Untold wealth

We have now owned our dream homestead for 4 months.  As you can read in other posts it was a Gordon Van Tine super fixer upper, and we have 5 years to complete it.  There were no big completions this weekend, but the rain has put me in a reflective mood.  I would like to look at how truly blessed I am.

I truly am the richest man in the world.

I have a loving family.  I have my Beautiful wife, Laurie, who shares my dreams, and whom I am able to work beside day in and day out. While I love art, she is a fantastic artist and art teacher.

(You can find her art teacher blog at http://pledlspalette.blogspot.com/)

 I have 5 wonderful children, two of which will be giving us our first grandchildren within the next six months. I have my loving parents, brothers and sisters, who love me as much as I love them.

I have a job I love, managing a program for seniors with Alzheimer’s, where I plan to work until I retire. 

(The Walk to End Alzheimer’s in Waukesha, WI takes place this weekend.  Please consider donating to help the cause!!  http://act.alz.org/site/TR?fr_id=11638&pg=personal&px=14532767 )

And then when I retire……It becomes a farm!

Our remodeling is going great!!  In 4 months we have completed 2 rooms, which include all new plumbing and electric.  We have started 3 other rooms, all slowly moving to completion.  We have started reclaiming the property, with paths leading to newly planted trees, and others leading back into the 15 acres. 

Thank you for visiting to keep up with our progress.  Since a furnace for the home is not planned until next year, or maybe the year after, things will be closed up over winter, with lots of time to plan for new progress in spring.

No amount of money could make my life any better!

Back to Work

Making Progress

Well, once the question about the birds was answered it was time to get back to work on the farm. I always have certain goals in mind of what I want to accomplish. If I can accomplish most of those goals than I know we are making progress. With that said, I would have to say it was a productive weekend. 

My goals

1.) Finish preparing the rock wall garden.

2.) Texture paint the bedroom ceiling.

3.) Mow the lawn.

4.) Water the trees.

5.) Put the baseboards up in the bedroom.

Well, I accomplished all of these goals except the ceiling is not done. I ran out of paint. I guess I did not learn the lesson I passed onto my readers last time (always buy more than you think you need and then take the extra back).  

In addition to completing my goals I also accomplished a few more tasks that were not goals.

Take a look!

A homemade Christmas gift is now hanging on the inside of the bathroom door for robes, towels etc.

After hours of sponge painting a textured ceiling I felt compelled to be creative. I added a wall painting in the bathroom above the tub.

The base boards are now up in the bedroom.

As you can see, some outlets have been completed too, thanks to Greg.

 

Completed rock wall garden; ready for planting. The end dirt will be filled in with grass.

The last highlight of this trip was that Greg finally got the bathtub fixed; no leaks.  We actually took a bath! 

Little Birdies Alive and Well

Amazing Life

We spent the weekend at the farm. The highlight was watching the baby birds in the nest right outside our door. Mom and Dad both working so hard to provide food. The nest seems to be getting a bit crowded with five growing babies in it now. Each struggles to pop up its head when they sense Mom or Dad approaching with something to eat. So amazing to watch their five yellow beaks open wide to let the food inside. 

We won't be back for two weeks now. I hope we can see them fly next time we visit. I hope we don't miss it!

Laurie

All are hungry,

two have been fed.

I want more!

Sharing our Home

A Love Story

When we started working on our house we noticed a bird nest on top of our porch light.  One day Greg held up his camera high and took a photo of the inside.  The photo showed five eggs.  As we continued to work on the house we noticed that the Barn Swallow would leave the nest each time we stepped out onto the porch. We started to feel bad but we did not know what to do about it as this was the only way into the house. We tried to limit our stay on the porch as much as we could so we would not disturb her and her eggs. As time went on, we noticed that she was getting a little more comfortable with us and would stay on the nest even when we got real close to the porch. We also noticed that she had a partner nearby watching carefully on the telephone wire. At times, she would fly away while he would fly in and take her place at the nest. They were already sharing parental duties.

As usual, we had to take a break from the farm and return to West Allis where we currently reside. When we returned to the farm, Greg found some eggshells on the porch. He once again, held his phone up high to get a picture of the inside. When you looked at the picture, it looked empty. Great sadness came over me as to what happened to the five babies. All of a sudden, in swoops Mom.  Why was she returning if her babies were not there?  This continued to weigh heavily on my mind for awhile. Was she mourning? Do birds mourn? As I went about working on the farm I kept glancing back at the nest and there she was and her partner swooped in again. From the inside of the house you could see the nest from a small window. I took a break and stood on a chair to get a closer look. I kept seeing some grayish movement. My mind went back and forth thinking thoughts such as (there are babies in there) or (there is a loose stray feather blowing in the wind). Finally, I saw a fuzzy head and attached to it was a beak and in swooped Mama with something for it to eat. Such joy came over me as I now knew the babies had survived. 

Back in West Allis I decided this would be my first painting of the summer. A perfect love story. It becomes a love story about so many things: the birds, of course, but also the love story of Greg and I and the love story of the this farm. I am thinking this painting might need to find a permanent home on a wall in the farm house.

A Love Story