My 20 hours labor at the Duck

My days start early at the Duck. i usually wake up with the sun and go and get started before it gets too hot. i had some yard work on my list for this trip so i tackled that early. about 8 o'clock i went and picked up Jim from the beast so he could start his list. i trimmed these bushes back to the fence so the yard guy could get his mower closer to the fence. and there was a large pile of trash there that i picked up also. filled 6 trash bags. looks much better. the little yappy dog next door was not happy with me. hahahahaha

And i picked up the last of the plaster that i had dumped in this nook. i cart it home and dump it in a hole that i am filling at the farm.

I put some brown paint on the trim around the back door. makes the siding look even dirtier.

And painted the trim on the window on this back porch, too.

Got some brown paint on the trim around the front door. i had to be brave and get the ladder out to do the very top. i don't like that because the ladder has to rest on the steps and i am a chicken.

I came back the next day and didn't like the white trim around the door when i drove up...so i painted it all brown...i like it better. once the new windows get in and the siding spruced up...it will be better yet. While i was painting out there....wasps kept flying into a hole under the concrete ledge on the right side step. i was keeping my eye on them. there is some Raid in their future if they are still there the next time. i plan on buiding a little porch there from about the end of the mailbox to the corner of the house. maybe about 6' out. then put wooden steps and a railing. this is too awkward from the steps right into the inside...there is a high step. and that ugly mailbox and numbers are going, too.

I also painted the ledge under the windows and around the house. i intended to step on the top of the flower bed there to paint it....but it was wobbly. so i got the bright idea to paint it from inside. i hung out the windows and painted as far as i could stretch. then took a milk crate outside to do the very corner and stood on the steps to do the part by the door. i will go around the house on the other side, too.....maybe next time.  you know....now that i look at the pictures....i think i will paint all that gray concrete stuff dark brown, too. the siding will be painted a light tan/sand color. then i'll paint the porch to match the siding. what do you think?

This is the ceiling on the front entry...that used to be a porch that the former owner enclosed. those are staples up there...with bits of ceiling tiles attached. i tackled that early one morning, too.

Now it just needs a bit of scraping and caulk and is ready to paint.

I also cleaned up around the ceiling in the bedroom. i had left nails in the rafters and a few slats at the top....so i took care of those.  and pulled nails around the perimeter of the rooms once again. when i cleaned all the debris out from between the studs i found more nails to pull. it never seems to end.

And our girl, SuzyQ, went with us also. she really wasn't happy about it though. sometimes she came to the Duck with us and sometimes she stayed at the beast with my sister. i think she liked staying at the beast better....there was a couch and bed to lay on. LOL   the Duck was just dusty. although we brought her quilt for her to lay on...she just followed us around and laid down wherever we were. she got a shower when we got home. and she is 8 years old today...so happy birthday Suzy. she is getting gray hair on her chin....we probably stress her out. LOL

I ordered 7 new windows on this trip, so in a couple weeks i will have to go down and take delivery of those. and i have started my new list of things to do...a lot of it is painting.

And i am working on figuring out how much drywall i will need and insulation. that might be work for september or october....when it gets cooler.

Maybe next time there will be pretty pictures to see.....and i will show you

Later

Jane and Laurie

Last night i glued some applique blocks together for the Dear Jane quilt....and this morning i machine appliqued them down. i did three...

B2

B3

and, C11

I am trying not to put the same color side by side....but am not doing too good at it. in the first row i have 3 or 4 browns next to each other. and now i have done B2 and B3 both in browns. sheesh!!   that is one reason i decided to start doing them in order....so each block would be a different color.....it doesn't seem to be working out yet. i better pay more attention.

This is what i am working on now.....a beautiful blue and white quilt from my friend, Laurie..

She always does a great job....

I'll show you the whole thing when i am finished with it....i just started yesterday. it is a pattern that my friend, Marilea, designed. it is called For My Sister, Jewel, Who Loves to Dance. all the different blocks have names of different dances.

This morning i went out while it was still cool.....about 6am.....and finished trimming up the trees so we can get the riding mower under them without getting whacked by a branch. every year i go around and whack off the lower branches. .... but they all just grow back. why doesn't the tree just grow taller and quit putting out those lower branches?  we have a hissy fit every year .... me and those trees..... but i am determined to win. LOL

I still have more yardwork to do....perhaps tomorrow morning. it took 2 hours to tame the trees today. maybe i'll tackle some flower bed weeds tomorrow.

But right now.......back to Jewel.

Before and After

Thought i would show you some of the outside progress on the Duck. there's not a LOT...but i think enough to get a start and possibly make the neighbors happier. LOL

This was a bush of some sort growing outside the bedroom window...along with vines coming into the house and a pile of weeds and crap.

This is what that corner looks like now. i still need to pull the roots out of there and rake up some. bet you didn't know the gas meter was in there...did you?

And the front was pretty rough....paper covering the doors and windows.....shrubs all overgrown over the steps....poor mailman....generally looking ghetto-like.

Now the paper covering windows and door are gone. i painted the inside of the door with white paint....from the outside it looks like there is just a white shade drawn....a little neater.

And i trimmed off the side of that shrub that was all over the steps. the mailman had to hate crawling all over that thing. eventually all those shrubs will be gone.

And near to the street was this other large bush-like plant growing. i didn't like it at all.

Now it is just down to a few trunks that will come out....maybe next trip. there were sticker bushes in there.....and some kind of vines....and some flowers....and a whole rotten trunk full of ants that i'm thinking was the original tree from years ago.

In the side yard was a raised garden type thing with boards around it....full of weeds and who knows what. you can see it there in the very left of the picture....that taller pile of weeds. LOL

The boards are now gone...along with the weeds. i found a tomato cage in there....a nice flower pot....and 2 little hand diggers.  the dirt there is about 6 inches higher than the yard. not sure if i will just spread that out or put a flower bed there. i'm thinking i want to put a water pond on that side....closer to the bedroom window.

I did do a bit of work inside. i opened up part of the wall between the bedroom and the studio. i still have to pick up all the plaster on the floor in there before i can take the rest of the slats off and get rid of the blown in insulation behind it. and the next trip i have to get on the ladder and take down the slats at the top.

And i took off more slats in the living room. and spent some time sweeping up the floors and putting all the debris in the middle of the room.

You can see that i painted these windows white also. it is easier with paint than with paper. it still prevents nosy nellies from seeing in but allows me to open windows easier and not have to keep replacing paper that falls off.

So, although i just spent one day and it didn't SEEM like i accomplished a lot....in fact, i actually did.

I really need some electric connection so i can plug in a fan or 2...it is getting warm in there.

Be back out in a couple weeks.....after my head injury feels better.