Grouchy Help

Such a busy day. I actually started it by heading to the sewing room. I still have some caps I hope to make for gifts so I needed to cut them out now that I have the fleece. BUT!

Miss cross-eyed nosy Gabby decided she wanted the cutting table instead. She was having a big time .

Somehow I managed to get them cut out but on this last one Gabby got a little too possessive and when I tried to claim it she got mad at me and grabbed my hands and tore into them.

Naturally she and I both were unhappy with each other at that moment.

She has been the most grouchy feline I have ever brought home. The day she arrived she smacked my sweet little dog, Blondie -who would never hurt a fly and Blondie hide from her the rest of her days.

So, I gathered up my supplies and my wounded hand and left her to her own company, who she really likes the best.

It was another beautiful day for November so I did all the chores and headed back to work on my little chicken coop project. I still had the sides to complete and I stood and pondered what in the world could I use??? My eyes happened to fall upon another pallet that was kinda hiding from sight beside a building and I drug it over. They do not make these things lightweight so it was a battle for me to get it up on the platform and measure to see how it might fit. I would have to cut it in 3 places and the boards that held it in place were so fat I did not have nails long enough to go through it .

So, out comes the chainsaw. Thank goodness I have this Easy Start one -or I would never get a regular saw to start for me. I just do not have a lot of "Yank" in me. lol

I got her fired up and cut the pallet into 3 pieces -next I laid it out and studied the fat sections -noticing where the nails came through at and asking God to help me not to hit a nail - I sawed those pieces in half. Next I drilled holes in them for the nails to go through because they are very old oak and I cannot get a nail to go through them without bending over. Placing the pallet pieces in place and keeping them from falling while I nailed them in place was a job. But finally I had two side walls up. Yea, they do not look great but they will do the job.

You would not believe how tired I was getting "already" and now I studied the long side that would become the doors? I needed a long 2x4 to connect the side walls . I knew I had this Long 2x4 that was a crooked as a snake and had stashed it a couple of years ago so I went and got it and I think it might have got even more crooked now??? But it was long enough so it would have to do. Every time I would get one side nailed in the other side would jump off and my side walls almost collapsed???I was really getting aggravated until I finally managed to connect the 3 pieces. I found two more scrape boards from another project  that I used for the center of the long side for my new doors to swing into and got them in place. Now came the plywood and it was a booger for me to drag up the little hill and into the area I was working in. I cut it in half  and fought with it to get my hinges in place. I was pretty miffed at them because I had remembered to place something small under the door while I put in it place to give it room to swing freely, but after the hinges were on it wanted to sag and scrap a little ????? Grrrr!

I tried to figure out how to place the roosting area and to build a nest box that I could access from the outside but I was so tired my brain would just not compute.  I knew I would have to have help to lift the next piece of plywood UP onto the roof so I shot Crystal a text and asked her to stop when she came home and help me lift it in place, which she did . I would Never have managed it all by myself, I just do not have the upper body strength. I realized later that I still had two holes up there I will have to fill but I can wiggle the plywood back and forward and do that and then nail it in place.

I was so tired and it was getting dark so I ran and fed Yukon the donkey and grabbed the chickens that I had out in their little runs and locked them in the building. I grabbed my chainsaw and cut up 6 longs into pieces that would fit on our busting machine and busted them and took them to the house and carried them in for the night. I am lucky because it is going to be a "mild" night temperature wise and I appreciate that.

So, then it was dark and I headed in to get out of my filthy clothes , especially the saw dust that was poking me in my socks. I got a glass of tea and crawled up in my chair with the pups and my crochet and worked on some more of the butterflies for Christmas until I was just pooped.

Of course I had to fill up the stove before we could head off to bed. I am grateful for all the work I accomplished today. It is so nice to be able to do things as some people are not.