The weather was cold, but Sunday here looked to be above freezing.  My goal was to get to the farm, add a few last boards done before winter and hopefully clean the windows in order to take a decent picture.  I did far more then that.

If you were busy while outside, it was a good temperature.  I stood around waiting for my go-fer once and felt a slight chill.  So, what got done?  Windows.  8 more of them to be exact.  I ended up stripping most of the other side of the greenhouse back to the studs and started slapping windows in.  I had tried to save some of the larger ones from the first half to make sure we had enough for both sides and I might have saved a couple too many.  I simply placed all these in, and had the perfect fitting windows to take up the last bay.

However, the right side looks far more organized and symmetrical then the left.   And actually, we like it.  There is a small window or two I can replace in order to get these to match up better.  In any case, I think these are destined to last for the winter.  We might switch out a few, and there is a top row to do along with fill a few holes that are currently plywood.
I said before the greenhouse effect here works well….I mean it.  Every time the Sun came out, I neared a sweat and almost took my coat off.

Mason was a big help today and helped load and unload tools, supported non-hanging windows, swept, took pictures, other go-fer activity.

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After the earlier cold snap, it warmed up again.  I write this, as it is near freezing again.  With warm weather comes farm work.  I got out to the farm a few times for quick sessions.  I even got Grampy out there to help for a bit too!

Grampy still does not get the window idea.  The greenhouse is getting covered with random old windows from the barn, and possibly the original farm house.  We had a few from the house in town, and I bought a few windows from yard sales and Habitat’s ReStore.  With all these random windows, we figure out how to get them to fit together in an eclectic mosaic.    Everyone else thinks it’s a cool idea and I managed to get quite a few installed so far.  I hope to take pictures tomorrow.

Will the greenhouse work?  I think so.  On a few cool days, the greenhouse with 1/3 of the total windows done, it was 20 degrees warmer in that room then in the center of the crib.  I’m experimenting with hanging a black shade cloth behind the windows to absorb more heat.  I’m thinking of getting some solar pool heating panels and seeing if they will add heat to the radiant tubes in the floor.

Besides that, I’ve been fixing weak spots, loose boards, and any other things that will help it last over another winter

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Brrr!  We actually have turned on the heat here in town, and Facebook posts count the many others that gave in this week.  I hope that’s not putting too much of a close on farm work.

The gardens got re-tilled for Fall, but need a little clean up.  We created a new compost pile and put garden waste, potted plant dirt, and a slew of nitrogen rich coffee bean waste in it for now.

I’ve gotten some of the crib work done, but again it’s invisible.  I have 3 of the 4 windows framed out on the inside, but there are no holes cut in the siding.  I managed to build a quick scaffolding out of 2×10′s from the barn floor and have this attached to the front of the crib.  I need a full day to cut holes, remove the small pieces of siding, replace with plywood, wrap in tyvek, then install windows.

Besides the framing, I’ve been rebuilding some of the structure of the West wall.  I’ve added extra supports to turn ‘bin wall’ into house grade code grade framing, and the top of the wall was done in 2×4′s, not 2×6′s like the rest of the place.  Those got doubled up too add the depth and strength of the rest of the wall.  Wiggles are gone.
It’s time to wrap up tractor work, change the oil and replace the mower and tiller for the snow blower again.  I don’t count on seeing that white stuff anytime soon, but might as well be ready.

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Actually, a whole bunch of work.

Mason has been a big help in the past few months.  He has taken to driving the tractor, so he has mowed a few times now.  I also had him clear out and mow down the garden remains and he hauled everything to a new compost pile site.

He still helps out on construction too.  We got a few pieces of siding installed under the greenhouse, and added the first half dozen windows to the South wall.  The original plans called for 6′x12′ plexiglass sheets, but we had found a huge stack of original farmhouse windows, a few other random windows, and several I picked up at yard sales for $1-20 each.  So, the wall will become a mosaic of old windows.   All the doors are finished, and have locks.  I built the staircase landing out of reclaimed barn beams.  I’ve been cleaning out 14′ 2x10s that are straighter and harder then anything I’m buying.

Upstairs is getting some work.  I’ve started framing in the staircase, and have done a lot of prep and fixing up on the West end wall.  I think one more good day of work should see Windows getting installed there.  They will look out over the farm and to the Raccoon River Valley Trail.

The before Winter plan?  I really want to see the windows go in.  I think I need to place a few more windows on the greenhouse and put siding on the SE corner.  That’s where the snow seemed to blow in the most.  Once it starts getting chilly, I can finish work on the staircase framing until it gets real chilly there.

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Last time I talk about Disney, promise

Remember last year, after all the great updates, we listed all the flaws and little insights…..time for that again.

The free meal plan changed a little. Last year it was the dining plan, where you got a snack, a quick service, and a table service for each person for each day you spend there. This year, they added a condition. If you stayed at the value resorts, you would now get the quick service plan. This had 2 quick service meals, and no table service meals. We really wanted the table service meals. We could either upgrade the plan, or stay at the moderate resorts to get the table service plan.

The cost difference was less then $20 a day to stay at the nicer resort. Why not? At least this resort had a table service restaurant on site. What was the difference you ask?

In the last report, I said the value resort was a cheap way to stay at Disney. The cons: Undersized food court, packed pools, busses were standing room only, lots of kids.
In steps the Moderate resort. The busses were empty. In 26+ bus trips, we stood 2x total and our bus stops at the resort had shelter and benches. Families here seemed to have 1-2 kids, no large litters of kids. Minor side note, no kids with life vests in the pool. I don’t know what that’s about. The food court wasn’t that bad, and we never once had to look for a place to sit. Good options too… salmon, pork, turkey, good sandwiches. I thought it was sad that I saw tons of pizza passing through the lines.

Worth the upgrade…..Oh yeah. I’d stay at Moderate (or higher) again. Value if you want to get there, sure. The resorts are fine, and the rooms are nearly the same. Just different clientele.

Dining plan….did we score again? Yep. I think the worst aspect of the trip was forgetting to budget for the $20-25 tips for each meal. We ate well. I think I had 4 salmons, 2 Ahi Tunas, mahi-mahi, a great cheeseburger, fried chicken, and a few buffets. Mason ate from the adults menu as well, and had a few rounds that had sushi and swordfish.
Airlines and those dang baggage fees added another $100 over the budget. This time we checked 2 bags between the three of us and packed in the carry-ons. Little more pain in security and on board….worth $25? Packing tight….I forgot purchases once there, one of them being another suitcase. Really, the night before we left, there were carry on suitcases plus a tote on sale for $13. Score!

We did have one major flaw….And it might be from the fact we went so recently and were still in the computer. Mason was booked as a 9 year old, and not as a 10 year old (adult). However, every place from reservations, to check in, to each restaurant asked how old he was and explained the adult benefits. Several days into the trip, one waiter caught it, and we realized we were nearly our of adult meals, and overloaded on kids. I started calling customer service, the resorts, travel, and it seemed that everyone pointed the finger back and forth. The resort customer service manager finally heard everything and fixed it all. He made it so easy, and did it with the Disney smile on his face that I asked him for his managers contact info so I could call and tell them thank you as well. This I followed through from and left a huge kudo for him on the bus ride back to the park. Really folks, we all complain far to easy…do you know how hard it is to get someone so happy they will tell your boss? I wrote the customer service line after we got back, details to follow.

Not much to complain this time. Big Thunder Mountain did break down while we were in line, and we had to back out. We also had to keep checking in on Test Track, since 1 day out of 10, there was some drizzles, thunder, and lightning. Florida rain is pleasant, unless it was pouring which only happened for about 10 minutes.

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