SOUTH SIDE COMPLETE!

Against all odds this weekend, we completed the south side of the new building! Big John and I really weren't in the mood for construction this weekend. We had a wedding to attend Saturday afternoon, so it was going to be a short first day of work anyway. We drug out the door early Saturday morning, and the weather turned sour soon after. That was all the convincing we needed to call it a day. We unloaded the trailer and headed to town for a supply run and a little shopping. What started as a quick trip ended up an all day affair - and we missed the wedding. We were tempted to throw in the towel today as well and hit Bass Pro Shop, but we buckled down and got a lot done. The front of the building is all done!

The soffit is complete, except for that little end piece.



The porch ceiling is in.

And all the siding is on.

For two people not wanting to work, we sure got a lot done! I'll get it all caulked and sealed this week (it was too cold last week to get that done) and we'll be ready to tackle the north side next weekend.

WE'RE ALMOST FINISHED!

NIGHT LIGHTS

I was talking to a friend yesterday, and we were remarking how it's ALREADY DECEMBER! How did that happen? I'm so amazed that the end of the year is upon us - and it's turned into winter this week. Wow! Next thing you know, it will be summer again. I guess time really does fly when you're having fun.

Yesterday evening, I figured I'd better put the heat on for the chickens. It is winter, after all! I ended up with 3 heat lamps going - probably a little overkill, but I think they stayed warm. The coop was all aglow!

And it's a good thing I got this done - it got down to 28 degrees last night. Brrrr....

ALL I EVER NEEDED TO KNOW ... I LEARNED IN 6TH GRADE MATH!

It's true: division, angles, fractions. And we used it all this weekend on the construction project! Hug a teacher as soon as you read this.

We had a productive weekend. We finished up some odds and ends that we'd been putting off - finished the roof completely on the south side, made and installed the end caps on the east and west ends of the roof, attached ledger boards for the soffit, and started installing the soffit. Unfortunately, that didn't go so well ... the soffit we bought isn't wide enough. So I'll make another trip to Lowe's this week to pick up different material. I wonder if they'll roll out the red carpet for me!

With everything else (mostly) done, we were able to move on to siding! Yea! Here's how it stands this evening:

The west end is complete and almost ready for paint. I just need to finish caulking. And Big John will design and build his sliding doors. (Those angles were a huge pain in the rear.)

The front (south side) looks fabulous! It took us most of the west end to remember how we did the house. By the time we got to the front, we'd figured it all out!

We had to leave the top couple of rows of siding off until we get the right soffit. And I need to buy more caulk. The east end went pretty quickly. We stopped when we got to those angles - and when the cold front blew in. It seemed like a good place to pick back up next weekend.

The plan for the week is to get everything caulked, seal the cedar posts, and make a run to Lowe's. Then we'll be ready for another weekend of fun!!

Stay warm, my friends!

FIND THE DIFFERENCES

Do you remember that little section in the Sunday newspaper, over by the "funny papers" (that's what we used to call the comics.)? I think it was called "Find the Differences." It might still be there. Maybe it's in the newspaper everyday. Do they still make newspapers - or is everything online? I feel like the world is flying by me!

Nontheless, see if you can find the differences between the two sets of pictures below. There should be 8 differences altogether!!

Picture A:



 Picture B:

Picture A:

Picture B:

Remember, you're looking for a total of 8 "things" that are different between the two sets of pictures! We're making progress! Siding is next!