Shake, Rattle, & Run

For the past several weeks we have still been working on the inside walls getting them ready to texture and paint.  This step is one that you can't rush---you put the taping on, float out the mud, and wait for it to dry.  The drying part means we have to apply it and leave.  Then we come back and hit the repeat button---tape, float, and let dry.

Last weekend we had a couple of rooms that were ready for sanding---the kitchen and the bathroom.  So I worked on that part of the process while my husband continued through the bedrooms with the taping and "mudding" as I call it.

Every time we go to the house I text my parents who are in their 80's and tell them we are heading south in case they want to come hang out.  I would say most weekends they come down except for these last few months when it has been so terribly hot.  Last weekend they didn't come and we had a little excitement.

We usually get to the house between 8-9am so we can have a full day of work and this particular day was no different.  Once we got there I started unloading the truck and my husband went to turn the water on and dump something on the back side of the house.  I had barely set down a few things inside when I heard him yelling.  So I had to go on the porch to see what he was saying and of course the dreaded words---bring my gun and a hoe!  If you have ever been in the country you know what that means---rattlesnake.

I grabbed his gun and a hoe and headed outside not sure what I was going to see.  Sure enough a rattlesnake had curled up by the back corner of the house in some grass when he saw it.  It was about 3-4 foot long with 8 buttons.  Didn't matter to me I just wanted to see him dead--sorry. 

So the next weekend we were on high alert.  As per usual I told my parents we were headed south and they said they would join us.  I asked my dad if he had any Sulphur that he could bring to sprinkle out for snakes and he said yes that he would bring some.  

My job (besides sanding) was to spread this Sulphur out around the house just to keep these little critters away.  I took the bucket and started tossing handfuls from the front to the back of the house.  I rounded the back corner of the house and thought, "hmmm, I should throw some of this Sulphur on that pile of wood/sheetrock that we have taken out of the house"......so I did.  Bad decision.  Out of that pile came a snake that looked like he was coming at me.  I'm sure the sound of my Sulphur hitting that pile was just enough to scare him out.  I know I looked like Forest Gump rounding the corner of the house and leaping up the back steps to get some help.  

The Martin House continues to provide an adventure around every corner....literally!  

As promised there is always more to come.....