Jumpin' Around

I'm writing this on July 1 even tho the date says June 27. The fireplace went in last week but it was wrong. Wow. That's something different. Andy was busy with other projects and couldn't supervise the installation.


You'll notice the chimney stack was a little high...like 3 feet too high. And the fireplace itself wasn't centered properly. The guys came back yesterday and fixed it.

The stack looks much better now. But at the time, Andy was jumping around like he had a fire in his pants. He doesn't mult-task with a good attitude and that day there were a dozen things calling for his attention.
Even Waffles tries to be invisible when he gets excited.

I've become a volunteer firefighter for the La Veta Fire Department. I got to drive the brush truck (known as B-11) and work the pump and hose to water trees in town!! I might get my gear tonight at training! I get 2 outfits...one for structural fires and one for wildland fires. I hope they don't make my butt look big.

There are little bugs called "no-see-ums" (I call 'em Little Bastards) which are actually midges (no, not the Barbie and Skipper kind) that bite/sting while you're working in the yard. You don't know it until later when the welts show up like a mosquito bite but the itch more and longer. They're my daddy. They own me. Since you "no-can-see-'ems" you don't know they're around having a buffet on your dime. Or ankles, shins, arms, scalp.

I'm still ripping siding and Andy has become a master window framer. Our windows have been ordered and should arrive end of July or early August. Now that IS exciting!















And the porch has been framed to some extent. These elevations are of the same side of the house and in order of construction. The odd pictures are of the model elevations Andy built before we started construction.

























































That's all i got for now. Lvoe,k
P.S. if you scroll down a ways, there's a place to click on to leave comments.

Another day, another dogger

You can take the girl out of the city but you can't take the consumer out of the girl. I need a little zip to get up and down the ladder. Sometimes it's a little too zippy and I'm in and out of the bathroom. I know I know....too much information.

Andy went for a massage today. The contractor who's helping us is married to a masseuse (sp) so what a great combo - hold the mayo!

Today is my friend Thuy's birthday. She requested some more pics of The Blond One, so I will honor her birthday wishes.

This is Thuy with Waffles. She's Waffles' best friend. They would run off with each other in a second if it weren't for the house arrest ankle bracelet I've had to attach to Waffy for just that reason!

Waffles used this disguise last time she tried to leave with Thuy. She had changed her name to Dog E Dogg. It was that sly brown eye that gave her away. Never make eye contact when you're on the lam.

HAPPIEST OF BIRTHDAYS TO THUY!!!!

that's all i got for now. lvoe, k

Our little house is 108 years old and survived a small fire about 30 years ago. For my engineering buddies reading this, here's a photo of how the fire damaged studs were "repaired" after the "blaze" (it wasn't TOO big an inferno as the house is under 1000 s.f.; the flame from a blow torch could dissolve this place in a heartbeat; so sorry, but no creme brulees for dessert if you come for a visit).

As of today, this wall is gone and the new opening for the entry has been created.

We worked really hard this morning and treated ourselves to lunch and a couple of beers at the Blue Rooster Pub & Grill, then came home for naps. Getting dinner started - usually it vacillates between great gourmet meals (yesss- really!!!!! i can cook!!!) and soup with grilled cheese sammiches. Tonight it's the latter, since we're dogged.

And speaking of dogged, Waffles has found a skunk hole under a neighbor's house. She's like a little kid - sneaking over there when my back is turned!! Great. That's all I need in an RV is a "skunked dog". I can always leave her outside to deter the bears.

And speaking of bears, there was one up a tree at Sammie's (a diner across the street) while we were having breakfast yesterday. I was told this particular bear is aggressive and not your average bear, BooBoo (oooh Yogi). The Parks & Recreation rangers chased him back into the hills, but they say he'll probably be back. Great.

We went to a c/w dance last Saturday night. We didn't dance (I wouldn't cuz I don't know how) but it was so much fun watching!!! Some of those old timers can really cut a rug!

Gotta get the chow on and then shower the dirt out of my ears and nose.

That's all I got for now. Lvoe, k

Catching Up

We've been here a little over 3 weeks. I'll try to recap our adventures up to this time. I meant to start a journal but got busy and best laid plans...blah blah blah. Arrived in L.V. on Sat. May 31. The wind blew like hell for a week and the weather was, and still is, hot. But it's not stifling like I hear it is in CA.

On Tues. the 3rd I got two separate hematomas. One on my thumb by doing nothing but lifting a small plastic veggie bin. A few hours later, another one on my index finger on the opposite hand by opening the car door. They weren't bruises..they were full blown hema's. And believe me, after the Great Boob Blowout, I know a hema from a bruise!!

That night, or should I say early Wednesday morning (2:00 am) I awoke to another fake heart attack. Off to emergency and overnight for observation. The hospital is a part of the Veteran's Home in Walsenburg, about 15 miles away. The hospital itself consists of 10 rooms and is staffed by 2 nurses around the clock. The same nurses also work ER at the same time they're administering to patients in beds. There were only 3 patients in the hospital, including me. Southern Colorado health care verges on the scary. But the diagnosis was the same as in SB. Just a spasm in the artery and IT'S NOT DANGEROUS, CASEY!!! The doctors said the hematoma's weren't related and don't know what caused them. But it's not a problem anymore, as at this point my whole body would be one giant hematoma from working on the house.

We began demolishing the house from the interior; ripping drywall and knocking down walls. I'm now tearing off 3 layers of siding on the exterior. Andy is framing, sheathing, and cutting openings for the windows. I'm tearing the house apart while Andy is putting it back together.

The fireplace is framed and the actual unit will be installed on Thursday...so we are hoping. La Veta is a lot like Hawaii in that nobody's in a big hurry and Thursday probably means the following Monday at best. At the end of the day we are sweaty and dirty, just like great sex only not as fun. For awhile we could shower in the house and it was a good one with great water pressure and room to move. After I showered there were little piles of grit on the bottom of the tub. Dirty dirty dirty.

We had to pull the propane tank last week because the pressure release valve malfunctioned, so there went our hot water source. Now we're back to showering in the RV in a sardine size enclosure and limited hot water. It's a race at the end of the day to see who can get to it first. At least the beer is cold while you're waiting for the hot water tank to refill.

house

RV

My Arial font just went south on me so i guess the rest of this missive will be in whatever this happens to be.

We have a few bears in town and a mountain lion roaming the streets. LaVeta didn't get a normal rainfall this year (who did????) and now creatures large and wild are making their way down from the mountains to forage.

Dennis and Tina Berg and Tina's mom, Gertrude came to visit last week. They made the drive down from Colorado Springs where they were watching their daughter, Lindsay, practice for the Women's Olympic Volleyball Team.

Well, I'm sure there are plenty of good stories I'm forgetting, like having to throw andy out of the game (house) yesterday...he was having an Excedrin moment and needed to settle down. I sent him on a bike ride.

Well, that's all I got for now. Check in often and hope to hear from someone soon. lvoe, k

Do! Do! Do! Lookin' out my front door.