Moving into Fall

Time is Running Out

Well, as Fall approaches, our time on the farm is slowly ending. With no furnace we can't work through the winter. Our goal at this point is to finish one last bedroom and prepare it for winter. Last weekend we had to go up on Saturday morning instead of Friday night because I was part of Art on the Plaza in West Allis. I also had to pay a bill in the morning and so we got a late start and did not actually arrive there until around 11:00 a.m.

Regardless, we still got a lot accomplished. While Greg tackled the electric in the bedroom, I sanded the walls and ceiling. I was able to prime everything except for the ceiling before we left. Greg was able to finish all of the electricity. The week before we found another great fan light for the room at the Restore and so we are looking forward to finishing the room and installing that.

It was also Cheese Days in Monroe and we wanted to check that out. We managed to make it to the festival on Sunday for about an hour and saw the parade. I got to try Limburger cheese for the first time. Which, I did not think had a horrible odor like I was told... and I enjoyed the flavor. After that, we drove home to West Allis.

While at the farm on Saturday night we had a visitor. Greg will introduce you to him.

Laurie

Yes, we had a visitor.  We were cooking a late dinner, and chatting about what we had accomplished, and Laurie saw a shadow fly by.  And then again......

Suddenly, she jumped up, grabbed her purse and ran out.  I followed.  She had seen a bat.  We had seen one in April, but have not seen any since.  I went in, turned on all the lights, and found our cute friend hanging in what was the dining room.

I decided to close off the room as much as I could, so his only exit was the front door, which Laurie (who was still outside with her purse) agreed to open as he came. No matter what kind of noise or action I took, he decided to just hang in there.  I finally nudged him with a long piece of drywall. He flew around and landed on a screen I had used to block off the kitchen.  After a moment, he (or she, I never got close enough to check) was off again, circled the room twice and found the space I was unable to block into the living room and parlor.  

He disappeared.

I looked in every place the bat could be hiding, and he could not be found.  Eventually, Laurie came in with her purse, we locked the door and went to bed, with our bedroom door firmly closed.

-Greg  

PS Good thing I had my purse! (Laurie).

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!

Anticipation

Waiting for the Weekend

It's been a long time (nearly 2 weeks) since we have been at the farm. I really miss it! Which is good because then I will be ready for work when we arrive Friday night. I can't wait to see the birds and how much they have grown. I wonder if they are flying now? Hopefully, they are still there.

In my anticipation I did this small painting from one of the pictures I took on our last visit. 

Hunger

I will write again after the weekend. Stay tuned!

Laurie