picnic

We get side-tracked sometimes. Glenda said yesterday morning that we have this nice umbrella but we need a better table for the porch to put it in. To make a nice place to sit and eat lunch and enjoy the day. Maybe coffee in the morning if it is not too cool. And then a spot for a glass of wine and peanuts in the evening. One of our favorite things to do.

So I spent the better part of Sunday scrounging around for materials for this new picnic table.
Turned out rather nice.

June update

It was pretty bad when my dad scolded me for not updating my blog. And on Fathers Day, no less. So here it is.

We had 3 or 4 projects planned for this summer. One of them was to lay tile in the bathroom. Check!

These pictures are before I put the toilet back in place. Glenda MADE me put the toilet back. She said she has had enough of the "plein aire" toiletries.

day 1

Day one of 2009 in the Hills and the kid already brings home dinner. A nice 17" rainbow from within walking distance of the cabin. Not bad, eh?

what's first

It's time to start thinking about what's first on the list of "to do's".
Of course we've been thinking about what's first since whatever we did last.

I can think of 3 or 4 projects I'd like to complete this summer.
In no particular order, they are:
Lay tile in the bathroom. We will probably use some of the same tile around the woodstove as a heat block.
Finish off the basement including but not limited to wall paneling, flooring, ceiling (Glenda's idea, not mine) insulation around the floor joists (you gotta see it to understand) and some sort of walls or permanent separation for Trevor's bedroom.
Back deck with enough room for chairs, grill, hot tub etc.
Storage shed or workshop/garage. This one is still undecided.
Maybe a carport or lean to against the workshop to protect at least one vehicle.


That aught to keep us busy.

I was asked to post some pictures of the stair railings. This was a difficult task with hand tools. Mostly the angled holes for the handrails. The Forstner bit is designed to drill straight and as you can see, the holes are not perpendicular to the posts. But some patience and pre-planning got it done. Not the sort of thing you would take the time to do on someone elses house but you really take pride in when its your own. I like the way they turned out.

While we are away, the mice will play. I know one or two little critters get in now and then. I ca deal with that. What I can't control are the forces of Mother Nature. In the last few weeks, the area has been pounded by an early November storm. Thousands of folks in nortwestern SD were without power for about a week. We took some steps late in the summer to control the effects of heavy snow. We added storm doors front and back. I was convinced that pounding rain and snow drift buildup were making its way through the doors without them. I think we are in better shape now. Time will tell.
The other thing that has happened recently is a forst fire just a few hundred yards away. Very scary. It's not really the season for that sort of thing so it didn't spread fast and there were plenty of folks available nearby to control it. Our land backs up to the National Forest and a power line came down somehow and started a 10 acre fire that nearly took our neighbors house out. I feel with the others there, they will always do whatever is necessary to keep the structures safe. But that part of the forest is too thick and sickly. It needs to be thinned something awful. To bad there are not many economically viable trees nearby or the private sector would be more willing to come in and help out.

I haven't posted anything in over a month. But I haven't been there either. I miss it.
Knowing I was working or had some place to explore the days I was off, I could live there full time. But even a week of being cooped up inside I know Glenda would drive both of us crazy. Besides, I sure do enjoy fall in Texas. The colors may not be quite as spectacular as other places around but the beauty is there and the weather is perfect.
So here's to the countdown to next spring and our return. 3, 2, 1...