Friday, May 31, 2024
It was just another day around the ranch in Matheson, Colorado. Mel worked on the container home. At around 7 p.m. some wild turkeys showed up that I was able to get a few pictures of (see below).
And then around 7:50 p.m. it began to rain very hard. Along with lots of hail (see in the picture below), there was also a beautiful rainbow that followed.
Saturday, June 1, 2024
Mel worked on the container home today. Since he now has the sheetrock all installed and painted, and has now gotten all the lights installed and electric wall plates on, the inside of the container home looks brighter (see pictures below).
Mel also got the vent put up in the shower area (see below).
Sunday, June 2, 2024
Today Mel worked on the shower stall applying the RedGard Waterproofing Sealant. It sure is a bright red color (see below).
After the RedGard was dry, then Mel worked on cutting the waterproof vinyl wood grain flooring to install in the shower. This is the newest and greatest thing (see picture above and below).
And then, Mel got the lock and deadbolt installed on the side door of the container home (see pictures below).
Tuesday, June 4, 2024
Yesterday, I went with Debbie Griffin to the quilting and craft session at church in the afternoon. This morning, I decided to lay out the log cabin quilt blocks I have made and see what it looked like (see below). I think it is looking good!
Today, Mel worked in the shower and got all the wood grain vinyl glued into place. He has placed braces to hold it there until it is fully dry.
Wednesday, June 5, 2024
Today we made another trip to Home Depot to pick up some plywood for the bed frame, several pieces of 2x3 8 foot boards, a continous hinge for the bed, gorilla wood glue, 42 pine boards to use for the window trim and baseboards, a drain pan for the water heater, brown masking paper, and other miscellaneous things (see below).
When we got back home, Mel took the braces off the shower so I could take another picture. Now all he has to do to finish the shower is put in the shower head and faucet, which he will do later.
This afternoon, Mel built the bed frame (see above and below). There will be about 12 inches to walk around both sides of the bed.
Thursday, June 6, 2024
Today Mel put the plywood top on the bed frame (see pictures below).
He then installed the continuous hinge, so that the plywood top can be lifted up and the lower area under the bed used for storage.
Friday, June 7, 2024
Today Mel worked on trimming out the windows on the inside of the container (see below).
He asked me to come up with a window trim treatment that was simple and rustic, so this is I came up with -- it is somewhat of a craftsman style (see below).
Saturday, June 8, 2024
Today Mel finished all the window trim except for the window above the kitchen sink area, which he will do later once the kitchen sink and counter top is installed.
I spent part of the day working on my smashed can decoupage project (see the bag of smashed cans below).
Monday, June 10, 2024
Today Mel got all the fixtures installed in the shower (see below).
Below is another view of the windows trimmed on the inside of the container home, now ready to stain and finish.
Today I painted my smashed cans with a light yellow house paint (see below).
Tuesday, June 11, 2024
Since the paint was dry, I decided to decoupage my smashed cans with napkins with a beach scene (see below).
Wednesday, June 12, 2024
Today was the day that our cabinets for the container home finally arrived. They got here a little after 2 p.m. in the afternoon. The Penske truck backed up to the container home and two guys unloaded them while Mel checked them in (see below).
Mel had them stack the boxes with the cabinets on the deck.
We could see the color of the Hampton Bay cabinets through the boxes -- a natural hickory.
After all 18 cabinet boxes were unloaded and Mel had completed the check-in inventory, the Penske truck pulled away.
Mel gives a thumbs up expressing his delight in finally getting the cabinets (see below).
First, Mel moved the upper and lower cabinets that he would be putting in the living/dining area of the container to the inside (see below).
Above, Mel is just like a child in a candy store as he opens up the first cabinet box. He then had to open and check each cabinet for damage from shipping.
Mel then arranged the base cabinet boxes in order according to our kitchen design. Shown above and below, Mel is now installing the first of several upper cabinets.
He installed the wall kitchen cabinets first -- and that way, the base cabinets would not be in his way while installing the upper cabinets.
Installing the cabinets on the wall was quite a process. Mel had to first spot where his wall studs were located. He had already marked the center of each stud on the white height board he had placed on the wall to level all the upper cabinets in the right place.
Mel then transfered the stud location marks to the back of each cabinet and drilled small pilot holes at the top of each cabinet. This made it easier for him to attach them to the stud(s).
Mel removed any cabinet doors that might be in his way as he was attaching each subsequent cabinet to the first. Mel then used two C-clamps to attach the next cabinet to the first. He adjusted and re-clamped the second cabinet until it is level and flush with the first one (see below).
He then drilled two holes in the face frame right above or just below each door hinge location, and then attached the second cabinet to the first cabinet using screws (see below).
He used the same procedure for attaching the remainder of upper wall cabinets. After all cabinets were attached together, he tightened all the mounting screws. He then checked to be sure that all cabinets were level after tightening the screws.
Next, after Mel had replaced all the upper cabinet doors, he sat the lower base cabinets in place where they would go (see below).
Then after getting all the other cabinet boxes carried into the container home for the night, he called it a day.
Mel was up early and back in the container home working at installing cabinets (see below).
And then around 3:50 p.m. in the afternoon a storm with lightening blew in (see picture below).
I was watching lightening strikes across the field from the dining table in our RV. And then as you can see in the picture above, I spotted a lightening-induced fire in the wheat field. I told Mel and he let Skeeter know about it. Skeeter called the fire department and 911 to alert them.
Meanwhile, Mel performed a demolition on the sheetrock/painted wall holding the pocket door frame (he had been very unhappy with the pocket door frame, didn't have the correct hardware to install a pocket door, and needed to be able to get the bathroom sink vanity cabinet into the bathroom, so he didn't really have a choice but to bust it out).
With the demolition complete, you can see he now has the bathroom vanity cabinet installed (see above).
Mel continued working on the lower cabinet bases.
I stepped back to the bedroom to see that he had opened the cabinets for the bedroom and had them all laying on the bed frame (see below).
And then before Mel quit for the day, he pretty much had all the lower cabinets in place (see above). Now all that remains to be done is to order the countertop with the hole for the sink and have it installed. Later, he will also make sure all drawers and cabinet doors are lined up.
Friday, June 14, 2024
Today, we had several errands to run because of our planned 2-week getaway trip to the Thousand Trails Blue Mesa Recreational Ranch in Gunnison, Colorado. Our plan is to leave on Monday, June 17, 2024 to meet up with our good friends, Mike and Judy Pluto there at the campground. We will be back here to continue our work on the container home sometime on Monday, July 1, 2024.
After making several stops -- first at our friends Sam and Nancy Testa's house in Peyton, Colorado; Wells Fargo in Colorado Springs; a stop at the RV Parts Store; and Cheers, we then made an unexpected stop -- Ultimate Buffet for a surprise early birthday dinner. And surprise, surprise -- Skeeter and Debbie Griffin were there waiting to join us! My husband always tells me that I am so hard to surprise -- well today, he pulled one off on me. What a surprise!!!
The food was delicious and we had a great time! Afterwards, we stopped at King Soopers and then Walmart, before dropping off the jeep to have some maintenance work done.
Saturday, June 15, 2024
Happy birthday to me! Happy birthday to me!
The song, "It's My Party" by Lesley Gore was released in 1963 and became a hit, particularly known for the line, "It's my party, and I'll cry if I want to, cry if I want to, cry if I want to". The song dealt with a teenager's disappointing sweet 16 birthday celebration where she learned her boyfriend Johnny had disappeared. The lyrics are shown below:
It's my party, and I'll cry if I want to
Cry if I want to, cry if I want to
You would cry too if it happened to you.
Nobody knows where my Johnny has gone
Judy left the same time
Why was he holding her hand
When he's supposed to be mine?
It's my party, and I'll cry if I want to
Cry if I want to, cry if I want to
You would cry too if it happened to you.
Playin' my records, keep dancing all night
But leave me alone for a while
'Til Johnny's dancing with me
I've got no reason to smile.
It's my party, and I'll cry if I want to
Cry if I want to, cry if I want to
You would cry too if it happened to you.
Judy and Johnny just walked through the door
Like a queen with her King
Oh, what a birthday surprise
Judy's wearin' his ring.
It's my party, and I'll cry if I want to
Cry if I want to, cry if I want to
You would cry too if it happened to you.
It's my birthday, but I'm not having a party and I won't be shedding any tears. I have had so many well wishes today including the two birthday cards I received (see below).
Happy birthday to me! I wish myself many more years of joy, love, laughter, health and prosperity. I wish myself strength and wisdom for days to come and success with everything I do today, and tomorrow!
God has given me another year to live, laugh, and love and that is the best thing I could receive. Happy birthday to me!
We're planning to have rib-eye steaks and salads for dinner tonight! Yummy!
This afternoon, Mel worked at getting the cabinets in the bedroom installed (see above and below).
Another birthday and another year has passed. Mel and I have done so many things together this past year including a wonderful and amazing trip through Canada and Alaska. We are building our dream summer retreat in Colorado -- and we would love to have friends and family visit us here in Matheson, Colorado. If you have an RV, we can accomodate you here as there is plenty of wild open space. If not, our guest accomodations in the container home will soon be finished.
Just as the song, "Home, Home on the Range" proclaims:
Oh, give me a home where the buffalo roam
Where the deer and the antelope play
Where seldom is heard a discouraging word
And the skies are not cloudy all day.
Our container home is located on a beautiful Colorado ranch -- surrounded by peace and quiet and the occasional howl of a coyote. We would love to see you all, so if you are ever in the area, just give us a call.
Shirley & Mel
