Sunday, July 28, 2019

Me and my bright Ideas....


First, I got a not so bright idea......  

Our vinyl flooring that is suppose to be "life proof" is anything but.  Eric installed the kitchen dining area last month.  There are scratch marks everywhere. 





I called Home Depot, explained my disappointment with the flooring and asked what my options are with the "lifetime residential warranty."  It turns out to be quite the process with an estimated 4 to 6 weeks time frame.  Flooring has come to a stand still until we know what our options are.  
If the warrant holds up, we will need to uninstall and reinstall something else.  If the warranty is not honored, we will have to live with the relatively expensive, very scraped up floor.  I do not see a pleasant option.  
FYI: We bought Lifeproof rigid core luxury vinyl flooring with a lifetime residential warranty. It looks, feels, and installs much like laminate, but it's vinyl.  We shall see what happens......




 Eric didn't make it to the end on the day he started putting it in.  Installing a deck is a LOT of work, especially when you have to shave off an inch or two from each board. Eric strategically placed loose boards over the remaining holes so we could walk on it.  


With all the To Do's and jumping from project top project, Eric was finally able to get back to the porch this week.   

I helped him.  It was hot and uncomfortable.  And the wood was heavy.  We were out there for hours.
The wood weathers quickly.  

Eric has the end pieces to finish. Then I will power wash and seal the wood.




When I moved to a farm house, I embraced the idea of completing it in a farmhouse style despite the current trend farm house decorating.  No farm house is complete without a little ship lap somewhere!
I decided that it would be a good idea to salvage some of the decking that was under the covered portion of the original porch.  
                                          1. Pull up decking without destroying it.
                                          2. Pile up the boards and cover the piles to protect the wood from the rain.
                                          3. Take the nails out.
                                        
                                          4. Stack the boards on the new deck.

                                          5. Pressure wash each board (ALL sides).

                                          6. Line up boards vertically to dry.

                                          7. Lay out boards.
                                          8. Whitewash each board.
                                          9. Line up boards vertically to dry.

                                          My home made ship lap!

And, as if I had not moved each board enough times already.... 
The most recent step was to move the boards back onto the deck, this time vertically, all along the house to protect them from rain, dirt, and damage.

My bright idea is to have Eric put the boards on the ceiling in the living room.  Immediately was not in Eric's schedule, along with his laundry list of "To Do's" - hence the most recent step.  



I am going to be mentoring a scholar class in the same homeschool group we met with last year:  GEORGICS.  Yay!
I went to Utah for the training.  (Amelia came too.  She will student mentor in the Shakespeare class.)  I am really excited and motivated.  Part of the class is doing personal projects growing living things.  I get to do one too.

Yep....  My next bright idea.  I want GOATS!

I figured out where I want the animals.  But we have to put up fencing.  But before fencing, we need access to the desired fence line.  I thought it would be good to be able to get the 4 wheeler in there too.

The south side-
Before:

Working:

After:


The west side-
(Some of which was an old access road on the property many years ago.)

Before:

After:

I'm hoping to have the fence in sometime this fall.
                                        


Eric had a bright idea too....  We went to Home Depot on a date night again......  
Side note:  going to Home Depot for date night while completing or renovating your house can be a dangerous move.  I think this has been my most expensive date to date.

Eric decided we should buy all new kitchen appliances!  I picked out exactly what I wanted.  They arrived just fine, but Eric had to install them.  
Propane is NOT the same as gas.  Just sayin'  
Eric converted the stove from gas to propane.


All the appliances are in and everything functions properly!


Scott and Naomi have been true homesteaders, helping as much as they can, offering their help even when i don't ask for it.  Elanor and Amelia has helped out too.  Seth is usually working, but he helps as much as possible when he is at home.  

Sunday, July 21, 2019

Butts and Ducks

I live is such a beautiful place!  After being away from home for 5 out of 6 weeks, I appreciate my surroundings all the more.


We started off the week by swimming at the creek.  This is the "third crossing" down the dirt road from our house: less than 2 miles away.


I took many pictures!  Almost every time I tried to take a picture, there was a behind facing me.  Once every butt was aimed at me.  I couldn't resist.  Ha ha.

I got a bit frustrated and had to ask that they all look at me.  And this is what they gave me.....

The duck pose!

NOTE": Amelia was at EFY (church camp) this week.


We also canned some lovely tree ripened peaches.  Scott and Naomi walked through every step of the process with me.  Elanor helped a bit also.





Eric installed the flooring in the pantry, finished it with trim, and set up the shelves.
I have a functioning pantry!



We bought more shelving units than would fit the pantry and put those in the laundry room for now.


It feels wonderful that things are starting to have a place, rather than shifting and reconfiguring piles.


The reoccurring thought that has occupied my mind lately is prioritizing.  Am I prioritizing the right things, the best things?  Are my priorities aligned with Eric, and more importantly - are they in harmony with God?  Do I have effective systems in my home?  I have been telling myself that I'll get to that when the house is finished, or when we get fencing in, or when, when, when.....  I realized that I have been waiting for an event in order to change the things I know I need to change, rather than making a different choice now.  Realization is half the battle.  Change is happening!  
I am grateful for the Holy Ghost who guides, directs, and prompts me to change for the better.


“Prayer is a key. Pray to know what to stop doing and what to start doing. Pray to know what to add to your environment and what to remove so the Spirit can be with you in abundance.
“Plead with the Lord for the gift of discernment. Then live and work to be worthy to receive that gift so that when confusing events arise in the world, you will know exactly what is true and what is not."  - President Russell M. Nelson




















Sunday, July 7, 2019

Do you ever feel like giving up?

Do you ever feel like giving up?  Like when you have a huge to do list and it is overwhelming, so you just do nothing?  Or when something seems so impossible that you just don't try?  I have.  And then I experience nagging or guilty feelings and eventually change my mind to at least do something, to move forward in some way even if it is small.  Then things seem to be a little easier.  Thus it follows that I shall not give up on myself.

A few have asked about my rash.  It is better, but it still persists.






Even when my rash subsides, usually after about 2-3 months, I still itch all over, all the time.  This has been the case for the last several years.  Except for a a short time earlier this year.  I have hope that I can get back to where I was earlier this year, of living itch free once again.



“Jesus meekly partook of history’s most bitter cup without becoming bitter!
Can we, in turn, partake of our tiny, bitter cups without becoming bitter? What a wonderful way for us to witness, especially to those we love the most...
In the ebb and flow of life, can we meekly respond as did the preparer of the Way, John the Baptist? Unselfishly, he said, “[Jesus] must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30).” - Neal A Maxwell