It has Begun...

Work on the outside of the house has commenced. A few months ago we started getting quotes on siding. We checked out vinyl and steel siding and we called out a couple of companies from Spokane and a local guy. Being locally minded people we were happy to chose the local guy, Wilson Construction, and go with vinyl. It helped that Roy was so willing to work with us in ways that we could save money. To save a huge chunk we are doing the demo and installing the insulation on our own. Of course Roy is willing to give us guidance and came out today to go over a plan for all the work.

So now I can present the before photos and before you know it our house will look completely different.
A close up of the cedar siding that is going bye bye. It was in real need for paint, but I can't imagine how difficult it would be to paint this!

The back side of the house after about 2 and 1/2 hours. I did all this myself because Shawn was working on a much harder job (see below). We figure that with both of us pulling siding tomorrow we should be able to finish out this side and get some of the insulation up.

This was Shawn's project for the evening. This icky tree was actually up and growing when we moved in. It had grown up and around the edge of the roof and had dented some of the fascia. Shawn and his dad cut it down the first morning at the house and I had hopes to hang plants off the stump. Well Roy said it was too close to the house and would probably just attract bugs so it had to go. I relented (it wasn't that hard). So along with no more stump, a large chunk of my lilies have been ripped out. I guess they were a bit thick and probably weren't going to flower for that reason. Not quite the way I planned on thinning them, but I guess it works.

And finally our pile of Silver Ash 5" double dutch lap siding to go up as soon as we are done ripping off the cedar siding and putting up the insulation. We are hoping we can get it down through the rest of this week and weekend. Anyone want to help?

Chelan Photoshoot

Took a little vacation to the cabin on Lake Chelan for the weekend. We met up with our great friends and spent the days laying in the sun, reading books, playing cards and having good times. As Zanna went exploring on the exposed rocks Saturday night I followed (stalked is another term) her with the camera. Pretty soon I was telling her to look this way and that way. I love how the lighting turned out. I think most people would shy away from sunsets because of all the shadows, but I really like the effect I can get. I even convinced her boyfriend to come down for a couple of pictures. Although I didn't even try to get the hat and sunglasses off (he would have fled if I asked) the pictures still turned out great.

DSC_2564

DSC_2564
Originally uploaded by Kendal Jean Photos

DSC_2535

DSC_2535
Originally uploaded by Kendal Jean Photos

DSC_2551

DSC_2551
Originally uploaded by Kendal Jean Photos

DSC_2544

DSC_2544
Originally uploaded by Kendal Jean Photos

DSC_2560

DSC_2560
Originally uploaded by Kendal Jean Photos

DSC_2562

DSC_2562
Originally uploaded by Kendal Jean Photos

Welcome Baby...

Mama finally popped and out came a very cute little filly. We thought she was going to go Saturday night so I gathered together my sleeping bag, pad and pillow and set up shop in the tack room with Kathy. We watched a couple of movies and when we went to check after the second movie Abby was down and pushing hard. It was a false alarm though. We slept really lightly jumping at every noise, but Abby decided to hold on to her baby a bit longer.

As I was pulling out of the driveway last night I got the call. Kathy told me her water had just broke and I had better hurry. I made it just in time with just the feet sticking out and within 10 minutes there was a new little filly on the ground. It was so amazing watching her try and figure things out. Her first little whinny was so cute. I plan on heading out Wednesday to get some more photos of her while she is a bit more steady and playing in the pasture.

DSC_1791

DSC_1791
Originally uploaded by Kendal Jean Photos

DSC_1916

DSC_1916
Originally uploaded by Kendal Jean Photos

DSC_1972

DSC_1972
Originally uploaded by Kendal Jean Photos

DSC_2052

DSC_2052
Originally uploaded by Kendal Jean Photos

DSC_2070

DSC_2070
Originally uploaded by Kendal Jean Photos

One Big Momma...

And she's due in a month. I got the privilege to photograph a very pregnant horse today. She's due in another month for her fourth baby. I hope to make it to the birth as well, but with such an experienced momma it might be over by the time I get the camera out :0) It was quite a challenge trying to figure out how to get the best view of her big belly and still be able to tell what it is. You can see more photos from the day at http://www.flickr.com/photos/k-sphotos/

Pregnant Mare

DSC_0544
Originally uploaded by Kendal Jean Photos

Feeling Baby

DSC_0482_BW
Originally uploaded by Kendal Jean Photos

Sleep

DSC_0611
Originally uploaded by Kendal Jean Photos

Pregnant Mare

DSC_0628
Originally uploaded by Kendal Jean Photos

Spring has Sprung

While at the kitchen sink this morning I looked up to see my first flowers blooming! I was so excited I dropped everything and ran outside with my camera. I can't wait until everything is blooming so I can see where things are planted around here. I have had an invasion of bulbs in just about every open area and I'm sorry to say I'm going to have to rein some of them in and rip them out, but until then I can enjoy how pretty they will be. The garden and landscaping around the house are all a mystery since we moved in the fall. We ran into the previous owner and he said that it is about to get really beautiful, so that just makes me more giddy. I've never really had a garden, so it will be fun to experiment.

Other then finally having nice enough weather to venture outside, we've finished the living room and most of the entry. Although the entry way color is still on the iffy list. I think it will stay until I get a few opinions, but then it may leave. Don't worry pictures will be coming. If it weren't for the short time this morning I'd post all of that, but I have to leave you the edge of your seat just a bit.

Enjoy the day today!

Daffodil

Daffodil
Originally uploaded by Kendal Jean Photos

Daffodil

Daffodil
Originally uploaded by Kendal Jean Photos

Sun Mountain Scenery

We set off for a hike down one of the trails at Sun Mountain and soon Jill had a mission. We left the kids with Steve and kept going to each bend in the trail to find the Homestead. Jill had been to the little hut before and really wanted to find it again. I was happy to get out and hike with the camera. Also very happy to get some of the shots that I did. It is always refreshing to get good pictures after being cooped up all winter.

Single Tree

Single Tree
Originally uploaded by Kendal Jean Photos

Homestead

Homestead
Originally uploaded by Kendal Jean Photos

Deadhead

Deadhead
Originally uploaded by Kendal Jean Photos

Moss Head

Moss Head
Originally uploaded by Kendal Jean Photos

A little from Sun Mountain...

Finally! I got to some photo editing tonight and got some of the photos from Sun Mountain uploaded. There will be some more scenery photos to come as well as another update on how the house is coming along. We got quite a bit more done in the living room and there is more to come over spring break. Not to mention we got our new windows put in too.

I can't believe how busy things have been! Now spring is here and I'll want to get outside even more. Where am I going to find the time??

At the Cabin

At the Cabin
Originally uploaded by Kendal Jean Photos

We ditched the kids and Jill, Shawn and I kept going to find Jill's elusive homestead cabin. Proof we were there :0)

Sliding

Sliding
Originally uploaded by Kendal Jean Photos

Shawn taught the girls the technique to sliding down the icy snow with no sled.

Sliding

Sliding
Originally uploaded by Kendal Jean Photos

Sliding

Sliding
Originally uploaded by Kendal Jean Photos

Snowballs

Snowballs
Originally uploaded by Kendal Jean Photos

For Jill

Not Quite Done...

But pretty darn impressive.

I am so happy with how the living room has turned out so far. Again we have a few more things to do and we'll add them to the list to be whittled away, but we have quite a strong start.

Before

You've seen these next two pictures from the previous post, but it just didn't seem right not to add them to this new post. Again we worked on the white wall which is actually painted paneling.

I took an afternoon and ripped the paneling off. You can read about that adventure here. Here's the wall all patched and ready to go.


During

We chose the paint color way back when we did the bedroom and had samples painted all over the wall. After two coats I was a little concerned with how dark it was appearing, but it got way better by the end.


Having never done any trim work we embarked on the adventure. We were able to quickly decide we weren't keeping the original trim because there was a patched area behind the paneling and right next to the door, so we needed some a bit thicker. We headed down to Home Depot and after about an hour of trying to decide we came home with some door trim. Again I was hesitant with how it would look but plowed ahead knowing we can always change it later.


We had the hardest time trying to decide on the door trim and baseboard because we couldn't find any that looked good right next to one another. Then I stumbled upon the simple plinth block and a happy medium was found. I really like the effect.


The door almost finished. The frame on the inside is primed and drying before we paint it the same color as the trim. I know it's hard to tell the difference but all the trim is the color chinchilla. All I can say is that it isn't white. :0)

After

My crowning achievement for this wall... to highlight our wedding. I think it looks amazing!

Now there are still a few things to do. We need to finish trimming out the other bedroom door (the pieces are drying as I type) and then we need to get crown molding. There is crown molding on the un-paneled walls already, but it is a very old style so we plan on updating that as well. So we are stuck with a funky tan and weird green color as a top border for now, but that's alright, the beautiful quilt from Zanna and the nice wedding photo catches the attention. We want to try and build a cool, fancy molding shelf to go under the wedding picture to even out the wall.

So many plans to come, but I'm loving how it looks! We are getting new windows in the next couple of weeks, so I'll have to venture outside for some before photos, though there shouldn't be a huge visible difference between the old and new windows... just an energy bill difference :0)

Demo Time

No riding this weekend and Shawn has made the comment that I'm really productive when I'm not on a horse :0)

Our next project we've agreed will be the living room. We know what color we want to do and the only thing that has been stopping us is my wanting to take down the paneling. We were kind of nervous about what might be behind the paneling, but you'll never know unless you rip it down and while Shawn was grading papers I pulled out my pink toolkit.

I won't hold you in suspense, luckily there was drywall behind the paneling and it is actually in quite good condition and not too bad of a color. The good color mind you is in the middle of the wall the borders are quite awful. The blue green color is actually the original drywall (I think) and we plan on covering that up with crown modeling and trim.

Here's a short picture story of the day:

The true before, before we even moved in. Now we are just doing
the painted paneling which is white in this picture. The other
wall is going to hold off until we remove the oil furnace which
is behind the closet door.

If the paneling doesn't cooperate that's when you
get the power saw out :0) It worked well and scared Shawn.

Not a bad color! It is more yellow/tan in person,
kind of pink in some of the photos.

Who throws their poo?! Well not really, this panel was glued
on because there are no studs in this wall. It will take
some sanding to fix those parts.

All patched and ready for priming. We'll see
how long it will stay like this.

Meet Annie....

You can read all about my adventures with Annie on my other blog, 'Joining the Race.' I've been too nervous to take my big camera out to the barn because of the temperatures, but decided to take (risk) Shawn's little point and shoot. Didn't really expect to get any great shots, but I actually like how this one turned out. I enhanced the blow out that was already happening and bumped up the contrast to really make it pop.

I like how it turned out. How about you? I'm also liking all these little blog kits I keep finding online. Might get to the point that I can just change the blog to suit my mood :0)

Finally....

We made it outdoors. With the cold spell sort of snapped (I think it is supposed to be 40 degrees this week!) we ventured out to do some snowshoeing. Unfortunately we've kind of missed that window. I think there was a very narrow window to do real snowshoeing back in December and we just never made it out.

Well today we headed up to Scotch Creek Wildlife Area. I hoped to glimpse some wildlife, but alas no critters, or at least live ones, a few drops of blood and a pile of fur was really all that was left. It was actually a pretty pleasant morning. About 20 degrees, but no wind. Hopper was excited to explore a new place and was really all over the place. There is a pretty well worn trail up most of the hill so we didn't need to use our snowshoes, but decided to carry them with us anyway. I'd like to find a way to carry them without my hands, but that can come another day. It was really nice to have them when we got up towards the barn as the snow was pretty deep. Hopper was true to his name and hopped through the snow and kept digging in, probably chasing mice under the snow.

The barn was a great photo site. I have seen it from the Conconully highway and had even tried to take a photo of it with no luck. Today though, I had a blast. It has been so long since I have taken the camera out it was really great to get some good shots. Renews my faith in myself.

Just a Peek

Just a Peek
Originally uploaded by Kendal Jean Photos

Scotch Creek Barn

Scotch Creek Barn
Originally uploaded by Kendal Jean Photos

Open Door

Open Door
Originally uploaded by Kendal Jean Photos

Barn Door

Barn Door
Originally uploaded by Kendal Jean Photos

Hopper

Hopper
Originally uploaded by Kendal Jean Photos

His longest walk yet. We were probably out for about an hour and a half. He really enjoyed smelling everything that was new to him. Hopper has probably memorized all the smells on his daily walk by now. He really liked the deer trails crossing ours.