Steps forward and backward.

We got another early start up in Nashville today. Our focus started out on the bathroom vanities. That went well until we realized that the schematics had changed when we switched vendors. So we headed to the kitchen in the second unit. At a later date we’ll need to correct the vanities that we did today. The kitchen went really well right up until we realized that the plans were wrong, and that we needed to swap some cabinets between the first and second units. That took a little time but was pretty easy. I got all of the kitchen cabinets sorted for the third and fourth units. The vanities are kind of organized too. About 40% of the laminate flooring was delivered and the guys did a good job of spreading it through the units. I think I might start putting it down tomorrow. Overall it feels like we are ahead of schedule. We are really assembling the cabinets quickly and can install them pretty fast as well. The new vanity layout actually involves less cabinets, so that should help speed things up. It has been hot but not miserable. We did get a brief downpour this afternoon which created even more mud. Should be hot and sunny tomorrow so hopefully it’ll dry out some. The twelve plus hour work days are going by pretty quickly. We’ll see if that is still the case by Saturday. The pictures below show two different kitchens, although they look the same.

Country mice in the city.

Today was the first day of our three week Nashville adventure. I arrived right at six and my dad shortly after. It was not a productive morning. We needed a broom but Dollar General was closed and Kroger didn’t have any. I went back out to Walmart later for one. I also went back to Kroger for ice and drinks, then went to visit my sister nearby while we were waiting on the cabinets to be delivered. The first load came right at noon. It was a lot, and about an hour later they brought the balance. We started assembling them immediately. They went together pretty easily, which is good, since I just calculated that we have a total of 92 units to assemble. I think they look nice. We will put the same cabinets in the farm house. Tomorrow the flooring is getting delivered and they are going to put the proper amount in each room, which will help speed things up. It was rather hot today but running the big fan helped keep things fairly comfortable. Having to load and unload my tools every day is going to be a bit of a pain, but that beats them getting stolen. I packed up and left a little before seven this evening. Hopefully tomorrow I will work from about six in the morning until eight in the evening. We really need to crank through this.

Rain drain.

We woke up to steady showers, which cancelled out our planned morning walk. So instead we first watched the Wimbledon final, then the World Cup Final. Luke did a little tummy time and lots of nursing. We played with him quite a bit and were finally able to take a walk just before dark. It was pretty humid out but the fresh air was nice.

Fire(flies) on the mountain, lightning (bugs) in the air.

Last night I went to the Mountain Goat Trail near Pearl’s to photograph the fireflies. I set up two cameras and felt like the ‘flies might be a little lighter than usual as I observed. The finished product would seem to support this hypothesis. The first picture was taken at 55mm and the second at 135mm.

After the greenway I went to the farm on the back side of campus to photograph star trails. It would have been nice to stay longer but I was pretty tired. Also next time I’ll set up more than one camera.

Taking a three week vacation (from the farm).

Last night after the greenway I drove over to the university farm and attempted some star trail pictures. It’ll be interesting to see how they turned out. There were a few clouds, but tons of stars, as it was close to the new moon. A number of cars drove by, so I’ll have to remove those frames from the sequence. I think the camera ran for about an hour and a half.

We hit the road around seven this morning and took the highway off the mountain, the interstate to Beech Grove, then the back roads to the farm. It wasn’t too hot when we arrived. We worked on the corner trim for a little while, then my dad caulked and I cleaned up and packed the tools we are going to need up in Nashville.

And that is the vacation…working for three weeks at his project up by the Gulch. We are going to put down laminate flooring, assemble and install cabinets, and install trim. Hopefully we can get all of that done in three weeks. It was pretty frustrating not to finish the siding on the house, but I’m not dwelling on it. It’ll be waiting for us in three weeks.

In many ways it’ll be nice to have a break from the house, even if it is with another construction project. Doing the siding in the hot summer sun was a real beat down. It’ll also be nice to have less of a drive every day. If I leave before traffic picks up in the morning it should only take me about twenty minutes. In the evenings I’ll need to either leave before three or after seven.

I’m back at the condo now and am looking forward to relaxing this afternoon and tomorrow. Hopefully we will go on a walk once it cools down this evening.

Struck out, but still won.

We got an early start this morning and built on yesterday’s progress. That meant continuing with siding on the big gable end. Things were great until we ran out of siding even earlier than expected. My dad had to run up to Nashville for a little while so I worked on preparing the trim. When he returned we worked on trim for as long as we could take the heat, which was about one o’clock, then we hooked up the trailer and headed to Georgia for more siding. We took a mostly new route that was very pretty, although an hour longer than the interstate. It was worth it. Unfortunately the store had sold out of the siding we needed. They aren’t sure when more will be arriving. That was pretty frustrating, but not really a big deal because of where we headed next…The Mountain. Our first stop was the cottage for much needed showers. Then we had dinner at Papa Ron’s. It was delicious and the service was much improved since our last visit. We topped that off with ice cream from the Mountain Goat Market. Sitting on the terrace was very nice. We were a bit stuffed for a hike, but did drive over to campus. We visited the goats from a distance and stopped at the overlooks. They stunned, as usual. It was lovely out so we set up the folding chairs at Lake Cheston. That was very tranquil and scenic, but after a while we got restless, despite the theatre provided by the local family fishing nearby. So we headed back to the cottage. After a few minutes of sitting I decided to come photograph the fireflies on the Goat Trail, where I am now. It feels like there aren’t as many bugs out as usual. We shall see. It is so nice out here with the crickets chirping away. I’m not sure what time we’ll hit the road tomorrow. It probably depends on how well we sleep. Seeing sunrise could be nice, but I’m not sure if I’ll have the energy to get up for it.

Siding downhill.

We got started about eight this morning and it was a very productive day. The oppressive heat and humidity were no match for our determination. Most of the time. Other times I wanted to curl up and cry. But we finished one gable wall and made big progress on the largest remaining section. That one will be a real beast to finish though, as it’s the highest part and spans the “nubbin”. Another issue is that we are about to run out of siding. I miscalculated and so we are a bit short. So tomorrow afternoon we will head back to Georgia for more. That is a little frustrating, but such is life. I still think we have a decent chance of finishing by the end of Saturday. Today we also installed some of the 1×4 trim pieces. We still have a lot of them left to go though. It was another beautiful evening out here on the farm with deer and lots of lightning bugs. After “dinner” we cut a bit of grass until it became too dark to continue. That felt pretty good despite being tiring. Now there are a lot of stars out. I think tonight is a new moon. In a couple of hours it should really be impressive.

Late start, late finish.

My dad had some things to do first thing this morning and so arrived about ten. I took advantage and slept in a little, then piddled around the house until he came. Then we really got after it. Despite the relentless sun we finished up two more walls and made good progress on another. It will be close in regards to finishing by Saturday, but I’m beginning to think it’s possible. If the next three days are as productive as today then we definitely will. This evening I went to Home Depot in Spring Hill for more nails and nail gun oil. The drive was really beautiful.

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