I Love a Parade

Especially when it's a parade of old kitchen cabinets

making it's way out of the old upstairs kitchen and into the garage.

Finally.

Big E enlisted the help of a couple of friends, 

and they got the last big pieces of cabinetry out of the house

and into the garage workshop area.

So now, with the exception of a small cabinet Big E can carry himself

and the drawers for the bigger cabinets,

the upstairs kitchen is ready to be cleaned until it's time to rip out the walls.

Wall demo will be well down the road since the windows, Downstairs bathroom

and the dining room all need to happen first

(and in time for Thanksgiving).

A BIG thank you! to the fellas who helped us out!

Bathroom Progess

It feels like forever since I've posted,

but that's because, well, 

we've been busy.

The downstairs bathroom has been nearly completely gutted.

All that is left is to pull out the plywood and

rip out all the old plaster and lathe.

And the floor.

My dad and I took 700 pounds of nasty old bathroom to the dump yesterday.

(I took pictures but I'll spare you).

Eventually, there will be a custom shower stall in the far right corner

with the toilet on the left.

The sink is a pedestal sink and that will be in the front right corner (sort of out of view).

The floors will be a white hex tile 

with the walls being white subway tile 3/4 of the way up

and a turquoise-ish blue above.

Can't wait to have a downstairs bathroom!.

 

Current State of the Bathroom

Bathroom demolition has begun.

My dad tore out the large closet last week,

and Big E took care of water shut-offs and started ripping out 

everything else this week.

So far the vanity is gone and studs are being exposed.

The whole bathroom has to be gutted down to the studs.

The new toilet and pedestal sink are waiting in the garage.

I can't wait to share the before and after on this one!

Please, Give Him The Overtime

Two weeks ago, Big E was sent home early on a Friday

because he had already worked his 40 hours.

He got busy right away-

ripping the siding off the wall in the laundry room and removing the bathroom window.

While it was on the list of things that need to be done

eventually list,

they were not on the things that need to be done right now list.

Then he came home early last Friday.

You'll remember that there is an old boarded up window here in the garage

between the cabinets we put up.

Now you'll notice that, SURPRISE!

there's no board or siding blocking the sun from coming in.

That's because Big E decided that putting in the new window

(wasn't really a new window but one that was stored in the garage previously)

Of course, the window doesn't sit exactly the way that he thought, 

so there's some framing he needs to finish on the outside.

I'm hoping that a weekend camping trip preparation

will keep him busy this Friday in the event he comes home early again.

The Hen That Wasn't

This is Vader-Vulcan,

my supposed Brahma Hen.

A couple of weeks ago, Big E mentioned one of the hens making loud

weird noises.

I suggested perhaps she was doing the egg laying song

(known to be much louder than typical hen clucking).

Days after that, 

my mom tells me that one of the hens is making weird noises

that sound almost like a rooster.

I suggested it might be a rooster,

and my mom assured me that it wasn't.

Then I went down the barn.

For now, the rooster is staying.

He hasn't shown any mean tendencies, 

and so far my parents haven't complained about the crowing.

Apparently, he's not a morning rooster.

I'm hoping that he helps with protecting the flock.

Over the Weekend

We had quite the busy weekend:

our Cub Scout Blue & Gold Banquet,

visiting daughter and grandson and

trying to get some stuff cleaned up around the house.

Big E was able to get all the scrap metal (including the old fridge)

off to the scrap yard and out of the garage.

 The bonfire pictured above was the result of another part of the clean up.

We had a stack of wood piled in the garage 

from tearing down walls and whatnot.

We managed to get it to the burn pile at the homestead,

and burned all the scrap wood plus all the yard and garden waste from the homestead

and started on a pile of pine branches that have been sitting by the barn.

We actually got a lot accomplished, and that's a good thing

because starting today, our temps are reaching the 60's and 70's.

That means I'll be outside removing shrubs.

That also means more stuff for the burn pile.

But that's not an issue because who doesn't love

a good bonfire?

New Chicks

Here are the new chicks who are 

at the moment

nameless.

The 2 Golden Laced Wyandottes are to the left and right

with the Cuckoo Maran in the back.

Hopefully they'll grown to be excellent egg layers!

The New Hen

Not every post can be about renovating a 100 year old house.

So here's the new hen I adopted from a friend.

A couple weeks ago The Great Chicken Massacre of Silver Run

happened, and this girl was the sole survivor.

Since she was missing her flock, I took her in.

She's an Easter egger which means she lays green eggs.

We haven't had a green egg layer since Martha Stewart was taken by the fox.

I think I've decided to call her Lucille, 

mostly because I can't get the Kenny Rodgers song out of my head thanks to 

a Facebook post from my cousin.

 (and now you can have this lovely ear worm as well)

Currently she hangs out on this perch out of reach of the other hens

who aren't too thrilled with the new chicken.

Hopefully in a week or so, order will be restored

and everyone will be happy.

That is until I introduce the 3 baby chickens I currently have in the brooder in my guest room.

My Whomping Willow

This is the Whomping Willow from Harry Potter.

And this is the one in my back yard.

Ok, so it's really a kwanzan cherry tree, 

but it looks like a whomping willow.

 That's because of the way it was pruned a couple of years ago.  

For some reason, people around here think that cutting off

all the branches except the thickest ones.

I don't exactly know what the idea is behind this, 

but it's about the worst thing you can do to a tree other than cut it down.

So don't do it.

Anyway, I had the tree and shrub care person at my office come take a look

at the tree as it looks a little sad with some split branches.

I wasn't sure it could be saved.

Luckily, it appears with some fertilizing and controlling Japanese Beetles

and some mild pruning, it will last a while longer.

Some of the roots have come to the surface of the lawn, and since hitting the roots isn't good for the lawn mower

or the tree, I've decided to mulch around the tree.

This is going to be my first outdoor project and I'm anxious to get it started.

I've already pruned, and I spray painted a circle around the tree where I need to remove the grass

now I just need to get out there and do it.

Pretty soon, the tree is going to look like this one,

and I want to be able to enjoy an iced tea at my little patio table under the tree.