tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34692324167262649102024-03-13T22:01:09.278-04:00Barbs BlurbsGardening, raising kids, and other fun stuff,
all under the Florida sun.Barbie~http://www.blogger.com/profile/14431239835933503549noreply@blogger.comBlogger489125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3469232416726264910.post-4892081808679029052021-01-29T10:46:00.001-05:002021-01-29T10:46:08.037-05:002021 the year that skipped a year<p> HI! Miss me? Nope. didn't think so. It's 2021 and it seems we skipped a year. Easy to do when you can't go anywhere or do anything without risking the dreaded COVID. Needless to say we like most Americans have been watching the world go by, dreaming of eating out again and visiting friends on the regular. </p><p>Unlike most Americans we never managed to work from home unfortunately - but fortunately we also never had a loss of income. At first we were productive. No Horse practice? Let's take on another project! No FFA meeting, hmmm... let's get caught up on laundry. No gymnastics, lets relax a little....but then the doldrums set in. TV took over our evenings (and still does!) No human contact is wearing on all of us. We try to see a friend at least once a month, in an outdoor location and it helps. Truly it does. It's just not the same, and I'm afraid it never will be.</p><p>Things at work have gotten challenging for both of us. College is challenging for Troy...after all how much can you learn from your computer when it's your parents pushing you to get your next degree? LOL</p><p>We did a lot of projects around the house and yet so many of them are still not finished. 2021, you had so much promise. </p><p>I do have one "resolution" this year. I want to make a list of projects we started and didn't finish. I'll assign each project a month of the year and pick a weekend in that month to finally finish whatever it is. So many things were done "good enough" to get moved in but not as well as they should have been done. </p><p>One of those things is that dreaded paint color. I'm somewhat wondering what it would do to just add a gallon of white paint to the 4 gallons that are left. Would it be as drab? I need a decent neutral paint I can use here and there for walls that are still funny colors.</p><p>The house has been through a few changes and mostly all for the better. Roof excluding. We had more and more issues with it, the worst being the storm back in February which created all the other issues. They have repaired it several times and consensus is that it simply can't be repaired. It must be replaced. We've been living with a wonderful blue tarp *dripping sarcasm* for months on end. We ended up hiring an arbitrator who failed to do his job and then failed to even call us back when we inquired, and so now we have an attorney involved. GAH. Why are insurance companies such a pin to deal with? Furthermore, WHY does it cost so much to replace a roof? Oh wait, it's a necessity, that's why. GRRRR... Needless to say that once we knew the roof needed to be replaced we started skimping and saving. We have almost enought o cover it now, but it will leave us without any savings, and that is very scary. Can't wait to get past the point of no return so I can just deal with it rather than worrying about it. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RQ_Q5LYUa1U/YBQtkOcSbbI/AAAAAAAAKkE/oBonLhZ2-konudEIEP5-Omg7Obio8bWWgCLcBGAsYHQ/s382/7-24-2020%2B7-50-38%2BAM.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="382" data-original-width="251" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RQ_Q5LYUa1U/YBQtkOcSbbI/AAAAAAAAKkE/oBonLhZ2-konudEIEP5-Omg7Obio8bWWgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/7-24-2020%2B7-50-38%2BAM.bmp" /></a></div><br /><p>My girl and her prize winning ducks. I;'ll be back to share pics of the house.</p><p><br /></p><p>Barb</p>ibarbidahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875598378198484479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3469232416726264910.post-89871829954188240452019-07-02T13:18:00.001-04:002019-07-02T13:18:41.822-04:00It's July?July? Wait. How did that happen? I really wonder where the time goes some time. Is someone siphoning it and stealing away with my time?<br />
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Renovations continue and, par for the course things are breaking along the way and making progress difficult. Last night the freezer,The night before a drill, 2 days ago the dryer that we FINALLY got over from my parents. I thought I was officially free of the laundromat but possibly not. Oh, did I mention we had another roof leak? *Rolling eyes* Fell like I'm trapped inside the movie "money pit"<br />
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However things are starting to come together. Slowly still, but it IS happening.<br />
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Shopping for a dining room rug, and the kitchen completion. What a difference the new floor makes and just a few simple touches.<br />
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The laundry room before hot yellow and lavender... to a muted teal.<br />
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Along with the muted teal this bead board/wainscoting I run the bottom 4' of the wall. This project is incomplete as well. I need the cap board and put up some hooks and a few places for brooms and the like.<br />
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Progress on one of the 2 planters on the pool deck. Dang it was nice to start and finish at least one of our projects that we were working on. We also made a nice small planter of succulents as well.<br />
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The fence is in! WHOOT! The dog run is still in the works, but at least the biggest part of that project (The fence itself) is done. I'll need to add some mulch, rocks and either sod or artificial turf in there yet.<br />
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SO much more is still in the works. The new front door, the girls vanity and sinks, and the new freezer should all be finished by the end of the weekend. Things are looking up. We are keeping our chin up and looking forward to completing a few of the things that have been in the works for so many weeks now. </div>
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Moving forward, keeping on.</div>
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Barb</div>
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<br />ibarbidahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875598378198484479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3469232416726264910.post-48430006917482206332019-06-24T09:50:00.001-04:002019-06-24T09:50:18.484-04:00 Chicken Little or better known as BunnyFunny, I found this post in my draft folder. I always meant to follow up with a picture of the grown bird. Unfortunately Bunny passed almost a year ago when she tragically went over the fence, and a dog got a hold of her. She'd never been out of the yard so I think it was a shock to all of us that she managed to find her way out.<br />
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Anyhow, Here is a post all about this lavender/buff Easter Egger and a quick chronicling of her growth.<br />
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I little while back I introduced you to the newest generation of chicks around this house.<br />
This is Bunny, and I just wanted to share it's growth pattern. Bunny is a lavender and buff Easter Egger. Not a usual combination and since it is so and I spent so much time online searching for info on how it might turn out.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0bryHbCONG4/VUvGbBnVHvI/AAAAAAAAAuQ/4irJfoW7DvE/s1600/IMG_2279.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0bryHbCONG4/VUvGbBnVHvI/AAAAAAAAAuQ/4irJfoW7DvE/s320/IMG_2279.JPG" width="320" /> </a>Early on it looked pretty much like any chick really. Yellow with a hint of grey on it's breast and at the back of it's head. Maybe if you looked really close you'd say that some of that fluff was a tan color and not really yellow.</div>
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The first week or two it had those characteristics little cheeks as seen in the photo below. They were not nearly as big as some, but they were there none the less. </div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3CoZ5eGBuJw/VUvGcvhrGgI/AAAAAAAAAug/vlXOdBXEXak/s1600/IMG_2342.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3CoZ5eGBuJw/VUvGcvhrGgI/AAAAAAAAAug/vlXOdBXEXak/s320/IMG_2342.JPG" width="240" /></a> Wing feathers developed and the cheeks just sort of disappeared. Pretty quickly the down of the chick was being replaced by these adolescent feathers. Pretty little thing striped with a steel grey and just starting to see a little buff coming through as well.<br />
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As it's head feathers came in they turned a beautiful dark grey with light shafts.</div>
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Now this juvenile is starting to look like a chicken! </div>
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The buff color is beginning to be replace with a little darker of a color and is really quite striking.</div>
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Below is a set of shots of this birds comb. Easter eggers are known for being easier than some birds to sex by their comb shape and color pattern. However, this bird is proving difficult. It started out with a non-existant comb, then it was a single comb, then it began to turn colors YIKES! Rooster? Then the color faded back quite a bit. I'm thinking that the first few days of 90 degree weather caused the change of color. </div>
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Here the first wing feathers, and then again around 8 weeks. While the darker color is a concern for a roo it seems to be coming in spread out and not together at least so far....<br />
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Here she is all grown up. She really was a beautiful bird. I miss having the chickens around and I don't know if I iwll get away with "flying" under the radar at the new house. I'll probably try first with a duck or two next year. The girls will be in FFA so I'll have an excuse at least. :-)<br />
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<br />ibarbidahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875598378198484479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3469232416726264910.post-84540973672114333662019-06-14T13:17:00.001-04:002019-06-14T13:17:39.689-04:006.14.19 The renovations continueStill stuck on paint color. I don't suppose that's a huge surprise. I finally broke down and ordered paint samples from Samplize. I am SO EXCITED about this. They are essentially giant sticky notes you put on your wall. They can be moved around to see different types of lighting and locations throughout the house. I am expecting my samples Monday so you'd better believe I'm gonna have lots to say by next week. I ordered a bunch of very similar colors so I can really test out what the undertones are of each of them and get a feel for how truly close they are to a true color match. No more flesh toned pinkish brown paint for me, thank you very much!<br />
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The tile is nearly done in the living/dining and family rooms. Still a ways to go but it's really coming along. With any luck... and we all know I don't have much of that...in the next 2-3 weeks we'll wrap up all the BIG projects and be able to start on the small ones.<br />
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So I leave you a little tease... the front door/entry way as it stands now...not quite an after picture, but it's close.<br />
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<br />ibarbidahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875598378198484479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3469232416726264910.post-2369560633168983242019-05-22T14:30:00.002-04:002019-05-22T14:30:14.951-04:00Band Aid Colored PaintOr maybe the better title is Chameleon paint. I swear this color was a grey taupe when I picked it out in the store. However, when I got it home... not so much. In the can it looked like an exact match for the Band Aid brand bandages. On the wall it was a putty color. Now I've also seen it turn pink, and purple as well. It doesn't photograph well so I'll have to pull out my good camera once I find whatever box it is in. Living in boxes is so much fun! With any luck we'll be settled in by mid summer.<br />
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What color do I speak of? Old Map, by Behr. Here is a sample<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eocmY76K1js/XOWPdQ_sY2I/AAAAAAAAHpg/P0FeLir4DJgACZi3eRbgKsgzmCBBINqFQCLcBGAs/s1600/map%2Bchip.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="263" data-original-width="140" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eocmY76K1js/XOWPdQ_sY2I/AAAAAAAAHpg/P0FeLir4DJgACZi3eRbgKsgzmCBBINqFQCLcBGAs/s200/map%2Bchip.jpg" width="106" /></a>Taupe/Grey if ever I have seen it...the paint chip card, Old Map in the middle...Now I'll just say that when I saw that color I thought to myself, "Self, that color is probably going to go dark and grey at night and lighter and beige during the day" Apparently even when I talk to myself I don't know what I am talking about, because it looked absolutely NOTHING like that chip. Please, allow me to show you all the ways this paint has irritated me. Introducing, the vast array of colors i've now seen this paint be...</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">beige</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">nearly brown</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">pink</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">purple</td></tr>
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I swear to you everyone one of these pictures is taken with the same "camera" and is the same paint color. So yes, a cameleon. What you don't see is in many of these pictures it has a fleshy tone. Not something appealing, either. I love it in the bedroom where it doesn't get as much natural light but where the space is light and bright it feels drab. Ho-Hum. Shouldn't have bought 5 gallons of paint without trying it out in the space first, I suppose. Live and learn.</div>
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Barb</div>
ibarbidahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875598378198484479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3469232416726264910.post-32081621545113009882019-05-15T14:06:00.002-04:002019-05-15T14:06:46.876-04:00Progress, FINALLY!5.14.19<br />
Finally, some progress has been made.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qd5mW0ZwVt0/XNr7yhHyVjI/AAAAAAAAHnw/kzza6AS0gfUq80H5JE6zr4wK7965sDwMQCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_7134.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qd5mW0ZwVt0/XNr7yhHyVjI/AAAAAAAAHnw/kzza6AS0gfUq80H5JE6zr4wK7965sDwMQCLcBGAs/s200/IMG_7134.jpg" width="150" /></a>This past weekend I painted baseboards once it started to get dark outside. I don't like cutting boards or using any power tools outside once it gets dark in the summer. I know at least one of the neighbors has a toddler and I have experienced first hand neighbors that disturbed the sleep patterns of my kiddos. I don't want to be that neighbor.<br />
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Since i had some of the baseboards painted we went over last night. I stacked up the ones that were cured and started on the next set. Rich normally gets home about an hour after we do so once he ate he began putting in the baseboards for Savannah's room while I finished hanging the closet rods on the new organizer for her small closet. All that is left is the baseboards for the right side of the closet, to caulk the new baseboards and she'll be moving in by this weekend. She's super stoked and even though we started with a paint that didn't turn out quite right the room has truly come together and is just so sweet.<br />
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The blue that at first looked like a very BRIGHT neon blue settled down into a "babyblue" for the second coat, and after getting the woodwork back up and adding lighting is now very close to the color she wanted. It's kind of an icy grey/blue. What she wanted was an icy super light teal/grey. Either way it's turned out rather darling. She's happy...we're happy.<br />
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The new closet organizer is the icing on the cake. Poor girl is going from a full walk-in down to a 5' closet. The shelves and extra hanging space on one side will be monumental as she edges ever closer to that dreaded word.... "teenager." Over the next few years i'm sure this area will be the hardest hit in her room. ;-)<br />
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Tonight it's the year end Orchestra concert. They always do such a wonderful job. It's quite amazing how nice they sound. Especially compared to the elementary school productions. Hopefully she is getting better as well. She refuses to let me hear her play any more. over the summer she'll be forced to practice at home so I should hear more of her playing soon.<br />
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With any luck by this weekend I'll have more rooms to show you completed and even some with furniture! (Imagine!)<br />
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Soon I'll be onto picking out a paint for the overall living areas of the house. I'm dreading it already. I love some of the newer warm grays, but I'm just not a gray kinda gal. My entire work/office is based off a gray theme so it's just not a color I want all over my home as well. Problem is, I don't want a pink base, or a yellow base and I surely don't want green picking up either. That makes it a bit difficult. It leaves orange and purple based paint and I'm not specifically fond of the idea of them on the wall. Stay tuned, I'll keep you posted on the color drama.<br />
Barbie.ibarbidahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875598378198484479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3469232416726264910.post-45024191709524263642019-05-10T10:19:00.002-04:002019-05-10T10:19:33.081-04:00Mother's Day WeekendIt's Mother's Day weekend.<br />
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I'm thinking heavily of those that will be spending their day without their child(ren). My heart hurts for them. Aches for the losses that we share. While I take joy in the children I have here on Earth there are so many families that are hurting.<br />
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This weekend is sure to be a whirlwind. Lots going on at the new house. Construction continues though it will be very slow this week for sure. This week we will concentrate on bringing our plants from their temporary home at my parents and making a few trips to bring more of our personal belongings as well. The goal? Be able to move into the bedrooms at least by next weekend.<br />
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Great things are happening here:<br />
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Sorry for the crummy lighting it was starting to get dark.</div>
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Can't wait to share the progress!</div>
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Barb</div>
ibarbidahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875598378198484479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3469232416726264910.post-92037004096080149392019-05-06T14:21:00.004-04:002019-05-10T10:37:20.614-04:00The year, Two Thousand Nineteen.It's 2019. Not one, but 2 years after my last post.<br />
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It never ceases to amaze me just how quickly time flies.<br />
Update on Alabama - The 40 acres were cleared, burned fertilized and replanted. The new trees are roughly 1 ft. tall. Just infants. It turned out to be a good year to plant as rain has managed to hit the area at least every 7-10 days so there were no prolonged periods of drought for the new seedlings to tolerate. Our lass to date less than 10%. Mostly due to hogs and a few that simply were not as strong as the others.<br />
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Overview of the 40 acres. Looking down from the trail head.</div>
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The cabin FINALLY has a sump pump and the basement is now dry. We never could get the work done though and had to hire it out. Leave the dirty work to the pros, and I'm glad we did. Too much, and not enough time up there to accomplish everything else, much less the 7-10 day project it would have been for us provided nothing went wrong.<br />
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The old cabin also got some upgrades. We<br />
refinished the exterior. Rather than messing with the wood and trying to refit already retro fitted wood we decided to simply lay siding to protect what was already there. It may not look like much, but the contrast is stark when you compare it to the peeling paint and mismatched wood. This should keep us from needing to do much to the outside for a good 20 years or so.(With any luck at all)<br />
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My home gardens are no more. For that matter my home is no more. It's now a house, and someone else's not mine. We were technically "homeless" for the last 7 weeks, but we have closed on what will be our new home. LOTS of work there to complete. Roof issues, flooring issues, appliance issues, pool issues...the list goes on, and on. Not the list is the fact that we almost burned it down the first day we went by. We got a great deal, but the return for it is the work it needs. The backyard is wild and steep with a small creek with a conservation area at the bottom. We'll fence that part out so we don't lose the water loving dog, or endanger any small children that come by.<br />
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I'm excited about this next house. Excited to make it mine, to make it a home.<br />
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ibarbidahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875598378198484479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3469232416726264910.post-68241156241939091542017-07-10T15:43:00.001-04:002017-07-10T15:43:14.385-04:00JulyJuly should be the beginning of the thinning of the pines in Alabama. It also means they will be completely clearing the 40 acres we recently purchased as well. It will be cleared almost entirely. Only a few of the largest trees will be left, and only the healthy ones of those.<br />
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In preparation for the following months, when the remnants will be burned and the new trees will be planted we went ahead and made a purchase of just over 40 trees that will also be planted out at the same time. Most trees go dormant in the fall and young trees even more so. Once they go dormant we will be planting them in several sections of the entire acreage. These plants are meant to not only feed us, but also help keep the feed bill down for the deer, hogs, and turkey we feed year round.<br />
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A few of these specimens will find their way into the orchard, but the vast majority will be planted around the perimeter of the larger fields. We managed to get a great deal and we purchased the following:<br />
8 keiffer pear<br />
3 gala apple<br />
5 crabapple<br />
3 Fuji apple<br />
3 Arkansas Black Apple<br />
3 Fuyu Persimmon<br />
3 American Persimmons<br />
2 chinese chestnut<br />
3 Chicksaw plum<br />
2 Paw Paws<br />
and also 4 white oaks, and 4 saw tooth oaks, for the 40 acres to spread out the acorn availability.<br />
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So I have my work cut out. Now I have to figure out what varieties are being planted where and how many I can pull up to the orchard to protect them, and try to actually get a decent crop for us as well.<br />
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We have been up twice in the last few weeks to prepare for the heavy equipment that will be coming through the homestead. We need to make sure we keep our roadway system as intact as possible and that the crew don't damage things that we think are essential.<br />
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Next trip I will get some before pictures, and then in fall I will post after pictures. It will be sad to see the trees grow, but as the new growth takes place it will be lovely to see the changes that happen to the land then.<br />
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Barbie~ibarbidahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875598378198484479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3469232416726264910.post-38212995582861576902017-06-13T11:14:00.002-04:002017-06-13T11:14:34.382-04:00JuneJune is always a busy month. What with the rainy season looming if not already in full force, the garden production at full tilt, but not for much longer...the kids getting out for summer and of course figuring out what to do with the kids, where they will be who they will see. There are Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles and others that want to see them and visits to the farm, coordinating everything with work. *SHEW*<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7nTzEXyTaQM/WT_8Qy7lDYI/AAAAAAAABPA/56vr0h1SS1UmwYxAeEaanQm_CwEdfjTtQCLcB/s1600/IMG_8474.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7nTzEXyTaQM/WT_8Qy7lDYI/AAAAAAAABPA/56vr0h1SS1UmwYxAeEaanQm_CwEdfjTtQCLcB/s320/IMG_8474.JPG" width="213" /></a>This June has been busy just like any other, only more so. This June is competing for the busiest on record. Our first born graduated High School and we took him on a trip to celebrate. Cue the massive picture dump...<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PS4gPzs6C-o/WT_8Q6YMnoI/AAAAAAAABPI/IhsaT611e-wksWCEpBBUOMblRbk440TIgCLcB/s1600/IMG_8423.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PS4gPzs6C-o/WT_8Q6YMnoI/AAAAAAAABPI/IhsaT611e-wksWCEpBBUOMblRbk440TIgCLcB/s320/IMG_8423.JPG" width="213" /></a><br />
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So proud of my boy.<br />
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He even graduated with Honors. As soon as he actually takes his English class he will have a year of college under his belt as well. A great start to life as an adult.<br />
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Don't mind the sour face on girl child #2. She's just jealous. She wants to go on the celebration trip, too. Sorry girly.<br />
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So to kick off life as an adult we took the boy to the Bahamas. This has always been one of our favorite places to travel to. The clear aqua waters makes for superb fishing and snorkeling.</div>
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And did I mention that we also swam with PIGS? Too cool. These are domestic pigs. Dropped off on a tiny uninhabited island. Just perfect for people to pet, feed and the locals to harvest annually.<br />
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Did I mention that it is spectacularly beautiful?<br />
Seriously. Addictive.<br />
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We were not on the main island(s) we were on an out island. No touristy things to do. Actually it was hard to even find a souvenir, but at the local watering hole there were a few items available.<br />
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The weather was idyllic the first day, after that we had a lot of storms and cloudy/rainy weather. That's OK. We are form Florida and while the sun shines every day it also rains most days.<br />
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The cloud coverage helped with keeping the sun of our faces and the rain was much needed for the area. This particular island utilizes almost entirely rain water catchment. The main method of travel is golf cart, or (non motorized) bikes. There was not a siren to be heard, no arguments, none of it. Serenity at it's best. <br />
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So an incredibly busy month. in 2 weeks we will head back up to the farm and we are hoping, praying, and doing the NO RAIN dance so that we can finally get a sump pump into that basement and try to fix the water issues. Once. and. for. all. Wish us luck!</div>
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Barbie~</div>
ibarbidahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875598378198484479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3469232416726264910.post-63421490929087821942017-05-15T14:32:00.000-04:002017-05-15T14:32:18.478-04:00And then Some.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Some dry weather we've had here lately. Typically, I don't write about dry weather. But not because I don't like dry weather necessarily. Because it just doesn't happen often. I live in a swamp. Well, technically I live across the street from a swamp. But one thing about swamps is, they really don't like to be dry. </div>
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Because it's been a good 6 weeks or more without any measurable rain the bogs are all dry. The most amazing thing happens when you dry a bog. It's flammable. Seriously. </div>
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So the past 2 weeks my home has been surrounded by wildfires. We spent an entire week packed and ready for mandatory evacuations. Luckily that never happened to us, but across the street it did.</div>
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It's truly unnerving to look out your widow to see this sight. I could actually see the flames for 2 nights, and I didn't sleep much either. Now we wake up to the smell of fire every morning and as the morning warms and the breezes kick in the haze lifts. It's not so scary any more but we all know it wouldn't take much for this to happen again.</div>
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I am so thankful for my wonderful life, for my home and children. Believe it or not thousands of acres burned and no homes were lost. A few outbuildings, but no homes, and all humans remain safe as well.</div>
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Hope you are all safe.</div>
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Barbie~</div>
<br />ibarbidahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875598378198484479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3469232416726264910.post-5766990029638965582017-04-24T15:42:00.000-04:002017-04-24T15:42:39.605-04:00Shutting off Vs. Shutting down.I thought I would shut this space down. I thought by now it would be gone. But, I was wrong.<br />
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It's been well over a year since my last post and by some insane twist of fate my blog appeared on my screen today. I started typing something and hit enter, without even looking at the screen. Next thing I knew I was staring at a picture of the cabin in Alabama. I found myself wondering why I never post any more, and then looking back at the last few posts.<br />
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I know why I stopped posting. I was caught up in the devastation of how many hours, days, months, years - how many thousands of dollars and how much hope I had for this next adventure in my life. I knew it would cost sweat, tears and yes even blood. I didn't expect the emotional toll that it would take.<br />
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That beautiful cabin is still unfinished. The contractor fell very ill. (Passed away in February) He was unable to finish the job and his son stepped up to try to complete our project. Instead he left us worse off. We are yet to finish the basement out. It floods every other time it rains. We have plans to beat this, but we have planned before. Each time I think will be the last, and then it rains, and floods again.<br />
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Because we are spending so much time and effort on the basement, things like painting the interior and finishing the trim work, all are falling to the wayside. I haven't gardened properly since this all started and now my garden is so far gone. I will be starting over. A new plan is under way to make the space usable again, but like all our projects it's second fiddle to the cabin.<br />
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So my day to day life grinds on with all of the normal ups and downs. Life is busy, work is busy, kids are busy, but it's just an excuse I used to turn it off.<br />
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So - here I am again. I need a new outlook, and I am hopeful to continue in this space once more. I think my first few posts will be updates. It hasn't all been bad after all. There has been plenty to share, I was just not thinking that way.<br />
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Barbie~<br />
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<br />ibarbidahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875598378198484479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3469232416726264910.post-14214219755189905792015-12-16T12:40:00.001-05:002015-12-16T12:40:51.685-05:00Cabin<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-f6LbIQgRiIQ/VnGiJLQ_E1I/AAAAAAAABJw/lbBaVQPhAgI/s1600/IMG_0119-751686.JPG"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-f6LbIQgRiIQ/VnGiJLQ_E1I/AAAAAAAABJw/lbBaVQPhAgI/s320/IMG_0119-751686.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_6228938038156661586" /></a></p>
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<br>Sent from my iPhoneIt's finally coming together. The next 2 -3 weeks promises a whole lot of blood sweat and tears. We will be doing the floors, cabinets, doors, baseboards, painting and I am sure the million other things that will come up between now and finishing this project. I'm looking forward to finishing this up and at the same time I am dreading the work that must be done to finish it.ibarbidahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875598378198484479noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3469232416726264910.post-85617231935532431702015-10-29T13:43:00.000-04:002015-10-29T13:43:23.939-04:00HOMEThe progress may be slow on the cabin, but meanwhile at home there is a lot going on...<br />
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The travertine tile we chose arrived. it was 5 crates and just enough room to get it into the garage and still be able to pull the mower in.<br />
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After we got the delivery we went right into <strike>destroying</strike> renovating the house. While some parts were fairly easy, just time consuming, like pulling up the carpet and the tack, Other parts were quite a bit more difficult.<br />
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After several days of back breaking work trying to lift the old tiles out with a hammer and a chisel we finally rented this machine. It was kind of a mini jack hammer and that make the work much easier. Not that holding up a 40 pound jack hammer and chipping away tile is easy, but it was better than the weeks that it would have taken us to do it by hand.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-o_9ocu5EHJs/VjJX7mNa5mI/AAAAAAAABI0/_WPS6_xpusQ/s1600/BEF8E029-84BE-4CE2-87C3-50FAC01C7107.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-o_9ocu5EHJs/VjJX7mNa5mI/AAAAAAAABI0/_WPS6_xpusQ/s320/BEF8E029-84BE-4CE2-87C3-50FAC01C7107.JPG" width="320" /></a>Unfortunately once we got the tile broken up we found a few things that we were not expecting....at all! First and foremost the concrete was not poured evenly. For the most par this was fixed with varying the amount of mortar used under the tiles that were affected. In one instance we were left with a 'hollow' tile. That isn't pleasant sounding and may last a long time, but will be more susceptible to cracking and breakage in the future. Unfortunately at the double doors you can see in that picture there is a 6-8" gap that will have to have concrete poured in. Thank goodness for the easy DIY self-leveling stuff at Home Depot. We haven't done it yet but it's one of the next things on the list.<br />
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We have already laid the majority of the living/dining area (first picture w/couches) It's not complete yet, but getting there. It looking like another 2-3 weeks before it will be complete. Because the tile is being laid in a pattern I can't go tile the bathroom from the back forward and you can't tile from the front back because you are not supposed to walk on the tile. That means I have to do about 4 ft in and then one side leave it until the following time I can spend on it and then fill in around the toilet, bath, etc and only walk on the side that is set. There are a few areas like this otherwise we'd just work through it and finish this weekend.<br />
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I like the variability of the tile and when we are finished laying it all it will need to be grouted and sealed. The sealer will enhance the color. I imagine it will make it look more like the night time photo once complete. The grout lines are super fine as we abutted the tiles as much as possible but there are also small holes that will need to be filled. I think I'm dreading the grouting more than I did the demolition.</div>
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Needless to say the garden is still sitting on the back burner. I'd love to pay attention to it but there are not enough hours in the day. Of course right now even if I had more hours, I'm completely exhausted so I wouldn't be accomplishing much else anyway. The lemons and limes are coming in steady and nothing else is producing right now. I pulled up all the sweet potatoes. We had such a wet summer that most of them rotted. The ones I did pull up are already gone. I didn't let them cure this time, just ate them.</div>
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Tonight I go to a play my sons been working on N3RD and tomorrow the birthday fun begins for my twins. They will have the classroom cookies/cupcakes and a fun night of BINGO at school. Saturday will be spending dinner and the evening with the BFF and Sunday is church pick up pizzas & cake and then their party. </div>
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Call me late for bed! It's only just after lunch and I'm pooped already. *sigh*</div>
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<i>See you soon!</i></div>
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<b>Barbie~</b></div>
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<br />ibarbidahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875598378198484479noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3469232416726264910.post-50217923912265202662015-10-27T15:08:00.000-04:002015-10-27T15:08:46.308-04:003 more weeks, and still slowIt's been another 3 weeks and things are still not moving along. The only thing that has really gotten done is the back porch, and the window framing for the picture windows near the roofline. But otherwise construction in general is just not being done. We were there for 3 days and saw the guys for a total of 2 hours. The 2 hours directly prior to dusk, and of course that ruined the one opportunity we had for archery season. Ah well. Rifle season will be open next time.<br />
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3 weeks ago...............................................................................................This weekend<br />
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So some tar paper is the only difference in the front.<br />
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But the back is showing a bit of progress finally! The porch is on, YIPPEE!! We have stairs now to access the house and no longer have to climb a ladder or scaffolding.</div>
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In addition to that, the ability to sit on the porch and dream is a God send. It's really easy to get lost in the day to day of the construction when you are waiting so that you can do your portion of the work. We were told it would be done by October and then one delay after the next and we are looking at being lucky if it's ready by the end of November for us to do our part. That stinks because it will put a major damper on hunting season. Then again it will only be one season, right? RIGHT!?!?!?! Yes. This I am sure of. So there might be a few less pounds of meat in the freezer but the home being complete...will make it all worth it. :-)<br />
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We are traveling up every 2 weeks now because the final stages need so much input. How many sockets, where will they go? Where should we wire for this lighting or that lighting, what fixtures will we use, etc. It makes it feel exciting until the fixtures have been sitting for 3 weeks. Looks like they will still be there 3 weeks from now as well. So I'll update again soon. Hopefully the roof will be finished and the walls will be up at least mostly by then. *Crossing fingers*<br />
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See you soon!<br /><br />
Barbie~ibarbidahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875598378198484479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3469232416726264910.post-71172943948714492552015-10-06T10:33:00.002-04:002015-10-06T10:33:57.613-04:00Still progressingThe building has suddenly taken a turn for the slow. As in it's been on the back burner for a while.<br />
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The only thing that has managed to get done is the roof structure. Last time I posted pictures the frame was going in. Now 3 weeks later the tongue in groove is on, but so far the insulation plywood and roofing materials have not been finished. While the weather hasn't been helpful it also hasn't been the only reason things aren't getting done. I know that everyone who has ever built a home has some sort of horror story to tell and I consider myself lucky that so far at least what we have been dealing with is comparatively minor. But the contractor actually ran out of OlyLogs. Olylogs are the fasteners used to hold the logs together. Yes, the logs are jointed and there is a male side and a female side to make the fit perfect by itself, but these fasteners make the home just that much stronger.<br />
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Here is an illustration of the D logs that have the male and female joints. It's like putting together a giant jigsaw puzzle.<br />
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So needless to say not much got done without those fasteners. The building supply house couldn't get them in for 2 weeks and essentially it shut down all productivity.<br />
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Gripe over. things are beginning to move along again and here are the latest pictures.<br />
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Here is the view looking up from inside the cabin. The wood interior isn't going to be stained. We plan on simply sealing the wood. We absolutely LOVE the look of the wood just the way it is. The sealer should enhance the tone and knottyness.... Is that a word? I don't think it really is. LOL The floors and the exterior of the cabin will be stained and then sealed but we wanted to keep the interior as light and bright as we could. </div>
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The parents are heading up this weekend and we are hopeful they will bring back good news with them. Meanwhile we will be going up in 3 weeks. I can't wait. It's time to take measurements in the old cabin to figure out what is going where, and also time to pick our light fixtures and other such necessities for the new place.</div>
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<i>See you soon!</i></div>
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<b>Barbie~</b></div>
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<br />ibarbidahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875598378198484479noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3469232416726264910.post-86576154062358451232015-09-28T11:28:00.001-04:002015-09-28T11:28:55.704-04:00Harvest Monday 9.28.15<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mhsSYNoWTTo/VglcuKsPTjI/AAAAAAAABG0/kmHiyl5eZFQ/s1600/FullSizeRender-735704.jpg"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mhsSYNoWTTo/VglcuKsPTjI/AAAAAAAABG0/kmHiyl5eZFQ/s320/FullSizeRender-735704.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_6199588310265843250" /></a></p>
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<br>So many eggs I started experimenting with baking. Some things have flopped but other are a hit. My favorite but not the kids is a savory crust less quiche type dish. I made it in my cast iron skillet. It fluffed up like a soufflé and taste like a cross between soufflé and quiche. A keeper for sure.
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<br>This weeks harvest is actually much larger than it looks but it does consist of only these things. Lemons lines eggs and the very last beautiful yummy avocado.ibarbidahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875598378198484479noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3469232416726264910.post-42686591977195901702015-09-16T14:28:00.002-04:002015-09-16T14:28:31.001-04:00Sept 16thIt's been 2 weeks and progress was slow recently. A bad pattern of raining during the week and not on the weekend led to a large amount of down time on the cabin.<br />
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However - they were able to get the structure walls framed and they have begun framing on the roof. If it stays dry they'll be able to seal the concrete this week and get the dirt back around it.<br />
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Another 10 days when we go back and things should be buttoned up. We'll see. We are already past the original due date and as I stated to begin with I thought it was a ridiculous timeline. I just want it all done by October 20th so we can start working on getting the flooring started and cabinets installed.<br />
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Things are looking good!<br />
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The view is from the back of the house.<br />
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The "T" structure is made out of 2x4's for an idea of the size of the beams. They look little from here, but they are actually quite large.ibarbidahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875598378198484479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3469232416726264910.post-15679921868623582422015-09-01T14:03:00.000-04:002015-09-01T14:03:20.833-04:003 more days.I'll get to see it for myself in 3 more days. Meanwhile the builder took pity on us and sent some more pictures. Good thing. I was so anxious to see the color and texture of the planks. Now at lease I have an idea.<br />
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Of course now I've gone from wanting to see the planks to wanting to see the walls up. Can't please me, huh? hehe. Really though I'm just excited because this is the part of the build where every single day shows a drastic change. Once the walls are up and the roof is on the changes will happen slowly and there won't be much to look at. I mean, really - how exciting is it to see a plumbing doing our rough in? It's when the toilets and counters and tub goes int hat will make the difference. Same with the electrician. Wires? Big whoop - Light fixtures? COOL!<br />
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So since he let me see the last few days progress, I shall show you. Aren't you glad? ;-)<br />
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OOOhhh.... I can smell it from here. That fresh cut wood scent is intoxicating to me. It ranks right up there with the smell of leather and horses. Pure Bliss.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--mEcmgnDuFA/VeXKKjT8C5I/AAAAAAAABE8/yKN_Ak8GgEk/s1600/IMG_20150828_100910836.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--mEcmgnDuFA/VeXKKjT8C5I/AAAAAAAABE8/yKN_Ak8GgEk/s320/IMG_20150828_100910836.jpg" width="179" /></a>The dirt is still moved away from the cinder block/basement portion and I'm a little in the dark as to why. I thought they sealed it already, but I could be wrong. I'll find out on Friday night or Saturday morning I guess. </div>
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Just look at those teeny tiny windows in the basement. It makes me nervous for just how dark it's going to be down there. That and the fact there are a DOZEN columns through the basement... Eh it's supposed to be a safe room and storage mainly. I must remember this. Trying to make it somewhat functional is going to be challenging.</div>
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<i>See you soon!</i></div>
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<b>Barbie~</b></div>
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<br />ibarbidahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875598378198484479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3469232416726264910.post-15381814465042000582015-08-27T16:31:00.001-04:002015-08-27T16:31:08.063-04:00EEK! It's wood, isn't it!?<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aJFLZkT9_tU/Vd9zjPY8FQI/AAAAAAAABEQ/o319oX_HLh8/s1600/IMG_20150827_081136590-768064.jpg"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aJFLZkT9_tU/Vd9zjPY8FQI/AAAAAAAABEQ/o319oX_HLh8/s320/IMG_20150827_081136590-768064.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_6187791462294099202" /></a></p><p class="mobile-photo"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RPg4hB2O3O8/Vd9zjyy2G8I/AAAAAAAABEc/781pW6dj6BA/s1600/IMG_20150827_081104768-771215.jpg"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RPg4hB2O3O8/Vd9zjyy2G8I/AAAAAAAABEc/781pW6dj6BA/s320/IMG_20150827_081104768-771215.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_6187791471798000578" /></a></p><div class="WordSection1"> <p class="MsoNormal">Haha. What you see is the delivery of the planks. <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The builder must think I have a sense of humor here, because it’s just about killing me to see that wood he’s got under the tarps. Surely I won’t have to wait until next weekend, right? <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Oh- and check it out. The plywood and framing you see is our FLOOR… well the subfloor anyway. It’s also the ceiling of the basement. <i>*<b>Big cheesy grin</b>*</i><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I’m stoked they were able to deliver today instead of tomorrow, but really? Is it too much to ask to actually get a picture of the actual wood? <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Barbie~<o:p></o:p></p> </div> ibarbidahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875598378198484479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3469232416726264910.post-73462076826360575632015-08-27T11:56:00.000-04:002015-08-27T15:30:59.260-04:00August<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LXWLztSF-bU/Vd8srzE2O1I/AAAAAAAABDQ/nV-Pped7PxM/s1600/IMG_3161.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LXWLztSF-bU/Vd8srzE2O1I/AAAAAAAABDQ/nV-Pped7PxM/s320/IMG_3161.JPG" width="240" /></a>This month has been a heck of a whirlwind. It started with me coming home to find this little sweetheart of a pup stealing the show at home. He's a doll, but has some serious issues with mouthing and nipping at us. All puppies do and I know it's just a phase, but it is a painful one. He's learning and growing and I'm glad he's part of our family. So far he's more than doubled in size and I think the ears may have even tripled in size. ;-)<br />
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We also had a weekend trip to Alabama to see the progress on the basement. That went well. It was the pups first road trip, of many more to come I am sure. This is how we found out that he doesn't actually NEED to go to the bathroom every 10 minutes, he just wants to. We only had to stop 3 times so roughly every 2 hours. We also introduced him to the ATV, UTV and tractor. He may make a farm dog yet.<br />
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Mid month was a massive rush of getting ready for the first day of school. Hundreds of dollars worth of school supplies and clothes and shoes. I'm still feeling quite poor because of it. It also meant meeting this teacher, that teacher and oh- the AP courses have their own orientation. BUSY BUSY time.<br />
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But now the kids are back to school and things are settling back into the pattern of getting the kids up at 7, dressed by 7:30 downstairs by 8 - eating breakfast, walking the dog and catching the bus. Typically during the first few weeks of back to school we also manage to get in a swim or some gymnastics after dinner and before it gets dark. That will only continue until the time change, but for now I am taking full advantage.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-G-EpXhYE_ic/Vd8voBbNXXI/AAAAAAAABDg/dcI4YdXfA90/s1600/helpful.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-G-EpXhYE_ic/Vd8voBbNXXI/AAAAAAAABDg/dcI4YdXfA90/s320/helpful.jpg" width="219" /></a>This weeks project was to reinstall a barricade to help hide our pool pump... When we painted the house over the summer the original lattice was pulled down and even though we intended to save it to reinstall, the painters chucked it into their trash. So when a home that went into foreclosure finally sold down the road we spied a white vinyl picket the new owners were replacing with privacy fence. We stopped by to talk to them and they let us know that one of the workers wanted to take it. Oh well. They did say though that if the fence was still there the next day we could pick it up. Well - low and behold the next day it was still in the driveway. Since i had already gotten permission from the owner I stopped and filled up my truck with all that it would hold. Purloined with permission. :-D Oh I was happy. Did I mention it was the day before our Alabama trip? No - well that did make things a bit difficult and we worked well into the night to get the truck unloaded and the fencing stacked into the back yard.<br />
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Guess who helped dig? (Can you see the dirt on his nose?)<br />
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The kiwi plants were already beginning to topple over without the support even though I had cut them back to the ground when I had to remove the lattice.<br />
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GROSS. This fence was just disgusting. I don't know what in the world they did to it, but yuck!<br />
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So I put in the posts, checked to make sure they were level, installed the bottom board....and quickly realized this is nothing at all like dealing with a wooden fence. Ho, Hum. I did manage to finagle it in, but I had to had cut a few of the pickets in order to get the top rail on. It works, and you can't see the cuts now that it's all together but the second panel went in SO much smoother once I figured out NOT to install the posts first. LOL<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-S8jkMGE04FM/Vd8v5nHtENI/AAAAAAAABDs/cWnE1TTNUnk/s1600/IMG_3353.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-S8jkMGE04FM/Vd8v5nHtENI/AAAAAAAABDs/cWnE1TTNUnk/s320/IMG_3353.JPG" width="320" /></a>Eh- as these things go it went pretty well. A little time consuming until I knew better what to do. but all in all I would call it a success. </div>
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<span style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">The kiwi are much happier and I am too because now I don't have to look at this!</span></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yHLzlup5rCw/Vd8v5dsz8wI/AAAAAAAABDo/xUOGWxhqWtk/s1600/IMG_3354.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yHLzlup5rCw/Vd8v5dsz8wI/AAAAAAAABDo/xUOGWxhqWtk/s320/IMG_3354.JPG" width="320" /></a>It's definitely been an eye sore for the last few weeks but the kiwi will take over the fence before winter and then I won't have to worry about it any more. I'm also hoping that the fresh start for the kiwi will help it to produce some flowers next year because if it doesn't at least attempt to produce fruit soon it will be replaced.<br />
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I still have a few small things to do to wrap this project up. A sprinkler head needs moved, and the brick to protect he base of the vines needs redone. But for the most part it is done. I've washed the fence once (See last pic isn't as bad? But it needs at least one more attempt. It's still fairly grungy. I can't even tell you how bad it was.<br />
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So this project got put ahead of the wall for the blueberry planter and the wall for the main garden but those are still on the radar. We've just dealt with a ton of rain recently and when we've been able to dedicate any time to it we haven't been able to due to the standing water. This I knew wouldn't take as long and was quite a bit easier to do by myself. Thank goodness because it's starting to seem like the projects are piling up faster than we can do them.<br />
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<i>See you soon!</i><br />
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<b>Barbie~</b>ibarbidahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875598378198484479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3469232416726264910.post-86594277616614347342015-08-25T11:35:00.001-04:002015-08-25T11:35:36.610-04:00Egg basket<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WScXqes1g-Y/VdyLSTMj_ZI/AAAAAAAABDA/PvhdkFyZJ3U/s1600/FullSizeRender-736611.jpg"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WScXqes1g-Y/VdyLSTMj_ZI/AAAAAAAABDA/PvhdkFyZJ3U/s320/FullSizeRender-736611.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_6186973134607089042" /></a></p>
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<br>Sent from my iPhoneLooks like the ducks got jealous that I was talking about the chickens. Now we have yet another new color to add to the egg basket. :-Dibarbidahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875598378198484479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3469232416726264910.post-77738805752442950112015-08-24T11:51:00.001-04:002015-08-24T12:03:33.417-04:00Harvest Monday 8.24.15<div class="mobile-photo">
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Avocados are still the main harvest. However they will only be the focus for another week or two. All of the fruit I can reach is nearly gone. I may have another 10-12 out there and that's it. They've been great this year but I am still unsure if freezing smashed avocado will work and if it does how handy it will be.
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Also this week I have harvested the last pomegranate. The tree is dead and I am not sure if I will replace it because I don't know what killed it. Boo!!!
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Waiting on the bananas now. This is the first year I will get a small harvest<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fsLzHLfSvXU/Vds9ikRNv_I/AAAAAAAABCk/rDq2wISNEHg/s1600/image1-798385.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="200" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_6186606177184235506" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fsLzHLfSvXU/Vds9ikRNv_I/AAAAAAAABCk/rDq2wISNEHg/s200/image1-798385.jpeg" width="200" /></a>Also the new chicks are officially hens. They are all laying now. I've got a beautiful nest to pick up each day.
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Things are moving quick around here and while some projects (Like the new garden) are on hold for a while, others are getting started and some are even getting finished. So I'll be posting a bit the next few days. Then again, I always say that and i have the best intentions, but when I want to post I never seem to be able to.<br />
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See you soon!<br /><br />
Barbie<br />
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ibarbidahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875598378198484479noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3469232416726264910.post-11499531866583080542015-08-21T15:20:00.003-04:002015-08-21T15:20:52.461-04:00Still building!Of course we are. It doesn't happen over night. It does however seem to be going very fast. We had a slight bump in the road when the rains came and a small tornado took out the local Walmart. Since then it's dried back up and the masons have completed their work. We were able to capture the basement walls about 2-3 days before completion.<br />
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The walls are now complete and the floor joists are set. The floor boards are being installed now and over the weekend the staircase should be placed and framed in.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hIxIuzsnhB8/Vdd3XJPruhI/AAAAAAAABBo/LXCC7uuFJCQ/s1600/IMG_20150814_192918845_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hIxIuzsnhB8/Vdd3XJPruhI/AAAAAAAABBo/LXCC7uuFJCQ/s320/IMG_20150814_192918845_HDR.jpg" width="180" /></a>Our exterior wall boards are due for delivery on either Wednesday or Thursday depending on weather and when we return in 2 weeks we will be able to see the walls partially finished and hopefully the roof started.<br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">Best news of all? So far my little (OK not little) apple tree has survived! Just look at my little sweetie there standing tall near the corner of the foundation! :-) It still has to make it past the installation of the boards and the grading. That's the dangerous part. If the grading is too high it will suffocate the bark and it will get infected. The smaller tree that was transplanted went into shock (completely expected) but seems to be holding it's own. The unpredictable rains did help in that matter. I'll still need to find another fairly large apple to adorn the opposite side of the house for symmetry, of course. ;-) and good taste.</span><br />
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The walls are 9' high. I had forgotten we requested the taller basement and by the looks of things the home will be MASSIVE> Now I'm glad we kept it to under 1200 ft. I can't imagine it being any taller or bigger and we still don't have the cabin walls up!<br />
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At the back of the house the basement walls will be approximately 18" above ground to allow for a small window for light. At the front of the house the basement walls will extend roughly 3'. We will one day come back to put a rock facade over the block but for now we'll seal it and paint it complimentary coloring to the stain...<br />
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Oh the stain. *GULP* That is what is scaring me right now. What a big decision. It's not like paint where you live with it for a year or two and simply repaint it to a color you like better. Stain is for better or worse. Once it's sealed it's pretty well done for 5-10 years.<br />
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So while I'm debating on putting the colors into a hat and drawing one, I'm also dealing with the back to school rush. The kids met their respective teachers this week and while my twins will have separate classrooms it seems like they each like their teachers. That's one relief. Next step - getting them to the bus stop Monday morning. LOL.<br />
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See you soon!<br />
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Barbie~<br />
ibarbidahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875598378198484479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3469232416726264910.post-90695671810113719992015-08-07T11:30:00.002-04:002015-08-07T11:30:41.053-04:00Basement updateThe footers were poured this week, and now the block mason is out squaring the corners so that his crew can move in and finish the walls. It's all so exciting.<br />
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This was the picture we were sent last week.The footers are completely dug and the vapor barrier is down. The rebar is laid in the footer panels and all was ready for the concrete truck. He was scheduled out for Thursday.<br />
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We went up last weekend and saw the first half of the pad with the footers in place. It was so hot that the concrete cured before they could finish it. Now a portion of it is rough and will have to be ground down to get a decently smooth surface. That's important to us because we plan to paint the floors with an epoxy and just use a few throw rugs rather than finishing the floors. Unfortunately due to the way the first portion of the slab set up they put the second half on hold until Monday so they could try to get a better finish on the rest.<br />
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So we only saw half the basement floor finished. </div>
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Here hubby inspects the work and shows little B what is going on. Seriously, I know more about building than he does so this is somewhat comical. Note the 6' ladder in the rear right corner. It shows the true depth of that pit. It's hard to believe that it is that deep until you get inside and look up. </div>
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The next picture shows how the rebar is run under the pad to strengthen it and through a block inside the footer pad for stability.<br />
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By the time we left on Sunday they had the rebar uprights ready for the masons arrival.</div>
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From the ground level it just doesn't seem that impressive.</div>
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But look over the edge and suddenly you realize it. These are the pictures I took last weekend. This weekend the walls for the basement should be up and if all goes well they will be sealed and the floor joists for the cabin will be started. Fingers crossed we stay on schedule because I only have 1 3 day weekend after the construction is scheduled to be finished to get in the cabinets and plumbing. Once that is done we can take our time getting the flooring done and other chores. It just needs a basic bathroom and electric so we can 'camp' there until we get everything ready for move in.<br />
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We will be heading up again in a couple weeks and then things will get REALLY exciting. That is the time they are scheduled to start the LOGS, EEEP!<br />
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<i>See you soon!</i><br />
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<b>Barbie~</b>ibarbidahlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01875598378198484479noreply@blogger.com0