Stay Tuned

In the last week or so we have been busy. In addition to our day jobs, Annie is in the process of moving out to the country. We took some time off to go to watch the guys at the ranch rodeo. They didn't do so ranchy this year. Next year boys! We have also worked on the Wishard house. Plus, we are getting geared up for the coming big work weekend on the Wishard house. We are going to get soooo much done. It will be epic.

So be prepared for some news and pictures on the house progress, an interview with a special lady, and hopefully, a big reveal on Tuesday night.

Most Recent House Update

So work has continued on the Wishard house saga. These picture were taken last weekend. You can see that there is still a lot to be done on the house, but progress is being made.

Currently, due to the power outage in most of the north country, Ris, Joe, Randen, and Matt have been camping in the house since it has a woodstove. No water or power in the house, but they hooked the generator up so they can keep working on the house during this storm. As of yesterday, Randen sold out and went to stay with Grandma. Can't blame him!

Here, Ris helps Randen navigate up the stairs. Going around air hoses and power cords.
This is a view of the upstairs. The ceiling is sheetrocked and Annie and Ris started taping it.

This is the main floor. The guys were going to sheetrock the ceiling tonight (Sunday) since there is no TV to watch.

Randen helps Uncle Matt.

Here is Ris standing at the bottom of the stairs. Most of the wiring is done.

While Zach was in the crawlspace for most of the last several weekends working on the HVAC system, Matt and Joe were up in the buckets of the tractors. They have been working on the soffits and all that jazz. This picture of Joe was taken out of the upstairs window.

Matt is working on the soffitt too.

Neither Annie nor Ris decided that they might pursue a career in taping/texturing. Not their bag, baby. They are doing a good job though!

So, even though it is really roughing it to stay down at the cabin when it is not finished, Ris admitted that a lot more work will probably get done this way!

Tubing on the 4th

Mother Nature has been throwing her fury out in full force recently in the form of blizzards and bone-chilling negative temps. I thought I would share some pictures from one of her better days!

On the 4th of July we had a family gathering at Aunt Joyce and Uncle Ed's. One of the highlights was a leisure float down the river. There were a LOT of us floating that day, both young and old.

I would like to note here that Joe and Matt were not too keen on tubing for they didn't want to get wet. So they opted to stay dry and maneuver the canoe downriver. Notice both of them optimistically fully-dressed.


Here is a shot of most of us getting ready to launch. Deb, Mom, Colby, Annie.

I have a broom to use as a paddle. It really didn't help me much as I missed the bank at spot we were supposed to get out. Almost tragic ending...

More cousins getting into their canoe. These three were pretty good with the paddles. They ended up towing some of the tubes.

Here is mom really enjoying the ride.

Here is Annie, also enjoying the ride.

Here is a shot of the Joe, Uncle Ed, and Matt going through the rapids in the canoe. Uncle Ed was the experienced oarsman. He was trying to coach Joe and Matt, obvious rookies, on the finer points of not tipping a canoe.

Lincoln and Zach are in this picture too on the tubes.

Needless to say, the following picture was a common scene on the river that day - the canoe upturned and the two cowboys (fully dressed) completely soaked.

After about the third time the canoe flipped, Uncle Ed decided to walk the bank for the last mile or so to stave off impending hypothermia.

Just when they were getting the hang of it!!!

Before and After - another chair

Matt's dear grandma Alice passed away about this time two years ago. She was a sweet woman whom I did have the honor of getting to know. When Matt's mom and aunt's were going through Grandma Alice's belonging some time later, they ran across this chair. Matt's mom thought I would like to have it.

I thought it was really great, but wanted to redo it as it needed a little TLC.

I love this black and white upholstery fabric. I had bought it when a local store was going out of business.
I had started to strip the wood of it's finish, but didn't feel that I was going to get a good result. So I decided to paint it black.

I added some black trim to the bottom of the seat to dress it up a little. I really like how this turned out.

P.S. Obviously, these pictures were NOT taken today! Ha! It will be summer before we know it again!

Merry Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

What a mess

A note to you all. If you are going to put a spaghetti squash in the microwave to soften it, make sure to poke it sufficiently.

If you don't, this is what happens.

It actually blew the microwave door open and spewed forth spaghetti squash into a good portion of the kitchen.

More Wishard house progress

So a LOT more progress has been made on the house. Much more than is actually shown here, but I will get you up to speed.

Here is the view from upstairs, looking down to where the woodstove and dining room will be. (The woodstove is actually in!)


Here is the view of the main floor. This is the kitchen area. You can probably notice the black streaks running down the walls. That is from all the rain and snow that got in the house last winter when it wasn't enclosed. Mom, Aunt Rodie, and us three girls spent an entire day scrubbing the walls with bleach. That did the trick and removed the icky black water streaks. We then sanded the walls.

This is a view of the upstairs. Insullation has since been put into the ceiling and dormers. Lee
spent most of a day filling in those big cracks above the windows that you see. Most of the windows had large cracks over them. He did a good job getting everything filled in. All the gaps will be sealed with chink when the weather warms up a tad bit.

Last weekend Zach worked on the furnace unit, Matt worked on plumbing in the bathroom, and Joe worked on the wiring.

Views of the outside.

The dormers will have log siding on them to match the rest of the house.

This is the view of the front. The upper level and lower level will have decks built on them.

Matt has the septic system put in except for being backfilled. There is still a lot to go, but it is getting closer!