How I spent my summer vacation - Part 1

What a wonderful month August was!! Philipp and I had such a wonderful time in the States, and were so happy to visit with my family and see some old friends. I want to share our vacation with you, but there's so much to tell, I'm going to do it in several parts.

We begin in the first week of August, before we left for America. Philipp took a couple days to work on a new house for his parents' pigeons. (I asked if there were any special reason they keep pigeons ... but they're just pets.) I was happy to get the chance to help out.

It began with Philipp sketching some plans at the kitchen table. The concrete foundation was poured some time ago, and has just been waiting for the rest.




We went to Leroy Merlin (pronounced le-rwah mer-leh), France's equivalent of Lowe's or Home Depot to pick up some lumber. Then we headed to his parents' house and got started. I helped Philipp measure, held the wood while he cut it, etc. Once the main structure was up, I hammered in all the boards on the three back sections (including the door Philipp built) to give some protection from the wind and cold.




Check out the structure (below)! I am amazed that Philipp just whipped this up in a couple days! His father and nephew, who you can see in the photo, helped a lot, too. Philipp is especially proud of the roof structure; he used a piece of a tree he recently cut down in the yard for the center piece.

While we were gone, Philipp's dad stained the wood a lovely golden color. We still need to put on the roof and enclose the space with metal caging. Then the birds will be able to move into their new digs!

This experience was fun for me because not only did I get to help out on the project, but I got to watch Philipp in action. I am always amazed at his ability to figure things out, solve problems and create amazing things!

Next up: Kerry and Philipp leave for the USA