So This is What it's Like Raising Cowboys

I have to admit I was a bit premature with my feelings of pride when I fixed this drawer. For months it has had a wobbly front (If you pulled on the knob a little hard the whole drawer front would come off). With three or four finishing nails poking out of it. Part of me puts up with stuff like that just to see if the male population in the house will show a little manly skills and grab a hammer and glue and fix it with out being asked to fifty million times, silly me what was I thinking?. It never happened so I grabbed the glue and a hammer and headed to the bathroom yesterday morning. I pulled out all the nails pulled the drawer front off poured in a little to much glue slammed the front back on, with glue oozing a bit, hammered the nails back in in new spots so that they would hold, and Voila!! Nothing fancy but that drawer front wasn't going anywhere (litterally). I then shut the drawer, put the hammer away and went about my business. This morning as kids rushed madly about getting ready for the first day of school, Caib asked me where his "orange deodorant" was. I told him to check the bottom drawer in the bathroom. He tried, really tried!! It wasn't opening he yanked, he pulled...Nothing. Here's where the cowboy comes in. He found a piece of rope, tied it to the handle wrapped the rope around his body and pulled for all he was worth.................Again, Nothing.

My excuse.....If the men in this house would do the little fix it jobs that are obviously an easy fix for men!! Then their wives wouldn't have to glue the drawers shut!!!

I got the kids off to school came home looked at the rope tied to the bathroom drawer and thought if Caib couldn't get his weight to open this drawer then surely I can. He may be almost as tall as me but he doesn't out weigh me yet. I grabbed the rope and pulled for all I was worth.



Man!!! when I decide to fix something I sure do fix it. When my construction workers get here I'm gonna ask if I can borrow one of their BIG crow bars.

Next time I'll ask fifty million times and smile every time I open the drawer and the front comes off.

Chancee's Chatterings

If you've never remodel it's quite an experience but you'll just never understand until you are right in the middle of it all. Today we had the stucco people here. Yesterday we had my old kitchen floor jacked up and leveled out. They had to Jack it up over four inches to get it level. Right beneath my old kitchen is the fruit room. so the workers were going up and down the stairs and it took them most of the day.

We went swimming yesterday so that Caib could finish his swimming merit badge and when we got home the workers were finished and had gone home. We weren't here when they glued and then nailed the new floorboards down.

Today I needed some things for dinner out of the fruit room I went down stairs to get them with Chance on my heels, as usual, When I opened the door I noticed the smell of the glue was a little bit strong. The light doesn't work in there. I had a flashlight so that I could find what I needed and stepped into the "cave"

My fruit room door

Chance stepped in right behind me and started to sniff the air

"sniff...Sniff...Sniff Do I smell Spiders in here?" He asks

"Hmmm" Says I

"I do, Mom." he says "I hate spiders"

We quickly got what I needed and left the fruit room.

I'm Sure glad Chance doesn't go to school for another year. I'll hate to miss all his little chattering

Commanche

In Memory of Commanche
Last year herding cows teaching Chance how to rideAubree and Commanche

Commanche working the cows with Caib


Buck and Commanche on a quiet ride with their Boys



Chance and Commanche

Commanche with his last rider

Caib and Commanche

Commanche and Buck getting ready for a pleasure ride with Dad and Aubree


Ol' Commanche spent his last few days on the mountain herding cows with Chance. He got a bellyache yesterday and they brought him down to see if they could help him but he didn't make it through the night.
Wednesday We spent the afternoon at a cowboy poetry competition. Caib's poem was all about Commanche.

Commanche

I remember the day I hired on here at this old spread
I was young, smart knew it all weren’t nothin’ for me to dread
That lasted just about six or seven months before I learnt my place
That old boss was tough as nails. He’d get right up into my face.

He’d tell me how it really was set me straight a time or two
He slowly seemed to humble me. Ya might say I changed my view.
What I hear them other cowboys kinda fight to ride me now
Cause it’s been quite q few years I been here a pushin’ cows

And every spring I hear ‘em talk, just a fightin’ back and forth
‘Bout who’s gonna ride old Commanche and how much they think I’m worth.
Usually it’s the youngest one they throw up on my back
And I sure don’t mind carryin’ the lightest one of the pack.

I know my job I know it well that’s what they’re feedin’ me for
So I take the kid work real hard, it aint an easy chore!
And through the summer off and on when it’s our turn to hit the slopes
They saddle us up and we head out, me with the youngest cowpoke.

Now, after goin’ out a time or two ridin’ all day long
They’ll start out kind of easy like just talkin’ or singing a song
Then them young cowpokes get cocky and they start to want to run
Or think they can see a better way to get the herdin’ done.

So they turn me this way and turn me that, it’s quite a chore to find
A nice soft chunk of rockless land that’ll cushion their behind.
Because I can only do so much before they just got to learn
That there aint nothin’ smaller then a dime on which to turn.

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Poor Chance has been pretty sad about loosing Commanche But he was old and had lived a good life. We sure will miss our old reliable horse. I think he taught more grandkids to ride then any other horse grandpa has.

goodbye Commanche.

Walls and Bathrooms

Today walls went up. Looks like Oaklee has this room figured out.
Too bad she isn't potty trained.. Maybe this new toilet will help. :)

Plumbing

I know it's fun to see pictures of progress but hey, It's the plumbing for crying out loud. Take my word for it, the septic tank wasn't a pretty picture and the trench they dug in my yard was long and deep and tore up quite a bit of my lawn but the plumbing is done and now they can do the floors and the walls and things should start coming together. I'll post pictures of walls and stuff like that.....Much more appealing if you ask me.

What's Behind Curtain #1

HMMMM What could it be???
Not as much as there used to be.
For those of you who know.....
It took them all day long to get the wall out between my kitchen and living room and the picture just dosent show how much it opened things up.
This is one project in this adventure of remodeling that, so far, I am completely satisfied with. I Love roomy spaces.
The curtain was about where the vaccuum is. The wall was right where the carpet meets the linoleum, the 2x4's in the back are half way into the garage.
I guess if you want to see it you'll just have to come on down!!!

So This is What It's Like Raising Cowboys!

Remodeling has brought a few changes in my decor.

Yes that is a saddle rack in my Living room right next to my french doors But, there's a couple of saddles missing.

Oh Hey, Look out back, there's one.
Yes, I walked past the french doors and stopped short for just a moment. Braden had decided that it was easier to bring the horse to the saddle then the saddle to the horse. It must have been easier, because Caib followed suit.
(Notice the green cast on the back of the horse near the saddle horn.)
Oh the joys of raising cowboys!!!!

Windows

they finished taking out a wall and put in two windows. This is the..........
North facing, and....
This is the South facing where the garage door used to be.
We still have three windows left to put in and three doors. That'll happen next Wednesday.
Funny how it seems you always have to wait on people. (Don't people know how important I am?;))
The Plumber won't be here until tomorrow and the heating guy will be here Monday. Then they can put in the floor and walls. What a process.

Remodeling update

You Know, I've had a bazillion people tell me that this will all be worth it.

I can tell you I have been extremely impressed with my "Builders"( Chancee's term) They are clean as they work, they make sure I know what's happening when, and they are fast!!!!It's really nice. I've had a fun day today living on the other side of this plastic listening to them as they tore the wall out. The comments about this house and what they've found hidden in the walls have been humorous. I'll tell you what, Grandma was "green" She recycled all kinds of things in her walls, old magazines for sheet rock, Plastic grocery bags for insulation, etc. So why are they pushing this "green" thing so much when it doesn't even meet code? This world is a bit screwy.
On the other side of the plastic sheet, this is what they've done. The windows will be here tomorrow as well as the electrician and the plumber. We're also having a new septic system put in. I was told that they wouldn't let the electrician or plumber leave with out finishing the job so that they could get everything finished up with in the next two weeks. It'll be amazing to see.
Now here something else amazing. I just had Mike bring dinner over. He made some chicken and mashed potatoes and gravy. What a brother, what a guy!! who needs Relief Society? I'm kidding.
Let's just hope in a month when everything is finished, but my kitchen cabinets, that I'll still be sane.

Remodling

Well, we've started. Three days of work and already we've changed things. The door and most of the wall you can see is going to come out.
But, Here we go. I'm thinking that this is an experience that will be a one of a kind for us. hopefully!!
The plumber will be here tomorrow as well as the stucco people.

I'll keep you all up on our progress.
If I could figure out how to do it I would post a picture of the floor plans for everyone to give me suggestions. I'm not sure how I'm going to do the counters, cabinets etc. I don't think I realized that this was going to be quite so complicated. (for me not Roger) Roger thinks is all so simple.

"What's so hard about it?" Says he " The bathroom goes there, the laundry there, and the kitchen right there. Pretty simple if you ask me"
It sure is good we balance each other out so well.
I can do all the worrying and he can do all the quit worryings