Storm photos

I'm a little late posting, since the storm was last week already, but I thought you all might be interested in the freaky clouds that passed over our house:

Here's the front rolling in.

These wispy clouds were roiling constantly as they came over the trees. (That's the one drawback to having a good windbreak -- it's tough to see the storm coming until it's right on you.)

See that spot in the middle? That was rotating. Some people a mile away saw a funnel form and drop down from the cloud briefly, but it didn't touch down.

The contrast in color in the clouds was quite dramatic.

I went back in after a few minutes, as did Dave -- then he ran out to the barn for something. He said the really bad-looking clouds had already passed, but they still look a little rough in this photo, which I took out the kitchen window.

... And after all that, it wasn't much of a storm. We got 0.4 inches of rain, a little bit of strong winds. Just an ordinary thunderstorm!

JUNE 14 UPDATE: Ah, summer

I just love barefoot weather! I used to spend as much of the summer as possible without shoes -- so much so that I could cross the gravel driveway without breaking my stride by July or August. I'm not quite that good anymore, but I still revel in being able to kick off my shoes whenever I feel like it.

... Walt left last Tuesday, after significantly speeding up our progress. There were just a few odds and ends of drywalling left to do then, and Dave's been working steadily since then, so that the "ends" are pretty much finished, with just a few "odds" to go. That does include the drywalling around the windows, though, which will take a bit of time. All in all, we all feel a little bit more optimistic around here now that we've had Walt back to lend a hand and give advice. Thanks, Walt!

... Here the workmen are, standing in the newly drywalled kitchen.

... We did notice one little goof as we looked over the newly drywalled linen closet area -- the light that was supposed to be in the little square walkway area between the bedroom, kitchen, and bathroom doors and the linen closet is instead directly over the linen closet. Since the closet is going to have shelves in it, the light isn't going to do much good where it is, except for giving all sorts of light to the top shelf! (The junction box for the fixture is in the center of the picture -- the light to the right is just a work light.) But Walt figured out a way to get this to work anyway -- we'll just have surface wiring out to where the light is supposed to be. I'm sure no one will notice.

... The kids and I got out to enjoy the weather this afternoon. Just beautiful -- not too hot, and just breezy enough to keep the bugs away. Erik enjoyed sitting in the grass ...

... and doing a little tasting. I was telling him, "Hey, Erik, look at the camera!" and he looked up and popped the grass he was holding right in his mouth. The kid will put anything in his mouth! We really do have to watch that. He's a totally different sort of child than Sofi in that respect. She rarely did that.

What a nice smile! (And see, all concerned relatives out there, I did get him into the shade after the above pictures were taken. Though I'm sure some of you are still concerned because he didn't have a hat. In life, some risks must be taken.)

Sofia had her own projects while we were out and about, including stunt jumping. (We tried many times till I got a good photo!)

Then we went to the new house, where she helped Daddy a bit.

She went out after supper and helped a bit more -- she handed him what he needed, and working together they got a light fixture installed. Sofia came running to the house, telling me I had to go see what they'd done! It was pretty impressive to flip the switch and get a pleasant glow in the bathroom. Let there be light!

JUNE 5 UPDATE: Walt's back! Now we're cookin'

Once again I've lagged in updating -- so much so that these pictures are going to look awfully impressive! At least the progress in them is -- the pictures themselves are not so great, since much of the progress itself was hidden by extra sheets of drywall. But without further ado, here's some of what Walt and Dave have accomplished this week, since Walt decided to spend a working vacation in South Dakota:

The little wall between the kitchen and dining room is drywalled in. (It's purpose is to keep you from seeing the mess on the stove when you sit down to eat.)

The little wall from another angle.

Kitchen's nearly done!

They finished up this later Thursday afternoon.

They also finished drywalling the back bedroom, and Walt has also done quite a bit of mudding.

Gary Peterson was here and started mudding the high part of the dining room, the part that requires scaffolding. And our water heater is now installed, and we've checked to make sure the plumbing works before it was covered with drywall.

Things are really starting to hum out there! I really love it when Walt visits -- I start to believe we might be able to move in eventually. And the best news: He'll be back in August to help with finish carpentry! Maybe he can even help us move in! Who knows! Optimism rules when the house is progressing like it is.

A couple photos just to up the cuteness factor:

Erik insists on feeding himself, which sometimes leads to food in his hair. Removing said food sometimes results in a bouffant.

Sofia wanted her picture taken, too. And that smile was well done!