"Mmm, that good old country air"

The title quote belongs to Shoeshine, circa 1988.*  It's become a family staple and it popped into my head today.

 It's a beautiful sunny day, with just a little breeze, perfect for clothes drying. As I flung the sheets over the line I sniffed the air and regretted that the fresh hay smell was already fading from the field next door, just mown on Tuesday. Still, there is nothing like clean bedding dried outdoors!

But that's not when I thought of Shoeshine, whose comment originated from our first summer here as we drove by a neighbor's dairy farm. That came later when I absently noted the farm machinery driving by and sniffed again. Ah yes, they do usually spread manure on those freshly cut fields, don't they? Lends a totally different air to that laundry! And that's when I quoted Shoeshine.

* Yes, sarcasm is a dominant trait in our family. And we enjoy it.

Yet another project started

It's so easy to start a job,
Seems so easy, seems so easy,
Yeah, so doggone easy.

Finishing it now, that's the  hard part! Since Ameranth is here for awhile, we figured it was a good time to redo her bedroom and make use of the extra pair of hands. And by redo, I mean tear down the old plaster and sheetrock and paint the walls. Her room is the only one that still has the original plaster and layers of wallpapers.

Those layers of paper were the only thing holding up the sagging plaster in places on that slanted ceiling. J emptied the trash cans as we filled them- I think it was a total of 10 cans worth? The floor was linoleum that Ameranth and I wanted to pull up, but J didn't think we should since we didn't know what was under there. The little room next door had wide painted floorboards, and we lifted a corner after J went downstairs. Yes! Pine boards.

We ripped up the lino, tossed it out the window- that was fun- and found 20 inch wide virgin planks which apparently had a carpet originally since there was a painted border.

This past weekend we started sheetrocking. Ameranth told us she didn't want to work with us if we were going to argue all the time. J told her it was a discussion and we always start out that way. Once we agree on a direction, it's fine.

When we moved in, this room had an odd little 'closet' just 10 inches deep, on the wall which backs up to the staircase. We added shelves and made it a bookcase. Ameranth wanted us to tear out the rest of that wall and make it all bookcases. As tempting as that was, I didn't want to lose the wall space, since the room is not that large. None of our bedrooms have closets, so we use armoires. Gotta love old houses.  I decided that we would tear out the wall, but build it out to incorporate a closet and built in drawers. I appeased Ameranth with the prospect of a bookcase on the end.

We can't figure out why it was there, unless clothing was hung on hooks- it does have hinges, so had a door at one point. 

There are nails, old-fashioned square cut nails, sticking out of the back of the studs. Plus, a length of twine tied to a lower one and looped up around an upper nail. Why?

I'm interested in what that yellow paper is too.

Best Dog Door Ever

The project that has turned out the best this summer is our screen door. It's an old-fashioned wooden one onto our porch that has that nice 'slam' when it closes. We found it in the shed upstairs along with other doors,windows and the old porch posts and railing. J repaired the screen and we enjoyed the cross-breeze through our kitchen.  Until the huskies came.

Husky puppies (any puppies, I guess) are energetic and bouncy and it turns out they can go through screening. The next summer we figured they were older, we repaired the screen and, Rosie blew through it immediately. Unintentionally, I am sure.

This year, J repaired the screen, and we added hardware cloth on both sides, stapling it to the wood, so it stands out from the screen. Victory!  It doesn't latch and the dogs quickly (well, one was a little slow- I'm looking at you Anna) figured out that they could push it open and let themselves out.  So now we will often hear dogs running from the living room (where they can sit and check out people coming down the road), banging through the door, and barking madly out front. The hedge hides most of the fence there, so passersby can't see much of the dogs, just hear the ravening beasts.

The best part? Dogs can't open the door to come back in. Although it doesn't close completely sometimes, so I have seen an eyeball or a nose in the crack, but no one has managed squeezing in yet.

Now here's something for cat lovers too.

Slip and Slide

As we slide into August, I'm still posting July happenings. Because that's how I roll.

I saw these photos from the Fourth go by on my screen saver and figured I'd post them. Two of my older nephews were supervising the setup of a fancy-schmancy slip and slide for a younger one. The hose plugged into it and sent a spray over a little blowup tunnel.

Isabella was helping them check it out. Now for the first run.

  *Note the 3-D goggles. 

Hmm, the Buzz house wasn't supposed to travel with the slider. Obviously another cousin is required for consultation.

                                     The pit crew discussion.

 

Ready for take-off

                              Dog is my co-pilot

Success! 3 men, 2 dogs and 1 small boy made it happen.

     Later, one little girl solos.

Things seemed a little simpler 25 years ago for Shoeshine and Sectaurs.