I need to adopt those words.
In what seemed to be the never-ending project, the barn has windows in it. I thought I was so lucky to find all the original windows sitting in the barn. There was only one window that was complete. The rest were missing glass. Luckily, our local Ace hardware could do the glass replacement and glazing. I knew it was worth whatever price they set.

Well then, these windows were original. They were weather beaten, animal chewed, and sometimes rotten. It took days of sanding, gluing, re-sanding, adding filler, and sanding again to get to a good and useable state. Then the painting began. Do you know how annoying painting loose windows are? You can’t do both sides at once, and you can’t get to the all the edges at the same time either. It seemed to take forever to finish a full rotation. The hardest part was getting enough space to lay all these out in order to dry. The best part is that they needed primer, then paint. Another three days of the painting one side at a time.
Finally, they were painted and dry. Cleaning went pretty fast, I got that done all in one night. I didn’t mask the glass, so a pass of a razor blade was needed on all the edges, then a good blast of glass cleaner to get all the grime, glazing goo, and fingerprints off.
The final step was getting them into the barn. The frames were mostly good, and got some primer during my painting spree. The hardest part was trying window after window in each hole. I didn’t realize that each window was a slightly different size. I think it took about 3 tries to get the best fit.

The locking pins had me confused. Most window frames had a hole on each side that accepted the pins. However, I had 2 windows with a single pin on the top. I looked all around, and found only 1 window frame with this option. There is an opening at the very top of the south side of the barn. I set up the 20 foot ladder inside the hayloft. Yes, this is one floor up already. I doubt that standing, on the top rung, would I be able to reach that opening. Besides, there was so much wind, the window would have flown from my hands. Needles to say, the window found another home.
The sides of the barn have two windows in place. The back wall has two of the three windows on the ground floor done. I am not replacing the one waaaayy up there right now. None of the holes on the north side seem to take windows.
I have 4 more frames in the garage. These are the ones that will take serious rebuilding, as these are missing pieces. I need 2 of them….I wonder where the other two goes? I think there are some in the upper ends of the crib as well.

I did notice, that once these single paned windows were in place. Standing inside the barn was actually very comfy. We might actually get some work done during these colder Iowa days. I have plans on making a large thermosiphon air heater on the south wall. Maybe some winter work will be feasible.

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Found a new website called “Do the Green Thing” Every month it set a goal that anyone can do. November is “Turn Your Lights off Early” and have fun in the dark for one night. Last month’s activity was “walk once” Little baby steps that everyone can take to make global warming a little more fun!

www.DoTheGreenThing.com

note*** This site is meant for adults only to visit as there can be some adult humor and references. ***

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Mason learned to sew today. I had been meaning to make some beanbags out of old fabric for a Cub Scout project. I asked Mason if he wanted to make them on my sewing machine. He was really jazzed about the idea!

I had already cut the fabric into squares so all he had to do was sew them together. The most important part was remembering to leave a hole where we would put in the beans later.

The hardest part according to Mason was, “Remembering to put down the foot before I started sewing.” The easiest part was, “Sew on full speed and sew on slow speed.”

Mason says, “I am so ready to sew on my cub scout badges! I can’t wait to use the sewing machine again.”

Here’s the finished product! Good job! He now has plans to make a blanket.

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. . .by their hospital. I have recently “enjoyed” 2 visits to the emergency room in Jefferson for kidney stones and it was the BEST experience I have ever had in a hospital!!  It really put me at ease that medical staff could be fun, professional, caring and still get the job done.  I am still getting used to the idea that someone a know may be drawing my blood.     Thank you so much!

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I found this fun game site. It tests and improves your vocabulary skills while feeding the starving. The highest vocabulary level you can reach is 50. I’m at 39. Who can beat me?? Post a comment with the vocab level you achieve on FreeRice.com and I will pronounce you as Vocabulary Master!

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