The Kitchen
The offending wall, viewed from the livingroom side:
and from the kitchen side:
and the offending soffit:
Rev begins the attack on the soffit:
The wall is denuded from the kitchen side first, exposing the gas line and some wiring, which Robert moved.
The Sawsall; a wonderful tool.
Rev presses on with the assault agaist the soffit from the other side of the room.
Exposed insulation. classy. the insulation shows yet another “sanchez effect” — it’s been stuffed in haphazardly, rather than laid properly.
Rev eyes the mess on the ceiling:
Robert moves the wiring before they cut the soffit out:
the exposed layer of attic, before the final layer of soffit comes out from the kitchen side:
wiring and gas line duly moved, the final layer of soffit can be removed.
having finished off the last of the soffit, Rev is pleased.
Robert installs the gas line in its new habitat.
Dave assists.
the relocated gas line, ready for action!
The next day:
Sheetrock is going up and the red oak bar top installed!
two sides of the wall–
before:
during:
(after will have to wait until we’re done.)
The *very* nice new light over the sink. the quality of the light is dramatically improved. as is the overall appearance of the thing. we like it so much, we’re talking about recessed lighting in the center of the room, too.
Sheetrock partly up:
Tuesday, all the sheetrock is up and the taping and mudding has begun.
note how much of the kitchen you can see from the livingroom, where this photo was taken. yay to the end of isolation!
sheetrock, tape & mud on the ceiling:
where the stove goes. note that you can see the whole livingroom from the kitchen! including the wild programmer crouched over his screen in the dining area.
this is all coming along wonderfully! We’ll be ready to paint on Sunday. the walls are going to be a vivid and lively yellow, and the ceiling a very pale version of the same colour. then we’ll reorganize the cabinetry and item storage for better functionality, and Rev will put the trim up under the new bar.
The Pirate Fort Playhouse Pirate Fort
moving the structure to its new site:
the basic frame is engineered into position.
all six engineers now contemplate the next move, which involves stabilizing it.
Stabilization duly ensues.
first braces, then berming.
a sandbox will go in the center down below.
then the assorted ladders and other parts.
something fabulous is going on here.
getting ready for the roof.
up goes the roof.
view to the north
and the view to the south, tractor, tilled garden & all.
Volunteers are appreciated. Or maybe it’s the hat that earned Rick that hug. It’s pretty hard to resist a hat like that.
Cleaning Up
the mess at the beginning of the day.
Thistle helped out here and there.
Volunteers start to move the parts of the Pirate Fort over to its new site, while Chris uses his tractor to dig up the offending mess.
poised for action!
a better view of what exactly we’re digging up.
where the old barn used to be, there was a heap of rotting particle board, old plumbing parts (and i do mean old), and ancient electrical pieces, as well as ragged-edged scraps of rusted metal, mostly decomposed wood, and old insulation. exciting stuff. digging it up with shovels a while back made a couple people sick from the mold in the pile, so we decided that this one called for the heavy equipment.
loading trucks:
while we had the tractor going, we might as well remove all the lingering heavy trash on the property. including this old mattress and rusting can-o’-junk. and an unpictured truckload of rotted partial fence posts in concrete.
and, while we’re at it, today’s new drywall mess can go, too. we sorted out the lumber to save for other projects first.
at the end of the day, the area is very nearly flat, and entirely composed of real dirt (instead of decomposed particle board and similar detritus).
The Garden
that same day, while the trucks were off doing the dump runs, Chris tilled the garden:
a sure sign of spring.
later in the week, Alan and I got 4.5 cubic yards of compost and spread them on the beds, as well as top-dressing all the trees and the various herb & dye gardens.
WoodWose
our sweet barn kitty, thinking about allowing some pets.
she’s actually become incredibly affectionate with everybody, so long as the dog can’t see her.
isn’t she pretty?
