Dear Readers,
We are experienceing technical difficulties with our satellite internet connection in North Carolina. Unfortunately, this effects more than just our blog updates. Collier and I have begun our fall semester online through FSCJ, which heavily relies on this internet connection. We have some interesting obstacles to overcome in order to satisfy our class requirements!
This semester our schedules include:
Chelsey: Literature and Fiction Writing, Humanities, and American Federal Government
Collier: Public Speaking, Humanities, American Federal Government, and Calculus 3
We are excited to be working through another semester as it puts us very close to graduating with our A.A. degrees!
We are coming right along with cabin construction. Our wonderful sheetrock engineer is texturizing the walls with a rustic plaster effect and we have picked out some paint samples! I can hardly believe that our next step is painting!
We are also plugging along with outside work, building up our retaining wall and destroying the massive weeds that seem to grow like...weeds!
I hope to include more pictures with our updates as time becomes available. Thank you so much for keeping up with us!
August 31, 2011
The Tractor Pull
This Saturday we took a break from cabin construction to go on a little mountain adventure...the Haywood County Fair Mountain Man Tractor Pull! Papa patiently instructed Collier and I on the process and procedure of tractor driving with his pride and joy: a John Deere 1956 Wheatland 720. He perched atop the fender and gave us instructions as we became familiar with the clutch, throttle, and brakes. The tractor is rather large and difficult to drive for both Collier and I due to our alternate heights. I am very short, so I have to sit at the edge of the seat to make forward progress and stretch my legs behind me to apply the brakes. Collier, on the other hand, is rather tall and he tends to ride with his knees by his ears. Despite it's challenges, driving the tractor on the mountain was thrilling and only fed our excitement for the big event.
We arrived at the fair, unloaded the tractor and tested our weights. I was slated to pull in the 9000 lb class, Collier in the 9500 lb, and Mom in the 10,000 lb class. Because our classes were so close in proximity, we needed to be sure that we knew exactly how many weights to place on the tractor for each pull. We weighed and added and weighed and subtracted until we came within 10 lbs of our target weight. After scouting a prime parking place against the fence of the arena, we prepared the tractor for my pull.
We arrived at the fair at 6 pm. The pull began with the low weight classes and we waited many hours for our turn. It was very helpful to watch the lower class pulls and strategize for our own runs.
We waited for a very long time. Grandma Moody was so excited to be in the stands with us and she waited so patiently for our turns.
FINALLY we reached the 9000 lb class. I was the second competitor. I pulled 112.4 feet, not bad for a first run, but not enough for first place. I came home with a 3rd place trophy out of four contenders.
Next it was Collier's turn. We quickly weighted the tractor and he pulled onto the track to wait for his turn.
During Collier's first pull, the sled was not working properly. He had to repeat his pull. Collier pulled 95.8 feet and won third place out of three in his class.
Finally, it was Mom's turn. Her competition was steep. There were quite a few contenders in her class. She pulled like a pro and the crowd went wild as she conquered an ominous hole in the center of the track!
Mom pulled 131.4 feet and came in fifth place in her class.
Mom and I comprised two of the four women who competed at the Mountain "Man" Tractor Pull. Only two women placed: myself in third, and the other in second place for a lower weight class (5000 lb I believe). The crowd was very enthusiastic for the ladies!
We rode home with two shiny trophies and the best prize of all: the joy on Papa's face when he said that he was just "tickled" at our success. We had the very best teacher!
There is another tractor pull scheduled in October...
August 23, 2011
East-Coast Weirdness
Today was full of unexpected surprises. Papa is coming home to the mountain after being "deployed" to Nashville after a local oil crisis. We traveled down the mountain to find our sheetrock guy taping and filling in nail holes in preparation for mudding next week. But the most interesting and unusual surprise of the day was hearing word of the 5.8-magnitude earthquake!
As we stood in the cabin, discussing future construction with our wonderful sheetrock engineer, Mom ceased talking mid-sentence and stomped her foot on the plywood floor. She paused, stating that she felt the floor moving and is "paranoid" about earthquakes with this cabin having a pole barn frame.
We casually climbed back into the truck and began the ride down the mountain. We were rather surprised when we heard a radio report of an east-coast earthquake! Mom's eyes were wide as she realized that her perception of the cabin floor shaking could have indeed been that earthquake. Upon further examination, the timing of the quake aligns with our time at the barn... This is indeed a possibility!
As we stood in the cabin, discussing future construction with our wonderful sheetrock engineer, Mom ceased talking mid-sentence and stomped her foot on the plywood floor. She paused, stating that she felt the floor moving and is "paranoid" about earthquakes with this cabin having a pole barn frame.
We casually climbed back into the truck and began the ride down the mountain. We were rather surprised when we heard a radio report of an east-coast earthquake! Mom's eyes were wide as she realized that her perception of the cabin floor shaking could have indeed been that earthquake. Upon further examination, the timing of the quake aligns with our time at the barn... This is indeed a possibility!
August 22, 2011
Barn-Raising
Alright...so it's not really a "barn raising" in the traditional sense of the term, but we are working hard to complete this project so we can head out to Colorado and be reunited as a family!
This past weekend has been full of major accomplishments. We hired a group of people to hang the sheetrock! It was installed on Saturday, and let me tell you that it completely changes the look of the cabin! One can no longer walk through the front door and easily see through the framing to the back windows. Unfortunately, this does make the place feel smaller. I do not expect that we will become fixated on that fact for too long before we become excited about all of the other developments that will soon take place. In the meantime, here are a few pictures of the progress.
These are quite incomplete for our family web site. Unfortunately I am rushed at the moment and will not be able to update our photo albums until later this week. When that has been done, you can see the progression from framing to insulation, to sheetrock. We have also recorded a video tour that I will post when I have the 2 hours to upload it!
This past weekend has been full of major accomplishments. We hired a group of people to hang the sheetrock! It was installed on Saturday, and let me tell you that it completely changes the look of the cabin! One can no longer walk through the front door and easily see through the framing to the back windows. Unfortunately, this does make the place feel smaller. I do not expect that we will become fixated on that fact for too long before we become excited about all of the other developments that will soon take place. In the meantime, here are a few pictures of the progress.
These are quite incomplete for our family web site. Unfortunately I am rushed at the moment and will not be able to update our photo albums until later this week. When that has been done, you can see the progression from framing to insulation, to sheetrock. We have also recorded a video tour that I will post when I have the 2 hours to upload it!
August 20, 2011
Sea Level Renovations
Just as Collier and I finished school, we began preparing for a mini-move out of the condo in Jacksonville to Grandma's house in North Carolina (while we finish the cabin). This required an unusually complicated packing process as we sorted through our things and the remainders of Papa's furniture and belongings and arranged them in storage. There are 5 categories for sorting:
1. Things to leave in the condo (we are leaving it minimally staged for family and travelers).
2. Things to bring to Grandma's house in NC.
3. Things to bring to the cabin while we are laboring (primarily tools and other building materials).
4. Things to bring to storage, but that will eventually furnish the barn.
5. Things to bring to storage that will ultimately go to CO.
The whole packing process required a great deal of thought on Mom's part. It took significantly longer than we anticipated. In fact, Collier and I left Mom in Jacksonville to complete the final touches of the packing/cleaning process and have relocated to NC to supervise the current construction efforts.
Before we began the packing process in Jacksonville, we made a few updates to the condo that will increase it's value and appeal for future tenets. Firstly, we painted over the original, chalky, builder's flat wall color with warm beige in various welcoming hues. Instant change in the overall feeling of the condo!
Secondly, we tiled the back splash in the kitchen with hundreds of tiny, 1" tiles in shades of tan and brown.
Thirdly, we pulled up the carpet in the living/dining room and replaced it with high quality Pergo flooring. This is one of our favorite jobs because we love installing new floors ourselves (it is so easy) and enjoy basking in the near instant change and gratification it provides!
Finally, as a last minute project, we painted the garage floor with a thick Epoxy paint specifically formulated for this type of flooring. The difference in the cleanliness, quality, and overall feel of the garage and the whole condo was remarkable! We are only disappointed that we won't be able to enjoy it but for a few days before we leave.
1. Things to leave in the condo (we are leaving it minimally staged for family and travelers).
2. Things to bring to Grandma's house in NC.
3. Things to bring to the cabin while we are laboring (primarily tools and other building materials).
4. Things to bring to storage, but that will eventually furnish the barn.
5. Things to bring to storage that will ultimately go to CO.
The whole packing process required a great deal of thought on Mom's part. It took significantly longer than we anticipated. In fact, Collier and I left Mom in Jacksonville to complete the final touches of the packing/cleaning process and have relocated to NC to supervise the current construction efforts.
Before we began the packing process in Jacksonville, we made a few updates to the condo that will increase it's value and appeal for future tenets. Firstly, we painted over the original, chalky, builder's flat wall color with warm beige in various welcoming hues. Instant change in the overall feeling of the condo!
Secondly, we tiled the back splash in the kitchen with hundreds of tiny, 1" tiles in shades of tan and brown.
Thirdly, we pulled up the carpet in the living/dining room and replaced it with high quality Pergo flooring. This is one of our favorite jobs because we love installing new floors ourselves (it is so easy) and enjoy basking in the near instant change and gratification it provides!
Finally, as a last minute project, we painted the garage floor with a thick Epoxy paint specifically formulated for this type of flooring. The difference in the cleanliness, quality, and overall feel of the garage and the whole condo was remarkable! We are only disappointed that we won't be able to enjoy it but for a few days before we leave.
Tri-Location
The McGehee family is on the move again!
Since our last update Dad was hired by TalonUSA and has relocated to Colorado Springs. He is living with our dear friends, the Nabeta family, in Black Forest and is incredibly grateful for their hospitality and company. He loves his job and travels a great deal giving presentations and increasing the effectiveness of war-fighter technologies with Air Force TENCAP.
The rest of our foursome family has remained at sea level for the past few months. Collier and I completed our summer semester at FSCJ, and both of us are excited to finish our A.A. degrees at the end of this year.
Mom has embarked on a new journey for our family and taken up an old project: finishing our North Carolina cabin. The barn/apartment has been a roughed-in structure on our land at the bottom of the mountain since summer 2006. Before we make the final trek out to Colorado, we desperately want to complete construction! Mom has been diligently researching and laboring to complete each step of the process. More updates are sure to come on that front!
So, if you're counting, that's three seperate locations that our foursome is currently residing in! Dad is in CO, Mom is in NC, and Collier and I are in FL! We are so ready to be together again!
Since our last update Dad was hired by TalonUSA and has relocated to Colorado Springs. He is living with our dear friends, the Nabeta family, in Black Forest and is incredibly grateful for their hospitality and company. He loves his job and travels a great deal giving presentations and increasing the effectiveness of war-fighter technologies with Air Force TENCAP.
The rest of our foursome family has remained at sea level for the past few months. Collier and I completed our summer semester at FSCJ, and both of us are excited to finish our A.A. degrees at the end of this year.
Mom has embarked on a new journey for our family and taken up an old project: finishing our North Carolina cabin. The barn/apartment has been a roughed-in structure on our land at the bottom of the mountain since summer 2006. Before we make the final trek out to Colorado, we desperately want to complete construction! Mom has been diligently researching and laboring to complete each step of the process. More updates are sure to come on that front!
So, if you're counting, that's three seperate locations that our foursome is currently residing in! Dad is in CO, Mom is in NC, and Collier and I are in FL! We are so ready to be together again!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
