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Post by ncsfsgm on Sept 15, 2022 19:04:24 GMT -6
I know that I don't say this enough but thank you for all the time and energy you have put in keeping us entertained. Not just for this story but for all the works you have allowed us to appreciate. I especially enjoy that fact that you put relationships at the forefront of your stories and not just the 'kill-kill bang-bang' aspect of PAW fiction. I also want to thank biggkidd for the great job he's doing on proof-reading for us. It is also muchly appreciated. Just one knit to pick though... In Chapter 21, you first have Mitch, Glen, Saoirse, and Michelle taking the flight around Glen's new property. When they land though Bailey, Bridget and Saoirse were waiting for them. Don't worry, dreaming of red-haired Irish lasses make me loopy too sometimes. Thanks again. A. Mistakes like that is why I hold off writing sometimes until the grand kids are gone. It's a lot quieter and my attention isn't split three different ways if I hold off and write after 1:00 AM.
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Post by feralferret on Sept 15, 2022 20:44:04 GMT -6
Keep up the good work.
Although my background is in technical writing, not storytelling, I understand how easy it is to miss something and make a continuity error, especially if distracted while writing. That is why I preferred going into the office on the weekend when nobody else was there so I wouldn't be interrupted. I was having to do my job and act as interim Quality Manager so it was really common to be interrupted numerous times a day during the regular work week.
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Post by ncsfsgm on Sept 16, 2022 16:35:13 GMT -6
Chapter 25
Mitch watched as the drilling contractor raised the down hole air hammer drill out of the well and prepared to put the casing in. One of the crew attached a strap from the casing elevator to the first piece of casing and they began to lower it into the bore hole. They used 80 feet of slotted casing on the 110 foot well, surrounding it with rock chips from the drilling, then used solid casing and poured cement for the sanitary seal to ground level. They hit water at 75 feet but Mitch told them to take it to 110 feet. They attached the solar pump and flushed the waterline out. It was a good well and the water tasted like his well water since it came from the same aquifer. For the next hour the drilling contractors cleaned up, stored their equipment away, then left. Mitch walked around for a bit then left to return to the house. He drove across the trail onto his land and mapped out a trail that would connect from Golddust Trail to his trail system at the wood line Glen and Michelle would have easy access to get to his house. He would get the land clearing guys in to build the 300 yard connection and gravel the whole thing to his house. They would also need to put in a culvert in the intermittent stream. Today was Wednesday and Mitch had to fly to K.C. and pick up Glen and Michelle to take them to Des Moines to meet with the people at DASolar about putting together his solar and wind system. They would fly back here and stay for the weekend and he would fly them back to K.C. on Sunday. Both Glen and Michelle were anxious to relocate.
Clark had come in Saturday afternoon and Bridget got him set up in a guest bedroom. Mitch cooked steaks for them and Clark seemed relaxed. When they headed to bed, Clark stopped Mitch.
“I like what I see so far.”
“Good. You’ll get the full tour tomorrow after breakfast.”
The next morning Mitch took Clark in the Gator on a tour to the lake, the airfield, over to Glen’s and down to Bailey’s to introduce them. When they got back to the cabin Clark asked, “Where are the generators?”
Mitch grinned, “Follow me.”
Mitch took Clark down into the bunker and to the generator room.
“Wow, these cost you a pretty penny! What do you need done?”
“Well, they haven’t been run in a few years. I want to get them running.”
“I’ll get my tools out of the truck. I also need internet access to find the manuals on these things.”
Mitch took him upstairs and got him set up on the computer, gave him the access code to the blast door and left him alone. He didn’t come back up out of the bunker until it was time for supper.
“What did you find?” Mitch asked.
“It’s a pretty common engine. Visibly, I don’t see anything wrong and the generator heads should still work. I’m going to clean everything up, pull the injectors and clean them. Should be pretty straight forward.”
After supper, Clark studied the manual until he was tired and turned in.
On Monday, Mitch and Bailey had drained about three gallons of water out of the generator fuel tank and taken a quart of fuel to the fuel distributor when they went to fill the tanker trailer. They had their sample tested and were told that the PRI-D would bring it up to par so Mitch purchased two five-gallon containers of it and arranged for a delivery of diesel.
Tuesday, they gathered three trailers of wood but it needed to be split. Bailey said he could do that easily since the wood was already cut in firewood lengths, all he had to do was run it through the hydraulic splitter.
Glen looked over the electrical plans for the house, or log home. Michelle called it her log house. He rolled up the sheet, put it in a paper tube and pushed the end caps in.
“Michelle, you need to get to bed Honey. Mitch is picking us up early in the morning.”
“Okay Dad. When are we going to be able to move out to the land.”
“Well, we have to get the house built first or Mrs. Beasley won’t have anywhere to stay.”
“Yeah, okay. When is Saoirse coming back?”
“I’ll call her tomorrow night and you can ask her yourself.”
“I can’t wait until we are all together as a family.”
“Me too, Sweetheart.”
The next morning at 8:00 AM, Mitch and Bridget picked up Glen and Michelle at General Aviation and had them in Des Moines in plenty of time for the 10:00 AM appointment. Bridget and Mitch took Michelle with them in the rental car and kept her occupied while Glen was in the meeting. Glen called them back at 11:15 AM to tell them he was ready to be picked up so they ran and got Glen then headed to Bubba's for lunch before returning to the airport. Mitch landed at Blackbird Creek at 1:30 PM. Bridget and Michelle took the bags and went on ahead to the cabin while Mitch and Glen refueled the plane and put it away.
“How did it go at DASolar?” Mitch asked.
“Great! They figured out my power needs and said they had most of the stuff on hand and would be down in a couple of weeks to start installation. I think most of that is setting the poles in for the panel brackets. The builder already has the building on hand to house the battery bank and equipment he just has to have a sub-contractor come out first to pour the slab. I need to show you where I want it. By the time they are ready to start stacking logs, we’ll have power to run everything.”
They walked back to the cabin where Mitch heard a low rumble.
“What’s that noise?” Glen asked.
“Come on.” Mitch said.
Mitch led him to the bunker entrance and down the stairs.
“What the hell?” Glen said, amazed.
Clark had the door to the generator room opened. That was why they could hear the generator running. Clark, watching the ammeter on the generator, jumped when Mitch tapped him on the shoulder. Clark motioned for them to follow him and he walked out of the generator room and closed the door.
“How is it looking?” Mitch asked.
“They are both are running great. These things must not have been run very much. The injectors were fairly clean.”
“Clark, this is Glen, Glen this is Clark.”
The two men shook hands.
“What was this place?” Glen asked.
“This was built as an AT&T node back during the Cold War. When they came out with fiber optic cabling, this site was decommissioned. The nearest we can figure, someone was hired to remove the generators but it was two difficult so they just left them. Thankfully, they didn’t sabotage the generators or the air handling system. I’m renovating the bunker little by little.”
“This will be nice!” Glen said. “Well, if anything happens, you two have shelter here.”
Clark let the generators run for another 15 minutes then shut them down. He put his tools in the toolbox and sat it to the side.
Mitch looked at Clark. “How are you feeling?”
“Good. I feel good Mitch. I feel better than I have for a long time. Now, I need to search for some land.”
“I’ve got a proposition for you. I’ve got over a thousand acres here. What do you think of picking a spot and leasing it for $1.00 a year? You won’t have to pay property taxes and you’ll be close to friends, have a nice lake to fish in and we are remote enough to not be affected by the crap that’s overwhelming this country.
“Let me think about it. Do you have a map of the property? I’d like to ride around a bit.”
They went upstairs and Mitch got him a topo map with the boundaries drawn in and a hand-held GPS. He gave them to Clark and said, “Have at it. Take the Gator.”
Glen and Mitch watched Clark drive off.
“I need to get a couple of those Gators.” Glen said.
“Looks like I will too. Let’s call up Deane’s and see if he has any more on hand.” Mitch said.
Mitch called and they had a four-seater and two, two-seaters with cabs.
“We can go up in the morning and get them.”
“You can haul all of those?”
“Sure, we’ll take the my pickup with the big trailer. I can run one of the two-seaters up in the bed of the pickup.”
They got a couple of couple of beers and sat on the deck, waiting for Clark to get back.
“Have you and Saoirse decided on a date for the wedding?”
“She’s talked to her instructors and they’ve told her she could leave anytime she wants. They’ve even offered her a teaching position, but she turned them down. They will pro-rate her fees and she is planning on stopping the first of November. I’ll take the RV and go pick her up. Can I ask a favor?”
“Sure, we can keep Michelle. I can come a pick her up and fly her back here.” “How did you know?”
“I’d do the same thing.”
“It might take three or four days to get back here.”
“Don’t worry. Bridget might have Michell shopped out by then.”
Michelle squeezed the roasted garlic bulb out and mixed the pulp in the mashed potatoes with the mixer.
“What do I do now, Raelene?”
“Let’s put them in the serving bowl, put a tablespoon of butter on top and place them in the warming oven. I’m about finished frying the steak. Why don't you get two cans each of corn and peas out of the pantry so we can heat them up..”
Raelene checked the rolls in the oven and they were just about ready, and just in time. She heard the Gator coming back.
Bailey pulled up and got out of the Gator.
“What’s up Bailey?”
“I could smell that country fried steak all the way down at the house!”
Mitch laughed. “Clark got both generators running.”
“Good. Hope you never have to use them.”
“Me too.”
They heard the Gator coming and Clark came into sight. He got out with the map and GPS in hand.
“I found a place, I think.” Clark said.
“I gotta go inside. My slobber is about to wash my tongue down my throat!” Bailey said.
The men laughed and followed him in.
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Post by gipsy on Sept 16, 2022 17:41:02 GMT -6
Thanks for the update. Who says slobber anymore?
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Post by sniper69 on Sept 16, 2022 18:23:12 GMT -6
Thanks for the update. Who says slobber anymore? Why Bailey of course.
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remembergoliad
Member
if you send friend req on FB, message me too. I won't accept if I don't recognize you.
Posts: 158
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Post by remembergoliad on Sept 16, 2022 20:30:39 GMT -6
Thanks for the update. Who says slobber anymore? My wife, for one. She was reheating up chili for supper tonight, and made a pan of rice to put it over. When I walked in I started hovering and she told me to stop slobbering, because I was getting the dog wet! Thanks NC for all your time and effort! Master storyteller at work here.
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Post by ncsfsgm on Sept 18, 2022 12:52:48 GMT -6
Chapter 26 \
Raelene, Bridget and Michelle went to Kirksville to buy some fresh vegetables while Glen and Mitch went to Deane’s Equipment to pick up the Gators. Glen picked up a couple of add-ons while they were there, GPS holders. They went by Scheels and Glen picked up two Garmin inReach Explorer GPS units (so he and Michelle didn’t get lost exploring) and a couple of leather daypacks for He and Michell to carry water and snacks when they were out exploring.
They off-loaded the Gators and parked them next to the garage. Glen unboxed the GPS units and began playing with them. Glen bought this particular model because he could use it to keep track of Michelle’s whereabouts and they could send SMS messages to each other. When the girls got back, Glen helped unload the groceries and then took Michelle outside to teach her how to drive the Gator. They spent the rest of the day driving around. She did very well and showed her Dad she was safety conscious. Clark came out and gave her a lesson on how to check the oil and fuel and other little things before she operated it. Michelle was so happy she felt like she was going to explode. Glen gave her permission to take Bridget out for a ride but first showed her how to set the cabin as her “Home” on the GPS and made sure he could track her progress. They left out and the men sat on the porch.
“You’ve probably created a monster there.” Bailey said. “Teaching a female to drive.”
“No, Michelle is older than her years.” Mitch said. “She has a good head on her shoulders.”
Glen watched Michelle’s progress on his GPS. They had gone all the way to the ford on Blackbird Creek and were coming back down the trail.
“I need you to take me out in the morning to the site you selected Clark.” Mitch said. “The drilling contractor is going to be happy getting another job so soon. What type of house do you want?”
“Whatever is quickest to put up.”
“Well, let’s check with the log builder down in Columbia. They might have something already on the yard. We can give them a call tomorrow too.”
The next morning Clark took Mitch to the spot he liked. It was just southwest of the garden in the middle the forest. The clearing looked to be a little over a half-acre.
“We need to get the chainsaws and clear a trail in here for the drillers to dig a well, but that won’t be difficult.” Mitch said.
“It’s just big enough to put a small cabin in here.” Clark said. “You know, I’ve recently realized something. It’s not important where you are, the most important thing in life is the people around you. When we were in the Guard, the people there…well, they were like family. When Brenda died, I forgot that. My family had been torn from me and I was blinded. I was afraid to go back to work, afraid I’d make a mistake and I turned my back on the only family I had left. I want to start over here.”
Mitch smiled. “Welcome home Brother.”
Clark, Mitch, Glen and Bailey made short work of the 250 foot road to the clearing. Mitch would have gravel hauled in for the road from the hangar to the clearing. Clark was going to Columbia on Monday morning and talk with a log home builder. He couldn’t do much planning until he found out what he had to work with and picked out a design.
Sunday evening, Mitch flew Glen and Michelle back to Kansas City. He got back to Blackbird Creek safely at around 8:00 PM. When he went in the cabin Bridget and Raelene were sitting at the kitchen table with Mitch’s room sketches of the bunker.
“What are you doing?”
“We’re planning out the recreation room, you know, furniture and such.”
“Oh, okay.”
“Are you hungry?”
“I’ll make myself a sandwich. You ladies continue with what you’re doing.”
“Mitch. Do you have any ideas of what to put in the Rec Room?”
“Yeah….books, and a reading area. Reading is a free source of entertainment. You know, before people got wrapped up in TV and movies, reading and listening to the radio were the biggest forms of entertainment. Reading was a ritual that almost everyone did who wanted to gain knowledge and seek adventure without leaving the comfort and shelter of their homes. Reading stimulates your brain, reduces stress, enhances knowledge, expands your vocabulary and pronunciation, improves your memory, improves analytical skills, and what you read will benefit and stay with you in your mind longer than some soap opera on TV. Get some comfortable chairs, some reading lights and you can add some easy listening music, if you want.”
Mitch shuffled through the room sketches until he found the layout of the Rec Area. He looked in the upper right corner of the sketch and read off the number of the adjacent sketch and searched for it.
“Here, this room next to the recreation area would be perfect. It’s 15’x20’ and we wouldn’t have to build any walls. We can build bookshelves, put in dimmable LED lights in zones and with some comfortable recliners or chairs with ottomans, would make a perfect reading area. Buy books that expand the mind, especially books on primitive and modern-day skills and on up to adventure. Look for older books that had some meaning in them but also buy new. Get classics, also, there are some great DIY books out there. I’m not saying don’t buy those heart-throb novels, but…well, I’ll go along with what you pick out. I can always build fires with them. Also in the rec area….. musical instruments. No drum sets. I’ll accept a couple of bodhráns though. I’m sure Saoirse can teach us.”
“There are used book stores in Des Moines we could get good books from.” Bridget mused. “Build us some book shelves and we’ll fill and catalog them.”
Mitch poured a glass of tea and took a bite of his liver pudding sandwich. His mind on a bookcase design with LED lighting strips.
Clark had come back from the builder’s with a grin on his face and a cardboard tube of building plans.
“They had a demo model set up to show. Things must be getting tight because they agreed to sell it to me on the spot. They’ll have someone here in a week to put the foundation pillars in.”
“What size is it? Mitch asked.
“1,012 square feet. It has two bedrooms and two baths.”
“Nice size. The well driller will be here on Thursday. You need to get those plans up to the solar people and get that started.”
“Great!” Clark said then took a deep breath and let it out. “This is something else.”
“It’s a re-start on life, Clark.”
Bailey towed the wood splitter over to Clark’s place where he and Clark began splitting up the trees they had cut making the road.
“This will make some good firewood come next winter. The sap has quit running so it should season just fine.” Bailey said.
“Yeah, but where do I get wood for this winter?” Clark asked.
Bailey chuckled and waved his arm at the forest. “Same’s the rest of us. Get the deadfall out of the woods. There’s plenty of fallen trees out there for the harvestin’.”
They split the wood and tossed it into a pile.
“Don’t you want ta stack it? Bailey asked.
“I want to build a woodshed first. I’ll need a couple of cords of wood a winter, won’t I?”
“In a bad year, If we have heavy snows, but it’s best to be prepared. Get your materials together and we can build the shed then we can take the tractor and trailer out and harvest you some seasoned wood for this winter.”
Bailey took the splitter back to the equipment shed and put it away. Clark headed to Kirksville with a trailer to get building materials.
Glen sat down with Mrs. Beasley and they looked over the plans for the log home.
“You can take your favorite things but I’m leaving most everything here.”
“What about the posts and pans?”
“Like I said, take what is going to make you comfortable in the new home. Anything out of the kitchen or your bedroom. Michelle wants her entire bedroom suite.”
“Okay, that will be nice. Why did you build such a big pantry?”
“We are a minimum of ten miles out from a town of any size. I want to be able to eat if the weather or something else stops us from going into town. I want to keep a minimum of three months’ supply of food on hand. Take a look at this. The kitchen is laid out almost identically to what you have here so everything will be familiar. When we move in I want you to do the directing on where everything should go.”
Mrs. Beasley nodded.
Mitch watched as they tested the controllers and finished up with the battery bank shed at Glen’s. The detached garage was complete and just needed the light fixtures installed, which he saw one of the electricians carrying into the building just then. The cooling tubes had already been installed and were ready to connect to the solar powered fans to keep the log home cool in the summer. The house was tagged and being disassembled at the builder’s yard and would be hauled up in a few days to give the foundation pillars time to cure sufficiently. So far, everything was going smoothly. The plumbing company was due here on Wednesday to put the drain field and septic in. Mitch felt a warmth in the knowledge he would have his friends close by.
Bailey and Mitch helped Clark finish the wood shed and began loading the split wood into the bucket on the tractor and stacking it in the shed. They were about three quarters finished when the rain started.
“Let’s call it quits.” Clark said. “I can finish this later. Is it my imagination or is it getting colder?”
“Looks like we’ll have frost before the end of the week.” Bailey said. “This rain is only supposed to last until this evenin’.”
“Good. Hopefully it doesn’t stop the well driller.”
“Naw. He’ll keep on drilling. Besides, he should be hittin’ water any time now.”
They walked over to the drilling rig and watched as the contractor held up his thumb then walked over to them. Did you still want to go down 30 more feet? I’m inta water now.”
“Yeah, Mitch said. “It’ll give him a buffer.”
The driller nodded and walked back over to the rig. Mitch watched Clark as he stood there grinning, watching the rig do its work.
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Post by gipsy on Sept 18, 2022 13:26:35 GMT -6
Thanks for the update.
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Post by udwe on Sept 19, 2022 6:44:40 GMT -6
Getting better all the time! Thanks!
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Post by ncsfsgm on Sept 19, 2022 16:15:00 GMT -6
Chapter 27
Mitch and Clark were both chilled when they got back to the cabin. Raelene had a fire going in the fireplace which helped them knock the chill off. Clark picked up his boots he had taken off in the mudroom and went to take a quick shower.
“Thanks Raelene for making the fire.”
“I thought you would need a little heat coming in. It turned cool, quick like. I’ve got a kettle on. You want some hot tea?”
“I think I will. Where’s Bridget?”
“She’s been working down in the rec room in the bunker making all kinds of lists.”
Mitch made a mug of tea and went down to the bunker. Bridget was sitting on an overturned 5-gallon bucket writing on a pad.
“What’s up?” Mitch said.
“Just making lists of the furniture we’ll need. When are you starting on the book shelves?”
“I can go get the lumber in the morning. I’ll need to take a few more measurements.”
“We need to get washers and dryers too.” Bridget said.
“Put them on your list. There is a floor drain in the area near the bathroom we can use to drain the washers. I’ll have to get indoor lint traps also.”
“So, when will you be finished?” Glen asked.
“I will be finished with the course requirements on the second of November.”
“Great! I have open reservations at a campground near Joliet. I call and firm them up. I can be up there on October the 30th.”
“That’s grand! Is Michelle coming with you?”
“I thought she could stay with Mitch and Bridget while I came up and picked you up. We could take our time getting back to Blackbird Creek.”
“Mmmmm, sounds nice.” How is the house coming along?”
“Mitch said they are building the floor now and will soon begin laying the logs. The solar panels and wind turbine are in, the garage and shop are complete, the septic system is complete….what else? Oh, I’ve turned in my notice at work and we’ve begun packing a few things for the movers. There won’t be a lot. I gave Mrs. Beasley carte blanche to take what she wants. I think she is going to strip the kitchen and her room. Michelle is taking everything in her room. She might need a few more things. Her new bedroom will be much more spacious than her one here. You and I will have to do some furniture shopping for any of the furniture I didn’t order.” Glen said.
“I liked the style you picked out. We’ll have a look when the house is done. There may be some accent pieces I might want. I do have pictures of a couple of things…”
“You pick out whatever you want. Send me the information and I’ll order them. I can’t wait to see you.”
“Nor I you. This is like a dream! Oh, did I tell you my cousin Aine wants to come to the wedding?”
“All the way from Ireland?”
“Oh no. She lives in Massachusetts, in a town called Waltham. Her family migrated to America years ago. As a matter of fact, she was born here. We’ve kept in touch over the years.”
“Well, tell her to come ahead. If she flies in to Des Moines, we can pick her up. How do you spell her name?”
”A-I-N-E. It’s pronounced as ‘Awn-Ya’.”
“Okay, well tell her to come on.”
“I’ll call her. She’s really the only family I have left.”
“They come hell or high water we’ll make sure she gets here.”
“When are you going back out to the farm?
I thought we’d go back on Wednesday and watch them put the logs up. That is going to take only a few days, weather permitting. I was told it would take approximately five weeks to get everything done to where we can move in.”
“Well, I have laundry to do. Give Michelle my love. I will talk with you later my darling. I love you!”
“I love you too. Bye.”
Clark had the hood raised on Mitch’s truck bent over and checking the engine.
“What’s up?” Mitch asked.
“Just checking all the vehicles….for something to do. They won’t be here until tomorrow with the cabin materials. Just checking the engines and putting in a additive that will keep the injectors clean.”
“What is it?”
“Hot Shot's Secret. It cleans and lubricates diesel engines, increases performance and fuel mileage. I’ll even do the tractors. You only add it every 6000 miles.”
“Well, give me the bill and order more to have on hand.” Mitch said.
“Okay. I’ll finish everything today. I’ll be busy the next three or four days with the cabin.”
“Has Bridget talked to you about books?”
“No, what’s up?”
“She’s putting together a list of books for the bunker library. If there are any you want included, especially self-help, let her know. Of course include those you like to read for fun too.”
“Okay, I’ll think about it.”
“Have you done the box truck yet? I need to go get lumber for bookshelves.”
“Yes, it was the first one I did.” Clark said.
Mitch went into the house and got a jacket. It was getting chilly. When he came out, Bailey pulled up in his Gator.
“Whatcha doin’?”
“Getting ready to go get lumber for bookshelves.”
“Let me ride along. I need to pick up a couple of things at Tractor Supply.”
“Let’s go.”
Bailey was quiet until they reached the Chariton River. “You know, it’s not going to take much to wash this bridge out one Spring flood.”
“What do you mean?”
“They don’t seem to do a hell of a lot of maintenance on these bridges. If you look to the left and right, it’s hard to grow crops next to the river ‘ceptin in a dry year. It stays boggy. Look at where they harvested the soybeans. The combines spent more time buried in mud than they probably spent harvestin’. If I was you, I’d lay on things you’re gonna need from down here like lumber, hardware and such. You’d have to go all the way down to Chillicothe to get anything and it could take up to a year to replace that bridge.”
“Yeah, that’s something to think about.”
They went into Home Depot and began picking out lumber, discarding the crooked boards, They filled two lumber carts and rolled them to the side. It took two more carts before they had everything. Then they filled a buggy with screws, nails, glue, sanding materials and paint. Mitch paid the bill and they started loading the truck. When they finally had everything stacked so it wouldn’t shift, they headed to Tractor Supply, just down the street.
Bailey got a cart and went over to the feed section and loaded four mineral blocks onto the cart.
“What are these for?”
“Deer. I’ve got a few places to put these. There’s a lot of deer this year and I want to keep ‘em near.”
They started to head to checkout and Bailey went down another aisle where they sold fuel cans.
“You need to get you one of these pumps for the diesel tank. It’s 12 volt and that other pipe coming up from the tank is made for a pump like this. I can build a weather head for it and you won’t need to fill up the trailer in Des Moines. You can fuel everything right at the big tank.”
They both grabbed an end of the box and loaded it on the cart.
“Anything else you can think of?” Mitch asked.”
“Nope. That about does it for now.”
Mitch paid the bill and they loaded everything in the back of the truck. Coming up to the river bridge, Mitch was going over in his mind what Bailey had told him.
Glen and Michelle pulled up at Mitch’s cabin Wednesday afternoon. Mitch heard the big diesel and came around to the front of the house. He and Bailey had installed the fuel pump and were building the shelter for it.
“Hey!”
“Hey Mitch. I thought we’d come up and watch them start laying the logs.”
“Well, you’re just in time. The logs are here. They’ve been up there sorting them out to begin stacking in the morning. The crew may still be up there.”
“I’ll wait a while. I don’t want to set the RV up just to have to move it out of their way. How’s everything going?”
“Good. Bailey and I were just installing a fuel pump on the tank. That’s going to come in handy.”
“That’s something I wanted to talk to you about. Where can I get a fuel tank and have it installed?”
“Well, this one was already here but the distributor in Des Moines can sell you a tank and fill it for you.”
“Yeah, I figure it would be easier to have a tank here. We are a bit far out.”
“Don’t even bother. The pump has a meter on it. We’ll have a tally sheet on there and you can annotate what fuel you got and you can pay me what I paid for it. The tally sheet gives us a rough estimation of how much fuel is left in the tank.”
“Are you sure?”
“Well, there’s only about 20,000 gallons of fuel there, so I think we can handle it. Besides, Clark insisted we put column on the sheet just for him. We’ll just add a column for you.”
“I also want to get an earlier model diesel Suburban if you know of one.”
“I’ll keep my eye out. Come on in. I’m ready for something hot. It’s getting cold for October.”
Raelene made hot chocolate and was pouring it just as Bailey walked in.
“Sorry Bailey, I didn’t mean to leave you to finish up.” Mitch said.
“Twarn’t nothing. All that was left was attachin’ a slide latch on the door.”
“Raelene, where’s Bridget?” Mitch asked.
“She went into town to pick up more milk, wafers, eggs and bananas.”
“Are you making banana pudding?”
“Yep.”
Mitch got up and took a bottle of Bailey’s Irish Cream down from the cabinet and poured a healthy shot into Glen’s and Bailey’s mugs before drinking some of his chocolate then adding a good dose of the liqueur to his mug.
Mitch raised his mug. “To friends, and banana pudding.”
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Post by gipsy on Sept 19, 2022 17:24:20 GMT -6
"Glen and Michelle pulled up at Mitch’s cabin Wednesday afternoon. Glen heard the big diesel and came around to the front of the house. He and Bailey had installed the fuel pump and were building the shelter for it." I believe Mitch heard the big diesel" Thanks for the update.
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ydderf2
Member
"I'm from the government and here to help" hahahaha
Posts: 321
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Post by ydderf2 on Sept 19, 2022 22:54:13 GMT -6
Thanks
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Post by ncsfsgm on Sept 21, 2022 22:11:48 GMT -6
Chapter 28
Glen and Michelle came from the building site. It was cold standing around watching the men stack log after log. Michelle stayed upstairs with Raelene, who made her hot chocolate while Glen went downstairs to help Mitch, Bailey and Clark build bookshelves. Glen took over the chop saw and fed them the 1x4s for the shelf fronts as they called out the measurements. Clark was drilling holes in the walls to anchor the bookcases. Mitch didn’t want them toppling over from some earthquake or the shockwave from a nuclear weapon. They were in a relatively low danger area from the New Madrid fault, but who knows? Mother Nature could bust loose and show them a fault unknown by the experts.
Mitch had made a jig to drill the holes for the shelf supports. One thing Mitch forgot was the angle iron. He didn't know how he forgot to put that on his list. Because they were using ¾” shelves, they would over time, begin to bow with the weight of the books. He’d had it in his mind to attach pieces of 1” angle iron and attach them to the bottoms of the shelves in the front and back. They went ahead and finished the shelves and their faces, assembled them, then set them aside. He wanted to attach the angle iron before they painted them.
Bridget and Raelene had previously painted the walls a gloss white so they were painting the shelves a Cadet blue, a shade of teal. The paint was water-based alkyd, with low VOCs since none of them wanted to deal with the fumes. When the men finished building the shelves, they had 75 feet of adjustable shelving. Mitch figured the maximum number of shelves they could possibly use and while he was calculating the amount an angle iron he would need for all the shelves, Bailey, Glen and Clark went through and checked the sturdiness. Mitch was sure Home Depot wouldn’t have that much angle iron in stock, but he called them anyway. Sure enough, the guy on the phone laughed but he did give him a source in Columbia.
“I’ve got to go down to Columbia to get the angle iron in the morning. That’s a four hour drive so I’ll need to leave early.”
“I’ll go with you.” Clark said.
“We’ll take the box truck. That iron comes in ten foot lengths.”
“What time are you planning on leaving?” Raelene asked.
“No later than 5:00 AM.” Mitch replied.
“I’ll have breakfast ready at 4:30 then.”
“I guess if you all want to go ahead and paint the shelves, once we put the angle iron on it will only need painting over the iron. I want everything painted because I’m going to put three small LED lights under each shelf to illuminate the books.”
“We can do that tomorrow while you are gone. They will be dry by the time you come back.” Bridget said. “Let’s clean up and quit for the day.”
Glen followed Michelle in his Jeep while she drove one of the Gators back up to their house site. He parked his Jeep in the Garage and Michelle drove him back down to get the other Gator. Once they put the Gators in the garage they watched the workers lay the logs in place for a while. They were surprised at how many logs had been laid. The walls were almost three quarters of the way up on the first level. They went to the RV and got their stainless steel water bottles and sat in the sun, continuing to watch them lay the logs in place. Soon however, the wind picked up a little and it got cooler so they went into the RV.
Glen and Michelle had to return to K.C. before the roof was on their house. The work was going quickly and the foreman was orchestrating the electricians and plumbers installing the wiring and bathrooms. As quickly as they were clear of an area, flooring and tile was put in. Glen had been gone two days when they began installing the cabinets. Mitch went up to watch a bit and talked to the foreman.
“You are moving right along.” Mitch said.
“Actually, we’re a little ahead of schedule. We’ll have this done in another week. It helped that they predrilled the logs for the wiring and cut out the outlet and switch boxes. We’ve just started doing that and it speeds things up on the final build. We just need the electricians there to run the wire up through the walls as they are built. I’m just afraid some customer will want to make a change at the last minute. Glen is easy to work with. He knew what he wanted and is staying the path.”
Mitch called Glen that night and told him what the foreman had said.
“That’s a relief. I’m having the movers come in to pack up what we are going to take and have everything done the day before I leave to pick up Saoirse. Is there going to be a weight limit on the bags Mrs. Beasley ans Michelle can bring on your plane?”
“Not really, just the number of bags. If they could keep it to two bags each that would be helpful.”
“Yeah, that’s what they were planning.”
“Look, have the movers deliver your stuff before you get back so we’ll have your bedrooms set up when you get here. I’m sure Mrs. Beasley will want to have her kitchen straight when you arrive.”
“I hate to impose on you like that.”
“It’s no imposition. With the movers and the able bodies here, plus Mrs. Beasley directing us, we can have it somewhat livable when you get here.”
“Well, I’m going to wait until we get back to get the other furniture.”
“It’s safe in the warehouse. I got a message today that another shipment came in. We can pick that up with the box truck.”
“After the movers leave, we’ll be staying out at the Marriot at the airport. It’s closest to General Aviation.”
“Just give me a heads up and I can pick you up in about an hour and a half.”
“I appreciate this Mitch.”
“Appreciate it enough to bring back a bottle of Michael Collins Irish whiskey. They might have it in Chicago.”
“I’ll do my best.”
Mitch had cut the angle iron, Bailey had drilled the holes with a drill press and they all helped put the angle iron on the shelves. Bridget put the touch-up paint on the shelves and left them to dry for an hour. She went upstairs and brought down the big bags of brass shelf supports and the started putting shelves in. Once they started getting books, they could adjust the shelf spacing then.
Mitch was checking the plane over when Glen called. Closing the cowl cover, he did his preflight then called Bridget and told her he was leaving to pick up Michelle and Mrs. Beasley.
After getting clearance, Mitch leveled off at 5,000 feet and fought a headwind all the way to Kansas City International Airport. They slipped him in between two regional flights and he was soon taxing into the General Aviation area. He saw Michelle waving, standing next to Mrs. Beasley and Glen. Mitch stopped in a space and shut down. Opening up the doors on the right side, Mitch loaded the luggage in first. Mrs. Beasley wanted to set in the back so a thrilled Michelle flew right seat. Mitch made sure the two were buckled in, handed Mrs. Beasley a headset, and showed her how to talk over it. Michelle was an old hand <grin> at flying and was set. Mitch walked out to talk to Glen.
“Are you leaving now?” Mitch asked.
“Yeah, I’ll drive straight through. I’ll see Saoirse tonight.”
“Well, be safe. We’ll take care of things for you. Oh, and Bridget is going to invite Michelle over for a sleepover when you get back.”
“Mitch you don’t have to…”
“Hey, it was Michelle’s idea!”
Glen just shook his head. “That girl has an old soul.”
“She does surprise me sometimes. Well, be safe. We’ll see you when you get back.”
Mitch did his walk-around and climbed in. They had to wait to taxi for a couple of minutes then he was given permission to taxi to the threshold. Mitch did a normal take off and stayed at 2,000 feet until he got out of the airport pattern area. After getting permission, he climbed to 5,000 feet and set his course for Blackbird Creek.
Clark was waiting at the hangar with Bridget when they landed. The men unloaded the bags and put them in the back of Bridget’s Gator then the females went on to the cabin. Clark helped Mitch refuel and move the plane into the hangar.
“When is Glen’s gear getting here?”
“Probably Friday. It’s just going to be bedroom and kitchen stuff. When are they going to be finished with your cabin?”
“They said I can move in Saturday.”
“Well, you need to get some furniture!”
“I’ve got what I’ll need on order. It should be in next week. I ordered Amish hand built stuff, something that will last.”
“Good idea. Yell when it comes and we’ll help you move it in.”
“I had some kitchen things but I’ll pick up more this weekend…and groceries.”
“Well, if you need any help on anything, just yell.”
They went to the cabin and Raelene was sitting talking to Mrs. Beasley about where was the best place to get groceries and about the area.
Mitch motioned for Clark to follow him and they went into the bunker.
“I haven’t gotten around to it yet but I need to see where that escape hatch comes out.”
Taking the pruning saw he had brought down days before, he got both of them headlamps and went down to the air exchanger room and into the tunnel. When they got to the end of the tunnel, Mitch climbed the ladder and while bracing himself against the wall, began jacking the hatch open. When it began to become difficult to jack the hatch lid open, Mitch opened the folding saw blade and poked it through the slight opening and began sawing the roots. He sawed the three sides and continued jacking the hatch open. When it opened enough to get the upper half of his body through, Mitch crawled out and looked around. He was in a thicket of stunted trees, none more than 6’ tall. On the hatch cover were smaller trees growing and tufts of course grass. He called for Clark to come on out.
“I’m going to walk around and see just where we are.”
Mitch walked out of the thicket and finally got his bearings. It was hard to orientate himself because of the forest. It was a good place for the hatch though. It was far enough out it could be used to flank an attacker, or escape an attack. He went back to Clark and using his pocket knife, trimmed the roots back from the edge of the hatch a little more.
“I’m going to go down and close the hatch.” Mitch said. “When it is closed, see if it is still visible.”
Mitch closed it up, then reopened it.
“You can’t see the hatch because of the grass.” Clark said.
“Good. See these two latches, release this valve and the hatch will close. Slide the latches closed when it’s down.”
Mitch climbed down the ladder and waited for Clark at the bottom.
“That’s pretty neat.” Clark said.
“Let’s just hope we never have to use it.”
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Post by gipsy on Sept 22, 2022 6:59:52 GMT -6
Thanks for the update.
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Post by feralferret on Sept 22, 2022 18:22:14 GMT -6
Thanks!
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Post by ncsfsgm on Sept 22, 2022 21:33:17 GMT -6
Chapter 29
Mitch and Clark figured they could go load the box truck and a trailer up with as much of Glen’s things at the warehouse as they could and leave it parked at the house. That way they would have quicker access. Just in case, they would take Mitch’s truck towing another trailer in case they needed it.
The next morning they headed up to Des Moines. Cliff, the warehouse manager had some guys help load the truck and trailers. They were fortunate they had taken the second trailer because it took every bit of space they had on the second trailer, but they got everything. After heavily tarping and strapping everything down, Mitch tipped the workers who had helped them and they headed back home, but Clark wanted to stop by Deane’s to order a fully tricked out Gator. He told Mitch to go on ahead and he would drop the trailer at Glen’s and bring the truck to the cabin.
When Mitch got home, he stopped at the cabin and ask for someone to come pick him up at Glen’s.
“Why don’t you just drive one of the Gators in the garage back?” Michelle asked.
“That’s a good idea, Michelle. Do you want to come with me and drive us back?” Mitch asked.
“Yes!” Michelle said, grabbing her hat and coat.
When they got to the log home, the workers were leaving for the day. Mitch talked to the foreman and was asked if he was going to do the final inspection. Mitch said he was and they decided the next day at 1:00 PM they would do the walk-through.
Mitch should have been surprised as he watched Michele check the oil, fuel status and tires on the Gator before she pulled it out of the garage, but her training by Clark had stuck. She drove carefully, but didn’t baby the Gator on the way back to the cabin. Mitch talked to the women in the kitchen and they decided Mrs. Beasley, Michelle, Bridget and he would conduct the walk through the next day.
The next afternoon, Mrs. Beasley’s eagle eye checked every drawer, door, corner and closet, and turned on and shut off every light switch in the log home. At the end she was smiling and nodded to Mitch. They accepted the house.
“When can we move in?” Michelle asked. Mitch chuckled. “The movers will be here tomorrow. We’ll get everything arranged and if you help us enough, you might get to spend tomorrow night here.”
Clark was using a box cutter to cut up all the packing material and throwing it in a pile where they would have a huge bonfire. They had got everything moved in, except Bridget, Mrs. Beasley and Raelene were talking about area rugs being needed. Clark was setting the pile on fire when Mitch walked over.
“They’re talking about getting more stuff?” Clark asked.
“Just the stuff that makes women feel good. They’ll wait until Saoirse gets here then it will be an all-dayer in Des Moines with four women ooohing and aaahhhing and running from store to store.”
“I don’t know if I could do that.”
Mitch grinned. “I’m not. They are on their own.”
“When’s Glen due back?”
“Tomorrow sometime. Right now, Raelene is getting ready to take Mrs. Beasley into Unionville to stock up on fresh food and staples. That’s another trip I don’t want to take but I guess I’ll have to.”
“Rather thee than me!” Clark said, grinning.
Clark got a call the next morning from Deane’s telling him his Gator was in. He drove his truck over to Mitch’s and borrowed the vehicle trailer and headed to Des Moines. When he got to the equipment company, Clark couldn’t help but grin. The 6x4 looked like a powerhouse. He had ordered it with the all glass cab and had a heater put in and got a holder for the GPS and radio. He thought about getting one of the trailers, then decide not to, then changed his mind. He felt a little guilty that he paid more for the Gator and the trailer than most people would pay for a car these days. Interest rates were killing sales of new vehicles. Well, at least Deane’s threw in a John Deere ball cap and a travel mug. They people at Deane’s loaded the Gator and trailer, strapped everything down, and Clark headed back to Blackbird Creek.
“This is really far out of town!” Aine exclaimed.
“That’s what makes it so beautiful! Just the birds singing and the wind blowing.” Saoirse said.
Aine had flown to Chicago and rode back with them instead of waiting to fly into Des Moines and then having to go to Des Moines to pick her up. Neither Glen nor Saoirse minded. Aine was like a ray of sunshine. As they turned on state road AA Aine asked, “Where is Unionville?”
“Oh, it’s about three miles further west from where we turned onto 129.” Glen said. “We’re not far from home now.”
Glen pulled into the drive that went by Bailey’s house and up to Mitch’s cabin. Michelle and Mrs. Beasley said they would wait for them there.
When they all got out of the RV Michelle ran up and hugged her Dad and Saoirse.
“Everyone, this is my cousin Aine.” Saoirse said. “Aine, this is, let me see if I get this right, Michelle, Bridget, Raelene, Mitch and Mrs. Beasley.”
“Aine, welcome to our home.” Bridget said. “Please, come inside. It’s chilly out here.”
Clark had offloaded the trailer and Gator and drove back along the trail to return the trailer to the equipment shed. He noticed Glen’s RV parked by the cabin and decided to stop and welcome him back. Clark walked to the front door and knocked, which was quickly answered by Mitch.
“Oh, hi Clark, come one in. Glen just got back.”
Clark followed Mitch into the Great Room.
“Hi Clark!.” Bridget said. “Clark, I think you know about everyone else here, but this is Saoirse, Glens fiancé, and this is Aine, Saoirse’s cousin. Saoirse, Aine, this is Clark, our good friend.”
Once the first words of introduction had been uttered, Clark felt like someone had punched hm in the gut. Breathless, Aine and Clark stared at one another for what, Saoirse later told Aine, was almost a full minute. For Clark, it was an out of body experience, the proverbial lightning strike. All conversation in the Great Room stopped, everyone focusing on the two and wondering what was going on between them. The spell was broken by Raelene announcing that supper was ready. Clark waited as everyone filed to the big dining table and while no one was watching, slipped out the front door. He quickly went to his truck and went back to his cabin. He stood by his truck for several minutes, leaning against it. Finally, he went inside and built a fire in the stove.
When everyone was seated, Glen asked, “Where did Clark go?”
“He probably had something to do.” Bridget said, suspecting what had happened.
“I love your home Bridget.” Aine said.
“Thank you Aine. Wait until you see Glen and Saoirse’s home.”
This area is really nice.” Aine said. “You have to go a long way from Waltham before you see something like this is Massachusetts.”
“I love it here.” Saoirse said. “It is so peaceful.”
Raelene served Shepherd’s Pie and it was delicious. Saoirse complimented her on it and told her she hadn’t tasted any better in years. Raelene had made a big Dutch oven of it and there was plenty for seconds. The meal was followed by Apple Dumplings with ice cream.
“That was delicious Raelene.” Glen said.
“Yes, I want you to teach me how you make your pastry dough.” Mrs. Beasley said.
The grownups retired to the Great Room but Glen, Michelle, Saoirse, Aine and Mrs. Beasley soon left to go to the new house. Mitch and Bridget walked them out and watched as they drove up the drive. Mitch and Bridget went back in and they went to help Raelene finish cleaning the kitchen. Bridget saw Mitch’s look of concern and asked him if anything was wrong.
“I was just wondering what happened to Clark.”
Bridget walked up and kissed him on the cheek. “Aine.”
Glen and Saoirse were married in St. Mary’s Chapel with just the Bakers and residents from Blackbird Creek in attendance. They all returned to Glen and Saoirse’s house where everyone was served with the wedding cake made by Mrs. Beasley and Raelene. Clark was there but stayed in the background.
“Aine, what do you do in Massachusetts?”
“I teach at a private school, Chauncy Hall. They are on recess now because of the virus. Although there has been very little sickness, they are keeping the school closed, which I think is totally unnecessary.”
“Well, the good side is you got to come down for the wedding. When are you planning to return?”
“I’ll be here until Saoirse and Glen get back. It will be a nice vacation being here.”
“Sorry folks, but we’ve got a schedule to keep.” Mitch said.
Mitch was flying Glen and Saoirse to Des Moines to catch a flight to Vale, Colorado. They loaded the newlywed’s bags in the Gators and convoyed up to the hangar and saw the couple off. They stayed and watched as the plane banked to the left and set course for Des Moines. As the group broke up, Aine saw Clark head for his 6x4.
“Clark! Wait a minute!”
Clark turned, his heart thumping loudly as Aine approached.
“Michelle said you’d built a new cabin. Could you show it to me?”
Clark was petrified. “Su….su….sure.”
“Hey Michelle! Clark will bring me back in a while!”
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Post by feralferret on Sept 23, 2022 0:39:14 GMT -6
Clark was dumbstruck! He's in trouble now.
Thank you for another fine chapter.
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ydderf2
Member
"I'm from the government and here to help" hahahaha
Posts: 321
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Post by ydderf2 on Sept 23, 2022 9:44:28 GMT -6
Thanks
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Post by ncsfsgm on Sept 23, 2022 11:35:11 GMT -6
Chapter 30
Aine got in the 6x4, watching Clark. Clark got in and started the Gator and headed down the drive to his cabin. He felt her looking at him a glanced over, her face was lit up with a million candlepower smile.
“You act like you are scared of me.” Aine said.
“Hmph!” Clark grunted.
Clark stopped in front of the cabin and got out.
“Here it is.” He said.
She walked around, looking, even checking out the wood shed.
“Can I see inside?”
Clark went up on the porch and opened the door for her. Aine meekly stepped inside and was surprised. She walked into a nicely furnished opened den, kitchen and dining area. there was a set of steps going up to the second floor. The furniture in the den looked comfortable and the glass door wood stove seemed to be the visible centerpiece of the den. The dining table had six chairs around it and the kitchen was spacious and had an island.
“Is that a wood cook stove?”
“Yes it is. That is a Heartland brand. They discontinued making appliances back in 2019, but I found this in a warehouse with a lot of spare parts. It will heat up the entire house. As you can see, it has an upper warming cabinet, you can load the firebox from the top or front and has a 5 gallon copper reservoir.”
“It’s beautiful! Do you really cook on it?”
“It’s the only way I have of cooking my meals. This cabin is off grid. I get my electricity from the sun and wind, my fuel for cooking and heating from the forest. I can even get my food from the forest.”
“This is amazing!”
“Over here is my walk-in pantry and next to it is the laundry room and through it the back door.”
“You still have electrical appliances?”
“Yes, but you have to be careful how you use them or you’ll drain the batteries. I can recharge them with a generator but I don’t like to. The refrigerator is 12 volt and they washer is energy efficient. The clothes dryer, well, I haven’t used it much. I’ve used a clothes line to dry my clothes so far. I can still do that in the winter, depending on the weather. If need be, I have clothes racks for drying I can set near the stove in the den.”
‘I love the smell of clothes dried on a clothes line!” Aine said.
“Come on, I’ll show you the upstairs.”
Clark led her up the stairs and stopped at the top.
“Up here, I have a full bath with shower, the second bedroom and this area over here I have it set up as an office/study.”
“Is that the bedroom you sleep in?”
“No, that’s the spare. My bedroom is downstairs.”
You didn’t show it to me!” Come on!” Aine said, tugging his arm.
They went down the stairs, a light sheen of sweat forming on Clark’s brow. At the bottom of the stairs Clark opened the door into the Master Suite and stepped inside, letting Aine do her inspection. The king bed was covered by a beautiful quilt. There was a walk in closet; the bath area had a nice size tub, two separate vanities and a toilet.”
“That’s a strange looking toilet.”
“It’s a composting toilet.”
Aine frowned. “What about the…you know…smell?”
“There is absolutely no odor. It is very efficient and has a large capacity. With even two people using it full time I would only have to empty it every four to six weeks.”
“Amazing. You have all the comforts yet don’t have to depend on outside services. Where does the water go from the sinks, bath and washer?”
“Oh, I have a septic system and a large leach field.”
Aine nodded and slowly walked around, looking intently.
“Can I offer you something to drink?” Mitch asked. “I can make us some hot tea.”
“That would be nice.”
Clark quickly went into the kitchen, added wood to the firebox on the stove and filled the tea kettle.
“What would you like? I have English Breakfast, Chamomile, Earl Grey, and Irish Breakfast.”
“Earl Grey, please.”
Clark took the K-cup camp coffee maker, the containers of loose Earl Grey and Chamomile teas out of the cabinet. Taking out the reusable cup he added the Earl Grey. Taking out another reusable cup from a drawer, he filled it with the Chamomile tea. He needed a cup to calm himself down. Clark got two mugs out, two tea spoons, the honey and creamer. When the kettle began whistling, Clark poured the hot water into the tank on the coffee maker to the fill line, inserted the plunger and pressed down.
“That’s amazing, it’s just like a K-cup coffee maker, except no electricity! It even sounds like one!”
Clark smiled and slid her mug over to her. She added a teaspoon of honey and a little creamer, watching Clark make his cup.
“So, what brought you out here to the wilds of northern Missouri?” Aine asked.
Clark shrugged. “I was looking for some land, Mitch offered the area to me and I built a cabin to live out the rest of my days.”
“That’s definitely some long term planning, but WHY did you come out here?”
Clark looked down at his mug and slowly spun it around by the handle.
“I had gone through some dark times and Mitch helped me get back on my feet. I came here to help him with some equipment and liked the area.”
Aine, feeling that she had better not push him any further for information, changed the subject.
“Well, you’ve done a fine job here on your place. Is there anything else you are going to do?”
“I want to build a large carport for my truck and the Gator to get them out of the direct weather and perhaps a workshop.”
“Well, you have a good start.”
“So, do you like teaching school?” Clark asked.
They continued talking through the afternoon until they heard the Maule return. Aine helped Clark wash and dry the mugs and coffee maker then put them away.
“Thank you for an enjoyable afternoon. It was nice talking with you.” Aine said.
“I had a good time also. Do you need to go to Glen’s or Mitch’s?”
“Let me check.” Aine pulled her phone out and called Michelle, talked briefly and ended the call.
“They are at Glen’s.”
“I’ll take you back.”
As they drove by the hangar, Clark noticed Mitch had already placed the plane back in. He drove the new trail back to Glen’s and pulled up in the drive.
”Thank you for a wonderful afternoon Clark. I will be seeing you.”
“Good evening Aine.”
Clark headed back to his cabin, finally calming somewhat.
The next morning Clark sat down and sketched out a design for his carport on graph paper and made a list of building materials. By 10:00 AM, he had his plan done and got his work gloves and went over to Bailey’s to get a trailer and tie-down straps. Mitch and Bailey were out by the wood shed splitting firewood.
“Where ya headed Clark?”
“To Home Depot to pick up materials to make a car shelter for the truck and Gator.”
“Well, I’ve been thinking of building a lumber shed to keep extra lumber on hand. If you help me, I’ll help you.”
“You’ve got a deal although you know I would have helped you anyway.”
“I know that. Do you need any help getting the materials or need any prep work done?”
“No, I can get the stuff, but I will need the auger to put in the posts.”
“I’ll have it hooked up and over at the cabin when you get back.”
”Okay Mitch, thanks.”
They helped Clark hook up the trailer and he left. Mitch and Bailey finished splitting and stacking the wood then attached the auger to the tractor and gathered their building tools and placed them in the box trailer. They could leave the trailer and tools at Clark’s until they were finished.
When Clark got back, Bailey and Mitch were ready with layout stakes and tools and the small generator. Clark showed them his plan and they set up stakes and lines to align the posts and marked the holes. Bailey ran the tractor auger and Mitch worked the shovel and they quickly had the 16 holes dug. They set the 10’ posts in the ground, aligned, leveled and braced the posts then poured a bag of Sakrete into each hole and added water.
“Well, that’s about all we can do today.” Clark said. “You guys want some coffee?”
“Sounds good to me.” Bailey replied.
They went inside and Clark added wood to the firebox on the cook stove then filled a kettle. He got out the coffee maker and filled the K-cups with Colombian.
“So, When do you want to start building the lumber shed Mitch?”
”We can start any time but I think I’ll wait until after Thanksgiving.”
Saoirse had never skied before, so Glen stayed with her during her lessons and with her on the bunny slopes. She was having a ball! It was mid-afternoon when she finally tired out and they went back to the lodge to have hot toddies.
“You were doing really well out there!” Glen said.
“It really is fun. Perhaps we could come back sometime and bring Michelle. I’m sure she would love it.”
“Where shall we eat tonight?” Glen asked.
“Can we eat here at the Chalet again. I want to try their schnitzel.”
“I’ll call and make reservations. Want to go try out the hot tub?”
“Sure, I could use it.”
The next afternoon Clark had just finished stapling on the roofing felt when Michelle and Aine drove up in Michelle’s Gator. They sat in the Gator and watched as Mitch started handing up the steel roofing to Bailey and Clark. Clark had drawn the plans out so they had minimum cutting of the materials. They would have very little scrap left over. The men didn’t really notice when the girls went inside the cabin until, as they laid the final sheet of roofing, the girls came out with mugs of coffee. Bailey and Clark came down off the roof and gratefully accepted the mugs.
“Well, that was just in time.” Bailey said.
“We were watching you out the window,” Michelle said. “When we saw you were finishing, we made the coffee.”
“Well, thank you both.” Clark said.
“What else are you going to do to the shed?” Mitch asked.
“I’ll put up the sheeting on the windward sides to keep rain and snow from blowing in.”
“Well, we are on a roll. Let’s do it and be done.” Mitch said.
This portion took some cutting of the roofing material. Bailey and Mitch snapped a chalk line and began cutting the steel sheeting while Clark nailed supports to screw the sheeting to. Michelle and Aine carried 2x4s for him. When they started putting up the wall sheeting, Michelle went to help Mitch snap the line and Bailey helped Clark screw the sheets on and call out measurements. It was late in the afternoon when they finished.
“Well ladies, thank you very much. You’ve been a big help.” Clark said.
“I’ll bring over a trailer of gravel from the pile and we can spread it out in here.” Bailey said.
“I’d appreciate that.” Clark said.
“They picked up the scrap steel and put the tools back in the trailer. Bailey hooked up the box trailer and he and Mitch left.
“Clark, can you come to dinner at our house?” Michelle asked. “Mrs. Beasley is cooking a pork roast and it’s the best!”
“Sure, I guess so. I need to get cleaned up though. I’ll be over in about 45 minutes.”
Michelle and a smiling Aine got in the Gator and left as Clark went into the cabin.
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Post by sniper69 on Sept 23, 2022 12:22:30 GMT -6
Thank you for another excellent chapter to this excellent story.
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Post by feralferret on Sept 23, 2022 14:52:05 GMT -6
Thank you for another excellent chapter to this excellent story. Ditto!
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Post by gipsy on Sept 23, 2022 15:46:30 GMT -6
Yep Thanks for the update.
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Post by imahic on Sept 23, 2022 16:03:13 GMT -6
Thanks for the updates. Really enjoying the story.
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Post by udwe on Sept 23, 2022 19:32:00 GMT -6
Thanks for the updates! fantabulous story!
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Post by ncsfsgm on Sept 26, 2022 19:47:59 GMT -6
Chapter 31
Clark dressed in slacks and a long sleeve pullover shirt and wore his mid-length leather coat. He turned on the heater in the Gator and drove to Glen’s log home. Michelle met him at the door, took his coat and led him into the Great Room.
“Aine will be in in a minute. She’s finishing up a Baileys Irish Cream Cake for dessert. I’m supposed to entertain you until she comes in.”
“Oh, is that so? And how do you plan to do that?”
“I want to talk to you about hunting.”
“Oh? Well what do you need to know?”
“Is it hard to hunt turkeys?”
“Well, kind of. They are very alert birds and you have to camouflage yourself and stay very still. But first, you have to study how they travel and pick a good spot to make your kill.”
“I know of a good spot!”
Aine walked in brushing her sleeve with her hand. “Dinner will be served soon.”
Clark and Michelle looked up at Aine and Michelle started giggling.
“What? What’s the matter?” Aine asked, looking down at her skirt and blouse.
Clark stood up and gently rubbed her right ear lobe. “How did you manage to get flour on your ear?”
“It’s probably confectioner’s sugar. I had to make the icing for the cake I baked earlier today.”
Mrs. Beasley called them to dinner and Clark escorted Aine and Michelle in, pulled their chairs out and seated them. The meal was family style so the platter of roast and the bowls of vegetables were passed around as well as the basket of warm yeast rolls. Occasionally, Aine glanced across the table at Clark.
Saoirse got out of bed and groaned.
“My muscles are sore this morning!”
Glen grinned, went into his shaving kit and got her two Advil and got her a bottle of water out of the fridge.
“Take this, it will help.”
“I don’t think I can ski today.” Saoirse groaned.
“I wasn’t planning for us to go today, but you do need to dress warmly.”
“What do you have planned?”
“Well, I have tickets for the alpine coaster then we’re going to the RockResorts Spa to get all your sore spots massaged.”
“Can’t we stay here and you can massage me?”
“Nope, I’ve got to keep you moving, build your stamina. But we have time for a bath in the jacuzzi and I’ll call room service and order breakfast.”
The Forest Flyer Mountain Coaster is approximately 3,400 feet in length has multiple 360-degree loops, twists and turns as it winds its way through the trees and down the mountain, reaching speeds of up to 35 miles per hour. However there is a manual brake to make your descent much slower if you wish, and Saoirse wished it several times. If going down full speed, the total ride time to the end is two minutes, then there is a 5 minute tow back up the mountain.
Glen didn’t mind the relatively slow descent. It gave them time to enjoy the natural beauty of their surroundings as they followed the natural contours of the mountain.
“That was….exhilarating!” Saoirse shouted.
“Want to go again?” Glen asked.
“Yes, but the line is very long. Let’s just go to the spa.”
Clark set the next piece of wood in the ring and split it with the splitting maul. He like to do this early in the morning. It woke him up and got him started for the day, plus, he liked the exercise. After he had split enough wood that it was becoming a hazard to walk around, he began stacking the wood in the ‘seasoned’ side of the wood shed. He cleared the wood from around his splitting area then was picking up another piece to be split when he heard the engine of the Gator coming through the trees. It was Aine.
“You’re busy already this morning!”
Clark smiled. “I like the exercise.”
“We made cinnamon rolls this morning and I brought you a pan.”
“Well thank you. I accept but only if I can share them with you.”
Clark opened the cabin door as Aine sashayed in, carrying the pan of rolls into the kitchen and placed it on the counter as Clark stood by the door admiring the rear view.
Aine glanced and saw Clark watching her as she took the coffee maker and coffee canister out of the cabinet, filled the kettle and added wood to the firebox, then turned toward Clark. She smiled when she saw Clark still watching her. She let him look for a moment then said, “Would you get out the mugs, plates and silverware, Clark?”
Clark quickly moved into the kitchen and got out the mugs, plates, silverware, and set the napkin holder on the bar.
Aine made the two mugs of coffee and placed two rolls onto each plate, Clark asked, “Do you need cream or sugar for the coffee?”
“Nope, coffee, I take black.”
Clark took his first bite of the roll, sipped his coffee and turned to Aine. “Aine, these are excellent rolls. I’m sure glad you brought them. Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” Aine said.
“So I guess you’ll be returning to Massachusetts soon?”
“I guess. Going back really doesn’t interest me much anymore.”
Clark didn’t say anything, just drank his coffee.
“Bridget mentioned in passing that you are a widower.”
Clark hesitated a moment, then spoke.
“My wife Brenda was killed a few years ago in an auto accident. I guess like anyone, I took it really hard. That’s what Mitch rescued me from.”
“I’m so sorry for your loss. Have you tried to put yourself out there again?”
“Yeah, for a bit. I was lonely and missed Brenda very much. It took me a while to try dating…but that didn’t work. I tried but it did not help my loneliness. Even while I was with the woman of the moment there was a core of loneliness, a yearning inside. So I quite even trying. There just wasn’t the emotional aspect there.”
“Oh.”
They were quiet for several minutes when Clark cleared his throat.
“I wouldn’t mind it if you didn’t go back to Massachusetts.”
“Okay.”
Stone threw another arm load of lath on the pile out in the yard and went back inside. Using a feed scoop, he gathered up the pile of plaster and dust and put it in a bucket. There was a wash out area down by the barn he would dump it in, the dump trailer was already pretty full. Taking his mask off, Stone looked around at the gutted house, all except for the kitchen. He wanted to be able to still cook and eat there. He was going to save the renovation of that for last.
Bob “Stone” Gilbert had grown up in Putnam County. He got the name “Stone” a few years later, but that’s another story. His family had deep roots here. Growing up, he loved to come out here to stay with his grandparents during the summer. Out here, he was free. His grandparents had died on this farm when he was still in high school. He and his parents lived in town, his father a Vietnam Vet and a Putnam County Deputy Sheriff and his mother, was a better than average looking housewife that chain smoked. His mother died while he was in the Army of esophageal cancer and his father a couple of years later when a car slid into him during a traffic stop he was conducting. Stone was the last of the Gilbert and Ledbetter families. He’d spent 8 years in the Army, proudly following in his father’s footsteps as a Green Beret. Stone had seen the changes coming in the service and got out before he developed a bad attitude. He had loved what he had been doing but didn’t have the heart to see it torn down to a meaningless shell.
Stone went out and cranked the generator then turned on the shop vac and vacuumed up the dust from the plaster. Tomorrow, he would start working on tearing out walls and building new ones. While the generator was still running, he filled the 55 gallon drum with water from the well and lit the Army surplus immersion heater. He needed a hot shower to wash the plaster dust away. Stone grinned. Once he had the house finished, he was going to use the heater to make a hillbilly hot tub. He had found the heater, still new in the box, at an Army Surplus store on Yadkin Road, just off post. Although he didn’t use it for a few years, he knew he would someday and kept it in his storage unit off post.
Stone had his shower and sat at the picnic table he had built himself, staring at the house, thinking of his next steps in the renovation. The house was solid. The roof was slate and he was surprised when he found not a leak in it. Stone’s great-great grandfather had built the house and had used oak for the timberframe and cypress wood he had hauled all the way up from Louisiana for the siding. Grandpa Ledbetter told him one time it had taken almost 3 months to finally get the loads of planks here by wagon. Stone hadn’t found one instance of rot on the boards The ceilings had bat guano in them though but the first thing Stone had done was build bat houses and watched when the bats left in the evening then plugged the small hole they were coming through. The bats were now residing in the bat houses he had placed on the barn. The barn did have some rot on the siding, because they had used pine, but like the house, the barn was primarily framed with oak, cut right here on this land. Stone went over to the deck box under the tree he was using for storing food and pulled out a couple of packs of Ramen, added wood to the fire and set a kettle on the stones to boil water before it got dark.
Mitch sat in the office sipping coffee and talking with the dispatcher, waiting for the jet to arrive. The plane touched down right at 1:35 PM and taxied up to the charter service hangar. Glen and Saoirse both were well tanned.
“I didn’t think Irish girls tanned.” Mitch said, giving Saoirse a hug.
When they unloaded the plane, Mitch unboxed some of the things because the boxes took up too much space. Weight wasn’t a problem. He got everything packed in the Maule and got the two seated, did his walk-around and started the engine. After getting permission, Mitch taxied the plane and waited at the threshold for a commuter flight to land. They finally were given permission to take off and Mitch did a rolling line-up and gave it throttle, taking off when he reached rotation speed. He stayed at 2,000 feet until he reached the outer edge of the control zone around the airport then got permission to climbed to 8,000 feet. Both Glen and Saoirse began nodding off to sleep.
Mitch did a flyover of the houses on Blackbird Creek before setting up for landing, but it was for naught. The Gators were already gathered near the hangar. He touched down and taxied over to the hangar. The first person to the plane was Michelle, giving Glen then Saoirse hugs when they got out. Mitch began passing parcels and luggage out and Saoirse was making sure everything was handled carefully.
Glen carried the case of Irish whiskey over to one of Mitch’s Gators and placed it in the cargo box.
“That’s for you Mitch. Thank you.”
“Well thank you Glen, I appreciate that.”
Bridget ferried Michelle, Saoirse and Glen in the four-seater to their house with the baggage, followed by Aine in Michelle’s Gator. Mitch and Clark refueled the plane and moved it inside.
“What are you doing tomorrow?” Clark asked.
“Laying flagstone for Bridget’s ‘Entertainment Area’.” Mitch said, emphasizing the quotation marks with his fingers.
Clark chuckled. I’ll be over to help you. I’m caught up on firewood.”
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