Kit and Jerry Bertelsen
Welcome to the Bertelsen Web Site
Our Goal is to keep this site very simple.
We hope you visit it often and enjoy our journey.
Anywhere is paradise;
it's up to you.
~Author Unknown
from
quotegarden.com
Last Update:
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Click Here To: Check out Information on Gate Guarding in Texas
Send snail Mail to:
144 Rainbow Dr. #4412, ,
Livingston, TX 77399-1044
Send email to:
Jerry's email:
jerry.bertelsen@hotmail.com
Kit's email
bertelsenk@gmail.com
Where
In The World are
Kit and Jerry:
View Where Kit and Jerry are Located in Google maps
Recent Posts:
01/26 Uvalde for Blood
01/25 Wind
and Rain
01/24
"Beam us UP!"
01/23 Back to
the Build
01/22 An
Afternoon Ride
01/21 Laying
Low Today
01/20
Another Wall, Another Beam
01/19 Building a Beam
01/18
Building More Walls
01/17
Another Wall
01/16 Waiting
for the Sun to Shine
01/15 Cloudy,
Cool and a Little Drizzle
01/14
Drilling Holes and Sanding Boards
01/13 Another
Wall Up
01/12 Cold
Weather Comes
01/11
First Wall
01/10
Better Day
01/09 Chilly and
Windy
01/08 Sunday Drizzle
01/07
Late Day Delivery
01/06 Buying a
House?
01/05
Still Moving Rocks
01/04
Spending a Day in Del Rio
01/03 Making Progress
01/02 Perfect Day for
a Cookout
01/01
Happy New Year!
12/31
Breakfast with Friends and More
12/30
Electrical Work and Laundry
12/29
Back in Brackett
12/28 Tracking
across Texas
12/27 On the Road&Rails again!
12/26 Tying Up Loose
Ends and Saying "See You Later"
12/24 Christmas
Eve with Family
12/23 Spending Time
with Family
12/22
Making Time for Friends
12/21
Riding the Amtrak - Part 2
12/20
Riding the Amtrak - Part 1
12/19
Safe and Sound in Indiana
12/16
Almost Packed
12/15
Waterline is In
12/14
Thick as Pea Soup
12/13
Party
12/12
Drizzle, Mud and a Change in Party Plans
12/11
Christmas Tour of Homes
12/10
Cold Soggy Rain Today
12/09
Oh, My Aching Back
12/08
Gate Guard Visitors Come to the Fort
12/07
Still Cold
12/06
A Dentist Visit
12/05
It's Cold!
12/04
Change in the Weather
12/03
A Perfect Day . . . for a Yard Sale and a Christmas Parade
12/02
Shopping
12/01
It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like . . .
Brackettville, TX
We plant seeds that will flower as
results in our lives, so best to remove the weeds of anger, avarice,
envy and doubt...
~Dorothy Day
From:
www.quotegarden.com/attitude.html
Uvalde for Blood
Six weeks ago Jerry's blood test results revealed an elevated cholesterol number. The Doctor prescribed a regimented low fat diet and Lipitor tablets. Jerry returned to Uvalde early this morning to give the doc more blood for an update on his cholesterol numbers. We should hear tomorrow if giving up cheeseburgers paid off.
When we returned to the Fort, we changed into "builder's" clothes and worked on the house. Jerry managed to get all the anchor bolts into the concrete. He also caulked the base plates on all the walls. Doing this keeps the little Texas critters from entering our home from an opening in the concrete.
Kit continued sanding. The construction grade lumber is a challenge to work with. However, looking at the end result of the beams that have been stained and polyed kept her going. Some of the wood is really mangled. There is a limit to what she calls distressed wood!
Joe and Fran stopped in to see how we were progressing. Joe and Jerry made plans for a trip to Del Rio to order the metal for the house siding. We want it to match the existing roof material. After they left, we measured just how much we will need. (Good grief! We'll have to go back to work really soon. We just keep spending money!)
Kit and Fran will more than likely tag along on the trip to Del Rio. They don't want to miss a breakfast at IHOP.
All in all, it was a very productive day.
Life is
G☺☺D!
Brackettville, TX
I wish I was a glow worm,
A glow worm's never glum. 'Cos how can you be grumpy
When the sun shines out your bum!
~Author Unknown
From:
www.quotegarden.com/attitude.html
Wind and Rain
We had cold winds out of the North all day today. Last night, around midnight, we got a brief rain storm. The local rain gauge in Unit 38 reported almost a quarter inch.
We decided that today would be a good day to drive to Eagle Pass and visit Lowe's. Jerry wanted to pick up some insulation to use on the outside corners of the house frame before securing the OSB boards. We also picked up some nails for the hurricane straps, and a few other things on our "to get" list.
Kit spent her time in the window shades department. We purchased a couple of room darkening Levolor Cordless Blinds to replace the day/night shades in the RV bedroom. Several of our RV friends have them already. The shades are original to the RV and have seen better days. We either had to learn to restring them or get new ones.
The blinds were cut to the exact size we needed right there in the store. That was a convenience for us. At least we didn't have to special order them. Jerry was able to install them in about 15 minutes, once he figured out what to do.
Tomorrow we'll be back to sanding. Hopefully the winds will take a rest.
Life is
G☺☺D!
Brackettville, TX
I think, what has this day brought
me, and what have I given it?
~Henry Moore
From:
www.quotegarden.com/attitude.html
"Beam us UP!"
Clouds. Rain and drizzle. The forecast was for sporadic moisture. Temps were on the cool side as well.
Kit decided not to set up her sanding station. Instead, she helped Jerry by tightening the bolts while he was drilling the holes. There are only fifteen more to do.
Joe arrived in the afternoon and he and Jerry finished nailing the top plates on the walls they put up yesterday. They also put up a few sheets of OSB board on the area where the beam was to be placed. Joe wanted to tighten up the wall.
Last week Joe and Jerry sistered two of the 2 x 10's together to have a span of 20 feet and put them in place. Today, the plan was to get the remaining boards up. We were using the four boards as a beam to hold the rafters for our ceiling. It turned out to be more of a challenge than we thought.
Our boards were not of perfect quality. Trying to put all four of the twisted and warped boards together was nearly impossible. We stopped the project so we could talk about alternatives. We even got on the computer to research other materials we could use for the load bearing beam. In the end, we decided to continue with what we had.
Fortunately we had the tools to clamp the boards together and that helped get them straightened enough to bolt them in place. We even had to flip one over, so it will have to have the other end stained and polyed.
All pictures found at the following link:
2012_01_January
We worked until nearly dusk and got it all bolted together except for the last 3 feet. The beam looks absolutely as we envisioned it. There are only a couple of places that need to be touched up with poly. THE BEAM IS UP!
Fran and Joe invited us over to their place for supper. We were all hungry, so Fran picked up a couple of pizzas from PICO'S. Kit made a salad, and we had a great meal with our good company!
If the weather improves tomorrow, we will start a sanding marathon. We need to get the 20 footers ready for stain and poly. This house is actually coming together!
Life is
G☺☺D!
Brackettville, TX
We awaken in others the same
attitude of mind we hold toward them.
~Elbert Hubbard
From:
www.quotegarden.com/attitude.html
Back to the Build
Okay, it's Monday and back to work for us. We had a beautiful day for sanding and drilling.
Kit got her sanding station set up this morning and managed to get a couple of boards smoothed before the noon whistle blew. Jerry worked on getting two of the walls anchored to the four inch metal pole that holds up part of the metal RV roof port. Then, he continued drilling anchor bolts into the concrete to stabilize the base plate.
After lunch, Joe arrived to help get the last two wall sections up. He and Jerry, and Norvin finished around five. So, all Jerry has to do is add a top plate, drill about 15 holes for anchor bolts, and build two window sill plates. He'll be ready to put the OSB board in place and get the house wrapped after that.
Once the wrap is on, they will start putting up the rafter beams that Kit is sanding and Fran is staining and painting. Kit managed to crank out a total of six 20 footers today.
We had many Fort visitors stop by to check the progress. We look forward to their visits, as it is a break for us. Everyone has a suggestion as to how they think it should be done, too.
John V. checked in late in the day to relay the weather report for tomorrow. Looks like we might get some rain and wind. Before calling it a day, we secured all the lumber and covered it with tarps. Sure hope we can stay dry!
Life is
G☺☺D!
Brackettville, TX
Success is due less to ability
than to zeal.
~Charles Buxton
From:
www.quotegarden.com/attitude.html
An Afternoon Ride
After waking up this morning and seeing the wet concrete, we thought we had missed the weather report. Temps were supposed to be in the upper 70's and sunny. By the time we headed to church, we were seeing some improvements.
The afternoon turned into a beautiful day! We've been so preoccupied with the building, drilling and sanding, we lost track of time for ourselves. We were due for a real long golf car ride into the back country.
One of our favorite spots here at the Fort is the "buzzard roost". Usually the trail is so dusty that it is not enjoyable to be on for any length of time. With the dampness this morning, we had a perfect ride to see the buzzards today.
But wait! No buzzards. The marsh was all dried up and we supposed the buzzards found some place else to roost. After relaying the buzzard-less marsh story to our dinner gang, we found the birds had moved to the trees along Pecan Road. Now, we'll just have to check that out another day.
Taken on November 28, 2009
Taken on January 22, 2012
We also treated ourselves to a happy hour over at Harlan and Betty's. Linda and Bill were also sitting on the patio when we drove up. It was an enjoyable visit with good friends.
Tomorrow we'll be back at our sanding and drilling. One of these days we'll have it all done!
Life is
G☺☺D!
Brackettville, TX
Whenever you fall, pick something
up.
~Oswald Avery
From:
www.quotegarden.com/attitude.html
Laying Low Today
We had clouds today that prompted us to find the jackets and sweatshirts again. Temps that were supposed to be in the 70's only made it to the 60's. We must be thin blooded.
We signed up for altar flowers for Sunday's worship service. Brackettville does not have a floral shop with a large variety of flowers to choose from. This morning we opted to drive to Del Rio, eat breakfast, and find some fresh flowers.
Our first flower shop was also a balloon party store. The owner was not overly interested in designing a flower arrangement on such short notice, but said she could have something ready by the close of the day. Ugh!
The second and third shops did not look open. After all, it was a Saturday and before ten o'clock. Kit decided to try HEB Grocery. The floral department was a flurry of activity, and the designer was more than willing to help us out. In less than fifteen minutes, Kit was walking out the door with a gorgeous arrangement that was suitable for the altar.
Before leaving town, we stopped at the Tractor Supply store to pick up a couple of bags of bird seed. Wow! What happened to the price of sunflower seeds in Texas. It nearly doubled from last year!
Upon returning to the Fort, Jerry had plans to help Joe install a storm door. Kit dropped him off and then spent the next hour over at Eck and Dee's patio, visiting with some of the Unit 37 gang. She also got a tour of Pat and Dan's new house under construction.
Our evening was fairly uneventful. We managed to watch a few DVR programs and cleared some space in the que so that we can record something else!
Life is
G☺☺D!
Brackettville, TX
Enjoy the little things, for one
day you may look back and realize they were the big things.
~Robert Brault,
www.robertbrault.com
From:
www.quotegarden.com/attitude.html
Another Wall, Another Beam
Our day began with heavy clouds and a bank of fog that needed to burn off. Once the sun broke through, we had a marvelous day for working outside. The temp climbed up to near 80.
Jerry worked on getting more of the base plates anchored into the concrete. He is using a hammer drill and a half inch concrete bit. It takes a lot of umph to get that bit down about four inches and not hit rebar or rocks.
Joe and Fran arrived around eleven. Kit helped Fran get set up for applying the poly seal to the rafter beams that were stained yesterday. Joe and Jerry decided to work on another wall. Kit conferenced with Joe and Jerry on the placement of the kitchen window and another door that would lead to the second lot where we park our car. Norvin joined the guys as they began to mark out the studs.
Kit slipped inside the RV to put together lunch for the team working today. She had fixed some chicken breasts in the crock pot earlier in the week and decided to make chicken salad sandwiches. We all sat down outside around the patio table for a quick bite, then it was back to work.
Betty arrived to help Kit sand a few more beams. They knocked out three more 20 footers in less than three hours. Work halted around 3:00 for a break. Fran was already back home.
Kit and Betty took the golf car over to Dave and Sally's place to admire their stamped patio concrete. It's a really cool design and even has color added. By the time they returned to sanding, everyone was ready to call it a day.
We didn't even have to beg people to leave! Tools were packed away, and the place was spiffed up, ready for another day's work tomorrow.
All pictures found at the following link:
2012_01_January
We crawled into the RV, got our showers, and joined the Unit 38 gang for dinner at Daddy's Grill. The restaurant makes really delicious quesadillas. We left very satisfied! Once home, we watched a little TV and headed for the pillows. We were bushed!
Life is
G☺☺D!