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Friday, January 28, 2022

It's Time

Yes, it's time. You know the feeling. Antsy, anxious, you have a lot to do but cannot seem to get motivated or focus on one thing. It happens to a lot of us in the midst of winter. We need to get out of here for a few weeks! See different sights, focus on something other than working on the house, get away from snow and return when maybe, just maybe, all the snow will be gone and things will be greening up. 

So, what warm weather locale will we head to in an effort to escape the grips of this frigid winter? Why, the topics of Southern Oregon of course! Forrest had asked if we would come out and help out with a couple of projects he wants to get done so we are going to take a break on ours and see if we can cross off a couple of his!

Speaking of projects......What were this week's projects you ask? Well, it depended on the day. Nice days we were outside, cold or windy days we were inside. Outside projects included siding the wood storage shed and the wind block partition on the west side of the house where the grill is. We had enough left-over steel siding to get it almost all done. I only need to order 2 sheets to finish the back then all the siding is done!

                        

Wind break.....done!
Once those were completed, I moved onto the F Channel that goes outside edge of the porch to hold the soffit. Not really picture worthy but nice to have done nonetheless. I was a couple pieces short there as well so that too will went until my steel order comes in. Next up in this area will be the soffit itself but that will have to wait.

On the inside, Barb worked on her bench. She is done with the bench part minus a little trim. Next up is the back wall and cubbies that go above it. 
I also started building the drawer boxes for our dresser. This is the first time I got the opportunity to use our newly purchased Kreg jig. I know what you are thinking, not many people have a 5x7 granite workbench for their woodworking projects. Barb just loves it when I take over the kitchen like this, but it is the only way I could work on the drawers and watch football at the same time!

Two down, six to go!
We even got a bonus project done when Barb and I got the moisture barrier and lathe on the remaining 135' of the house where the stone will eventually go. 
Before

After
Well, that last picture is kinda "after", that was before I stapled the entire length every 6 square inches or so. That area is going to support a lot of weight so needs lots of staples!

And yesterday, we picked up our shower glass! At 40"x82" and 1/2" thick, this beast weighed in at 150lbs! I do not know if we will get it installed in the next two days but at least it is here.

This is the time of the year when the deer start losing their antlers, so Barb and the dogs have been out a few times searching for these elusive treasures. 

Now anyone can find the big antlers that drop in the snow and are easily visible, but it takes real skill to find the little ones!

We still managed to get the girls out for a walk everyday but mostly they just hung out on the couch and watched us work. 
This week you get two videos for a total of one minute, fifteen seconds of time you will never get back in your life. The first one is what we have to put up with every night when we try to go to sleep. For those of you how have had a dog that snores, you know our pain!

This second video is 15 seconds and is a short clip of what it is like taking Zoey to the vet to get her nails trimmed. We tried to do it at home a couple times but have decided it is just not worth it. It only costs $15 at the vet. They put her in a harness, one vet tech holds her head and talks to her while the other clips away. Believe it or not, this is the best she has ever done, the other times were a lot worse!

The next couple of days will be spent packing up the truck and trailer. Among other items, we are taking our table saw, miter saw and an assortment of hand tools.  No camper on this trip, breaking one of our own longstanding rules. We always like to have our own bed, and an escape pod for my self-imposed timeouts. That, and for the sake of the kid's privacy too. No matter how much they say it does not bother them, it is impossible not to disrupt a household when someone else is staying there. They need their privacy too.

So, here we go...... It is time. Time for a road trip, time for a change of scenery, time to spoil one of our grandchildren, time for our next big adventure!

28 comments:

  1. Wow, y'all have been busy, good job. I just love the way that siding looks. I believe you (Jim) had just a few reservations about Frenchie's didn't you. Lucky she's a cute little furball. How Dakota can put up with that in her ear I don't know!

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    1. I have to admit, after reading so many horror stories at how hard they can be to house break and what terrors they can be, I was scared. But we got very lucky, she has exceeded my expectations in every way.

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  2. Now that's an interesting way to trim dog nails. Poor baby girl ... it's so traumatic!!! Lucky for me, none of my pooches have snoring problems. I do love how they cuddle up ... too cute!!! Just when I think you are almost done, you have so many more projects to do. Barb has the patience of a Clydesdale!!

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    1. Daisy was a snorer too, but Zoey takes it to a whole new level. Luckily neither Barb nor I have any issues falling asleep with her antics. As far as Barb's patience, all I say to that is "HA!". She often tells me that if she wanted patience (patients), she would have become a doctor!

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  3. I know I have hit a low in my life when I am relegated to watching videos of a dog snoring. I will have to soul search to find out where I went wrong. Why don't you pack up your tools and head this way? I still have projects that need to get done. Your stuff looks good. Barb, awesome!

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    1. My blogging career has reached its pinnacle if I got you to watch a video. Mic drop, walking off stage.... I am never going to blog again!

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  4. Everything is looking so gorgeous! You guys are always so busy and it's amazing how quickly it gets done! I have to agree, we like our own space too. I loved when we had our cab over and could pull a small trailer behind if we were going to help out the kids. Then we still had our space. I love the picture of the pups watching you work :) They're so cute!

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    1. It will be interesting to see whether or not we miss our camper. We really do not know what the weather will be like there and whether we can even dewinterize it, so we are going to leave it at home.

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  5. I have a hard time cutting nails on the dogs too. Bubba would cry out like he was being killed, and that was before I even closed the clippers on his nails...he was a bit of a cry baby little boy. Skruffy just kept pulling her paw back away from me and the clippers...much like Indy. But now I have a Dremel Lite Rotary Tool with the Pet Grooming Nail Guard Attachment. Indy will let me have about 3-5 seconds per nail before pulling away. This has helped, but I still need to take her to PetSmart maybe twice a year now for a nail cutting (which they do in like 5 minutes)

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    1. We have one of those Dremel's as well. Dakota tolerates it but not The Princess. She wiggles, squirms and screams if you try and hold her and do anything with her nails!

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  6. Someday in the not so distant future, someone will be putting us in a harness to clip our nails. Continue on with your breakfast, Jim. No charge for that visual.

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    1. Great, thanks for that! I am not going to tell you who I envisioned but it included a diaper and a side grinder!

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  7. Your projects look great. Kudos to Barb letting you do your woodwork project on her granite countertop. Hopefully Zoe gets used to having her nails done as this is a lifelong maintenance thing. Ray and I know what you mean .. about the long winter. We are so ready to go somewhere. I have booked a weeks camping for end of April and a week surround our May long weekend. After that we are staying home for the summer as lake time is awesome when it's warm and sunny. Last year I booked several weeks away and missed the best weather here at the lake. Safe travels to Oregon.

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    1. I bet you are looking forward to April! And the summer, it will be a great summer to be on the water!

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    2. Ray's excited to use his new electric downriggers I bought him for Christmas to catch some fish. :)

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    3. Oh my gosh, I would be so stoked to get out on the water and try those!

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  8. Great progress. Although we wish you were headed to Florida we understand. After all it will be a balmy 24 degrees tonight! but back to 77 by Wed

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  9. You guys are busy bees! What will you do when all the build is complete? Zoey and Dakota sure are best buds. Safe travels to Oregon!

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    1. I am sure we will find something to keep us busy. Flip a fixer upper? Or more travel would certainly be nice!

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  10. Wow, those drawer boxes look great!

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    1. Thanks, it is my first attempt at making drawers so hopefully they work out all right!

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  11. That is the fanciest workbench I've ever seen!! Can't believe Barb let you do that. But then football plays are important. What an adorable photo of the girls on the sofa arm. Great videos! I understand your wanting to take your own home with you when you visit the family. It's always nice for everyone when you can head to your own space. Have fun trading snowy winter weather states.

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    1. Trading snowy winter weather states is exactly right. What is wrong with us!?!
      I told Barb that I was surprised when I started setting up on the island and she did not say anything. She said, had I not put down that drop cloth she certainly would have!

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  12. Do the girls sleep in your bedroom?? You two are human version of the Energizer Bunny. I feel Zoey's pain. Our girls were doing good with the nail trim but this week have started to pull back!! Both of them, problem with them being twins. We have been giving them tiny pieces of a cut up favorite treat with each toe, now I am up to feeding them 3 -4 pieces per toe as Colin dremels. One of the last girls would lay on her back and let her toes be done while she napped. Guess we got spoilt.

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    1. Yes, Zoey sleeps on the bed with us. Dakota usually starts out on the bed but it is a bit crowded, so she hops off and sleeps on her bed next to us. It will be interesting to see how your girls progress with their nail trims over the next few months!

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  13. We're visiting friends right now, parked in their driveway, and you're so right. It's important to have your own space. This way, we can all do our own things and then hang out when we want to. no one is in anyone else's space, and no one feels obligated to entertain anyone. Definitely the way to go. Safe travels!

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    1. We have always stayed in our camper even when people offer for us to stay in our home. "This is our home" is our usual response. I am sure things will go just fine but we will miss having the camper!

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