Back at the farm.

Posted on by David Maxwell

Today felt a bit like the first day of school after a long summer break. Kind of awkward and a little confusing. I arrived at about ten after six and my dad came not much later. The back field was lovely. In fact the whole drive down was pretty, and it felt surprisingly cool outside. Unfortunately I was out of caulk, so we first headed to Lowe’s, where I bought about a hundred dollars worth. Ouch. Next we went to a building supply store to inquire about siding. They didn’t have what I needed in stock but he said he would look into ordering it and call me. Shockingly enough he hasn’t called yet.

My dad got to caulking and I took a load of siding scraps to the dump. I wanted to clean up the site as much as possible. I also wanted to mow the grass around the house, but the mower is in Nashville. I should have it on Wednesday though. I spent some time cleaning up the inside of the house and bringing in all of my tools. We went back out to check on some doors my dad had ordered and stopped by Harbor Freight for some caster wheels. I spent time clearing the footings in preparation for sealing them. That was a bit of a chore but I made good progress. I used the pressure washer to start really cleaning them, but it was having some issues. We went back to Lowe’s where I bought the sealing materials and a fan along with oil for the pressure washer. Next we picked up the doors. My dad dropped me back at the farm and I got the pressure washing running again, barely, before it maybe died. It has lots of issues, and I might buy a new one tomorrow. I almost finished, there is just one section left (last picture), but it is really nasty and will have to wait until Wednesday when I get the Shop-Vac to help clear it out. The pipes also make it rather difficult to access.

I left about 5:30 and took the scenic route back to the condo. It was nice to take the country roads and not deal with traffic. Tomorrow will be a busy day and hopefully I will get a lot done. It is supposed to be hot. Today was 92, but it never felt too bad. They didn’t have any ice at Dollar General though, so we were drinking warm drinks all day. I’ll try again in the morning.

Houses, cars, walks, and technology.

Posted on by David Maxwell

Here at headquarters we are in the midst of many changes and preparing for even more. Tomorrow the big push towards finishing the house will begin. Unfortunately it will be quite hot this week. I have been packing up lots of things to take to the farm in order to free up space in the condo. We are preparing to take pictures and list it for sale online. Hopefully I can photograph next weekend. My camping equipment is loaded up now and will get hauled tomorrow. Next will be all of the stuff that we got from Liz’s company’s old office – monitors, TVs, and other computer related items. I did set up one monitor for Liz in her closet office, so it will stick around for a little while longer. It will be a little inconvenient to have all of this stuff down in the farmhouse, but I think that I’ll rig up some carts to be able to move everything around quickly and easily.

Liz wants/needs a new vehicle as the Fusion has a number of issues, chief of which is the fact that it’s a Ford. Just kidding, she actually likes that. But all these little things are adding up and it is definitely time to upgrade. Fortunately she has come around and is excited about getting the vehicle that I think is best for her – a Lexus RX350. She is complicating matters slightly by wanting all wheel drive, which narrows the field considerably, but it will be helpful when we drive up to Michigan in the winter.

We went on a walk at the AG Center again this morning. It was pretty hot in the sun, but the little man had his hat on. He has been in a great mood today. Even a long bout of the hiccups couldn’t get him down. He did at great job during tummy time too. Late this afternoon we went to our friends Tim and Emilie’s house, and spent some quality time with them and their kids. Their youngest is our godson and he was the only one who had met Luke. Luke was a little bit of a terror when we returned to the condo, for reasons unknown. He eventually calmed down though and started nursing. He will get a bath just before bed time.

Low altitude Saturday.

Posted on by David Maxwell

Well, we decided not to go up to the mountain this weekend. There was just too much stuff that we needed to do here. This morning we went on a walk at the AG Center. It sure warms up quickly these days, but it didn’t get too miserable. After that we went to Publix. Liz shopped while Luke and I chilled in the car. The rest of the day has involved naps, organizing/packing, and lots of discussions about the house. We went on a walk around the complex this evening.

Things didn’t go according to plan, so more time with the Little Man.

Posted on by David Maxwell

Last night I told myself that I would be okay with sleeping in a little, doing some work around the condo, and then heading to Columbia for a few hours. So this morning I stayed in bed until about 7:15 and then watched Liz nurse Luke. After that we took him on a little walk around the complex. It was nice and overcast, but very humid. While we were out Liz learned that the day’s child care plans had fallen through. She had a morning and an afternoon meeting, so I volunteered to cover those. In between them I had time for a haircut and trip to the grocery store.

This afternoon didn’t go quite as smoothly. He napped okay and took a bottle, but when my parents came over to see him he just went nuts. He started wailing and kind of disrupted Liz’s meeting. He sort of calmed down until Liz could come nurse him. This evening we went on a great walk at the AG Center. It wasn’t too hot and the light was lovely.