More great progress, cold ahead

For the past two days Norman had spent his time helping me finish work on the container so that Mama and I can begin working out there for our crafting area. Yesterday I mentioned that we had used up all the materials I had bought to cover the walls with very little remaining in excess. Today, early in the day, we went to Lowe's to buy the French doors that would be installed in the opening of the container and all the trim boards that would be used to finish off the base of the walls. It took the rest of the morning to get the French door installed but it looks fantastic. What a blessing!

Mama came out several times to check on our progress and was absolutely delighted each time she came. We actually had to have her help in unloading the French doors because they are extremely heavy. As it turns out, the opening I framed out to put the doors in was significantly larger than what I needed – by about two inches each way. But we managed to seal that up with some spacers made from scraps we had lying about. It took a bit more and then two hours to install the doors. Once they were in place, leveled, and squared to the opening, Norman expertly secured them with some special hardware that he had just for that. It took a bit of time to install the door handle and the deadbolt and to make sure that the door closed and latched properly, but the whole project came out very well. Even with the little alterations we had to make to the hardwire.

Tomorrow Norman is planning to give me almost a full day tomorrow as well, in which we will install the base trim, trim out all the windows, and caulk the outside of the windows so that we can eliminate a lot of the leakage that I had in the last rainstorm we went through. As we sealed up the door today with foam, it was amazing the difference in sound inside the container. As shocking as it was when we had finished applying the acoustical insulation to the ceiling, it was equally shocking to hear how much sound was dampened by sealing up all the little crevices around the windows and the doors It will not only be much warmer in there because of that, but it is so much quieter.

Mama, Grandpa, Grandma, and Norman are going to pick up feed first thing in the morning. Normally, I would pick up the feed using my truck, but since we're not sure if the transmission is sound, I hesitate to make that trip. Norman is more than willing to use his truck for that run, especially since they can pick up milk from the dairy on their way home from picking up feed in Montague. 

While they are gone, I plan on spending some time prepping for the extremely cold weather we are going to start experiencing towards the end of this week. The forecast predicts that we will be in the single digits, approaching 0°F, by Monday night. It is difficult to prepare for that type of cold here in North Texas. Fortunately, the cold snap is only supposed to last for three nights; However, for those three days and nights we are not forecast to be above freezing. That is especially difficult for me and Mama as we try and provide water for all our animals. It happens every year, but fortunately it does not last long when it does happen. Because these freezing episodes are brief, it is not prudent to spend too much money on specialty equipment to handle the extreme cold. So, we use what we already have and make it work. 

Norman, who will have to stay home during those excessively cold days because he will not be able to work at any of the projects he is currently being paid to do, and Grandpa, who stays home every day, have promised to keep a fire burning fireplace round the clock during those cold days and nights. That is a blessing and problem. It is a blessing because it keeps the house warmer than it would be without the fireplace heating with that large room. A problem, because it inhibits the heat pump from running as often as it should to keep the rest of the house, particularly the bedrooms towards the back of the house, as warm as it would have if the fire had not warmed up that large living room.

It will all workout, and they will have fun keeping the fire burning 24/7. In preparation for that we're planning on spending Thursday evening, all day Friday, and a good portion of Saturday cutting and splitting firewood. We have three trees that have been felled on the property and seven more trees that need to be cut down before they fall down.

The reality of having a tree crash down on our buildings has hit us several times in the past two years and we're trying to avoid a repeat of that surprise for at least those trees that we think are suspect at this point. It would be better if we took the time to lay them over in a controlled manner than to allow the wind and storms to do that for us in a completely haphazard and unplanned way. We have not had any animals injured in the falling of these trees, and so far, only the duck pin roof was damaged by the last tree that fell, but one in the front of our house and one that sits very close to the barn are giving us cause for concern. So, they will be the first that we will trim out and layover as soon as possible.

It is certain we'll have enough firewood just from the trees that we already have laid down. They just need to be cut and split so that we can store the pieces in the area where we keep our firewood and have it ready keep our fire burning. It is it is a pleasure to live where we live, to have access to the property and the trees that we have access to, to have a fireplace we can warm the house with if we choose to. Not many people have these things and Mama and I try to remind ourselves constantly of how much we are blessed.

Thank you, Lord.