Month: June 2022

The main event of the last week was our rental of a bucket lift for the weekend. We had planned to do this to see how much painting we could get done, or if we could do any at all from a bucket. Busy as we were, this blog post is a couple days off my regular schedule.

Diving right in, I will first mention that I misplaced my camera and switched to my backup old Canon. Between Pam and myself we took a number of photos and I have a new video / photo compilation I will link to later on.

Our first attempt to set up the lift and use it (a trial run, if you will) occurred at the west wall of the garage. I had a small area right at the top of the peak that I could not get to from my tallest ladder. A few photos will help understand my story.

From there we moved to the north side of the house. There were repairs needed to the siding under the media room window, and Pam pre-painted a few boards for me to use for the repairs. With the repairs completed we began painting, although it was late in the day and shadows stopped our progress.

Sunday morning I pressure washed the walls to remove the old and loose paint. Then the fun really began as we opened our paint buckets and had at it. Pam and I took turns painting (the bucket holds only one person at a time) and we managed to get the red on and dark blue around the media room and bay window trim. Although some white trim was painted, particularly behind the gutter downspout, we just plain ran out of time to do all the white we had hoped to get done. It will have to wait.

I have created a 4:24 video / photo of the painting process. You can find it on my Heart House video page or go directly to it from this link.

There were a few other events last week. I misplaced my camera and am using my backup Canon. This is irritating, to say the least, as I know I had the camera Saturday morning when I picked up the lift and brought it home. I hope the camera turns up at some point.

Pam ordered and received a small garden bridge for the flower bed under the oak trees. Some assembly required. It turned out well, and looks very good after Becky, who visited us, put another coat of stain on it.

Now it is time to recover from the long days we put in over the weekend. Working from the bucket is not easy as it moves and sways with the wind, which was quite gusty at times. A rain shower halted work for a while on Saturday and we had to wait for the walls to dry before we could resume painting. (That delay cost us time that we would have used to finish the white trim.) It was “an experience” as neither of us had worked from a lift before, and we are not sure we would want to do so again, but is is far less expensive that hiring a painter to do it so a repeat may be in the future.

Photo Archive

More black – and – white photos from my files.

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s Penny

Positives about the bucket lift experience — very few wasps (or any bugs, really) up there, bucket was actually a small-ish platform with numerous handholds and waist-high containment for safety. Negatives — I don’t like heights, the bucket itself didn’t swivel to place a person straight-on to the job at hand. Late in the day yesterday a brisk breeze gusted, whereby being extended in the bucket felt like being trapped on a bad carnival ride. We are both still getting our equilibrium back today.

There is a very good reason I did not choose any occupation that required me to dangle in the air. About halfway through the afternoon yesterday, I was trying to figure out how I could put together the $$$ to have the painting company finish the job. But we persevered.

Happy Trails.

The past week was a mixed bag of weather events, visits, a dental issue, and project work. Not as much painting was accomplished as we had hoped.

Sunday saw us visiting Becky in her home in Greene, Iowa. Becky has done a lot of work since moving in, with a continuing list of projects yet to accomplish. Her new washer and dryer were delivered and installed but the dryer door swung right instead of left. This made it awkward to transfer wet clothes into the dryer. Becky was not aware the dryer door could be configured to open left or right, so I re-configured the door to swing left, much more convenient for her.

Pam did some outside work on Becky’s heritage yellow rose bush, trying an idea she had seen online. This involved tying a few of the rose branches together to form an arch. In time the branches will intertwine forming a good-looking flowering arch that doubles as a way to control the branches.

We had taken the dogs along with us and they enjoyed the ride, seeing Becky again, and lounging around the deck. It was a pleasant way to spend a chunk of the afternoon.

Monday was very hot, which limited our outside activities. Tuesday was lawn maintenance day. Wednesday it rained, cancelling any outdoor work. Thursday I did some painting. Friday I had a dental appointment to have a tooth extracted and we began our visit with good Colorado friend Kathy Powers. Saturday was spent in recovering from the tooth extraction and doing more lawn work.

I managed to get another section of the garage wall painted, working from our 6-foot aluminum ladder. Next time I will get out the extension ladder and try to finish the peak.

I had been having a few issues with one of my wisdom teeth and it started to bother me again. An appointment with the dentist on Wednesday confirmed the tooth could not be saved and needed to be extracted. It was either extract the tooth this Friday or wait until July 5th, so I oped to get it done even though we were expecting a guest that day. The extraction went OK but my jaw is sore and will be for several days.

Our good friend Kathy Powers from Rifle, Colorado, joined us on Friday. Kathy was born in Iowa, lived here until the age of 10, and has relatives in the area that she was visiting. We really enjoyed her time with us, even though it was only an overnight stop.

One bright spot is the changing of the flowering plants as the peonies and lilies are starting to come into their own, replacing the honeysuckle and lilacs.

I thought I would include this photo of Pam and myself taken last week, location is our east porch.

Pam worked on creating skirting for the laundry room table and job sink (in progress) and I scanned more negatives, so our “inside” time during the hot and rainy days was put to good use. We also received a ray of hope when a painter (the one with the outrageous quote previously) indicated his company might be able to do just the gables of the house and leave the red sections of the second floor exterior to us. Obviously this would be a $$$ savings, but mostly the company would be doing the work we most dread–painting the highest portions of the house reachable by a bucket lift. Sure hope this offer comes through, details are not yet settled.

The week was really a mixed bag of weather and socializing. We enjoyed visiting Becky and with Kathy, but we’re not moving ahead significantly with the house painting. Next weekend we will try to paint from a bucket lift for the first time, working on the north side of the house. That should be an experience!

Photo Archive

I took black & white photos of many subjects including family, old equipment, animals, and landscapes. Typically I had one camera loaded with slide film, one with black and white film, and Pam had her camera loaded with print film so some subjects were covered in multiple formats. Here is a sampling of my black and white shots.

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s Penny

Hard to believe the Summer Solstice is next week already. Bittersweet. I am totally enjoying twilight until 9:00 p.m. and will monitor increasingly-earlier darkness with great sadness.

Happy Trails.

The big event of the week was finishing Becky’s move. We also had visitors. Not much was done on the house or painting but it was a busy week none the less.

After a rainy weekend, we took a second load of stuff over to Becky’s new home on Monday. This load included larger and awkward items such as the mattresses. Plants and much of Becky’s in-house furniture went in this load as well. The move went OK. Becky bought pizzas from the local Casey’s convenience store, along with a variety of soft drinks, for lunch. (I will have to say it was good pizza.)

Becky recruited a pair of Mennonite helpers, Steve and his son Austin, to help with with the Monday move. Steve is a dairy farmer who earns extra income by running a bicycle repair shop. Becky met Steve when she visited his shop to have her bicycle maintained. She asked Steve if there was anyone he knew who would like to earn a few dollars by helping her move. He replied that he and his son would be glad to help.

The extra hands were welcome in not only handling the larger items but also going up and down the Victorian steps in Heart House, to move Becky’s plants and “upstairs” furniture. On the other end of the move, Steve and Austin were able to assemble a new bed frame and remove some old carpet at Becky’s request. She appreciated the help.

Tuesday involved moving [yet another] load in the back of the truck – no trailer this time – which took care of the last of Becky’s items that had been stored in the garage. This included her rocking chair and a few small tables. While in Greene I assembled Becky’s new two-wheel garden cart. She plans to use the cart for moving boxes around inside the house, hauling in groceries, and doing yard work.

Tuesday evening we had a small celebration featuring a cake. It would be Becky’s last full night with us.

Wednesday saw Becky packing the last of her items, including Vanna the cat, in her car and heading out to her new home. She has big plans and was eager to get started on the many projects it will take before she is settled in. A washer and dryer are scheduled to be delivered this weekend and Becky wanted to wallpaper the wall behind these appliances before they arrived, along with many other cleaning and unpacking tasks. She will be one busy girl in the next few weeks!

Thursday we entertained guests John and Margaret Flesner. Pam had worked with Margaret at Colorado Mountain College in Glenwood Springs. Margaret owns her family home in Winona, MN and makes trips back to visit the house (rented out most of the time) and plan maintenance and updates. We had visited them at this home last year, and they visited us in 2020 during construction of the garage addition. They were able to appreciate the progress we’ve made since their last visit. Great to see them again — actually, great to be able to receive visitors again post-pandemic.

As a result of these activities, and some rainy weather, we did not get any painting done this past week. Pam turned the guest bedroom back into our storage room and I accomplished yard work. The sunflowers, ornamental corn, gourds, and pumpkins have all sprouted and are growing nicely. Young squirrels frequent the corn cob feeder and we enjoy watching them. Various plants, including the wisteria, blackberries, and morning glories have begun twining their tendrils up their respective supporting structures. Life goes on.

I have a couple technical notes to pass along. The first concerns the Photo Archive section I usually include in these posts. Started as a winter project, during the summer months I don’t have as much time to work on scanning old slides and negatives so a Photo Archive may not be included in every post.

The second note concerns some of the photos I have on various web pages. As some of you know, clicking on these photos often opens a larger version or related image in a new tab. I have begun converting these to “popups” where a new or larger image opens as a separate smaller window on top of the original window. So far I have done the Cats and Dogs pages and plan to do others. If you try this feature please let you know what you think of it.

As it has seemed lately, it was another busy week. Becky has moved, we have the storage bedroom converted, and I can park the truck in the garage again. We had a pleasant visit from friends and did routine maintenance on the yard. (Two mowings and a trip to the compost area to unload the trailer.) Depending on the weather, we can get back to painting this upcoming week.

Photo Archive

I have started going though my black-and-white negatives and scanning a few of them. Here are some shots from 1990 and 1991.

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s Penny

It felt a bit like pushing sister Becky “out of the nest” and into the world this week. After approximately six months with us, Becky is ready to “spread her wings” and “fly into her future.” So to speak.

Happy Trails.

It was a very busy week. Painting was begun, we began to move Becky to her new house, a new piece of furniture was assembled, and the catio received a major reduction. Here are the details.

As mentioned in my last post, the painting season began this past week. First up — painting the west end of the garage.

We painted as far up as could be comfortably reached from the ground. Pam did the detail painting around the edges and windows and I filled in the large areas. The next step will involve ladders and won’t go as quickly. This side of the garage is mainly only visible from the alley approach.

Another painting project belonged to Pam, as she spray-painted the top cover of the propane tank. This is a trial run, to determine what challenges painting the entire LP tank will present. Coverage isn’t perfect, but certainly improves the overall appearance.

The next few days are supposed to be rainy and cool so it will be a bit before we resume painting. There is a lot to do yet.

Pam had ordered a small piece of furniture, a rolling cart. Intended to fit under one of the library windows and provide a platform for Pam’s large birdhouse, it was one of those “some assembly required” units.

Unfortunately, we discovered the cart had been damaged. It appears the cart had been returned prior to shipment, as the exterior of the box showed no shipping damage. At any rate, a repair was attempted instead of returning the mostly-assembled unit.

The damage was with the inserts that hold the casters. Both of the struts that hold the casters had broken off the side boards. With some Gorilla wood glue, some clamps, and wood screws I repaired the struts.

The cart is now performing its intended duties in the library.

Another project was the disassembly of the catio tree surround. When we first moved to Elma with 5 outside cats, the catio was a worth-while addition for containing the relocated animals. Now that there are 2 regular cats, Ink and Cloudy Day, the surround itself is less utilitarian. After one of the young squirrels ventured into the surround (and had to be freed by removing part of the screening), Pam decided it was time to reduce the surround to a small entry / exit ramp.

Here are a few photos of this portion of the catio being taken down.

The removal will make it easier to mow the lawn in that area and is a noticeable visual change from the yard and street. The two remaining cats are already using the ramp and don’t seem to be upset by the catio exit relocation. Hopefully tree bark cuts and disruption caused by the construction haven’t impacted the growth of the tree long-term. (This particular oak was probably on-site when the house was built in the late 1800’s.)

The last big task of the week was to get started on Becky’s move to her new home in Greene. Becky closed on her home Thursday morning. The first trailer load of home goods was loaded and moved into the new house on Friday.

We moved about a third of Becky’s gear by volume, and have (mostly) her larger pieces of furniture to transport. Becky has arranged for some local help for moving these larger and more awkward pieces. We hope to complete the entire move by the end of next week.

Last week Pam mentioned the young squirrels in one of our oak trees. One evening I went out and took some video footage of them running around the tree near their nest. The clip is 4:41 and you can see it here. Note there is little audio; I did an intro at about 43 seconds but it is mostly just watching the young ones play. A couple of squirrels have discovered the corn cob feeder; they are quite entertaining to watch through the kitchen window.

Along the week we did routine work — normal lawn and flower bed maintenance. I used the new pressure washer to clean the trailer and truck bed prior to loading. Several web pages were made more mobile-device friendly and formatting was standardized across the pages. Outside and indoor tasks were many!

The next few days are projected to be wet and cooler so outside projects may be curtailed a bit. That is OK as we need to recharge after the past week’s activities. There is always another project to occupy time and energy at Heart House.

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

(Due to the large number of photos in this post there will be no Photo Archive this week.)

Pam’s Penny

Yupp-er, we broke out the buckets of red paint for the season.

Happy Trails.