Finally!

With Barb gone to Arizona for over a week now my life has changed. Oh, the basic schedule is the same…. Get up somewhere between 4 and 5am, go hunting…work on the porch (and a few other things)… go hunting again then supper and bed. Except I have two dogs to care for and I have to scrounge up my own food. My main goal for the week is to have two dogs here when Barb gets home. Preferably the same two dogs that were here when she left!

I created a list of things I wanted to get done while Barb was gone. Besides working on the porch roof, I wanted to install outside lights under the porch, do some trim around the doors, finish taping/mudding the bathroom and get it primed, ready for painting.

Meanwhile, while I am working my @ss off here I keep getting pictures from Barb, Jessica and the grandkids who enjoying fun in the sun down in Arizona.

They are spending their days hiking the Saguaro National Park, visiting Kartchner Caverns, eating ice cream and spending lazy days at the pool. 

Kendall (Baby K) and Barb at Saguaro NP

Kendall, Dylan and Barb 

Barb and Jessica conquering a hill

Oh yeah, and they went out to eat constantly!

And ice cream!

And pool side drinks

Meanwhile I am toiling away here at the jobsite. Barb left a week ago last Thursday and when I went to the store this past Thursday I realized it was the first time I left the property since she left! Oh wait, I take that back, I did go to Kevin and Cheryl's on Sunday for supper and to watch Yellowstone. (Thanks guys!) But besides that I did not go anywhere. I did not even go to burger night on Wednesday, life without Barb is just not the same!

I was able to get quite a bit done though. I finished taping, mudding and sanding the main floor bathroom. I even got it primed! Don't tell Barb though as it is a surprise for when she gets home tomorrow. I am not afraid that she will read this as I think she only reads the blog when I ask her to proof read it. 

I could have painted it too as we had some leftover paint from one of the bedrooms but I was not born yesterday, as a matter of fact it has been just over 21,500 "yesterdays" since I was born. I am leaving the paint color decisions to the CDM (Chief Decision Maker) of the house. 

Bathroom ready for paint!

It turned out really nice and the mirror in the picture is the one Barb made the frame for, it fits in perfectly! We are waiting for bids on the glass for the shower. That will really finish it off. 

And FINALLY, I got the porch roof done! A good two weeks behind schedule but weather delays (mostly wind), and issues with my knee prevented me from working on it as much as I thought I would. 

It turned out great and really transforms our big rectangular house into something else. Something with a little more character. 

I also installed a security system that included a water sensor, temperature sensor and a couple of cameras. As many of you homeowner travelers know there is a certain level of anxiety every time you leave your house wondering if everything is alright. Now I can look in and see what is going on at home when we are away. Even when I am deer hunting, I can see what the dogs are up to while we are away!

Apparently this is what Dakota does while I am gone. Not sure where Zoey is. I could have talked to them but did not want to scare the deer or them!

What am I going to do now that that big project is done? Sit back and relax? I wish! Now that the porch roof is on I can finally finish the siding on the two corners at the end of the porch that have hips. Then I have the corner trim. We have all the door and window trim done inside but have yet to start the base trim. Then there is the scratch coat on the 135 or so feet of the house that is going to get stone on it. Once that is done then comes the stone. So as you can see there is no rest for the wicked. We will work on the trim on the inside but the scratch coat is weather dependent, ideally you want the temperature over 40 for 24 hours after doing the scratch coat. Not sure we are going to see that for a couple of months. 

As far as deer hunting goes, I am seeing lots of deer. Just not TBO. I actually have never seen him, I don't know if he even exists but he does in my imagination and that is what keeps driving me to get out there! 

A Day in the Life at the J-B

The past two weeks have been like ground hogs day. Day after day after day after day. Don’t get me wrong, we are enjoying our days it is just that they are basically the same. We get up about an hour before sunrise, have breakfast, watch the news and get terrorized for the day. It is amazing we are not all dead yet based on the perception the media put out.

Then I head to the deer stand for 2 hours to decompress from being depressed by the news and wait for TBO (The Big One) to come wandering by. TBO has not made an appearance but I have had some pretty cool experiences. For example, this guy walked but just before dark one afternoon. A nice one, but not The One.

Then there was this guy who not only walked by but stopped by to say hi. I had just enough time to slowly get the camera and make a short video before he decided that he was late for a meeting.

After the morning deer hunt it is time to work on the house. I have been working on two projects; the porch roof and taping and mudding the sheetrock in the main bathroom. Both projects are time consuming but are going well. 

I have the entire east side of the porch done and am now working on the south and east. 

Once the porch is done we can finish the siding!

I hate taping and mudding but it is going well,  A couple more coats and some sanding and it will be ready for primer and paint!

Barb (the overachiever), has been working on 3 projects; trim for the doors, staining the posts and beams on the porch and building a frame for the mirror in the bathroom. 

The mirror is almost done, I will save the picture for when the bathroom is done and it is hanging on the wall. 

Of course while we are working the deer taunt us by standing out front. 

Or they just stare at Dakota through the window...

We are in somewhat of a time crunch because Barb wants certain things done before Forrest, Somer and Lily come and visit on the 21^st. Seems like a lot of time but Barb is leaving me for 10 days on the 11^th to vacation with Jessica and the kids in Arizona. Meaning we have less than a week to get some of these things done.

Come about 4:00 it is back to the deer stand for 2 more hours of therapy.

Barb takes the 4 legged girls for a walk for a little therapy of her own. Then at night (when it is cold out) the girls hang out by the fire. Zoey has become quite the freeze baby. We often find her in this position…..

Or this one….

Or even this one…

Speaking of "cool" dogs, Zoey's mom recently had another litter. If you are interested in a puppy or just want to see some puppy pictures click here foe Foster Lake Frenchies website. 

Except for Wednesday night when we head to Pringle for burger night, and last Thursday morning. We kinda over did it. We had a great time dinner, music, pool….when we left we were the last cars in the parking lot. Barb was moving a little slow the entire next day. I managed to get some work done but at a much, much slower pace.

Amongst all this we had a special visitor when my sister Carol came out for 4 days to spend time with us. This is.... the 3rd? year in a row that she has come out to visit us.  It is always great to see and spend time with her. She knitted while Barb and I worked. She did not want her picture taken but I was able to sneak one while I was in the scaffolding working on the porch.

Then I turned around and took this picture of Barb as she was chucking some logs from behind the wood shed.

We did take one afternoon to drive the Needles Highway, just Carol and I. We spent so much time talking we did not take one picture! 

Day by day the cycle continues, little by little we are getting things done.