All Because . . . .

Newlyweds Todd & Alyson

Our nephew, Todd and his blushing bride, Alyson, came over to go out to dinner and a movie with us. But before we went to eat they wanted to see our progress on the tree house.

We had a lot of fun showing them all our latest improvements. After a little joking around and a few laughs we went to dinner. As it turns out we were a few of Bennigan's last customers. All the restaurants in our area closed the next day.

I wonder if these two had anything to do with that?

Tree House Telephone

We have a telephone in our tree house now and it works. So all that hard work Mea and I did wrapping the aluminum around the wire was not wasted time. The reception is better than the phone in our house. No Static. Royce did an awesome job installing all the wiring and phone jack. Now I can call the tree house from inside our home, friends and family. I called our friends, Greg & Nadine, it worked great.

And my hanging basket plant is growing. wow I'm having a good day.

Stair Rail Lamps

We had a little difficulty with the mounting of the lamps on the stairs. First we wanted to put them on top of posts to make them raised up from the rails. But the posts we bought were the same diameter as the base and wouldn't fit down inside the base.

we thought by raising them higher than the railing the lights wouldn't shine in people's faces as they climbed the stairs. So when the post idea didn't work, we went with lower wattage bulbs and mounted them directly to the base.

I think they turned out great looking and their design goes great with the tree house.

Stair Lamp Wiring

Royce ran the conduit and wiring for the lamps that are going to be mounted on the stair rails.

It went from the top of the stairs down to the bottom of the stairs. Running around under the bottom edge.

At the beginning of the stairs, Royce connected a red switch that turns the lights on and off. He also has a switch in the tree house that turns the lamps on and off.

Porch Lights

All the recessed porch lights have been finished.

There is a light on each corner of the porch ceiling

This eyeball light focuses on the Greenman door knocker. It looks really mystical at night. Royce couldn't find a black one so he painted this one black. Good job Royce.

Indoor Electrical Maze

Royce has been busy with this electrical maze. We now have working electrical plugs and switches inside the tree house.

We have insulation ready to install but first we have to seal all the cracks and crevices to keep bugs out and the cool/warm air in.




It is truly an electrical maze!

All the Way From Las Vegas!

Janet (Royce's cousin) came to visit us for a few days. It was great to see her and we really enjoyed her visit. She's a pretty good bowler too.

She brought us a beautiful hand carved wooden bowl and this cool sign for our tree house. It will look great with the bird houses around the porch.

It's Stephaney's birthday today . .. . Happy Birthday Steph!

Bird Houses on Our Tree House

Maybe we will get the attention of some feathered friends with these bird houses. The bird house sitting on the railing I found on a trip to the mountains. Along side a county road in Severville, TN, there was some little cottages all grouped together selling arts and crafts. This old man was sitting in a rocking chair in front of one with his handmade bird houses. I liked this one so I brought it home.

I found this one as a Do-It-Yourself kit in a Cracker Barrel Gift Shop. It was already assembled but wasn't painted. So I painted it with a Red Bird on it's perch.


This one Royce's Mom brought back to me from the last trip she took driving around the country with her sisters. It's really unique.

Branch Fixtures

Royce found these light fixtures, they have the appearance of lights on a tree branch.

They are just perfect for the tree house lights.

We will have to take them down to install the ceiling. But we just wanted to see how they would look in place.

Trinkets, Signs and Symbols

From craft shows, state fairs, car shows, and festivals, we have found a few things to add color, sights, and sound to our tree house. While Royce worked on running the conduit around the stairs, I decided to do a little decorating.

I found this sign in the Gatlinburg Craft Show at the Florida State Fair and just couldn't resist buying it. It explains the reason for our family tree house.

No house is complete without a mailbox. I found this old fashion brass mailbox in one of my favorite online sites. . . . yep Ebay.

Every time we go to the Turkey rod run or the Southeast Nationals, I find the wind chime lady. She has the most amazing fanciful chimes. I just couldn't resist getting some.


Every tree house needs a purplish blue wind chime cat.

Royce picked out this sign. The meaning behind this has something to do with his opossum lodge buddies. But that is another story and this is after all a family blog.

4th of July Independence Day

It's the 4th of July and we are working on the tree house. We usually shoot off fireworks but this year we decided to do something different. We are anxious to get the tree house finished so we concentrated on it. The conduit is installed underneath the tree house. This will hold the wiring for the fixtures that will light up the stairs.

I found these cool light fixtures on Ebay. We looked all over town and couldn't find anything that we thought looked right for the tree house. Then I saw these on Ebay and they turned out to be just perfect.

Royce installed these on the posts in front of the tree house. The rest will be installed on each landing of the stairs.

It's Stephaney and Rod's anniversary today. Happy Anniversary Steph!