Broke

Crazy is the new normal. At least here it is. We have learned to go with the flow, and deal with the stuff that's going on. There are times, however, that it really gets to be too much. Then, I have a good cry, talk to my friends, and move on.



I've mentioned the roof raising planned for this week. All is going well, and the work is actually ahead of schedule.



We have had quite a crew this week, 4 of whom are staying here at the house. Mom and I, and my aunt have been quite busy just keeping up with meals, dishes and laundry. Last night I spent 4 hours cleaning up the mess in the girls' bathroom that was the result of the "grey water" (waste water from the sinks and washer) backing up into the tub. It was over flowing with dark brown water, and left a ring of coffee grounds and alphabet noodle when all was said and done. The good news was that 2 bathrooms, and the laundry room were not affected by the blockage, the bad news was that the kitchen was.

Today the poopsmith was out with his video snake. He was able to determine that the blockage was WAY out in the yard, not too far from where the whole thing empties out over the hill. Apparently something heavy drove over it and pulled a section apart, so it took the next 9 months for the dirt between the two ends to pack down enough to completely block it. So now there is a hole in the yard, but the water goes down the drain again.



In the meantime, I've managed to develop a wound infection where I had a thorn from one of those nasty multiflora rose bushes. JP has me on antibiotic horse pills 4 times a day for forever.

The best thing about yesterday was the half off Peeps, of which I bought a rainbow of colors!

Visitors

I've been apprehensive about my parents living with us for the several months until their house is finished. I tend to be the "glass half empty" kind of person, who imagines the worst (when I used to go jogging as a young person, I would fill my time by imagining what would happen if I was struck by a passing car). While I realize that this experience has the potential of being very good, I have been worrying about all the things that can go wrong. I want my parents to feel comfortable here, but at the same time, the whole concept is pushing the limits of my own comfort zone. Don't get me wrong, I am THRILLED (as is the rest of the family) that my folks are going to be our next door neighbors. I grew up only seeing my grandparents every couple of years, so this is an incredible opportunity for the girls. I am also looking forward to gardening and preserving with my Mom, shared meals with my parents, and many other things.

Mom & Dad came out again this weekend with another load of stuff. Dad is having rotator cuff surgery tomorrow, and wanted to move some heavy things (this load was his wood working equipment and wood stoves) before he was unable to lift. He decided this time to erect a shed to store things in, so that we won't have to move it from the garage when we are finally able to clear it out, finish the floor, and at long last...park our vehicles in there! Mom, Dad and I worked on it together, with the girls running in, out and around, and erecting their own structures with found sticks and pieces of scrap wood. First Dad flattened out a spot with the tractor.

Then it went from this:

...to this:

With lots of this in between.

It ended up being a fun project. I really like to see things go from pieces into a finished product, that's partly why I enjoy sewing. It was hard work, and all of us got cuts and bruises (Wow! I know I was sore on Saturday night, can you imagine how my retirement-age parents felt??), but it was enjoyable to work together on this project. This weekend finally gave me the sense that everything was going to work out alright. We might have our occasional minor injuries, but the final product will be strong and good.

In other news, the builders finished the entrance last week. They are pouring the final bit of concrete as I write. I need to ask the builder how much concrete they used in this project.

My parent's septic went in. This is the guys unloading the tank to put into a huge hole behind the truck.

I finally got one of my hummingbird feeders up. Within a couple of hours, we had our first visitors!

As for the other visitors...the rodent ones...the exterminators were out last week and left nasty stuff around for them. The night scrabbling sounds have diminished, but not completely disappeared, and if the smell in the girls' rooms is what I think it is, at least one has perished. Hmmm.

Home again, home again...

We are home from Florida, and quite amazingly, our tiny apartment seems ALMOST spacious after living out of a Hotel for a week! We headed up to Poplar Ridge the afternoon of our return to check up on the progress and return suitcases to the jumble of junk in the garage.

We found a bathtub installed in the Girls' bathroom downstairs...

And also the shower in the upstairs Mudroom Bathroom.

The egress window well is installed outside of the Girls' Bedroom window. This is the view from the inside, where you can see the steps.

This shot gives you an idea of how far below grade the window is.

Here are us girls trying it out.

Cable and phone lines are being installed downstairs in the Exercise Room (a.k.a. Guest Bedroom).

They worked yesterday and today on laying septic and water lines outside of the house.

Our assignment for the weekend is to settle on a wall oven for the kitchen so that the builder can wire it in. We are also celebrating Easter with my parents visiting, and will likely have our first Easter Egg hunt on the property on Sunday!