I Need a Truck

My current vehicle, a 2000 VW New Beetle, needs an alternator. No biggie. But I need a truck. That way I can put junk in the back. 

Anyway. I thought the master bedroom was paint ready, but then I noticed some chewed up places on the ceiling, and another new section of peeling paint. So it was back to scraping. Accept, I'm all out of joint compound. So hubs will have to bring some home from work tomorrow. Sigh. No more peeling paint!

I also started planting the herb garden. It's hard to get much done. It was another interactive sprinkler day with the temp at 84F. I also spread some Black Kow on the planted area of the south side of the house. 

Tomorrow? More planting, and digging up glass. Then muddying and sanding. And hopefully the ceiling will get painted tomorrow or Thursday. 

My grandma told me that my package of yummy things will be arriving tomorrow. Definitely looking forward to that.

Today's Progress

Hauled fallen 6 red cedar across 5 acres by hand. Spread the leaves over the proposed food plot and covered it with a tarp. Did battle with the compacted Georgia clay to finish out the herb garden plot, and began adding Black Kow to mix in.  

Oh and of course, more sanding in the master bedroom. Just need to finish sand and it's ready to prime!

3.24.14 Progress

Is it raining yet? I keep hearing something that sounds like rain. Oh, it's the stove with the simmering glass. Now they are simmering in vinegar. Anyway. Today I kept on digging out the compacted clay where the herb garden will be. I tend to get a late start and work until dark. Plus, my daughter keeps telling me that, "Maybe I should stop working and play instead. Because playing is exercise, and work is not." She's 4.
The cat chased us around with a rat offering that she then played with herself before eating it. Ick. I also found a mole she had slain, but didn't want to eat, so I tossed it over the fence. Poor thing. Yesterday she brought me 2 mice. She's really helpful, or we have an infestation. I opened up the crawlspace so she can go under and hunt.
Then I worked on regrading the southeast side of the house. I think I'll plant sunflowers and wildflowers. Something not to picky about soil, and can help suck up some of that ever present moisture.
I'm still trying decide if I want raised beds or not.
Decisions, decisions.

Today's Progress

Finished the southern roof facia sealing project. I had to some back and seal the smaller gaps with silicone. I also got up on the roof to check out the chimney leak. Apparently where the roof meets the chimney there isn't any flashing. So now I need to go get some. 

I continued digging out and de-rooting the herb garden. As well as adding some coarse sand to help with drainage and break up the clay. 

I also sanded the bedroom some more. But still need to build out the patch some more and secure the dry wall in a few places with screws.

Lastly, last night, after lowering all those boards down in the barn, and rubbing elbows with a rat snake in the loft, I read not to use any treated wood for raised beds. Instead, use naturally rot resistant wood like cedar. So I'll have to rethink what I'm doing. I have been dragging out some felled cedar trees from the woods. I might be able to use those.

I'm tired now.

Today's Progress

Pop came to visit today, which was nice, so I didn't get tons done. But still made good progress in the barn. I dropped down some plants that can be used for raised beds or furntiture. Then put them on the lower level floor. I moved some rotted wood in the rot pile, and rearranged the drying hand hewn planks to get more air. 

Future goals:

I would like to strip all the paint off the original doors in the house to reveal the natural wood. I'd like to move the old door from the barn loft into the shed and strip the old paint on it. There's also another old door in the garage I need to move to the shed. Geeez, the house is only 1082 sqft. And already has 7 doors! Where did the other 2 go? Actually I know. One to the kitchen was removed but the frame is still there. I'd like to remove the frame and finish it out. And another went to the mud room. It was completely removed and finished out. The frame and door are in the garage.

Another thing I'd like to do is just wander the land with a metal detector like some crazy old retired person looking for gold on the beach. But I bet there's some interesting metal out here. Maybe some civil war stuff. Or old farm junk. I found a big metal gear by the garage. What was that for?