A Weekend Made for Work Outdoors

The crazy warm weather continues in the Omaha area so it shouldn't come as a great surprise that we spent the bulk of our Saturday outdoors.  Add in a few visitors, and we had quite a fun day!

Our niece Lauren was in town during her university's spring break to enjoy The Hunger Games movie premier with three sorority sisters.  We were happy to have her crash on our couch for a couple of days.  I put her in charge of babysitting Leo while he enjoyed some adventures outside.

Leo continues to explore the yard though Saturday he seemed particularly interested in a corner southwest of the house.  Side note:  look how tall that grass is already; it's only March, for Pete's sake!

 Lauren was a real trooper; as long as she had her phone in her hand, she was happy to babysit.

My mommy and daddy, Ray and Jolene, visited on Saturday, too.  Dad was anxious to get to work - so Scott and my brother, Tim, found a few tasks to tackle.  They cleared out an old row of fencing, burned a bunch of tree limbs, and took out the three clothesline poles.

 Hi, Mommy!  Thanks for letting me take your picture!

Tim and Dad took turns digging around the clothesline poles.

Tim hauled a clothesline pole to the fire pit for disposal.

 

The space north of the existing kitchen is going to be utilized for the new garage.  With that in mind, we relocated some of the iris and sedum (sharing some with Jolene and Marita) and Scott and Tim then tore some of the concrete.  The broken concrete was hauled in the Ranger to the drainage culvert along the driveway.  

Now that the drawings are done, Scott finally got to enjoy the great outdoors! 

Tim and Scott added the concrete chunks to the culvert.

The challenge of the day was removing the old flagpole.  It was encased in concrete 3 feet deep.  After digging around the core, Scott tried to use the Ranger's winch to pull it out.  Finally, Tim used "Shirley", his trusty Chevy truck to get the job done.

An added bonus:  Teresa brought Karli and Clark out to check on their daddy.  

It's always fun to have these two hanging around noTTafarm.  Karli enjoyed spending time with cousin Lauren and Leo though I think she saw enough spiders to last her the rest of the year.  Clark has grown three inches taller since we saw him in late January.

 Later in the afternoon, Carl and Marita arrived for a visit.  We had such a nice evening, eating dinner and enjoying a great end to a beautiful Saturday.  It was nice to be back in the swing of things!

Stay Tuned for Our Next Adventure!

 

Hallelujah! The Drawings are Done!

Wednesday, March 21st at 12:04AM, Scott finished the drawings for the new addition!  As you know, he has been working on them pretty much non-stop since November.  He hasn't had any free time to work on projects in the existing house or to work outdoors.  The next step is to print twenty sets of the drawings (I think there are about 30 sheets in total) and get them to the contractor.  I will keep you posted, of course.

In the meantime, have a happy day!

"When Harry Met Sally" - - noTTafarm Style

Friday, March 16th was a particularly beautiful day with highs in the low 80s and a nice breeze...certainly not typical for Omaha in mid-March!  Once we got home from work, Scott and I decided to treat Leo to a little outdoors time.

 Leo loves rolling around on the concrete!

Little did we know that "danger" was lurking nearby . . . 

 Yikes!  It's Bibbers!

Leo and Bibbers had heretofore only spied on each other through the windows.  We were nervous about what may transpire if they ever met nose-to-nose.  

Leo seemed to take the subservient role right away, showing his famous "splayed leg" pose to his new buddy.  They mostly just stared at each other, with a few low growls here and there.  

After about 10 minutes of this type of re-positioning, there was a brief chase and a tiny scuffle...and then Leo decided it was time to go inside.

This encounter may not lead to a lasting love story but we do hope that Leo continues to learn how to be a good part-time outdoor cat.

Quite an Adventure for Our Two Orange Kitties!

Springing Ahead at noTTafarm

Signs of Spring have arrived!  

The daffodils and crocus are popping up around the yard, and tiny slivers of green grass are beginning to show.  With a forecast of 70+ degree days this coming week, we are anxious to get outside and enjoy our beautiful home.  Scott continues to work on the construction drawings for the addition but he plans on being finished by mid-week.  Hopefully, next weekend's posts will return to their former glory with some details about something more interesting than the grass turning green.

Stay Tuned for More!

Planning Moves into Overdrive

On Friday, March 2, Scott and I met with our general contractor, Terry, to discuss the planning progress.  As you know, Scott has been working day and night on the construction drawings.  His hard work paid off; Terry was impressed with the level of detail Scott presented.  The next step is:  more drawing!  Scott needs to create an electrical plan, a site plan, and button-up some other loose ends over the next two weeks.

Once the plans are done to Terry and Scott's satisfaction, Terry will hold a pre-bid meeting for his subcontractors.  They'll present their best bids, Terry will work up a final cost, and then file for a building permit.  As we stand now, the groundbreaking could take place as early as mid-May!

Stay Tuned for More News!

noTTafarm Design is a Team Effort

Scott may be an experienced architect but he knows his limits . . . so he asked our friend, Amy B., to pitch in on some HVAC and plumbing design for the new addition.  As you loyal blog readers know, Amy and her husband Monte are true friends of noTTafarm and have helped us with such "fun" tasks as demolition and moving.   She is figuring out the heating and cooling loads, and sizing the ductwork . . . real "engineer-y" stuff.  Lucky for us, we trapped her during her maternity leave just as she was getting bored with taking care of a 7-week old baby - so she is willing and able to help.

Scott and I took a field trip to Amy's home so he could talk through a few details.

 Of course, the best part of our trip was getting to see Brenna and Tripp!   Brenna is anxious to come visit noTTafarm again, and bring her baby brother along.

Stay Tuned for More Design Progress!

While You Are Waiting . . .

Believe me.  I understand how bored you are with the blog.  Not much is happening around here so there's not much to blog about!  The great news is that Scott is concentrating on finishing the construction drawings for the new addition.  He is right on track to meet his deadline (imposed by his boss, ME!) of February 29th.  I hope he is willing to share some elevations and floor plans with you soon.  But, in the meantime, I thought it might be fun to share some

Never Before Published Photos of noTTafarm!

August, 2010 Sunset 

It won't be long until we can once again enjoy the beautiful great outdoors!

August, 2010 Building the Fire Ring

Carl rounded up a bunch of concrete blocks and before you knew it our fire pit was born.  We've certainly made great use of it!  We will, however, have to reposition it since our new garage will take over part of this space.

 September, 2010

Our first Labor Day at noTTafarm was special because my folks, Ray and Jolene, and lovely niece Lauren Jo visited from Kearney.  We girls hung out in the beautiful sunshine while Scott and Daddy took down a couple of dead pine trees.

September, 2010 Hammock Time

I miss those hazy days of summer - when I get to sit around in my hammock and watch Scott work in the yard.  Summer of 2011 was too full of gnats to enjoy so perhaps this coming summer will give more opportunities to be comfortably lazy.

 September, 2010 Attic Check

Scott took a peek into the attic...a space he got to know pretty well over the following year.  Lucky for him, the attic has been cleaned out and re-insulated so he shouldn't need to visit again any time soon.

September, 2010 Corn Crib Clean Out

We spent a grimy, humid day in the corn crib, cleaning out debris.

October 2010 Goofing Around

When Scott graded the area around the corn crib, he pushed his 1951 Willys into the yard.  I think it may have been my suggestion for him to pretend to pull it with his teeth.

October 2010 A View from the Roof

Scott went up on the house to clean out the gutters so he took a few photos.  I love this one of the barn and windmill.

March, 2011 Blocking

Scott and Carl figure out some blocking for the bathroom floor from the powder room below.

April, 2011 Reel Mower

Did I ever tell you that Scott dug an old mower out of the grass near the combine?  He towed it and parked it in front of the barn.  What are we supposed to do with this?  He wants to restore it, of course.  My ideas involve the use of a scrap metal guy.

August, 2011 Flowers

Do any of you know what these flowers are?  I have only seen them in bloom at noTTafarm.

Until We Have an Actual Adventure, Stay Tuned!