The House
It’s a slow go. We are doing the rest of the work ourselves....I guess. Tired of dealing with contractors. We haven't had one to complete a job yet. Same story, different contractor all the time. We will be back to complete so and so and NEVER show back up. Paul and YouTube have become one. How did we figure out how to do things before YouTube? 🤷🏼♀️
Paul has installed all the cabinets in the kitchen and butlers pantry. Of course he did have me helping. My job was to help lift cabinets and hold them against the wall while he put screws in it. Paul also installed and plumbed the farm sink. I painted bathrooms so Paul could began laying tile and set vanities. He got the tile laid in Brantlee’s bathroom and set the vanity. I'm sure it was a sight with me, Brantlee and Paul toting a 7ft vanity up narrow stairs...including a turn to the right halfway up the stairs!!!
Ceiling fans are installed in the upstairs bedrooms and loft. Sheet rockers didn’t pull the electrical cords out when installing the sheet rock. It was a mess punching holes in ceilings to try and locate them. Paul had to do some patch work before lights could be hung. Paul also sprayed the living room and office with gray paint. We are thinking our goal may be to finish the upstairs and live there until we can get the downstairs completed. We get more done when we are both there and quit frankly we are just tired of living apart through the week!!
We have gone back and forth on the old sheathing that is in the kitchen and stairwell. Originally, we were going to clean it up and paint it. Then we thought it would probably be easier and look better to install shiplap on top of it. Last Sunday, I worked on the Sheathing in the kitchen. I hammered in nails, puttied holes and bad spots, sanded the wall down and kiltz it. It doesn’t look too shabby. We are thinking we will go with the sheathing for now. We can always go back and add shiplap later. The sheathing seems to bring out the charm to this old house, after all it’s been there 87 years!! It will look even better once the French doors are trimmed out and a good coat of white paint.
Our friend, Len Bell, is making our island top. Paul and I dropped off 3 slabs of wood a week or so ago to him. The wood is live edge ambrosia maple. Ambrosia Maple has been infested with a beetle. The beetle bores a small hole in the wood, bringing with it a fungus that gives the maple a patchwork pattern of gray/bluish colors and the usual maple white coloring. I'm hoping when it’s varnished, the beetle marks will look more blue than gray. Len sent a picture of the wood put together. We can’t wait to see how it turns out with varnish. It's such a pretty wood!!
The Animals
Paul got a roof on the chicken coop🎉. I am getting geared up to start raising chickens. Baby chicks are on order for June delivery.
I ordered some Polish chicks and Frizzle Easter Eggers. We could possibly get some Silkies in April. We will see how that pans out. Paul and I took a little trip to Gatlinburg back in February. I found a person close to Gatlinburg, who builds and sells mini chicken brooders.
My sweet hubby drove me out there to pick one up. They also raise Silkies. I loved seeing all his chicks!!! If only he had had some available to purchase while we were there!!!😆
The cow vaccinations have been over due. Every time I would plan to get that done, it would rain, storm, or snow. When I saw that last Saturday was going to be a pretty day, I informed Paul that it would be Cow Vaccination Day. If you don’t know, Paul is a BIG procrastinator if it’s not something he has interest in doing!!😂 I bought all the vaccines and needles. When I returned, Paul was knee deep in tiling. Luckily, Brantlee was with me and she helped me get started. We caught Candy, Barry, Brista, Dixie and Heidi. Brantlee coaxed Candy in the chute and I caught her in the head gate. She did so good!!! No drama at all! I was feeling pretty accomplished. Remember, Candy was the one that got stuck in the chute in December, because I opened the headgate backwards in hopes she would go back in the corral. I was NOT going to do that again. I opened the head gate the correct way so she could exit by walking forward. Would you believe she actually walked backwards all the way back into the corral🤦🏼♀️🤷🏼♀️. Go figure!! I have determined cows are just oversized teenagers. They will always do the exact opposite of what you want. Next up was Barry. Brantlee got him coaxed into the chute. Paul showed up to help. This is where things began going downhill. Brista escaped the headgate once, but Barry escaped twice!! We literally had to catch Barry three times in the corral. Barry mashed my finger and kicked a board against my hand. Dixie did great until the last shot and then went bizark. Britta fell to her knees and looked dazed for the rest of the day. Lita, Candy and Heidi were the ones that wore their big girl panties to Vaccination Day. Izzy and Si are on probation for extreme and unnecessary behavior. We could not get them in the headgate. We had to put a halter on both and hold on tight to give shots. It was not pretty!!! Millie went in the headgate because she was ALL excited about the buffet she was offered. I put the first shot in her and she bellowed. Paul hollered something. I looked up and saw Paul had white stuff on his pants. I though I missed Millie and squirted the meds on his pants. I said, "Well, I guess I will try again." Paul said, "What do you mean?" I said, " I though the medicine went on your pants and not in Millie." He said, "No, you got her with meds. She spit out all her food on me and the ground when you stuck her!!" 😂😂 Turns out the white on his pants was caulk😂. Vaccination Day was pretty traumatic for us all. We were exhausted!! If it had to be done more than once a year, I might have to rethink cows altogether!! Luckily we only have 11 cows, verses a neighbor down the road that has 175!! I can't even imagine!!🤪 A squeeze chute would have made it easier though...(hint hint, Paul)
I had given up on Wilma having a baby. I thought she must have aborted her baby at some point. I even turned her back out to the pasture. I put together a little collage of Wilma‘s butt photos😬asking for opinions about her pregnancy status in one of the cow groups I’m in. Luckily most everyone thought she was still pregnant and one person guessed delivery late March or early April. We shall see. Only time will tell.
- Your sadness increases
- Your complaining increases
- You start second guessing
- You want to go backwards
Sadly, I can check mark all 4. I have prayed and prayed over this situation. As a teacher, mother and wife, I feel like I am constantly repeating myself over and over. It can get pretty frustrating at times. I can only image God feels the same way with me having to constantly remind me Joy is Coming. Nevertheless, He never fails to send those reminders when I need them. Whether it is reading a post on FB, seeing a sign in a store, a devotion, a word of encouragement, or a song continually popping into my mind. God is good!! When I stop and think about all the things Paul and I have accomplished, all the laughs we have had over the animal’s or us being stupid. All the dreaming, planning and working together to accomplish those dreams. The process is totally worth it. Francesca Battistell's, song "God is Good" says it best. There is definitely beauty in it all. You just have to look for it. Psalm 30:5 says, “.......weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.“
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