Carpentry (or something)

Titten has made Emily his slave.

We forgot one of the house-pets! Above is Titten, an old marble tabby Tom who has Emily wrapped around his little paws. He sits back on his hind legs and waves his front paws in the air when he wants attention. How can you say no??

Before we started. The roof doesn't quite reach the walls.

Anyway, we've been busy the last couple of days with some carpentry projects Betty wanted to get done before it snows. She recently added a lean-to onto her goat barn as a feed storage and milking area, and asked us if we would seal up some of the gaps to make it more wind and snow proof. The goats find it unpleasant to be milked in a freezing, drafty area.

After. Gaps mostly sealed, need to finalize it with some caulking.

Emily good carpenter.

We also patched some gaps in the roof between the original barn and the new lean-to. Emily was elected roof climber, and took it very seriously.

"Do you see it? Is it there?"

Turns out it's difficult to pass supplies back and forth with someone on a roof, so instead Moragh passed Emily things through the hole we were patching.





Also, we learned it's hard to use a hammer in a space about three inches high.

The planning stages. Always the hardest.

Lastly, we attached a winter-worthy door onto the lean-to to replace a half sized gate that was used in the summer. The door already existed as part of the original barn, and as with most things built for old barns, it was heavy as hell. We had to build a door frame that would support it and also create a snug fit to keep the wind and draft out.

Moragh Jang, skill saw-er extraordinaire.

We don't have any "before" pictures because no one was in the mood for photography. We believe that carpentry projects should be mandated as tests of relationship strength. We almost killed each other. There were arguments, tantrums, and on one occasion, tears shed. When two forces as stubborn and opinionated (and inexperienced in carpentry) as we are meet, bad things happen. We were not proud of our behaviour, but in the end we were proud of the finished product.

We added the 2x4's on either side as well as the red piece above the door, plus a few support pieces.

We built a rudimentary handle and added latches on either side of the door as well.

The hole in the plank looks like a rat!

Annnnd a little pig for good measure :)

We had a day off here today and relaxed, but tomorrow we are going to set up at the Farmer's Market and try to sell some of Betty's crocheted rugs! Looking forward to it. We love markets.

Until next time!