Pineapple update

Remember when I was surprised by the appearance of a "flower" on my 2 or 3 year old pineapple plant?

It looked like this:

That was early February. Today that little bloom looks a lot more pineapple-ish. It's still pretty small, though.

It is enjoying it's first day this year outside. I am slowly moving most of the plants I've had indoors this winter out for the summer. Only a few will stay inside and, even those, will spend a little time outside to enjoy fresh air and a good shower. It's good for them.

It's good for me too :-)

Roof trusses are up

After one rain day last week the crew was able to install the roof trusses on Friday. I took the regular series of photos around the house to show the progress.

View from parking area

West side of the house

Southwest corner

South side

Southeast corner (Jeremy standing in window)

East side

Northeast corner

North side (now we have a garage)

Inside there are lots of braces and the sense of how big the room will be. 

Brent and Jeremy inside on our new stair landings!

We are thrilled with the shape of our home and the size of the rooms. We even climbed up to see the attic storage over the garage - and it was big!

The layout of the stairs was something we struggled with. But the landings feel spacious and Brent will NOT hit his head going downstairs. How awful would that have been - to duck every time he needed to do some laundry?

It was a happy day.

Garage, Summer Kitchen, and a flower with heritage

Kind of a strange list of subjects. But they were all part of our Earth Day this year.

Last year, a wonderful woman to whom I already owe much, gave me a gift. Margaret, the mother of my husband's late wife (and grandmother to 3 of our boys), thinned her iris bed. Those irises had come from her mother's home.

This year those beautiful flowers are blooming at our suburban Shawnee house. And next year, at least some of them, will make their home with us at Happy Apple's Farm.

Purple Iris - a gift from Margaret

I love knowing the history that connects me through the things around me to other people. That knowledge feels like respect, appreciation and love. Each bloom like this one is a reminder of the kindness and generosity that exists around me. This bloom has brought a smile to the faces of many. I feel that when I see it and I'm happy to add my smiling face to the list.

Smiling is something that Brent and I have been doing a lot lately. Every visit to the farm to see the progress leaves us incredibly happy. Our visit yesterday was no exception.

The north side of the house has been slow to see much development beyond the two slabs. That is, until yesterday… 

East side of the house - Summer Kitchen framing and garage walls

View of Northeast corner of house - Brent in the Summer Kitchen -
roof trusses for the kitchen and Summer Kitchen lying on ground to left

View from North showing garage walls

View from parking area.
The entry is beginning to take shape there behind the maple tree.

With the delivery of roof trusses on Monday, the crew is working hard to build the non-SIP-construction parts of the house. It shouldn't be long before the roof finishes the entire shape!
I hadn't thought of the need for a header on the front entry. But there is a roof over that area that will define the space and protect visitors waiting to enter.

We hope it will be a spot that draws people to our door :-)

Easter at the farm

Well, I finally got to see the serviceberry trees we planted bloom.

2 serviceberries blooming

This morning we decided to wake up our teenage boys and drive them out to the farm to see their new bedrooms. Yes, the walls in the lower level have been framed in. No pictures of those because it just looks like a bunch of 2X4's. But here are the boys (including Brent) walking up to the front door.

The boys at the farm

And, in celebration of Easter, we took our first family picture at the new house (minus only our eldest, Blaine).

Our first Easter at Happy Apple's Farm

Upper level is taking shape

Our house is now visible from the road!

view from the North driveway gate

view from Parking area

Front door (view from West)

Southwest corner

Southeast corner

East side

Northeast corner

North side (garage)

Something you may notice - the doors and windows, for the most part, are covered by a layer of wood. They will be cut out when all the walls are up and the crew is ready to install the windows.

Here's something new. The upper level!! This defines the actual height of the house and is the part that's now visible from the road - at least you can see the top of it as you drive by.

View of living room from Kitchen

 The lower level is completely covered now. There are also the beginnings of a couple of walls that needed to be constructed to support floor trusses near the stairwell.

Lower level view from East to West 

Lower level view from South showing stairwell and bathroom wall

Lower level view from West to East

There won't be many more opportunities to see the downstairs as the bedroom walls are built. Three bedrooms was a lot to fit into that space. But we have a transition plan that will allow us to open things up as our boys "leave the nest."

One more view of the "actual" view from the big window upstairs. Wow!

Floor trusses

There was a little more construction on the house Friday. The crew has installed a few of the floor trusses.

From Northwest corner

From North

From Northeast

Every visit it looks more and more like the model Brent made over the winter. Today we sat on the floor and looked up at the sky and marveled at how warm the cement felt after the 80º day. We sat in the corner of the area marked out for the bathroom and talked about what a good storm shelter that space will be. We walked around under the "floor" and loved the feel of the ceiling height.

The trusses do a great job spanning the space without needing many load-bearing walls downstairs. They also leave open the possibility of installing a central air system. We are confident our plan won't need that, but having the option is a real plus if we ever need to sell the house.

I've been participating in some workshops put on by the MU and K-State Extension offices called Growing Growers over the past couple of months. And today was a workshop on soil. It doesn't seem to matter how much I read about it - understanding soil and all the systems at work there is still beyond me. After the workshop today, I know even experienced farmers struggle. Afterward, with my mind and notebook full, I ran by the farm to see what had changed and check on the trees.

Brent has been involved in some projects at work that have taken up a couple of his weekends - including today. Somehow, thankfully, he still finds time to make it out to the farm to work and see the progress - and spend some time with me enjoying our dreams coming true before our eyes.

Lower level SIPs panels are in!

Today was the day - the day I could walk into our house because now it has some walls!

This was my first view when I arrived late this morning.
The crew had already done quite a bit of work.

They lifted and placed the panels with a SkyTrak - a fork lift on the end of an "arm."

The panels are tied to the forklift to move them to the house.

Then the crew positions the panel and attaches it to the foundation and other wall.

Close-up of a wall sitting on the foundation.

What follows is the usual counter-clockwise series of photos - starting at the parking area.

parking area

West side

Southwest corner

South side

Southeast corner

East side

Summer Kitchen (Northeast corner)

Garage

 And this is something totally new! The inside :-)

Inside view of Southwest corner

Inside view of Southeast corner

The view that we will see when we come home :-)

That's pretty darn awesome - couldn't have framed it better!

One of the first plum blossoms at Happy Apple's Farm

And it's just the beginning - there is much more to come!