Happy Earth Day

Well, kids, I just heard that the founder of Earth Day

murdered his girlfriend back in the 70's 

and stuffed her body into some cabinet in his apartment

and she rotted there until

somebody noticed the foul, polluted air 

around the place.

I mean, why take up valuable earth space with a dead body,

when you could just use it for future compost...

morbid, I know.

What is my point? 

My point is, 

this idea started with one guy, not even a nice guy...

and now the whole world is 

celebrating Earth Day

like it was 

always there.

I love the earth.

I'm glad God made it the way He did.

I want to always remember 

the plans and details

that He included in every living thing.

I'm glad He used a lot of green.

I want the earth to still have 

lovely green places

for my grandchildren to enjoy.

I am glad we are all learning how

to take better care

of what God has entrusted us with.

The earth is wearing a lot of green today.

Just look around you.

Isn't it glorious?

It did not happen by accident.

It was part of His plan for you and for me.

I love my little corner of it.

Life in the city continues...

It all started out as a quiet spring morning.

Me in my fuzzy pink robe, enjoying my morning coffee

and a few peaceful moments on the computer

before the day gets going....

When I look out my window and see

my husband chatting it up with the police.

This one is nice..

he helped with the Vandalized Car Incident.

Something tells me that this morning is not going to be like yesterday.

Peaceful.

Bucolic.

I think I need to look that one up. Now that I've written it down,

it sounds like a disease I heard about once in history.

Anyway,

This was yesterday before my batteries went dead.

Before I became covered with thorns and scratches 

and black from carrying sooty branches to the trailer.

It's a new day.

It's a new adventure.

Look who came to visit this morning.

She brought a few friends with her.

They were peacefully enjoying the lush green grass.

They had been eyeing it for days and days,

 planning their little road trip to the neighbor's yard.

But, then somebody had to go and call the police.

Dang, here they come!

Just keep your heads down and

play like you dont' see him!

Eat fast though, just in case.

Dang.  Busted by an ordinary citizen.

Please don't make me go back!

Run for it, girls!

The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence!

Hey girls! I want in on this action!

I've always wondered what was in these buildings...

Let's take a look...

Oh no you don't!  I'm not finished here!

ok, ok, I'm back in my own yard - bug off buster!

Good Round-Up , men!  We showed them who's boss!

All in a day's work!

Tiny Steps

Wow .  I am soooooo tired tonight.  This morning I went out to the Cedars to take a few pictures of the action and maybe some nature shots .

Everything is turning green.

I wanted to take some pictures of the pit again because it was the most incredible color of turquoise.  Brian says it is the algae in there that makes it that color.

I tried to take some pictures and found that my batteries were dead.

The story of my life.

So I just sat down beside a cedar tree and soaked up the warm morning sun.

And listened to the birds.

And looked at the turquoise water.

The concrete team is removing the big metal forms that they used to make the basement walls.

They have another job they are doing tomorrow and Thursday, but by Friday they should be pouring the floor, and on Monday backfilling, if the weather cooperates.

Woo Hoo!  That will be a major step forward.

Oops, backfilling is where they take one of the big machines and put the dirt back into the ditch that runs around the perimeter of the house, and pack it down.

Dad and Brian are putting plumbing in the basement floor for the kitchen and bathrooms before they pour the concrete floor, you know, for drains and things.

After I had sat and soaked up the sun for a while, just praying and looking around, I decided to start some trimming and brush hauling.

I worked until lunch and then took a break and a MacDonald's run.

After lunch, Dad and I worked together on several bunches of trees that were overgrown with terrible narley vines.  

He went for the chain saw and we went to town on the mess.

We worked until about 6:00 and finished up by picking up the big limbs that had been 

knocked down in last year's ice storm.

Sometimes it  feels like we're chipping at an iceberg with an ice pick.

But we are happy with what we got done.

The trees are happy.

I feel like I've been run over by a Mac Truck.  Or a Ford Truck. 

Tomorrow will be a day of rest.

I will charge the batteries for the camera.  

Promise.

Pumper Truck Action

Today the trucks came.

 And they came.

 And they came.

And Wieneke Contruction worked.

And they worked.

And they worked.

Today's quiz question:

Can you guess what the guy on the right is doing?

I couldn't figure it out for the longest time.

Then I gave up and asked Jim.

He is operating the long tube where the concrete comes out

by remote control.

I wonder if years and years of playing video games

gives you an edge on jobs like this.

He pretty much can control whether a job like this

goes well, 

or if the guy on the end of the tube ends up in the hole.

Here he is again.

I think he is having more fun than the other guys.

Here is  truck #1 pumping concrete into the pumper truck,

where the concrete goes into the long tube

and then it goes wherever the guy with the remote control sends it.

and truck #2  is waiting for his turn.

Truck #3 is getting a wash -down and heading back for more concrete,

 where he will probably see truck #4, because that's where truck #4 went.

They like to travel in packs like that.

This pretty much went on all afternoon.

Here is a shot I took,trying to be artistic with the long arm.

There's only so much you can do with a pumper truck, folks.

Here's Jim making sure that concrete goes where it is supposed to, and not

out on the ground. 

That stuff's not free, you know.

I see how my husband ignores caution signs. 

He likes to be in the middle of the action.

Here is where the real artwork begins.

And acrobatics.

These guys are strong.

And agile.

And brave.

and these guys would not look at the camera.

So I took a goofy picture of them talking anyway.

When I say smile , next time you'd better smile.

You hear me???

I do not know why that last bunch of letters came out different and were underlined

but it worked out for me,

cuz when I speak, I like to be  a different color and 

underlined.  Don't you?

On Monday the forms will be removed

and you will see real walls standing all on their own.

Doesn't that just send shivers down your back?

Stay tuned for more spine-tingling updates!

Dang! 

If any of you were planning to take tomorrow off to view the 

Pumper Truck

I regret to inform you

that

tomorrow is going

to be 

just another day

of setting forms.

I have been advised that 

the Pumper Truck

will be on location

on Thursday

if

the creek

don't 

rise.

And they all said

AMEN.

Sorry to have toyed with your

emotions 

like that.

Please don't hate me.

In the meantime, let's all gaze 

at the forms one more time.

Kimberly loved the abstract beauty of the forms.

Isn't she beautiful?

Until Thursday, then.

LOVELY!

Mornin' Girls!  I am getting the word out about a lovely give-away that you can enter over at 

A Soft Place to Land.  It's the lovely jewelry of Lisa Leonard and I want to win some, so I am telling you about it to improve my chances! 

 I have never won anything in my entire life, but I keep on trying...If I win it , I will give it away and you all would be ok with that, right? So hop on over to Kimba's blog and enter to win yourself, or just sit around and wait for me to win it and give it to you.   No wait, there will be other requirements, like you will have to sing all four verses of the Star Bangled Banner or something.  I will work on that.  In the meantime, enjoy the lovely sunshine and spring breezes that are blowing.

It's lovely, isn't it?  

Find the contest at:  www.asoftplacetoland-kimba.blogspot.com

If you came on here looking for house progress, there isn't any.

Sorry guys.

You can enter to win the jewelry too if you want to. It would make a LOVELY Mother's Day gift that will impress your Mother /Wife for years to come.  Maybe a lifetime.  But take heart.  Tomorrow is

PUMPER TRUCK DAY!!!

How exciting is that?

Call in sick if you have to.  You don't want to miss this.

This means walls, people.  Real live walls.  

This is where I start to understand what the heck is going on.

It will be so lovely.

kinfolk

This picture is deceiving.  These are not illegal immigrants from Missouri. 

 They are my relatives.  I love it when my relatives get crazy.

  It's the family way...wait, that's another expression for pregnant. I am not pregnant, and neither are these two.  They are just crazy .

This is our sweet niece Megan, and her crazy fiance, Barry.  They drove down with Bev to pick up some wedding decorations, and I was not at all convinced that they could get all of it into Megan's trunk.    They insisted on showing me how big that trunk really is.

look how cute they are!

getting out was another whole story, though.

Here is Barry with almost all of the loot in the trunk...I found another box after they thought they had it all in there. 

Of course, we had to bring them out to The Cedars, so they could see the day's activities. 

Here Megan and Barry are enthralled with the cement truck...I think Megan is enthralled with Barry, if you want to know the truth.

Here is Jim keeping an eye on things.  

Here is a closeup of the truck, in case you needed one.

We had a really nice visit and had a chance to get to know Barry ...he is a fine fellow and I am officially giving Megan the go-ahead to marry him.   I know she had been waiting anxiously to hear those words!   Don't take this wrong, Barry, but I think you will fit in with the clan just fine.  Don't be afraid.  Just remember the  two words that will serve you well in the next two months....."Yes dear"

My job for today is to stare at the blueprints and figure out

 why the middle  gable  looks wrong, and get started on the window and door list.

 Just shoot me.

Would any of you out there like to see what this house is really going to look like?

  

I am dying to show you but if no-one is reading this, what's the point?

I am thinking of a nice Spring Giveaway for someone who will comment and 

convince me to show you a picture of the real deal.

I know you are out there, so comment away.  You will be graded on punctuation and spelling so be careful!   

visitors

It's been a busy week out here at the old Ranch, folks!  Even with the promise of rain almost every night, the concrete crew managed to get the footings poured for the basement walls.  Here is Brad  going over things with Jim before taking off for the day on Friday.

Here is Brad's crew workin' hard to get this thing done before quitting time on Friday night.

This handsome young man came a knocking on our door Friday night, looking for a place to sleep, and we took him in. Of course we had to show him the progress before he hit the road again.  We love taking in drifters like that.

Doesn't it look like Jim is about to push him into the hole right here? He doesn't look too worried about it though.  I think he should be worried.

Late Saturday afternoon, this rowdy showed up.  He tried to take over the big machines.  He looks like a mean one, doesn't he?

While we weren't looking , this hooligan took over the dirt pile, and made it his own.  He even took some of it home with him. What is it about boys and piles of dirt?

This one turned out to be a nice cuddly kid after all.  What a sweetie!

Here is Jim pointing to where he pushed that drifter into the hole. I think this shot looks like we are in the mountains.

Here are two good ole boys talkin things out.  I'm just glad they both have pretty long T-shirts on.  Whew!

It was nice to get out yesterday and enjoy the hot sunshine and breezes, because today,

 the gray sky is COLD  and that wind has turned evil.  We are supposed to get down into the 20's over the next couple of nights and there go the apples!

  Not that I have any apples, but there they go anyway.

Im expecting more out-of-town-ers  tomorrow and I suppose we will drag them out here too.

 I will try to post more interesting poses of them gazing down into the hole.  We will try to get a little more creative with it, because I am crazy like that.

Maybe I can get a shot of my soon-to-be-nephew jumping Over the hole. 

 Or not. 

 I need to behave myself so that he will not be afraid of the crazy Kansas cousins.

  I know you will all be on the edge of your seats, waiting for the next post.

 I will try not to disappoint you.