Never thought retirement would be like this

NancyNGA said:
Yes, Cap'n, that's from an old-fashioned ceramic fixture that was added much later, on the wall with surface wiring. The only way I could get a picture without glare was to hide the light behind that post.

That's another thing I want to do---recess that wiring into the wall cavity, or better yet, move it to a ceiling fixture.

I seriously doubt this project will be finished before April, but that doesn't bother me. I'm anxious to see if I can learn how to do the stuff I've never tried before---sheet rock and traditional framing. It won't show in there if I mess it up too much. :p:rolleyes::)
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Yeah, I didn't see any wiring in the recent picture. I like the ceiling fixture idea. It wouldn't be complicated or very costly. And the recessed shelving - definitely a thumbs-up.
 

Nancy, that will be a nice size closet. You will have the upcoming winter months to finish (all inside work). Just think, more space to "fill up"!
 
Nancy, you can always make it a goat closet!
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Pappy, and Meanderer, it's kind of coincidental you should both post goat images today. The goats seem to be having a personality change the last few days, and it puzzles me. They seem overly cautious. Maybe an eyesight problem with the white one? Or more likely they are picking up on a change in my behavior that I'm not aware of.:confused:

Friday, I had already walked past them up near the house, but they didn't come until I made a clanging sound on the barn gate, then a very cautious approach.


I'll try acting completely different this afternoon and see what happens. Ha!
 
Nancy, you don't think someone has been coming around there "spooking" them? Or maybe they are aware of the season change with the days getting shorter? Have you changed the pattern of how often you go there? Like most animals and children, they do not like when the routine is changed! LOL Heck, I don't like it when my routine is changed!
 
maggiemae said:
Nancy, you don't think someone has been coming around there "spooking" them? Or maybe they are aware of the season change with the days getting shorter? Have you changed the pattern of how often you go there? Like most animals and children, they do not like when the routine is changed! LOL Heck, I don't like it when my routine is changed!
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I think you hit the nail right on the head about the routine! Friday and Sunday I went several hours earlier than usual. Today I went shopping first and got there at the *old* time and they were more normal.

The white one was limping a little, so that would keep him from running. He is the head goat, so the brown one would follow his lead. Trimmed and checked his feet, and took his temperature (normal). I don't know how they can run around on that rocky ground without having sprained ankles all the time. :rolleyes:

By the way, How 'bout them Dawgs!? Ranked #3 this week. I never understood those rankings. They haven't played anyone very tough yet. :shrug:
 
Yep, it's all about "Dawg Nation" around here! This weekend is a bye week but my husband and son are getting all excited about going to Jacksonville the next weekend. Matter of fact, they will be leaving next Wednesday for Amelia Island, FL. Maybe I can get some projects done around here! This may sound awful, but I like it when I can start a project and not be interrupted. I am more of the "engineer, worker", where husband is the " manager, supervisor type" I work better alone. I have already started my list!
 
maggiemae said:
This may sound awful, but I like it when I can start a project and not be interrupted. ... I work better alone. I have already started my list!
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I understand completely. Things keep getting in they way and I get distracted, sometimes lose enthusiasm if it lasts too long.

My neighbor is closing on her house Oct 27. She encouraged me to cut a small tree on the property line before then. I got to get out there and do that, now.

Would you believe hurricane Irma dropped a tree limb and pulled the power line off her house. She got a friend to rehook it, but needs inspection now. If I had bought that house we would have closed by now, and I'd already have repairs to do. Ha!
 
NancyNGA said:
Pappy, and Meanderer, it's kind of coincidental you should both post goat images today. The goats seem to be having a personality change the last few days, and it puzzles me. They seem overly cautious. Maybe an eyesight problem with the white one? Or more likely they are picking up on a change in my behavior that I'm not aware of.:confused:

Friday, I had already walked past them up near the house, but they didn't come until I made a clanging sound on the barn gate, then a very cautious approach.


I'll try acting completely different this afternoon and see what happens. Ha!
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It may be a sign that a stranger has been around and the goats are just making sure that you are their human.
 
Aunt Bea said:
It may be a sign that a stranger has been around and the goats are just making sure that you are their human.
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I suppose it's possible, but trespassers would have little interest in the goats.

Their lives have been messed up ever since the dogs got Dixie. First, I spent a lot of time with her, putting out sad and worried "vibes", vets coming and going. Then they were penned up in the barn for several days waiting for the fencers, then the fencers came, then a different pasture. And now there are only two---different herd dynamics. It's not really surprising that another little change in routine messes them up. I think hunting season starts soon, if not already. There will be a lot of gunshots out there until January.

I think they just need a routine that follows a 24 hour clock. My own life never followed a 24 hour clock, even when I was working. :(
 
Closet update:

The ceiling sheetrock came down Monday---what a mess. Rediscovered there is a beautiful unfinished hardwood floor in there. :shrug:

I'm studying different ways to secure a knee wall. Because of the old lumber in the house, and all the modifications over the years, I've learned, the hard way, to *try* and think ahead of all the things that can possibly go wrong. Can't afford any complications when it comes to putting up sheetrock, 'cause I've never done it before. In fact, I'm getting cold feet on that. Maybe I should use paneling instead.

I'm going to try to follow something like this picture, with blocking, only just 1 foot deep, for shelves, unless it proves to be just too complicated:

attic-bedroom-closet.jpg

Worst comes to worst, on the *other* 3 walls, I think I can always do one of these:

The Mooney Wall :playful:

Strips on top of framing to remove imperfections, and provide more room for insulation (outdoor wall has studs oriented flat side to the wall). Anyone who has some tips, please jump in any time.

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When they bulldoze this house down, after I'm gone, I don't want anyone looking down at the rubble and saying, "She didn't frame that closet properly." It's kind of like when your mother tells you to always put on clean underwear when you go out.
 
Pappy, for some reason, your picture reminded me of The Andy Griffith Show, and the episode where they thought a goat ate some sticks of dynamite.

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Barney is playing a harmonica to calm the goat down if I recall correctly. :rolleyes:

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Can't find a good place to put this picture, so I'm puttin' it here! I just like old houses. Haven't seen a porch built around a chimney. Maybe a later addition?

"Breake Farm, Taylor's Crossroads" Nash County, North Carolina, 1936.
(acetate negative by Frances Benjamin Johnston)

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Large Picture (for sale at shorpy.com)

Frances Benjamin Johnson
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Picked up 12 bales of straw at Lowes this morning and got the barn ready for winter. Grocery shopping. Removed that horizontal "antique" 2x4 in the closet tonight without ruining it, using a hacksaw. :) It might possibly be used beside the antique one already nailed to the floor, so the frame can be done correctly? We'll see...

Update, 6:20 pm, Oct 21:
The room is not square and not everything is straight up and down---no surprise there. I've never had that work out well in the end, but that's the way the closet was to begin with, and it looked fine. Tear everything out and start over, or try to adjust a little? Probably adjust, because I might end up having to tear the whole house down otherwise.

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My wife and I retired in Nov. 2014, we had a small service company with 5 employee's that we sold just before the industry here took a bit of dive so we did very well.
We bought a small used motorhome and traveled to the Yukon, Alaska then across Canada to Newfoundland and later South down the coastal highway to California , across to Zion, Monument Valley and Yellowstone park then home. All in around three years with plans to do a whole lot more.
On Sept. 25, a month ago my wife had a heart attack and passed away at age 57. She had been having some issues with her electrolytes being unbalanced but thought it was under control.
I'm sort of living in a bubble here now but I have good friends around and our kids are helping me and each other a lot. Thats my story.
 
Well, I know about nothing being "square" in this house! I think the builders came in after a night on the town and just started putting up walls! Lordy, if you put a marble on any counter top here, it would roll to the left or right! Makes me crazy! And do not even get me started on door frames! Why oh why would you not square up door frames and doors?

Yep, suppose to get "cold" next week. Glad you got the barn ready! I am going to Lowes tomorrow and get an oil filled heater for the sun porch. I have one that is about 14 years old and it works pretty good but takes awhile to heat up. I love to sit out there and read and look for deer and rabbits! See why I can't get alot of my projects done? LOL But I have a "List" and dang it I am going to stick with it!
 
maggiemae said:
Well, I know about nothing being "square" in this house! I think the builders came in after a night on the town and just started putting up walls!
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:lol: You always have such a great way of describing things!

maggiemae said:
I love to sit out there and read and look for deer and rabbits! See why I can't get alot of my projects done? LOL But I have a "List" and dang it I am going to stick with it!
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I know nothing about oil heaters, but it sounds like a nice place out there. You can sit out there until Wednesday. Then you better get that list out. Ha!

My problem is I don't know where to start on this thing, but I got to start somewhere. I know it will be wrong whatever I do. Yikes!!! :confused::rolleyes::(
 
JohnnyV said:
My wife and I retired in Nov. 2014, we had a small service company with 5 employee's that we sold just before the industry here took a bit of dive so we did very well.
We bought a small used motorhome and traveled to the Yukon, Alaska then across Canada to Newfoundland and later South down the coastal highway to California , across to Zion, Monument Valley and Yellowstone park then home. All in around three years with plans to do a whole lot more.
On Sept. 25, a month ago my wife had a heart attack and passed away at age 57. She had been having some issues with her electrolytes being unbalanced but thought it was under control.
I'm sort of living in a bubble here now but I have good friends around and our kids are helping me and each other a lot. Thats my story.
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Aww Johnny, I'm so sorry about your wife. I can imagine you must still be in a kind of shock, so unexpected like that. It's great that you have your family and friends to support you, and it's good you got a lot of great travel time in with the motor home. Sounds like a wonderful trip to Alaska. Beautiful country. Come here and talk to us any time. There are friendly folks here.

(I'm re-posting this in your Introduction thread so more members will see it. Hope that's ok.)
 
After sitting in my imaginary closet for a long time last night, I finally made a decision---NOT to recess the shelves into the walls. I'm going to write down the reasons why, in case I start having second thoughts later. ;)

I'm afraid the changes that would have to be made would not be good for the house. All the roof attic spaces have a brace extending underneath the roof about half way up. The one behind this closet was moved back about a foot, long ago to make more room for the closet. The rafters are only 2x4's, albeit BIG OLD FAT ones, and the supports are already not now at the correct place, or angle, to be of much use, just a gut feeling.

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In order to put in recessed shelves I'd have to move this brace back another foot. That would make it even less useful. It is long and heavy and should go the full length of the roof. Even though the house only has to last 20 more years, and it would probably be just fine, all that hammering and climbing around back there with lumber might mess up something downstairs.

I'm sure everyone our age is familiar with the old plaster and lath walls. From the back side you can see all these plaster "keys." Kind of pretty. If a lot of those keys are broken, the plaster will come off the other side, or at least sag, especially on ceilings. The closet is right above the bedroom ceiling downstairs, which already has some cracks. I could imagine likely things that could cause a *real* mess to fix downstairs.

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Years ago someone said I should remove all the old plaster and lath and have sheetrock put all over everywhere, but the previous owners already did that in the kitchen and it didn't turn out so well (even longer story). Depends on who you get to do it I guess, and I couldn't (or wouldn't) have spent the money on it back then.

The closet layout wasn't great as it was. With a different layout it will be just as useful I think, and I might be able to buy a shelf to put in there. Who knows, I might get lucky and find a nice sturdy one that just fits. (Yeah, right :rolleyes:)

So I'm ready to move on, but moving on just means more thinking, about the *next* step. :);):playful::eek:nthego:
 
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