Pole Barn 12: Sheetrock and water make MUD!

Thankfully, we have the right kind of mud in this story.
Randy put together the sheetrock jack he bought from his uncle and it helped tremendously on the ceilings. Teddy had to give it a go, too! He did it!

 For those technical nerds, here's the system Randy put together for the in-floor heat. On top of a 78-gallon water heater, there's an expansion tank (green), behind which is the orange tube piping water from the floor and into the heater. On the right is a red box-looking thing; that's the circulation pump, moving hot water into the orange tube, which splits into 3 "tracks" that meander with purpose through the concrete floor. The circulation pump is plugged into a thermostat that you can see peeking on the right. There are a few other parts. But it's keeping the building much warmer than before and making work and play more enjoyable for all. It was also a fraction of the cost of a new, put-together system from a box. Yay, genius husband!!
 From another angle...

 A local jeweler had a free event last Saturday for kids to come and break open a geode of their very own. Geodes, safety goggles, and work areas were provided. As we 5 got the flu (or something awful like it) on Thanksgiving Day and were still recovering by Saturday, I stopped in at the business and they were happy to hand over one geode for us to obliterate in a separate location, and keep the germs to ourselves. I did my best, but then Randy brought in his big guns and smashed it open good.

That same Saturday, the kids and I had a "low-key" activity of painting the trusses (the parts that were easily accessible from the "deck"). They all did swimmingly, with little complaining. Randy was busy working on our van and popped inside from time to time to warm up.

 It was also a good opportunity to move what had been haphazardly dumped in the middle of the deck (to keep the walls clear for drywalling)... to the outside walls. It really made the deck seem WAY bigger!

 There's not much this little worker bee is not willing to help with.
 He likes it! He did a good job, too!
 Got those trusses covered by lunchtime! I could hardly keep up!

 That day was also a big one because we have a functional toilet to use now! We're still dumping water from a bucket to flush, but that will change soon too.
I asked Teddy to pose for me and he was happy to have a chance to "shine".

 Here's that mud I mentioned...
turns out, I enjoy mudding. It's similar to working with clay. :)

 After a trip to the Habitat for Humanity Restore in Brainerd and later Menards, we're now set up with a new-to-us tub, vanity and countertop. Yesterday, Randy installed the counter, a sink that some friends gave us, and a faucet from the Restore (not pictured), and there's a tub surround also waiting to go in, after I finish mudding and painting in there. Zoom, zoom!

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