I'm so excited! The work commences around here!
Tuesday the contractors showed up, and the lead guy set them to work dealing with the windows/doors I wanted removed in the living room and framing it in. After all the windows & doors are done, that will get sided and wood paneling inside to match and then the outside caulked & sealed to freshen up the protection on the wood. Most of the work is getting done with an older guy and his "so green he puts a hammer on the top rail of the 2nd story deck over a cliff" go-fer. Nice and willing kid though. He's learning on the job and is bending a lot of nails, so he doesn't want to lose that hammer! End of the day Tues - they already had the doors out & covered.
Yesterday, a 3rd guy showed up. I'll keep him, I think, if they'll let me. Big, strong, and has grandkids - but doesn't look it to me. They had scaffolding up and the left side windows out & covered by lunchtime. They were going to try to go on and get all the windows out - but the oldest guy ran out to pick up house wrap and the other two got sidetracked. We talked a little (I've been staying out of their way mostly) and then my black snakes came out to play. Guys... snakes... the kid asked if they should kill it and they would've gladly played at that. I said no, he's one of my varmint control team.
Tuesday, I was out trimming up the lower limbs on the trees that are annoying when mowing. Kinda wandered over into the woods a little too, as I need to re-civilize a section over there. Got bit again; skeeters this time - and the welts are almost as bad. So yesterday I did a deep search in boxes to try to find my stash of bug spray. It's DEET, but it's better than nothing. Came up with nada. I swear there's a whole truckload of stuff missing from the move... but since I haven't completely unpacked (almost there) I can't prove that.
Yesterday, while the guys were hard at it, my chimney guy came by and he's going to price out the fireplace insert/woodstove I want. He'll end up doing the installation too after they're delivered. Nicest guy so far and environmentally conscious - so we chatted a bit about my plans for out here. In the afternoon, the guy recommended to pour the concrete pad for the metal garden barn I want came by. He came up with the same old refrain - I've worked out here before but never knew this place was back here. LOL. It'll be 2 weeks before he gets started which is fine by me. Once that's in, I'll initiate the order, sign the contract, then go get my permits.
So this weekend, we'll finish moving the old concrete block to where I'm building kitchen beds along the driveway, boulders and parking area... and clean up as much as possible by the garage/studio for the place where I want the smaller storage shed to go.
Someone called my living room windows, "dramatic" because I have a glorious view. I have to say, that I'm very very pleased about the decision to remove them. The thermometer on the big picture window read 107 degrees Tuesday evening - even though it wasn't even 70 on the other side of the house. You know it's the reverse in the winter, which is why I was going through propane so fast. The light is SO BRIGHT this time of year because of the angle of the sun that it's been bringing on ocular migraines - there are some trees nearby that dapple the sunshine and that kind of strobe effect has always bothered me. Now it's just a 3/8 in piece of plywood and even just the typar over most of the top, and it's already staying cooler inside. And there is still plenty of light. In the winter, the angle of the sun will be lower, and I'll have a little more passive solar effect - although the new windows are designed to minimize heat transfer through the glass.
And next week, I'll contact the well guys to have them come inspect the pump and ask some questions. They put the well in 20 years ago and I'm going to BET that (given all the other things I've discovered since November) no one's ever looked at it since. With a vacation property, people just don't notice a lot. And even full time, some people don't notice things until they break. I'm a bit more proactive in my observations. And OCD, too.
I know this all sounds like a lot - but it's what needs doing before things deteriorate any more around here. Water, power, main fuels and structural integrity of my main building means I can then take over, do things myself - at my own pace - and PLAY MORE with it. I can get what I need to, inside garages and protect my new equipment and jeeps... get my wood shop set up... get my studio set up... next winter. Stock my pond with fish. LOL... and I'll be used to the work routine around here by then.
So, between November and Memorial Day... I rested, I ruminated, I looked... dealt with a few immediate repair crises... and imagined... researched... and let myself become part of this place, so I can "hear" and "see" what it wants to be when it grows up. I finished up the preoccupying part of grieving and mourning, realized I don't become a helpless blob living alone - and that there are some things I need, too - and have started to have some video chats with my doc friend out west, who held my hand while Mike was sick.
For someone who spent so much time with the military, the juxtaposition of his old hippie looks takes some getting used to. Totally platonic, I assure you. We have a lot of major communication differences that take some patience - but once we work those out, we're kinda on the same page, doing kind of the same things - in our own ways. I need to get better at communicating verbally; he needs to get better when writing. He rubs people the wrong way sometimes because of his writing style.
So, life down on the farm, is pretty good. Even at this stage where I'm not growing or making things just yet. Just working to get to the point, that I can do things myself.
