Claire’s Wee Laire

Well, as you fine, five readers know, I’ve been working on my weekends refitting Geppetto’s Studio into a new, upgraded, and nicer new barn for Claire and Honey.

I was originally saving the GS for some sort of writer’s salon. And had collected some suitable furniture for a round table event, as well as some comfortable reading chairs, but then Luke moved his family to Oz and left a whole lot of furniture behind in my garage, which ended up being shifted to the GS because we need our garage.

Then Claire’s original barn kept losing sections of its very old roof to our wonderful NoCo windstorms – which made replacing those sections, especially in inclement weather, one big pain in the ass.

So this Spring, when Luke and family returned from Oz, Lisa saw the opportunity to compel me to take on another project in her relentless effort to cause my accidental demise. First she made Luke and Georgie reclaim whatever of their left behind furniture from the GS – which now fills my garage while they find a new home to move it to. Then she gave me one of her offers I could not refuse.

As with everything else, it all starts with a vision.

I had to envision a door large enough for Claire to get through. The original front door, which is now the side door, would allow Honey access, but Claire would be jammed in there like Winnie the Poo in Piglet’s doorway.

Jesu the Handyman and his crew made my conversion of the South facing window a reality with a huge hand-crafted opening and some wonderful hand-crafted, sliding barn doors.

Then Georgie came down and made Luke shift the larger pieces of reclaimed furniture to the garage.

That left me to shift the remaining pieces to Goodwill or the County Dump.

Then I had to find, buy and hump that damn fridge.

Then my construction work began.

You’ve seen in yesterday’s blog how I created the mule’s bedsight by laying and taping rubber matting over the concrete and then framing it out with extremely heavy 4×6 beams that needed to be humped from Home Depot, cut and joined and notched to a two stall size and then filled it with fresh wood shavings that had to be humped from Murdoch’s.

You need the rubber over the concrete to block the cold and provide a soft, supportive and urine proof barrier beneath the wood shavings, which the mules understand is a place to lay down upon those nights when it is too cold to sleep outdoors. I can scoop whatever shit is deposited in the shavings until the smell compels me to change out the shavings in total. Luckily, the New Barn is closer to Hadrian’s Wall out back.

Yesterday was left for me to switch the roof heaters (which I just replaced last winter) from the old barn – clean all the summer dust and cobwebs that had accumulated off them and hang them over the sleeping area.

Those heaters throw off a lot of heat and given that the mules are coated during the coldest of weather, provide more than a comfortable spot to stay warm during those very cold stretches.

I also took my Spellman Alum friend, Terry Hughes’ advice (thank you Terry), and shifted the electrical wiring hanging loose on the one beam within the bed frame so they would be Mule Proof. It gave me a chance to test out the heaters running at the same time all of the other summer electrical appliances were running without blowing any fuses.

Then I removed the hay rack from the old barn, cleaned it off and refilled it with some of the last of Tom Connelly’s Hay.

I made sure to place it on the same side of the New Barn so the Mules’ muscle memory would lead them to it. It did.

While I was working, the Mules were either skiving,

or Claire was watching me through the window to make sure I wasn’t skiving.

No rest for the wicked.

Then I shifted the scrap wood – which I always save for those quick repairs or smaller projects – to the old barn, and removed the larger tools to my work shed. I’m keeping the screw gun and screws and a open gallon of paint at the far end of the prep area for final touch ups.

I’ve kept the antique typewriter and chair and my grandfather Burke’s bookshelf in the New Barn for creative inspiration.

And those comfy chairs are comfortable.

I shifted that large leather bench by the left door in the photo to a spot along the retaining wall under the back deck. The idea came to me while I was skiving and watching that back deck in the distance.

Last but not least, I shifted the sign from above the door of the old barn to above the door of the new digs.

Which is where Claire and Honey dined during their witching hour meal this morning.

The waning moon was beautiful.

Well, except for possibly turning the barn door into an Art Project, and hanging some of the outdoor metal signs from the old barn to the indoor walls of the new barn (the outdoor walls are not smooth enough), I’m done.

I even shifted a barrow of Mule Muffins, topped off the back water troughs and finished a fruit and veggie prep before I called it a day.

And yes, my back and every other bendable part of my old body is sore this morning.

Thank God for Aleve.

Well. Monday is again upon us and I must now use my brain and not my back.

You fine, five readers finish up that last cuppa and get to it.

Do not worry, Friday is waiting and will be back before we know it.

I’m going to head out and cuddle some kitties and make my rounds before settling back in front of this computer for some legal time.

But no matter what else we get up to, let us make today a great one.

And despite my wife’s very best efforts to work me into an early grave, I’ve made it to our 46th Anniversary. So, Happy Anniversary Lisa. Love you.