Barn update

We STILL don't have power, but we're whittling away at some of the things that we can get done. The good news is that they've at least put in the poles & hung the wire. I'm thinking by Christmas, or May, we might be finally in the apt. :)

Here's the floor after the 'acid' treatment, ready for the stain/paint.

Yep, that's me getting my feet torn up by sticking to the 1st coat while adding the 2nd coat. It was pretty weird feeling - as if I was tying to walk on extreme fly paper! I love the shiny, red color though!

Clifford's first set of stairs & they're awesome - an exact fit!

You can also see some of the 'ice cream parlor' colors that we painted the upstairs :)

Now we just have the rest of the lights, trim board, put in the wall between the kitchen / bath, & install all the plumbing.

Random happenings

Here's just a few pictures from the last few weeks.

Spent 4 wonderful days at convention. My mom, niece Sara, Aunt LaVonda, & cousins Colette & Courtney came from NM and my cousin, Davina, and her 2 kids were there as well. We took over one whole side of the barn and it was fun to 'relive' convention days. I love this picture of Lillie combing Colette's hair - the cycle continues!!

We've had so much rain lately, that we have a few lakes develop at the ranch. Toby & Brinka loved jumping/swimming in the water to cool off!

This knarly spider was crawling over my car. I think he then went into the engine block... lovely!

Last one bites the dust...

Clifford's good friend, Earl, got married to Courtney on Saturday. Ryan was able to make it from FL, so the gang was almost all there. Just missing Nathan! Here are some pictures from the wedding - taken on the iPhone, so not the greatest quality!

Ryan, Clifford, & Earl - big smiles all around

The happy couple

What???? Clifford has on a tie - and it's purple?!?!?

Toasts to the happy couple. (I think Courtney was smart to not have 'open mic'!)

Cutting the cake

Mom's Birthday

Mom's friends threw a b-day party for her 60th and they surprised her with getting me there too! It was a great surprise to see her expression when she realized that I had come. We'd talked about me not being able to since they're coming out for Georgetown in 2 weeks.

The party was based on the poem: "When I am old, I will wear purple".

Mom & I in our purple & red

LaVonda, mom, Grandpa, & Lequice

"She's the oldest" or "She did it" - who knows, it's always someone else's fault!

(LaVonda, Lucretia, mom, & Lequice)

Hat? check... Boa? check... Glasses? check... Beads? check

Officially the newest member of the red hat society.

(Yes, it's purple, but such an awesome hat!)

How mom came to the party - since we kept telling her that she was old, she dressed the part.

The slip & socks/shoes combo has got to go!!

Reason to wear sunscreen!

The latest adventure has provided me with the perfect Harry Potter costume for Halloween. Last month the dermatologist did biopsies on 2 small spots on my forehead (.5" from hairline) and found basal-cell carcinoma. Skin cancer, but the best type to get since it doesn't spread. I went into the surgeon this week to have the little spots removed. Hmmm, maybe I should have had more referrals! I now have a scar from my hairline to eyebrows! They had to go in 3x to get all the cells, so guess that's why the big scar. I've had some interesting stares and my students have come up with some awesome stories! (mauled by a bear, knife fight with a gangsta, etc) The black eye is from the anesthesia settling, but it adds to the drama!

Day of the surgery

Day after the surgery - when I finally realized how BIG the scar will be. It looks better now, so hopefully a new hair style isn't on the books! I'm hoping to take the stitches out this weekend or have the school nurse take them out on Mon.

Plumbing project

Finally got all the parts/tools to replace the faucet in the kitchen. I can't believe how tight it is down there. Not sure how plumbers actually get it done! Of course, I had some 'help' during the process. If only he had opposable thumbs....

More Toby adventures

Here's a 'typical' evening with Toby:

1. Give him a bath with the anti-bacterial soap due to a skin infection. Toby HATES getting a bath, so lots of treats are involved to get him in & stay in the tub. (He also hates sprinklers & will go out of his way to not get wet)

2. Take the dogs to park so they can run off their energy & hopefully dry off from bath

3. Go on a new path that leads around to a cliff area that overlooks the Brazos river, where Toby promptly jumps into the river!! (btw...Alligators love this river) What? This is the dog that doesn't like water! Noooo, of course we like river water because it's where we're not suppose to be! He came out of there looking soooo smug & proud of himself. I, of course, do not have a towel so we have to walk around & around hoping that he dries off enough to not get my car completely wet.

4. Come home for another bath with anti-bacterial soap to get the river cooties off. Lots of treats involved again...

I have a spastic dog. Brinka on the other hand, walked beside me, didn't get in the water, and was a model dog all evening. Go Brinka!

Lastly - Clifford snapped this picture yesterday. He didn't even move!

married life

Not much new - thought it was interesting tonight. Clifford made dinner, I did dishes, he looked under the sink to see what's needed to change faucet, I buzz-cut his hair, I walked the dogs, and we're both exhausted & going to bed at 9. hmmm, yep, we're ol'married folks now! :)

I'm back at work now, trying to fill in 10-hr days with only 30 min of work to do. Yes, lots of time being wasted on the internet.

Barn progress

The 2nd floor is all framed in, most of the insulation added upstairs, and sheet rock nailed in downstairs. We wanted a 'diverse' barn, hence the pink boards! :) Work has slowed down tremendously since we just found out it will take 4-6 weeks to get electricity brought back from the road. :( I guess we wont be moving in before I head back to work next week! Clifford started back to work this week, so we'll be doing the finishing work on our days off. The good news is that this now gives us the time to try staining the concrete floor.

Once we were framed in, it was off to Home Depot again for the sheet rock....

We had awesome help from Marvin & Ricky putting up the ceiling and learning the importance of 'measuring twice, cutting once'.

The downstairs portion is pretty much done. We wont do the wall dividing the kitchen/bathroom since we need light to work.

City Girl meets Country Boy video

Reception

A HUGE Texas Thank You goes out to Chet & Kayleen, Paul & Paula, & Tom & Sarah for putting on an amazing reception for us. It was 'Texas Theme', so lots of red, white, & blue, Dr Pepper, and good ol' BBQ. Friends from all over Texas came to see the amazing event - Clifford married! :) It was great evening out by the pool enjoying some southern Texas evening weather. The company was awesome, the food delicious, and we definitely didn't want it to end!

Clifford, Mike, Hannah, Eric, Kim, & Chris all enjoying great BBQ

Paul, Sarah, Tom, & David chatting away

The 'guest book' - people wrote notes on the paper & then rolled them up & stuck them in the DrPepper bottles.

It's been wonderful reading a few at a time... prolongs the memory!

Murray R wrote a song about our meeting & adventures. This is the lyrics with a few pictures from the wedding. I'll post the song separately. Murray did an awesome job! THANK YOU!

The Walker cake - official brand and all!

Us cutting the cake with some help from Malia.

Sometime during the evening the recycling fairies decided to give us a good, loud send off. Too bad we were the last ones to leave and Chet & Kayleen forgot all about it, so nobody but us got to hear it going down the road! Sorry girls! :)

Wonderful entertainment was provided by Murray R with help from Malia & Brooke. They crooned to us with all sorts of old country favorites.

Rain...at last!

Can't believe I'm typing this, but it's been wonderful to finally get rain! We really haven't had any rain since mid-April, and we're in a major drought. We were working on the apt when this storm came through. I love the sound of the rain on the metal roof - reminds me of sleeping in the barn at Edgewood convention. Of course, we need another 7-9" to catch up, but this little bit did help green everything up.

PS: We only found 1 big leak & 2 small ones - not bad for over 9,000 nuts/bolts!

Free child labor....

We started the apartment on Wednesday & got the entire downstairs framed by Thurs afternoon. We had awesome help from our nieces & nephews. Morgan & Austin on Wed, and then added Samantha, Brooke, & Kyle on Thurs. These kids were real troopers - it was over 100, and they pounded nails, drilled holes in the slab, and used power equipment like pros.

Supplies ready to go

Morgan showing off her skills

Using the concrete drill

Kyle adding stability by adding more nails.

Morgan, Samantha, & Candace - finished with wall #3!

We deserve a break! Kyle, Brooke, Austin, & Morgan

Kyle making sure we had a clean floor. Samantha & Austin trying to figure out what I'm saying. (I have no idea either)

Finished! View from the outside. Door on right goes to bathroom. Door on left goes into main room

Main room - will have the kitchenette/living room/piano/office

Here's a smilebox I did with some additional pictures:  

Make a Smilebox photobook

Barn is done!

Here's the barn project!   9,0000 nuts & bolts, a couple sunburns, lots of sweat, 100+ temperatures, wind/no wind, no major injuries, getting completely filthy & 'slimed' by 'super power caulking', and learning lots of new tools  & skills. I can now run a metal nibbler with proficiency, use an impact wrench, and climb on top with only a rope to hold onto.

This is how it all started - flat pieces on the trailer.

What's next..... build an apartment inside, of course...

New family

Clifford's grandfather passed away last week and the funeral was in OK. There was already a family reunion planned, so I was able to meet a lot of his family.  We also were able to spend Sat night with my cousin Davina & her family and an evening with Nathan & Tonya on the way home. It was, once again, a whirlwind weekend trip!

Grandma B with all of her family!