When the World Seems Sooooooo Dark.......................

This was a bedroom, and will soon be the kitchen.

...................cut a hole in the wall and put in a window!!

As part of our construction process, we girls decided that we needed a window in the main part of the house because it is so dark and it needs, NEEDS more light!!  So we took a window that Barrett salvaged from a job up in the Chicago area that at this point, wasn't doing anything but taking up storage space.

Later, when we decide on the final layout of the two walls that meet in the corner, we'll make the windows look similar, but for now, we'll just live with it and let the sunshine in!!!

It can be frustrating to live like this but like I said before, I think a major advantage is that we can put things in order temporarily and live with it for some time while we decide if it works or not.  We've determined the basic design of the kitchen, now it's just a matter of coming up with the finer details.

Shane, Landon, and Cooper are working on the new "window to the world"! 

A window to the beautiful night sky!

Now we can watch as the guys work!!

Don't be distracted by all the "stuff".  This will be the corner of the kitchen and the once again, the windows are just temporary.  But the amount of light that comes in now is amazing.  Next spring, we'll work on the outside and think about adding some flowers and things.

I picked up these feathers as I was walking out to the garden last night.  I thought the black one was unique so I thought I would show you a picture.

So, if you ever need some more light in your life, just cut a hole in the wall 

and put in a window.  But I must to warn you!!  It can become dangerous because you might end up living in a glass house.  

October 2016
Sandy

Labor Day Weekend 2016

We had a great Labor Day weekend this year with a lot of projects going on at the same time.  Everything wasn't planned to happen all at once, but it did and thankfully we had enough of us to do what we needed to do because it was sort of a "race against the clock".

Ember is NOT liking the noise from the saw on the back side!

And that's just one reason to be thankfully for a big family!!

Oh, but unfortunately, we were missing one of our family members:  Barrett.  

And boy did we miss him!!  Not for the work, although he would have been a great help, but just to have him here with us.  

We've always been a really close family and when one person is missing, it just isn't the same!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Seriously.

Preparing for this weekend was a story in itself, but I won't be able to tell you what happened.  Unfortunately, it takes me too long to write already.  Maybe someday, I'll do a podcast or something like that or learn to write better and faster, whichever comes first.

But trust me when I say, "You can not write a better script", then the way our family life just plays out.  

 We sometimes laugh and talk about having a reality TV show, but then again, who wants to be famous?!?  Sure we might make a lot of money, but being "famous"?  No thanks.

Thankfully we all, for the most part, can just go with whatever happens and keep a positive attitude and laugh about it later.

Hey, and it keeps life interesting too!

Here is just a glimpse into what we did for the extended weekend.   

But first...................................

The foundation of our addition was laid about 3 weeks before we started the building project thanks to our friend Mr. Balmer, the concrete extraordinaire, aka "expert".

I've been dreaming of and designing a new mud room for that spot right there.

Our shirtless friend Mr. Balmer, the concrete expert.

Side view of the house.

Our weekend projects:

Shane was on the excavator digging trenches - about a 1/4 of a mile in total and dealing with wire and water pipes.  It might not sound like a lot, but it is and was.  Lots of hand digging also needed to be done so we wouldn't break any phone, electric, or water pipe lines. 

Road Block!  "Did I hit a phone line?"

A little over whelmed.

Our intersection is the spot where everything branches off in different directions so there are orange flags and spray paint lines everywhere.

Esther stopped by to help too.

Dakota, and Tanner working on their construction skills.

Landon working on lines in trenches and working with Cooper in our hay field and a neighbors field working hay.  Cutting, raking, and baling, loading, and stacking about 600 bales of hay.

In the trenches.

First load of hay.

 
Tim working on the new room and stopping to help solve whatever problems were going on.

The girls preparing and serving food and helping when needed or when they just decided too.

And me: the designer, the one to offer moral support, the go-getter, the photographer, the disciplinarian, the encourage r, etc. 

That was the basic assignment, although the jobs just fell into place and there was no discussion about who was to do what.  And if anyone needed help, then whoever could stop what they were doing, they would go and help somewhere else.

The trenches were dug for new electric wires to get rid of an ugly electrical pole and it's overhead wires that were in the front of the houses.  Also to bury wires that were strung up in and through the trees from the main pole to a few other places around the farm.  Those wires were hung there before we purchased the farm and the electric company strongly recommended that we bury those lines as well, and now was the perfect time to do that.

A long time ago, someone (who shall remain anonymous) said that we could get rid of the ugly pole that was in the front of the house.  When I heard that, I got really excited and was anxious to see what we could do, because let me tell you, that pole is an eye sore!

But my excitement quickly faded when it just seemed to be too overwhelming.

The Ugly Pole

Then months later, the electric company in town started to replace all of the electrical poles in our valley and that's when I started asking questions again.

It worked out, and after a lot of planning and talking, here we are:  digging trenches for new wires!!  But little did I understand what was all involved in moving just one little pole.  $$

While digging the trenches for the electrical wire, we found out that that main water line was only 1/2" water pipe, so we changed that over to a 1" pipe - not something that we had planned on doing.

Water pipe.

Everything ran pretty smooth the whole weekend except for the fact that on Monday afternoon we broke a water pipe.  Fixed that one.  Then we broke another pipe on Monday night, just before we were getting ready to be done for the night.  

Nice face Landon!!  (It's funny at what point the photo is actually captured.)  They're trying to find the water leak so we can fix it to take showers.  I don't know what's worse, no water or no electricity?!

At this point we all needed a shower from sweating all day and being covered in dirt and grime.  And to top it off,  some of the kids had to go to work the next day which meant they had to be up early.  So for the next hour or so the guys worked on fixing the pipe.  And that they finally did.

Unfortunately the extended weekend had to come to an end.  That was a sad time.  The projects aren't finished, but we are still working on them.  We stayed dry for almost a week but we got hit with a lot of rain today.  Thankfully it didn't do any harm although we weren't able to get all the hay into the barn before it rained.

So in a day or two when the rain stops, we'll have to go back into the field and cut the twine on the bales of hay, spread it out to fluff it up so it can dry.  Then we'll have to bale it once again.  It's not something that we would ever plan to do, but it's the only way to save the hay which amounts to almost 300 bales.

First wall and they forgot to put on the vapor barrier.  Oops.

Sorry for the blurry photo.

Lots and lots of wire!!

Feeding electric wire.  It doesn't look heavy, but it surely is!!  Oh, and Tanner's photo bomb - his ball of tape he threw at Dakota.  That kid is in just about every picture:  physically or mentally.

Tanner having to pose for EVERY picture!

Getting closer.

Girls can climb too!

The cat found a place to nap in Dakota's tool belt.

Dakota and Emma finishing the wall.

Preparing the nails for the ones swinging the hammer.

Setting the first wall!!  Yeah, it was HOT outside!!  I wish we could have had six more boys!!  Oh, and a few more girls too!!

We'll keep you posted as we move along with these projects.  One thing that would have made the mud room move along a little faster was if I had drawn my plans for it more specifically on paper.  That way the guys wouldn't have had to stop so much for me to measure and think and change and measure again.  That was a little frustrating to them, but I told them that they're learning great character skills this way.  I don't think they thought that was to funny.

But I have to say that because we are doing this without having to submit plans to anyone, we can change as we see fit.  Sometimes if you draw something on paper and follow it exactly, you don't realize what you did until you're done with it.  And then it could be too late.  

This way, we could stop and talk about something and then go ahead and build it.  

Also, we're making our own windows and doors so we don't have to use standard sizes.  I think that's the most fun about this project.

September 2016

Sandy

Laundry Room Cabinet

Laundry Room Cabinet

This is our new Laundry Room cabinet that Landon is making for us.  While he's working on forging the hinges, I'll start the painting process.

We haven't decided 100% on the color as of yet, but Emma and I are partial to distressed black with a dark olive green contrast.  I'm not sure what that all means until I start to paint.  I'll just have to start working and see what happens. 

We'll post the painting process when we're done.

February 2016

Sandy

I'm in Love, I'm in Love, and I Don't Care Who Knows It!!!

Albuquerque, NM from the top of the Sandia Crest Mountain.

Trip to Albuquerque, New Mexico

Last week Landon, Tanner, Emma, and I returned from our almost two week trip to New Mexico for the  *ABQ Fashion Incubator "Boot Camp".  (More about that in another post.)

We've never been that far southwest, and it seemed to me that we were in a foreign country; not so much by the people we met, but by the terrain of the state.  Once we left the plains of Texas, all the "greenness" soon disappeared from our view.

The clouds are amazing in New Mexico!

New Mexico

I've heard very little, if really anything at all of adobe/cob houses.
(The link above will take you to some ideas of the endless possibilities one can create.)

My only exposure to them has either been through movies, pictures, or from a girl from our church who recently gave a missionary report. There, they built an earth home of some sort.  Quite honestly, I didn't really like the look of those earthy houses from what I had seen.  To me, they either looked very warm or just plain, hot! 

A quick driveby snap shot of some adobe houses in Albuquerque.
(I am so fascinated at the fact that these houses have been built all over the world!  
Oh, if I could only go and visit them!! ) 

 One of the first places we stopped, in Albuquerque, was a little coffee shop that was an adobe.  As soon as we walked inside, I was instantly "in love" with this building.  It's hard to describe the "feeling" that it had on me; but, instantly, I felt the warmth of this place.  Oh, how I wish I had the words to tell you!

The house was over a hundred years old and it was made with adobe bricks.  The owners showed us around the house-turned-coffee-shop, and told us what was original to the building and where the addition had started.

In the backyard, towards the back of the yard, they had--"built" into their landscape--the hundred year old wooden frames that were used to build the adobe bricks for the house.  Off to the side of the frames, were some extra adobe bricks sitting in an organized pile that looked to be part of the fence.

My world just exploded!!

I was in LOVE!!

You know, sometimes I just wonder, what. is. wrong. with. Me?  I'm not normal!!  

Ever since I was young, I have been fascinated with the making of things and how they are put together.  Since I'm not afraid to try something new, I'm always putting things together and creating.  Of course, there are some things I enjoy doing more than others; but when it comes to purchasing things, my first thought is--"I can make that so why buy it?!"

If you ask my family, I'm sure they will tell you that I drive them crazy at times because I'm constantly coming up with news ideas for us to do.

If I was normal, I think I would find different ways to use my time and not waste so much of my mental energy thinking of what I/we can do next.  I don't like to just sit around and be idle; and when I say idle, I mean wasting time.  What I really mean is, I like things to be a certain way and when I'm happy with the way things are then I'll leave them alone, but until then, I'm always wanting to, "Just make it right, pretty, comfortable, and homey, etc." (you know what I mean).

Oh, if could only wake up every day and just do life and be happy, I would.  I'm just not that way and don't think I ever will be.  I've even prayed that the Lord would make me "normal" and take this crazy creative side away from me!

Now don't get me wrong, I love to be home and do things around the house!  I love being a wife, mom, and a home maker!  I just can't only do that!  I need to be creative.   

I love people!  But not cyber people, real people that I can touch, laugh and cry with.  I need to be able to read their expressions and really get to know them!

Whew!..................
I was really going off on an tangent, wasn't I?  Alright, I'm going back to the reason for this post.

This trip has really opened up my and my families eyes to what is possible in the world of "natural" building.  There is no limit to what we can do if we put our minds to it.

   Even if I had all the money in the world, (which I never will and that's more than fine) I would still do things myself--there is so much satisfaction in getting your hands dirty and completing a project!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

We now have some plans to do some natural building here on the farm.  We'll see where those ideas take us--so keep in touch.

Here is a quote from the MaryJane'sFarm magazine that I just brought home.   

"Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass 
under the trees on a summer's day, listening to the 
murmur of water or watching the clouds 
float across the blue sky, is by no means a waste of time." 
 John Lubbock, 1894

Oh, and, just so you know; as much as I love people, I also have a very strong need to be by myself reading a good book or spending time alone with the Lord so I can rejuvenate myself--
I just couldn't function without my down time.
Happy Dreaming!!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

*Yes, we know that Landon is called Tanner in the photo.  He didn't want me to let Kathleen know.  Funny!  I should really tell her, I think.  Kathleen called the boys by different names because we didn't know at the time we signed up for the class, which two of the six boys were going to be able to go to the "Boot Camp" and she needed to get the dog tags printed.

Our official dog tags from "Boot Camp".

Sandy

September 2015

Trying to Get Water out of an Old Well ~ Part 1

After we purchased this property, the boys found this well near the old homestead.  Thankfully it's been surrounded by barbed wire.  Can you see it back there?  

Can you see the barbed wire back there?

Cooper with the brush mower clearing a path to the well.

Landon and Barrett getting ready to try and pump water out of the well.

Barrett was trying to get the end of the hose into the water.  The hose didn't want to stay; it kept curling up.

The top of the water was about 6-8 feet from the top of the well.

The boys figured the water in the well was about 20 feet deep.

Still trying to get water out of the well with the pump.

After working for about 1/2 an hour to get the pump to pump water, Landon decided to take it apart to see why it wasn't working.  When he opened it, we could see why.  This pump came from a friend of ours who went to clean out a mans apartment who no one had seen for a while.  Unfortunately, he had died in his home. 

And here was the problem; at least a big part of it!!  The inside of the housing was coated with tar!

After cleaning out the housing, he was still trying to get the pump to work.  It's not sucking up water.

Shane came to offer his advice (a meeting of the minds).

Landon priming the pump.

Finally, we struck liquid GOLD!!

This bucket is stuck in the concrete and there is a hole in the bottom of bucket from corrosion.  Maybe this was a holding spot for the bucket that they used to get water out of the well?  Any ideas?

     This well hasn't been used in over 100 years and there is still water in it.  We wanted to try and pump water out so we could see if it filled up again.  And if it did, then we could use the water to water our garden that we would like to put in near the bottom of this hill.

     After working on this project for almost 2 hours we finally got the pump to work and when it worked, boy did it work.  We were all standing near the well when the pump finally kicked in and some of us got soaked because they didn't have the hose connected and, boy was it COLD!!

Sandy
July 11, 2014