Jim sent me this picture about midnight one evening... and, I just about had a stroke. He was sitting in my beautiful recliner... covered in this sawdust. He assured me that he would vacuum it all up and change his clothes OUTSIDE before going to bed... but, I was suspicious... did he actually do it? The next picture I saw, there was not sawdust on the recliner, BUT, what about the clothes.... hmmm... He sent me a picture of the legs of his pants also.... sawdust covered... (Jim gets a little sneaky sometimes, but I always forgive him because he has such a boyish grin... and, I melt...)
You can see the ribs of some of the mama deer.... Must have been a lean summer OR they are making sure the babies are looked after. I don't know much about deer...
This picture is a little difficult to see between the position of the picture and the shadow... But, it's a mama deer and a squirrel eating out of the same bucket at the same time... I guess after watching Rocky and Bullwinkle, I should have learned that squirrels will be friends with anyone... But, after watching some of the squirrels around this bucket, they don't want to share with other squirrels... they chase each other away on a regular basis.
This really made me laugh... Jim called me on Saturday morning, saying that he had run out of sugar... and he had searched all over the house looking for a little bit of sugar somewhere... even a little packet of sugar and couldn't find any... He said he felt like a drug user looking for a fix - looking everywhere... He asked what was around the place that had a little bit of sweetness to it, and I told him there was some peach jam in the cupboard. The next morning, he tried the peach jam, with half and half in his coffee... Let's just say, he was not impressed... He said it didn't taste like coffee... didn't taste like peach jam, and didn't taste like creamer... He finally made it to the store and his habit was satisfied... Made me laugh.
I was working outside cleaning up the front of the house and I felt a stab in my arm... I looked to see if there was a stinger stuck in me but there wasn't... I could see a little tiny bite mark on the underside of my arm and put a little bit of anti itch on it... Within a couple of hours, I could see there were not one little puncture mark, but two and it spread like crazy. I marked the irritation line with a marker just so I could tell if it was spreading to the point of extreme out of control. The itch and the pain was out of this world. I finally made it to the doctor and he said that it was a black widow bite.... But, my own system was adequately fighting the venom... I have extreme body aches but no fever, and a slight headache, but the doctor said that is normal.. I see the doctor again tomorrow morning for a check up... I hope they can do something for the aches... stupid spider....
I found this little table and I just had to have it. The guy selling it said it was a bird bath, but I don't think so. It doesn't hold water very well, so I think it's actually a side table for a deck. I loved the leaf pattern - and, Jim, who usually complains about "Where are you going to put it" said it was amazing, but followed up questioning where it was going to go... and I honestly told him, like I usually do... "I don't know".
The guys made a trip to St. George to pick up some scaffolding and 20 pieces of sheetrock on Monday. I asked Jim to take a picture for me, and as you can tell, only 2 pieces are left in the trailer and no scaffolding left in the trailer when he remembered to take the picture for me... hmmmm...
He sent me the pictures, and when I questioned him about only a couple of pieces left, he said, "I was hoping you wouldn't notice..." Seriously? Does he think I'm blind? Giggle.
And, the insulation work continues on the ceiling... We are hoping to have it finished by the end of the week in order to have an inspection on the 22nd... Here's hoping... I think Ben was a primate in another life - he doesn't mind "swinging from the trees" - me on the other hand - not so much.. just seeing picture makes my stomach churn....
In the evenings, Jim has been busy completing sheet rock in different parts of the cabin. This picture shows the beading that goes on corners to protect them from bumps and bruises. I remember as a kid, having the telephone (wall mounted) in the kitchen and taking the phone onto the stairs going to the basement just to have a little privacy. Dad would always have a fit when the paint would be all mucked up after repeated telephone calls... I don't know if Dad put the beading on, but he sure didn't appreciate my habits of messing up the corners....
And, here's the finished product... Well, without the paint.
And, here's Jim's harem again. He fed them some chocolate chip cookies, then bought them a bag of feed with molasses - they really, really liked that... and then Cheetos... and finally peanut butter cookies... I personally think they are in love with him...
The deer congregate by the bridge going to the front door.... and, beside the jacuzzi down below... and just about anywhere they can get a treat. The babies are still a little nervous, but the mamas and daddies don't have a problem and will eat out of Jim's hand...
I bought drawer pulls for the kitchen... and Jim put a couple on so I could see what they looked like. The counter tops are going to be black granite, so I think these are going to look great.
We had to purchase a few more sheets of the foam insulation, but the problem was getting it up the scaffolding so Ben could install... So, here's 4 years of Engineering undergrad work, and 2 years of an Engineering masters program come to fruition... They put together a little pully system, and hoisted the sheets up in a garbage bag... Money well worth spent..
And, here's Ben's Army training at work... retrieval! Giggle... (This probably had nothing to do with engineering or retrieval, but I just had to put that little jab in there.... Ok, guys... I'll send more cookies next time.....)
With all the insulation flying in the air, I am glad the guys had really decent masks to wear.
But, I don't know how they deal with insulation without long sleeved shirts on... The itching from the insulation would drive me crazy.
And, Jim does really beautiful work... He's got this perfectionist thing about what he works on... I love it.
As the guys were coming to the last day of insulating, they realized they were short about 10 bales of the insulation... so, it was back to Home Depot for more... When finished, we have bought 96 bales of cellulose insulation for an R rating of 49 in the ceiling. The closest Home Depot is Cedar City which is a little over an hour away..
And, here's last of the insulation going in...
And, the sheetrock process is moving down the hall and around the corner. I find this so freakin' exciting. Since Jim retired, he has spent a lot of time working at the cabin and the work has been moving forward in leaps and bounds. I miss Jim something terrible while he's gone, but I find the pictures he sends me so exciting.
The sheets of insulation went in, and this is the final stages of the blown in insulation...
And, it makes a horrible mess... Jim told me on Saturday night that he is really glad that I'm not there to see all the mess because I would be having a stroke... I'm having a stroke just looking at the pictures.
..like this picture... Seeing one picture is bad, but seeing the overall mess really freaks me out... It looks like a warzone...
Jim gave me an assignment this week - to pick out paint for the walls... I wasn't sure what colour I wanted, but went to the store knowing I wanted something warm that would blend nicely with all the different types of wood in different rooms... We have oak cabinets, and knotty pine on the ceiling, and who knows what on the hearth, so, it has to be something really specific for the walls... And, I didn't want "oatmeal". After picking out 8 - 10 different shades, I settled on these three for Jim's approval. They are all slightly different - one being very light, one medium and one a little darker... I kinda like all three.
And, a thumbs up for a job well done!
Jim called to get an inspection on the 22nd, and was told that our inspector has 30 properties to check out, so he would not be able to make it to our cabin until the 30th. Sad. We were so looking forward to passing the insulation inspection. Well, I guess we'll wait... I guess we don't have a choice.
With that, this edition comes to an end... My Jim made it home this afternoon and I am absolutely thrilled. He warms my heart.
Love, Jim and Cheri
- "You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream." —C.S. Lewis
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