It's a good thing no one can see me when I mow the grass at the farm. I had a big laugh when I got a good look at my reflection while wearing Brandon's Guatamalun straw hat, faded red bandanna (it's pink, really, but don't let him hear me say that), and school bus yellow earphones, which have an antenna sticking out the back so I can listen to the radio. These headphones are really wonderful since I can sing along with the radio and pretend no one can hear me, since I can't hear myself. I think Brandon looks kind of dashing in his mowing get-up, so I don't know how I look so goofy wearing the same thing.
"Bad Brandon! Look at the mess you made!" Cleaning up the debris that Brandon generated tearing out the warpy drywall and old plaster and lath ceiling from the living room was a big job, but it's good for my shoveling muscles. We debated leaving the ceiling in the living room since it was one of the least damaged in the house, but I'm very glad we decided to take it down since Brandon barely touched the first piece with his crow bar and a giant slab fell to the floor. I would rather clean this mess up now than do it after we've moved in and all our furniture is under the rubble. And believe it or not, I can see a light at the end of the demolition tunnel. We aren't there yet, but when I look around I don't see how we can rip much more out of this house without exposing ourselves to the outside. So surely we will get to start putting some things back very soon. Surely.
The photos above are some shots of the staircase, in it's unfinished state. We got kind of fancy at the downstairs end, and made a turn. Brandon always wanted a spiral staircase, but this is as close as he's going to get. I'm anxious to see how they really work. The stairs wrap around what will some day be, if we follow our current half formed plans, a bigger column with some built in cabinets or shelves. Right now it's just a four by four post, and for some reason I have doubts that it will be much more than that for a long while.
Since I took this picture, the downstairs bedroom floor has been mostly finished. We were able to salvage almost all the original floor boards, but luckily some of them were bad, so Brandon got to play with his planer and router to create some groved floor boards to fill in the holes. I plan to paint the floors to finish them, so the different types of wood shouldn't be a problem. The room is so small that I'm pretty sure the floor won't be visible once we get a bed in it anyway, so it's not going to matter what it looks like.
I discovered some unexpected treasures outside too. A bird built a nest in some pink insulation that was stacked in the barn. If I didn't know this was itchy fiberglass, I would think this bird made the coziest looking nest I've ever seen, nestled in billows of pink fluff.
We have several yucca plants, which I was suprised to find get pretty blooms too. I've only ever noticed the spiky leaves, but never got a close look at the the tall flower spikes. These flowers are nearly three feet tall, and lovely against the sunset.
Suprise roses and elderberry shrubs!
Some rose bushes, which I assumed were wild rose, which has tiny white flowers, have turned out to be roses with large frilly pink blooms. These rose bushes are growing tangled with wild blackberries and some small pawpaw trees, but they are still very impressive. With a little attention, this wall of pink roses could really shine.
The elderberries are scattered in several locations around the property, and right now have giant heads of delicate white flowers. Not only are these pretty, but this means I can make my own elderberry wine! I love plants that are beautiful and alcoholic.
The bushy apple tree on the east side of the house is indeed and apple tree. It has hundreds of small green apples on it now. I'm sure it could use some pruninng, but until I get a chance to figure out how, I'm just going to enjoy any fruit I can get from it. I have visions of apple pies when I stand under it.
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