Last Day is a Bust...

Well, after finishing the fourth tier off, and starting to dig for the fifth and last tier, I took a break to mow the lawn...

Right after finishing the lawn, it started to rain, so Dawn and I had to put away all the tools, and get things ready for us to leave tomorrow.

So, my work here is finished -- at least until late July or early August... So, here is one before picture, and a few current pictures to show things as they are now...

One More Day -- Before Vacation

Well, I was slightly more aggressive than I was able to complete, but I did get quite a bit of work done today. I got all but one set of timbers done on the fourth tier! So, I have to complete that first thing in the morning, and then work on getting the fifth and final tier done!

I have one more day before we leave for Texas, and we're not sure how long we're going to be gone. I made quite a dent in the pile of timbers, and I'll have about 8 or 10 left after completing the fourth and fifth tiers. I have some places where I want to add another timber to the top of the three or four I already have, so it will not take long to use them up -- if I can get to it tomorrow...

I definitely am ready to be finished with this project! Of course, to truly be "finished", I have several more tasks to complete. I have to finish removing the dirt between each set of timbers, and then I have to bring in top soil or compost to put in each level. Then, we will need to cover it with a weed barrier. Of course, we'll have to plant something (quite a lot of something), and then I have miniature sprinklers to put in along with the mulch.

And, I have to finish the steps both up the center, and also on the other end behind the house.

And, after I finish removing the dirt, I need to rent a bobcat or something to move the dirt that is now in a huge heap at the bottom of the hill...

So, you can see that even after "moving the mountain", I'll still have a LOT of work before "finishing"...

I do have some pictures which I will try to load tonight or tomorrow...

Last Minute Surge

We are planning to leave for Texas on Saturday, and I would really like to have all the landscape timbers used up by then... I'm concerned that, with rain and sun between now and when we get back, we will have a bunch of warped timbers.


So, I have now completed extending the top three tiers most of the way along the back of the house. I was originally going to extend them to the end of the house, but I would end up digging half of the hill away, so I'm at least going to delay that until later -- if I do that at all.

Now, I have started work on the fourth tier down, and I have dug the trench out to put the first 4 of the 8 lengths of timbers for that tier. I have even cut half of those timbers and they are ready to put in place. I would like to get a nice early start tomorrow and maybe I'll even get the entire fourth tier completed before lunch... I may eat lunch at 3PM to accomplish that, but hey, that's still before lunch :)

Once again, I have let it get dark before taking anymore pictures, so you'll just have to wait at least another day or two...

Work Continues...

Well, work has been a bit slow, but you can now see pictures where I have extended the top two tiers most of the way behind the house. The third tier is partially extended...

I have also continued to try to move the dirt down the hill, but this project is really getting old!

Anyway, we are very pleased with how it is going to look... Just wish I was already finished!

Building Computers and Other Midnight Capers

Our family has to be one of the computer-rich families I know of! We currently own 11 computers for the 5 of us! Three of the laptops don't work right anymore, and one of them is still at my house in TX (long story for another time). And, this doesn't include the laptop that TI provides for me to use for work!

My kids have had laptops, but the power adapters (actually, where they are attached to the mother board) seem to regularly break.

So, I saw some "bare bones" PCs for a pretty good price, and decided that we would get two of them for our youngest two kids to help put together, and call it part of "home schooling". Well, I placed the order for the kits (and two flat panel LCD monitors) on Friday, and by the following Friday, we had received the components, put them together, and installed Linux (Fedora 7) successfully! Even though both kids would prefer to be running some flavor of Microsoft Windows, they seem to be pretty happy with the things they can do on Linux! It really is a pretty good operating system, provided that someone in the house can act as "system administrator".

So, all three of our kids have now put together their own computer! And, I should note that we had quite a bit of fun in the process...

Long Time -- No Post...

Well, I've continued to try to go out daily and make some sort of progress on the "Hill". Some days are better than others, but I'm pretty tired every night and every morning...

I have now continued shoveling dirt down the hill trying to get ready to build in the fourth and fifth tiers, and also to uncover the sixth (and bottom) tier. Hopefully, we'll post some more pictures this weekend.

I started on extending the top two tiers along the hill behind the house today. I have four of the six timbers in on the top one (stacked four high), and I have dug out the hill for the first two of the six timbers for the second tier. It is looking nice, but it sure is slow going!

The jury is still out on whether or not I bit off more than I could chew. All I have to say is it sure is a gritty chew!

Anyway, I think that I can visualize the end of this project, but it continues to elude reality...

Reaching the Halfway Point...

Well, it has been a good Father's Day after a very lazy Saturday... I was so wiped out Saturday that I slept most all day long! And, I still had a pretty good night of sleep, too... So, I feel much better today.

After getting home from Church (and going out to eat at Chili's), I went outside and started working... Spent most of today out there trying to uncover the third tier of timbers so that I could start work on the fourth tier... I've finally "found" the third tier, and I've got some of the next level cleared. The last picture added today is taken from the deck out back looking down on the project... It is really starting to look nice...

I've decided I'm going to put some steps and step stones (flagstone) down the center, as you can see from this picture.

My SW helped yesterday by planting 32 plants on the top tier, and we filled in red mulch (which turns out to be a dyed pine much to my frustration)... I really wanted redwood, but I didn't spend the time I should have looking around... Maybe I'll find it for the rest of the tiers (since I only bought enough for the first tier so far).

Anyway, it is moving along, but seems like a 100 miles away! Stay tuned...

Long Day on Tier Three

After several days of "slow progress", I have now completed half of the top three tiers! These tiers do not yet extend behind the house, but the hard part is done since the hill requires moving so much dirt.

After two grueling days of moving dirt (and working on the third tier), I woke this morning with the back ache of my life! I felt physically ill, and literally laid in bed until after noon! My back has cracked a few times, and is starting to feel much better now. I may not do much of any work on the hill today. I'm thinking of getting ready to extend the top three tiers behind the house. Hopefully, I can do this with less digging than has been required on the hill at the end of the driveway.

At least you can see that the project is starting to take form. You can start to see what the finished product will look like. We will have a lot of cultivating and planting to do. I'm going to have to remove a lot of the clay that is on each tier and fill it with top soil, but that can wait until the major portion of the project is finished...

My rototiller is in Texas right now, so when I bring that back here to Tennessee, I will use that to help loosen the dirt on each tier so that replacing some of that with top soil will be a bit easier.

The real fun part will be planting flowers. It is going to be beautiful when that is all done!

More Slow Steady Progress...

Well, we have been working hard on "the hill", and progress is showing... The two top tiers are done, and digging out the third tier is well under way! Two problems are becoming apparent -- each new level requires much more digging than the last level, and when I get to the bottom, I'm going to have a lot of extra dirt!

So, where are the pictures, you ask? Well, if I spend all my time blogging and posting pictures, then I won't have time to work on this project -- not to mention my "real" job... So, the pictures will be coming soon... We have taken a few pictures a few days ago, and will take some more today or tomorrow. Getting them posted is another matter :)

Slow Progress on the Big Dig

Well, we are making some progress, but it is very slow going... I have cut a path through the hill at about the grade that I need to end up with, and I am now trying to level the top off so that I can start laying the second row of timbers. Actually, I'm not quite finished with the top tier yet, but I don't have too much left on that.

We will be loading a few more pictures soon -- just watch the slide show for progress...

And, we're making plans to take a trip to Texas in a week or two so that we can get the house there ready to sell. So, this project will just have to wait until we get back.

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

Well, after getting off to a great start (the first of six tiers done in just a couple of days), work has definitely slowed down... I started to work on the second tier from the bottom, but decided that it would be easier to work from the top down (since gravity pulls the dirt down :)

So, I went up to the top, and have more than half of the top tier done (with no pictures yet). But, it has rained pretty good on and off the last few days, so that has slowed progress significantly...

And, I am coming to the conclusion that I have so much dirt to move, that I am going to have to rent some small to medium dirt moving machine -- probably a backhoe (because the grade prevents me from using a loader or dozer).

So, no I feel like I'm just complaining about my troubles... Did I bite off more than I can chew?

I guess it is a "Big Dig"...

Home School and Work from Home

Well, it is going to be nice now that my SW is home from teaching school, and our kids are here, and I work on the computer from home. I was out looking at "The Big Dig" (as my SW calls it), and overseeding some grass seed in the front yard, and just came in to see if TI has been functioning without me for the past hour, and the kids are playing a word game in the living room with my SW... They are laughing and having fun, and better yet, they are using their brains in the process...

This is what home schooling is supposed to include! Of course, academics cannot be replaced with games, but the desire to think and have fun while doing so makes true "learning" much more efficient than trying to shove knowledge into their heads like sardines back into the can... Not sure that is a very pretty word picture, but that's just about what it's like when you're trying to force them to learn!

Thank you, Dawn, for being willing to give up your career to turn to this precious chapter of our kids lives... I am glad that your God-given abilities and your training mesh perfectly for this difficult job of schooling our children at home!

"Rise of Man" -- Animated Evolution

Over the last several years, I have noticed a disturbing trend in the application of lifelike animation to demonstrate the (false) theory of evolution.

The theory of evolution certainly isn't new. The development of lifelike animation isn't an evil thing. But, putting the two together has resulted in documentaries on the Discovery Channel that I believe will make children believe they are actually seeing documented evolution right before their eyes. We know at a young age that children believe what they watch on TV is true. And, it is realistic enough that it is difficult for me to differentiate between actual real video and animated creations of dinosaurs or "missing links".

I happened upon "Rise of Man" in my nightly channel-flipping-fest (it's a man thing), and I could only watch about 15 minutes of it before having to change the channel -- I find it so outrageous that this theory can be preached as fact and even demonstrated using such advanced computer and video technology, but the existence of a designer -- the Designer -- can scarcely be mentioned in our public school classrooms today.

I find it very interesting that if a fragment of pottery is found in the earth, no one questions for a moment that a human was there. Why? Because such flat, smooth surfaces and materials with a regular consistency simply do not occur in nature. A smooth, formed piece of clay proves a designer existed, but a human brain, an intricately designed set of interconnected systems, which doctors and scientists have spent many lifetimes researching -- yet with so many unexplained details -- not to mention DNA which could be called "God's Programming Language", does not even leave room for proposing that there is a designer. Something is truly wrong here.

I am glad that, no only WAS there a designer, but He still IS and that He has gone to great extent to reveal Himself to us -- not only through the incredible Creation, but also by coming to earth as a human being to "dwell" with us! And that He gave up His own life -- and His Father turned His face away from Him when He became sin for us -- so that we can spend eternity with Him. And, that while that eternity waits to begin, He is here with us -- with me -- providing for and protecting me.

There is an answer to why evolution is so much more believable to "the world" -- Satan has blinded their eyes because they have refused to believe (see II Corinthians 4:4).