Moving right along

That's Steve, tacking up a furring strip at the corner between the dining room and the den -- and yes, that's the new cedar planking under the windows.

The guys have been busy, framing those windows in, matching the lines of the cedar to those of the HardiPlank, taking it one fast step at a time.

The texture of the cedar is great, just rough enough to match both the HardiPlank and the old pine. Slap some primer and paint on it, and you won't know the difference.

Ref, meanwhile, keeps on mending.

I went out to the hospital to say hey and get marching orders, and then took Brantley out because Ref needed some paperwork from his truck to make sure payroll goes through for Friday, and I think Brantley is the only other person on the planet who could dig anything out of Ref's truck.

"You've ridden in it," Mr. B said, laughing, "but you've never had to find anything in it." He just shook his head, because it's serious archaeology.

I had an Etta James disc playing, and both of us were bopping along with her on the ride out and back. "That woman can sing," Brantley said. I'm getting him a copy of the CD as soon as I get my regular computer down here.