the holidays...pretty much any holiday.  I have color-coded plastic containers in the attic for practically every special day...and Thanksgiving gets two boxes.  Mr. T got them out when he put the Halloween boxes (3 of them...:) back up, so I've had the mantles and the dining room table decorated for several weeks, adding a touch here and there.

As you can see in that picture (right), the centerpiece on the table again this year is the stuffed turkey I made 20-25 years ago.  There are also matching placemats, napkins, and aprons.  I add lots of fall colors in the leaves, the flowers, and the candles...and I sprinkle leaf-shaped confetti about on the tablecloth.  A pain to pick up...but a fun touch nonetheless.


Publix Pilgrim salt 'n pepper
  Also, on the table are the salt and pepper shaker set we call the Publix Pilgrims (left).  We got our first set when we lived in Duluth, GA, and shopped at Publix...still one of my favorite grocery stores.  I also have a set of napkin rings to match.


Pilgrim Hat Pots
 This year's addition to the tablescape was Missy M's Pilgrim Hat Pots (right).  She is so creative!  She got some black spray paint for two clay pots, which she adorned with cardboard "belt buckles."  Then, she added some beautiful potted mums she found on one of her trips to Home Depot...running errands for us while we were working on the Garden Shed (yes, I'll get back to that topic in the next post, I promise...:).  They fit right in with the turkey centerpiece and all...and were a sure hit.

For Thanksgiving Day 2010, I got up early to get started on the To Do List.  Each year I write out my menus, who joined us for dinner, and on the back, I add both the To Do's and notes on What-I-Should-Do-Differently-Next-Year.  With that first cup of coffee in hand, I noticed that I had written on my list for 2004 to "remember to spray the inside of the oven bag with Pam, so it won't stick to the turkey."  A really good idea...and something I seem to forget every year.

First things first:  a second cup of coffee.  Second things and so on:  get the turkey out of the brine (my recipe calls for the bird to spend the night in the cooler, submerged in brown sugar, salt, spices, wine, water, and apple cider), into the bag (I use one of those handy-dandy Reynolds Turkey Oven Bags), and ready for roasting.  While the oven preheated, I headed out to the garden to pick lettuce for a salad, and as Ella Rae was so eager to join me, I let her dash through the gate...without giving it much thought.  Soon, she was joined by The Drool Gang:  Duchess, Gus, and ElmoOh boy, let's go play in the Way Back!


Lettuce protected by row cover
 While I was busy removing the row covers from the rows of lettuces (right), they were busy rolling around in what we've been descriptively calling The Stinky Grass:  some grass clippings our neighbor had saved for us in black bags, that have been sitting in the hot sun all summer long...and that were in the last stages of composting when Mr. T spread them on the newly-tilled areas a couple of days ago.  Now, grass clippings for the garden are really a blessing, I assure you.  Having the dogs dousing themselves in the scent is something else entirely.

I could smell Ella approaching me before I saw her.  Good grief!  Mr. T wiped the Houndz down with the Baby Wipes, while Missy M had to give her poor pup two baths...the second one in diluted vinegar.  That little chore wasn't on our original To Do List for the day, but you do what you have to do, right?


Salad greens washed and ready for fridge
 While the others were attending to the cleaning chore, I put my apron on and got busy in the kitchen.  With the turkey in the oven (and the ham ready to go in after 90 minutes), I washed my salad greens (left)...including the nasturtium blossoms (yes! they are indeed edible, as well as pretty!)...and bagged them up for the crisper.  BTW, I do so love the salad spinner Missy M got for me last year...love it, love it, love it!

The last of the green tomatoes that were saved before the first freeze had turned red and would provide the color for the simple salad.  Other garden contributions to the Holiday meal would be: 
  • peas and lima beans for the Three-Bean Casserole;
  • yellow and zucchini squash for the Zippy Squash Casserole; and
  • sweet potatoes for the Sweet Potato Souffle.
All of these casseroles had been made earlier in the week, so all I had to do was get them out of the extra fridge in the garage and ready to finish off in the oven:  get them hot and bubbly, then add the toppings to each.  I had made up the Crock Pot dressing (use the link to that basic recipe, which is similar to mine...only I use only one can of Cream of Chicken Soup, along with one can of Chicken Broth...and only 2 eggs...and I add finely diced carrots for some color...:) on Wednesday night, so I just plugged in the Crock Pot and turned it on "high" for two hours...then down to "low" for the rest of the time...just a few stirs required...and it doesn't take up a burner on the stove!  Those would be needed for the gravy, the mashed potatoes, and the rice.  Hey, we've never met a starch we didn't like in this family!

I had also made up my Potato Roll recipe the night before, so I got that bowl (it's a huge Tupperware bowl that takes up way too much space in an already crowded fridge) out to let the dough reach room temp and start its second rise.  After that, I rolled up 90 balls of dough to make 30 tri-cornered rolls.  Yummmmm!  They would be the last thing to go into the oven, just 15 minutes before dinner was served.

Things hummed along, and we were ready for Brother and SIL J&J when they arrived at around 11:00, bringing along a lovely three-pack of wine from the Biltmore Winery.  We had a nice visit while the meal continued to cook...and soon, it was 2:00 and time to eat.  Judging from the kind comments, I think we can call Thanksgiving Dinner 2010 a success.  Oh, and my note for this year's list?  "Remember to bag up some ice on Wednesday so there will be plenty for dinner."


Mr. T with J & J at Oak Hollow after dinner
 While N/M/E took a little nap after dinner, J & J, Mr. T, and I took a little stroll through the neighborhood, down to the lake (right)...and when we returned to the house, Missy M was just finishing up with the first round of dirty dishes.  Now, that's really a blessing!

I hope each and every one of you enjoyed a bountiful meal and all the blessings of the Day, surrounded by family and friends, and then drifted off to a peaceful night's sleep in a warm bed on clean sheets.  And, if you did, remember to join me and take a bag of canned goods and non-perishables to the local food pantry sometime this week.  We'll be glad we did!

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Garden Shed, Days 4 - 7

OK...so where was I?
The walls were up on the Garden Shed, and the inside had been painted and covered to protect it against the elements.  Mr. T had to return to work (which means he had to return to the road...:), so we were on temporary hiatus from construction.

Mr. T adds a trim board at end of Day 4
 
No more.  He's taking a few more of those "vacation days," so we've been building as fast as our hammers could nail.  After the walls came the workbench (and you thought I was going to say something silly like "the roof," didn't you?) and the interior shelves that form the "attic" and two side storage areas.  Then came the roof trusses and the trim boards (photo, left).  Hey, this instruction book is very specific about the order of things...and we're doing our best to follow their lead.

Garden Shed at end of work-day #5:  roof's on!

Finally, on Day 5, the roof went up and the windows went in.  That was an exciting day for sure, 'cause now the weather could change without our having to be overly concerned about damage to the interior.  As you can see in that photo (right), we even began storing our work supplies and tools inside...no worries!

Starting on Day 6, we then took the instructions and divided and conquered:  Mr. T continued to work on the roof, adding the felt over the fiberboards, in preparation for adding the drip-edge and the shingles; and, I started caulking and painting.

You're painting, Patricia?  Really??  If you know me, you know that I am the World's Worst Painter.  No, this isn't false modesty here.  Ask any member of my family...they'll tell you.  She's the Worst of the Worst painters.  Go ahead.  I'll wait.

Told you so. 

I get more paint on me than on any object that I'm supposed to be painting.  And, more paint on the surfaces anywhere near where I'm painting.  It's almost like I never graduated from finger painting in kindergarten.
Patricia paints the trim on back wall of shed - Day 6

But, what I lack in skill I more than make up for in enthusiasm.  And, if you've done the math, you've probably figured out that I'm too short to be much good on the roof-work...even with the scaffold that Mr. T's rigged up.  So, "caulk and paint" for me it is then!

As you can probably tell in that photo (left), the main color of the Shed is a taupe-y shade to match our house-trim called "Quail Ridge."  The shed's trim color, which looks like melted vanilla ice cream, is called "Pebble Shore."  And, the door color?  I think I've already mentioned that it's called "Blooming Wisteria."  Purple by any other name, according to Mr. T.

Blooming Wisteria paint for the doors

I don't want to spoil the big reveal when I finally publish the "finished" photo, so I won't show you a picture of the front of the shed just yet.  I will, however, show you the paint in the pan (right)...just so you won't be too shocked when you do see it.

Ta-da!  Yep, it's purple by any other name, isn't it?

What can I say?  It really looks...well, happy...for the want of any other description.  And, since the shed is fairly-well hidden behind our fence, it really isn't visible to anyone else...except maybe through our next door neighbors' kitchen window.  So we are the only ones who will get to enjoy the Purple Doors.


Mr. T nails shingles on the roof - Day 7

The Bible tells us that God created the heavens and the earth and all therein in six days...and then took a rest day on the seventh.  Amazing!  And, I'm guessing He didn't even have a pictorial instruction booklet either!

For us, the work on the Shed has continued to Day 7, with Mr. T nailing the shingles onto the roof (left).  I took that picture from the kitchen window, which is why you see so much of the tree branch and nothing of the scaffold.

I really can't help much with this work, so I've moved indoors to start checking items off the Thanksgiving To Do List.  Today was "polish silverware," "make cheesecake and pecan pie," and "brine the turkey."  Check, check, and check!

Tomorrow, it's all about the food.  And family.  And football.  And the parade.  And the dogs on the Westminster Kennel Club show!!  Woo hoo!

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

The Sun Returned, the Shed's Still Standing, So Let's Celebrate!

Good news!  The wind and the rain huffed and puffed on the new Garden Shed walls...but to no avail.  They're still standing after a long night of rough weather.  Whew!

And, today dawned bright and glorious.  Carolina Blue skies...red, gold, and orange leaves...clean and fresh breezes...just an absolutely beautiful Autumn day.  As Mr. T is still out-of-town, I'm putting away the hammer and nails and declaring this a no-construction zone day.  I decided to leave well-enough alone, as they say, and celebrate our good fortune.

A celebration calls for...cupcakes!

I have been craving a cupcake for the longest kinda time.  Devil's Food chocolate cake with creamy vanilla buttercream icing...and lots of it!  Hey, I'm making 'em, so I get to choose the flavors, right?

I checked the pantry and decided to do my best imitation of Sandra Lee...you know, the "Semi-Homemade" lady on HGTV?  "Keep it Simple, keep it smart, keep it sweet, and keep it semi-homemade."  I love her!  She advocates the 70/30 Semi-Homemade philosophy, which combines 70% ready-made products with 30% fresh touches, and she always plans the whole meal and a "tablescape" to match...along with cocktails and mocktails.  Of course.


Craving a cupcake
 I just wanted a cupcake...so I got a box of Devil's Food cake mix off the shelf (the ready-made ingredient), along with all the fixings for the buttercream icing (the "fresh touch").

I've gotten to where I don't always use my big ol' stand mixer...I revert to my childhood and the hand-held.  Since Missy M wasn't here to lick the beaters and the bowl, I washed 'em up after I got the muffin pans filled with the batter and all settled into my new oven on the "Cake" setting.

Did I tell you that I got a new stove?  I recall mentioning the refrigerator and the dishwasher that arrived, thanks to a little "stimulus" help from the state of North Carolina earlier this year:  they gave instant rebates of 15% for replacing your old appliances with Energy Saver models, and Sears matched that amount in savings.  Couldn't pass that opportunity up, now could we?  If you've been to our house, you know that the previous owners had a hodge-podge of mis-matched appliances in the kitchen...a couple of which probably pre-date the age of the house.


Cupcakes baking in the new stove

One of those would have been the stove.  Unfortunately, there is no such thing as an Energy Saver model of a stove (or a dryer, for that matter), or I would have gotten a new one when I got the fridge and DW.  Still, the more I thought about it, the less I wanted to cook another Holiday meal on the monster we had.  Then, it had a fit one day recently...heated itself up much higher than what I had dialed in...and burned yet another dish.  That had happened last Thanksgiving with the sweet potato casserole...and that did it.  I headed to Sears and pointed out the one I wanted.

Anyway, the new oven has settings for "Cakes" and "Breads" and "Roasts," oh my.  It is both convection and electric (I don't have a gas connection in the kitchen, unfortunately), and the cook-top has 5 burners, including a warming eye.  Woo hoo.  Now I'm cooking with gas  well, electric...!

While the cakes were baking, I whipped up the icing
  • 4 cups of powdered sugar,
  • 4 T. softened butter,
  • 1 T. real vanilla,
  • a pinch of salt, and
  • enough milk to make it creamy, but still hold its shape when spread.

Twelve cupcakes for now, twelve to freeze for later

I made 12 of the cupcakes for "now," and baked the other 12 in Christmas-themed liners to freeze for "later."  I imagine they will taste good with a cup of tea or hot chocolate on one of those really cold December days...when I don't have the time to bake something special.

As I was putting the ones I had frosted for "now" in the cake stand, which is on the low-boy chest in the bay window in the morning room, I happened to look outside at just the right moment.  There on the suet feeder was a fat Eastern bluebird!  I haven't seen much of them lately, but as I watched, I noticed another one on the bird bath.  Get the camera!


Eastern bluebird returns to the suet feeder

I took that pic (right) through the window, since I didn't want to take a chance on spooking the pair by stepping out on the deck to snap the shot.  Doesn't do justice to its colors, does it?  Still, it's so good to see them back in the back!

Tomorrow will be a busy day.  We have to get up early and dismantle N/M/E's bed because the Medical Supply store is delivering a hospital bed.  At the visit with her pain management doc last week, we received a prescription for a bed, hoping it will relieve some of the pain and pressure she has with her torn rotator cuff.  "Aging in place" means having to get just-the-right-mix of care, medications, and equipment.  Her beautiful cherry-finished Lillian Russell bedroom suite and double bed have served her well for nearly 60 years, so it will be like saying goodbye to an old and dear friend.  Still, she has a good attitude toward this change...and is hoping for good things to come from it.

Meanwhile, let's all have a cupcake!

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

The Garden Shed - Day Three

The wind doth blow, the rain doth fall...

As I write this post, I've got one eye on the weather...for good reason, too.  We have predictions of rain and wind, possibly even a thunderstorm...and we don't need any of those here at Casa 3917.

Remember, when last you read, we'd raised the walls on our Garden Shed, but the dark and the cold chased us indoors before we could complete any further steps of the instruction booklet.  So, it sits roof-less, facing the cruel elements.  And, I sit...fearing one bad blast that will flatten all our hard work.  It's a nail-biter, all right.


Tigers score touchdown, win the first half...but lose the game
 We took a little break this past weekend from construction work to travel to Huntington, WV, to see the Tigers play the Thundering Herd of Marshall University.  Yep, that Marshall.  Plus, it was the 40th anniversary of the plane crash that killed 70+ members of football team, coaches, and supporters returning from the East Carolina football game.  Not the best week to be playing them.

Anyway, as that's near the midway point between HPNC and Louisville, we met Missy M there on Saturday.  The Tigers played their hearts out...well, at least for the first half, leading 10-0 as we few Tiger fans cheered loudly when they left the field for the visitors' locker rooms.  Then, apparently that team left town.  Or else, the real Marshall team showed up.  Whatever...the second half was just sad.  Let's not speak of it anymore.

What I do want to say about the trip is how warm and welcoming the folks in Huntington (where Marshall is located) and Barboursville (where we stayed at the Holiday Inn) were!  We must have been thanked for coming 10-15 times.  We were dressed in Memphis blue, so everyone knew who we were there to support.  Several told us how much they love coming to Memphis, too (since they had no way of knowing that we didn't actually live in Memphis anymore).  NOTE:  No one in Knoxville has ever thanked us for coming to UT and spending our money there...and no one in Louisville thanked us for coming to that game earlier this year...not a single person...well, other than Missy M, who doesn't really count 'cause she's a Tiger fan...:)  We'll definitely make the trek back to the west side of West Virginia whenever we can, even if it does involve $6 in tolls there and $6 in tolls back on the West Virginia Turnpike.  I like going where they are happy to see me, don't you?

OK, back to the Shed.  When we returned home on Sunday evening, it was too late to work on the roof.  More importantly, Mr. T had to return to work (and head off to Norfolk, VA) on Monday...and the reports of bad weather began to surface.  Drat.


Shed ready for the storm: painted interior and floor + tarp
 New plan.  On Monday, I dragged out the painting tools.  I had some "oops" paint that would work perfectly to provide some protection for the interior walls and floor against the rain.  Paint, paint, paint.  Paint some more.  Paint until my hands, arms, and legs were screaming at me. I stopped just long enough to down a sandwich and a tangerine for lunch.  Mr. T was packed and ready to head out of town when the first drops started to fall, and I was still working on the left wall...so, he donned his painter's cap to help me get the places I couldn't reach.  There was a little break in the rainfall, and I was able to roll a coat of some semi-gloss on the floor before the heavy stuff arrived.  The tarp we have is too small to cover the entire building, but it makes a great floor cover.  Hopefully, if the walls are still standing after this storm passes, the paint will have kept most of the moisture at bay.

I'm humming "the sun'll come out tomorrow..."

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Garden Shed, Day Two

Excellent Progress.  That's what our report card for Day Two of Building our Garden Shed might say.

Day Two - Side Walls Complete
As you will recall (if you read that last post), we'd gotten the foundation done and the first side wall all framed up...before the dark overtook us.

Thankfully, Friday dawned bright and beautiful (if a bit on the nippy side...:), so we got going with construction right after Mr. T finished his scheduled (work) conference call.  Yep, he's still on his so-called vacation.

Anyway...

We nailed on the siding to Wall One (Right) and got it upright against the tree.  Wall Two (Left) went a little faster, probably because we had more experience in interpreting the picture-instructions.  We had it framed up, paused for lunch, and then nailed on the siding...all by 1:00. 


Back Wall - A jigsaw puzzle
 The Back Wall was a jigsaw puzzle, and we congratulated ourselves when we finished it and got it standing upright against the picket (garden) fence.  Whew!

Next up, Front Wall and the Doors.  Now, this thing was starting to look like something!  That just spurred us onward.

When we lost our daylight at 4:30, we had finished the side walls, the back wall, the front wall, and the doors...and we just weren't ready to quit.  So, Mr. T brought out the work-shop lights.  He chuckled that he hoped those Fed Ex planes flying to PTI airport didn't mistake our backyard for the runway!


It fits!  See the lights in the front/right
 Amazingly, all the walls fit together when we stood each one up and nailed it in place, as instructed!  Of course, each one took a few love-taps with the hammer to fit snugly...I'm sure they just accidently left the picture of a worker doing that out of the instructions.  Tee hee.

By the time the cold air was just too much to take, we'd got all the walls of the shed together.  We covered the floor with a tarp (just in case it rains before we get the roof on...:) and called it a day.

A great, big, wonderfully productive day!

Friday, November 12, 2010

Garden Shed, Day One

6:34 a.m.  (phone rings): 
Me:  Hello?  (barely audible...and thoroughly befuddled with sleep 'cause that's what I was just doing...)
Man (way too cheerfully for this time of the day):  Miz Adsit?  This is Bruce from Home Depot.  I'm on my way with your delivery and wanted to check the directions to your house.
Me:  Hmm.  Directions?  Right.  (Now, where exactly do I live ? Think, Patricia, think!)
7:11 a.m.  Home Depot delivery truck pulls up in front of our house. Yowza!  That's a lot of mulch and stuff you have there, Bruce!


Home Depot Delivers Our Order
 7:45 a.m.  Bruce the Wonder Man finishes off-loading our delivery [which includes the Garden Shed kit, all the lumber needed to build the foundation for the shed and a small deck for the Way Back, six boxes of roofing shingles, a roll of roofing "paper," along with 250 bags (on three pallets!) of mulch, and 50 bags of garden soil amendment], with his fork-lift from his big truck to our now-filled driveway.  Time for another cup of coffee.  Mr. T opens the Garden Shed kit (it's all shrink-wrapped into a neat bundle...how did they do that?!) and retrieves the Instructions for our reading pleasure.  Just follow the instructions, we've been advised.  You shouldn't have any problems building your Garden Shed if you just follow the instructions.  Right.  Remember, Mr. T's favorite shirt from a Disney trip is the one for Tool TimeReal Men Don't Need Instructions.

8:15 a.m. Coffee Break's over.  Let's get started!  Step One:  Inventory the pieces and parts of your kit.  Did you receive everything that is supposed to be included?  As we marked each one of the 10,000 or so (more or less...:) parts, we moved them through the main gate, inside of the back yard, to the staging area close to where we will build the new Garden Shed...which Mr. T is now referring to as "Patricia's Outhouse."  The dogs, all on the deck behind the closed deck-gate, are upset at being kept away from what looked like great fun to them.  Woof-woof.

Staging Area (left) for Garden Shed (TBB, right)

10:15 a.m. Whew!  Inventory complete.  All parts received and moved to the staging area.  Time for some more coffee!!

10:30 a.m.  Break over.  Back to work.  Let's build this Shed!!  Before we can start the Shed, though, we have to build the foundation that it will sit on.  This is NOT a part of the kit, but the instructions do have a couple of pictures for us to follow so that we (in theory) get the dimensions correct.  In. Theory.  Remember that.

1:00 p.m.  Time for lunch.

1:25 p.m.  Back at work.  After lots of leveling, we've got the foundation all set up.  Time to get out the deck screws and the battery-powered drill(s).  Normally, I hate the sound that the drill makes, but today it just sounds like progress!  Yippee!!

2:15 p.m  Take the picture!  We've got us a foundation all framed out.  Time to add the floor-boards.

2:20 p.m  Uh-oh.  What's wrong?  The floor-boards don't seem to fit the foundation.  Check the instructions.  Oh dear, we read the pictures incorrectly: the outside dimensions = 96"; we cut the joists (inside dimension) to 96", making our outside dimension = 99".  Now, if the instructions had said "cut all joists to 93", we would have been fine...we both can read and follow directions fairly well.  Noooo.  The PICTURES have a very prominent 96" showing, with the 93" kinda hidden.  Drat!  We have to undo what we've just done.  !#$%^&+*-.  I guess the good news (if there is any) is that we didn't cut the joists too short...that would have been a disaster.

Mr. T and Ella Rea on the new foundation; Elmo in the back

3:10 p.m.  Way to go Mr. T!  He figured out a way that we could fix our mistake without totally tearing up all that we had done.  We're back on track, nailing (10,000, more or less...:) nails into the floor-boards of the foundation...all of which fit perfectly and are square and level.  Yee ha!!

4:00 p.m.  Time to start on the walls.  Instructions say to use the foundation as your work-space.  Good idea!  We drag all the pieces and parts for Wall One as illustrated out of our staging area to the foundation and begin clamping them together for nailing.


Ella standing on Wall One; losing the light on Day One

4:30 p.m.  Next step:  nail on the siding (exterior) of Wall One.  Uh-oh.  No...don't worry...it's not another mistake.  It's Day-Light Savings Time...or the lack thereof.  Because of the time change last Sunday, we've lost our day-light!  We can't see to read the instructions or follow the pictures, so we call it a day.

8:30 p.m. Extra-strength aspirin, anyone?  Lights out!








Tomorrow:  Finish Wall One, do Wall Two, and the Front and Back Walls. 

Will we get all the walls up in a day?  Join me here to find out!

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

A Pause to Refresh


Morning Coffee with Ella Rhea
 Wanted to share a funny photo with you.  It isn't the best quality, since I took it with my cell phone instead of my camera.  But, I thought it would bring a smile to your face, too.  As you can probably guess, we are dog-sitting this week, and Ella Rhea has her own special spot for squirrel recon duty.  Ahem.

OK, it's official.  I'm thoroughly sick of writing.  No, that's not quite right...I'm thoroughly sick of feeling like I'm being forced to write.  That's it.

So, I'll take a little break from writing for NaNoWriMo (where I'm behind on my word count...but I don't care...nah, nah, nah, nah...:) and will, well, write a post for my blog.   Ah, much better.

I actually have had to give myself permission to slack off (at least, from writing) this week because Mr. T is taking some of his vacation days...the "use 'em or lose 'em" variety, since he had 11 days to take off between November 1 and November 30, which already had two Holiday-days for Thanksgiving.  Oh well, that's a whole 'nother story, as Andy Griffith used to say.

Anyway, since we were away on such a lovely vacation just a couple months ago (can it really be 2 months since we were in Hawaii??), we decided to stay home and use these vacation days to tackle some of the things on the ever-present To Do list. 

[Why use vacation days to do work, you ask?  I guess the best answer is that Mr. T travels so much with his job that he doesn't have the luxury of getting things done through-out the week...and the weekends are just too precious to give them all over to w-o-r-k.  They are much better suited to going to football games...like we did last weekend...]

OK, so the main things we wanted to accomplish before the end of this month include:  get the garden ready for its Winter nap, fence off the Way Back so the dogs can roam freely (more on that in a sec), do a few things inside the house, and build a garden shed in the back yard.  Whew!  I'm tired already.

Since we had our first Big Frost this past weekend, the gardening activities all moved to the top of the list...with a bullet.  Prior to the freezing temps arriving on Sunday, I installed floating row covers on all the tender vegetation we hoped to save:  three rows of leaf-type lettuces, one row of spinach, and the strawberry bed.  Mr. T covered the English peas, the broccoli, the cabbage, and the three rows of onions with straw. 

[I've never used floating row covers before, but I am now a true believer.  These things are the best thing since sliced bread!  Every single tender plant that we covered survived...and the thermometer said that it dropped down to 31 degrees out in the garden.  Amazing!  And, I can't wait to employ them to protect plants from pests next summer.]

Mr. T also "plasticized" our screen porch, turning it into a mini-greenhouse for the potted plants we want to protect: the ferns, the porch palms, the lemon tree, the two pineapples, etc.  He stapled plastic sheeting on the inside and outside, creating a cozy environment for the ornamentals, where the temps are 10-15 degrees warmer than outdoors.  When the really cold weather threatens, we can add a space heater and grow-lamps for extra warmth.

On Monday, Mr. T began harvesting the zinnias and marigolds for seed-heads to save for next year's garden, while pulling up all the frost-damaged flower, tomato, and pepper plants.  I dug up the sweet potato bed for the rest of this year's crop (wow!), and while they were curing in the sunshine, I re-worked the bed into a new strawberry row...then transplanted 25 "daughter" plants that had grown out from the "mother" plants in the original strawberry bed, which is next to the bed-formerly-known-as-the-sweet-potato-bed.  Since the temps have gone back up towards the 70's this week, I left the row cover off the strawberry patch...just relying on a good layer of straw to offer protection. 

The lima bean plants were frost-singed, so I pulled them up...harvesting a last crop of limas for the freezer in the process.  The peas survived the freeze without a problem, protected from the drop in temps by a nice, warm layer of straw.  I had already picked the plumpest pods on Friday (along with the last of the peppers and tomatoes...both red and green), so we'll have to wait a few more days for another mess.

And, before my back seized up from being pushed beyond the limit, I grabbed the rake and cleaned up the remains of tomatoes and peppers that littered the ground.  (I don't want thousands of volunteer plants to pop up there next year!)  Now, where is that extra-strength aspirin?

So, what's left to do, you ask?  Well, we've had an issue from Day One with not having a fence across the back property line.  We built the Fence To Nowhere along the east side of the Way Back, but Duke Power (which has an easement on the back portion of our property for their transmission lines) wouldn't approve a permanent fence across the north property line, which would connect the FTN with our neighbor's fence that runs down the west side of the Way Back.  "Put you a nice hedge across there," said the man from Duke.

Yeah, right.  Did that...did NOT work for us.  Created a huge issue.

Well, two issues, really.  Number 1:  critters from far and near can enter the Way Back any time they darn well please; and Number 2:  our dogs can't police our property because, well, they are hounds.  Hounds=all nose, knows no boundaries.  And no fence=potential disaster if one of them follows his/her nose over into the next neighborhood...which Gus did just the other day when he was in the Way Back, supervising Mr. T's activities.  Elmo...the blind one...has gotten almost as far on occasion. We have a new no-tether law in Guilford County, so we can't put them out on leads when we are in the garden...and we certainly can't just let them run loose.  Enough, already.

So, new plan.  We are going to put up TEMPORARY fencing to close the gap.  Metal posts, sunk into the ground, with vinyl-coated galvanized wire attached.  Oh, sure.  The wood fence would have looked better, but that would be considered permanent.  So, we'll see if this will fly with the powers that be.  We actually have some of this up IN the garden, serving as what we call the Bean Fence, where our pole beans would have grown into lush, green vines...if only the bunnies hadn't devoured the tender shoots.  Well, now all I have to say to you bunnies is BEWARE: enter our garden only if you dare!

Meanwhile, in our spare time, we've been doing a few things inside of the house.  Moving furniture (yet again), putting pictures up on the walls (help - I'm running out of wall-space...:), changing out some lighting fixtures, putting new batteries in the smoke alarms and new filters in the heating returns, etc., etc.  You know...just some stuff.

And that leaves Build a Garden Shed.  We have pondered...and researched...and sketched...and measured...and done it all over again...and again.  Mr. T even took landscape timbers and laid out the foundation dimensions...first one way, and then another, until we got it sited just right.  And, we finally decided on a do-it-yourself kit from Home Depot.  Hopefully that link will take you to a picture and description of our future Garden Shed...only where it has a red door, we will have one painted Blooming Wisteria.  I kid you not.

We went to HD tonight to place our order for the shed kit...and pallets of mulch, garden soil, and all the materials to build a simple deck in the garden (just a few more items on the To Do list, don't you know?...:)...which will be delivered on Thursday.  And, then the W-o-r-k will begin in earnest.  As if, all that we've been doing up until now is p-l-a-y.  As if.

Stay tuned for updates...and more than likely, photos.  You know you'll have to return to see a picture of Patricia's Purple Door, right?  And, also, whether our marriage can survive building a garden shed together.  I just love a test, don't you?

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

It's a New Month

November 1st.  Really?  Can it be November already??

Before I go too far with this whole "where has the year gone?" theme, let me post a couple of photos I took as October wound down to a close.


Ghosts and Houndz on Halloween
 This one (left) is of our front door, with the 30+ year-old ghosts adorning the porch lights and the dogs behind the glass (see Gus and Duchess down at the bottom, looking out, with Elmo sneaking up behind them?).  Behind the glass, guys.  Stay!  Yea, like that was going to work with all those kids-in-costume coming up the steps...obviously here just to pet the houndz, right?  I had both door and dog duty on Sunday night...something I didn't think I'd be able to handle by myself.  But, I employed a system that worked surprisingly well.

I kept the fence up at the top of the steps.  Fence, you say?  If you've been to our house, you know we have about 6 or 7 steps leading up from the front walk to the front door.  At the top of the steps is a wide front porch that is about 8 x 25 feet.  Mr. T...inventive man that he be...came up with the idea to create a removable "fence" at the top of the steps, re-purposing (love that word...:) one of the "old" wire closet racks (remember...from the Master Disaster in our closet when we'd first moved into the house?), turned on its side and fitted into a rack-anchor attached to the bottom of the hand-rails on either side of the steps.  Clever, isn't it?!  Fence up:  dogs can go out the front door and see what's happening in their front yard, but can't get off the front porch...safe and sound.  Fence down:  people can come and go without ever knowing it was there...unless you notice the anchors and wonder what they are for.

So, with the fence up, I left the wooden front door open, with just the glass storm door shut.  That way, I could see the little ghosts and goblins as they approached the front steps, even from where I was sitting in the great room.  Then, before anyone could get past the fence and ring the doorbell (which just sets the dogs to barking without stop), I could go out the door, saying:  "Don't worry about the dogs; they just want to greet all of our guests."  The dogs were contained, but happy to be able to interact with everyone that came to see them.  And, almost all of our Trick or Treaters got excited to see the puppies.  One or two exceptions to every rule, of course.


Christmas UFO Being Blocked on Halloween
 Anyway, while I was working my system and waiting for the next visitor to come trooping up the steps, I was putting the finishing touches on one of my UFO's...that red vest I'm making for someone's Christmas gift (right).  It wasn't detailed work...or anything that required me to concentrate on a pattern or a complicated stitch...I'd done all that already.  Mainly stuff I could work on, put down quickly when someone came up the steps, and then pick up and return to where I left off.  Just K1, P1 ribbing; then some binding-off and weaving in of ends; and then finally a little steam-blocking.  Technically, it's still in the UnFinished Object column, since I haven't sewn on the buttons...haven't even purchased them yet.

I was flying solo this weekend because Mr. T had gone to Louisville last week to work for his company in a trade show.  Of course, since that's where Missy M happens to live, he was happy when they asked to work there.  Sure, no problem.  And, since he had already made the trip there, he might as well do a little DIY while in town, right?  Oh yeah...the Daddy Do list was both long and color-coded.  Am happy to report they got a lot of stuff checked off that list.

It was touch-and-go whether he would actually get to go.  On the eve of his departure (as well as my own planned business trip to Atlanta), my back locked up with one of the worst spasms I've had since my car wreck in late '05.  L-o-n-g story short, he went and I survived.  Better now, thank you.

So, back to that "It's November!"  I tried to get a lot of stuff out of the way (like catching up on emails, paying bills, etc.) today so that I could get started with the National Novel Writing Month:  NaNoWriMo.  Good news:  I did get started.  Better news:  I was able to write 2,336 words before the clock ticked over to a new day (which it has while I'm writing this post)!  Yee ha!!  Since the math says that to reach a goal of 50,000 words in 30 days (i.e., To Win), you must write 1,667 words a day, I'm thrilled at my count for the first day.  Plus, I got the file/document all set up in Word without saying too many of those words that I probably would be shame-faced to include in my novel!

I'll just say it here and now:  I'll probably neglect my blog over the coming days and weeks, because...although I treasure my time to write, I do occasionally require a bit of sleep.

Like now.  It's time to go recharge the batteries.  Too tired to spell-check or edit...hope this post makes some sense.  [Yawn.]

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