1.14.2026

While it was above freezing, Jim decided to spray our cars off again.  First the 4Runner...

Then mine.  Doing this job in the winter requires time afterwards to drain hoses and make sure everything is put away so that nothing freezes.

Jim moved everything away from this wall (he moved the freezer after I took this picture) so that he could start plastering...

Plastering...

High 40.3/Low 32.6

1.13.2026

Jim started the day with another visit to the Tubbs boys, this time to get the 4Runner inspected.  Because it's a 1997, it's considered a Historical Motor Vehicle in New York, so the inspection is cheaper and they don't have to plug the car in.  Always a bonus!

This afternoon, he was back in the control room.  He first had to do some cleaning after scraping plaster.  Then he was tweaking certain areas...

He started working on this outside wall - he had already taped it, which is nice, so now he's just starting to plaster.  As he works down this wall, we'll have to do some temporary moving of stuff in this area...

High 37.6/Low 29.3

 

1.12.2026

Jim was back in the control room this afternoon, plastering walls...

High 31.9/Low 22.5

1.11.2026

Saturdays go by quickly - Jim got a little bit of plastering work done before we headed out to see mom and go to church...

He took some tubs up to our shed attic this afternoon - the shed looks good with its winter coat!

Doing a little more plastering...

 

1.10 - High 39.5/Low 29.3
1.11 - High 37.2/Low 31.2

1.9.2026

Yesterday, it warmed up enough that Jim could spray off all the crunchy layers of salt from my car... 

My car looks so happy, plus Jim cleaned the floor underneath a bit too...

We headed out in the afternoon to do some errands, then ended with a stop at Applebee's.  When Jim was going through some boxes, we found an unused gift card, so figured we had to use it!

Jim started the morning with a trip to see the boys at Tubbs Automotive, to get my car inspected for the coming year.  It passed with flying colors.  While he was there, Jim made an appointment to get the 4Runner inspected next week.

While I was seeing my mom in the afternoon and mailing some eBay sales, Jim got the other light fixture up in the stairwell.  It's nice - the smaller watt light stays on all the time and is so helpful when we're going up and down without having all the stairwell lights on.  We picked up a matching fixture yesterday and it all looks really nice...

Unfortunately, my clean car didn't last long, because it rained all afternoon and is still raining.  Hopefully it will take care of ice on the driveway before it refreezes.  

1.8 - High 42.9/Low 27.2
1.9. - High 41.4/Low 25.5 - rainy

1.7.2026

Jim has spent a lot of time over the last two days doing snow duty.  We didn't get too much yesterday, but the person is supposed to come and buy the old stove today, so Jim needed to clear the upper driveway as well as clear the rest again...

When he was down near the end of the driveway, a branch got caught in the snow blower.  It was wedged between the housing and the wheel couldn't turn...

Jim had to work to get it out...

Cleaning off the patio...

On the Feast of the Epiphany, we always mark the door post with chalk and say a special prayer for God's blessing on our home...

Armed with prayers and blessings for another year!

We were under a winter weather advisory overnight and through today, for some nasty weather.  We ended up with more snow - about 4" - and less of the sleet/ice that was predicted, thankfully.  But temperatures are climbing a bit, so we'll see how things go from here.  Jim headed out late morning to clear the driveway again...

Coming up the upper driveway...

Clearing up to the patio - he has to hand shovel that...

The person who bought our range came from south of Albany, so he didn't arrive until about 6:00, well after dark.  But he was thrilled with it and they got it loaded up and onto a new home...

1.6 - High 31.8/Low 21.9 - 1" snow
1.7 - High 35.9/Low 29.9

- 4" snow

 

1.5.2026

We hopefully have a buyer for our oven, so Jim spent some time negotiating with that person and arranging pickup.  It will be nice to have that out of the stairwell and for our stove to have a new home.  Update - I really like our new induction range for so many reasons!

In the afternoon, Jim was back in the control room doing some taping... 

This was a complicated area, but this wall is done for taping...

High 16.7/Low 6