Honey Clean UP

When I posted my blog post last night (honey-2016) on the honey that Rod extracted for 2016, I missed two steps.  The cleanup of the frames and the cleanup of the extractor drum.  Yesterday "Rod" cleaned most of the frames and I missed a picture of it.  But this morning he put the extractor and a few frames to be cleaned.  He set them outside at 6:30 this morning.  When I looked out the window at 7:00, the cleanup had already begun.  The bees will clean it sparkling clean!  All we will have to do after they finish is sanitize it.  There will not be a SINGLE drop of honey left!  The picture does not do it justice on how many bees there are or the sound they make.

Honey 2016

It was time to extract the honey this month.  Rather than a long-winded, witty narrative..I'm going to give a view of the process in pictures.

Deciding which frames to take from the hives.  You can't take too many or the bees will not have enough to eat through the winter.

To expose the honey the caps are cut off.  Rod tries not to destroy too much of the comb so that the bees can reuse what they had already built.

Look at all the honey!

One of these frames full is about a quart of honey.

Next the frames are loaded into the extractor.  This barrel has a very thick finish on the inside and is coned shaped at the bottom.  The cone is in the center so all the honey is on the outside.  There is an electric motor that slings the frames around and slings out the honey.

The honey flows out the bottom into a bucket.  There is a wire grate to catch any comb that is there.

5 1/4 gallons this year!

Now the honey is gravity fed through two filters into another bucket.

SLOWLY the honey is transferred to jars.  

The honey haul for this year, minus the gallon that Rod kept out to make mead!

Tina's Room Remodel

With Tori moving out... Tina has moved in.  Into the bigger room that is.  She has taken over Tori's old bedroom and totally made it her own.  First thing to go was the hanging bed.  If you don't recall what the hanging bed looks like, you can see it at this link http://tntacres.blogspot.com/2013/03/granny-graduation-present-to-tori.html

The first thing she told us was she wanted to paint over the checkerboard wall.  Not just paint over it, but paint it red!  After a little resistance, we finally decided it was just paint and could always be changed.  So we let her do it.  Then she picked a darker gray to cover the other 3 walls.

Next comes the guilt trip.  With all the time we have spent on Tori's house... she was ready for Rod to build her something.  They worked every night for a week and built an amazing window seat.

Next comes the seat cushion.  My dear Aunt Sandra worked for days covering this 3" memory foam.  There was not a straight line at all in the memory foam that she was trying to match.  It was a real challenge.  The end result is a totally remodeled room and it is beautiful.  Check out the pictures below.  The seat has 2 book shelves and 2 full deep drawers.

The finished product

Supervisors watching on

The top was heavy.  They used Rod's biscuit joint tool to make it strong.

Header used to hold the curtains

Drawers with soft close installed

More painting and getting closer

All done except the cushion

First time laying in her new window seat

Overdue update for Tori and Matt's house!

6 weeks have gone by since I have given an update on Tori and Matt's house.  Don't think for a minute that means work hasn't been happening.  We are still over there most weekend and some week nights.  These last few weeks we owe all our thanks to my Mom and Dad, and Bobbie and Scott!!!! I'm really anxious to show the before and after pictures, but I think I need to wait until rooms are 100% complete... so I will only show progress pictures.

So here are the updates on 3 of the rooms:

Kitchen - Tile is on the floor and grouted, granite counter tops installed, all new appliances, cabinets have been painted and hung, windows have been trimmed out, and new (old) 80 year old table has been bought! (remaining work includes the trim along the top of the cabinets, back splash, and window treatments)

Bathroom - Plumbing has been completed, floor and shower tile have been installed.  Closet has been reconfigured in order to allow for central heat and air to be installed upstairs.

2nd bedroom:This room is the closest to being complete!  Just a little more trim paint and a little more work on some furniture.  The walls are painted, the trim is all down, 90% painted, nail holes filled in, and touch up paint done.  Antique bed, rocking chair, and dressing table (that she bought from the previous owners) has been painted.  (the picture was taken before the mirror was on the dressing table)