Finishing the south deck

On Sunday, June 28th, we finished the south deck—thereby keeping with our plan to have it done before the end of April …
We enclosed the rest of the west side, redid the corner post on the east, installed and sanded the railings. The house proportions look better now. Next will be railings for the east deck. The corn is getting higher.

What do we do for fun at the Lodge?

People sometimes ask, and we know that they think: What can you do in a house with no electricity yet and no entertainment electronics?
Well, our neighbors keep us entertained part of the time. Saturday morning four of them came calling. Although the hen beaked at the door for a long time, when we went to open, she changed her mind. As for her tom? He apparently only cared about the impression he was making on the other turkeys, including the one that looked like him in the glass.
Yes, I was using the 50-year-old 250mm Nikkor.

House construction in March & April 2009

We are making progress on our interior woodwork. The upstairs bathroom finally has a door.
The finished walls set off the posts and beams. When the driver brought in the last kitchen cabinet box, he looked around and said, "I like your wood!" We like it too.
All the baseboards and window trim is finally on in the bedroom. The stairs are finished as well. We are getting there.

Kitchen cabinets

On March 27th, our kitchen cabinets arrived via truck from Ohio. We spent a busy weekend installing all but the sink unit, then finished the adjacent kitchen window as well. The interior is starting to show its possibilities.

On the first Sunday in February we finally had the combination we needed: a tall ladder and most of the dust and dirt making finished. So we installed the overhead light in the open center of the house. Some day we might even have the power to light it up. Note the drapes and sheets covering railings. Soon they will be gone. Meanwhile, our "house cat" keeps watch on top of the heater.

We took a few more pictures in September. Here is the south side the week before the soybean harvest and Linda standing by the heater. We fired it up for the first time this season this last weekend. I guess we were impatient, because it was up to 70 degrees F by late afternoon as a warm front passed through.
The heater was built by Brian Klipfel of Amazin' Masons—a fine craftman and artist who did a beautiful job.