TODAY THE MUD WENT ON THE HOUSE:))

THE BOYS GOT THE FIRST COATING OF MUD ON TODAY
In prepping the house for stucco it was necessary to take off many old pieces of broken dried wood here & there.  Some of it dating back to the late 50’s I’m sure.  My first chore this morning was to get a fire going in the pit & burn up all that scrap lumber lying about.  And, it twas a fine morning for doing that too.  Think we got up to 80F today:))

FINISHING UP THE LAST STYROFOAM & WIRING
 
THE RAISED FRAME AROUND THE WINDOW IS CALLED A ‘POP-OUT’

Little Motormouse is definitely improving but is still picky about what she eats.  Gobbled down some more hamburger for breakfast & this afternoon Kelly scrambled an egg with some chicken & she ate that.  Turned up her nose at tinned Salmon.  Kelly poached up some chicken this afternoon & that worked too:))  I am beginning to think this may have just been a ploy by the Mouse to get herself switched over to Yummy human food & off that bland doggy food stuff.  D’ya think.  We thank all our readers for care shown & the many food suggestions for Cora.  Definitely seen further improvement in her this afternoon when she was outside again ripping & tearing around assuming her position as, Big Boss Dog:))

 
A CONTENTED LITTLE MOUSE AFTER FINALLY EATING A SUBSTANTIAL SUPPER
I did manage to flood our laundry room & part of the kitchen this morning.  Decided to fill up the hot water tank but never thought to close the little check valve thingy on top of the tank.  When the tank filled up, the water just kept on a coming right up & out through a fitting.  Luckily one of the workers heard a Niagara Falls sound coming from the house & alerted us.  Also fortunate is that there are few level floors anywhere so the water just kind of troughed it’s way to the back door where I was able to swoosh it right into the back yard with a broom.  Also turned on the electric this morning & all wall sockets & lights worked, including the stove.  Bonus.
 
THE STUCCO MIXING MACHINE
We were back to the house about 12:30 & the boys started putting the mud on the house shortly after.  It’s really called Stucco but they just call it mud.  Interesting to see them trowel it on by hand.  Two guys doing the trowling with the other fella mixing up the mud in a big mixer & wheel barrowing it to where the trowlers are working.  They weren’t long in covering the walls with a dark army green mud.

THE VERY FIRST SWATCH OF MUD GOES ON THE HOUSE

 
Kelly & I headed off to Wickenburg this morning.  Her black & blue ankle is coming along better but she still can’t push the hard clutch in on the Jeep.  We’re getting to be known at the Hardware & Paint Stores for sure.  On the way to town Kelly spotted an ‘Estate Sale’ sign so we burned up some rubber pulling a U-turn & heading back.  Estate, garage, & yard sales have suddenly become important once again in our lives.  Came out of there with our first piece of furniture for the house…a $20 solid wooden end table.  Groovy:))
 
THE WIRED UP POP OUT IS READY FOR SOME STUCCO
After the hardware store for a floor mop & some lighting fixtures it was off to Safeway for groceries followed by another trip to the paint store.  We’re having quite a tussle with ourselves over these kitchen cupboard door colors.  Photo below shows one drawer with a Peach trim & one door with an Aloha Sunset trim…same as our walls.  Trying to decide which way to go.  Center gray color is called ‘Dry Creek.’  Any suggestions??  In the morning I will make up my mind & carry on with one or the other.  A quick stop at the ‘Treasure Chest’ store netted us a lamp for $15.

So nice to be focused on a constructive project again. I thrive on certain types of change & this creative house & property adventure is right up my alley. Just as excited about our Arizona place as I was when we moved to Bayfield back in October of 2002. Just as excited as I was when we moved into the old tumble down farm house in the country back in the mid 90’s. And just as exciting as each & every RV we have bought over the years. Especially the Motorhome we have now. So great to be excited about something again. Oh, & then there was the greatest excitement of all back in the summer of 1993…….meeting Kelly:))  Now, that was  EXCITING!!

 
Remember the nice cactus plants Kelly bought a few weeks ago at the annual North Ranch yard sale?  I planted them in a temporary spot in the back yard with intentions of replanting them in a permanent location in the Fall.  Well, those dam Javelina’s got into our back yard last night & destroyed one of them & chewed off part of a third!!!!!!!!!!!  Our yard is vulnerable to Coyotes & Javelina’s because of an old over grown fence in our backyard with many holes in it.  It is impossible to fix.  Both Javelina’s & Coyotes are very dangerous for Pheebs & Motor plus ourselves as well.  For sure we are going to have to have new Coyote & Javelina proof fencing put in.  One of our priority projects in the Fall.  Luckily we have a lot fencing already here that can be used for that project.

 
THESE GUYS REALLY KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING 
‘Black Tank’ topics are always good for Happy Hour topics. (for those of you who like that ‘Happy Hour’ stuff)  WHEELING IT has a good post on how easy it is to keep your black tank functioning properly.  We never rely on or bother with our sensors but we do use the same method of Dawn dish detergent & Calgon water softener to keep our tank from crudding up.  Of course we had to learn all this the hard way in the early days:((  

WE INTEND TO CHANGE THAT ROOF COLOR AS WELL
I had mentioned awhile back about the possibility of leaving our Motorhome in Arizona now that we have a piece of property big enough to do that.  However, we have become aware of a problem in storing any kind of vehicle.  Pack Rats!!  We have talked to people here who have absolute horror stories about what has happened to their vehicles.  In fact I was just talking to Doby about this problem Thursday morning.  His Motorhome wiring was destroyed by nesting Pack Rats.  Pack Rats get up into vehicles & chew on wiring, gas & hydraulic lines, etc.  It’s a very real problem here in Arizona & especially for vehicles sitting dormant for any length of time.  Always something to mess up man’s plans eh!!
 
KEEP IN MIND THIS IS ONLY THE FIRST COAT OF UNPAINTED STUCCO
Kcgaz from ADVENTURES OF A 50 YEAR OLD joined the Bunch Wednesday as another one of our many Blog Followers.  Check out their problems with a couple tire monitoring systems.  Sounds like there is someone else out there besides me who runs into problems with mechanical stuff like that all the time.

THE BACK OF THE HOUSE WILL BE MUDDED UP FRIDAY
So nice to be focused on a constructive project again.  I thrive on certain types of change & this creative house & property adventure is right up my alley.  Just as excited about our Arizona place as I was when we moved to Bayfield back in October of 2002.  Just as excited as I was when we moved into the old tumble down farm house in the country back in the mid 90’s.  And just as exciting with each & every RV we have bought over the years.  Especially the Motorhome we have now.  So great to be excited about something again.  Oh, & then there was the greatest excitement of all back in the summer of 1993…….meeting Kelly:))

PHEEBS LOVES HER READY MADE SAND PILE  
GROANER’S CORNER:((  A politician was running for re-election and was talking at a campaign stop to his constituents.
"My opponent has called me a liar. Rest assured, I have never lied to you. The only problem I have is that the facts don't always match up with what I believe."
- Will - Why do you water your lawn with whisky?
Bill - So that it comes up half-cut.
- Middle age is when you choose your cereal for the fiber, not the toy.
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- Tourists see the world, travelers  experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right  now...AL.
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