Plank wall makeover

The kitchen did not get done over the weekend but we're so close now I can feel it!  I ran out of paint yesterday in the home stretch of repainting the walls.  The timing couldn't have been better though because I could use a little break.  We've been working hard for over three weeks.

The walls look so much better!  I love the pine planks walls but the knots showing through the paint were finally starting to bug me.  I covered and filled them and the nail holes with sheetrock putty.  Jeff prefers it over wood filler.  He says it's easier to work with.  I then repainted the walls with Valspar's zero voc paint and primer in Garlic Clove (an Olympic color).  It's white with a hint of warmness.  It's been my go to white for the past eight or nine years and I still love it.

Here are before and after pictures.

I covered literally thousands of nail holes!  You can see the yellow knots and knot holes and some of the planks have cracks running through them.

Here it is after filling the holes and knots.

So, so, so much better!  It has a crisper, cleaner look now.  Next, we need to tackle the ceiling.  I'm sure that'll be loads of fun!

One of the nice thing about using sheetrock putty is there's no dusty sanding.  If it needs to be sanded after it dries just use a damp sponge or rag and wipe it smooth.  No mess!


We're getting into our new fall schedule (even though it's still summer...grrr) which includes getting up at 5:30 every morning to milk the cow.  It's not necessary to do it that early but the girls still need Jeff's help at this point and he's got to leave for work around 6:30.  Once Bonnie (the cow) learns the routine well enough to get to the stall pretty much on her own they'll push it back to 7am or so.  I can't wait.  I'm so sleepy all the time!

Yesterday was Evelyn's 6th birthday.  Normally I'd cancel school for the day but since it was only the second day and she still looks forward to school I gifted her with a little extra school work.  She loved it! She also helped Gracie bake sugar cookies which all the kids had fun decorating.

These are the very best sugar cookies in the world, by the way!  Way, way better than store bought.  I've had the recipe so long I don't remember where I got it but I think it might be my cousin's grandma Lil's recipe.  I hear they were legendary.

Cookies or cupcakes are how we celebrate actual birthday's when the party doesn't fall on the same day and it rarely does.  It's a tradition the kids always look forward to since we don't eat a lot of sweets around here.

We also decided at the last minute to pull out Jeff's great aunt Jewel's fine china and wrinkled bunting and fabric scraps and have a "tea" party with milk.  As you can see by Evie's face (the one with the heart on her shirt) she's feeling pretty proud.  It's fun that it takes so little to make a kids day.

Sugar cookies:
1 c. softened butter (no substitute)
3/4 c. white sugar
1 egg
2 T. milk
1 1/2 t. vanilla extract
3 c. flour
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
Cream butter and sugar together in a mixing bowl then beat in the egg, milk and vanilla.  In a separate mixing bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt.  Gradually add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture.  Chill dough for one hour or until easy to handle.  On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to 1/8th inch thickness and cut with cookie cutters.  Place 2 inches apart on greased baking sheets.  Bake at 375 degrees for 5 to 8 minutes until just slightly beginning to lightly brown.  Cool before frosting.

Frosting:
1 c. powdered sugar
1/2 t. vanilla or almond extract
1/4 t. salt
1 to 2 T. milk
food coloring, optional

Mix all ingredients well in a medium bowl and frost right away.  (It will begin to get dry and crumbly if you wait too long to use it.)

*Update:  TODAY is Evie's birthday!!!  not yesterday...  I guess we'll be making cookies again.  Am I a bad mother because I mix up birthday dates?  I don't think she'll be disappointed when I tell her.  Jeff and I have on more than one occasion celebrated our wedding anniversary on the wrong day.  I blame it on the aluminum in my deoderant.

Pride goeth before a fall. Proverbs 16:18

Like what we've done to the place?  We make our mothers proud.  I figure we need a few more X braces in it though to prepare for Spring a.k.a. tornado season.  Otherwise, it might wind up looking more like this.

Yikes!

 

Not for the faint of heart

WARNING: For those of you with weak constitutions, you may want to skip the end of this post.

Yesterday was a very progressive day for the project! Jeff had help from his friends, Chad and Rick (who also happens to be my cousin.) Not only did the snow plow work great, but look at what these guys managed to do for the house.

Chad is marking on the rim joist where the floor joists will be nailed in.

Can you see the hammer and nails there? Well, they actually used nail guns.

And after several hours of work...Taa Daa!!! All of the floor joist are in place!

Thanks guys!

(Isaiah had just taken a little tumble and was trying hard not to cry. He's a tough little guy. (My poor baby!))

The day, however, was not without incident. Don't worry Chad, I won't mention what happened. heh heh. (Good thing your wife's a doctor!) It just reminds me of another incident that happened to Ricky and I can't resist giving him a hard time. (This is the part where you may want to turn away.)

What man child can resist the temptation to goof around with a nail gun once he's become extremely comfortable with using one? Certainly not Rick! When Jeff was in the building business, Rick worked with him too and on one particular day he got a little too carried away. I won't go into all the details of how exactly it happened, but let you see it for yourselves.

Here's a hint. Take a look at his left hand.

That's only half of the nail. They (Rick and my brother-in-law Charles, who also worked with us at the time) for some reason that even to this day no one can understand, decided it would be a good idea to cut the pointy end of the nail off. Then, as if that wasn't bad enough, Rick and Jeff decided they would pull the nail (the head end) out themselves. So they went into the bathroom with a homemade medical kit and shut the door.

All I could hear was Rick making some unpleasant noises and talking about pooping his pants while Jeff kept telling him to "hang in there." Jeff however, was thinking that when Rick passed out and hit the floor, he'd be able to get the nail out for sure then. (If you're wondering, yes, they were all completely sober.) They finally caved, however, and went to urgent care. It was going to at least require a little anesthesia first.

Before they left though, Rick picked up his guitar and made up a little song about the experience. Enjoy.

My apologies to everyone who finds this post a little over the top and always, always practice nail gun safety.