Today’s photohunt theme is pointed. The pointed spade smoothes on the mortar for the pointed rocks. This section of wall is part of the outer front facade of our home. The rock work may be done by the end of the weekend - one step closer to moving in!

The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord. Job 1:21

We are grateful to God for the blessing of this home, for however long or short He chooses for us to make this our dwelling place.

Technorati Tags: Central Oregon, construction, photo hunt, ranch, mortar, rock, masonry

We enjoyed our hometown Independence Day parade this morning, and the girls got their fill of horses…and candy. I call them “professional parade goers” since they never forget to bring their candy bags, and beg to go to any parade within a hundred mile radius. At first, I thought they just loved parades. I’m a slow learner.

Dear children! I had had to say more than once. This holiday is about FREEDOM not candy! I don’t recall this inundation with treats at my childhood 4th of July parades. It’s all in good fun, but for kids the age of mine, it can be…distracting!

We talked about the first 4th of July and will be listening to this story today about George Washington. If you have young children, I highly recommend subscribing to You Need a Story, an outstanding weekly production from Robert Green that will show up in your inbox every Tuesday or so, always an exhilarating audio adventure, maybe a classic, maybe an unknown literary gem.

Here is a photo of my kids’ favorite parade entry this year:

They adore the miniature horses, and we pass the farm where they live nearly every day, so they said a friendly hello!

And of course, our dear friends from Lone Pine Clydesdales were back at this parade, all rested from last week’s parade.

We stopped at our property on the way back to our rental house, and Big L took a moment to make a wish. “What did you wish for?” inquired JJ. “I can’t tell you!” he says.

“Was it for a great and awesome destiny?” JJ prodded. “Or a miracle?”

I loved her guesses! What a thoughtful and creative mind. I certainly have those wishes for our great nation!!

Do you have a wish for America? And any parade pictures posted? Let me know, and enjoy a lovely Independence Day, my fellow Americans.

Technorati Tags: Fourth of July, You Need a Story, American flag, Independence Day

Ho, ho, ho!! Merry Christmas in July from my little soap-beard-Santa.

For more Wordless Wednesday, visit the main page.

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Technorati Tags: children, Christmas in July, wordless Wednesday

Yesterday morning, at a local parade, celebrating that old west pastime called Rodeo, I was thrilled to see my friends’ Clydesdales in all their hugeness. This was GOOD.

And where else but Prineville could I find the Amazing Trash Can Marching Band? They dispose of garbage in step and in style. These guys were GOOD!

On to the BAD…look at the interesting mound I discovered on our property a few days ago.

Kids, do NOT jump in the pretty pile, because…take a closer look:

Ooowwww. These are some aggressive ants, and I’ve been scrambling to find out what they are. Most notably, they have a red head and body and a shiny black behind. At first glance, they look and act just like the Allegheny Mound Ants. Build enormous piles. Have red head/thorax and black abdomen. But those mostly live in the upper Midwest to the New England states and south to Georgia.

So, another possibility is the Red Imported Fire Ant (RIFA). They also build mounds. Also have red forebody and black abdomen. But they live mostly in the southeast, however a few California counties have been infested, and there’s been suspected infestations in Oregon. I’m supposed to immediately contact the Oregon Department of Agriculture if I think I have these RIFAs, because they are considered an invasive species, and a serious health risk to pets and children, not to mention the damage that can be done to crops and other native plant life.

A final suspect, perhaps the most likely, is the harvester ant. This is a common desert ant, which fits my habitat. Another aggressive mound-building ant. Someone wrote a whole thesis on the harvester ant and how it’s helpful in locating small artifacts in archaeological surveys. I think I’ll start digging for Paiute relics in this very spot.

The only issue I’m trying to resolve with the harvester ants is whether it’s likely for them to have a red head/thorax and a black rear. This is the only photograph from the Oregon high desert (or anywhere) I can find that fits what I see here on my property; the rest are all red or all black. Anyone?

I can’t live with these creatures. It’s summertime and they are seriously swarming. They inflict especially painful stings and bites. Enter the brave husband. With the poison. We are not poison-happy people, but there are limits to my consciousness.

Don’t worry, my pretties, there’s enough here for everyone. Take this to your egg laying machine MOMMY!! But here’s a small problem. I went back to the mound yesterday, expecting it to be very quiet. But no. More activity and seemingly more ants than ever. I re-poisoned the area, and I’ll check again later.

Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. Without having any chief, officer or ruler, she prepares her food in summer and gathers her sustenance in harvest. How long will you lie there, O sluggard? Proverbs.

Enough of the BAD! But, remember, this is the United States, and I actually own this land of the mother-of-all-anthills (and have many ant poison options), God bless America!

Would you like to see the UGLY from small town America?

America is soooo great, that even our “ugly” isn’t that bad. Okay, that is not true, there are truly horrific things going on in America, just as there are around the world. We all need Jesus! But, with our great nation’s birthday upon us, I’d rather find a bit of humor, a bit of appreciation for our free country.

Isn’t it great that a local fruit stand can sell delicious, sweet oranges, ugly and all? Great value, free from government imposed pricing, grown on fruitful land in a country where one can actually be a land-owner, we are so fortunate. If you really want ugly, you can read this supposed celebrate-America-Fourth-of-July-but-really-just-leftist-propaganda editorial, for which this newspaper should be ashamed.

How about these berries? I feel some baking coming on. One aisle over from the ugly oranges, and as beautiful as they come.

In closing, I hope you enjoy this lovely song, one of my very favorites, from that incredible musician, Rich Mullins. Here in America.

Some of my favorite lyrics from this song:

“…Once I went to Appalachia, for my father he was born there, and I saw the mountains waking with the innocence of children…and the Holy King of Israel loves me here, in America!”

Do you have anything (good, bad, or ugly) to share from your slice of America?

God Bless the U.S.A.

Technorati Tags: fruit stand, ants, July 4th Parade, Crooked River Roundup, Fourth of July, Clydesdales, Rich Mullins, Here in America

I smiled, completely warmed by his sweetness. “You know,” he continued, “they would think you are really intelligent.” More warming, and even little pitter-patters in my heart. What a kind-hearted, encouraging boy, he thinks Mom is smart!

“You really think so?” I say, hoping for more of these lovely compliments. Having been his teacher for the past few years, it’s good to know that he values my brilliance, my astute nature, my…

“Of course, Mom!” he states matter-of-factly. “It’s the glasses. They make you really smart.”

Oh. The glasses. That’s what he so knowingly pointed to, not my clever brain at all. Ahem. Adjusting my glasses here. So, would you like to know where I purchased my super-powered glasses? Because I’m sure you all want a pair now.

The walls are up and the paint is on - now it’s time to head for the finish line, so to speak. It feels really good to have the structure done, the wires in the wall, the pipes in and the shingles on the roof. If only this last stretch didn’t seem to go on forever. You’ll constantly hear the phrases “You’re really close” and “You’re almost there” but it doesn’t feel that way. The finish work takes a lot of detail and scheduling that can suck you dry. Now’s the time to buck up and stay strong.

TRIM

Trim really brings out your walls and makes things feel solid. I had initially wanted to do knotty pine trim but ended up going with a painted trim to save money. We wrapped our windows all the way which is becoming less common these days and man did it make our windows stand out. In our first home we replaced all of the doors, windows and trim, and so I know a good finish carpenter is everything. There are tricks to getting things fit and look good when they aren’t perfectly square. A good finish guy can hide a lot. My friend Matt took the honors and went to work, spending a lot of time with his tape, finish gun and chop saw and did a great job.

FLOORS

Carpet, wood and tile shopping is sooooo exhausting. There are a bazillion choices and trying to consider color combos and what should go where is tiring. After much driving and looking and internet browsing, I knew what I would have to pay per square foot of each. From there it was a matter of choosing within those ranges quantities of each that would total to my flooring budget.

By luck 18″ travertine went on sale at the local Home Depot just in time - $2.49 per square foot. The quality was about 80/20 that is about 80% of the tile was good to great and about 20% was bad to not usable. We strategically placed the good tiles in the most visible places and put the not so pretty ones in out of the way places like our utility closet, the corners of the pantry and under counters and appliances. Some of the tiles will be great except for maybe one edge or section, save those for places you need to trim a piece then just cut off the bad part.

We did about 500 sq ft of hardwoods. I tried as hard as I could to find a hardwood I really liked under $4 per square foot. We ended up closer $5. You can get a hardwood for $3 but it will be a narrower plank and typically available only in standard colors. As I mentioned in a previous post, we have a rustic country style and so I wanted something wide planked and a little distressed. The Manchurian Walnut we went with had all of that at the best price we could find.

Carpet is a science. From 50 cents per square foot to several dollars you have to consider what’s important. To be blunt we went cheap. The carpet looks nice but is not a heavy pile. With four kids under the age of 9, and our entries and main living areas all hardwood or tile, we decided the carpet just needs to make it 5 or 6 years at which point we can replace it with something better. The money saved went back into hardwoods and tile that are both something you only want to put down once.

FIREPLACE AND FAUX STONE

Our entrance and fireplace both have faux stone and man there’s a lot of it. As of this writing we have finished the fireplace and it looks great. It took a little bit to get the rhythm, but once we got going it wasn’t too bad. We went with a sorta country rubble stone with wide grout lines as it matched the natural stones around the property. I found two or three magazine pictures I liked and tried to emulate them, which really helped as I could show the two guys helping me exactly what I was going for.

For the fireplace mantle I bought a large timber from a small sawmill and then roughed it up to give a distressed look. It took a full Sunday to do this. Basically, I set it on a couple saw horses and used my grinder, belt sander, vibrating sander and hand planer to form it. After planing and sanding the initial shape, I used a chain and hammer to put some marks into it and the grinder to put some divots here and there. Then a propane torch and spray paint to accent the edges and mars. The vibrating sander then took off the excess paint and burn marks and we stained it. It did take two or three revisions to get each side just right but we are very pleased with the look, it has a very authentic appearance.

LANDSCAPING

As children, both my wife and I always dreamed of some day having a big green lawn. I grew up on the Oregon coast, a mile from the Pacific where sand, scotchbroom and sticker bushes dominated, and she in the middle of the southern Arizona desert where cactus and dust were the only options. As such, we have always enjoyed the luxury of a nice lawn.

This being our third home, I pretty much knew how I was going to attach the yard. This property was very challenging, however, as the amount of rock made trenching and tilling extremely difficult. I brought in a lot of loam and used a single spade plow on my tractor to turn the soil, pop rocks and then to trench. Trying to use a ditch witch would have been impossible. After turning the soil and getting it fluffed up a bit, I chained three logs to the back of the tractor and drug them around our yard for hours to level things out.

After getting things leveled out, I walked out my sprinkler heads, putting flags wherever a sprinkler was needed. You have to know how many gallons per minute your water system, public or private, can provide and then add up your sprinkler heads required gallons per minute, as stated by the manufacturer, usually betwen 1 and 3 GPM each. Our well is 60GPM but the water line from the house to the barn gets about 20 GPM in a 1″ pipe - I used that figure for the sprinklers as they have similar distances and pipe sizes. So I was safe at 20 GPM but kept each branch at 12 GPM or less to be safe.

The first lawn I put in was at our first house and I had sent in all of my dimensions to Rain Bird, as they would design your system for free and send you a plan and parts list. Off to Home Depot I went, and after having nearly filled two baskets with tons of small parts, a guy down the aisle walked up to me. He was wearing a jacket with the name of a local landscaping company on it, and the Rain Bird logo embroidered on the front pocket. He said, “Did you send in for one of those free system plans from one of the sprinkler companies?” I told him I had and he dryly responded that I should put it all back and just get a couple of larger heads to shoot across my yard and call it good. He said “Look, all ya wanna do is flick some water out there, try and hit your corners and get double coverage and you’ll be fine.”

I took his advice and saved a lot of time and money. Where they had specified 15 small heads for the front yard, with several in the middle of the yard, I put 5 large adjustable heads in each corner and it was fine. A lot less trenching, pipe and time. I did the same on this project and it still took me 2 full days just to put the pipe and sprinkler heads in the ground.

I always use 1/2″ funny pipe to connect each sprinkler. This makes it really easy to raise and lower a head or reposition it later if need be. It also will keep your PVC from busting if someone drives over a sprinkler head or drops a rock on it. Once the lines and sprinklers are in you’ll want to groom your topsoil one last time. Use a landscaping rake and make sure there is loose topsoil to accept the seed or sod. I prefer to seed over sod. It is easier and more gratifying, although you need to do it in spring or fall, plus you have to wait for your lawn to become established.

To seed, just spread it with a broadcast spreader and then rake it back and forth with a landscaping rake to work it into the topsoil. Ideally the grass seed will be 1/4″ under where it can stay moist and germinate. If you keep your soil moist and the weather stays in the 60 - 80 degree F range, you’ll see some grass shoots in 7 to 10 days and put your first cut in 4 to 6 weeks. When I seed, I over shoot and simply rake my edges after about 3 weeks. The grass has shallow roots and comes up easy and this is a fun way to shape your lawn.

FINAL WORD

It’s hard to believe we’re almost done. I still have fears of something going terribly wrong, and thus will not feel “done” until we sign the final mortgage documents. I’ve learned a lot, and while I have enjoyed the experience, will not be looking to do it again any day soon. My hat is off to those who make a living building, it takes someone special to do it day in and day out and to do it well. We hope to be moved in within the next 30 days and hopefully get back to normal schedules and routines soon after that.

Technorati Tags: Central Oregon, construction, window trim, baseboards, finish work, carpentry, landscaping, underground sprinkler system, hardwood flooring, travertine tile, fireplace mantle, faux stone, seeding lawn

I’m so sorry to post such a disgusting picture. My apologies in advance if you have nightmares about this enormous arthropod crawling in your bed tonight. The kids found this on our property, and I can’t for the life of me figure out what it could be. I’ve looked in local field guides and can’t find it. Anyone know?

This was found in Central Oregon on our desert property; the kids accidentally dug it up or overturned it while shoveling dirt. Other habitation/features nearby include juniper trees, dry, volcanic soil, lava rocks, Western Fence Lizards, rattlesnakes, gopher snakes, jackrabbits, deer, field mice, owls, quail, lots of other birds of prey. And….this. ugly. thing.

I’m sure if I know the name of the creature my nightmares will stop. Thank you.

UPDATE: You all bloggers are so smart! Thank you for your input!! Drum roll, nightmares away, it’s a Jerusalem Cricket, commonly called a potato bug!

It’s neither from Jerusalem, nor a true cricket, nor does it prefer to eat potatoes. Most importantly, it is NOT venomous. But it is known to have a powerful bite, so do beware.

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Technorati Tags: insects, Central Oregon, country, desert creatures

She turns to the prophet Elisha in her distress, and he gives her some unusual advice - well, for an Old Testament prophet, it’s not at all unusual, those were some veeerrry interesting fellows. Upon discovering that all she has in her entire house, her whole earthly belongings, is a little bit of oil, Elisha directs her:

Elisha said, “Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don’t ask for just a few. Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side.”

Enter the miracle. She follows his directions precisely, right down to the shutting of the door. The widow pours and pours into the many jars. Son, give me another jar, she said. Sorry, Mom, that was the last one, says he. Then comes the stunning end of verse 6: “Then the oil stopped flowing.”

God provided exactly what she needed. The moment the jars ran out, the oil stopped. She could sell the oil, pay the debts and have enough left over for her and her sons to live on. This story truly sends shivers up my spine. It can be difficult to ask for help, especially for a lot of help. I can imagine perhaps the widow had to set aside her pride and her tendency to say, “neighbor, can I have just a few?” If this was me, that’s what would have happened. But I’m picturing the joy of the entire village, as each member had given much to this family, and they all get to rejoice in the immense provision.

What a life lesson! Seek help from wise people, follow God’s precise instructions even if they don’t make sense, and watch the blessings flow. He cares for you.

Framing is done and the electrical wire is in the wall. Now it’s time to put some “rock” on the walls. Before you do, be sure to check your walls for warped studs and other defects. Most can be fixed with a handplaner or by shimming, and this will make your walls look nice and straight once the sheetrock goes on.

We received 3 drywall bids and they were all very close in cost. There is a typical industry standard of pricing drywall by the square foot. So assuming the drywall contractors measure your house the same, you should see comparable figures for the base bids. You’ll want to ask the drywallers to specify what thickness of drywall they are using, if they will be using nails or screws, and finally to make sure they will be sealing the drywall before texturing.

You’ll need to specify a texture as well. A nice light orange peel is fairly common and also the least expensive. We would have liked to have had some nice hand textures throughout, but it adds considerably to the cost. We reasoned that with a light texture we could always go back and retexture in later years as a remodeling project if we really felt like it. I know it sounds funny to talk about remodeling when building a brand new house, but it’s my way of letting things go at this stage, as I am a perfectionist and like everything done just so, even though my bank account often does not agree.

We saved a little money with the drywall company by doing all of the cleanup. This was a chore, especially after the hangers got done. The drywall hangers left screws and dust and chunks of cutoff drywall everywhere - and I mean everywhere.

It took myself and son L almost a full day to get them thrown into a pile outside the house. It also took me half a day, using my tractor, to load my neighbor’s large dump trailer and haul it to the dump. It was hard earned savings.

Once the drywall is hung, the mudders come in, before they do make sure to check the hangers work. I called them and made them come back off and screw off in several places where they had gotten too light with the screws. There are codes for how many screws or nails need to be applied per feet with a given drywall thickness. I walked through the house and found a few closet walls and corners where they were missed and I could hit the wall with my fist and hear the drywall slapping on the studs behind.

The mudders will plop mud everywhere and once it dries it is no fun trying to get off the floor and bath fixtures. Be sure they mask and cover all of your tubs and showers and put down paper or drop clothes over your entire floor. The mudders will need heat or at least a decent temperature to make sure the mud dries between coats. If it is the middle of winter and your furnace is not hooked up yet, then you’ll need to rent a heater to keep the house warm.

After the drywall mud is on, your texturer will come in. If, like most, you are having a sprayed-on texture, be sure to clean your floor first. The texture gun will blow up junk, dust and dirt from your floor and into the wall texture otherwise. We had a lot by our back staircase that got on the walls and made a mess. Luckily we used a wide base board/runner up the stairs that covers it - but be prepared.

When you’re ready to start painting buy a gallon or quart of every color you intend to use. It will look different once on the walls and, as in our case, it may look too different. Anyone need 20 gallons of off-white? If you are going to paint your ceilings a different color, typically a white, then paint your walls first and then mask - it is much faster than trying to cut in (paint) the transition line from wall to ceiling.

I like flat colors and think sheen is as much of the color as the color itself. I do not like shiny walls and so we went with flat paint everywhere but in bathrooms, where we used a satin finish because of moisture. We borrowed a friend’s sprayer - you’ll want a commercial grade sprayer not a little project one. You’ll also want to be sure to backroll all of your walls. That is, after spraying a section of wall you’ll want to roll it with a paint roller. This will take out any spray lines and help even out the color. Even though this seems like a lot of work, it is much faster than hand rolling, much faster. Make sure your roller stays wet and things will go fast.

I hope this was helpful. I’ll wrap this up next week, and we’ll be just about ready to move in!

Technorati Tags: construction, painting, drywall, wall texture, paint, mudding

Big L saved up his money and bought a small, gray mouse yesterday, along with some mouse accessories, including a running wheel. Cute as a button and not much bigger, but goodness, he does run and squeak. I had no idea that an eight-week-old mouse had such stamina. I’m mouse-sitting right now while the kids are at Vacation Bible School. His name is Nampff, named so because his master likes the letters ‘N’ and ‘F.’

Note to self: buy some DW-40 today, so I don’t have to lock the mouse cage in the bathroom again to block out the everlasting squeaking of the wheel. I just need to get a decent night’s sleep.

Note to pet store owners: don’t sell squeaky wheels.

Tipper, … I wrote a short paragraph today about being “fatherless.” You know, I had a father, and when I was 12 or 13 years old, my parents separated, I moved to a different state with my mom, and I never lived with my dad again. I only saw him a handful of times after that before he died of lung cancer.

But the childhood I had with him until that age, it was difficult. He was an alcoholic and a distant, often angry father with many of his own troubles. However, I’m learning, the older I get, that it’s wise to still search for the good things, and even pray for God to reveal some sweet forgotten moments. There’s a lot of healing in setting your mind to this, so here are three things about my dad:

1. He was so very proud to be Appalachian.

2. He loved to plant things, and most of his energy went into his black walnut grove.

3. He was a carpenter by trade, and my memories are of him *always* wearing his white carpenter’s overalls, with hammer always hanging on his pants and nails in his pockets, ready to build.

p.s. Julie has a blog tag about an “a-ha!” moment you’ve had this week, so this will count as mine! Go check it out and see if you can come up with something, and if you’re reading this and would like to play along, consider yourself “tagged.” And if you also have some things to share about your dad, visit Tipper.

Technorati Tags: family life, Father’s Day, Appalachia, fatherless, childhood memories, God, relationships

It’s an amazing truth, though, and taking hold of God as Abba Father, especially for the earthly fatherless, is powerful and redemptive. Redemptive to the same degree you accept Him as Abba, and lay down your pain, anger, disappointment, and mistrust.

Greg Laurie has some great thoughts on this today; you may be blessed to read this.

JoJo made the big find of the day, with this great deer antler. We stumble upon at least one every spring, as the deer run our property year round, and bed down and poop all over the place make themselves at home here. I remember my children’s amazement when they discovered that deer shed their antlers and grow a new set every year. Note to the deranged individual who continually posts comments here (I love my delete button) about how my husband, the deer hunter, is a “worthless, inhumane piece of sh*t for killing poor innocent deer” - JoJo did not kill this deer nor rip the antler from its head, the Hunter had nothing to do with this, and we love deer as creatures as well as deer for meat.

Big L was distraught that he was not the one to find the great antler, but some bird saved the day. His spirits returned as he soon raced over to me with his find: an enormous eggshell. We pondered what feathered friend could have hatched out of this. An owl? A hawk? An eagle? It’s anyone’s guess, but his treasure. Incidentally, he did find a spike antler later that day, which he immediately turned into a weapon.

There’s nothing so lovely as watching children play in nature, discovering the wonder of God’s creation. Even when said deer horn is used by one child to impale the head of another child, it’s all worth it. It was an accident, people (and oddly enough, only involved the girls). Something to do with a made-up game called “Deer Fighters.” Stitches not even required, but today’s hike cancelled.

I realize there are people who are “professional deer shed hunters.” They make money off these. Just in case anyone is tempted to come gather these, or any other objects, from our property, we have several signs posted just for you, all some variation of this one:

Have a sunny day!

Technorati Tags: Central Oregon, children, country, family life, homesteading, outdoor play, ranch, spring, wildlife, eggshells, deer sheds

The Carnival of Country Living has been posted. The Christian Carnival is up, The Carnival of Homeschooling is going strong, and The Carnival of Family Life continues as well.

Julie is hosting a fun giveaway, don’t forget about Heather’s art lessons, Laura was kind to mention my Father’s Day giveaway, and today is the last day to enter Debi’s hammer giveaway.

A local blogger is getting her own newspaper column, and also for you locals, check out the upcoming events at Camalli Book Store in Bend, like the “What to plant and when” talk this coming Tuesday evening by local gardeners/authors.

Thank you, and have a sunny day.

Technorati Tags: blog carnival, blog contest, blogging

Before You Start
The very first thing to do once you have your plans done is to get a lumber takeoff. Looking back I wish I would have done just one of these. Instead I gave a set of plans to 3 different lumber retailers and they all did separate bids for all of my lumber, siding, posts, brackets, housewrap and sheeting. Problem is, the takeoffs (materials list) were all different. Also, these takeoffs had a lot of assumptions in them. There is, for example, more than one brand and style of lap siding - all with different prices, benefits and so forth. So, pay a couple hundred for a takeoff to be done.

Once you have your takeoff done you still have to go through it and make changes. A big one I missed is exposed beams. Our porch has big beams all the way around and the engineer had only specified the minimum size, which is what the lumber company ended up putting on my order. So, a few of the beams ended up being 7″ tall because they required less load than the 9″ tall beams they connected to. That just did not work when it came time to frame the porch and we had to end up building up the beams to make them meet up. Brackets are another example. My supplier sent ugly galvanized post to beam brackets out when I had visualized nice powder coated ones. I exchanged and all is happy but it could have been smoother.

When you have your takeoff, give it to 3 or 4 lumber stores. Tell them you want a contractor’s account with terms and make sure they specify how long prices are guaranteed and return policies. You’ll see lumber and material prices go up and down a lot in the course of a year. Try to buy when it’s low as much as is feasible - that will require a little research and planning but it can payoff a lot if you are savvy.

What To Do and What Not To Do

Dealing With “Subs”

Make sure to absolutely require the sub contractors put in writing a finish date and who pays for overages. I learned this when my foundation contractor kept pushing out an extra day and then went over on his bid for concrete by $900. We ended up working it out but it was a hassle and stressful. I would also be cautious of handing over control of framing material purchases to a framing crew. These guys may be good but their task consumes the most material by far. My framing sub wanted me to let him do the material ordering - I told him no. No offense, but I didn’t know him from Adam and an open ticket at the lumber store sorta scared me. Some subs will order material on one job and move it to another to cover shortages or they may markup your lumber to make a little more since they get a discount from the lumber store, but you can do the same if you take in a materials list. I made myself the point man for materials on framing. I was on the job every day and asked for any materials they needed daily, which I would order or pickup. The lead framer had my cell number and it worked out quite well.

When you request a contractor give a bid, give them an outline of what you expect in spoken word or a cover letter along with your plans. Request they include any parameters you specify in their formal bid. They are not doing you any favors, so don’t feel bad about letting them know how you want it done. You’ll get a gut feeling when you talk with them, go with it. I didn’t a few times and it bit me. If a sub is grumpy and rather rude when you offer him the chance at your business, don’t expect him to be cheery once he is on the job.

Do make sure you check the work of your hired help and tell them early if you want it done differently, better yet tell them before they start how to do it if you have a specific desire. Every single sub I worked with wants to get in and get out, and often they don’t mind cutting corners to get it done quicker. I made it clear that good enough was not good enough. We can have a good working relationship, but that doesn’t mean I am going to smile when you do something the wrong way. I also think the work is done better when there is knowledge that the owner will be checking it thoroughly on a regular basis. I am sure if you can pay for a true master carpenter, this isn’t necessary, but most likely you’ll be on the other end of the spectrum.

Foundation to Roof Quick Tips

When the foundation goes in make sure it is spot-on with the plans. Check the layout before pouring and make changes if necessary. I triple checked every wall length and angle one evening after the sub had left for the day. I found a few small errors and one big one. The foundation forms should also be plumb, level, greased and well braced. Check for all of this. A bad form setup will give you a foundation stem wall that is very difficult to build on, wastes concrete and looks rough when the form boards are pulled.

Framing crews are in a league of their own. I hadn’t listened to so much 80’s rock since high school. Stereo blasting, nail guns thumping and saws ripping, these guys want to turn it out fast. A good framer will check for plumb and level quite a bit. A not so good framer will use shortcuts used on track homes and say good enough when doing so. These types of small errors add up and magnify as you go up. A good framer will be conscious of the lumber warp and wane and then strategically utilize less acceptable lumber.

I did roofing for a summer and considered doing ours. I am glad I didn’t. I found a good deal and ran with it. It got done in a few days and I was able to work on other things in the meantime. For your roof, you can vent with standard roof vents or with ridge venting. Ridge venting allows for more airflow at the peak and thus is preferred - keeping your attic cooler in the summer and saving you money. The cost difference is a little more but it wasn’t too bad. Make sure your sub tells you what type of valley flashing he will do. There are a lot of methods, some cheaper and some better - take a pick. I would recommend not skimping on this as a leaky roof means a lot of trouble. Check with local roofing supply companies and ask them what they consider to be adequate and what is subpar. This will differ depending on where you live as climate is the determining factor. High winds and/or freezing temperatures for example, need to be addressed in roofing to ensure ice and snow doesn’t dam up and water doesn’t blow into the building structure.

That’s it. Hope this was insightful and useful to some of you out there.

Technorati Tags: Central Oregon, construction, subcontractors, roofing, framing, bids, foundation

The Oregon Trail was a route to not only Oregon, but the only feasible pathway to the entire western United States. Travel to places like Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Idaho, Utah, and California was only possible because of this passage over the mountains. The 1843 wagon train, with about 1,000 pioneers making the journey, kicked off the big westward expansion, with over half a million travelers over the next 25 years braving the journey.

Carole DeJarnatt presents Build A Chicken Feeder Series posted at Fowl Visions.

Also commonly found slung on the sides of emigrant wagons were water barrels, a butter churn, a shovel and axe, a tar bucket, a feed trough for the livestock, and a chicken coop. A fully outfitted wagon on the Oregon Trail must have been quite a sight, particularly with a coop full of clucking chickens raising a ruckus every time the wagon hit a rock. From End of the Oregon Trail.

GP presents The Innside Scoop on Hosting House Guests posted at Innstyle Montana- Come on Inn.

Bush established a successful farm near present day Olympia on land that became known as Bush Prairie. He and his family were noted for their generosity to new arrivals and for their friendship with the Nisqually Indians who lived nearby. From HistoryLink.

Jennifer Bogart presents Planting Rhubarb posted at Measure Twice, Cut Once.

A typical day started before dawn with breakfast of coffee, bacon, and dry bread. The bedding was secured and wagon repacked in time to get underway by seven o’clock. At noon, they stopped for a cold meal of coffee, beans, and bacon or buffalo prepared that morning. Then back on the road again. Around five in the afternoon, after traveling an average of fifteen miles, they circled the wagons for the evening. The men secured the animals and made repairs while women cooked a hot meal of tea and boiled rice with dried beef or codfish. Evening activities included schooling the children, singing and dancing, and telling stories around the campfire. From End of the Oregon Trail.

Belle presents Did You Know……All Soaps Have Lye (Sodium Hydroxide)? posted at Born 100 Years to Soon.

One pound of Castile soap was recommended for the journey (for one man on a three month expedition).

Dora Renee’ Wilkerson presents Soap Creations review posted at Y-2K Hippie.

Minimal cooking utensils included a cast iron skillet or spider, Dutch oven, reflector oven, coffee pot or tea kettle, and tin plates, cups, and knives, forks, spoons, matches, and crocks, canteens, buckets or water bags for liquids. A rifle, pistols, powder, lead, and shot were recommended for hunting game along the way, and for self-defense. Candles were used for lighting, as they were far less expensive and lighter than transporting oil, and several pounds of soap was included. Only two or three sets of practical, sturdy, and warm clothing of wool and linen had to last the wear and tear of the journey, and a small sewing kit for repairs was important. Basic tools such as a shovel, ax or hatchet, and tools to repair wagon equipment were essential. Bedding and tents completed the list of necessities. From BLM Oregon Trail Interpretive Center.

Jacque presents Summer Plans posted at Walking Therein.

June 3 Passed through St. Joseph on the Missouri River. Laid in our flour, cheese, crackers and medicine, for no one should travel this road without medicine, for they are almost sure to have the summer complaint. Each family should have a box of physicing pills, a quart of castor oil, a quart of the best rum and a large vial of peppermint essence. Elizabeth Dixon Smith. From End of the Oregon Trail.

Miss Jocelyn presents Making The Home: Washin’ The Laundry posted at Growing In Grace Magazine.

Resting on Sundays, in addition to giving the oxen and other animals a needed break, also gave the women of the wagon train a chance to tend to their domestic chores — particularly doing the laundry, as the dust on the Trail pervaded every article of clothing exposed to it. Occasionally, a wagon train’s arrival at a source of clean water was enough to prompt a special stopover for laundry day. From End of the Oregon Trail.

Lady Olivia presents Cherry Pie in a Cup posted at Growing In Grace Magazine.

In procuring supplies for this journey, the emigrant should provide himself with, at least, 200 pounds of flour, 150 pounds of bacon; ten pounds of coffee; twenty pounds of sugar; and ten pounds of salt. From Emigrants’ Guide to Oregon and California, 1845.

Thanks for visiting, this is the end of the trail! The next Homesteading Carnival will be hosted by The Daily Planet. You may submit your post HERE.

photo credits:
www.historyglobe.com
www.isu.edu
Diary of 1

Technorati Tags: blog carnival, Homesteading Carnival, country, family life, gardening, Oregon Trail

Julie, you will be receiving the Oregon State Beavers hat and pewter keychain.

Go visit Julie if you get a chance, she just opened up her own blog right after I posted that article about her, so I didn’t get a chance to tell you yet. Congratulations, Julie!

Debi still has her Father’s Day Giveaway open, so you can give it another shot over at Stroller Strides of Bend.

I gotta say, these Central Oregon bloggers are pretty impressive! I just met another one yesterday. Christy happened to be at the same homeschool swim group I attended, and I’d been reading her blog for a while (which I would direct you to except that she shut it down a while back), and had never met her. I’ve gotten used to introducing myself in my new social-media-fashion: “Hi, I’m Jen, from Diary of 1.” Just like when I first met MooBeeMa, PebbleChaser, and Mrs. Darling, it was like meeting up with an old friend.

Technorati Tags: blog contest, giveaway, Oregon State University, sports business, TeamMASCOT

AND, Debi S. of Stroller Strides in Bend, OR, is also running a fabulous Father’s Day Giveaway. Click on this post, and leave a comment about why you love your dad (read her story, it’s wonderful!), and you have a chance to win a hammer with your dad’s favorite team logo! Enter by the end of Thursday, June 12 - hurry!

The Homesteading blog carnival description reads:

A carnival full of homesteading articles… from your kitchen with yummy recipes, your sewing room with homemaking ideas to planting your garden, raising farm animals, and raising a family on the homestead. Please join us on the homestead and submit something from yours!

Now, if you don’t have a big ranch or farm with 12 children milking goats and collecting eggs every day, do not exclude yourself from this carnival! The Homestead Act (1863) provided the original homesteader with 160 acres if he could build a home on the property and inhabit the place for five years. But how many folks have 160 acres these days? And certainly not for free.

Homesteading has a broader interpretation these days. There are urban homesteaders who may not have a lot of real estate but sure have a lot of self-sufficiency. Maybe you have a balcony vegetable garden, maybe you have some good advice for living simply, being frugal yet generous, becoming debt free, or have figured out creative ways for how to make do with less. Please share your wisdom!!

My theme will be The Oregon Trail, so pack your wagons, and prepare for a long, bumpy ride, with paradise at the other end. [p.s. Your post isn’t supposed to be about the Oregon Trail, that’s just my fun way of organizing the articles.]

Technorati Tags: blog carnival, gardening, homesteading, Homesteading Carnival, recipes

Strangely enough, when undertaking a building project you’ll receive a flood of marital counseling. For me, it came from a few friends, first the realtor and then the mortgage guy. They all say, with a certain seriousness, to be careful not to let the building experience ruin or even destroy your marriage. They profess to have actually seen it happen. It seems so odd when starting out, but the story goes that as the project progresses, the endless flood of decisions can lead to conflicts between you and your spouse. Fighting over such things as wall colors or door sizes, cabinet styles or floor coverings may seem trivial, however if we really look at the pettiness of most of our day to day arguments, they are usually of even less importance.

So, the first bit of advice is to pray. Pray for yourself and your significant other to have grace, patience and latitude towards one another when making these choices. Try to start by agreeing on broad rules and making your concessions here. Agree on an overall color and decor theme and in general an overall feel. Look at magazines; we went through a lot and clipped out everything we liked. We went on the Tour of Homes and just talked - “Oh I like that” or “Man, that bath tile looks too fancy for my taste.” We also liked to go through new developments and tour the model home. It’s a great way to find all kinds of ideas and to see what the current hot design ideas are. You’ll soon find common ground and have learned what you both like.

Once you have a good feel for what you’re shooting for, you need to make sure it fits with where you’re building. Our lot is very, how should we say, cowboy. It’s high desert, there is sage brush, craggly old junipers and coyotes and rattlesnakes to boot. I love rustic and wanted a house that complemented the sage greens and desert tans all around us. As simple as this seems, it really helped to define our style before we started looking at things like siding, paints and stains.

SITE PLANNING
Depending on your lot size and local building codes you’ll need to determine where your house will sit, where the driveway will go, how you’ll hook into utilities and a myriad of other topics. We were required to submit a site plan to the county that showed all of these things drawn to scale, along with easements and setbacks, as well as where our well would be drilled and where the septic system would be located.

These types of decisions can be hard to make, especially if you have a larger lot where you have more possibilities. I spent a lot of time driving to the property and walking it over and over. I brought ladders and climbed trees to try and get a feel for what second story views would look like at different locations. I was also very mindful of how much privacy the trees in different locations offered. I really didn’t like the idea of having to put blinds on our windows to obtain privacy when we lived on 20 heavily treed acres.

When considering locations, I also thought about how much it would cost to get utilities and a road to any particular building site. I had a 100′ tape measure and had already called the power company to see what they charged to put in power. If you’re too far way then they have to bring in more equipment, lines and transformers, which translated means more money. I also borrowed a friend’s laser level and checked elevation to see where I could put my septic system’s drain field without requiring a pump.

After collecting all of this information and weighing the options, we made the decision to build about 500 feet further up on the property than we had initially planned. What seemed like an obvious building location at first glance became less attractive as we really looked. The location where the house now sits is, without a doubt, the right spot. It has great views that weren’t initially apparent but came into their own with some selective thinning of trees. It also has a great amount of privacy. Finally, the location was the most economical spot for connecting to utilities, installing a septic system and building a driveway.

HOUSE PLANNING

We really were hoping to find a stock plan that we liked, but it was a useless venture. The fact that I work at home and thus need a separated space for an office, combined with the need for a full master suite for Jen’s mom, limited our options. Nothing seemed right for our needs. Having done design, 3D and a little CAD over the years, I thought I would take a crack at trying to design our home. After a few frustrating weekends, a bit of wisdom broke through as I figured out that I had no idea about how a house should flow and what standard dimensions were.

Instead I found a small design company with a nice portfolio who could listen to our wants and come up with a plan for us. House designers are less expensive than architects but can still do great work. If you want to save money with a stock plan, find house designers in your area and view their stock plans. These plans will already be engineered to your local building codes and you’ll find styles that match your locale.

We had an initial meeting with the designers, showed them some styles we liked and gave them some rough parameters – the rooms we needed, our overall square footage and budgeting goals. I made it clear that while I wanted an aesthetically pleasing house, I didn’t want a lot of complicated angles and open beams and so forth that would really add to the cost. It took a few meetings and revisions to get things tweaked just right, but it was, in all, a fairly painless experience.

One final item to note is energy savings. I am not a “green” advocate but I hate paying my electric bill. As a result, I investigated several energy saving building strategies. Solar passive design is fairly easy to incorporate into a home design and is an easy way to seriously cut your heating and cooling costs. I simply made sure the house’s southern exposure was maximized and that there were enough windows on that side to collect solar heat in the winter months and enough window overhang to shade against solar heat in the summer months. I’ll touch more on this in a future article, but for now just bear in mind that for decades homes were designed without any consideration of that huge ball of energy that our planet revolves around. Take advantage of free heating energy from the sun in the winter and block it in the summer and you’ll keep a lot of greenbacks in the bank.

CONCLUSIONS

For anyone who might be starting down the path of building your own home at anytime in the future, I would offer the following advice.

First, realize this is just a house, wood, paint and tile. It is not eternal and thus should be viewed as temporary. I heard a great sermon on the radio one day as were just breaking ground. The pastor talked about how we often talk about things in a possessive nature, like we somehow earned it or own it. He used the example of a piece of land (how fitting) and how he found himself referring to it as “his” property, and that the Lord corrected him and reminded him that it was someone else’s before him and will be someone else’s after him, and that in truth all things are from God and are God’s. This is instrumental. Treat your building project as a blessing for this season and you’ll find it easier to let go of the incidentals.

Second, spend time considering how to get the most out of your lot. The footprint and positioning of your house will affect many things, especially on smaller lots. Moving your home toward the street on a small lot will give you more of a back yard, but haphazardly plopping it right in the middle for no good reason may eat up valuable usable space. Think of windows and sunlight. Do you like sun on your toes in the morning on those cold winter months? If so, consider where the southern exposure is and how to situate your home to maximize this.

Third, choose a designer to work with, even if you go with a stock plan out of a magazine. You’ll most likely have to have it re-engineered to local code and that means things like walls and roofs might need to change and this is where a designer can make it look right and save you a ton of headaches down the road. You may be able to find an architect that fits your budget, otherwise the designer will make the changes and have an engineer calculate the loads and put his stamp on the plans.

Technorati Tags: building a house, Central Oregon, construction, country, house plans

I looked through old wedding photos today. I fed him a piece of wedding cake, and I’m still feeding him today. It was not the smoothest of weddings, with 100 degree heat and babies crying through the entire thing, and our life since has not always been the smoothest thing. But we go on, we trust in God to give us the strength and courage to unceasingly love and serve one another. We plan, and dream, and laugh and hope together.

Last week, we had another dance, in the old Lone Pine Elementary School, from about the same era as the grange. My wedding dress tucked away, perhaps for one of my girls, this was a day of continuing. Who knows what the future holds, we are just looking forward to our ranch, sun, … and dirt. Always looking forward, keeping hope, until the next dance.

[posted for the Marriage Monday wedding post]

Technorati Tags: marriage, Marriage Monday, wedding dance

All of the childhood exploring was possible because my husband and I were busy breaking our backs trying to get the yard prepared to plant some grass. I snapped off my shovel handle just above the spade (is that a bad sign?) trying to pry up a boulder and I bent the prongs of my husband’s $50 rake. I’ll go soak my weary bones in a hot bath and try to focus on how green that grass will be in a few months.

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Well, it’s June now. I have a special giveaway for DADS (or grads). Father’s Day is June 15, just two weeks away. I’m going to let the winner choose any in-stock item under $30 from our online sports store, TeamMASCOT.com. We carry team logoed products across six leagues - NFL, NCAA, MLB, NBA, NHL, and NASCAR. If you’re not going to settle for giving another necktie on Father’s Day, consider a key chain, wallet, or even a hammer with his favorite team’s logo!

Please be sure the item is in-stock (noted after the product description), because I’ll need to get this shipped by the end of the week to guarantee arrival for Father’s Day. CONTEST CLOSES Friday, June 6. TO ENTER, leave a comment on this post, letting me know which product you would like. Open to U.S. and APO addresses. Make sure you leave a way for me to contact you, so I can notify the winner and get this shipped to the correct address.
******

Marriage Monday, hosted by Chrysalis blog coming tomorrow! Submit your post after today on any aspect of your wedding here.

There are several blog carnivals that you may want to catch up on. Just topical collections of blog articles.

Christian Carnival and up again Wednesday at Ancient Hebrew Poetry.
Carnival of Homeschooling, and up again Tuesday at Tami’s Blog.
Carnival of Family Life, and coming again tomorrow at Live from Waterloo.
Homesteading Carnival, and coming again tomorrow at Lighter Side.

Technorati Tags: blogging, family life, blog contest, giveaway, Father’s Day, outdoor play, outdoors, parenting, baby jackrabbits, ranch, sports business, spring

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. James 1:17

Giving thanks today. Iris at Sting My Heart hosts the Thankful Thursday meme, and I thought I’d participate. I actually desperately need to participate today. Forgetting to give thanks to God for His many blessings is a paved road to bitterness, depression, anger, hopelessness, and despair. I’d rather not go there.

So, today, I thank the Lord for….

……the breadmaker my mother-in-law gave me almost 12 years ago, so I could make a fresh loaf this morning, as we are out of bread (dough only cycle is a lifesaver)….

….the left-over beans and hotdogs from Connie’s BBQ, which she kindly sent home with us, so we could have a nice dinner last night, as we are out of everything….

….the bag of coffee from Jane, from Christmas, stuffed in the back of the cupboard, discovered in the nick of time this morning, so I could have a nice cuppa joe to start my day, as we are also out of coffee….

….an email this morning from my sister, Julia, asking me about a creation science children’s show, encouraging because I need to know I’m not alone in this journey….

….an email this morning from my friend, Julie, inviting our family and a few others on a hike to the Camp Sherman fish hatchery, encouraging because I need fellowship with other believers….

….the New Hope Church (in Hawaii) website, which has the daily Life Journal reading, so I can keep to a good schedule of Bible reading, as I will die a slow death otherwise….

….a new family I just met on the side of the road (who randomly stopped to watch Chuck’s cannon shoot), who also homeschool and are also Christians, and live out our way in the country, encouraging because even though I haven’t called the wife yet, just knowing they are there, 5 or 10 minutes away, brings hope….

What are you thankful for today?

Technorati Tags: Christianity, relationships, Thankful Thursday

Could you please give me some blog feedback? My husband/tech guy/designer extraordinaire will be working on my site this weekend, and any feedback you give will help him troubleshoot the problem. The browser we use is Safari (the world’s best browser according to Mac-geeks like my husband) and Diary of 1 looks just beautiful with this application.

SO, if you’ve stopped by here, would kindly tell me:

1. What browser (and version) do you use? (For example, IE-7, Firefox, Safari). If you have NO idea what I’m talking about, read this.

2. What do you first see when you go to www.diaryof1.com? You should see something like this:

3. Are there any other annoying things (not looking for critiques of my writing, people!) that you’ve noticed?

Thanks for your help!!

Technorati Tags: blog feedback, blogging, troubleshooting