MONDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2007

Another beautiful morning in Origanna Woods. Spent the morning installing all the windows in the lower stair landing.  It looks absolutely wonderful, lots of light and adds great presence to the courtyard.  I can’t wait to see it lit at night.  Drove to Grovespring for more putty and nails and had a great lunch at the Café.  Huge taco salads and drinks, with fresh salsa and sour cream.  Less than 10 bucks for both of us.

Granny’s Café is in a remodeled garage, linoleum floors and mix and match tables and chairs.  There are lace curtains on the windows and gas wall heaters.  The kitchen looks like a home kitchen and not a commercial space at all.  The place would never pass code in a city, but the food and service are great.  They even have a little sliding window so they can serve ice cream and pop to the kids in town.

Returned home and built a small shed roof over the downstairs bay.  The house is beginning to look more and more like its original inspiration, Carl Larsson’s Sundborn.  Dan and I think a golden-fall-leaves yellow might be a good house color with white trim and falun red window cases and doors.  The Richie situation is not working out and we may have to send him back to Champaign.  He spends all his time hanging out at the Coopers and causing small incidents and I don’t need problems with the neighbors.  And he really hasn’t done a lick of work and is getting more and more sullen and vaguely violent. Far too interested in ninjas, pointy sticks, machetes, and random acts of destruction to inspire me with any sense of ease.  Dan is far more patient with him than I am. 

Today Richie took Mint to the Coopers and while there, he decided she had worms (she doesn’t) and medicated her.  I was NOT AMUSED and warned him off about ever doing it again.  I realize NOT considering consequences may be part of his psychosis, but there is a limit.  I don’t need the stress and had no intention of taking him to raise.  A quiet evening.  Chicken pot pie for supper and so to bed.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2007

Went to town early to do some banking and check email and such at the Library.  Brought along a huge pile of wash and ran into Ken & Joyce at the Laundromat.  Ken got the job at the Lebanon newspaper and will start next week and Joyce’s sister got word they have the contract on 5 acres down at Whitley Farm, down near Hartville, another of Neil Shelton’s developments.  Totally inspired by Ken and Joyce, they will be coming to live here as soon as they can sell their house in Ohio.   

I picked up groceries and other necessities.  When we came home, Dan and I began to build that icon of rural landscaping, the pallet fence, at the far end of the courtyard.

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 This isn’t our fence. I forgot to take a picture of ours, but this is a fine sample of the Genre and an inspiration  to us all. Notice how neatly it has been cobbed together and the care taken in using pallets that are all of the same shade of aged pine.  Most folks build their pallet fence willy-nilly without regard to the visual condition of the pallet.  I like the little stair step effect as it goes downhill and the care taken not to disturb the natural vegetation. Just wait until the daisies fill out.  This beauty is somewhere in Nova Scotia.

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It nicely hides the old shed and junk piles and we will put our composting piles back there as well. We put up a new clothes line as well.  Each day a little progress. Another rainy night so it was impromptu bath time all around and we have now gotten into the habit of putting out the wash tub and pails to catch rain water.  We need to get some barrels and start a rain water collection system like Denny, and the Ken and Joyce.  And so to bed.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2007

Dan and I got an early start and went to the Grove for breakfast on our way to Lucky Lumber down at Mansfield.  Café breakfast was enormous.  Dan had an order of French toast and a half-order of biscuits and gravy that would have sunk a ship.  It all came on a huge platter, mounded high and the half-order was enough for the two of us and a small dog.  Plus grits and Texas toast, scrambled egg, and sausage sandwich for me. And endless coffee.  Total cost …$8.79.  Value:  PRICELESS.

Despite my earlier vow never ever to do business with Lucky Lumber again (see early chapters), everyone told me that they have improved enormously, so we drove down to Mansfield to have a look and take another chance.  Very glad Dan and I wore our manly seed caps and dirty jeans and didn’t shave, as Lucky Lumber has got to be the “BUTCHEST” lumber yard I’ve ever seen in all my life.  I swear you could smell the testosterone in the air and we got a bit of attitude, until they realized I wasn’t just some old retired city slicker out for a bargain.  I know a hawk from a handsaw, as they say, and I can dish lumber with the best of them. 

We certainly gained points when we started loading it into the Oldsmobile.  We were obviously not the fastidious sort who think you need a truck to haul things.  The boys in the yard pitched right in, happy to see how much weight our old bus would take.  We bought 18 sheets of ½ inch T1-11 at $16/sheet, way less than the going price in Illinois, 5 sheets of bead board for the porch ceiling and some corrugated metal so we can close up the chimney shafts temporarily and keep out the rain.  $417.00 total, but this will make the house look nearly finished from the road.  High time, too!  We drove out of the yard riding a bit low and loaded to the gunwales, but we got home safely. 

Unfortunately when we got home, we discovered that Wheeza had disappeared.  She wasn’t pleased that we wouldn’t take her in the car as she loves to ride.  Johnny says she was down at Gracie’s Store earlier, but he had shooed her back up the road toward our house.  We searched all over and no sign of her and Richie ,of course, tells three different stories.  Hopefully she is out in the woods teaching us a lesson and will come home at supper time.

Dan installed ceiling rafters in the porch and started to put up bead board and siding. Looking really, really good.  By Sunday, we should look down right respectable.  Steve and Steve, Jr. showed up with their chain saw and managed to get the oak tree partly cut away so that it isn’t quite so dangerous, but their chainsaw went wonky too, so the oak is still there and in the way.  OAK: 2... CHAINSAWS: 0.  Maybe the third try will be the charm.  Johnny & his family are going to take a whack at it tomorrow.

We drove around at dusk, looking and calling for Wheeze.  No one’s seen her and we didn’t find her anywhere.  I’m so afraid that as old and stiff as she is, that she is down somewhere and hurt.  But Duchess seems as clueless and concerned as we are about her Mama Wheeza and I think if Wheeza was hurt, Duchess would have found her and brought us to her.  Duchess just sits on the porch and looks sad, waiting on her Mama.  I sure hope she is okay and she comes home or we find her.  Said a little prayer, passed the word to the neighbors and trust in the Lord.  Time will tell and so to bed, a little triste.