This is most likely the last shop update. Outside of some general organization of the shop and putting some steel on a couple walls, it is time to enjoy our cozy little abode and move on to the permanent abode. Dink & Fuzz are always willing to help with the organizing of the shop. They can never be too far away from their people.
This week Noel will most likely take the rest of the logs at Steve’s house through the sawmill, and then it will move to its new home, in our shed. The shed got electricity this week, and we have been able to move Boda and Mini into their permanent home.
It would be a tough competition to decide which was the best happening of the week, and it probably would depend on who you asked.
After a 4-month back-order, we now have our large garage door in the shed. It is nice to be able to have all doors closed and locked finally.
The bathroom is complete, including the back-ordered door. Noel made it beautiful with his tiling. We will keep the concrete floor. It will be a shop bathroom so don’t need anything too fancy – although that tile is pretty fancy. He will eventually build a cabinet for the sink – right now it is just a plywood quick cabinet but meets our needs.
I have been able to start working in my yard, which is exciting. I hope to have this area cleared and rocks in place in the next week. It won’t really be a garden but will have a small garden area and some nice flowering trees and bushes; it will be a rock garden because we saved back more than what is needed for the border. Depending on the moment and the rock, I move from proud to frustrated at my ability to pick up a huge rock and move it with Mini. Yes, Noel could do it way faster – probably 1/4 of the time. But I celebrate more and louder than he would! Boda and I laid the gravel, and Mini and I moved the rocks and placed them close to exactly =) where I wanted them. I gave up on one and humbly asked for Noel’s help.
Dink loves rocks. Fuzz likes piles of dirt. The weed on the stump is poison ivy that I need to remove this week.
As mentioned in the previous post, we had internet issues. All is good but we had some excitement getting it; in the process, we got a devoted internet repairman/installer. The first installer made some mistakes which was what caused our internet problems. The second installer did a great job but then needed to come back a few days later to take pictures. By the time he got here, it was nearly 9:00 at night. Side note: Do not come to visit us out on our crazy gravel road at dark if you aren’t used to our roads. At about 10:15, we got a phone call: “Do you know anybody who could come dig me out of the mud?” When you leave our driveway, you want to go to the right, but his GPS told him to go left. To the left is a washed-out road that disappears. But his trusty GPS had him turn right before the road totally disappeared. Onto a grass path. A muddy grass path. First of all, we aren’t exactly acquainted with all of the woods around us. Secondly, the GPS got him in a mess. Thirdly, even he will tell you he doesn’t know why he continued to follow it. But he did get to a place where he couldn’t backtrack, so going forward was his only option. So Noel headed out with Boda, not knowing exactly where he was going but had a general idea. The guy had started walking out so met Noel a ways from the truck. For an hour, I didn’t know where they were, if the tractor had tipped, do I call the police. . . Finally Noel came back for Mini. A little after midnight, they made it out of the woods. They both had head lamps, and Boda had some dim lights. Mini had none. Needless to say, our internet guy will never forget that night. He has told us if we ever need anything with our internet he will be here in 2 hours (he lives 2 hours away). If he has to take a 1/2 day of vacation, he will be here. We now have dependable internet, not as good as we had before our move, but still dependable, with our own personal installer.
We are enjoying our cozy, unique temporary house. We have lots of mis-matched rugs so we aren’t walking on concrete. Our bright lights go off at night, and we watch a show and play with pups. Life is good.
Noel is thoroughly enjoying retirement. He’s back to playing pickleball some since we are settled. He stays very busy! I love teaching and have missed it so much. I am chatting with a student on my computer as I write this blog – about dogs and ducks and guineas. I have also taken a very part time job working for ACSI (Association of Christian Schools International) as their “online field director.” I start that in 2 weeks and am excited for a new challenge. Noel has started working on the security team at church, and I will be starting BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) next week, with the idea of starting a group here in my area next year. We are making new friends and enjoying our church family. We know we are right where God wants us to be, and we will continue to see what He wants us to do.