Ship(lap) of fools.
I got an early, but not unreasonable start this morning. I would have been plenty happy to stay in bed for a while longer, but my dad arrived just after seven, and we got started. We did some drywall work, then I went to Home Depot for some more sheetrock and a few other things. We hung some panels in the garage, and after lunch I went over to Chapel Hill for a load of shiplap. I got a pretty good deal on some boards that were a little nicer than I was expecting. Back at the farm we started installing them in the guest apartment. It was pretty slow going at first, but we soon began going pretty quickly. Tomorrow morning I will really set things up better so that we can be more efficient. I think we can really go a lot faster than we did today. But this was a good start. Tomorrow if we can finish the shiplap in the apartment kitchen/living room and the install the recycled siding on one wall of the apartment bedroom then I will be pretty happy. I ran out of daylight before I could get a picture of the shiplap we installed, but below is the trailer loaded down.
Sweet potatoes and sweet victory.
We decided to ditch the turkey in a jar and instead offered Luke some fresh sweet potato puree this evening. It was much better received. He took three good naps over the course of the day and was in a better mood than he has been recently. Maybe that was also due to the Tide’s continued dominance and an unexpected victory by Granddaddy’s Bulldogs. He wore one of his Alabama outfits today in celebration. Liz’s mother arrived safely this evening and after a couple hours of visiting I came down here to the farm. I’m typing this post using the WordPress app on my phone, and it’s a little bit of a pain. Not a big deal though. I’m looking forward to a very productive week here.
Drywall, y’all.
Well, we passed the energy inspection yesterday! Now it really is full speed ahead. Today I bought a few tools and started hanging drywall. I first went over to Chapel Hill in order to buy some shiplap, but the place was closed. That was very frustrating. I will probably return on Monday. The drywall was a pain, mostly because I’m so out of practice. It also went very slowly. Starting tomorrow I will spend a week down at the farm. Liz’s mother is coming into town to watch Luke, and I will be freed up. Should get a lot done.
Not glamorous, but necessary.
After Luke’s doctor’s appointment I went and purchased our wood stove. I think it will be a pretty nice one. Then I met my dad and we drove down to the farm. It was a muddy mess and was still raining, so we went to Home Depot in Spring Hill. I bought some driver bits, and inquired about siding, but it now looks like they can’t get it for me. We also went to the plumbing supply store and I asked about thermal expansion tanks for the condo. I ended up buying one. Back at the farm I brought in my new drywall panel lift and assembled it. Hopefully it will help make that task go a lot easier. We also used screws to better attach the subfloor to the joists. That should remove most squeaking and give a very solid foundation. It wasn’t much fun though. We left as daylight was starting to fade, but the evening was really lovely. Fog was all in the back field. I really am ready to be finished and living out there. It should be really nice.
Six months!
Wow, half a year. Depending on when asked I would say this was either the longest or shortest six months of my life. I think there is a country song with the line “days go slow and years go fast”, or something like that. Lots of wisdom there. We took Luke to the doctor’s office and he received a glowing report. He even got some crud cleaned out of his belly button! He also got shots. He fussed a bit at various times, but handled the waiting very well.
This evening he sat at the table with us in his new high chair while we ate dinner. We ran out of time to try feeding him turkey again, but will give it another shot tomorrow evening. Feeling very blessed to have the Little Man in our lives, and so grateful that he continues to be healthy.
A big day for the Little Man.
Lots of action today. We went on a nice walk while it was still cool this morning. Then Luke had three epic bowel movements; the results of the worst are pictured below. This evening we attempted to give him “solid food” for the first time. It was turkey, it stunk, and he wasn’t at all interested, as the video below shows. He wrapped up the day with a new bath location – the tub. That ended in tears. Fortunately he ended up in his favorite after bath blanket, and everything was okay.
Sunday picnic.
This afternoon we belatedly celebrated my mother’s birthday at the AG Center. Fortunately it was quite a bit cooler than it was last month, and we found a nice shady spot. Luke was very relaxed and seemed to enjoy the fresh air.
