Day 64 - Crazy Chilly May Weather

Day 64 at home. It seems that our numbers are really slowing down in Wisconsin, they said on the local news that there were only six new cases today. Our County itself has only gone up by one case in the last two weeks, most of the other existing cases have resolved and gone home from the hospitals, at least in our County. Let's hope this is the trend of moving downward, so we can start getting back to normal.

Many prayers and good wishes for all the scientists trying to develop vaccines and antibodies so that we can get this thing under control before another wave could hit.

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Our Wisconsin weather has been really crazy. It's been so cold and damp and chilly. We've been down to freezing the last couple nights. We even had ice in the birdbath this morning!  We've had to haul all of our flowers inside to keep them from freezing, We can't even store them in the garage, so the last three nights they have been in the She Shed.  The weatherman is promising some warmer weather, but rain. Oh well, better than *S*N*O*W*, right?

We are working on a couple more projects. Steve was raking out the newly spread dirt in the backyard, and the little bit up in the front yard. He is using a wide landscape rake we borrowed from his brother.

Today, once he got it all smooth, he raked in 10 lb worth of grass seed! He wanted to get it in before the forecasted rain. They said it's supposed to start tonight between 7 and 9 p.m. and rain most of tomorrow. Looks like we're due for about a third of an inch. I hope it's a nice gentle soaking in rain that will not rinse away the grass seed.

He didn't want to put the grass seed in too early because we have so many birds in the backyard. He didn't want them to think it was a marvelous feast that we were putting out for them to binge upon!

As it is, we have multiple bird feeders in the backyard. I decided to move two of them over to better viewing locations, so we can see them while sitting in our chairs in the she shed.

Steve was busy down in the basement working on the basement windows, (more on that later), so I decided to take a little pipe and start pounding in a new hole. Then I pushed it around and around and around until I made the hole big enough in the soft damp dirt. There are no power, water or gas lines in the back of our home, so it was safe to pound down about two feet.

Then I was able to pull up the thick pipe from out of the ground, and move the existing bird feeder over to its new location. Bang bang bang bang I pounded with this big heavy metal hammer on the support blades to help guide the pipe into the ground.

Voila! Done! 

This bird feeder is kinda special. It's been with us at three homes now.  I had gotten it from my dad many years ago and it has a really nice design. I can set the amount of tension on the spring perch, so if squirrels or big heavy crows land on the perch, it closes off and they can't get any food. But the smaller lighter birds like the song birds and cardinals and bluejays can fit on it just fine, and it doesn't close off the food.

Steve came up from the basement and wondered who was pounding outside? Here he saw I moved that great big pipe and pounded it down two feet into the ground by myself. He was pretty surprised. Then I told him how I did it with the little pipe first and went using it as leverage to push back the dirt and make the hole bigger. Work smarter - not harder!

The dogs helped too! 

Steve and I are working on the basement windows. He is rebuilding some of them from the sill on up, where the wood has rotted away. Last fall we stuck on some quick square plexiglass storm windows to cover them up for the winter.

Now we are taking them out completely, and he is repairing the foundation and rebuilding the sill with treated wood.  Then we are repairing the glazing around the loose sections of the window panes, and I am painting them all both sides with two coats of exterior paint. They will all be sealed back in and we will use the solid storm panels from last fall on the inside instead. Then the pretty panes of glass can be aimed to the outside.

What a difference! 

We plan to replace the windows on the main part of the house with the same multiple pane grid style, so these basement ones will be able to match nicely.


We put the rain barrels into place, with the gutters aiming down into them.  We have one for the side yard and one for the back yard.  Soon we will have fresh rainwater to water all of the plants.

Even though it's too early to plant outside yet, I started getting all of my flower pots and window boxes ready today. Since we have some nice new fresh gravel, I was able to put some in the bottom of all of the containers for drainage before I add the potting soil.

I put little pieces of screen across each of the drainage openings and then gently put the new gravel into the bottom of each of the window boxes and cement urns.

I can't wait for it to warm up enough so I can put out all of my colorful geraniums on the front porch. It will be exciting to start my beautiful clematis and ivy plants growing up on the pergola.  Not to mention starting my tomatoes in the new patch out back.

I guess I got Spring Fever?

For now, we are huddled up inside, when it is cold and damp out there, and we are playing cribbage and yahtzee by the fireplace.

Not complaining.... 

Day 56 - Drugs n Dogs n Dirt

Day 56 and counting... All we can do is keep working on our little projects and try to stay as healthy as we can.


Speaking of healthy, we did an online video visit with our doctor last week! The first one we ever did. That's pretty cool. He needed to actually visit with us before he could refill some of our yearly prescriptions. So by having our little visit together, it satisfies that requirement, and we were able to have our prescriptions called into the little local Walmart pharmacy.

I called the pharmacy to make sure all three were filled, there was a glitch with one, so it took an extra day or two. Finally, yesterday we received notification that all three prescriptions were ready. I asked for "curbside pick up" so we didn't have to actually go into the store. The pharmacist on the phone said no problem because they added a "tube" similar to the banking system type on the far end of the store. He said just drive around the parking lot in the car and you will see it?

I thought to myself, this is strange, because the pharmacy is on one side of the store---  how on earth do they have a drive-up on the other side of the store? I could not imagine them shuttling all of those prescriptions over to a drive up window, with a clerk, walking through the entire width of the store, like a cart full at a time???

We drove on up to the Walmart and our question was answered.

On the far side of the building was a little drive up kiosk. It had a TV screen, an old fashioned call telephone, and a regular chute vacuum system (like a bank) with very wide plastic shuttle devices.

We sprayed down the telephone with our own disinfectant that we brought along with us. Steve wore gloves then picked up the telephone. We were able to put our proper ID and credit card into the plastic shuttle chamber and send it to the pharmacist. The amazing thing is that the pharmacy is way over on the other side of the store. So this device went whoosh all the way up around over and across the entire ceiling of the store over to the pharmacy side. We could see him on the camera pick up our shuttle case and take out our credit card and ID.

After a very little wait, our prescriptions were put back in the shuttle case and he asked us a few questions as to if we we're familiar with all three and were they refills or new prescriptions etc etc.

Then we watched him on the screen put the shuttle case back together with our stuff and send it out. Then whoosh whoosh whoosh --- it took a little while to come all the way across the top of the building and back out to our car.

Once the shuttle case came to our car, Steve took the contents out, but did not bring them inside of our vehicle.

While the window was still open he held the bag up on the roof of the car until we could drive forward far enough beyond the kiosk, to a spot where he could open the car door.

Steve got out with the package still in his hand and popped our trunk button. He was able to deposit our package right into the trunk of the car. We sprayed off his gloves and the car door handle as he got back in and proceeded to head on home.

For some of you big city folks, this might be no big deal. Now I know we've used devices like this at a bank. But if that's only for a short distance. What I thought was amazing was that Walmart went to these extra steps in this small community to be able to help us feel secure in receiving our prescriptions by using this device. And the lengths they had to go shoot the packages across the entire building to get to an accessible spot in the parking lot where we could drive up with our cars.

Once we got home, while wearing gloves, we removed the packages from the trunk. We sprayed everything down with disinfectant and set them on the decontamination table in the garage for a day or two before it even comes into the house. We figure the sickest people in Walmart are all hanging out at the pharmacy!!! Lol.

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Oh, while we drive anywhere in the car, I work on knitting hats from mulitple strands of pretty yarns.  Just something to keep the fingers busy.

I like knitting on a large circular needle. That way I can just stuff it back into my knitting bag at any time when we stop or start to go places. I leave the knitting bag in the car with these hats so I have something to keep my fingers busy. I decided to empty the bag and bring some of them into the house. I will have to photograph them and put them on my Etsy site for sale before next fall.

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Yesterday was an apple pie baking day. We still had some apples left in the fridge, and a couple refrigerated rolled up pie crusts. I love these bigger deep dish pizza pans we bought at Aldi's a couple months ago. It makes such a nice apple pie and the inside filling does not bubble out and over the edges and make a burnt stinky oven...

Boy oh boy, the whole house sure smelled good after baking this. I think a lot of people are doing more baking now that they're home under quarantine. I do enjoy baking all of the time, but it seems that special treats like this just make our self quarantine time more bearable.  Plus, apple pie is Steve's favorite.

Our temperatures here took a big drop from the beautiful weather we were experiencing over the weekend. Hard to believe we are running around in t-shirts and shorts. Because this week our highs are only down in the forties or maybe low fifties. There's a wind blowing in from the north and it's pretty cold. At night it's down in the 30's or maybe even into the 20's later on this week. Spring is definitely not here yet.

It's too soon to plant anything, but I did prep the area for where my tomatoes are going to go this year. Then Steve went out and shoveled up the dirt and really loosened it up well so once we purchase the tomato plants, the ground will be ready.

I think we will do about 10 or 12 tomato plants, probably Early Girls and Better Boys, maybe one or two of grape tomatoes. This year they will be closer to the house within the enclosed fence of the dogs potty yard, away from the deer and other critters.

My rain barrel goes where that downspout pipe is right now....

Another upcoming project is the removal of that basement entrance building enclosure. He is putting in a low slanted foundation with a flat set of metal doors called a "bulkhead" ... so the sun will still shine on the tomatoes from that side.

On Thursday, Steve's brother Mark is bringing us enough siding to redo that whole section of the house.  That will be another upcoming project!  Enough to keep us busy the whole summer if this quarantine continues? 

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Yesterday evening, even though it was quite cool out, we took a walk through the big backyard for the dogs. I made another silly slow motion video of them running around. Here it is:

That really helps to wear out their energy, and then they sleep very well for the rest of the evening. Steve and I curled up with a game of cribbage, a couple episodes of American Pickers, and two sleeping doggies.

Today is a big exciting day for us. We are getting two deliveries! A dump truck load full of gravel and another dump truck load full of dirt!!!  I was just telling Pops Pfundtner on the phone about our upcoming deliveries... He said: "You just go and have a Big Dump!"   Oh geesh!

More on that in the next blog. 

Stay tuned.

stay in 

stay safe 

stay healthy

Day 54 - Hairdresser and Finished Pergola

It is day 54 of our self quarantine. I really had no idea it would last this long. But I think it needs to last as long as it needs to last, until we have some answers or some proof that things are declining and we will be safe again.  Wisconsin numbers are slightly dropping, even with the newest increase in Green Bay at the meat packing plants.  Let us hope they continue to decline.

Of course, being quarantined this long, that means it's been more than 54 days since my shaggy headed husband had been to his hairdresser, Kelly.

Although I do like it when Steve's hair gets a little longer and a little softer and a little more 1970s-ish style hairdo... I think it had reached a point where he really needed to get it cut. It was getting in his way when he worked on things and blowing around into his eyes... Or so he said.

This morning he had had enough. He sat down on the little footstool in front of my chair, and let me get out my scissors and my comb and a spritzer bottle to try and get it under control a bit so I could trim it.

I figured if I just took each little section and cut off an inch all the way around the entire head, the hairstyle should remain the same? That is, if his hair grew one inch everywhere and every direction? It seems good in theory anyhow.

snip snip snip

He said that he noticed when I groom the dogs, they come out looking pretty good. So I should probably do all right when I do his hair???  He trusts me.

clip clip clip

He took out a little mustache trimmer and let me buzz off the curly hairs on the back of the nape of his neck. He giggled. I asked if he did that with his hairdresser Kelly?  "No", he said, "just with you!"

And here is my handsome man.

Not too bad.

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We've been working on
a couple more projects
around our national folk farmhouse.

If you recall, a few months ago Steve was working up in our attic. He finished the electrical wiring and spread new insulation and added vents in the soffits. It's much easier to get in to and out of our attic through this front window on the gable by climbing a ladder up to the window by the front porch.

He got an idea.  Instead of opening the window in the traditional way like a normal casement window, sliding it up, then he has to get down on his hands and knees to shimmy through just the lower open portion. He decided to create a different type of full window that could open up like a door and he could access the entire space to step right inside.

He decided to look for a window that would fit that space. We did not need to buy an expensive insulated window because the attic is not heated.  It is a strange size and would have to be custom ordered. We do have in the future plans to put new windows all around on the main floor of the house. I would like to get them with the little individual panes or the grids between the layers of thermalpane glass. So that is what he looked for as a style of window for this upper portion of the gable.

Of course, he found one that was the exact size he needed while browsing on his wonderful Facebook Marketplace. We picked it up by social distancing for a mere $25.

He touched up a few spots with new glazing, and I was able to give it two good coats of a heavy exterior paint.  I cleaned it up with a razor blade scraper and it was ready to hang.

Today he popped his ladder up against the front porch roof, and went up there to replace the window.

It can now hinge open like a little door and latch back securely into place. I think this makes the best sense, considering the alternative of having to crawl up through a small scuttlehole inside of the house to get to the attic. It's not often we should ever have to go up there again, now that the new insulation is spread and the wiring is done... But having easy access like this makes it a lot better.

I think that looks so cute up there!

We still have to do a few little tweaks on the gable, including some new siding and touch up paint on the eaves. Then I don't think we'll need to go up there again for a long time.

Speaking of paint, I finished painting the fourth side of red lattice of these two panels we had on hand.  These two panels are being recycled from a garden structure that was here when we first bought the home. They were just plain grayed-out wood that was put up as an array backdrop of a flower garden in back. We decided to take it down, as we enjoy the natural trees, shrubs and woods view.

It took quite a while to paint the lattice on all four sides and catch all the edges and cover everything in the red paint. We set them up on saw horses out in the garage. It ended up being a "sit-down job" for a number of hours, with my tunes blasting on the radio as I worked my way around each panel on both sides. I used a small roller and then a bristle paint brush to get in all of the tiny spaces.

We erected two outer frames with the same dimensions as the frames we put on the two front sides of the pergola.  We made sure everything was level and plumb and square for both of these back panels that face out to the backyard.

We screwed the lattice into place using coated screws that won't rust. Once they were into place I dabbed paint over each screw head so they would remain invisible.

Soon both sides were done that face out to the backyard. I think on this back side I'm going to plant the ivy plants in two white cement pots that I got from my neighbor Sheryl.

On the front side, I may try to plant some red and white clematis plants, and see if they take off. They're rather tricky to get started. If I can have success with those, year after year growing up and over the top, I won't need the ivy from behind.

(see Steve out there in the mud puddle?

more on that later)

This is such an inviting way to get to the she shed to the right, straight ahead through to the backyard, or into the garage to the left.

I really like how the red lattice behind helps to set off the white grids of the trellis that faces the front. I know we could have just put four pieces of lattice on both sides, but I wanted something that would be a little different and eye-catching.

Now the pergola was almost complete. We had discussed about putting some clear plastic plexiglass, polycarbonate, or fiberglass on the top to keep some of the rain off as well as snow in the winter. Just to make it a little more pleasant to dash between the house and the garage...

Again, Steve with his handy dandy Facebook Marketplace listings, located a guy selling new sheets of exactly what we wanted, at a fraction of what it would cost at the home improvement store!

Tada! With social distancing in mind, we were able to pull into the guy's driveway, load up all four sheets, and leave the money in an envelope on his horseshoe pit setup in his yard.  No contact needed.

Again, our neighbors Sheryl and Ed came through with the proper type of screws to mount these. Ed had mounted some of this at his own home and he used the screws with a little rubber washer on the end by the head. We only needed 14 screws, and it seemed a shame to have to go buy a whole box full of 100 to get what we needed.  Sheryl brought us some over.  We love our neighbors!

The panels easily went up and were the perfect size that we needed to create this unobtrusive cover over the pergola. It still lets the light through and doesn't make it dark, but somewhat protects the walkway below for rain or snow.

Ahhhhh look at that!

Now...
The pergola is finished!

Thanks to this creative guy
who helped make my dreams come true.

I think the next thing on our list of ideas for this area of our property is to get some better paving stones. The spaced-out tan ones in the pic above were some that we got free a while back. But they are a tripping hazard and we really need to get something better.

Maybe some that match the pretty grey ones that we have in the front yard leading to the front porch. Those are rather pricey at $5.49 each, and we would need about 40 of them! Ouch!

Perhaps it is time for Steve to keep an eye out on his Facebook Marketplace, and maybe he will find some?

But first, he has more pressing projects to work on.  He is having an absolute blast playing with his mud puddles each time it rains.  He gears up for the task:

Then he heads out with his little pump and hoses, and works on emptying the big puddles in the backyard, routing it over to the drain pipe he unclogged last week. From there it goes out to the curb and gutter, and drains off into the marsh at the end of town. He goes back and forth, checking his hoses, and watching the water move through the pipe and out into the gutter.  He is "gleeful" to watch it work.   

What a happy guy! 

Time now to go take the dogs for a walk.