Farming Adventure: The Shop

My husband’s birthday, father’s day, Christmas, and every other gift for the year next 5 years is finally ready to be revealed. Of course it’s not completed yet…but at least I’ll have more to write about at a later date. J

Remember, the original barn started out looking like this:

 

 By the end of June it looked like this, a huge slab of concrete:

 

I have to admit, this was the most disappointing stage in the game. The concrete has some cracks in it and it’s not exactly level. Super disappointed about that because it does come into play later. And yes, these were “professionals” who do this for a living.

At the beginning of August the new shop was put up. Y’all, huge shout out to pre-fab buildings! We ordered this thing months ago and it was drawn up with everything ready to go in pieces. We’ve had a home built before (and lots of upgrades of existing homes) and this was smooth sailing in comparison!

A crew of 5 men showed up on a Monday morning and they were finished by Friday evening. I never would have believed it had I not seen it with my own two eyes. Yes, I set a tripod up in an upstairs window and put the zoom lens on my camera so I could take pics every few hours. What can I say; I’m a creeper like that. J It’s called modern day journaling my friends.

Here’s the process in pictures:

They brought their own equipment and didn’t have to borrow our stuff. Now these guys were professional! They laughed and chatted amongst themselves, singing along to their radio, they had all the nuts and bolts and whatevers they needed; not a once did I have to run in to town to Lowe’s to grab something they forgot. Amazing!

You know I wasn’t content only taking pictures from the window. They were good sports about letting me snap away throughout the week.

 

To be fair, the crew lived about 3 ½ hours away so they stayed at a hotel in the main town about 30 minutes away the entire week. It was still foggy/misty when they’d show up about 7:00am and the sun would be setting when they left about 12 hours later.

Welcome to your new home, shop! Four RV sized garage doors in front, one single garage door on the side closest to the house, a man door on each side, and one window.

If you look closely you’ll be able to see the frustration of not having a level, smooth slab of concrete. See how the doors have gaps at the bottom? It was a nightmare for the installers and we do get water pooling in when it rains. Grrr! Another project for another day to fix that.

 

Here’s an idea of the size of this thing, look at my lawnmower tucked away all tiny looking in the corner.

Why on earth do we need a shop this big? It’s a guy thing I guess. J No, really, Hubs wants to put a lift in it to rebuild a truck and do vehicle maintenance. He also plans on putting in shelves and work tables for all his tools. Now we’ll have a place to park all the extra farm equipment and cars that don’t fit in the garage. Don’t you worry; we’ll have it filled soon enough.

The shop itself is put up, gutters are on, the excavation work and gravel is almost all completed (enough that we can drive things in it now), and the next step is installing electricity and lights. Oh, and to make it more friendly for me, Hubs is planning on putting in a garage door opener for the single garage door. I say it’s his shop but I’m sure I’ll enjoy it, too.

Who woulda thunk this city girl would have so much fun out in the country?

Here we go again

I haven’t blogged in forever so here is an update. Y’all, I’ve been through something crazy again when it comes to my health. Remember back in 2015 when I had that ketamine treatment infusion that fried my brain? No, I haven’t had another one of those but something very similar has happened again.

Chronic pain has had me turning to multiple doctors and trusted friends, each who seem to have their one trick pony. One might be herbs, another a specialty medication or procedure, another exercise/stretching/diet…you fill in the blank. If you’ve never played the medication game, LUCKY! If you have then you know what I mean. 

A few months ago I had another brain fry from a different medication. There are pros and cons to these I am learning. The biggest pro is that my chronic pain significantly reduces for a time. The biggest con is that I have to relearn things. 

Here’s the problem with losing your memories, you don’t know what is relearning vs original learning. Last time I had to relearn what foods I like, math facts, how to braid hair, how to drive, etc. This time around it’s not nearly that severe. I can still balance the check book, pay bills, and follow a recipe. Thank goodness! 

I don’t like change. I don’t like confronting my fears. I don’t like having a frail body with unanswered questions as to why it isn’t functioning “normally”. I’m stubborn. I’m controlling. All kinds of cons. 

But if I’m being totally honest I'm relearning some good things about myself, too. I like people and I like being able to help them. I’m EXTREMELY talkative and loud. I’m an open book and don’t mind admitting some of my issues. I’m trusting in many ways and want to give people the benefit of the doubt. I’m caring and I don’t like to disappoint others. 

(Let me pause here to give a huge shout out to my hubs and youngest daughter, who have been with me and held my hand through both these very scary experiences. I have many close family members and friends who have helped, too, but hubs and daughter have had to literally hold my hand and make sure I get fed when I can’t function. If they had a dollar for every time I’ve said, “I’ve figured it out!” they’d be able to buy their way into heaven.😄) 

This time around I’ve been “blessed” (sarcasm) with anxiety and panic attacks. There are side effects to every medication, folks, and I’m hoping this one will lesson over time. Instead of throwing western medicine at it I’m trying some different approaches. No, I won’t go into all of them here but if you are ever curious you can email me. 

Right now I’m an open book again. I’m a chatter box like the Disney character, Dory. I’m innocent and naive in many ways as I relearn social cues. I did learn and remember from last time around how being tactless and ignorant can hurt relationships. I’m trying to do better but like I said, it’s hard to remember when you are relearning so please be patient with me. I’m not “normal”, I’m not trying to provoke arguments, I really am trying to relearn and understand. 

I’m trying to learn from these experiences and if I can help someone else along the way so you don’t have to go through it, you’re welcome. 😉 Culturally we don’t talk much about mental health and mental medication side effects so I’ve felt embarrassed or ashamed about it. It’s real, folks, and I bet more of us deal with it than Instagram or Facebook posts show. I’m admitting it and yes, I’m still embarrassed about it, but not ashamed. Lately I’ve faced some of my worst fears and I am learning/relearning how to manage them. Sigh, these new approaches I’m trying are much more difficult than just swallowing a pill! 

Being Happy is Better Than Being Smart; that was my greatest take away from last time. This time I’m focusing on learning new ways to cope when I’m down at rock bottom. 

And here’s something new I learned that is working for me, a little happiness hack to lighten the mood: 

When you are in pain and wearing regular clothes hurts your body but you still have to go out in public, wear scrubs. I’ve literally gone out in my pj’s before but that just makes me feel insecure. When I wear scrubs I’ve been mistaken for a nurse. Ha ha, talk about dressing professional! Today at the grocery store I was complimented for my scrubs by the carry out guy and then he mentioned how he has a pair of scrubs he likes to sleep in. Shh, I didn’t tell him my happiness hack. 

My daughter told me to wear earrings to make my outfit look “intentional” so I tried it along with a hat to cover second day hair. Add a smile, some self confidence, be willing to look people in the eye and say hello, and they will think you’re put together. Fake it till you make it, friends. Even if you aren’t wearing make up! 

Like I said, you’re welcome.😜

It's so much easier to be happy when you aren't in crippling pain, physical or mental. Let's remember to be kind since many illness are unseen and you never know what someone is dealing with.