Today was our fifth work day on our project here a Loucon.  Monday's are always hard to get started, but this one was even harder due to the fact that we had some new leadership.  James and Earl had to go back home to do some real work this week, so we have Bud and William guiding us the first part of this week.  Benji will be back tomorrow, so we will have plenty of guidance and help.  But before I get into where we are on the project, let me tell you about our weekend.

Friday Sharon and I took off for Louisville, Kentucky.  Our main objective was to find a Verizon Cell Phone store so I could update my phone.  I have been using Sharon's hand-me downs for a long time.  I thought it was about time I got into the 21st century and got something besides the old brick I have been carrying around.  Actually, the phone I have been using is not that bad, but I wanted one with all the bells and whistles and 4G speed.  We did find the Verizon store without any problems.  Upon entering the store we were met by a very nice young lady that offered assistance in our search for a phone.  I had already down loaded a list of phones that I was eligible to upgrade too, and the cost for each.  Several of the phones were offered for free, so I went to look at them first.  Well, there were no phones in the store that I could get for free that I was interested in.  The free ones that I wanted were Internet orders only.  I really wanted to walk away from the store with a new phone, but the nice young lady talked me out of it.  She said, "why pay for a phone that you can get for free, just wait a couple of extra days."  When is the last time you had a salesperson tell you not to buy something from them.  Well, I did just that, as soon as we got back to Loucon, I ordered the phone I wanted.  Should be here on Wednesday.

While we were in Louisville we decided to do a little sightseeing.  Several things came to mind, but nothing new that we hadn't seen or done in other places.  Then I remembered someone telling me about the Louisville Slugger Museum.  That's where we headed for.  If you are ever in Louisville, the Slugger Museum is a must to see.  Upon entering the waiting area for your guided tour to start you are greeted by a large display of baseball bats of all kinds.  There are wooden bats and the new metal and fiber bats.  There are bats from the beginnings of the Louisville Slugger bat company.  It was not call Louisville Slugger at the beginning, it was named after the founder, whose name escapes me at this time.  I will try to pass that onto you some other time.  There are copies of bats used by many of the famous ball players, including Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, Jackie Robinson, Roger Maris, and many more.  After about fifteen minutes, we were called to start the guided tour.  The tour actually takes you through the factory where the bats are made.  I spent more time looking at all of the nice equipment that was being used to make the bats than listening to the tour.  Each special lathe can make a bat in 20 seconds.  It takes about 30 seconds to turn out a professional ball players bat.  Professional player's bats are made on a special computerized lathe that ensures that they are exactly the same each time.  Something about them having sensitive hands that can notice the smallest of differences in a bat.  The tour guide told us that a pro will go through 60 to 120, or more, bats a season.  Depending on the wood, maple or ash, the bats cost anywhere from 50 to 80 dollars apiece.  The team pays for all the bats they order.  The tour concluded with each visitor receiving a miniature Louisville Slugger bat.

After leaving the Slugger Museum we headed back to Loucon.  But on the way back I was side tracked by a sign that said only 2 miles to the Jim Beam Distillery and Museum.  Since it seemed like a day for museums, why not stop a see another one.  Did you know that they make a lot of bourbon is Kentucky?  Well, I do, and I have heard of Jim Beam a lot.  The walking tour, which does not include a tour of the distillery, was very interesting.  There was a display of some of the special equipment used for making bourbon.  Looked a lot like some stills I saw as a kid in the mountains of Tennessee, but these were legal.  There was a display of the coopers workshop showing how the kegs are made that the bourbon is aged in.  Last, but not least, was the tasting room.  Each person, over 21, was given a ticket that was redeemable for a card that entitled you to two tastings per card.  Now, Sharon doesn't like bourbon, so that would be four tastings for me.  I like good bourbon, and Jim Beam is a good bourbon, so I thought WOW, I can taste at least 4 or the 15 different bourbons Jim Beam makes.  I am not into the flavored bourbons, so I went straight for the plain old bourbons.  The samples are dispensed from a machine that gives you about a shot glass size sample.  I realized real quick that since I had to drive about two hours, that I would only sip my samples, and not drink the whole shot.  I only took two samples too.  I enjoy a good drink, but not on an empty stomach and driving.  So I will wait til some other time to enjoy a good drink with a friend.

We then head out for Loucon again.  This time we were sidetracked through a nature preserve.  What struck our eye was the sign for a cafe in the preserve.  We had been looking for a place to get something to eat so this looked good.  After driving for about ten minutes into the preserve, we came to the visitor center where the cafe is located.  We anxiously headed for the cafe only to find it closed.  The sign said that the cafe was open until 4 PM, and it was only 3 PM.  Guess they ran out of food.  Should have stopped before we went to the distillery.  Oh well, the preserve was a nice drive anyway.

Now we really headed for Loucon.  I turned out to be a very nice day.

On Saturday we went sightseeing some more.  One of the other team members had found an Amish store in a little town called Cub Run that sounded interesting, so we headed for there.  We have been to many other Amish owned stores during our travels, but this one was the best.  The hardware store was the best all round hardware store I have ever been in.  If they didn't have in the store, you don't need it.  We spent about an hour walking around in the different shops that were available.  From there we headed for Mammoth Cave National Park.

We had driven through Mammoth Cave National Park before, but we desided to go to the visitor center and have some lunch.  Mammoth Cave National Park is a very lovely place.  Even with the trees still bare from the winter, it is a beautiful forested area to see.  After entering the park we saw a sign for Maple Grove.  We decided to make the side trip to see what Maple Grove was.  When we got there we found a little old church and grave yard.  It reminds me of one of the old churches and cemeteries in Cade's Cove in the Smokey's.  We then went onto the visitors center and enjoyed a nice lunch, then went to check out tours of the cave.  We had already decided that we would not take a tour that day, but we were more sure when we were told that the tours would have to be completed in one hour when the caves closes.  Also, it was the last day of spring break in this area and there were a lot of people there.

Sunday was a nice day of relaxation and going to church.  We visited the Leitchfield United Methodist Church in downtown Leitchfield.  The sermon was about "Only one life to live", and how we are to live it for our Savior.  It was very good.  We also had the privilege to partake of sacraments of communion.  That is always a very special service, for it is a time of remembrance of the sacrifice that our Christ did for us. 

The rest of the day was spent doing laundry and just sitting around enjoying the nice weather.

Now back to the work.  Today we finished installing all of the roof trusses, installing the flashing that will go between the siding panels as we install siding up to the top of the sides, and some of the high parts of the siding.  I have never installed trusses before.  I learned a lot about how to make sure they are in line so the roof will go on straight.  Oh yeah, they are heavy.  Well not really all that heavy, just awkward to handle.  We got them put up and lined up just perfect.

Tomorrow we will work in the siding some more, and probably cut out the windows and start putting in the insulation.

Here are some pictures of the church and our work progress.

This is the outside of the old church that is in the Mammoth Cave National Park.  It has been restored and maintained very well.  The cemetery is off to the left of the church.  There are headstones there as late as 2002.  I understand that family members of those already buried in cemeteries that become part of the property owned by national parks can still use the cemetery for later generations.

The inside of the church is very plain, as was the custom of most older country churches years ago.

                                                  The old wooden pews in the church.

This is Walter putting the last nail in the last roof truss.  It was sure good to get that last one put up.

Starting to look like a cabin.  How do you like that nice straight line down the middle of the trusses.  We will be able to remove the supports as soon as we put on the plywood roof.

On the right end of the cabin you can see the first row of flashing installed along the top of the hardi board.

After we installed all of the flashing we started installing the upper parts of the siding.

Hope you are enjoying my blog.  I feel that I get carried away with what I post, but you all know how much I like to talk.

Have a great day, and until later, and always remember

God Loves You.

Gary