Mike's Tree

I sometimes feel like I am planting trees under whose shade I may never sit.  That's a part of growing old.  It's a part of understanding the uncertainty of our days.  It's a gifting for the future.  I think of my children and grandchildren when I plant a tree.  Our long term goal is to leave a substitute "lake house" for them.  (Our children will understand the allusion.)

But digging holes here on the mountain is always a challenge.  A hole like the one to the left can easily take an hour or more.  There are stones which have wedged in together sideways and any other way the water table may move them. There is a prying, and leverage, a heavy lifting at times that almost defies understanding, at least for those of us less used to this loamy type of soil.

Today I planted two trees.  We usually wait until Martin's Landscaping has their end of the season "Buy One Get One Half Off" sale and pick up two.  We also have taken to planting trees in memory of departed loved ones, friends, and/or neighbors.  

This hole belongs to a Crimson King Maple, that wonderfully shaped, deep purple leafed kind. (And "no" it was not named after the rock group King Crimson for you twisted musicians.) This particular specimen has lost most of its leaves at this point in the season, but it will remind me of one at the end of 3450th Rd, Waltham, IL on a lot owned by Charles Hagenbuch, a lot I always wanted to own and build a home on.  And it will be a reminder of a beloved family and congregation.

But there is also the occasional surprise in digging these holes (as I also have previously reported).  This time there was a stone that barely showed above the ground.  It was only slightly raised above the surface so I never dug it up.  The mower passed over it with inches to spare on clearance. And it was only 10 inches or so in diameter, or so...BUT...

After three hours of digging and prying, and sliding, I managed to get this multiple hundreds of pounds stone out of the ground, proving yet again, that "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!" There were two pieces of motivation for me in this endeavor. 1. I'm stubborn and stupid. And 2. This tree's placement was important.  This was where the Scarlet Oak was going for Mike.  My "neighbor Mike" (as my grandson referred to him) recently passed and his friendship needed to be recognized.  He was a man of few words, one who largely kept to himself, but a man's man, the kind of man that normal men like.  And his dad used to own the piece of ground on which we live. So, MIKE GETS A TREE!  It will look onto his property.  His horses will graze in the background. And, hopefully, it will be a reminder and an encouragement to his wife, Carol, his sister Sue, and his children as they turn up the hill to the house.  Here's to you Mike - Soli Deo Gloria!

 

Not Quite Done But... pt 2

When last we visited we were not quite done.  There was still the issue of the entry areas and we were considering just getting some peel and stick tiles to put down until we could find what we wanted.  

But at a visit to a home center type store to shop for said peel-n-sticks we found an interesting possibility that we both instantly agreed on.  It was cheap, functional, and the color scheme worked. After an hour's wait (no kidding it took an hour to get someone to cut four linear feet of 12 foot wide floor product, so y'all now know which home good store we're talking about) . Anywho, as my mother used to say, we left the store with glue, the indoor outdoor carpet and a few other items.  

So after a bit of a fitful start and a few wrong turns I got the front entry way piece laid and was all set to frame it in when my grandson showed up ready to help the old man. (James is always ready to play with tools and to do "hard work.")

The trim was cut from the rough cut white pine I secured from Jake West at West Branch Lumber in Morris, IL and shaped, stained, oiled and set.

And the front entry way was completed just in time for a couple of bowls of Pop's Ham and Bean soup and one of Grammy's Grilled Cheese sandwiches.  A perfect lunch for a cool day and a couple of "hard workers."

The afternoon sped by and short work was made of the back entry way.  James was pleased to be able to take a seat and admire his hard work before Dad whisked him away to pick up Mommy from work.  A good job done well.

And so now the old man gets to get back to work on the kitchen which was supposed to be done by Sept 30.  

"Deadlines are more like ideas." [Kris Kaufman]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not Quite Done But...

...you get the idea.

The flooring project is largely complete at this point.  We still have the entry ways to attend to and some baseboard moulding to attach but we have been able to place the rugs and move the furniture into place making things a lot less cluttered.

We started by laying the rough cut planks in place and screwing them down as you can see in the picture at the left.The patina that developed through the outdoor air drying really added a nice touch. Even though some of the coloration was lost in the sanding process the results were just what we had hoped for.  In this style of flooring application there are notable gaps, not large but the planks, because they are rough cut, are intended to maintain a certain rustic appearance, a look we enjoy.

Once that was accomplished we set to staining and oiling.  We ended up using the same stain that we used on the exterior of the house, the Ready Seal stain I've really come to like. For the finish we used Boiled Linseed oil cut 50/50 with paint thinner for ease of rolling.  I just used a standard 3/8" roller cover and applied three coats, allowing for 24 hours of drying time between the coats and another 3 days before setting the rugs and furniture in place.  This meant moving the furniture from one side of the house to another (a couple of times) as well as filling the spare bedroom (what our grandson calls the Bible Study) with cabinets and a whole assortment of things). The final look was a matte finish which while providing less protection will allow the floor to age more quickly.  Since we used White Pine, the flooring will scuff, mar, divot and otherwise appear more rustic sooner.  (Some folks actually take hammers and chains to mark the floor before staining!)

 

 (click on pictures to enlarge)

But the final look works.  Again, our hope is to provide a more primitive or rustic cabin type appearance and I think we've done it. 

Now back to the kitchen shelving...