Broke in hearted

I've had about all I can take.  We were broken into yet again.  This time, two man-sized people broke in via a 100 year old window.  When they entered the main basement area the alarm started blaring so they kicked open the 130 year old door and left...with the lawnmower, the weed whacker, the hand grinder/cutter, and a gas can.  They also broke the exterior light in the yard just for fun.  Financially, this will set us back on our schedule by quite a bit.  I have reinforced the basement doors and windows.  I will be putting in a camera system. and the Police are going to do a walk around at night.  I guess I need to get the back gates up and locked.

Potty mouth

Much is happening:  got the fencing all done, of course; began scraping the paint off the ceiling (harder than it sounds);removed a lot of "stuff" to another location; removed the floor of the NW first floor room; and...trumpets please... am now ready to put in the first toilets!  By this time tomorrow I expect to be able to answer the call of nature without crossing the street to Kroger's or hiding behind a tree.  It's a big step.  I've also decided that instead of separating the restroom into two independent restrooms, I'm going to make the NE corner the Ladies' room and the NW corner the Gents'.  Each will be wheelchair accessible (that's the plan anyway).  In between all this I put up a new mailbox post on Brazos to replace the one that was rotted.

On a completely separate note:  Someone once again tried to break into the Manor Sunday night.  They kicked in one of the panels on the basement door, but the resulting opening was too small to get in.  They also tried to get in by way of an alley window.  Ha!  The steel cages on those windows foiled that attempt rather nicely.  Had they gotten in, the alarm would have quickly sounded anyway, but that would have gotten me out of bed, schlepping down to the building to meet the police.  I fixed the door.  I'll be installing my cameras.  As soon as I can afford to, I will put the bars on the rest of the basement windows, too.  Take that!

That really floored me...

Lots of work done since last time. Got the concrete floor in the belltower poured. Not the best concrete I've ever done, but it was a confined space. Oh well. Put up new walls on the concrete as a base for the floor we put in level with the "main hall". Then Jim and I pulled out the decaying doorway to the front and replaced it with a treated lumber and Hardipanel wall. This will be home to my new electrical meter and breaker box.

Other end- Kathy pulled the tiles in the NW corner basement room, getting it ready for a cement floor. I tore out the floor/ceiling of the NE basement. I've now replaced the joists and taken out the corroded plumbing. The tiles still have to come out of there, then we'll be ready to concrete the floors of the back three rooms. Progress!