Moving right along, here's a shot from a distance showing the house as it was around the first of December. Changes have come quickly, as you'll see with the succeeding days.
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| Mennonite House From Afar |
All of the beams and columns are getting the plastering or stuccoing technique. It's time-consuming, but these guys are quite good at it. Notice the rather unique clips they fashioned from scrap rebar to hold wood pieces on either side. Pretty neat. They really work well too.
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| Plastered and Clipped |
Our canalside fence is really taking shape as you can see from the following photos. Again, this also gets a good plastering. After it cures for a couple of months or so, it'll be ready to paint. There's also iron work that will go in the scallops and as the gate. Pretty much the same design as the burglar bars. There'll be a lamp on top of each post - a total of 10. Should be pretty dramatic-looking.
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| Canalside Fence From Boat Slip |
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| And From the Front Porch |
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| Plastering In Progress |
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| Another View From the Gate Area. |
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| Eugene Mixing Plastering Mortar |
One morning, Eugene, our night watchman, told me he was being inundated with cats - at least four or five feral house cats were raiding the trash bin. He recommended I put a finer screen on the door than just the bars of the door. This picture shows the result. I still have to get a hatch for the top of the bin fashioned because they're still getting into the bin, just not quite as bad.
Eugene even had one come into the house where he was sleeping and that it tried to steal some food he had set aside.
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| Security-Minded Trash Door |
Ah, the good life. I set the remote on the camera and this was the result. They actually allow us to live here and we don't even get in trouble! Imagine. We do buy our own beer. A downside to everything.
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| Life in Paradise |
Another shot of the pool outside our temporary house. Dianna is having a relaxing conversation with Lynn. She and her husband, Bob, are building a nice little (11 rooms) inn just a short ways down the road from here.
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| Lynn and Dianna Chatting |
