Epoxy in the Garage

October 7th - Beautiful Fall Day

I finally  got the garage cleaned and scrubbed the garage floor and Lou decided that it needed a fresh coat of epoxy applied.  After, my late husband died, Dr. Nespola helped me make the decision to apply epoxy to the garage floor for the first time and what a job it was, but it certainly was worth all of the effort.  I am able to keep it as clean as the kitchen floor.

Lou had noted that where the tires of the car had been parked with salt on the tires over the last five years, it had pitted, so I contacted Sherman  Williams Paint Company to see what we needed to do to apply another coat of the same product to the existing coat.   We needed to clean the floor, fill the area with a special concrete filler, let it dry and then sand all areas that were still shinny, then we were free to apply a new coat, as long as it was the same brand.

I did the stripping along the edges and Lou rolled on the "glue".  You have only two hours to complete the task, so we worked right along.

As you can see it turned our beautifully.

We even had enough to do the area where the kiln sits

We had to wait 72 hours until we could bring the car back into the garage, and we had rain, so we waited a little longer just to make sure it was cured enough.  It certainly looks good to us.

Now when we get back from our trip to the Wine Country, we will get everything settled back into place.  We are going to set up the treadmill to use until we go south.

Loving Retirement

Tuesday - September 30th - Sunny 82 degrees

Oh!! How I love retirement!!  When I was still working, I would take my vacation, all two weeks of it, the first two weeks of October, as fall was my favorite time of the year.  When my parents were still alive, it would take that long to get their home ready for winter and then Al and I would also get our home and barn secured for the cold also.  Then after I lost my parents and Al, Krista and I would make a list and we would tackle what needed to be done and we would spend those two weeks doing what needed to be done here.  However; now that I am retired I can take my time and do the things that need to be done at my leisure and still enjoy this lovely fall weather.

This morning the fellows that come to weed eat the bank, came and took care of that job for us, then Lou decided he would rake the weeds down, dig up some big rocks and prepare an area for a rock wall and a bed for wild flowers.

Matthew going to help Grandpa

While Krista and Matthew worked on hauling rocks, I cleaned out the Tack Room, or what Lou uses as his Shop.  Took the curtains down and washed them, did the windows and got rid of all of the cobwebs, cleaned off the shelves and ran the shop vac over the floor.  Looked pretty good when I finished.

Tack Room after being cleaned

Rear door of Tack Room

Krista and Matthew taking a break

Lou and Krista found a hidden "treasure"!
We think it had been an automatic drinking fountain for the chickens years ago.

This is where Lou is going to build the stone wall.

Area is cleared off for the wild flowers next year.

We are in hopes that tomorrow we can get our epoxy on the garage floor.   The cement filler that Lou applied to the little cracks has not dried sufficiently to be sanded; therefore, we have had to hold off on this project.

A Leisure Fall Walk

Monday - September 29th - Sunny 81 degrees

After a couple of very stressful days and little sleep it became very evident that God has this situation under control, Lou and I decided we would wait until Matthew awoke from his nap and ask Krista and Matthew to go for a walk with us.  They were more than willing to take us up on the offer.

We went across the creek and over to the Butternut tree to check on the nut supply and found there were a few nuts on the tree and a few on the ground.

The Butternut and it's leaves

Matthew loves to throw rocks in the creek so he had a great opportunity to have lots of time to do that while the rest of us shipped rocks in the creek.

This was a rather shallow spot and a perfect place for Matt

We walked further down the creek and up the deer path to the stone wall into the open field where we found the Hickory Nut Tree.  When Daddy was still alive we had a lovely orchard in this area with lots of Spy trees.

The stone wall that was built by my father

Matt and Lou where the orchard used to be

After we reached the top of the hill, we headed for the cow path and started back down the hill, it was a beautiful day for a walk.

Lou and Matthew 

After we got back from our walk Lou remembered that we needed to get to the cemetery to water the mum that we had placed on Al's grave so Krista put Matthew's cars seat into the Saturn and we went to the cemetery.  We have noticed that several of  our family stones are growing fungus and Krista is going to search the internet for a formula and we are going to go back and scrub some of the stones.

All in all it was a very nice afternoon.  I can't remember when I have enjoyed a fall as much as this one.  We are all very thankful to God for the great stress relief and concern and love from our many friends.

Pennsylvania Grand Canyon

Sunday - September 28th - Sunny - Beautiful Fall Day

Lou and I have been working hard getting our fall outside work done.  My large plant box that Al built for our back deck was beginning to deteriorate on the inside so Lou decided he would rebuilt the inside and install a liner to protect it.  He removed all of the dirt, let it dry out inside then rebuilt it and installed the liner.  Today I purchased new potted mums to plant in the planter.

Lou putting in fresh dirt, ready for the new mums

I have been busy decorating for fall, a job that I thoroughly enjoy.

Our f aux window at the back of our home

I have orange and yellow lights in the tree above the pumpkins

Back deck

Lou has been digging a ditch down by the barn to divert the water away from the barn in the spring.  Brion is going to bring pipe up to us in October so we can finish that project, and hopefully that will take away the excess water that we have every time we have excess rain.

Lou has been busy filling in low spots with dirt the landscapers had left over this spring.  He has broken up many of the large rocks and hauled them away, all of this make cutting the grass easier for us.  With the improvement of my arm, I have been able to use the weedeater and I have cleaned up the ditch when grapevine from next door had taken over, so that all looks so much better.  This has been a very good work week.

I was able to finish cleaning the garage and have gotten the garage floor scrubbed and purchased a gallon of epoxy to give the floor another coat of that tomorrow.  Lou filled a couple cracks today, and it will be ready for the epoxy tomorrow.

We used the chain saw yesterday and trimmed up the  honeysuckle yesterday and that was a great improvement.  Krista has been coming down each afternoon and helping me with my flowers, we have everything cut down with the exception of the Autumn Joy.  Matthew plays with his Grandpa and rides his bike or car on the drive way and we all get to enjoy the beautiful fall days.

Last evening we all received a horrible shock, my brother sent Krista and Steve a letter of eviction, they have rented our farm house for 17 years and he and his kids have decided that they want them to leave, so they are going to have to find a new place to move quickly.  We were all shocked and hurt, as Lou and I have come to depend on them to be there to help whenever, as they come at a moments notice, they have always kept my driveway plowed and so so much more, and I can't imagine not seeing Matthew every day.  Michelle grew up here, as did Krista after she was eight years old.  I certainly am glad my father is not alive to witness this sad occasion, as he would be very hurt.

After our week of hard work and the sadness of last evening, Lou suggested after our church service at Charleston Baptist Church we take a ride to the Canyon and enjoy the colors and do some hiking.

Incinerator used with the CCCamps

Tribute to the CCC Workers

Taken from the Look Out Trail

It was a great afternoon, the trail we took, was over a mile and we both did well with the walk.  We had enjoyed an early breakfast with Brion and Janet prior to picking up some supplies and more mums at Lowes; therefore, we were ready for dinner this evening.  Lou grilled hamburger and had potato salad to go with it.

I spent some time talking to Michelle this evening, as she is terribly upset and doesn't know what to do to help her parents at this difficult time.  Many prayers are needed.