Monday, May 30, 2011

A day to remember and celebrate

It was a busy day here under the troll bridge.  Many, many things going on.
First, it was Memorial Day.  A day to remember those who have served so long and so hard to insure we have the opportunity to live our dream.
 Today was a day to rest a little from our labors of yesterday (a little, not much):
 And be thankful that things weren't worse.  A young woman was killed not far from here when a tree fell on her tent while she was camping with her family.  Tragic.  And she was a teacher at an area high school.  What an awful way to end the school year.
We didn't get to have our shredding party.
 Although the day was nearly perfect weather.  Mid 80's and sunny.  But quite windy.
But, of course, we worked on the chicken coop.  We're getting closer. There is actually a door that will close now!  And I got nearly an entire interior wall covered in plywood.
 The space you see near the back is for the clean out door.  Now that we have a door, it will be weatherproof and we won't get additional rain into it.  We can't proceed on the floor until the OSB dries out.  Unfortunately, it has had so much water damage from the storms we have had that we're going to have to put down some additional sheets of plywood on the floor that we weren't planning.  At least we have extras stashed in the barn.  I'll see if I can get another wall finished tomorrow after work.
But our big news today is that we had a celebration... and a name change.  I13 is now officially I14!
 The birthday boy was amused with his cake.
Here's a better view:
 Hopefully it is recognizable as an Xbox controller.  I love the edible spray paint that you can get, but the black isn't really very black.  We have a family tradition of highly personalized cakes for birthdays.  It's really fun and we make an effort to match the theme with the person.
And finally, I leave you with some beauty:
The first peony is blooming.
V and I decided that we're getting tired of these working vacations.  We need a real break.  We've been at this for over two years now and it's wearing.  Hopefully someday it will slow down.

7 comments:

  1. What sad news about the teacher, I can't even imagine witnessing something like that. Happy Birthday to I14!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I want a garden full of peonies.You sure had your share of storm damage,I kept thinking it was coming this way-oh YEA.IT DID.I saw on the news a minister was caught in his van and killed--so sad. I HAVE 2 TEEN GRANDSONS LIVING WITH ME-THE 16 YEAR-OLD TURNS 17 IN ABOUT 13 DAYS---WHAT TO GET HIM ? [$$$$$$$$$] IF IT WERE HIS YOUNGER BROTHER THAT CAKE YOU MADE WOULD BE PERFECT. I will have to remember this picture for PATS B.D.----BUT SOME DAYS I WANT TO THROW THAT X-BOX OUT THE WINDOW

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love your hopeful thinking. But can I hit you with reality?

    This is the life of working vacations. We have been at it for 15 years and there is always something that needs work during the summer. And just when I think I'm almost caught up ... a tree falls on a barn!

    But I do try to get away for such a brief moment. It may be a trip to the farmers market or out for ice cream.

    November ... November is good! :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. I have to agree with Miss Effie. The homesteading/farming life leaves little time for what most people call vacationing. Our vacations come from beautiful days in the garden or stopping for a few moments to look at the wood shed full of wood. Or sitting on the deck at night after dark listening to the silence and looking at the million brilliant stars over head. Or taking a lawn chair out into the poultry pasture and watching the young birds following Mama Hen learning how to find worms. It's a good life, but hard in some ways. Most of us wouldn't change it for the world. (Besides, it's so much better to wear out than to rust out!)

    Happy Birthday I14!

    ReplyDelete
  5. LOL! Thanks Effie and Mama Pea. I know it won't ever be 'easy'. I just want a little bit of a lull... just a little!
    Judy

    ReplyDelete
  6. I think I came across as a little hard-nosed in my first comment. I do fully know what you mean about wanting and NEEDING a period where you can just feel like you're moving ahead and not falling behind by something else crashing down on you. (Or your barn!) That kind of a "lull" can be vacation enough for all of us.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Judy - that isn't a coop; it's a chicken palace! I look forward to seeing it complete.

    I hear you on the working vacations. We've been doing it for years. Our last real 'go someplace other than Wisc vacation' was 10 years ago. Sigh. We keep saying to each other, 'but we are so close to moving...' and it motivates us. Luckily - and I know you guys do too - we like to spend time together and we really enjoy the reward of a job well done and the cold beer at the end of a hard day. (Does get tiring though.)

    ReplyDelete

Glad you stopped in. I would love to hear from you.