We've Got a Floor!

The red pine floor, milled locally in West Edmeston, is almost down. Matt did a terrific job. Every board is nailed and glued, so there is no squeaking or creaking. When he is finished the polyurethane will go on - three coats - and we're in business. Then I will set up a BED (thank you Lord) to sleep in while the rest of the apt. is being finished. With the adjacent workshop we will have 1,600 square feet of living space - bigger than the 50's ranch house I grew up in. That experience, being crammed in with three brothers, left me craving a big house all my life. People frequently remark on how big the barn is - 20,000 square feet. But it is divided into parts that make it feel more cozy than cavernous. Long range plans include an upstairs fiber art studio and a new concrete floor for the sheep. The 1986 earthquake left the existing floor cracked and heaved. Matt had to be creative when putting down the wood apt. floor. Chris Kupris stopped in to take a look and, as always, had some stories to tell about the history of our farm. He lives in the 200 year old farmhouse next door, which was built with pegs and is about to collapse, he tells us. Matt is going to install cables to prevent that from happening. We love to talk about the pioneers and how they managed here all those years ago. They died like flies Chris says. The cemetery across the road is testimony to their struggle. In the meantime, we struggle on ourselves.