Ant Damage...... Part Two

We are slowly working on repairing the rest of the Ant Damage.  We cut the concrete forms to the proper length, did some more digging and put the forms in place under the logs to hold the concrete.  Lyn decided that we need to have two separate fills to help maintain the support of the structure.

The first time the concrete man came was uber exciting!  We could hear his truck long before we saw him coming around the driveway.  He filled two of the forms. 

He then asked where he could pour the rest of the concrete we ordered.  We had created a form where we want to keep wood for the winter, and asked Mr. Concrete Man to pour the rest of the cement there. 

He started to pour the rest of the concrete and kept pouring and pouring and pouring until the slab was not only filled but overflowing.  When he got out of his truck, I mentioned that we must have seriously underestimated how much a yard of concrete was because we didn't expect so much.  Mr. Concrete Man just smirked a little bit and said we were the end of his day so he dumped whatever was left in the truck onto our slab area.

It was a lot of work to smooth out the concrete.  I kid you not.

The second time Mr. Concrete Man came, we were ready.  Not only for the concrete to fill the last form and the small slab for the stringers to sit on, but we also made room for any extra concrete he might have.

Of course the second time Mr. Concrete Man came was opposite day. This time he did not have enough concrete.  He filled the form and then most of the slab for the stringers to sit on.  His recommendation was to fill the concrete slab with more rocks before it set to bring it up to the right height.

 

I went rock picking while Lyn was smoothing out the concrete.  I picked a ton of rocks to add to the slab. It took a while but we finally had the concrete at the right height.

Everything is set and now we are ready to get the lumber for the stringers and make the steps leading up into the house.  It's looking pretty good!

My song was silent....

When I was 4 or 5 years old I remember climbing the oak tree near the cottage my parents have up north.  I sat up in the old oak tree singing the songs I learned in Sunday School for all I was worth.  The neighbor lady came by later that day and told my Mom that one day I would sing for Jesus.

Then one Sunday I was singing in the backseat of the car while my family was on the way home from Church, I must have been around 10 years old.  My brother turned and looked at me, said "Ingrid, God made canaries and God made crows, you are not sounding like a canary." 

I have always taken those two comments and accepted the fact that I am an ordinary singer.  I would never make it past the try outs on American Idol unless a) my voice had a very good day and fooled the judges or b) I was so comical they wanted to keep me around for ratings.

Music has always been a part of my life.  I like to play it loud.  I like to sing along with it.  I like to play music and sing when I work around the house.  I like to play music quietly and reflect.  I would wake my children up in the morning by singing to them!

Imagine my surprise when one day last fall, I was getting ready to go to work and realized that I had no desire to sing.  Not one.  I couldn't remember the last time I sung or even hummed a song.  I couldn't even think of the words to a song that I would want to sing.  I thought, I'll just play music on my way into work and then I'll start singing.  I turned the music on in my car and it gave me a headache.  I couldn't figure it out.  Why had I lost my desire to sing? 

I started bringing my ear buds to work and listening to music during the workday in the hopes of so ingraining music into my being that I couldn't help but sing.  It didn't work, and I couldn't figure out what had happened.

Life moved on, we sold our house said so long - see you soon to family and good friends, bought our home in Missouri and moved far, far away.

Imagine my surprise again when one day towards the end of summer, I was outside doing yard work and I began to hum.  I caught myself, I could barely contain the joy that settled inside of me, and I began to sing.  I sang while I used the weed eater.  I sang while I sprayed weeds growing in the driveway.  I hummed while doing the dishes.  My song was back!

I don't know why I lost my desire to sing, I tried figuring it out, but nothing really made sense to me, I only know that I am glad it has returned.

I said,"Let me remember my song in the night; let me meditate in my heart." Psalm 77:6

Ant Damage......

When Lyn & I moved to Missouri we purchased a log home to live in.  We didn't know what we were in for.  Our first clue that we were clueless was when Lyn called his brother.  His brother also owns a log home and his response was, "Why did you do that?"  Our second clue was when we shopped for insurance on the home, not all insurance companies will insure a log home, they call it an unique structure.  Who knew?  Not us!

Not long after we moved in, Lyn found some ant damage on not just one but all three of the logs holding up the front porch.

As you can see the log really wasn't holding up the front porch, the ants had eaten away the entire bottom portion of the support.  Lyn and Kevin dug up all the dirt from around the three logs that hold up the upper level.  Lyn cut off the infected part of the log.

 We braced the logs up with jacks and blocks and wood.  Lyn took the stairs and stringers off the porch.

It's a work in progress.  We went into the BIG city =) (Springfield) to pick up the concrete forms for pouring the foundation.  We had a crazy drive home using the back roads.  That's me in the front seat holding one of the forms.

We're getting ready to dig out the front lawn to pour a pad for the steps.  We might as well have the concrete truck pour as much concrete as we want while we have it here.  Life is an adventure sometimes more adventure than you bargained for, the good news is we are enjoying the journey!