Journal of Progress--August 13-19

Monday, August 13, 2018

 

You're probably getting tired of hearing about our deer friends by now.  These are smaller than the ones we have seen previously.  They would have been born this year.  They also came the next evening with a buck who actually had a rack of antlers but we were unable to get a picture of him. 

We also have rabbits and a squirrel harvesting our compost patch.  I expect to find the squirrel's stash somewhere in our root cellar.  One night he got trapped behind some wood pieces with a cat protecting his only way out.  He made the most unusual squawk.  We didn't know what it was until we scared the cat away and moved the boards so he could get out.  The cat is our neighbor's cat and is a trophy hunter.  She is always leaving gifts on our neighbor's porch of pieces of rabbits, bats, birds, gophers, snakes.  Sometimes she wants to bring a live one into the house to play with.  That doesn't set well with our neighbor's wife.

 

Don and his assistant made the adjustments Rocky Mountain said we needed to do to get power.  They moved one pole 5 inches and inserted a second pole.  Barbara called Rocky Mountain and got a message machine.  She left the message that we are ready for them to come and do their part.

 Preparing to install the extra pole.

 Filling in the hole.

 

Built the third attic wall today--the west wall, complete with window headers, etc. Still need to build a header for the north wall, but I’ve received revelation that the dormer needs to be larger, so I need to remove one stud bay before building the header. Also need to put in double top plates on all walls, and put in corner braces on the west wall, a bummer to do after the wall is up, but impossible to do before standing the wall up, as there is no way to square it after the brace is installed, and no way to know how far out of square it will be until it is up. I’m going to have the same problem with the east wall. 

 

 

I’m also not sure how big to make the rough opening for the doors. Must do some research.

 

Tuesday, August 14, 2018

 New grandson born today in Arizona.  Our 41st grandchild.

 

Barbara called Rocky Mountain to make sure they got our message.  Got the same message machine so she called the secretary who seems to be perennially out of the office.  She said that the phone with the message machine is not working but she took the message.  Will call next week to see if we've been scheduled.

 

Don and G.C. built the east wall of the attic.

Wednesday, August 15, 2018

Don carrying the heavy headers up for the windows and doors in the attic.

 Installing headers on an east window.

Here the cripples (the pieces of wood below the window) are in as well.

 From afar.  He ran out of wood to put in all of the cripples on the left window.  There will be a double glass door on this side with a hoist to lift heavy things into the attic such as couches or a bed.

 

In the afternoon, we drove to Stockton to get more wood and to Tooele for Home Depot.  On our way, a daughter called to wish us Happy Anniversary.  We had both completely forgotten.  We went to a Thia restaurant to celebrate.  Tooele really doesn't have much to offer in the way of special restaurants.  Next on the list was Denny's or Jim's.

Thursday, August 16, 2018

Big Day! Started framing the ROOF! Spent all morning getting the pattern rafter just right, then discovered that more than half of the rafter locations (next to studs in the partition wall) don’t fit. Then, when I made the first one anyway, IT DIDN’T FIT EITHER. So, back to the drawing board. Finally got one to fit, after miscutting another one--but I was able to use it anyway, with a bit of modification. So, the result of an entire day’s effort: two rafters installed.

 

 Don showing a puzzle piece he had to make to make one of the rafters fit properly.

 The saw horses have been moved to the roof top to provide a working table for cutting rafters.

 

At least, I now have a pattern rafter that does fit most of the spaces. I’m hoping to put up several more tomorrow morning. Won’t be working a full day, as it’s “Tintic Days”, Eureka’s annual celebration of it’s mining heritage. Named after Chief Tintic, who hated the miners and did everything he could to stop them.

Friday, August 17, 2018

Built six more rafters and one end wall. Got the rafters down to a science, though I still have to do them one at a time. End walls are harder, as each stud has to be free cut to allow for the thickness of the end rafter, which is flush with the outside of the wall. Only PART of the stud has to be ripped to the right thickness, then cut on the same angle as the rafters, then, finally, trimmed to the right length to allow it to fall sixteen inches from the next stud, on the bias. Lots of finicky work with the tablesaw and Sawzall. But it’s lookin’ good!

 

 Same picture looking east instead of west.

Picture taken from the east looking west.  You can also see out of our living room windows.

 A little further back showing the rafters and the east wall of the attic,  Don says our windows on this side are winking at you.  He said he should draw eye lashes on them.  He also says he has been thinking of painting the house bright blue.  Barbara is not sure she is on board with either idea.

 Saturday, August 18, 2018

Our temple, laundry, grocery shopping, and errand day.  We left home at 9 am, got home at 9 pm.  Barbara started throwing up in the temple and threw up many times before reaching home.  We're blaming it on the water.  Even though we were filtering it, a bottle she drank on the way to the temple tasted off.  A couple sold some of Barbara's book, Elizabeth and the Potato Dolly, at Tintic days.  They go all over to these type of celebrations and will take some copies of the book to wherever they go and sell them on a commission basis.  It help's get the word out.

Sunday, August 19, 2018

Don went to church, Barbara stayed home in bed.  She is feeling better but weak.  We are being interviewed to be Daily Dose missionaries.  It is a program by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to teach foreigners English.  We teach them on an individual basis.  We feel we can teach one or two individuals while meeting our other commitments.