Barn Raising

There has been a litteral barn raising at my homestead and it reminds me of the Amish community near my hometown. My grandparents would take Jon and I there when we were kids. The Amish gave my grandfather a loan to start his business. They are amazing hard working people that cooperatively support one another and view the whole of the community as providing strength for the individual.

That's exactly what I needed in my life. My home project list was as never ending as the rain that prevented me from painting my house all year. We scraped, sanded, power washed but to no avail there wasn't 14 dry days in a row needed for the paint to take. Until the past two weeks, and with a business trip looming, the Butterfield family, my friends Adam, Brandon, and the  neighborhood kids worked 16 hour days knowing the paint on that house is the one thing keeping my refinance from helping to get my grandmother's title off my property as collateral, so that if necessary she can go to a nursing home. (PS. I love my grandmother as much or more than any human being on this planet.)

The house is painted. The estimator comes today. I depart for my business trip in the morning.

Before and after pictures coming when the trim is complete, until then here is a picture from when we started the painting project in February. We had to sand the whole house and replace rotten wood. I've learned so much, including how to run several types of saws, an angle grinder, belt sander, power washer and paint sprayer. I could go Amish or into the labor field if credit unions don't work out. (wink)