Today I got the couch and storage unit built with a coat of primer and a coat of semi gloss put on it . I'm still working on the two roll out bins for it .

Got the cabinets built and a coat of primer put on them , I'm thinking about making the doors and using beaded board inserts .

Tiny house paint.

Painting interior walls a light yellow , I think it will look nice with the walnut .

Loft floor in the tiny house.

Put pine v groove for loft floor , painted the backs of the boards before installing them.

Tiny House ceiling.

Got the ceiling finished and floor joist stained decided on walnut .

Starting on ceiling in Tiny House.

Putting in lathes and insulating ceiling getting ready for metal.

Loft in tiny house .

This is the other storage loft over the bathroom.

New paneling for tiny house.

Putting up paneling and building the loft floors.

Tiny house walls upstairs.

Pine v groove siding on the walls upstairs.

Insulating the tiny house.

Insulating the tiny house with a combination of two different types of insulation . The first is 1" styrofoam in the floors and bathroom , and ecoroll fiberglass in the rest .

Siding is almost done.

Siding is on caulked and painted , color is called approaching storm . Also got wiring and plumbing done . I am wiring like a normal house and using pex and pvc for plumbing .

Siding for the tiny house.

The tiny house will get grey metal on both ends and masonite on the sides.

Getting a good start on tiny house.

Got the walls up some of the osb on started putting on house wrap and underlayment for the roof .

Tiny House

Bought a trailer and finally got started on building a tiny house .

This is my life

Gardening , hunting , fishing this is the way we live . I couldn't imagine life being any other way . We raise rabbits for meat and fertilizer and chickens for eggs food and fertilizer . Everything that is used on our homestead is usually recycled and repurposed and pretty much used completely up . Hardly anything we use is thrown away after one project . Food is also reused , we eat and have left overs then cats have some and the rest goes to rabbits or chickens . If there is anything that can be composted  it goes into compost heap and is reused for planting season . Me and my wife both had great teachers in this awesome habit with our parents and grandparents . And we teach our kids and grand kids . Life to me when it is lived simply , its better more fun and rewarding . I love to see something take shape because of me and my two hands . A plant pops out of the ground spreads out blooms and bear fruit all because I took the time and put forth the effort to place it in the soil and water it . That is truly amazing , and it doesn't hurt that groceries are so expensive these days . The most important thing in life is this find something that makes you happy , don't sit around and talk about doing it . Do it , I promise it will be hard work but also you will be happier .  

marvins you suck

My job is home builder and of course with that buying a ton material . If you are to stay competitive quality and price is the name of the game . Around our area of Alabama we have had smaller family lumber stores , like Swifts supply with several locations . Bondurant lumber also with several locations and so I don't ramble Deas lumber of Monroeville .Well a few years ago this company moved in I will not say their name but it rhymes with tarvins building material , so I will not give any free advertising . So anyhoo I picked up a couple recessed lights and installed them in a clients home . Well a week later after sheetrock is hung finished and painted I go to tarvins to get my trim . And here comes the suck part none of the trim pieces will fit the lights . So I go through the store fined a stock person to give me some info on it , take a guess what happened next your right she doesn't know anything about it . Hilarious , as you all know me and my sunny disposition I'm taking this really good because employee tells me and I quote we just don't have any in stock because brewton tarvins came and took all of them . As it turns out every style recessed light had parts missing from them . Mine were no exception ,so I asked what is the next course of action . The reply was we don't have any , my question in a not so nice way is how can we get some . A 10 second pause and I say get on the phone like right now not tomorrow and call your other stores and maybe see if they have any . So a couple of employees are listening to me raise hell , and one on the phone making calls. After watching the three idiots for what seemed like a life time but actually was 10 minutes I left my name and phone number to call when they found the lights . So hi ho it's back to work I go , and sure enough my phone rings it's tarvins calling . Hey guess what we found those lights for you , the brewton store has some . Are you freakin serious , the same brewton tarvins who supposedly came and took all of your lights .Aaaaannnnddd get this crap , now on my memorial day weekened I get to drive over and pick them up myself . O dear lord , I go off in tarvins . This is absolutely unacceptable , why should I have to drive a hour and a half out of my way to cover for their mistake . So some how they fe-dex it to Monroeville store , I asked to talk to regional manager and the reply I got was you complain to much and he will not talk to me . In the few years tarvins have been open , I have complained on several occasions . But my complaints were damn dude you just broke half my lumber when you dumped on the hill . Or when they brought out my material and not my receipt and told me on payday you'll have to come by the store and get your receipt . Oh yeah I have to have that to get my money back . So in not a nice way I tell him noooooooo , I will let you drive back to your store get my receipt and drive it back out here to me. And I have had orders not ordered , and orders botched . It happens you kinda expect that , but if an employee takes parts out to give to another customer and just puts merchandise back on shelf to be sold missing parts . And then customer should just accept that don't say anything . Because god forbid you should just do your job . I don't want a special discount , I don't want anything accept do your job . The moral of this story is tarvins sucks , tarvins sucks oh my god tarvins sucks . Not really good prices not from area for sure doesn't have southern business sense . My vote is tarvins you suck , tomorrow is my last day as customer and that's just because of my light parts but after that you suck. I am strickly  family owned local . Sorry I strayed it will not happen again . And oh yeah tarvins suck .

Camper gets new curtains and window toppers. Worked a day and a half me pinning and my wife sewing , the curtains turned out great .

Camper gets a good cleaning curtains window topper

Camper bedroom remodel curtains and paint the yellow curtains look great with the brown cabinets .

Camper bedroom and hallway gets new flooring curtains and paint. I was just gonna change out wafer board under mattress and ended up redoing the whole bedroom . On the upside my wife is very happy with it .

We are ready for summer

We had to finally take down the old pool but got a bigger one. The grandkids are gonna have lots of fun this summer.

This past weekend it was the end of April , probably the latest I have ever planted my garden . I had a few issues with a 1947 ford 8n , and pretty much had to replace everything that is attached to the motor . If you own one of these you will know where I'm coming from , Henry Ford was a very smart man and didn't put anything on these tractors that wasn't essential . But with age things wear out , and so after a new carb , starter , gas bowl , spark plugs and wires , points and coil I got the tractor cranked . So a couple of weeks behind schedule the garden was prepped and planted . I have a full time job as a home builder along with three daughters and ten grandkids all of whom I love very much . But this means there is not a lot time in the day , my point is sometimes things seem overwhelming . In this day and age I think its easier for people to just give up and get on the computer or other devices , than to as my grandparents put it put your head to the grindstone . You have to put the hard work in to feel a sense of accomplishment . Just take it one step at a time , one breath at a time just keep chugging along . And then after some setbacks and some chuckles its done . Abraham Lincoln said always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other . We as people love accomplishment for some its with what we can collect , for some its education but for me its what I can see grow or build with my hands . We need to pass along this information to the next generation , hard work only builds character . But the lessons from hard work are many .

Garden is finally planted

Well had a few set backs with my tractor but finally got my garden planted.

survival traps

Things don't always go as planned

           Well this week I was going to start my garden . But as things would have it , that is not what happened . The alarm clock went off , the rooster crowed . I climbed out of bed , had my coffee and with some stretching and a little grumbling another Saturday morning project had started . And just that quick there was a problem . When I got my tractor I noticed that my top adjustment bar for the three point hitch was gone . The first part of this project was to bush hog the area before running the disc over it . I'm guessing that someone needed it a little more than I did , so after a 30 min trip to and from tractor supply the bar was back in place .  I climb up in the seat , stick the key in and hit the starter switch and nothing . After 30 min of testing with the meter and wiggling wires it turns out that the starter is bad . By this time I'm really not happy , and it turns out my starter is not in stock by any parts place . So it has to be ordered it will take at least 7 days . I did get the riding lawn mower out and cut the garden area . Ended that bumpy ride breaking the belt that engages the blades . Even after all the problems , with a big smile I fed my chickens and rabbits and thought to my self this is the life . By the way we have six new baby bunnies . Mom and little ones are doing fine ....   

prepping-results of our garden

prepping-live trap made from scrap

Getting ready to plant the garden.

        It's spring that means garden is the word of the day . This year I will not be doing everything by hand . I am getting older and don't have the energy that comes with youth . Though I do still love working the earth with a hoe , most of it will be done with the tractor and tiller . For years as a little boy my three brothers and I would go to my grandparents for visits during summer vacation . We learned what being on a farm was truly about . The love of hard work , and the satisfaction of watching your efforts pay off . When a plant sprouts from the ground as a sprig , put on leaves then blooms and finally a vegetables appears . There is no better feeling knowing you did this . Well I finally get to start , and I'll let you know how it's going when I get it planted .