Before & After

The outside painted

I finished painting the new siding this evening. It is Nov. 7th and it was 76 degrees outside. All week it has been beautiful which is nice since it took me 8 days to install the door, put on new siding and a new roof. I still have to re-motar the foundation. That will only take a day and then it is back to the inside room.

Working outside

It looks like a mess but, this week we have put on new siding a new roof and I am in the process of getting it ready to be painted, hence the pink primer paint.

Progress 2

Progress

The sliding glass door is in and today I started the tear off on the old siding. Even tar paper looks better than what was there. The door lets even more light into the kitchen.

Things seem to get worse before getting better

Have you ever noticed that sometimes life is like our back bedroom. It becomes this total mess that you don't even want to live with, so in order for it to get better it gets worse first. We could have left the back room like it was and not been so judgemental. I mean after all, just because the floor bounced, there was no insulation, the wiring and plumbing was bad, the framing was laughable and there were a few unwanted guest living within the walls, that is no reason to not appreciate the character of the room that is present, right? Actually it was enough to send our backroom to rehab. It went through some shakes and feverish nights but now our back room is in much better shape.
The first coat of mud

Drywall

The last sheet of drywall went up today.
Now it is time for mud. We are going back and forth on the fancy light, should we keep it or not?

Insulated & Wired

So the pink foam stuff was moved today and placed over the old window. So in a little while there wil be a 6' patio door to look out at the garden.
That is what you see framed here.
Here was the old door spot. Insulated all up now.

I still have to cut a dryer vent and install the washer box.

New roof and walls

Today we have finished new walls and a new roof for the back bedroom. The framing that was there wasn't up to code. So I rebuilt the skelton of the room from the inside. I roughed in a new patio door so we can sit and look at the garden. The old doorway will be sealed up later this evening. Then it is time to insulate. Once this room is done it is only minor things that need to be done on the house. We look foward to seeing what is next in this life.

From bad to worse to getting better

This is the back room as it was and is this morning. Click on it to see it larger.

So it has been a while

So remember way back in April when we started the back bedroom? Well this week I started at it again.The floor was insulated and the decking was laid down. The above picture shows the old window removed and the new wet wall installed for a washer & dryer.
Friday I was going to just put the plumbing in for the washer and decided to put new copper on everything going back to the main shut off. The bathroom and kitchen was complete already so it wasn't so bad. Except for when I broke the main shut off and water shot into the basement. I was prepared however with a main water shut off key for the access panel out on the street. The only problem was, my key didn't fit the city meter. So I ran into the house with water still gushing into our basement, I ripped open the filing cabinet to find the water company phone number. They answered the phone right away and tranfered me to a field person. After a short wait on the phone I explained that I was making an indoor pool. They would send someone right out, they said. So I waited for them. Have you ever waited patiently by the curb while your house is being flooded? They arrived and afterwards I went to the hardware store and bought the right key to shut off the city water out at the street. Now you know the real reason I replaced all the plumbing in the house.
The garden is getting tired. We have winter lettuce, spinach and such, but the peppers and tomatoes have slowed way down. I will miss the them.

Red and yellow

A few shots around the house today.

House painting progress

There is still much to do on the house but this is where it looks today and what it looked like a year ago.

Our Table

May this always be a house with a table so bountiful.

Petit Gris De Rennes

This is a European Melon. It is growing along with our watermelons. We fought the beetles bravely for many weeks, squishing them between our fingers, thinking we would actually be able to grow this heirloom melon. All I ever saw was flowers and beetles eating them. Suddenly tonight while watering the melon bed, I saw what looked like two soft ball size melons growing in our melon patch. Upon closer inspection I was glad to run into the house and get my bride. I proudly told her, like an Indian Chief, "Me big melon grower." I am told that growing a melon to completion is an accomplishment that any gardener ought to be proud of. I will be if they grow to completion. The variety of melon we are growing is of the best French Variety and a favorite of a melon expert and author Bruno Defray. It is rare in the USA.

Black Watermelon

One of the things I do not understand about our watermelon is we have what appears to be two different kind growing from the same vine. We have one that looks like Harvey and then these black ones that are round. Does anyone know what is up with that?

Harvey for Breakfast

Harvey finally became full grown this morning and we invited him for breakfast. Along with eggs, home made salsa from the garden and home made biscuits. I must say I haven't tasted watermelon like this ever from a store.

I flipped the compost yesterday and then put it all back in to cook some more.
Our red peppers are starting to come in.

Last October and today

I love the before and after shots. Perhaps it is the way God feels about a life that has been submitted to Him. The bottom picture is the garden last October, which was an improvement from where we first found it. This morning while looking through the old pictures I found it and had to take a picture to compare the difference. There is so much more to do but we are making progress.

Just a whole bunch of things!

Well first of all, we spent most of the weekend painting the house, which there is plenty left to do. We did get the first coat of paint of the front door and installed a dark brown door handle that matches the brown trim and deck. A door handle can make all the difference in the world. The front door always seemed kind of cheap, but it was the handle that was cheap. Now when the door closes it has that nice solid feeling.
Harvey the Watermelon continues to grow about an inch a day. This picture is two days old, so he looks totally different than this picture here.
Harvey also has several siblings, here is one. You know it's always the first child that gets all the press.
A couple of shots of the garden on August 2nd. (how did it get to be August?)
The melon covers pulled back to allow the bees to do their thing.

Here is the enemy of our garden Sleeping with another enemy of our garden.

Here is the enemy of our garden wishing they were paying more attention to that tall skinny guy with the camera.

We have dozens of peppers, all types and sizes. The bell peppers you see here are from seeds my wife saved last year. A lot of things in the garden come from those seeds she saved last year. The bulk of our garden next year will be from seeds she saved this year. My wife is not only a seed eater but a seed saver too! She's kind of "seedy" but I like "seedy."

This is one of the favorite parts of the garden for me. The compost pile. I can put everything in here and there are millions of hungry critters just waiting to turn it into rich soil for us. Last Spring I put all the old sensitive tax papers, banking statements and such in this box. It works better than a shredder. Two months later we were feeding it to our garden. I think Harvey the watermelon could do our taxes after all that financial information went into the melon patch.

Our table has never been without cut flowers. My wife makes everything so beautiful.

Last but not least, in the kitchen this morning these three cabaleros were thinking of making salsa out of this lone tomato. I didn't want to get involved. I hope the tomato came out of it ok.

All my toys in the yard

I was trying to get as many ladders as I could in the yard as I painted the house today.