Day Twenty six - Cooler Weather

It takes a lot of fluid to keep working when the temperature is in the upper 90's. But fortunately, the heat wave broke and today was very pleasant.

Life in general, like wedding stuff; baby stuff; and day jobs got in the way and nothing happened on the house. Not that I am doing anything on the house, but I used the day to give attention to my much neglected house and car interiors. In my opinion, pretty much a waste of such a pretty day.

I did venture up to the house late in the afternoon to get these photos and to just soak in the aura of my new house. Do houses have an aura? Maybe I was just bonding with the house. If I bond with it now, it will be easier to keep clean later, right?

This photo was taken in what will the the dining area. The ladder is standing near the future staircase. Behind it is the bathroom, closet, and laundry room.

This photo is taken from the living room area. It gives you a pretty good feel for the master bedroom loft. The area straight behind the ladder this time is my studio, the future home of several sewing machines and looms and one large antique oak document cabinet. I designed the studio with a spot for a long arm quilter to be acquired in the future.

I am looking forward to Nic getting the staircase in so I can get the feel of the loft. I considered trying to get up there with the ladder but thought better of it.

Day Twenty five - The Boys

I know I titled todays entry "The Boys" and this is not a boy but she might be a future builder.

Today Nic not only put his brother-in-law, Bryce to work but also his soon-to-be brother-in-law, Jake. They built the floor of my master bedroom loft.
Bryce helping with the staircase.
Nic on the other end of the staircase.

Hilary ask Nic why he was framing the house in sections since she had never seen him do that before. He told her because he had never built a "weird" house before. I didn't know my house was weird.

Day Twenty four - Walls

Nic worked on exterior walls today. He got Bryce and Tony to help him lift them into place.

This area will be my studio!!! Bryce may be in the kitchen, it's hard for me to visualize spaces at this point.

In this photo the guys are standing in the bathroom. Tony is in the shower and Bryce is on the vanity. Nic is in the doorway.

This was earlier in the day when Nic only had one wall up. I was standing southwest of the house when I took this picture.

Day Twenty three - Dirt Work

Dan arrived bring and early this morning and began pushing the dirt up around the foundation. He also did a little work behind the barn that should help with the flooding problem.

This will be the view out the west window in my studio (sewing room.)
If that doesn't encourage creativity, I sure don't know what it would take.

Sisters

I thought you might enjoy a photo of my beautiful daughters. This was taken this afternoon at the bachelorette party. Can you tell which one is getting married in a week and which one is having a baby in 8 weeks?

Day Twenty two - Heat

It is oppressively HOT!!!!! And I am not even going to try to describe the kirzillion percent humidity. So I thought I would just pull up a photo from last winter to help me remember how much I love my greenhouse on sunny winter days.

As I tossed and turned in bed last night (the upstairs of our rental house does not cool real well) I thought to myself, "this is only temporary. We always start getting cooler nights by the middle of August or so." Then I realized, IT ISN'T EVEN JULY, YET!!!!! Then I said a quick prayer and thanked my heavenly Father that I'm not living in a tent this year. And as He always does, God helped me go to sleep.

We all had lots of other things to get done for the wedding so the house had a one day suspension. On deck for tomorrow, dirt work. Followed by wall frames on saturday. That should make for exciting photos.

Day Twenty-one - Fathers

Nic, Bryce and Tony finished installing the subfloor this evening.  Bryce was in charge of adhesive application.

Nic positioned the plywood sheets and ran the nail gun.
Tony apparently supervised.  Well, he did hit a few nails that the nail gun didn't quite sink.  (Isn't he just about the cutest thing you ever saw?)
We celebrated Father's Day tonight.  Hilary smoked absolutely delicious spare ribs and made her world famous broccoli/grape salad; Andie prepared corn for the cob for the grill; I dug potatoes and cut cabbage and prepared both for the grill; Jake grilled the veggies and brats.  A good time was had by all.

It was way cool to have all of my family together, I guess maybe for the very first time we had the 11 of us at one meal.  I know how much it has always meant to Mama to have all of her kids/ grandkids together and but until recently I didn't exactly understand it.  I am guessing that my kids don't understand it either (for now.)

Day Twenty - Fondue

No news on the house today.  In anticipation of the wedding Tony got a haircut.  

We had a fondue party tonight.  Andie has really warmed up to her Aunt Susie.

By the way, I never looked this cute when I was pregnant.

Day Nineteen - Nic Gets a Helper

Well, the most exciting event of the day was the arrival of Susie and Bryce.  They got in about noon and it was great to see them.  I promise pictures of pregnant Susie tomorrow.  For today you will have to settle for Nic and Bryce installing subfloor.  It was incredibly HOT and I think Nic was glad to have the help.

Maggie just left to pick-up Jake at the airport.  She was pretty funny, trying to not show how excited she was, claiming that she was bored!  Jakes flight was delayed in Atlanta but should be in before midnight.

Day Eighteen -What He Sees, What I See

While Dan was here on Saturday helping Nic and Tony place the beam, we had him dig the holes for the water garden.  Tony and I hand dug the four ponds in the backyard in Bonne Terre.  That was five years ago and the memories are still vivid.  It was not fun!  Dan's method was much better as well as quicker.  And when it was all over, my back didn't hurt at all.

Once again, Tony and I see things differently.  This is what he sees.

This is what I see.

Day Seventeen - Is It a Ceiling or a Floor?

Dan, the dirt man, helped Nic and Tony set the beam this morning.  I missed this because I had an activity with the church youth group.  It is probably good that I didn't witness Tony walking on that little narrow wall.

I cannot believe my son walks around up on those walls like he was walking down his sidewalk.  Did you know he is acrophobic?  

By evening Nic had completed half of the sub-floor/basement ceiling.

Day Sixteen - Basement Wall

In anticipation of placing the beam tomorrow morning, Nic built the basement walk-out wall this evening.  It is so much fun to watch him work.  He does it right the first time, every time.  And it is so obvious he knows what he is doing.  How on earth did I birth and raise this kid?  

So You Think You Want a Greenhouse

I'm not sure this needs much explanation.   The indoor temperature is measured in the shade in the back of the greenhouse.  The outdoor temperature is measured in the front of the greenhouse right up against the polycarbonate.  I didn't hang out very long today, just watered and got out.

Day Fifteen - Beam me up, Scottie

Dan, the foundation guy, covered the drainage tile with gravel today and moved some dirt back up to the foundation but it is still pretty wet so he wasn't able to get it all moved.  Isn't this a cute little machine?  I want to drive some of this stuff.  Tony has found his second career at Walmart, I think my second career might involve operating this kind of equipment.

The lumber yard delivered this little ol' beam today.  It will go down the middle of my house.  I think it is about 40 feet long.

Day Fourteen - Meanwhile, Back in the Vineyard

Life goes on in the vineyard.  First the happy stuff like the adorable baby grapes on my Edelweiss grapes.  Unfortunately this is way too many grapes on a plant that has been in the ground less than 13 months. 

Later this week I will have to thin the clusters to one or two per plant.  I know it is what is best for the plant but it sure hurts to drop those healthy grapes.

And now for the unhappy stuff....The Japanese have invaded, Japanese Beetles (or is it Beatles?) that is.  We need to prune off the extra vegetation and tie up the canes so we can spray to control these nasty little pest and put a stop to this damage.  I really hate to use a chemical spray but there are way too many to hand pick this year.  Research shows that the pheromone traps actually attract more beetles than they destroys.  So until someone discovers a natural predator, I guess I'll spray.

Day Thirteen - Degrees of Slickness

Oh, how I wish I had paid more attention in Soil Science class.  I remember that wet clay is slicker than snot but what about really wet clay?  It seems like it has something to do with geese.  Oh, I remember now, it's spit!  Really wet clay is slicker than goose spit!

Needless to say, nothing happened on top of the hill.  We had some pretty heavy duty thunder storms roll through during the wee small hours of the morning and it continued to rain heavily most of the morning.

Day Twelve - Rain, Rain, Go Away

It rained again today.  So I have no news and no photos.  Maggie spent the day here and we did some pre-wedding stuff.  I'm pretty glad she was here as the weather in southern St. Francois County was much worse that in Franklin County.  

Day Eleven - The Difference Between Men and Women

Apparently Tony and I see things differently.  I assume it is a gender thing; it could be a left brain, right brain thing; or maybe a mathematician, horticulturalist thing. 

This is what Tony sees............

This is what I see.....................

Day Ten - Tar-nation

The foundation crew removed the forms this morning.  Nic installed the drainage tile around the foundation perimeter.  Tony painted on the tar waterproofing.  Tony is an incredibly neat painter but still got the stuff all over himself.  Lordy, Lordy, I can imagine what I would look like if it had been me.

Day Nine - Ruts

Question of the week: What do you get when several loaded cement trucks travel on a very muddy driveway?

But by the end of the day the foundation walls were all poured.

Day Eight - Utility Poles

It is pretty muddy on top of our hill.  Fortunately we didn't get any more rain today so the foundation crew will probably be back tomorrow along with countless trucks of concrete.

The guys from Ameren U.E. (the power company) got one of two poles set.  They won't actually hook up the electricity until the breaker box is under a roof.

Day Seven - Foundation Forms

Today the forms for the basement walls/ foundation went in.  This is a view from one of the guest rooms.  This short retaining wall will create the perfect spot for a hot tub!  That wasn't in the original budget so I guess it will have to come later.

This is the vault/cellar.  It would take a lot of valuables to fill a vault this size or a lot of wine to fill a cellar this size.  I was thinking more along the lines of canned goods.

It was very humid all day and felt like a storm was moving in.  Well, it has arrived.  We probably won't be getting foundation walls tomorrow.  The vault look like a great tornado cellar, doesn't it?

Day Six - Comparisons

The foundation crew was able to get the footing poured today before our daily downpour.  The first picture of the vault was taken on Saturday; the second one was taken today.

This comparison shows what happens to a new gravel driveway when several concrete trucks back over it.

Hands and Feet

I'm not a huge fan of these ugly shoes but saw a pair for $1 on the Walmart clearance aisle and they were my size - 11.  I just knew that was a sign that I should buy them.   I thought they might be handy in the garden.  They have been great for navigating in the mud.  When I'm done I just throw them in the back of the truck and keep the mud out of the cab.    I think the white socks give them a little class.

I bruise easily but usually I have a vague idea when/how I get the bruises.  Not not this time.  On day last week I noticed that my left hand was very swollen and there was a small hard knot behind my first knuckle.  The swelling went down in a a day or two but left behind this colorful bruise.

Day Five - Oh Hail!

We got hail and over an inch of rain between 7 and 8 A.M.  That prevented the foundation guys from pouring the footings.

Day Four - Guest Room View

It Rained!!!

We needed a garden shower and that is just what we got.  It made the clay around the homesite slicker than slot.  That is a technical term used by soil scientist.  Dan was able to get the the rest of the footings dug and the forms built so we are still on track for pouring concrete tomorrow.  Since there was little progress to report on the house I thought I show you a couple of other things.  

We want you to know that you have a standing invitation to come visit.  Just as a teaser, this is the view from one of the guest rooms.

I was looking at the pile of rock and it occurred to me how perfect this rock would be for a waterfalls in a water garden.  Great, another project.  I was beginning to worry that I would run out of projects.