New Year's Eve, Darin, Holly and the kids came over. Jackie took a picture, but I didn't get a copy of it. They have now begun their first term with SIM and are in Texas at Spanish language school. They tested out of the first semester, but will have to do some catching up with the rest of the class.
The siding on the house was completed
They delivered the drywall for the whole house. That is a lot of drywall, so the truck is very heavy. They tried to back across the front yard and got stuck. They had to bring another truck to pull them out. We didn't get out to the farm until they had already gotten it out. They left big holes, but we will have to reshape the front yard anyway, so it doesn't really matter.
It was really interesting to watch them hang the drywall. They did the garage first. It made it seem a lot bigger than it was before.
There were 2 young men doing the work. One of them barely looked old enough to be working. He was the one working up on the stilts. Here he is standing where the kitchen eating counter will be. The door behind him goes out to the front porch.
While they were doing the ceiling, one fellow was up on the stilts. The other one worked up and down on a sawhorse. He did the measuring and cutting. The sheets of drywall were 12' long and 4 1/2 ' wide. He would pick up a whole sheet, step up on a 5 gal bucket and then up on the sawhorse - carrying the whole sheet. The fellow on the stilts would take one end and hammer a couple nails to hold up his end. The fellow on the stilts had a drywall screw gun and he would screw the whole piece in place.
All the drywall is now complete, but it is too cold for me to go over and take pictures.
When we left the farm tonight, it was minus 1 degree. This is just too cold. We thought we moved away from the cold. Charley says we just brought it with us.
Charley works for a local farmer, so is out in the cold all day. They try to stay in the barn as much as they can. Charley takes care of the goats and they open the doors as little as possible.
Our eggs are freezing.
We never thought we would see snow drifts down here. Charley tried to get to work on Monday the 20th. (I'm writing this on Thurs, Jan 23.) It is 8 miles from our farm out to Highway 27. He got 5 miles - with a lot of difficulty. At that point, he couldn't make it up the hill. Through his trying to get up that hill, he ended up turned around and headed back toward home. But he was down in a bowl between 2 hills and couldn't get up the hill to head back home. Someone stopped and helped him and then they drove together for a couple miles. That fellow turned off and a bit further Charley went off the side of the road. Thankfully it was a safe place. Charley walked home which was about a mile and a half. Jackie had stayed home in the first place. We stayed at the apartment both Monday and Tuesday and didn't go out to the farm. J has not had school all week.
J has been building things with his Legos. I'm amazed at what he can do. He took some pictures on my camera for me to have.
J took this picture also. We processed 2 pigs and were getting the meat put into the freezer tonight. He had most of it made into sausage. We had some for supper and it was really good. He raises American Guinea Hogs which are a heritage breed. They forage in the pasture for their food, but don't put on weight as fast as the pigs we were used to growing up in Iowa. They don't get nearly as big either.
The window you see boarded up in the background is where the opening will be connecting their current house to their new family room which is a part of what we are building. They are looking forward to a little more space.
I'm getting weary. And this cold weather now is not helping. I am ready for the house to be done - and the garden season to begin. That is when the hard work begins. Now we can complain about the cold and the snow and then go inside and just sit there while we warm up.
Looking forward to spring in the Bluegrass.
