We had a bad storm with high winds, lightning and rain come through yesterday evening. We were also without power for over two hours. Upon checking for storm damage, Dan discovered some shingles were sheared off a ridge of our roof.
So, he was up on the roof early this morning fixing the shingles (using new ones).
Note: I forgot to take a picture of the finished roof which was completed late on the 12th. You can see the completed porch roof in the next set of pictures.
Note: We also painted the interior with one coat of primer.
The plan is to put on the roof of the main structure the weekend after The Fourth which is July 9 and 10.
You should have seen the man before he wiped off his lips and glasses. You can't see it well in this picture; but, he had paint splattered all over his beard along with his left ear and even behind the ear! By the way, he was messing with a spray paint gun when the accident happened.
Just pictured the below without the men on top and the trusses, and that is what it looked like. Ha!
My brother and sister-in-law came out last weekend to help us build the barn and I was thrilled that they did. I was so worried about Dan and I putting up the trusses. My brother had a framing nail gun that was awesome and a much taller ladder than we had which made the work go much faster! They built the lofts which you cannot see and then started putting up the trusses before I even thought to take pictures.
Here you can see them putting up the other side. They braced the sucker and put up studs.
And, then went to the other side to nail the siding into the studs.
Here is the almost current view of the barn with all of the trusses. I am proud of them and totally relieved that we had help.
A severe thunderstorm blew through last night and we discovered the trusses were in danger of falling this morning. So, Dan went out there and I joined him to fix the problem. We discovered that the brace for the side wall failed and one of the trusses was missing a nail through the bracing strip.
We leveled the side wall/truss and fixed the brace down once again. Dan added more bracing strips to both sides of the trusses with my help. I don’t think it is going anywhere now unless a storm wants to send it to OZ. Ha!
We had to do this before more thunderstorms blew through (which is predicted from this afternoon to tomorrow morning).
The plan now it to work on building the porch roof which will take us two or three weekends.
This was Dan's setup for cutting the wood. The lumber was stored in the "hangar" (garage) and there was virtually no room for him to work. So, outdoors he went!
Finished joists for the main structure on Saturday, April 2, 2016. We also established most of the concrete blocks that will support the porch on this day.
Finished the joists for the porch on Sunday, April 3, 2016.
This is the side view along with its porch.
Remember Cousin Itt of the Addams Family?
Well, Dan ran across a cousin of Cousin Itt getting a haircut and snapped a picture without her permission.
See the resemblance? Yes? No?
Well, this person certainly was much happier with her hair cut off.
Oh, it is me! Ha!
This is a terrible picture snapped with my phone. But, I liked it very much and decided to keep it.
Here are a few more pictures of us all cleaned up from a "photo shoot" in cloudy weather as the sun was setting!
I snapped this shot while setting the camera up. I love this one for some odd reason.
He surprised me with a kiss just before the camera snapped a picture.
I stumbled all the way to him and we were both laughing at how ungraceful I was in my boots. But, this happened to be my favorite picture out of all the ones I managed to capture.
We are finally looking "normal". Not a bad photo session considering the odds against me (sun setting and densely overcast).
And oh, the only reason why we were all dressed up on this day (December 4th) was an office party we decided to attend later that night.
Dan is so strong! He snapped the pitchfork into two pieces!
We were outside turning and preparing the garden beds for winter back on November 8th. I was sitting down taking a break while keeping an eye out on the cats when I heard a loud crack scaring me to death. I looked up and discovered Dan laying on his back with the handle in hands and the pitchfork (bottom) part still in the raised bed. I was extremely concerned because it looked like he potentially hurt himself. He was just stunned. After I was assured he was okay, I could not help but laugh! And, we came up the idea to stage a scene for a picture.
And yes, we have purchased a new pitchfork. The old one lasted us for a long time (over 10 years). Hopefully, the new one will last just as long.
I was in the bathroom when I heard / felt a noise like something falling in the bedroom. I did not think much of it because no other sound came with the noise. When I came out, I discovered Dan somewhat curled up on the bed holding his foot. I immediately got concerned as I did not know what happened. He busted his toe while playing a game of "chase" with Abby Gail. I have to say the guy was extremely stoic when his banged his toe. I would have been yelling, screaming, hollering and crying....
Anyway, the game of "chase" usually involves me telling Abby that I am going to get her. She almost always gets excited with tail held high and starts running when I start going after her. She still has not gotten the clue to turn around and chase after me. However, she does turn around and playfully "tags" me on the foot most of the time.
By the way, this was a game I played as a child with my rotten yellow cat and he had it down to a T. We would chase one another for several laps before both of us would get tired and flop on the floor. Abby is the first cat that took to this game somewhat since the rotten yellow cat of my youth. All the other cats exhibited no interest in this game.
So, Dan apparently decided to give "chase" a try this past Sunday (November 13, 2105) and ran smack dab into a leftover piece of board in the bedroom from our remodeling efforts.
{November 14, 2015}
Needless to say, I do not think he will be playing "chase" again in the near future.
It does look a tad worse on this morning. It is dark all around including the bottom of the toe; but, the wound is healing nicely. (I am still helping him wrap up the toe with a bandage in the mornings.) I think the worst of it is over and it is just the healing process now.
Circuit of Americas (Austin, Texas) with Dan; March 8, 2015
Circuit of Americas (Austin, Texas); March 8, 2015
{I blogged about this outing here.}
Gracie; March 13, 2015
Gray Brahman Bull; March 13, 2015
I saw a face (with teeth) in the lumber. Yes, I am strange. March 17, 2015
Gracie; March 18, 2015
First Shoots of our Pickling Cucumbers; March 20, 2015
Abby Gail; March 20, 2015
First Leaves on our Grape Bush; March 25, 2015
Abby Gail (What a Rough Life); March 29, 2015
Doctor Who’s Tardis; April 12, 2015
Mis-matched Socks; April 14, 2015
{This is how I roll most of these days. I just grab socks that are more or less alike and do not care if they match color-wise.}
I thought I saw some Timothy grass, snapped a picture and sent it to Dan;
April 15, 2015
Drum Sanders for a Drill; April 19, 2015
{We were out doing some DIY work sanding small pieces when I mentioned life would be so much easier with a drum sander. Dan pointed these out at a local Lowe's store and I was thrilled with the idea.}
Gluten Free snacks are hard to find; April 22, 2015
{I was having a day out and ended up in New Braunfels. I ended up at a Buc-cee's and found these to munch on. By the way, the dill chips were a bit too much for me; but, I had to try them.}
