So we put in a new vent

for our stove.

We looked long and hard for a vent like the old one when hubby grew up in this house, but they are just not made any more.
So we bought a new vent to go with the new hood we're going to be putting in.

Hubby had to cut through the wall of the farmhouse, of course. I managed to save two pieces. The third fell between the walls.

The reason so many old houses survive so long? They are made with double walls. Double wood walls. Walls on the inside, and walls on the outside. When my brother came out to help us last time, he said he couldn't build a house like ours. The cost would be prohibitive.

I should have taken more pictures, but I was busy helping hubby. I did take a few though.

This is what 100+ year old cypress wood looks like. :-) The wider piece is from the outside. The narrow piece is from the inside.

They used tongue and groove back then. Stupidly, I forgot to take a picture of the 'tongued' wood;

But I do have a couple of pictures of the grooved inside wood.

Doesn't it look amazing? Very well cut, I'd say.

The outside is... lap board, I think it was called? The boards were placed bottom to top, each board overlapping the previous one.
They were ... sorry. Words don't come as easily as they used to. But here's how the outside boards were formed.

That looks pretty well done to me, even without modern routers.

Hope you all have a safe New Year's Eve, and a wonderful New Year. ♥

That's an old tree.

Remember this post here? Well, I went out to where we have the wood stored that we cut from that branch. I tried to count the rings.
I am sure I did not do it right, but the rings I did count?
Sixty-three. Sixty-three!
That branch was older than me!
I can only imagine how old the tree itself is.

On another note, when hubby was out doing whatever he was doing yesterday, he found something interesting.

Ignore all the stuff from fixing the gas line.. What I want you to see is that round thing. Looks like a stone donut.
Or it could be concrete or cement. (Don't ask me what the difference is, I just figure there must be one because hubby made a deal about it, haha. )

Still. No idea why or what it was used for. Just something curious.

Hope everyone is doing well, and that you all have a wonderful, blessed Holiday Season. ♥

A couple of days ago

when I was hanging my laundry in the crisp cold air; a HUGE flock of redwing blackbirds and starlings flew over my head. There were hundreds of the beasties.
It took me a moment to remember that I had my cell phone with me and by this time they had broken up into groups. One group was in the pecan tree by the garage; the other group in the pecan tree in the pasture.
So, I took a couple of short videos.

By the garage.



In the pasture.



We had a quiet, if quite cold, Thanksgiving.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

People miss the point.

They play President Kennedy's speech with no understanding of what he said or what he meant.

Not saying any more.
Have a blessed weekend. ♥

Next to last Wednesday of the month.

I was going to complain, but really, how can I when we are so blessed?
So instead, I will post a picture I took a few days ago.

This is the second Monarch butterfly I've found on the ground like this. It wasn't dead. I watched it slowly moving it's wings occasionally.
No milkweed around here for laying eggs on. Guess it was just stopping by.

Before we know it the year will be over! Hope you're all doing well. ♥