The Missouri Journal by Mark Chenail


The Missouri Journal by Mark Chenail continued page 9
JULY 12, 2001, THURSDAY I awoke at dawn after a good night's rest by a tremendous thunderstorm and pouring rain. Good thing I covered up all the concrete before bed! Wheeza is pining for her Jonny, but we will survive. Jeff came by about 9:30 to chat and I spent the morning keeping house and baking a nice oatmeal fruit bannock and a big pot of chicken soup. Spent the afternoon wiring the little bunk room. Wet and cloudy with a bit of sun. Matt brought me some milk and will come tomorrow to help me set the posts. With luck, we can set the main beams and joists on Saturday and start the decking. We might have most of the framing done by Monday night or Tuesday and can leave Jeff to frame the roof. I wish Jon and I could stay longer but there's no way. I hope I can get the whole structure closed in by Thanksgiving and snow fly. Money may be tight, but we can try. Quiet night of reading and so to bed. JULY 13,2001, FRIDAY Despite the inauspicious day, its bright, sunny, and cool. Matt arrived at 9 a.m. and work has really begun. We had to use his pickup to move and shift the main 5x5x16' posts, as they weigh a ton. We got all the posts moved, set and, trued up by 2 p.m. when Matt had to leave to help with the milking. It's starting to look like a house now. You can sort of see the basic shape. Twelve foot ceilings will be quite adequate, really grand. I'm gonna take a short break now and then do the cement. Hoooorrrrraaaaaaaayyyyyyy!!!! Its started at last. Finished the concrete on the posts and cleared up by 6:30 p.m. Matt came back to admire our work and plan tomorrow's work. We should have the joists set and platform up by tomorrow night. A few posts are a bit out of true, but Jeff says we can bull them into line. Rustic old world look, hand hewn I said. Matt seemed to like the work and the wage ($10/hr) and he was worth every penny. A light supper and some reading and so to bed. JULY 14, 2001, SATURDAY, BASTILLE DAY Day Jon arrived last night around midnight, which was a nice surprise. Wheeza got all excited and Jon was impressed to see all the poles up. He brought me some nice shorts and a shirt. Spent the day framing the platform. We finished the dining room and started Jon's room, but lumberman shorted us on the joist order, only sent 8 14' joists instead of 18. Weather's pleasant and almost cool. Went into Lebanon for a good fish supper and some videos and so to bed. Previous Next 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35






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