Pretty Parlor Paint

The parlor was prepped and the family was willing . . . so paint went up on Sunday!  This room on the southwest corner of the original house will be a warm and inviting place to welcome visitors - especially with its sunny new look!

Sherwin-Williams Super Paint #6394:  Sequin

Ready To Roll!

Scott and Carl again performed "cutting in" duties. 

Marita pitched in expertly with a roller.

Stay Tuned for Our Next Adventure!

Subfloor Done (For Now)

On Saturday, August 27th, we reached a milestone.  We are now happy to say that most of the subfloor has been installed!  It may not seem very exciting but this brings the renovation progress one step closer toward completion.  Plus, I get a break from helping haul those 80-pound sheets from the shelf at Home Depot to the trailer and from the trailer to the house.

The final (for now) portion of sub-floor to be installed on the first floor was in the west end of the library. 

The view from the current breakfast nook.

The final problem on the second floor was the hallway outside the bathroom.  The original plank sub-floor was nearly worn through so Scott and Carl replaced it with a sheet of 23/32nd" Norbord TruFlor.

The view from below as the final sheet goes down.

Tonic

Even when you're 40-something, an unexpected visit from your mommy and daddy can cure what ails you.  Ray and Jolene's stop in Omaha was just what I needed to ease away the stress of my non-noTTafarm related duties. 

Of course, it wouldn't be a trip to noTTafarm without putting them to work for a few hours...so Dad helped Scott haul and install a few sheets of sub-floor and Mom helped me pull some weeds out of the cottonwood flowerbed. 

I asked Dad to "pose" for a photo...but I didn't expect this much beefcake!

After a quick lunch of grilled hamburgers and ice cream, they hit the road for stops at "real" farms on their way back to Kearney.

Scott and Dad checked out the columnar elm tree on the west slope.

Hi, Mommy!  Come visit us again soon!

Trail Cam Turkeys

Scott sat the trail cam near the driveway recently and it snapped a group of turkeys traveling through the yard.

 

The camera is now set with a view of the cat feeding station near the grill.  Stay tuned to see what critters say "cheese"!

Sunday Brunch for Seven

Scott and I were sitting in the nook enjoying lunch when seven of our woodland friends paid a visit.  We took a few photos from inside, and watched them snack on the brush near the fire pit. 

It was fun to see the mamas and fawns so close to the house! 

There were three fawns in the group.  So Cute!

Enjoying a leafy lunch.

We've seen these two fawns with their mama several times over the last month but never this close to the house.  

The Omaha Wards Enjoy a Day in the Country

My little brother, Tim, called me on Friday to ask if it was okay if he came out Saturday to help himself to some firewood.  How could I turn down the chance to get rid of some fallen limbs?  All he needed was Scott's chainsaw, his trusty Chevy "Shirley", and NPR on the radio.  The unexpected bonus was the arrival of Teresa, Clark, and Karli with lunch for all ~ and the willingess to stay and help!  We kept busy most of the day trimming limbs from an Osage orange tree which had split and fallen into the horse pasture south of our driveway a few weeks ago. 

Scott tries to enlighten Karli about the noxious behavior of the poke weed.

Clark watched Tim try and tame an old, dead Chinese elm tree east of the barn.  That wood was too tough...so he moved on to the Osage orange near the driveway.

Karli was excited to bond with our Horse Neighbors, including Buffy!

Buffy and Friend tried their best to help Teresa and the kids clear broken limbs.  But, since they don't have hands, all they could do was lend moral support.

Tim and Scott struggled to get the chainsaws up and running!

Teresa laughs at the thought of having roped her 16-year-old into a day of "helping" at noTTafarm.

Karli got to drive her daddy's pick-up for the first time!  She hauled four or five loads of limbs up to the burn pile.

Clark is Number One!

When the dust settled, we were left with a ginormous pile of Osage orange branches.  Luckily, the weather was clear and we worked late inside the house . . . so the majority was burned before we went home for the night.

We thank the Omaha Wards for their hard work and good cheer!

Tile Time: Part Two

After a month of patiently waiting, the tile order for the second floor bathroom was finally ready for pick up!  Scott and I picked it up bright-and-shiny on Saturday, August 20th.  We're anxious to get started in a couple of weeks!

Scott checks the inventory before finishing loading our order.

 Stacked and ready in the dining room.

Check back in a couple of weeks (hopefully!) for progress photos!

Hey! It's A Hay Harvest!

David, the hay guy, called Scott last week to let him know he was ready to cut the tall grass that grows in the east pasture.  He mowed the hay Saturday then came back on Sunday to rake it up and mush it into big, round bales.*

The east pasture after the grass was cut.

David and his John Deere created five bales late Sunday.

David brought two tractors...one with a rake attached and one with a baler.  I'm not sure how he drove two tractors all the way to noTTafarm so that's a mystery yet to be solved!

That grass smelled so good; I couldn't resist! 

Stay Tuned for Our Next Adventure!

*Sorry, Daddy...I know those aren't the right terms for putting up hay but I've been a city girl too long.

Subfloor Fun

As we continue to add subfloor to the first floor, Scott allowed me to apply a bit of Liquid Nails construction adhesive.  I wonder if anyone will ever see this message?  Or if Scott will ever let me play with the big glue gun again?

noTTafarm is for lovers, after all!

Rollin' Along at noTTafarm

Color has rolled in to noTTafarm!  Carl and Marita joined us on Saturday for the first of many painting days to come.  We managed to complete the two upstairs bedrooms, and are very happy with the beautiful color we selected!

This color will also be used on the landing and in the upper part of the stairway.

We're not messing around . . . got the big 5 gallon bucket this time (from our friends at Sherwin Williams, of course!)

The big bedroom "after."  We will be refinishing the window trim, doors, and baseboards to match the original door finish shown here. 

Stay Tuned for Another Colorful Adventure!

Pretty Girls Visit noTTafarm

Friday, August 12th was a truly pretty day; the humidity finally faded and the temperatures fell to the low '80s.  It was a lovely evening to welcome Amy B. and Brenna for a visit! 

Brenna last visited noTTafarm back in October, right before she turned two.  Now, as she'll tell you, she's "a big girl."

We took advantage of having an extra set of hands around.  Brenna tossed a little trash in the dumpster.

And, of course, there was lots of running. 

Scott was happy to have a helper gather firewood.

Brenna shows off the "3D" glasses she made at daycare.

We love noTTafarm visitors!

Painting Begins!

Don't get too excited . . . it's just the primer.  But at least it's a start! 

While Scott occupied himself with actual construction, I kept busy by priming the ceilings in the two bedrooms and the first floor parlor. 

For the ceilings, I used Sherwin Williams Brilliance - it's a primer and ceiling paint with one-coat coverage.  (Except for the spots that I missed and need to touch-up.)

Do you think Sherwin Williams will give me a discount for speaking highly of their lovely paint?

Yes, it's true.  I actually do some work once in a while.  My neck, shoulders, and back are all pleased that the ceiling painting process is complete (for now).

On Sunday, I moved on to painting primer on the walls, switching to Sherwin Williams Multi-Purpose Primer.  (Another fine product from our friendly paint professionals)

It took me much longer to prime the big bedroom than I thought it would.  I'll have to work overtime this week to finish the walls in the other bedroom and parlor this week.

Have a great week!

Throwing Out the "Caution: Low Clearance" Warning Sign

The "head bonker" which plagued users of the staircase for the last 91 years is gone.  Scott and Carl removed, rearranged, and reconfigured all of the bones of closet on the second floor landing, and in the process brought the clearance in the stairway from 5' - 7" to 6' - 5"!  A few members of our family will still need to duck (sorry, Nick and Tyler!) but the overall "user-friendly" score has risen sharply.

Before removing the header which created the offending bonker, Scott constructed a temporary support.

Scott used the Sawzall to cut through the nails holding the framing together.

Carl helped Scott wriggle the header free - it took a little extra cutting to get it loose.

The view from above...Scott checks the squareness of the remaining framing by leaning over into the staircase.

Fashion note:  Scott does not have a crew cut but his barber used to be in the Air Force - so you can do the math. ;)

On Sunday, Scott finished framing the new "floor" of the closet.  The door will still be full-height but the lower portion of the closet will be closed-in with drywall.  Stay tuned for details later this week! 

The new floor of the closet will be covered with the original Douglas fir flooring.  Scott set the sub-floor in place late Sunday afternoon.

Stay Tuned for More!