Saturday afternoon

It's been a busy time.  I went to Crossville Tile to try to get more of the upstairs bathroom tile (I only needed a few pieces) and they told me that the pattern I need had not been made sinse 1991.
They did not keep obsolete material, so I was out of luck.  I did find some other tile while I was there that I like a lot, though.  I got some small glass tile that I hope to use in making some 'stained glass' windows.  I'm going to try one in the upstairs closet that has a window.  I think it would be terribly interesting, and a fun project that I could do sitting down.  Cherokee is going to help me with them.  We're going to glue the glass blocks onto sheets of plexiglass, so that the windows can be removed and changed if we get tired of them.  I must mention Barbara, so I'll say that we're not going to ask her to help us. They will also give some insulation value.
There's many shapes of them, but they're all with square corners, so putting them together will be fairly easy, and like working a puzzle, to make the most interesting window units.
Cherokee and I really enjoy each other's company.  She's a delight to me, and I try to be useful and helpful to her as well.
Stucco has created some of the most beautiful window surrounds in the free world on the house.  That man is so gifted.  He made one window surround that he had described to me, and I didn't think I would like it.  After he was finished, I loved it!
He can do anything with his hands.
I had forgotten to get one of the colors of the glass tiles that I wanted, so I called Crossville Tile to get them to hold it for me.  So, on Friday, Cherokee, Stucco, and I went back to Crossville to get them.  Stucco went nuts over all the tile and the easy availability of them.  He, too, is disgusted with the way they set the tiles out in a field and let the weather, the high-lift operators, and customers mis-use and abuse those lovely tiles.  He, like myself, has been hungry, and he hates waste.  He can make almost anything over, or make it work in another manner, and he seldom throws anything away.  His personality and mine work together well.
We really enjoyed our trip together, though it was a little crowded in the cab of the red truck.  The white truck would have been a better choice, but it needs alignment, so we had to drive the red truck.
They told me at Crossville Tile that they had some of the tiles in the color I wanted, but that they were 'mat', which is not as heavily textured as the ones I really wanted.  I picked up a box, but when we got back to Rutledge, they did not match as closely as I had hoped.  I've got some more thoughts on how to manage the shortfall, and I'll see what I can do.
Marsha Higgs came by last night to see me.  She is the widow of Jack Higgs, who was one of the most tallented men I've ever known with wood.  She has been wanting her kitchen floor covered with slate, and I had told her once that she could do it herself if she applied herself.  When she saw my tile-laying efforts, she was quite impressed.  She has always loved my tastes, and she had not seen Creekside until last night.  She likes what I'm doing with it.  Jason, her son, has been faithful in visiting me sinse his father died. Jack and I were old friends, and he's sadly missed by many.  I really wish he were here to give me some tips on wood for the house.
Randy is doing a fantastic job on some of the wood-work.  He is so gifted.  He is another man who can do almost anything.  I had asked him to sand the trim to get it smooth for re-painting, and when he got it ready for me, he had sanded all of the old paint off of it.  It's old-growth antique pine, and is incredibly beautiful wood.  I'm going to use most of it in it's natural color with just a polyurethane coating on it.  He brought a lot of beauty out of that old wood that many people might have discarded.  He reminds me of the poem, "The Touch of the Master's Hand".
He and Penny took the old paneling off of the wall in the stair well yesterday while Cherokee, Stucco, and I were gone to Crossville.  More bad news.  The wall is badly rotted under the south-facing window. Stucco said that the brick window sill is mostly the culprit, as they are somewhat porus, and water can seep through them.   It's not all bad though.  I had planned to raise the roof of the back porch, which will then cover the area from outside, and it can be repaired from inside.  We are going to replace that window with a fixed window, which will not open.  It's beveled glass that is totally beautiful.  I bought it at Habitat.  Stucco will then stucco the window trim, which will keep out moisture.  He sure can do good windows.
There was a huge drug bust in Rutledge this past week.  Casper and his merry band of functional illiterates went to serve a warrant on a man I know, and they smelled meth being cooked.  He had a meth kitchen in his basement.  He is a junk dealer, which is why I knew him.  Barbara (there's another mention for you, Barbara) and I often bought Christmas decorations from him.
He seemed like a nice man, but I don't think nice people cook meth.  His home is not far from mine.  Drugs are the down-fall of society.
I've got to get to work, so I'll write more, later.
Now, Barbara, don't you be calling and scolding me for not mentioning you in my blog.
And you're still fat, so you need a little more Jenny Craig and a lot less Sarah Lee.
If you were ever to really visit Hillshire Farms, they'd hook you to a plow.

Monday Morning

I'm foggy this moprning...even more foggy than the weather.
I got the tile put in the sides of the windows in the new upstairs bath room yesterday.  It's really pretty.  Stucco says that I'm doing a good job on the bathroom floor.  I hope so.
I need a few more tiles before I can finish laying all the floor area, and I'm going today to try to find some to finish that project.
The tile I put into the windows is a small (3"X3") dark green tile with quite a bit of texture, though the finish is smooth.  It will clean easily, and will dress the window nicely.  And, it won't rot.  When I pulled the quarter-round material off the windows, I learned that whoever had installed the Plexiglass windows had not even sealed them with caulk or any other product to prevent air or water leakage.  Well, They're sealed now.  I also cut the trim pieces and got them sealed with Polyurethane to dry overnight, and they will be put in place today.  The windows will be dressed nicely.
If I can find enough tile to finish the floor in the new bath today, it will be finished as soon as I lay the tile.  Then, I'm going to start on the Sun Room.  It shouldn't take too long, as it's about finished now.  I'm going to put laminate floor in there, so it will go faster than all the tile with it's cutting and fitting.
I worked some last night on 'tightening' the bloor in the sun room, to make it more 'squeek-proof' when it's finished.
Work Work Work.
Betty says Sharon Weirwille is doing really great.  That's an answer to prayer.  She was at Convention Preps.  I'd love to go this year.  Perhaps.
I so miss those times of spiritual refreshment and rest amoung such good people.
I'd especially love to see Alma Bartlett and Cynthia Thomas again, two of my favorite Sister Workers.  I'd love to see Vickie Billings, too, but I doubt she will be there.
Seeing Betty Pike would be great, and getting to spend some time with her.  And Deloris Richards.  And Illa Brawdy.  The list grows as I think of all the good people I know and love who are still in that holy church.
God Bless Them All.

Barbara Barbara Barbara

Barbara's all upset that I don't mention her enough on my posts.
Most fat, ugly people don't want the public talking about how fat and ugly they are, but Barbara has such a HUGE ego that she just can't live without mention on my blog.  Now she's gone and got her boxers all up in her butt, and I just HAVE to mention her, or she'll have a coniption fit.
She's at the beauty salon this morning, and she needs it really badly.  It wil take them hours with the windows open to get all the stink out of there, but I guess they need the money, so they just keep on trying to get her to looking a little less like she needs to be back in her coffin before the sun comes up.  Darla Daniel sure has her work cut out for her.  I would want to get my beauty equipment all sullied up by working on such a project.  I'd say it's an act of Christian Charity on Darla's part.
Steve didn't sleep well last night.  I was all cross-ways on the bed this morning, and I guess I'd gone to sleep that way, leaving him just a little room at the foot of the bed.  I so wish I could get my sleep disorders diagnosed and cared for.  I toss and turn all night, and get up feeling like I've been beaten up.  I'm groggy all day, and want to lay down, but I know it would just be another session of tossing and turning.  My legs hurt so badly this morning.  I guess I kicked all night.

Thursday, September 8, 2011

I had another one of those 'sleepy migraines' day before yesterday, when all I could do is sleep.  If I get up to eat or go to the bathroom, I throw up.  I have to have the room dark, and can't even stand to sit up in bed.  There's little pain in my head, but the rest of my body hurts, which is about usual.  I've just developed this type of migraine lately, and, at first, I laid it to exhaustion. 
The work at Creekside goes on.  I'm currently frustrated with the tile in the new upstairs bathroom.  I thought I had plenty of tile for the room, which is a distinct pink color, and is a little rough in texture.  After I got to doing the actual laying of it, I discovered that I don't have enough.  It's close, but just not enough.  There's so many odd cuts and angles that it was almost impossible to figure before the actual laying.  I would have made a checker-board pattern with some other tile had I known in time, but I wasn't about to start over with the job.  It's Crossville Tile, so I might can find more if I went to the factory in Crossville, but that will take about half a day to get there and back with the tile.  I SO wish I could feel like I'm making some progress.
I bought a top border yesterday, but I'm not totally sold on the idea that it's perfect for that room.
It's really pretty, and about the only border that the wall paper shop had that would work at all, with color.  Tile wall paper is hard to match with border, I think.
..and I'm so particular with that house.
We slept late this morning.  We don't get home until late, so we don't want to get started too early.
Steve did not get the new door for the kitchen installed, so we're still behind on that project.
I went to a place down on Papermill Road to get another one after he took out the former one.
That man is so nice, and he lifts and moves those doors and windows like they're lego blocks.  He has the lowest prices in East Tennessee for doors and windows.
Stucco has not been back to work.  I haven't heard from him or Cherokee.  I went by their house yesterday, but they were not there.  Steve is about as mad as a hornet over the work not being done, as Cherokee and I told Stucco he would.  I have to live with the rage, though.
Well....another day.
I need to get to Lowe's for some more mastic for the ceramic tile I CAN lay.

Labor Day PM

Wierd weather.  Yesterday, it was insufferably hot, and today, visitors wore sweaters.
It rained hard all day, and the rain was pretty cold, which may have been a factor in the cool weather.  It feels good to me.
I worked in the new upstairs bathroom today, finishing the prep for the ceramic tile for the floor and starting the arduous task of laying it.  It's pink, and a little rough, which will make it less likely to cause slips and falls.  It perfectly matches the walls.  I hope I have enough.  It's going to be close, but I have an idea to 'stretch' it.
Steve wouldn't help me with the job, preferring, instead, to take down the kitchen door.  He didn't think it worked right, but even a door that doesn't work right is better than no door at all, which is what we now have.  He felt that a sheer curtain hung in the doorway would be adequate to keep out all the night-roamers.  Lotsa Luck.
We were really hungry and tired when we came home.  I made some of my famous cream of chicken soup, which is really meaty with lots of chicken chunks.  It was great for a cool evening.
I'm tired, but Steve doesn't want to get his bath and go to bed, so I'm going alone.

Labor Day The Day No One Works

I will work today, though I'd really like to rest.
There's no rest when you have so much to do and you're the cheap help.
Steve and I worked on Creekside yesterday by ourselves.
It Started storming here as a result of the hurricanes elsewhere (there's several now going), and the rain came off the top of the house like a fire hose.  Steve got out in the rain and started trying to fix it so that the run-off would not get too near the foundation of the house, but mostly he was just yelling at me.  I had been upstairs finishing the wallpaper in the new bathroom, minding my own business, but he just couldn't resist the temptation to yell at me for something. 
The wallpaper in the new bath is slightly 'padded', which makes it feel 'cushy', and it's in a tile design, with a small flower on some of the tiles.  I perfectly matched the grout color (a deep peach) with the paint for the upper part of the walls, and I'm using the paper to just make wainscoating.  It's really pretty, and the paper looks like mosiac tile on the walls.  It's just 32 inches high, the height of chair rail, but it looks so nice that I wish now that I'd made it a little higher.  I think I have an idea to 'raise' the top of it.
I'm having some mental/emotional pain over some trama-drama with my relationship with a good friend.  I won't discuss it now, but it's really got me disturbed.  My friend won't answer my calls, and won't return my messages.
Sweety, the new house cat, is really enjoying her father's visit home.  She is the most affectionate cat, but wants to lightly bite.  I wish I could break her of that habit.  There will never be another perfect cat like Yoda.
I've dismissed the workers at Creekside for the week.  I need a slower pace for a while, and I don't want Steve and them to have a clash of wills.  I think they probably need a week off, too, as the hard work and the heat is getting to everyone.  It's supposed to cool down this week, with rain predicted for every day.  I hate the thought of all that mud, and the rain will wash the dirt off of a bunch of broken glass and rocks in the yard at Creekside, which I will then feel obligated to pick up.
It's job security.
Richland's Creek is not yet out of it's banks, but the way it's raining, it's only a matter of time.
There's so much litter and trash people throw out, and broken tree limbs that clog the water and make the creek rise when it rains.  Also, the fact that Rutledge is in a valley makes the rain run off into low areas, which contribute to flooding.
I covered all my outdoor-stored lumber yesterday, so it will be more likely to stay dry.
I need to get a storage barn or tomato growing hoop house built to store all the lumber and building materials that don't need to get wet.  Cold and wet weather is coming soon.
More later on the progress.

Thursday, September 1, 2011 AM

I seldom post in the mornings any more, and it's because I rush around trying to get some things done here before I go up to Creekside for the day.
Once I'm up there, it's so hard to quit there and come home to do anything, so if something needs doing here, I need to do it in the morning.
This house has suffered miserably while I've been so busy at Creekside.
I feel like there's just not enough of ME to do all I need to do.
There's enough hours in the day, there's just not enough strength and time to do all I want to get done.
I went to Habitat on Merchant's Road yesterday to get some tile to go around the windows in the new upstairs bathroom at Creekside.  It takes so long to get there from here.  I found some lovely parquet floor tile there, and the nice fellow in charge made me a really good price on it, so I bought it.  I'm considering using it on the floor in our downstairs guest bath here at Clairemont.  The congoleum in there was damaged by a heating pad we use on the floor in the winter, and we've not repaired it yet.  That's a project for us for later.
I also bought some beautiful ceramic tile accent pieces for use at Creekside.  I'm thinking I might use tile to trim the windows in one of the baths.  It would look nice, and the window moisture would not be a problem with tile.  That house still has moisture problems.
The man at Habitat forgot to load the tile I had gone there for.  I hate to take the time today to go back for it.  I might just wait to get it at another time.  Steve is coming home tomorrow, and he doesn't like to go to that kind of place with me.  We're always interested in different types of things, and can't agree on anything.
I found a great wood stove on Craig's List for the basement at Creekside.  I had bought a small wood stove a few weeks ago for there, but this one is really big, and will hold bigger fires for longer.  It looks like one of those stoves made from a 55-gallon drum, but is actually steel, with all the fittings and even a small rack on the top to hold a pot for cooking or heating water.  The man who sold it met me at Habitat, so it saved a trip.
Stucco has now got the stucco put around the tall front windows in the downstairs sun room.  They're dramatic, being 7 1/2 feet tall, and arched at the top.  When I walk into that room, I get the feeling that the front wall is gone.  They look splendid on the front of the house, and let in so much light.  They're low-e, and face north, so they will not get full sun, but will be warmer in the winter.  When we cut into the wall, we found all kinds of junk stuffed into the wall cavities.
There were old newspapers, cold drink bottles, and a varied assortment of junk.  I'm not sure if the papers were intended for insulation or not, but they didn't do a very good job if they were.  I'm stuffing the cavities with foam and fiberglass.
I used some table place mats to staple to the plywood in the bathroom, where we made the window smaller.  They're the foam type, a little spongy, and they really insulate well in small spaces.  I had lined the walls in my Hobby Hut with them last winter, and they work really well when you want a lot of insulating factor with not much loss of space.  I get them at Goodwills and yard sales, and I like the ones with square corners.  You can cut them with a knife or scissors, and they're good for sliding back into really tight places.  Not just anyone can have Vera desingns inside their walls.
I painted the walls and ceiling in the small upstairs bath.  The ceiling, of course, is white, and the walls are an antique dusty rose color that matches perfectly (because I mixed it) the grout lines in the wallpaper I'm going to use for the wainscoating.  It is a padded tile design, with a small flower, and it looks amazingly like ceramic tile.  It's really pretty.
The lady at the wallpaper store and I had a friendly visit while I was there.  She has cancer (brain tumor) and is terminal, but is really up-beat, and she loved the way I joked with her and made her laugh.  She wants me to visit her agian, and I will, not just for a visit, but she has a lovely and large assortment of wallpapers, which I love.  Steve doesn't like wallpaper, but I do.  I use it a lot.
I had bought some silk flowers at some yard sales (surprise!), and I put them out in the flower beds that Debbie had cleaned out at Creekside.  She came by for her paycheck yesterday evening, and she loved the flowers.  I told her to 'Just smell them', and she got down on her knees to sniff them before she realized that they were silk.  They add a lot of color to the front of the house, and I love teasing people, so they're a good foil for me.  I think I'll go upstairs and get into my stash there and take along some more this morning to put out.  It will make things look good for Steve when he gets home.
We were talking last night about perhaps having the hired help to take next week off, so we can be just us two working together and not having to worry about other people being around.  His people skills are not the best, anyway, so it might be a relief for everyone if there's not so much going on.  The workers are getting tired, too, and I'd think they would like a few days off.
Randy was off part of day before yesterday, and all day yesterday, for his grandmother's funeral.  She lived here in Rutledge.
Stucco and Cherokee have a new van.  They traded some work on a car for Jason Higgs for it, and Cherokee is thrilled to have another car.  She had gone to see her grandson (who is in foster care) yesterday, and the former live-in (for Cherokee's son) slashed her tires in the parking lot.  She had to call Stucco to come and get her, and she was in Maryville.  Most of his day was useless.
A weasel has got into my last pen of pigeons and killed most of them.  The ones who are still living had blood on their throats yesterday morning, and I'm dreading going up there this morning to see what's been done.  Weasels slash the throats of their victims and suck their blood.  They can go through a key hole, and are almost impossible to trap.
I've decided to just give up on birds.  There are way too many varmits and thieves around, and I'm tired of supporting both cultures.  I still have six peafowl, and I"ll keep them.  For now.
I feel like I'm out of control, and I don't like that feeling.
I need to get ready and go up to Creekside.
....and take some flowers.  The 'fast-blooming kind'.
Oh!  I didn't mention Barbara.  She's still fat.