Starting siding.

Posted on by David Maxwell

I arrived at the farm a few minutes before six. My dad came not too soon after. Fortunately he was pretty motivated for us to get working on the siding, because I was not. We started under the porch as it was in the shade. The pieces cut easily and were mostly easy to deal with but for their length and flexibility. I went out to Lowe’s so get some cheap paint to cover the cut edges with, but was fussed at because the premixed (and discounted) red was too strong. So we didn’t paint and just caulked. The plumber and electrician didn’t show up today. Not really a big deal though, since they aren’t holding us up. My new siding nail gun wasn’t due to arrive at the condo until today, so we nailed everything by hand. Tomorrow should be much more efficient. We drove to Home Depot in Spring Hill to get nails for the gun plus some lunch. On the way there I got a text saying that the scaffolding I had ordered online had arrived. That was a nice bonus. Lunch was at Sonic, a decision I regretted almost as soon as I finished eating. We spent the remainder of the afternoon putting up more siding. It started to rain a little after five. I hung around until 6:20 or so then hit the road. My dad was spending the night in order to save himself a couple hours of driving. The rain really cooled things down and freshened the air, so it should feel great tonight. Back at the Condo Liz and Luke are doing well, and my nail gun was waiting. It even has a nice plastic case. Not much else is going on. I held the little man for a while and also chopped up vegetables for some stew.

Father’s Day.

Posted on by David Maxwell

It obviously takes on a new meaning this year. It has felt like a busy stretch of “special days” since Luke was born – Liz’s birthday, then mine, Mother’s Day and now Father’s Day. That’s a lot crammed into two and a half months.

We went up to East Nashville this morning to look at some doors at a friend’s house. He is wanting to get rid of them and they could be a good fit for the farmhouse. I didn’t get a great look at them, but saw enough to know that I want to return with my trailer and pick a few up. They are classic solid wood doors. Luke did a good job of pretty much sleeping the whole trip.

The rest of the morning and afternoon were pretty relaxed other than a little bit of fussiness. He isn’t liking his new formula so I ordered another kind online. I also ordered a little spinning thing to go above his pack and play. We did a little tummy time which he seemed to enjoy.

It rained late afternoon and thankfully cooled things off a bit. We met my parents and Lauren for a picnic dinner at the AG center. That was very nice, as was the little walk we went on afterwards. Luke was pretty well behaved the whole time.

I dropped Liz and Luke off at the condo and went to Target to pick up the formula I ordered. We are just a few minutes away from seeing if he likes it or not!

Simple Saturday.

Posted on by David Maxwell

I didn’t arrive at the farm until about 6:30 this morning. My first task was installing the remainder of the deck boars on the platform. Now I just need to cut them off. The plumber and electrician arrived early and continued their work. I took a few bags of trash to the dump and had breakfast at the nasty buffet.

Back at the farm I Added more concrete blocks to the garage area and smashed them up. That was hot and sweaty work, but the electrician told me that gravel is currently running close to $500 a truckload, so I felt better about it. I also took out some of the barbed wire fence along the driveway in order to get better access to the remaining block. I still need to remove the metal posts though. The electrician and I talked for quite a while. He has seven kids and thirteen grandkids. They are spread all over the country. After that I hit the road. Rather than returning directly to the condo I stopped at a fireplace store in Franklin. They didn’t have the stove that Liz wants in stock, but he did give me a quote on materials and installation. He also quoted me on a garage door. That was a little higher than hoped for, but the stove was a bit cheaper. I’m not sure if I’ll go with these guys though, since they have some rather negative reviews online. Most of those were related to their installation, so I might at least buy the stove from them.

Back at the Condo Liz and Luke were both pretty relaxed. Luke nursed and napped, and Liz and I napped a little as well. She took him for a little walk around the complex once it cooled down some. I stayed inside, having had my fill of the great outdoors for the day. Also my expertise was needed to chop vegetables.

A good Friday, even if it isn’t the end of the work week.

Posted on by David Maxwell

It was a very productive day out at the farm. I stopped at the Lowe’s in Franklin on the way down in order to pick up a new blade for my table saw. I was there when they opened at six. I immediately started ripping down the 2x4s is order to have strips to add to the rafters. Once those were in place there would be enough clearance for the can lights. That task took about two hours total and should really be worth it. Liz just didn’t really have any other lighting system she liked for the kitchen and dining room. The plumbers/electricians arrived before seven and got after it. I went to a door place in town and priced interior doors. They will be a good option if we can’t find any old ones. Next I stopped at Lowe’s and got a few things including a couple of sixteen foot 2x12s. They are for the platform connecting the house and apartment, via the garage.  I started on that once I got back to the house, worked for a couple of hours, then went to lunch. I went back to the Mexican place I first visited the other night. My main reason for going there was to watch Spain and Portugal play their World Cup match. Apparently lots of other people had the same idea, and I couldn’t get a table with a decent view of a TV. So I ate my decent meal and left before halftime. It felt good to get back to work, despite the heat. The platform will be very helpful. It was also a good way to get rid of lots of scrap lumber. The HVAC guys came as well, and cut their vent openings into the floor. I was really rolling along until my neighbor Russ showed up. We talked for close to two hours. Oh well, such is life. It was nice talking with him, but we could have covered everything in about fifteen minutes and I would be done with my platform by now. Instead about fifteen minutes after he left it started raining. So I just messed around cleaning things up a little before hitting the road at eight.

Back at the condo Liz had prepared a nice pasta dish. I drank a couple of fizzy waters and we talked while Luke nursed. She said he really hasn’t fussed for the past three days and that he has been really happy.

Incremental progress.

Posted on by David Maxwell

I left the condo just after five this morning. At the farm I caught a little more sleep before the plumber/electrician arrived around seven. While his assistant drilled holes we talked over the electrical plan. Everything looks pretty good, although after talking with Liz a few adjustments need to be made. It was nice and cool until about ten, then it got hot and muggy. After the plumbers finished I went to the supply store to look at fixtures. They had some nice stuff and I got a few catalogs for Liz. Then I went to the nasty buffet. The less said about that the better. My final stop was Lowe’s for caulk, spray paint, and a ladder. I wanted a twelve foot, but it was about a hundred dollars more than the ten foot, so I couldn’t really justify that. I’ll apply the savings towards some scaffolding. The plumber returned and dropped off a bunch of his supplies and we talked for a while. He is an interesting guy and I feel good about hiring him. Those two statements are unrelated, by the way.

Yesterday’s storms made a mess of the footings, so I scraped off the worst of the mud. Hopefully I can really clean them well tomorrow (maybe even with the shop vac) and seal them on Saturday. I’m not looking forward to painting on the asphalt, but it should help keep the crawl space dry. Then I can do a little grading around the house. That will make it easier to set up ladders and scaffolding when it’s time to do the siding, probably next week.

It’s getting to be time for Liz to make a lot of decisions. I know she is feeling a bit overwhelmed, but hopefully she can muster the energy to just power through it. She should be happy because the electrician and I figured out a way to get can lights on the vaulted ceiling in the kitchen and dining room. It will involve a bit of ladder work on my part, but shouldn’t take more than a couple of hours. I’ll try to knock that out first thing in the morning.