The Farm

Hey all!

I feel like I should say "y'all"! Anyway, I've been here now for almost a full week, and am 3/4 done unpacking 3/4 of the house!

The bathroom is as done as it will be until we get a stud finder to install a new cabinet (above one of the towel racks), the study is waiting for a couch and a desk/table, and for some answer to the increasingly annoying power drops/surges that come when the fridge turns on/off, the bedroom... let's just not go there shall we? There is no closet, so we have to install a rod (which we snagged from Muffin's garage), but again, we need a stud finder. As such, 1/2 our (my) clothes are still in boxes/bins/bags The kitchen is done! Well, except for the boxes/bins that are in the big green shop... but that is about a 2 minute walk away, and there is a lot of stuff to carry, so I think I'll drive the truck to it and load lots of stuff at once.
The living room is waiting on a lazy boy type arm chair (which will be arriving on Sunday with the couch and desk/table... all of these are used and have been sitting in Muffin's storage room/garage for the better part of 2-3 years).

The basement, well will it ever be done? Probably not. We managed to get the washing machine working, but we had to first hook up the cold water, which involved pulling out the washing machine and cleaning out the massive rust buildup in both the cold and hot water intake valves. The washing machine now works!! But drying takes forever, as I don't really want to use the dryer (worried about blowing circuits - and I am waiting until Robb gives me the go ahead!)

What else? Oh, so our circuits. We have not 1, not 2 but THREE panels in the basement. 2 of them we use, and the 3rd, let's just say that the people who rented the house were not the most trusting of sorts. So the 3rd panel we aren't using just yet (as they literally cut all the wires that were going to and from that panel, except for the big one that came from the service). We'll (haha I say WE as if I'm actually going to do anything EXCEPT hold the flashlight!) rewire the panels, so that we are using the correct amps and hopefully not have the power drops/surges. We (yes I held the flashlight and gave insightful comments and suggestions) fixed some strange wiring that caused our baseboard heaters to give strange voltages... (I sound like I know what I'm talking about... and I sort of do!)

The basement also has a root cellar! Of course the renters cut holes in the 2 of the walls, and broke a window, and covered it up with a wooden board, so people driving by wouldn't be blinded by the glaring light from their activity. We only found out that last part because Phil figured it out first. We left him outside while we went to Muffin's for a visit, and when we came back, Phil was inside. We (actually this time it was all ME as Robb going up and down stairs becomes a bit of an ordeal) checked all the windows in the basement, and realized... no glass.. Actually 3 of the windows don't have glass, but 2 of them have been stuffed with insulation, and the screens aren't cut. Anyway, we boarded up the cold room window, and now have to deal with getting new glass for all three windows in the basement.

Speaking of Philadelphia the Wonder Kitty, he has some issue with his jaw/mouth. The drool is getting out of hand, and his mouth is puffy and funny looking on one side. We think he has an abscessed tooth, so he is going into the vet tomorrow to get his mouth checked out. (Yay, another trip to the BIG city!!) Phil has also figured out a way to get into the main house from the entry way. The main entrance to the house (which is in the back) has a staircase up to the main house, down to the basement, or up and up to a little nook that has become Phil's turret.  Anyway, we keep the door to the entry way shut, but it has no stopper, so the handle is useless. Phil figured this out the other day. We put him out at night, he pushes the door open and hangs out where it is warm. We'll have to either put a cat door in for him when we finally fix the door, or he'll have to spend the nights in the basement/entryway/turret. It gets cold in the winter so, the cat door will probably win out.