before trimming 12" from tall wall

It's been cold here in mid country but I was able to get myself out and move the shed project along. I managed to get the walls up myself. I figured if I put a small end wall up first the others would be easy enough to tilt up and carefully drag over- and all went well. Except...the electric service entrance cable was too low for my 10' wall. I  considered my options and decided to shorten the wall 12" and modify my intended roof overhang. So, now the wall is 9' and I think it's a reasonable compromise. I  should still have enough loft area to store lumber and I don't have to spend dollars to raise the electric mast.

12" shorter tall wall

end wall w/opening for 40" door(s)

the 4 walls stacked and waiting

The shed project moved along this fine warm winter day. The 2 end walls were framed and are now waiting with the others for erection. I trued up the corner of the 4x4 foundation timbers. Cold is returning and may effect when I'll get to stand the walls up...maybe tomorrow if help is available, we'll see. I was glad to find the old underground wire that used to run the previous owners pool pump-it's just where it needs to be to have electric in the shed.

the foundation timbers-electric wire in lower right corner

Tonight I scrounged  more granite with some help.Some will end up being the floor in the shed.

the 10' wall comes together

A beautiful fall day it was this December 27th. 50's here in middle west is great this time of year, and I've heard we're to have 60's the day after today. I made more sketches and figured placement of doors and individual studs for the shed build. I cut and placed and leveled the 4x4's for the foundation then more lumber was brought home from the store- and framing began. I managed to get the 2 long walls(8'7") all framed/nailed-the one is 10' tall, the other 8'.

both walls framed and squared-ready for set up

Last night I installed the pipe and fittings on my work bench that form a support bar for hanging mobiles from while working on them.

just the beginning

I started another mobile the other day but  cold has been distracting me. Yesterday a friend helped me work on the picket fence in the rear. I used old cedar pickets I found in while on rt K. We trimmed the ends-truing up the bottoms and putting new points on the tops.

Today I started on the shed I intend to build near the house. I worked on leveling area for the 4x4 lumber I will use for the foundation and bought enough lumber to start. I've decided to build on the ground so I can more easily roll things in and out. I intend to use granite scraps for the floor.

leveling area for treated 4x4's as shed base

she caught it

Cold temps today. I made Petra play inside. I finished the mobile I started the other day and then got dressed- about 3 p.m. and organize a little in the basement.

I realize the flash makes shadows of the wire rods

I added some bling to the shade I was making for the bare bulb bathroom light over the sink. Some nice springs-from where I don't remember, eight brass  223 ammo casings and 2 copper tags I had made for persimmon trees planted at Rt K.

I've also started another mobile of found objects-the first one where I've freed myself up from the rule of using items found while traveling/camping- now I'm open to anything that catches my eye, generally some found/re-purposed object.

a bit of rotted wood-and that doll boot...

 

 

 

 

upside down granite, and one piece of marble, as stepping stones

It was dry and over 70 today but rain is coming. I dumpstered more granite and used some, rough side down, as stepping stones outside the gate to the driveway. I also added 2 more granite shelves in the bathroom.

drilling holes in piece of old fixture to hang things to form a shade

In order to get more light over the bathroom sink I made a light to hang from ceiling. I'm working on making a shade for it now.

fancy light-no other like it

I also replaced the light switch for rear exterior light and adjusted fixture and installed a bulb-so now I have a bit of outdoor lighting in rear. what else...oh, I hung a mirror in the bathroom-can be seen in above photo.

The snow is melting with the warmer temps-almost 60 today. This is leading to muddy patches in the yard-so I collected wood compost from around the cedar tree. Evidently limbs and such have been piled around the evergreen for years and rotting away to a nice compost. I spread this on areas of mud where I or Petra frequent.

I made another door/hatch in the fence, at the rear this time, so Petra can have a look see at the activity in the alley. I put a bamboo bar down the middle so she can't really get her whole head out- and frighten the locals.

I mixed thee different  cans of paint together to come up with a good amount of a green semi-gloss I could use for the bathroom walls. Being a warm day, I finished the quick patch job on the bathroom walls and painted them. It's a quick job to satisfy till I can give the wall patching more attention- another year. The color turned out great and the change in the bathroom is grand.

Oh, and I payed fetch/catch with Petra:

it's hard to get a good pic, but her back feet are off the ground

see the "before pic" in Dec. 11 post

I had to pay retail for a sheet of 3/8" drywall in order to have a bit to patch the bathroom wall under the sink-around all the plumbing. I will use more I'm sure when I relocate the kitchen sink and plumbing. I got the wall pretty much closed up after insulating between the studs, above the plumbing-so as to let any warm basement air be able to surround the pipes.

...yes, maybe the white one is a little blurry

The bathroom door received some new (old) porcelain door knobs. A white one on the inside and a black one on the outside. Some fine productive day they will be cleaned up a little better, along with the mortise lock- and the door will be painted.

corner shelves over sink

A bit more hanging out in the bathroom today. I replaced the missing horizontal wall trim piece and used the pieces over the sink as a support for 2 shelf boards in the corner-some scavenged trim pieces with a decorative edge, used upside down(the darker, bare wood in the photo). I also had to re-sweat a copper fitting under the sink to stop a small water leak. You can see the granite shelf I made yesterday in the lower right of the above photo. Now I can think about tile/mosaic for the walls behind the sink.

To warm the kitchen up this evening, I used my pumpkin bread recipe to make bread with a pear sauce. I use the same recipe with whatever home preserved fruit I have and it turns out fine. So far I've used pumpkin, apple, persimmon and pear-and all have worked well using whole wheat flour.

sunrise out my window Thur morn-before rain, sleet and snow arrived

breaking granite for shelf and its support bracket

A few inches(maybe) of snow are on the ground and another granite shelf is in the bathroom. Saturday I removed the plaster from the area I wanted the granite and used construction adhesive to glue the rock to the lath and the granite pieces together and temporarily supported the shelf. Then I re-plastered and left things to set up.

the plaster removed, lath exposed

temporarily supported

 I also made a towel hook using an old brass and glass doorknob, one that was threaded for a set screw, and a metal hook I had on hand. I can think of a few refinements to improve on the idea, but as it is, it does the job just fine.

heat(or not) and hammer the hook to shape

They promised us single digits by 6 a.m. As best I can tell it was 12 or 13  maybe. It was the first night I bothered to bring in a few logs to sacrifice to the pot belly god every once in a while as I woke in the night. The room stayed warm all night. The temperature moved above 30 during the day, so with the sun, it seemed rather nice. The Charter internet is a fine improvement to NO INTERNET. So today, before the next cold snap, I weather stripped the front door and put a latch on the storm door.

new weather strip around the door jamb

An elf helped me dumpster more granite last night so I have some nice large pieces on hand now. I also took off one of my side racks from the truck bed and mounted a wide board in it's place to act as a shelf-so I can pull up to the granite dumpster and set pieces on the side of the bed before placing them in the truck proper- an effort to try and not hurt myself.

that large piece is going to be a sweet place to roll out some dough

"shelf" on top of bed rail for dumpstering granite

plumbing under the bathroom sink...and RED DOG

The bathroom sink bowl is in the top now and faucet and water supply and waste /vent lines all hooked up. I will do more mosaic work - on the walls around sink and to the front vertical portion.

basement stairway light

I installed a light in the basement stairway( a gifted dumpster find)-operated by the same light switch that turns on the basement lights, so now I can easily see if the lights are left on.

Speaking of dumpster finds-I've been collecting granite pieces from a dumpster not far from me. I am mostly collecting for the future kitchen build. I've built 2 kitchens using dumpstered granite/mosaic for the counter tops and they turn out very nice.

I've managed to get some time in on the bathroom sink project. The top is constructed and the mosaic on the horizontal surface is done-grouted this morning in me long johns. The porcelain sink bowl and faucet are set in place. I also put in a new 1 1/2 " pvc waste and vent and almost finished sweating new copper supplies and brass stops. There will be more tile work on the walls surrounding the sink.

It's been too long. I've got my computer back but still need home internet...one day. Deer hunting went well and a fresh heart was cooked up(I didn't post that already did I?). The freezer is full again.

the heart, cooked fresh, from one of the deer. Stuffed with organic city pears and steamed.

The bathroom sink/counter mosaic project has moved along a bit. The basic structure is installed at a height I like and waiting for some tile backer and tile bits. I scrounged some granite from the secret dumpster and will make a shelf or 2.







I processed the persimmons foraged on the way home from hunting and made a triple batch of persimmon bread-yum.

persimmons processed

Power to the pantry! I installed an electric box where there previously had only been a wire with a light socket coming out of the wall. In the process I found these old photographs hidden in this odd box built into the pantry space. It had a double wall secret space thing going on. One picture seems to be a double wedding picture and the other is a woman and it says "happy 16th anniversary, Millie"

pantry electric box-for a light

I think the photo on rt. is the woman on rt in the left photo-16 years later.

I made a "gnome door" in the fence so Petra can see the neighbor dogs.