Dad pressed 120 lbs of apples this weekend and got
about 4 gallons of cider.  I'm a good helper because I love fruit and I can keep the floor clean.  I've been grazing apples, plums, and pears for months now.  They can be unripe or rotten--I eat them all!!  Unfortunately I have to go poo in the middle of the night, so the folks are hoping the fruit stops dropping soon!  Osker doesn't eat as many fruits and veggies as I do.  He's more of a carnivore.

We had a flooring guy help us get the wood floor started.  He built a frame around the slate on the hearth, then we snapped some lines and started laying the boards!!  It's sort of a back breaker.  Mom likens it to knitting; one row at a time.

 This week Dad drew an AutoCad picture of the flooring layout including the wood stove hearth so we'll know how all pieces will fit. Then he built a frame so Mom could set the slate flush with the wood floor.  The slate color is a little dark; our paw prints show!!  I'm sure we'll never hear the end of it!




Today we had our first fire in an insulated house!!

We installed the closet door and the cellar door (unfinished).  The cellar door should help keep the house warmer.

The windows got cleaned up this week too!  All the tape and mud was removed and sanded ready to be stained!


Osker's foot seems to be better.  Although there may be something in his foot, it's not slowing him down!

They finally took me to the secret swimming hole!  It's on Elk Creek across the road and is deep and wide.  I can jump into deep water right from the side.  It was wonderful!

This was the last of the primed, yellow hardiboard!  The khaki color at the bottom is not much different but the house and garage look so much better!

 My human sister, Erin, came over last weekend and helped Mom finish painting the interior walls!!  Mom sprayed and Erin rolled.  This past week Mom got the ceilings rolled with a flat paint.

Osker has a foxtail in his paw.  The doctor poked around but couldn't find it.  Now it's swollen.  He has to soak his paw several times a day.  He has to stay inside this weekend and I have to babysit.

 The house is painted!!!  Still some trim pieces to cut, paint, and nail up, but that can wait a year, right??!!!

We've had some 32 deg mornings.  The garden frosted, but the walnut trees in the foreground of this picture haven't been hit yet.

 Mom got the hardibacker cut and layed down in the bathrooms.  Now it needs hundreds of nails hammered in.  The guy who is making the bathroom cabinets is almost ready to install, so this underlayment had to be done even though there is no plan yet for type of tiles or shower stalls!!!

Dad and Mom are trying to finish the T&G over the garage/shop so that the last piece of siding can be put up, so that the front side can be painted!!!

 Osker helped Grandpa paint.  They didn't really want me to help because of my tail...

Three sides of the house are caulked and painted!  Only the south side (front) to go.

 Dad and Grandpa got the garage south gable, sided and painted!  We think this is the last job with scaffolding.

Grandma and Grandpa headed back east on the train. We'll miss Grandpa's help and Grandma's cookies!!

Both chickens are molting.  They no longer have tail feathers!!  Zambit looks really ugly.  Hopefully the new feathers grow in soon!

 Mom was getting all excited about the interior, but reality hit, and Dad and Grandpa convinced her to finish the outside before the rain starts.  So we finished the soffett, siding, caulking, and painting the north and east sides of the garage.

Then Grandpa and Mom finished siding the north side of the house.  Mom has it taped and caulked ready for paint.

Dad and Grandpa have finished the soffett on the south side of the garage and are working on the siding which includes lots of "tricky" cuts around the breezeway roof.

Chicken note:  Wonkette finally stopped brooding.  We put a blue ice pack in the nesting box!!  That stopped her from sitting there in one day!

 Grandma and Grandpa are visiting!  Grandpa is helping backroll paint. We got the garage side done, and have the first coat done in the house.  It's a  very subtle color, snow down.

Grandma feeds us cookies when we sit and are gentle.

Zambit has decided to become sociable.  She has been joining us for cocktail hour.  She likes Triscuits!!