Getting the Car in the Garage

As I think it is with most garages, 

mine was a mess and a car wouldn't fit in it.

Some of the items- like the windows and new toilet and sink-

are there until they can be put in their new homes.

Other stuff was just tossed in there

(mostly by me I admit)

because I didn't know where else to put them.

So because we were in for a big snow storm, 

Big E and I decided to tackle the mess.

We needed to get things moved and organized 

so my car could fit in the garage in the event

the snow emergency went into effect.

The stack of wood on the right in the photo below

needed to get moved to the loft storage area.

Some of the plywood we were saving for various future projects

(like chicken coop repair/expansion),

and some pieces were slated for the burn pile.

We also wanted to get the counter tops in place

for Big E's work space.

We salvaged the cabinets from the old upstairs kitchen,

and moved them into the garage.

They'll make nice storage for Big E's tools,

and a nice area for him to get working on the projects I have for him.

The cabinets were all hung already

with the help of our friendly neighborhood Eagle Scout.

We just needed to move all the floor cabinets into place

and attached the counter.

We also saved the old "kitchen table" from the downstairs kitchen.

It was just a cabinet with a counter top.

We decided to use this as a little potting table for me and my plants, 

and a place to store all my gardening stuff.

For now, we used cinder blocks to raise it high enough to use, 

but Big E will eventually build a platform so the counter tops will be level.

For now the plywood for the new bathroom subfloor

and the items needed for the new bathroom

need to be pushed to one side, so it looks more cluttered than it is.

The area for my car was cleared out, 

and just in time as it snowed about 15 inches 2 days later.

I'm looking forward to getting all the tools moved to the garage 

to free up some space in the attic.

Bathroom News

The Bathroom Fairy visited yesterday.

I know you can't really tell in the photo, 

but there is new plywood sublfloor

and the shower base is here.

Apparently, the floor is pretty uneven,

so it needs shims and new subfloor.

Pretty soon Big E will cut the drain hole for the shower,

and set up the parts for the shower faucets.

Once drains are in, 

I think drywall will go up quick and we'll have a finish bathroom in no time.

The Lonely Only

This is Donner, the lone chicken in the coop.

She is the lone chicken because she ate one of her brooder mates, 

and my older chicken died.

Yes, she is named for the Donner Party,

the pioneer group who was forced to cannibalize members

 of their traveling party after getting trapped in the Sierra Nevada Mountains

in winter in 1846.

I have no clue what breed of chicken she is, though I fear she may be 

a black sex-link chicken.

I had a sex link before who terrorized any new chickens that came to the coop.

She got eaten, and I wasn't sad.

The cannibalistic nature of Donner makes me concerned

since I'm hitting up the Poultry Swap in April to get new pullets.

I certainly don't want them to be Donner's dinner.

She might also be an Australorp which would be fine.

She was supposed to be a Dominique chicken

known for their black and white checkered feathers.

She's a little lonely right now being the only hen in the henhouse.

And being lonely makes her friendly.

To people anyway.

My grandson enjoyed giving her some attention

and petting her.

He even tried to take her in the house and in his mom's car

so she could live in his room.

Apparently he has a couch in his room she could sleep on.

Also, my grandson speaks chicken.

He told us she was talking and when asked what she said, 

he leaned down, listened and said "She say my name!"

He later explained that she said "Bawk bawk bawk" and that means "Xavier"

in chicken.

Looking forward to getting the coop spruced up this month,

and fixing some minor repairs

to prepare for the new hens.

Narnia Wardrobe

A while ago, 

Big E and I went to get the giant wardrobe

 from his sister's house.

Luckily the thing comes apart, 

otherwise we would never be able to get it into the upstairs of our house.

In pieces, it was easy to transport, 

and pretty easy to move upstairs.

Assembly was tricky.

We needed 3 people to start- 2 to hold each side

and the other to put in the bolts.

Lucky for us, 

we have an Eagle Scout across the street.

Once the sides and top were bolted back together, 

I wasn't needed.

Except when I discovered the shelf was in backwards

and we had to unbolt the top to flip it around
(how it got put on wrong when the word "Front" is clearly written on the shelf I'll never know).

We finally got the bulk of the job done

once we got the back attached.

I'd like to find a Narnia poster or something and tack it to the back wall.

Big E said no.

I might just ignore him.

Attaching the front pieces was next.

I don't like that the doors don't go all the way down.

Big E thinks it would be a simple fix to make doors on the bottom.

For now I think I'll just store shoes on the bottom.

That leaves room in the closet for Big E's shoes.

Eventually, we got the doors all attached,

and everything in place.  

This thing is massive.

It doesn't really look great against that paneling.

Then again, nothing looks great against that paneling.

Eventually the wall will be a nice sage green,

and I think that will go nice with the wood.

It better since this wardrobe nearly takes up the entire wall.

We did have a few parts left over.

Big E thinks they were over kill.

Hopefully we don't get crushed to death.

In a couple of places there are hand written

descriptions about what the wardrobe was made of

and by whom.

Basically, the wardrobe was made of Christmas trees 

from the square in the City of Hagerstown.

I haven't found Narnia yet, but I'm still hoping.