It seems the house is at a standstill, since they started on the upstairs. The upstairs would not have passed inspection, so all the beams and joist had to be reinforced. It has taken at least three weeks and a ton of extra wood to reinforce the walls, floors and ceilings. Unfortunately, it has taken a huge chunk of our renovation budget that was not planned for upstairs. The upstairs floorplan had to be redrawn, because the walls could not be pushed back they way we had originally planned to allow more space upstairs. I was really sad that the original plan would no longer work, but Anna came up with a new floorplan that works.
Thursday or Friday of last week, they actually started building back interior walls. The upstairs bathroom has been framed in and I'm anxious to see how the other rooms look when framing is complete.
All new electrical has been installed downstairs. HVAC installation has begun. All the duct work has been installed. So far, the only thing we have not liked is a random vent that was just cut into the wall.
Paul mentioned it to Keegan and we are hoping they can figure out something else for that vent. Plumbing started a little last week. If you don't want to crawl under the house to install plumbing, then just cut out plumbing channels in the subfloor!
Plumbing should began for real on Wednesday of this week.
Paul and I picked out tile last weekend. I think we have found what we are going with in the master bath.
We received cabinet layouts again this week and we are getting close to starting construction on the cabinets.
Since my last blog we have added two new bulls to the herds. We bought Barry White in Tennessee. He is 1/2 Silver Highland and 1/2 Blue Albion. He is the cutest little bull. I just love his curls on his face. He will have his work cut out for him next summer. He has a bunch of pushy ladies he will have to get under control. I'm confident he can handle it.
A couple of weekends ago we drove to Indiana to pick up a Mini Jersey Bull. He is a sweet & beautifully painted bull. We took our trailer out on the road for the first time. We had no problems getting there and loved meeting Fitz's owners. Before we renamed Fitz, his name was LB Hot Shot. Indiana was a 3.5 hour drive each way, but it took us more like 5.5 hours to get back because we had 2 blowouts on the trailer. We knew the tires were bad, but hoping against all odds we could make this trip without having to purchase any tires.
We had decided to sell the trailer after this trip, because we really need a stock trailer that does not have the divider going down the middle where animals load. However, about an hour into the ride home we hear the blown tire sound. We pull over and talk about blown!!! I have never seen a tire look like that. Paul unhitched the trailer and sent me out to find a new tire. Paul stayed on the side of the road with Fitz and the trailer. We really couldn't have broken down at a more perfect spot. We were at an exit and there was a Tractor Supply about 5 miles away. I was so concerned I wouldn't be able to get back to Paul, but all went well and luckily I bought 2 tires. Paul is the only human that would say, while changing a tire on the side of the interstate, "Get a video of me changing a tire for your blog". 😂
Then when I start videoing he says, "Little Lady, I'll have you back on the road in just a second."😂 We made it another hour down the road before the next tire blew, but this time we had the spare I had purchased. Brantlee enjoyed playing with the cow and looking at her phone while on the side of the road. We prayed for that third tire not to blow.
Our trailer did sale shortly after we returned from Indiana and we are currently looking for a stock trailer...live and learn!!
We have sectioned off part of the barn for the donkey's to have a run in. The inside had turned into a big mess, between leaks and all the poop. There had already been a good bit of cured manure, so it was time for a cleaning. Paul and I got our shovels and shoveled poop forever!! Those sweet babies have a clean area and fresh hay to bed down on now.
Cows area is clean also, although they don't seem to like the barn as well as the donkeys. We also cleaned up around the barn. When we cleaned out the corral, we never got rid of the old wood we had piled up and now grass was growing up around it. We picked up all the old, rotten wood and loaded it on the trailer.
We even cleaned out the old tack room in the barn. It just makes me happy to throw away junk in and around the barn!! We have a ways to go, but we got a good start on it.
Last Thursday, I was out mowing and found a baby squirrel in the grass. His little arms and legs were flailing. He looked to be about 2 weeks old. Brantlee and I got a rag and picked him up. He was so sweet and sooo little. I rushed out and bought him some puppy milk and goat milk. He ate a little. We tried to keep him warm with a sock filled with rice and a jar of hot water. He kept squirming away from the warm areas. The next day I went and bought him a no shut-off heating pad, a plastic container to use for his new bed, and a syringe and nipple to feed him with. He was doing so good and drinking milk. I took him to work so he wouldn't miss a feeding. All seemed to be going well and then Saturday he just stopped eating. He seemed to have diarrhea by Saturday afternoon and then started bleeding. I stopped giving him milk and started Pedialyte. Sunday morning he actually seemed a little better. He stopped having diarrhea and was no longer bleeding. I had read to add plain yogurt and heavy cream to the milk, so I went to the store to pick some up. By the time we got back home he had passed away. How do you get attached to a baby squirrel in only 5 days??? I have shed quite a few tears and wondered why I even found the squirrel if it was just going to die. Thoughts began creeping into my mind that I hadn't done a good job caring for the squirrel. I had failed. My best wasn't good enough. When difficult times come into our lives and we find ourselves unable to understand; the enemy is quick to throw doubts and questions into our minds to keep us discouraged. Satan always tries to find out where we are weak, and then he will focus his attack on that particular area of our lives We find ourselves questioning God's goodness and God's wisdom in allowing these things to happen. God's word confidently reminds us that God does understand and things do not just happen haphazardly to the Christian, with no meaning or purpose. He will use this trial to help us grow spiritually, to help us mature and to become more like Jesus Christ. In the short time we had him, my whole family enjoyed that little squirrel, who we named Simone, until we changed it to Rambo. It will be a memory we will always share and an experience we won't forget. We were blessed and satan will not steal the joy of my Blessing by putting doubts in my thoughts. Joshua 1:9 says, "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid. Do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." Trials and difficult times are hard, but I wouldn't trade any of my trials, because I have seen God do some amazing things in my life through my trials. Small or large, embrace your trial, because God is at work to make you perfect and complete, lacking nothing. A trial is not a test of how wise I am or how I can solve a problem, but a test of my faith that God loves me and that I will joyfully follow Him.
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