Another RAINY Day In Tennessee

I really needed to finish mowing the hill in the front of the house before it started raining again -  but - Cathy said she'd make me a blackberry cobbler if I'd go pick the blackberries --- Guess what happened next!!??!!

 

 

Yep - I got my little bucket and went after some of them delectable edibles.  However, I have some competition.  Seems the turkeys have beaten me to the punch, and based on the height that the berries are missing and the trampling, so did the bears.  They apparently get up earlier than I do.  But more bothersome is the fact that these berry bushes are less than 25 feet from my house.  I know there are bears up here cause I've seen the tracks down on the logging road just below the house but ain't seen any this close yet.  Guess they were here first tho - so I'll share :) 

Ya never know what you'll run into in the briar patch pick'n berries.  Reckon these fellas were after some sweetener of their own.   

 

 

My luck was good tho - they were more interested in the milkweed flower than me.  I still gave them a plenty of room.  Last year, in this same area, I stumbled into an underground hornets nest and boy was that exciting.  I managed to run up hill without spilling one berry and only got stung once.  When I got back on the porch and looked back down to the field it looked like there was a little black cloud hanging over the area where I had been standing.  Enough excitement for one day.  I'm just waiting on my cobbler. 



 

HAPPY 4th OF JULY

Well - we're still at it.  We finished the crown molding in the master bedroom.

I cheated.  I was a little intimidated by the upside down and backward process of cutting the crown molding so I found these corner pieces that eliminate all that confusion.  They are somewhat decorative and really sped up the work. 
Next we tackled the kitchen.  Since Cathy already had her new appliances all we needed to do was get new counter tops, including one for the island, a new and deeper double sink, and a back splash installed.  First came the butcher block top for the center island.  I ordered it from www.Grizzly.com
The actual top was only around $279 for the 36" x 60" x 1 3/4" thick, pretreated and finished Vermont Maple block.  The shipping was around $80 but it was worth it cause it looks sooooo much better than the old green Formica.
Then we got the main counter top replacement.  It is also formica or laminate but in a new textured, granite simulated finish.  It includes a routed edge that the older formica didn't have.  Then we went to Crossville where there's a tile outlet and bought the 3" x 3" tile for her back splash.  We chose not to have one the new counter top.  I think the back splash was the hardest cause I was working on a vertical plane rather than horizontal.  Actually putting the tile on the wall wasn't really the problem, it was the grout.  If you make it too thick, it dries out too fast and is hard to work.  I guess I made it a little too sloppy cause it kept falling off the trowel onto the counter top.  Oh well, it all worked out and I learned some lessons for the future.

The next big project will be getting a steel roof on the shed out back.  I've spent the past few weeks, when I wasn't working elsewhere, reinforcing the old trusses cause they were starting to sag.  The wood was still in perfect shape but the homemade trusses weren't properly reinforced so the roof was sagging in the middle.  I jacked each one up and reinforced then, to include a large gusset over the main joints and it looks pretty level now.  Not perfect but close enough for me.  I have a guy down the mountain who has a saw mill and is gonna rough cut some poplar 1 x 4 x 12's to use as furring strips on top of the shingles for screwing down the galv-aluminum roof sheets.  I have everything but the  1 x 4's and they should be ready within the next couple of weeks.  Joe, my neighbor, is gonna give me a hand with the roofing.
I wonder what I'm gonna do when all this work is done.  But I'm sure Cathy will come up with something.  We've already discussed building a two car pole barn that I would close in later for a garage.  Hum......

IS SUMMER REALLY HERE? THAT IS THE QUESTION!

We have never had to have the heat on in May. What weird weather we are having here and rain, rain, rain and more rain. Can't even get the garden area plowed up its just to wet and this TN clay takes forever to dry out.

We ordered our counter tops for the kitchen last week. Took awhile to save up the money. Chuck ordered a butcher block top for the island and put it on himself. Love it the dark green laminate from 1997 has to go! It makes the kitchen darker. Once the counter top is in we can look for tile for the back splash. We are getting laminate but the 2013 version laminate choices are so much better and choice of edging what we chose looks like granite. Granite just wasn't in the budget for us!

Crown molding got put up in the master bedroom last week and looks great. Going to put crown molding up in the living room/dining area. That area will have to wait till the fall. Outbuilding needs a new roof first. Already got the metal for it and our neighbor will help my husband with that. Hope they get it done before it gets to hot though.

Took the pontoon out on the lake last week for a couple of hours. The lake sure is high comes up into the parking lot. We have never seen it this high since we have lived here. It was a nice sunny 78 degree day. We anchored in a cove and had out lunch and I read a book while hubby fished. No luck catching any fish. Forgot to bring some live worms. Since we are seniors now, we have a lifetime fishing and hunting license only $11!

Computer Illiteracy

Wow, this is insane.  I thought I'd be cute and use a new template on the blog.  You know - make it snappy looking, as they say.  Well - now all of a sudden we're getting advertisements and hilited text that allows you to access an advertisement related to the text.  I know I didn't ask for any of that junk - so where the $@!! did it come from.  My computer illiteracy is showing.  Now let's see if I can fix it.


Well - I found some advertising download on my hard drive that came from some innocuous site that I've never heard of.  Don't ask me how it got there.  Anyway it was throwing advertisements up everywhere.  I uninstalled it but still have some hilited text in the biography section.  I'll keep working on it.  It's just way too agravating trying to keep up with these unexpected, unsolicited internet intrusions.  ARE WE HAVING FUN YET!!!!

 Well - FINALLY- I hope - Spring has sprung!!  Not so sure anymore.  When I got up at "O" dark thirty this morning, it was 35 on the front porch.  But my Dogwood is out in full bloom and all the

 

of trees are leafing out (oaks, maple, red bud, hickory, some walnut etc).  It's greening up quite nicely if I do say so.  A week or so ago, Cathy and I took the boat out for the first time this year.  It was really warm - a nice day for a short cruise.

 

 

 

I got up early this morning so I could get down to Dale Hollow Lake and have the pontoon loaded
before the fishermen traffic got heavy.  I made it but they were starting to show up at the boat ramps.  It was really a beautiful day for fishing or just about anything on the lake.  Anyway, I got the pontoon to the shop to have it's annual check up and prep for the 2013 boating season.  We're having friends visit the last week of May and plan to use the boat a bunch.  I had to laugh this morning when I turned the fish finder on, it said that the water temp was 78.  I don't know what part of the lake it was measuring for the temp but when I stepped off the trailer into knee deep water, it took my breath.  78 my ***.    Well that's about it for today from the great state of Tennessee.  Catch ya later...

Crazy Sleepless Night

Wow - Doc started me on an antibiotic for my sinus infection and it's got me up walking the floors.  Like a dummy, I took the medicine late, about 9PM and went to bed around 1030 or so.  I read for a bit then went to sleep.  Woke up around 2:30AM and have been up ever since.  Cathy has been up twice to see what I was doing but went back to bed.  It's around 6:30AM now and sun is coming up.  Ain't done this in a long time but it's really nice watching the sunrise over the mountains.  Yesterday morning I watched a big old Tom turkey in the front yard strut around.  I was in the process of putting my flag up and was wishing I had my camera.  But as most turkeys do, he spotted me the minute I moved and took off flying into the woods.  I guess I'm gonna have to start toting that camera around just to catch shots like that.  I did happen to catch a skunk along the roadside grubbing in the grass.  I told Cathy that I was going to turn around and get a pic of him and she went ballistic - telling me how we were gonna get sprayed and all.  I just turned around and told her to keep the windows closed and nothing would happen.  I got this pic.

He just kind of went on his way without much attention to us.  Clouds are starting to form up so won't be seeing the sun for very long.  They're predicting showers for today and if it doesn't rain, it's missing a real good chance.  Guess I'll go make another cup of coffee and putter around some more.

Spring Snow

Wow - Just when we thought it was safe to go out in the yard ----DUM - - - DA DUM - - - DA DUM, here it comes again.   We just can't seem to get rid of this stuff.  Enough already.  I'm ready to get my boat out of the slip and get to fishin'.  I'm gettin' cabin fever.  This is what I found when I went out on the front porch to put up my flag.

Ah Well,  I guess it could be worse.  We only got 2 - 3inches of the white stuff.  My sister, who lives in central western Illinois got about 10 inches.  Even the birds have been caught off guard.  However, I still haven't seen any of the hummingbirds yet.  They seem to have put off their arrival due to weather changes, maybe.  Last year they were already here and getting ready to nest. 
On to a lighter note -  When I had breakfast this morn, my little buddy, Bandit joined me for a bite.

He tries to sneak around about it by just barely peeking over the table top.  He does this every morning.  Course, I don't help any by feeding him some of my bacon - he just loves bacon and anything else Cathy cooks up.  Only thing I've found that he won't eat is green beans.  Everything else goes down without hesitation.  He's an ornery little cuss and because he's kinda short, always has a chip on his shoulder.  What he lacks in stature, he makes up for in attitude.  Just another day in the life of the Elston's - I guess.