Progress

Two weeks ago (or so) : 

Outside the master bedroom at the old house, growing through the 

unfinished deck. 

Same day, which happened to be July 11, I checked. 

Yesterday. 

Other end of the same deck. 

A set of steps will be made to go down to the yard.  This deck was originally going to be a 

three seasons room and for various reasons, was not finished.  We have to finish the deck, and make 

it safe before we can rent the house out.  We will be replacing siding next weekend, and then 

painting the exterior.  We have found a wonderful young man with carpentry skills 

and he is doing a great job. 

Keith built the railing portion last night, in order to show what he wanted done on the rest of the 

deck. 

I picked a bunch of small tomatoes off the vines at the old place, and I'm going to run them to my son's house today. 

This... jungle... is the south flower bed.  Yes, it's giving me a major stomach ache. 

However, we have had almost three hours of gentle rain this morning (Sunday) and 

I hope to get out there this week and start pulling and digging out the weeds. 

This is what happens when no one is living at a place. 

It's nice to come home to neatness and order... and beauty. 

So... we are making progress, little by little, and are looking at 

being finished by hopefully the third week of August, so we can 

have the real estate company come out and take a look at the place. 

The young man who is helping us with the deck there will also be 

coming to help us with the deck HERE when we rebuild it... YAYYYY. 

Does it hurt me to see my beloved place like this? 

Yes... very much so. 

I am trying to learn to let go, though. 

Tomorrow, Lilly Ann goes to the vet early in the morning to have a 

medical procedure done.  We are very worried about this... I don't want to talk about it until we know more... but I am very worried.  Very. 

Prayers... if you think of it today... requested, please. 

Spring is Back

And the birds were out in force this morning on the deck. 

That's it for today from Calamity Acres! 

A Happy Birthday

Today after church, I drove down to Garnett to celebrate Nathan's birthday with him, his mom, and his cousins and Aunt.  We had a lunch of hot fried chicken and cold salads, and then commenced to blow out candles.

Just about to blow out the candles. 

Notice anything?  The new teenager is about 3 inches taller than his gran!  When did THAT happen?  And his voice is about four octaves LOWER!  How time marches on!

8th grade starts tomorrow, and in Garnett the middle schoolers go to the big high school, it is all one school, so this will be Nate's second year there.  I was tickling him in this picture trying to get him to laugh, and he was holding onto my fingers.

While I was gone, the man about the house was very, very busy.  You see he has the decking built and almost all stained for the south entrance to the new henhouse.  The chickens will actually come out a pophole to the left of the door, walk across the deck (which will have a railing) and then come down a ramp which will be just to the left of where Keith is standing.  It will have a railing on either side of it, since it will be a little higher than normal.  He is putting the people stair at the other side, with a railing, since we anticipate four steps down.

It's good to see the new teenager laugh out loud!

The Maple Tree by the Deck

What are these we see on the maple tree????

A Pony has been on the Porch Again

Evidence!

A New Deck

For a month now, Keith has been working on the new deck. From modest beginnings on a piece of paper, it has become a 16x26 foot outdoor room. Today, the steps down to the yard will be poured and made... and then the rest of the railing put up this week. It is already in use by us, the dogs and the cats, who have welcomed it's position, half in sun and half in the shade of the big maple tree.

It will be such an enchancement to Calamity Acres!