Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Painting At Last - Partly Done


Started May 20

First, it is raining a gentle rain this morning after getting 1/4 inch late yesterday evening.  I was up a little later this morning, 4:30 AM.  DH was up right after and got the first pot of coffee going.

I moved  to the dining room porch where the swing is to enjoy the morning.  So far, not a single car or truck has gone by.  All I could hear was a few birds singing.  I love the country silence.  DH joined me and I reminded him that is why we live in the country.

This looking east from the swing.



GARDEN

I finally got the rest of the garden plants in.  Tilled and prepped 5 short rows for the sweet corn.  I wish now I had planted it, but the sun was getting hot and I was getting tired.

I also hoed out the onion rows between the plants;  sprayed gly-4 around the edges of some beds to try to control Bermuda Grass.  I know it is a lost cause but I keep trying.  I treated my surviving 4 roses with a systemic treatment for everything.  Something  had already eaten the leaves leaving only a skeleton behind.
I hope the rains will wash the treatment into the soil.

Last planting will be more pole beans (Fortex) and sweet corn (Bodacious) and then the war will begin on weeds surrounding everything.

FARM

DH reported back this morning after checking the herd that a baby was born dead.  That is part of farm life; it doesn't happen often thank goodness but it is part farming.

I have been trying for over  a year to get someone to paint our outbuildings and things kept falling through the cracks.  We finally found someone and the day he showed up to begin the job, he  told us his painter had quit!!!  I reminded him I had $700 worth of paint in the garage and he assured me he and his FIL would finish the job.  They came the next three days and worked until it got really too hot, around 2 pm.  There is still some left to do but he has another job to finish first that he took on before us.  I get really tired of hiring people and having them act like they are doing me a favor to "squeeze" in my job between all their other work!  He came, he saw the work and he told me his charges ($20 per hours) and we hired him.  I don't consider that a favor.  At least what he has done seems to be quality work.

Milk Parlor:


Garage  Doors:

and the well house; he is to rebuild the cover for the pump later.



and now here is the not so good part:  He didn't use any drop cloths....no paint on ground but tons of old paint from pressure cleaning before painting,

This is the prepped front of the smokehouse,



and this is what is in my flower bed,

 

Our  granddaughter is begging  me to let her paint it red!  The more I think about it the more I am thinking I will let her paint just this south  wall and then do an Amish symbol  on the peak.  Have  I lost my mind?

To excuse  them,  they lost their true painter.....so this isn't his expertise, he is a journeyman electrician and does service calls in the afternoons when he finishes other work.  Note:   he also broadly interpreted my telling him to remove or trim anything that was in their way of painting.  He cut to the ground my lilacs along the east shed wall behind the well  house!  I take part of the blame for that error.  

I am going to have some guttering replaced on part of the buildings.  I want to have everything ship shape at one time.

Other good news is it began raining late yesterday afternoon and in a period of an hour or so we had two inches of rain!  Unbelievable.  Of course, the the hayfields are very tall and will be laying on the ground now.....been there; done that before.   We all needed this rain badly.



10 comments:

  1. I still cannot understand why we can't get anyone to WORK here. I mean, we'll pay you CASH, the day you're finished. It's truly maddening.

    I LOVE the idea of the side of the bar being painted red with the Hex Sign (or whatever the amish call it).

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  2. I am so spoiled by DH and I doing everything ourselves, and I'm still in that mode, but am missing my other half. I was his helper in so many projects around here. I'm going to call someone who came with a good recommendation to get an estimate to paint my little house. It needs it.

    I hope this guy who started your painting will be a good guy and come back to finish the job. His work looks good so far.

    Sorry about your lilac bushes. :-(

    Glad you got some much needed rain. We are supposed to get some, and I heard a little thunder in the distance, but time will tell as to whether or not we get any here.

    You are blessed to have country quiet surrounding you.

    Have a great week Glenda. The red wall and the Amish symbol sounds great and your grand daughter will have done the work and be proud of her job.

    Love and hugs ~ FlowerLady

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  3. Glenda,

    It's so very hard to get good painters here too. They do half a job or a crappy job and their gone.
    I hope everything works out for you on having the paint done. I think you should take up your grand daughters offer to paint part of the wall red :-)

    One of the best things about living in the country is not seeing people/traffic.

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  4. You are closer to being done than you were.

    Have a barn painting party, feed them and they will come.

    I think red would be perfect. Some of the barn stars are more beautiful than a quilt. I want to see that! A work of art on a barn just touches me.

    We have rain!

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  5. It seems as if unless you give specific directions to people as to how you want a job done, then they do something you don't want them to do! We are now paying someone to cut our grass, I told them to stay away from my rose bushes! So far, so good. That is horrible about cutting down your lilacs--seems way over board!

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  6. No, you have not lost your mind! I think a red with the Amish symbol would look wonderful!!!!...:)JP

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  7. Since the chimney/mortar fiasco, nobody works here unsupervised anymore. Hope your lilacs recover. Glad you have gotten some good rain. We have had 1.25" since last night and all my rainbarrels are full again.

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    Replies
    1. Kris, I knew I should have stayed out or gone in and out,, but men working outside in the country ......

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    2. Honestly, what I've seen - men working ANYwhere.....

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  8. Some people don't realize the actual size and will of a calf or cattle. They are BIG and don't scare easy. If cattle are worked with every day like 4-H then you MIGHT be able to trust them. The scary thing is they can do damage accidentally just because they are so big.

    Poor Hubby is learning as he goes. He's learned some hard lessons.

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