Time Off ~ More Work?

This weekend we took time off from working on our house. Instead we are spending a little time at Jason’s parents house, putting laminate flooring in their home. We are over half way… just a bit more to go. Then we will try to get that last post on our house finished so you can see how far we have progressed also.

~~Blessings!~~

Floor Joist & Decking~

As promised here is another post on our building project. I hope to do one more tomorrow, and have you caught up to where we are now. In this picture you can see the floor joist brackets on the left. You can also see the first of two beams at the far end (the other will be at the other end) each replacing one floor joist, so it will be thick and add insulation to the end walls (also adding strength).

Here you can see the first picture of the floor joist on with the beam on the right side, with the first piece of decking (sub floor) sliding on.

Mercy Fire and the other kids found it great fun playing on the new floor.

Here is a picture mix of the decking going on. In the top picture you can see the floor joist, and how we inset our “rim joist” to allow for 2 inches of foam to add more insulation. With this setting on a 2×8 plate there was more than enough room.

Foundation Walls

It is time to play catch-up, and let you all know what we have been doing! As many of you know from reading our blog, we are building on to our home (as seen in our blog category “Building Our House Part 2″. It has been a busy time, trying to get this new addition going before it snows (in October). I will try to put what we have done, into a couple post over the next couple days so you can see our progress.

We are framing our hose with 2×8 construction for extra warmth on those -60 to -70 days. Here you can see Judah and Destiny helping to bolt down our foundation walls.

Here is Judah standing next to the foundation walls that we had finished up to that night.

And last for this post, you can see the framing, of the foundation walls finished. Serenity is in this picture. You can also see in this picture, the brackets for hanging the floor joist all mounted on the side of the finished house. The “Deck” (floor) is ready to be put on!

Puppy Countdown!

We are finally down to one puppy, she is a keeper! Here is the picture of our final days with the brown and black puppies. They sure were cute, but we are happy they have great new homes. We even made some new friends with the family that bought the brown puppy. We went to their house and had a wonderful time. The kids keep asking to back… maybe someday soon!

Also here is a picture of our puppy we are keeping! We final have a name for her after much rethinking. We named her Root Beer Float, or Root Beer for short. She has the coloring of a root beer float, brown and foamy. She is active and lots of fun!

The Granberg Mini Mill

We had the chance to use a “Granberg Mini-Mill“. This is a “chain saw- mill” that bolts on the bar of your saw. We gave it a good test run. We had an 18 foot long beam 10.5″x10.5″ we needed to cut into two 9.5″x5.25″ beams.

The Mini-Mill came through the U.S. Mail from Bailey’s. It does require some assembly, most notably being the 12′ of metal guide rails. They come in 2′ lengths with screws. You need a good straight 2×6 or 2×8 to mount them on. It is a good idea to count this board as sacrificed to the mill for good. Because when you want to use the Mini-Mill again, you do not want to have to re set this up every time. This it what Bailey’s says about the Mini-Mill.

This compact vertical milling attachment combined with your chain saw makes an ideal partner as an edger to the Alaskan MK III. Mini-Mill converts logs into timbers or lumber of any desired dimension. Comes complete with 12′ of metal guide rail in 2′ lengths, with screws. When fastened to a 2″ x 6″ or 2″ x 8″ plank (not included) your guide is complete.

If you read our recent review of the “Beam Machine” then you know we were lacking a ripping chain then and in this review we still have not had a ripping chain ordered as of yet. So the comparison is more fair I suppose too. The ripping chain should help speed things up a lot, and give better cuts. Even so we have to say the Mini-Mill did a bit better job, but the price is a little more. But if you plan to use it to make more than one or two beams a year, then I think the money difference is more than worth it. It handled fairly easy, rendering smooth cuts. The hardest thing is letting the saw do the work and not trying to “muscle” through the cut.

First we cut one inch off one side, making our beam 10.5″ x 9.5″. Then we tipped the beam over on its side and re-attached the 2×6 with the guide, and cut the beam in half, giving us our two 9.5″ x 5.25″ beams to use as floor joist at the two ends of our addition we are building on our house. The children thought it was great fun and had a good time playing on the beam while we marked our measurements for cutting.

Over all we were very pleased with the results of this chainsaw mill. It would be a nice addition to the tool resources of any homestead, or family farm.

Bull Moose

Just thought you might like to see the moose we saw the other day. Moose season starts Sunday. Maybe Jason and his Dad will see another moose like this!

Headcovering ~ Something Different

Headcovering has taken several traditional forms that we see today. Some are considered to be the standard head gear by conservative covering Christians. Even so, there are many different opinions among woman who cover, on what she is to wear to cover her head. 1 Cor. 11 says we are to cover, but it does not say what style or color. This begins many debates. We do not want to debate this here. However I feel you should pray about it, and talk to your husband. Together seek the peace of YHWH in this, as in all things. Then rest in YHWH.

I love all the different prints and colors of bandannas that they have for sale these days. Such as pretty stripes, flowers, and colorful patterns. I like the expression of color while having a feminine feel to them and being biblically modest. I do have several, more conservative styled coverings, for going to town and such too.

I decided to take the plunge, to do something new, a little different from my standard. Really it is not new at all. Our lives are often filled with rediscoveries. Old styles coming back again. I found this lovely blue and silver “scarf type” covering. I think it is fun because there are so many ways to wear and tie it. I love the way it flows down in back. It feels very feminine, and also feels very light at the same time.