TODAY THE MUD WENT ON THE HOUSE:))

THE BOYS GOT THE FIRST COATING OF MUD ON TODAY
In prepping the house for stucco it was necessary to take off many old pieces of broken dried wood here & there.  Some of it dating back to the late 50’s I’m sure.  My first chore this morning was to get a fire going in the pit & burn up all that scrap lumber lying about.  And, it twas a fine morning for doing that too.  Think we got up to 80F today:))

FINISHING UP THE LAST STYROFOAM & WIRING
 
THE RAISED FRAME AROUND THE WINDOW IS CALLED A ‘POP-OUT’

Little Motormouse is definitely improving but is still picky about what she eats.  Gobbled down some more hamburger for breakfast & this afternoon Kelly scrambled an egg with some chicken & she ate that.  Turned up her nose at tinned Salmon.  Kelly poached up some chicken this afternoon & that worked too:))  I am beginning to think this may have just been a ploy by the Mouse to get herself switched over to Yummy human food & off that bland doggy food stuff.  D’ya think.  We thank all our readers for care shown & the many food suggestions for Cora.  Definitely seen further improvement in her this afternoon when she was outside again ripping & tearing around assuming her position as, Big Boss Dog:))

 
A CONTENTED LITTLE MOUSE AFTER FINALLY EATING A SUBSTANTIAL SUPPER
I did manage to flood our laundry room & part of the kitchen this morning.  Decided to fill up the hot water tank but never thought to close the little check valve thingy on top of the tank.  When the tank filled up, the water just kept on a coming right up & out through a fitting.  Luckily one of the workers heard a Niagara Falls sound coming from the house & alerted us.  Also fortunate is that there are few level floors anywhere so the water just kind of troughed it’s way to the back door where I was able to swoosh it right into the back yard with a broom.  Also turned on the electric this morning & all wall sockets & lights worked, including the stove.  Bonus.
 
THE STUCCO MIXING MACHINE
We were back to the house about 12:30 & the boys started putting the mud on the house shortly after.  It’s really called Stucco but they just call it mud.  Interesting to see them trowel it on by hand.  Two guys doing the trowling with the other fella mixing up the mud in a big mixer & wheel barrowing it to where the trowlers are working.  They weren’t long in covering the walls with a dark army green mud.

THE VERY FIRST SWATCH OF MUD GOES ON THE HOUSE

 
Kelly & I headed off to Wickenburg this morning.  Her black & blue ankle is coming along better but she still can’t push the hard clutch in on the Jeep.  We’re getting to be known at the Hardware & Paint Stores for sure.  On the way to town Kelly spotted an ‘Estate Sale’ sign so we burned up some rubber pulling a U-turn & heading back.  Estate, garage, & yard sales have suddenly become important once again in our lives.  Came out of there with our first piece of furniture for the house…a $20 solid wooden end table.  Groovy:))
 
THE WIRED UP POP OUT IS READY FOR SOME STUCCO
After the hardware store for a floor mop & some lighting fixtures it was off to Safeway for groceries followed by another trip to the paint store.  We’re having quite a tussle with ourselves over these kitchen cupboard door colors.  Photo below shows one drawer with a Peach trim & one door with an Aloha Sunset trim…same as our walls.  Trying to decide which way to go.  Center gray color is called ‘Dry Creek.’  Any suggestions??  In the morning I will make up my mind & carry on with one or the other.  A quick stop at the ‘Treasure Chest’ store netted us a lamp for $15.

So nice to be focused on a constructive project again. I thrive on certain types of change & this creative house & property adventure is right up my alley. Just as excited about our Arizona place as I was when we moved to Bayfield back in October of 2002. Just as excited as I was when we moved into the old tumble down farm house in the country back in the mid 90’s. And just as exciting as each & every RV we have bought over the years. Especially the Motorhome we have now. So great to be excited about something again. Oh, & then there was the greatest excitement of all back in the summer of 1993…….meeting Kelly:))  Now, that was  EXCITING!!

 
Remember the nice cactus plants Kelly bought a few weeks ago at the annual North Ranch yard sale?  I planted them in a temporary spot in the back yard with intentions of replanting them in a permanent location in the Fall.  Well, those dam Javelina’s got into our back yard last night & destroyed one of them & chewed off part of a third!!!!!!!!!!!  Our yard is vulnerable to Coyotes & Javelina’s because of an old over grown fence in our backyard with many holes in it.  It is impossible to fix.  Both Javelina’s & Coyotes are very dangerous for Pheebs & Motor plus ourselves as well.  For sure we are going to have to have new Coyote & Javelina proof fencing put in.  One of our priority projects in the Fall.  Luckily we have a lot fencing already here that can be used for that project.

 
THESE GUYS REALLY KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING 
‘Black Tank’ topics are always good for Happy Hour topics. (for those of you who like that ‘Happy Hour’ stuff)  WHEELING IT has a good post on how easy it is to keep your black tank functioning properly.  We never rely on or bother with our sensors but we do use the same method of Dawn dish detergent & Calgon water softener to keep our tank from crudding up.  Of course we had to learn all this the hard way in the early days:((  

WE INTEND TO CHANGE THAT ROOF COLOR AS WELL
I had mentioned awhile back about the possibility of leaving our Motorhome in Arizona now that we have a piece of property big enough to do that.  However, we have become aware of a problem in storing any kind of vehicle.  Pack Rats!!  We have talked to people here who have absolute horror stories about what has happened to their vehicles.  In fact I was just talking to Doby about this problem Thursday morning.  His Motorhome wiring was destroyed by nesting Pack Rats.  Pack Rats get up into vehicles & chew on wiring, gas & hydraulic lines, etc.  It’s a very real problem here in Arizona & especially for vehicles sitting dormant for any length of time.  Always something to mess up man’s plans eh!!
 
KEEP IN MIND THIS IS ONLY THE FIRST COAT OF UNPAINTED STUCCO
Kcgaz from ADVENTURES OF A 50 YEAR OLD joined the Bunch Wednesday as another one of our many Blog Followers.  Check out their problems with a couple tire monitoring systems.  Sounds like there is someone else out there besides me who runs into problems with mechanical stuff like that all the time.

THE BACK OF THE HOUSE WILL BE MUDDED UP FRIDAY
So nice to be focused on a constructive project again.  I thrive on certain types of change & this creative house & property adventure is right up my alley.  Just as excited about our Arizona place as I was when we moved to Bayfield back in October of 2002.  Just as excited as I was when we moved into the old tumble down farm house in the country back in the mid 90’s.  And just as exciting with each & every RV we have bought over the years.  Especially the Motorhome we have now.  So great to be excited about something again.  Oh, & then there was the greatest excitement of all back in the summer of 1993…….meeting Kelly:))

PHEEBS LOVES HER READY MADE SAND PILE  
GROANER’S CORNER:((  A politician was running for re-election and was talking at a campaign stop to his constituents.
"My opponent has called me a liar. Rest assured, I have never lied to you. The only problem I have is that the facts don't always match up with what I believe."
- Will - Why do you water your lawn with whisky?
Bill - So that it comes up half-cut.
- Middle age is when you choose your cereal for the fiber, not the toy.
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- Tourists see the world, travelers  experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right  now...AL.
stargeezerguy@gmail.com

TAKING ADVANTAGE OF A SITUATION BY SEIZING THE OPPORTUNITY PRESENTED

A LOAD OF SAND FOR MIXING UP THE STUCCO THURSDAY

My biggest challenge today was in just simply trying to stay awake:((  Our day began in earnest about 7:30 when Doby & the crew rolled in from Wickenburg.  They didn’t waste any time & were hard at work on the house right from the get go.  Still cold in these parts that early in the morning so makes sense to get busy & keep warm.  I am sooooo glad I do not have to be a part of that early morning workforce any more.

If it were not for a medical appointment on April 10th we would stay longer but looks like we will have to start making tracks to the Northeast sometime around the end of the month.  That is less than two weeks from now.  Awwwwww nuts!!  Can you imagine what our 2,300 mile gas bill will be to get a 33’ Motorhome back to Canada at today’s fuel prices will be….Yikes!!  Could a smaller more fuel efficient RV be in the Bayfield Bunch’s future somewhere??

OUR VERY OWN ON SITE BUILDING INSPECTOR

Glen Miller, Benny Goodman, & tunes from the 40’s Big Band era did the trick for me today.  Still working away on those kitchen cupboard colors.  I’m beginning to have Technicolor nightmares.  I think we have finally come up with something but we’ll need an additional quart of ‘Dry Creek’ paint & a lot of patience to carefully do the trim part on the cupboard doors.  For some strange reason I do seem to have patience for that sort of thing.  I know, it don’t make no darn sense to me neither.

 

WE ARE SO FORTUNATE TO HAVE THIS GREAT NATURAL WALKING, HIKING, & CLIMBING AREA JUST A BLOCK BEHIND US

Today the El Stucco boys nailed all the mesh (chicken wire) around the house & tomorrow I think they may begin mixing up & putting on some actual stucco.  I’m curious to see how that is all done & suspect it is the wire mesh which holds that stucco together & strengthens it while hardening.  The Stucco does not go on with it’s finished brown adobe color though.  It is gray & has to be painted once the stucco has set & cured.  The stucco actually has to be repeatedly wetted down so Kelly & I will spend the weekend watering the house.  It will then be ready for paint on Monday. 

To answer a few reader’s questions….We want to have some of the house basics in place before we leave for Canada shortly so we have had to take some chances, cut some corners & take advantage of the situation by seizing the opportunity presented.

 

GOING TO BE A BIG STYROFOAM CLEAN UP

Little Motor continues to slowly improve with each passing day.  Still refuses to eat most everything so it’s a hit & miss thing we are going through right now finding out what she will eat.  Tonight she couldn’t get enough of my hamburger meat.  Yesterday she wanted Kelly’s scrambled eggs.  Still  not quite her old self but she is definitely better than a few days ago when I thought for sure we were going to lose her by the week-end.

HANG IN THERE MOM & DAD, I’M STARTING TO FEEL A LITTLE BETTER EACH DAY

GROANER’S CORNER:((  My husband's skills with do-it-yourself home repairs are at best mediocre.
After spending several evenings trying to fix a leak in the bathroom, he finally admitted defeat and called a plumber, who finished the job in ten minutes.
Watching him put away his equipment, my son asked what had been the problem.
"Well," the plumber replied, "seems that your father got hold of some tools..."

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- Tourists see the world, travelers  experience it.

- Home is where your pet is:))

- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right  now...AL.
stargeezerguy@gmail.com

OUR STUCCO JOB BEGAN THIS MORNING & IS WELL UNDERWAY:))

IT WAS A MUDDY WORLD WE HAVE BEEN LIVING IN FOR A COUPLE DAYS

A sigh of relief this morning looking out to see no new snow on the ground.  Enough is enough is enough already!!  We don’t need no more gol darn mud going on.  Grrrrreat to see clear blue sunny skies again knowing the day’s hot sun will dry things up right quick:))

 

PHEEBS CHECKS OUT A RIDER WITH 2 HORSES GOING BY

Well, it was a busy morning we had ourselves again.  As mentioned previously, we made the decision to have our ‘cowboy constructed’ rough & tumble house exterior done in stucco.  That process began this morning.

Doby & two workers showed up at 8 o’clock & got right to work first unloading a truck full of materials.  Soon it was the sounds of hammers & Spanish.  Doby’s two young helpers are both Mexican fellas & it was interesting to hear them speaking back & forth as they worked.

DOBY EXPLAINS TO KELLY WHAT THEY WILL BE DOING

  

I busied myself first thing smoothing out the pile of dirt from the septic tank repair.  Sure am putting a lot of miles on MIKE'S garden rake that he lent me a week ago.  The orange Kubota digger machine had left tread tracks in the rain soaked muddy ground Monday as well so I had to get that all smoothed out before the sun got up & baked the ground back to it’s normal hardened self.

EVEN HAD TO RAKE OUT THESE KUBOTA TRACKS BEFORE THE SUN BAKED THE GROUND ROCK HARD

Kelly & I headed into Wickenburg about 10 & made 3 quick stops.  Hardware store, Safeway & the paint store where we went over a bunch of paint charts & got ourselves back on track with our kitchen color scheme.  With ‘Aloha Sunset’ on the walls we picked up a quart of ‘Bronzed Orange’ for the kitchen cabinet frame.  Haven’t decided on what color combination I will do the cabinet doors yet but there might be some ‘Dry Creek’ in there somewhere.

HAVE TO NEXT FIGURE OUT WHAT TO DO WITH THESE DOORS

We were back home before noon & noticed how beautiful the snow covered Weaver Mountains looked on the way.  It may be temporarily warmer back home than here right now but surrounded by beautiful Arizona scenery we are quite happy to be right here where we are:))

DOBY CHECKS OUT THE COLOR OF A NEIGHBOR’S HOUSE HE DID A FEW YEARS AGO

Surprised at how much Doby & his workers had done by the time we were back from town.  Very efficient crew & they expect to have the stucco job completed by Friday.  Interesting process with today being stage one putting sheets of three quarter inch Styrofoam insulation around the entire house.

JUST THE STYROFOAM ALONE IMPROVES THE HOUSE  A HUNDRED PERCENT

I again spent my afternoon dangling off the end of a paint brush & was musically accompanied by Marty Robbins, Roy Orbison, Simon & Garfunkel, Crosby Stills & Nash, & The Everly Brothers along with a whole host of other 60’s artists.  Definitely was another great trip down Memory Lane for me.  Oh & what a colorful memory it is too…….:))

 

DOBY TACKLES THE ROUGHEST WALL OF THE HOUSE

We think the Motormouse made a bit of progress today.  Although still basically shunning food she did enthusiastically gobble down some more hamburger.  Even got her to drink some Pedialyte as suggested by readers.  She still has no interest in dog food.  Barked a couple times at workers going by & came out twice for a walk around the property.  She is looking a little more perkier but still not back to her feisty self.  Until her appetite returns we will not relax our concerns.

 

THESE GUYS ARE FAST EFFICIENT WORKERS

It was good that we had the heavy rains a couple nights ago because it showed us where the two leaks in the house roof are.  Definitely going to have to make arrangements to have those 2 spots repaired.  Fortunately, Doby & the crew are adept at all repairs, renovations, etc.

 

A BIG INSULATION  IMPROVEMENT FOR SURE

I like Chinle’s Raven photo over at SPOTTED DOG RANCH as she ponders the question, ‘do clouds ever get lost’.  And no, she didn’t find an Owl, but she did find an Awl:))

DOING A WALK ABOUT AFTER SUPPER

GROANER’S CORNER:(( 

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the kings' horses,
And all the kings' men.
Had scrambled eggs,
For breakfast again.

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- Tourists see the world, travelers  experience it.

- Home is where your pet is:))

- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right  now...AL.
stargeezerguy@gmail.com