Picture Progress

So much has happened since my last post, I thought maybe it would be appropriate to just post a collage of pictures that represent the various things going on.

In this collage we have Claw Foot Bathtub Makeover, Framing the Rooms, Studs (the wood kind and the manly kind), Staining and Spray Painting (the hinges must match the doorknobs), and Sheetrock Party (So far only the unloading kind of party...hanging is soon to come).

This is the first year I have actually looked forward to Daylight Savings Time Spring Ahead. It's so much easier for my hubs to come home from work and go straight to work on the house when it is still light out. So, nightly work on the house has started back up. Basketball season is over so we are hoping to get some long Saturday work days in as well. The countdown says we have about a month and half to move in, hmmmm it's gonna be close!



I can't wait to call this place home...

Nexus Brown Cabinets with Walnut Countertops from IKEA

I just happened to check out the new link IKEA sent me this week for their kitchen planner at planyourkitchen.com and I stumbled upon a pleasant little surprise!

FINALLY, they have the cabinets we bought for our new kitchen PAIRED up with the countertops we ended up making a quick decision on. I have been googling all kinds of stuff to give me a visual on how they are going to look together. We put the samples together at the store back in November upon making a decision, but I haven't been able to visualize it sense...hence the excitement to see this picture:

Whoo-hoo-hoo! I like it.

Our handles are different than pictured and our flooring will actually be just about the same as the countertops. I haven't finalized a backsplash yet...originally I was going to go with something "whiteish" as pictured...but I wasn't sure if it would be too big of a contrast. I kind of like it now that I see it in the picture. Decisions, decisions!

Suddenly I'm no longer tempted to rip open the boxes of countertop we're storing here behind our couch (it's too cold to store them at the church house).

Freedom of Speech

Not my typical blog post, and definitely veers from "HOME+Something"...not sure if I even want to go here...but for the sake of the subject, I must.

"Freedom of Speech comes with great responsibility:  Using it perhaps when you shouldn't, not using it when you should. It may also come with great consequence:  the liberation of like-minded people into action, the persecution from disagreeing parties to silence you."

~Anonymous

As a blogger, I am faced with the responsibility that comes with Freedom of Speech.  We all have venues to express our opinions.  Blogging is just another one of those venues that may touch the souls of people all around the world instead of the group of people you stand talking to face to face.

I am thankful for those who have spoken candidly about subjects that are controversial and may cause, as the quote stated, "persecution from disagreeing parties."  For if it weren't for their willingness to excercise their freedom, I would not have been liberated in many of my own beliefs, theologies, and passions that have been laid dormant within me for fear of "persecution" or "ex-communication."   It's a little like the phenomenon of Lady Gaga really.  I mean, what person who has ever felt a little odd about expressing their opinion because it was just off-the-wall doesn't have some sort of admiration for Lady Gaga?

"I used to get made fun of for being either too provocative or too eccentric, so I started to tone it down. I didn't fit in, and I felt like a freak."

In 2010, TIME magazine named her one of the most influential people in the world (ouch!).  Not exactly Mother Teresa, BUT her willingness to continue forward despite adversity is note-worthy.

More noteworthy would be Martin Luther King, Jr.  I'm not a MLK Jr. expert, but he apparently knew the power and influence available if he exercised the right to "Freedom of Speech."  Did he know the consequence?  I think he probably did and one outweighed the other.  At the core of his being he believed and stated:

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”

His INability to stay silent, led to his death...but more importantly led to the freedom of millions.

Sounds a little like someone else I know.  Sometimes I refer to him as my homeboy JC aka Jesus Christ.  Not the swear word often heard when something unbelievable happens...(which in that instant, maybe that is giving him credit). I'm talking about the amazing guy aka God with skin, working organs, walking around just like us guy. 

Anyway, if you're American you've surely heard of him.  He too knew the power and influence available through "Freedom of Speech."  Now I'm not talking about "name and claim it" type of power...I'm talking about the choice to use his voice to confront some major issues going on down here when he showed up.  They didn't have an Amendment proclaiming that right, but he wouldn't have stayed silent if it was illegal to speak, which the religious leaders of that day would have definitely liked to make it that way when he showed up.  Instead, they claimed WHAT he was saying "illegal" and hung him for it. 

His inability to stay silent led to his death, and because he's God...his resurrection as well. 
It was a real death just the same. 
With pain, humiliation, and disappointment as the words he spoke were so controversial, it really stirred up a raucous.  And the religious leaders had those who were believing everything Jesus said so scared, they cowardly denied even knowing him.  BUT because he was willing to speak and die a humiliating death....billions are allowed to be free.  And he DID know what he was getting into.

Ah...the responsibility that comes with choosing to exercise Freedom of Speech.  I guess the people on the other side were exercising their right too, eh?  Is defending the claims being made against you declaring anything?  JC didn't do a lot of defending...he just kept proclaiming the truth and confronting those things that were contrary to the truth...the religious leaders defended, attempted to create more rules to silence him, and finally set a trap to silence him once and for all, or so they thought.  Martin Luther King, Jr.  kept confronting discrimination...and the discriminators defended their actions and silenced the confronter, or so they thought, his words and actions live on in the liberation of many. 

As I wrap this up, I think back to the above quote from MLK, Jr.:

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”

I am left thinking about what things matter to me that I continue to be silent about?  And then, I am reminded of the "Serenity Prayer":

"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference."

I happen to be someone who has a hard time accepting that there are things I can't change.  But just as soon as I think I can change something...courage to change them is lacking indeed.  I definitely need wisdom to know "when to hold 'em" and "when to fold 'em."

How about you? Is your life beginning to end because you've been silent about something that matters?  Who will speak first?

Psalm 39:1-3 (The Message)

A David psalm.

I'm determined to watch steps and tongue so they won't land me in trouble. I decided to hold my tongue as long as Wicked is in the room.

"Mum's the word," I said, and kept quiet. But the longer I kept silence The worse it got--

my insides got hotter and hotter. My thoughts boiled over; I spilled my guts.

Plumbing Covered with Cement: Check

We are soooo close to putting this horrid cement job behind us.  Just have to remove the frame around the shower and pour the shower floor before we store our new best friend "Orangey" away until spring when I have grand plans of mixing and pouring large cement patio blocks. <------wow...long run-on sentence. OR until I talk the hubster into cement countertops....mwahahahahha! Actually I don't know about that yet...just throwing the idea around a bit.

Anyway, the cement job wasn't so horrific once we (by we I mean they) got started and all the supplies, machines, tools, were in place.



My twin uncles who are only a few years older then me, worked like a well-trained team of Oxen keeping that cement mixin' and spreadin'.




My 13 year old got in on the fun lugging 5 gallon buckets of water from the neighbor's house.

Our friend, Vernon, lifted bags of cement for 2 hours straight and my amazing husband did a LOT a bit of everything.


Two and half hours later, smoother than an elephant's ba-hoosky...we have a nice solid (well soon-to-be-solid) floor to walk across again.



We felt like celebrating...so we went to our church's "Minute to Win it" game night and left the cement to cure by the heat of our "little propane heater that could."



Exhausted from Saturday's events, we took Sunday off from going to church and went to check on our work, prepared to finish the pour on the shower floor.



But, like the cats exclaimed in the 1985 movie I filmed with my friend Joni Todd when they discovered the flood wrecking their town, "Horror!"

Picture Stolen from someone else's blog

(No pictures accompany the following events):

The middle of the basement was covered in 1-2 inches of water streaming toward the old plugged drain. At first glance we thought perhaps the water was just run-off from the wet cement. Most of the cement was not yet cured and when my babe sat down the work light, he noticed it sank a little into wet cement. Further discovery showed a huge bubble of concrete in that section. Ah ha! Someone must have bumped the valve that was keeping the old water line off while we were trying to bury it for eternity.

My babe dug through that cement like someone digging to find a lost wedding ring (not really, I just though that sounded kind of funny). Actually, he calmly dug until he found the valve and said, "Yep, somebody must have bumped it on."

With the mystery solved, we quickly worked to get the mess cleaned up and the cement smoothed back out. The rest of the cement wasn't cured enough to take the forms out, so work was delayed another day. I guess we were forced to take a Sabbath-rest after all.

Like I said before, "Cement, how I loathe thee."

One last shout out to the men who helped carry  (73) - 80lb bags of cement into our basement...you know who you are!

And another shout out to our new friend "Orangey."  Hope you enjoyed your shower!

One Plumber Plumbing

This old church house came with the following plumbing:

(1) Toilet
(1) Bathroom sink
(1) Other sink (laundry basin)
(1) 5 Gallon water heater (that's not a typo...5 gallon...not 50 gallon)
(2) Floor Drains

Also Note:  All plumbing was in the basement.

As you can imagine, A LOT of plumbing needed to be added to make this a livable space for an American family of 4. Hey, we'll still be living with the below average number of bathrooms (we will have 1 for us and 1 for the apartment)...the average is 2 per household. And we kind of thought we need a place to bathe and do laundry...soooooo...

Step 1: Cut into the current floor to locate and modify existing plumbing. Usher in the giant cement saw, cement dust, sludge, swinging sledgehammer, and lots of chunks of concrete to haul out.



Step 2: Remove nasty drain pipes and replace with nice white PVC drain pipes.

Kitchen Sink

Step 3: Oh heck, I really have no idea what I'm talking about. My hubby did all the work and he looked like a master engineer with all the PVC and CPVC elbows, weyes, tees, and purple glue stuff encircling him.



I do now know a few things and that is this:

• Purple Primer is messy and smelly, but it ensures a tight seal and a happy mood.
• Drains look like spaceships

• PVC is used for drains (stuff leaving the house), CPVC is used for water lines (water coming into the house)
• Cool new words like "3-3-Weye" (not the letter Y), "3-2-Bushing", "Couplings", and probably a few other useless words that I hope I never have to say to the guys at the hardware store again.
• When all the drain pipe is in and you run 20 minutes of water through the pipes with no leaks or water backing up, it's cause for celebration!
• My husband is just amazing, amazing I say! (I already knew this part, but it's worth repeating)

With this new information in place, I can now say we have a nice set of pipes in our house.

Look at those Pipes!

Our new plumbing includes the following and now includes 2 levels of plumbing:

(2) Toilets (1 up, 1 down)
(1) Walk-In Shower
(1) Bathtub
(1) Bath/Shower
(2) Washer Hook-ups
(3) Bathroom Sinks
(2) Kitchen Sinks
(1) Dishwasher
(1) Refrigerator Water Line
(1) Outdoor Spigot
(3) Floor Drains
(2) 50 Gallon Heaters (not hooked up yet)
(1) Water Softener (not hooked up yet)

Now, the thing that has delayed us a couple of weeks now....covering those pipes back up. Cement work, I loathe you.

Decon to Recon Home Renovation

There is soooo much deconstruction! I've personally had it with deconstruction. It seems to be about the only thing I can help with.

Deconstruct and then haul out the aftermath and then haul away the aftermath and then unload the aftermath. I'm touching this stuff FOUR times and then sweeping up afterwards!

I'll stop whining ONLY because I have begun to see some REconstruction going on. And it is so exciting!

First off, we tore out the stage on the main level where the worship band use to stand.



We found some very disturbing construction below the carpet and sub-floor. Apparently when they removed the sunken baptismal they replaced it with some rigged up boards that weren't supported by anything.



We've wondered why the floor seemed to move all those years when the band was "stomping Satan under their feet." Turns out, God saved them from a catastrophic fall through the floor to the pits of hell below.

The floor remained open for several weeks as we struggled through a tough month. And then the gumption came to rebuild the floor and support structure. I had the privilege of throwing every unusable board out the window (literally) and then loading them up in the truck to take to the burn pile to unload again. Before your sympathy for me overflows too much, my wonderful dad and kids helped too.



Now, we have this beautiful sturdy floor (or sub-floor I think is what it is called) complete with plumbing for the kitchen, bathroom, and laundry area that will one day be built in its place.



My husband is super talented.

2012 Resolutions

I probably spoke on the subject a year ago, but in case I didn't I feel the need to mention I have a love-hate relationship with New Year's Resolutions.

I hate failing, so I hate to resolve to do anything that may fail...which is why you will notice I'm not resolving to lose weight, eat healthy, or exercise more in 2012. Not that I won't do those things, but I've set myself up for failure more times than I can count in that area...and I just can't bear to fail AGAIN after I declared to the world that I was going to try it AGAIN.

The flip side to resolutions, however, is that I really do love setting goals and as much as I resist falling into the the New Year Resolution trap, I'm drawn to it as much as I'm drawn to Caramel Topped New York Style Cheesecake at The Outback. And, I suppose God has been working a bit on my heart about a few things I need to resolve whether it is a new year or not. So here is my list as I was inspired this morning.

1. Give more, save less.
2. Forgive more, condemn less.
3. Get rid of more, hold on to less.
4. Thank more, complain less.
5. Encourage more, degrade less.
6. Love more, hate less.
7. Repent more, disown less.
8. Laugh more, scowl less.
9. Think globally more, think personally less.
10. Surrender to God more, think of self less.

By the grace of God, there will be less of me and more of Him by this time next year. When He is doing the work, I can't fail right?

IKEA or bust!

We've planned, planned, and planned some more for our trip to IKEA in Twin Cities, Minnesota!  Twice a year, IKEA offers up to 20% off kitchen cabinets, appliances, and some accessories.  Hoping to be moved in by May of next year, time was of the essence to get in on the deal that ended at the end of November.



The trip took just about every ounce of energy, creativity, enthusiasm, and too many other things to think of out of me to even blog (and barely facebook) about. Almost caught up and a series of unfortunate events followed...so sorry for the delay.



Don't get me wrong. I loved, loved, loved living at IKEA for 12 hours straight. My feet didn't love it and neither did my Type-A husband. And, I have to be honest, I was in creative overload when I left...to the point I didn't want to decorate or plan a single other thing in our house. But, that soon passed.

The kids started out at IKEA with us and my parents, seeing the stress mounting, grabbed them and headed to the Mall of America next door. After visiting the showrooms, we STILL had not made it to the Kitchen Department to meet with our planner, Eva Davis. Now the kids were back and time to eat lunch at the IKEA cafe
where Lingonberries and Elder Flower Beverages are a must!


The afternoon continued and continued and continued. With our kitchen plans finalized and payed for we ended up basically getting 3 appliances for free with the savings (or so Eva Davis told us....she's smooth). Making the trip with a moving van ready to take everything home, we weren't about to NOT make the most of the trip and shop around other departments. We found some super sweet deals in the damaged section, and found the the bathroom cabinet and sink I wanted were on sale. And wouldn't you know, IKEA just started a super sweet deal on 15% back on sofa purchase that I had to take advantage of.

Kitchen Planner - Eva Davis

With the trip behind us, I can't really remember everything we ended up getting. I just know we starting loading the truck at 7:30 pm and were eating supper back at the motel by 9pm in complete delirious exhaustion. No wonder I lost my phone that night at the restaurant!



Can't wait to put this IKEA stuff in our new home...

Basement Entrance

It's old news to the locals driving by, but to those of you around the world waiting in anticipation for a house renovation update we can now walk in the back entrance, down the stairs into our basement!!

With the walls securely in place, we were finally able to pour cement for the pad, build stairs, and frame in the entrance door.







Welcome to our Home! Come on in!

Thankfulness Blog #2 New Image

As I stated in TB#1, my list will include the things that I've been so thankful for that I've been brought to tears.

Today I am reminded, as I wait in the realm of the unknown about my future with the New Image Thrift Store, how thankful I am that God has allowed me to use the gifts He has given me to start and be a part of a ministry that has filled a void in our community for over 5 years now. I tear up at times when I reflect on the people I have had the privilege of befriending that I may have never "rubbed shoulders with" had we not started the New Image Thrift Store (formerly known as "The Light").

Our mission at the New Image is to find innovative ways to meet the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of individuals and families in rural Woodbury county and surrounding counties in Iowa. I love this ministry so much I don't have to look at the mission statement to copy it down, it is truly a part of me. Off the top of my head, for the most part, I can give you some pretty accurate stats about whatever you'd like to know from the number of families we have visited with in the past 9 months (98 families, approx 270 people) to the dollar amount of free items that have been given away in the past 2 years (approx $15,000 worth). Although my involvement has been more or less at different times, my heart is at the store every Saturday morning from 9am - noon.

If you've never had the privilege of visiting the store, I can only tell you the atmosphere that is created by the volunteers and the guests who come to see us is absolutely contagious. I am so thankful to those who have chosen to open up their lives to let us in enough to pray with them and check-in on how they are doing each week. I am thankful to be part of a ministry that takes "hearing the Word" to "doing the Word" seriously. The fellowship, worship, and unity is stronger there than many Sunday morning services I've been a part of in the past. As my time there may be coming to an end, I can't help but shed tears of thankfulness for God allowing me to be part of something so great.

Thankful Blog #1

I've seen all the thankfulness spreading around on facebook, so I thought I'd join in my own special way.  This time of year I always start having conversations in my head about thankfulness.  I don't know why I can't just take things at face value and start listing some things I'm thankful for.  Instead, I start asking myself questions like:

What does being thankful feel like? Like how do I know if I'm thankful?
Am I thankful enough or do I take too many things for granted?
How can I be more thankful?
If I don't make a weekly list of things I'm thankful for, does that mean I'm not a thankful person?
Do I have to verbally express thanks to God for him to know I'm thankful?

Wellllll...I did answer one of my questions. For me, I KNOW without a doubt that I am thankful if I get teary-eyed over something. I am a bit of an emotional sap, so sometimes it doesn't take a whole lot. But I'd rather be a little tenderhearted than not be able to feel the emotion that goes with gratitude. My answer to being MORE thankful is simply asking God to make me appreciate more things and have my eyes opened to the things I should be thankful for.

So begins my Thankful Blog. I have no plan for how many items will be on it or for how long or how often. No fun pictures (yet). I just know I've had some thankfulness lately and wanted to share it with the world...because when you're thankful, you just can't help but blurt it out to everyone! Well that's me anyway.

The items that make my list will be things that I have been sooooo thankful for, it brought tears (small or large) to my eyes. I hope you know what I'm talking about.

First and foremost (sounds like an oscar winning speech), but seriously, something I have cried tears of joy over is my thankfulness to my God who created me and saved me from myself. Though I have worshipped other things and people, made those things or people into my god for a time, the ONE TRUE God always has hold of my heart and wins me back with his love and mercy.

He made a way out for me through His son, Jesus, who I sometimes affectionately refer to as JC. I wanted to type, “He is my everything” but it’s more like He SHOULD BE my everything and when I make Him my everything, my perspective on everything else changes because He is awesome like that.

I get a little or lot teary-eyed sometimes thinking about how, until I found my identity in WHO HE says I AM, I was trying to please a whole lot of people and found myself saying yes to a whole lot of stupid things.

My life is truly not my own and I’m thankful for that because I make a mess of things when I do it my way instead of the way I was created to be.

Herbology Highlight - Cayenne (Capsicum)!

I had the blessing of attending a wonderful "Herb & Apothecary" class through our Homeschool Coop this fall put on by Amanda Husmann.  I was a bit overwhelmed that first class and thought I might steer clear of diving in to the land of Herbology too much.  I've dabbled here and there, but never dove in far enough to do anything other than buy a few fancy-named teas....which I have quite the collection of by the way.

By week eight, inspiration had taken flight within me and I placed my first herb order through our Food Coop.  I don't want to give out ALL the details of my herb endeavor ALL at once, so I thought as I experiment and research...I will slowly share my findings and experiences with the wonderful world of herbs.  I have several things brewing as you can see in the pictures.

One of the first herbs I have been experimenting with is Cayenne.  Yes, the hot pepper Cayenne!  Is it an herb, a spice, or something else?  Not sure, I just know it is the actual pepper that is dried and ground into powder that is used and I am having fabulous reactions to it!!! (and the Latin name is Capsicum)

While browsing through the Bulk Herb Store website, I stopped on Cayenne and read the description.  They listed Cayenne as a "staple" to their apothecary collection and I had to know more.  Having an uncle who has just gone through having a heart attack, the first use for Cayenne stood out to me right away:  It is touted as a necessary emergency herb used at the onset of heart attack or shock.  It is a quick-acting herb, lowering blood pressure, increasing circulation, and in general is an excellent stimulant.

Aside from those great benefits, I was attracted to it for it's "warming" qualities. With all the work we're doing renovating our future home, we come home wiped out and sore from head to toe. I've been looking for something natural to massage into my aching body hoping for a little relief! Enter, Cayenne!

More about Cayenne can be found on the Bulk Herb Store website, but for now I will focus on what I have used Cayenne for this week.

First of all, I made this yucky looking salve right away. Here's how:
1. Dump some Cayenne powder into a little bowl (a Tablespoon maybe)
2. Cover it with Olive Oil (about 1/4 - 1/2 cup)
3. Stir and cover with paper towel held on with rubber band.
4. Leave to set 8 - 10 hours.
5. Strain as much powder off as possible using a coffee filter or cheesecloth.
6. Dump remaining oil into a sauce pan.
7. Add about 1/2 oz. Beeswax.
8. Heat gently until wax melts and blends.
9. Pour liquid into desired container (in my case back in the original bowl)
10. After it cools and solidifies, it is ready to use.


Now, I wasn't sure what to expect when I first tried the salve so I took a little finger-full and massaged it into one side of my neck. Within a few minutes, I noticed this nice warming sensation at the sight of application. Success! Next, I sludged that salve all over my body, wherever aches and pains were present which is pretty much everywhere at the end of the weekend. I wonderful warming sensation nearly took the pain away and definitely took the chill away that had been present since leaving the unheated renovation project...an added bonus!

So my parents came over a few days later to join in the apothecary fun and I tried the salve out on them right away. I did the one-side-of-the-neck experiment and neither one of them really noticed anything warming. BUT, low and behold, about 20-30 minutes later they were begging me to massage the other side because the massaged side now felt nice and loose and the not-yet-slathered side felt a little stiff. Hmmmmmm....I think it worked!

I would never recommend diving in and covering yourself in this stuff until you've tested an area for sensitivity. My "Herbal Mentor" informed me she blisters with the stuff and my husband complained bitterly about the burning going on for 3 hours after I applied it to his tense neck muscles. He is a bit sensitive, so personally I think it achieved the desired result.

The 2nd use I found for Capsicum is in a warming tea. The kids and I concocted what we named "Winter Warmer" tea. The recipe will be for a later blog, but I will tell you I added just a pinch of Capsicum. Afterall, I read that Capsicum acts as a "Catalyst" to other herbs externally and internally. Internally, it aids in digestion, speeds up the antibiotic activities of other herbs, normalizes blood pressure, takes the pain away from sore throats, just to name a few. For lack of more technical terms, it just makes you feel nice and warm...similar to how whiskey burns the back of your throat and gives you a warm feeling going down (so I've heard) ;)

Back to the "Winter Warmer" tea. The kids and I enjoyed a cup-o-warmth and we all broke into a small sweat within about 30 minutes. My lips were a little numb and my throat felt a little tingly. Let's just say, the next batch I added about 1/4 of a pinch and it was perfect!

Last up (wow this is turning into a lengthy blog), I woke up this morning with a sore throat, I quickly flung open the library book I checked out about herbal remedies, went to the index and searched "sore throat", turned to the remedy page, and lo and behold....Cayenne.

This was a fun little experiment as well. The recipe called for Apple Cider Vinegar, Cayenne Powder, and Eucalyptus Essential Oil. I just so happened to have all three ingredients! Here's how I did it:

1. Poured what was left of the ACV into a bowl (about 1/4 cup)
2. Shook 3 dashes of Cayenne into the bowl
3. Added 3 drops Eucalyptus EO into the bowl.
4. Took a cut piece of t-shirt material (a clean rag) and soaked it in the mixture.
5. Placed the rag on my throat/neck while I enjoyed a hot bath.

No joke, the pain relief was nearly instant. Six hours later, the sore throat has not returned.

Some other uses of Cayenne I plan to try include sprinkling the powder in my socks for cold feet, add to my "Vick's Vapor Rub" concoction, and gargle if needed for future sore throat. I don't know how to explain it, but when your body reacts well to an herb, you just know it was made for you. This is one of them for me.

I would love to hear how you've used Cayenne, or if you try it for the first time! Please be cautious using Cayenne with children...but don't rule it out...just start small and test their reaction.

Happy Home Remedy Making!

The Grand Entrance Continues

I love the fashion of construction work, that mask doubles as a headband.

The entrance is beginning to look like an entrance, or maybe like a mini shed attached to our house.


My amazing husband framed that thing and sheeted it all by himself once he and my dad figured out the rafter angles. My dad got in on the tail end of finishing up the roof and rafter tails and is planning to single-handedly shingle that cute little roof this week. Wow, the men in this family are talented and amazing!

Hanging the "Typar" brought back memories of our South Dakota mission trip.

While my babe diligently worked on the entrance my dad and I worked on cleaning up the mess that has accumulated week after week. The forms are stacked and ready to take back to Dixon Construction and the wagon is loaded and ready to take to the landfill again. I am determined to have everything outside ready for the first snow to hit (which I've heard could be this week...NOOOOO!).

Before with the Mess                                                                After the Mess is cleaned up (and my mom in the hole)

After all that fun on the outside, my babe was not going to let the weekend end without getting his plumbing channels cut. So here he is showing off that he can cut and text at the same time. I think that women are supposed to think men operating power tools are sexy, but I'm just not seeing it. I don't get what is sexy about fumes being blasted into the air while sludge is being poured out all over the floor while the clothes he is wearing are going to have be washed in an industrial machine if he ever wants to wear them again which really translates, I'll be throwing those away and buying a pair at the New Image Thrift Store. Did I mention I will probably be the one cleaning up the mess on the floor and trying to blow that crap out of the house? But really, I AM impressed how he operates that thing. He cuts a really good piece of concrete (while texting).

Amazing.

The Frames Must Come Out!

The past weekend just didn't feel very rewarding. I'm sure a lot was done, but it just doesn't feel like there is a lot to show for it. And I don't know about you, but these exterior pictures are beyond getting old. I really need to see something pretty.

For one thing, getting cement frames out after the cement is poured and cured is not an easy task. My babe and a few others worked on these things every night in the hope of starting on building up the structure on Saturday. Ugh.

Construction Genius and yep that's ME working in the background!

Because of our cement mishap that caused cement to push to hard against the forms and seep out every crack and crevice, there was some extra sledgehammering to be done to loosen things up.

I have to say, my Uncle Jaret is a master form-remover. Master everything construction really. It was mesmerizing to watch him remove a form in less than 30 minutes by himself. His techniques are a little more professional then banging and jumping on the wall technique we had been trying for several days. You mean we should remove the stakes and loosen the cement around the edges BEFORE we start trying to sledge the forms out of place? Brilliant.




With the forms out, the holes were filled in with dirt and my dad sledged like a madman to get all of the overflow cement out of the entrance hole. Mr. Levine helped throw chunks of cement out of the hole with me. What a work-out!

Thor's Hammer?

Larry Levine

Darkness Falls

Here's my babe finally laying the first piece of green-treated lumber:

Yes, my dad is still working on getting the last of the forms out.