May 18th, 2009 by Sha

Short post today as I have another busy week ahead. The weather has been absolutely gorgeous with temperatures in the mid-seventies, which is perfect at our altitude because it feels ten degrees warmer than it actually is. We’ve been spending a lot of time outside getting this year’s projects underway. Everything is so green right now, and the wild flowers have started their annual display which makes it difficult to focus on the work at hand. The barn patio project is almost done, we just need to move a little more dirt before I can start laying the stones. Frequent work breaks are necessary during this beautiful weather, and here are a few photos I took while out on a walk the other day. I hope you enjoy them.

May 8th, 2009 by Sha

Pete started smoking meats last summer, using a propane grill that my mom bought for me when I purchased my first house in 1997. (Thanks, Mom, we still use that grill at least three times a week!) He’s got a system that works great and produces excellent (m)eats, but he wanted a dedicated smoker. He was so serious about it that he’d done a bunch of research and had even picked one out, so I thought it would be fun to get it for him this year. On April 10^th I found the best price on the Char-Griller Outlaw smoker at Amazon.com, with the best deal on shipping. The smoker weighs about 140 pounds, and most places wanted over $100 for shipping; Amazon charged $39. I ordered the smoker and it arrived within 5 days, heavily damaged. The box looked like it had fallen off the back of a truck and had been taped together with at least one roll of packing tape, maybe two. (Click here or on the thumbnail image to view the smoker pics.) The smoker is powder coated and the lid had such bad dents that it cracked the powder coating, which will just lead to premature rust. It was also missing a bunch of assembly parts like bolts, nuts, and even the thermometer. I’d bet that one of the parts bags fell out of the gaping holes in the box. I sent Amazon an email with photos of the damage and they said they would send out another smoker and we can return the damaged one using the pre-paid shipping label they included in their email. The tracking number I got for the replacement says it’s being shipped to Oregon, so I call Amazon to try to figure out what’s going on. They don’t know either, but assist with getting the package bound for Oregon re-routed to Colorado and is expected to be delivered on Friday, May 1^st. At this point it seemed that things were sorted out. On Tuesday, April 28^th I went to our mailbox in town and guess what’s waiting for me? A smoker! Fine, whatever, as long as it’s not damaged and we can get on with the fun part of making some yummy food. We swap damaged smoker for good smoker, damaged smoker gets put back in good smoker’s box and sent back to Amazon on Friday May 1^st. That same day, when I get back home from town, the UPS truck comes driving up our road at 3:30 pm. Now mind you, I live in B.F.C., and for the most part no delivery company will bring packages to the house which is why we have a delivery address in town. Guess what was on the truck? Smoker number three! I went outside to stop the driver before she unloaded the monstrosity and briefly told her about what had happened. We both had a good laugh, and I refused the delivery. It is the only time Amazon has made a mistake, I just wish it would have been something less heavy. But everything’s copasetic now. Pete is very happy and is already planning his summer meat smoking schedule. I can’t wait!

May 5th, 2009 by Sha

Pete’s been working on a patio for the barn and it’s just about done. There’s been a bit of a mud problem since we bought the place; the sloping around the building is not correct causing water to pool around the entry doors. He used some rail road ties that we got for free to create a base for the patio and borders for raising the area near the doors to divert the water. We bought pressure treated 2×10’s for the patio from a local lumber yard that’s going out of business and saved 30% off the regular price. The patio looks very nice, and Pete also built a bench next to the door with a shoe rack below. I’ve started on a low rock wall to extend the railroad tie border to the end of the area in between the parking spaces, and the plan is to make a fire pit and put a table and chairs in the section between the two big pine trees. I’m going to make a rock pathway in the space right in front of the barn, to keep down the amount of mud that gets tracked onto the patio, and next to that will be a small grassy area. The past few days it’s been raining off and on so I’ve not been able to make much progress on the rock work. Hopefully the rest of the week will be nice so we can get this project finished and start refurbishing the table and chairs that will go between the pine trees. When it’s all done the mud factor will be somewhat under control and we’ll have another place on the property to sit and enjoy the scenery.

May 1st, 2009 by Sha

We’ve been very busy the past week or so, which is why it’s been ten days since the last post. Pete’s been working on a patio down at the barn (I need to take some pictures of the project before it’s all done), the new Char Griller Outlaw smoker that I bought for him is finally all put together (more on that story in another post), I made a cover for the master bedroom window seat cushion (more on that in another post), and then I spent two days this week doing spring cleaning. While all this was going on the kitties have been loudly protesting the lack of attention, except for Squeak who’s been having fun with her new toy – an empty Pacifico twelve pack box. She is so damned cute, that Squeak in a box!