BECKY'S BOO BOO!!!

After a long winter here in Laramie and all the walking on the tread mill to get in shape so she can ride her bike to work suddenly backfired with a recent accident leading to a broken 'radius' bone in her wrist... An early morning drive to the emergency room at the local hospital and a visit from Dr Aukerman from Gem City Bone and Joint it was set back in place and placed in a hard splint. After the intense pain before a 'local' pain shot to get the bone placed where it should be, she was released into my custody for 3 days of doing nothing to make sure that the placement of the repair wouldn't move.

Seems to me if my feeble memory remembers that the last time she had a visit scheduled to visit the kids and grandkids in Boise that she broke that same hand!! She was driving that time and she had planned on driving this time so whether it is coincidence or 'fate' I think it might be best to just start planning on flying instead of driving to avoid broken bones!! This is only my personal opinion but hey if it keeps us out of the emergency room I am all for the delay and the pain in the a** of going through the metal detectors after taking your shoes off!!

I will keep everyone updated on the progress of her recovery!!

This is what the front wall looks like in the afternoon light. It is a little dark but you can see the finished wall!! We have to leave the scaffolding up till we get the clear stain and the edges caulked then we can tear it down and call this project completed.. On the right is a photo with better lighting .

Working on the cabin wall this last weekend we accomplished a lot!! We got the front wall finished and the windows and doors trimmed out so we started on the 'boxed' eve's.. I got 5 of the 8 on the east side done and I still have the west side to do yet..

This photo shows me reaching as high as I can to get to the top of the window on the second section of the wall!! You can see the T&G on the ceiling which was installed 5 years ago so hopefully in time the 'new' T&G will change color to match. It probably won't but it is no big deal if it doesn't. We were just glad to get as far as we could on that weekend of work!! I have 1 more 'narrow' board to rip and install before I start on the third and final segment which is visable in this photo. We have 'doubled up" the scaffolding to finish this last project so hopefully this next weekend it will get completed. Then I have to 'trim' out the windows and the doors which will finish this project!! Then it on to the kitchen cabinets and the finish flooring!! More $$$ but hey we have a lot more time than money at this stage of the game.. To be continued!!!

Becky's sister Bonnie took this picture from the "loft" of Becky and myself working on the second course of boards on the middle portion of the wall. Note we are now working on scaffolding and I am standing on the pellet stove. I am drilling a hole for the speaker wire that is run up the inside of the wall for our 'surround sound' system when we get one!! For reference the lower course up to the 2x10 is 9 feet high and the second course is 6 feet up to the third course and the final segment is 4 feet above that to the peak!!
A special thanks goes to my wife and helper Becky for here dedication to this project. In addition to helping hold/mark/measure/cut and nailing the boards she got to do all that plus clean and cook while we were up there. This project couldn't have been done without help and she provided all that was needed and more.. Thanks!!

Here I am nailing the 'cut' board above the front french door. In this photo you can see the 2x10 board just above of the t&g which I installed a couple of weeks ago but alas we had to take it down and lower it 2 inches inorder to keep from having a narrow board just above eye level!! That was the hardest part up to this point..

This is a photo of the front wall of the cabin shortly after Becky and Myself started installing the Tongue & Groove pine boards. It has been a long time in coming to get this project started and finally with only 1 week left on my "work hiatus" it might get finished!!

DONE!!

An artist I am not as you can see with the freehanded painting on the Tonka Monster Hauler.. With the name plate and the rivet holes accented black I have put it in away for the paint to 'harden'.. It takes 4 days to 'cure' as it is really soft and scars easily right now.. I hope it cures hard cuz I hope Tyler, Amber, Abby & Ally will push it to it's limits.. I wonder what the load capacity of rocks and other such materials is on the Monster Hauler??? Time will tell..

TONKA UPDATE 4 & LAST ONE

Here is the finished product (as done as it is gonna get) It went pretty well with a few things that I learned after the fact that I would change so If I find another metal Tonka truck I would love to tackle it and make it even better.

I plan on doing a little touch up on the paint and hopefully paint the logo "Tonka" on the top of the dump bed in black to highlight it but other than that it should be ready to go!!

TONKA TRUCK 3

This is the front "cab" installed on the undercarriage. The metal cage of the glassed in area of the cab was changed by me to a different color (black) as the original was Yellow.. I thought the contrast of the black on yellow would stand out a little more.. So alas it is not 'original' but I have never put anything back together the same way that I have taken them apart..

More updates tomorrow as I have to wait for the paint on the front of the dump bed to dry.

TONKA TRUCK Part 2

These are the 'parts' that were refinished for the Tonka Monster Hauler that was almost ready for reassembly!! I noticed that the front of the dump bed needed some touch-up paint work so it will have to wait till tomorrow for reassembly...It is sad that the exhaust pipes are broken (they are the little black spots to the left of the tires) but I looked to replace them but I can only find ones for a road-grader so oh well it can't be perfect but hopefully it will be 'respectable'...

Who ever said that grown-ups can't play with toy trucks!!

TONKA TRUCK PART 1

It may be hard to see the 5 pieces of the Tonka Mighty Hauler that I have been wanting to recondition for a long time, but hanging from the wire are the 5 body parts that were stripped, scraped, sanded and then primed and spray painted to look somewhat like new. While it was in pretty bad shape with the axles bent and the paint rusted thru, I hope the TLC and the $$ spent to get it in better shape it will be better than how I found it in the backyard when we moved in almost 9 years ago. I now have to wait a day to put it back together and see how it looks.. I will use the original tires and wheels but put new "straight" axles and end caps on it so it will hopefull roll in the hands of the grandkids for several years to come..

I will update the photo's when it is 'reconstructed'...

Woo Hoo A New Car Hauler!!

But alas it is not mine but Pa's!! I am just borrowing it to haul the Tongue & Groove pine for the front wall up to the cabin tomorrow.. You can't tell very well but the 'cream' color is just right for my pick-up truck to 'look' good while pulling it. With tandem axles & electric brakes (which I don't have on my truck) and 750X16 LT heavy duty tires it is a dream to have parked in my driveway. I only had to go get a 2 5/16" trailer ball to pull it around but hey it is a small price to pay to use it. Thanks Pa!!