Another busy week was upon us and once again, we got a lot done. The yard in finally coming together and I will be eternally grateful when all this manual labour is over and done with. The fence was completed this week and that included the waterproofing. It looks awesome!! I am a painting fool. While I was waterproofing fence boards, Kay was painting the concrete patio and the slab for the man cave. She also painted the trim on the shed so now we have a beautiful soft green on all the concrete and the trim. It will look cool when the concrete wall, which borders our properly gets painted (and that will be done next year!!).
Kay and I made two trips into Home Depot for supplies and I now think we are finally done buying. I hope!!!
Ray was busy this week at Aguila so that left Kay in charge of the park - something she is not comfortable with and wouldn't you know it…..there were issues with the water. A repair man was scheduled to show up and make some necessary repairs on a broken pipe and that actually worked out well but once he left, the fuses blew in the pump house and Kay had to change them. Of course she did that but they blew again. As it turned out, the pump was gone and needed to be replaced. Fortunately Ray was already on his way home so he dealt with that when he arrived.
The gates were finally finished off this week and now Hogan is totally contained. He is not impressed with the whole situation but it is a park rule so needed to be done. At least he will stop pooping in the neighbour's yard!! I think he did it just to piss him off since he knows Ray is not too crazy about dogs!!
Kurt arrived for a visit on Thursday and stayed in the camper for the weekend. He helped celebrate John's birthday and had a good time while he was here.
Gold Rush started this week and that is always a good time. The antique car show was on Friday and we walked around there for a while then headed over to all the different booths that were set up. Once again, the talent that was on display was beyond incredible.
John didn't join us as his ankle was real sore and swollen from all the walking around he had been doing during all the building of the fence, deck and stairs. He needed to keep it elevated. He would not have been able to keep up to Kay and I anyway!!
The Budweiser Clydesdales were in town this week to participate in the parade on Saturday and one of the horses was on display on Friday at the grocery store. Kay and I wandered over to have a close look at him. He was absolutely gorgeous and I think he knew it!! He was a gentle giant and stood like a gentleman while he had numerous pictures taken of him.
I did some research on the Clydesdales and found out that they have been the symbol of Anheuser-Busch for more than 75 years. They were introduced on April 7, 1933 to celebrate the repeal of Prohibition for beer. To qualify to be one of the travelling hitch horses, a Budweiser Clydesdale must be a gelding at least four years of age, stand 72 inches at the shoulders when fully mature, weigh between 1800 and 2300 pounds, have a bay coat, four white legs, a white blaze and a black mane and tail. Each horse will consume as much as 20-25 quarts of whole grains, minerals and vitamins, 50-60 pounds of hay, and 30 gallons of water per day. The ten hitch horses (only eight are used for the wagon - two get a "day off") travel like kings, in two custom built 50 foot trailers, complete with rubber flooring, air suspension and vent fans. A third trailer is used to carry the wagon and all the necessary tack. They are groomed daily. On "show" days, the groomers, which travel with the horses spend at least five hours getting each horse washed and groomed. This includes polishing the harnesses, braiding red and white ribbons into the manes, and inserting red and white bows into their tails. The end result is the spectacular vision of eight incredibly beautiful horses hitched to the iconic beer wagon (dalmatian dog included) that we have all seen in the equally iconic beer commercials. I feel blessed that I was able to actually see them in person in all their glory during the Gold Rush Parade this week.
I got a call from the Director of Care for Evergreen (the nursing home I work in at home) this week as well and now have some shifts books for the summer. It is looking like I will be busy helping out at the home and that is always a good thing.
All in all, it was another busy week but the yard is finally starting to look awesome. Next week, I think John is going to be building the garage/Mancave so it looks like there is going to be another busy week ahead of us.
Once again, we have an issue getting the pictures off the camera and onto the computer so I am going to post this without pics. If, by some miracle, John can figure the problem out, we will post the pics later.
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| The new deck |
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| Fence going up |
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| Kay helping out |
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| MB inspecting |
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| The cement pads painted |
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| The finished patio |
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| First fire on the patio |
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| Another great sunset |
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| Dick,one of the Budwieser horses on display |
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| There ride |
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| Gold Rush parade |
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| These guys had to stop for a 24 pack of beer |
