Progress, Christmas Lights, and a Warning

We didn't finish the barn Saturday *sigh*. But we sure did try. The problem is the riveter, it kept getting jammed and finally we just had to return it. Next weekend we'll do our best to finish.

We carried the roof panels up and somehow managed to get them in place, the two of us. They are so heavy!

I'm a little concerned because we didn't finish riveting them down, so if we get high winds, we'll lose them. They are so heavy that it would take a mighty windstorm to move them, but it is possible.

The front wall is finished, that is, all the wall are finished! There are four stabilizing metal struts on the inside of the front wall and we screwed on the metal guards that protect the edges (Kacy mentioned they might come loose if they're not screwed on -- thankfully they came with screws).

The little top pieces over the doors are just for looks, I think, but they sure took a lot of rivets and screws! It took forever for us to just attach those small pieces. Anyway, they're secure: 5 rivets along the top, 12 screws on each end patch.

It is pretty dark in there so we're gonna need lights. I'm spoiled on light right now cuz my stall has two but I rarely need them due to the half-wall. At night I sure appreciate them though.

Next Steps: secure roof, set barn on ground and attach 4 ground anchors, add overhang roof, add doors. I think that's it. Hopefully there will be no mystery pieces left over, like when I built my BBQ!

Senior Hay

Carsten brought us another load of hay - it took him a few weeks to locate the right kind because I asked for a shorter cut.

Baasha doesn't chew as well as he used to, and needs both dentistry and easy-chew food. I love the hay he brought. It falls apart and is greener than most hay in Germany. (But still not as green as PNW hay.)

I noticed right away when he started eating it, because suddenly he's drinking a lot more water.














Lights!

Since yesterday was Totensonntag (day of the dead) it is officially OK to put up Christmas decorations today. I did last night, but didn't turn them on until today. I sure love my lights. See, we don't have to wait until after Thanksgiving cuz we don't have a Thanksgiving. I will try not to weep when I think about what I'll be missing on Thursday.

We won't have a tree this year cuz we'll be in America, so I put lights on my man's rubber tree. I put a string on the barn too. I'll have to photograph the outdoor lights later when it's dark.

I even put up my icicle lights in my kitchen, they make a warm glow at night to type or cook by.

Scary Interview

I found out today I have another job interview in Cologne on the 6th. This is the only job I've applied for that I'm not sure I even want. I worked an entire day doing a test document for them and although I was extremely rushed, they must have liked it. I am kind of amazed that such work under pressure got me an in-person interview. I'm also surprised because this was the worst phone interview I'd had in years. I cannot remember the last time I had such a stressful interview, oh yah, Amazon.com in 1998. That sucked. But this one comprised a snobbish Product Manager in Chicago, a developer in Cologne, HR in Cologne, and me in the sticks near Cologne. I'm really good at interviews; I have lots of practice and it's rare for a question to stump me, but this guy not only threw all the hard questions at me, but in a manner as if he expected me to fail. It was difficult because the PM was throwing questions at me 5 at a time, so I couldn't often follow what he wanted to hear first/most. I was intimidated, stuttered, had to say, "Let me think" on one occasion - it was an hour of torture, and I thought afterwards, "The job itself could never be as stressful as that interview with that guy!" And that guy would be my off-site boss, aaaagh.

Also, I would be the only member of my team, and I've never done that. I'm terrified but I think I could handle the challenge. I have to try, anyway, it's the right thing to do, but I have to be very clear about my expectations - $$$ (€€€!) and work environment.

(The final 2 photos are from a lovely sunrise last week, which I trusted to be a fierce weather warning as stated by both Jesus (Matthew 16) and Shakespeare (Venus and Adonis).)