Vanity Blues

 Day 122 had me near tears with the plumbing issues.  When the builder sends me a text that reads, "Hey Jen, do you have a minute?" it usually means I'm about to be disappointed.  Well, it turns out the bathroom vanity I bought on Craigslist to save myself some money is pretty much junk.  Not the vanity itself, but the faucet wouldn't stop running.  A steady thin stream of water kept pouring out no matter what the plumber tried.  Guess what?  New faucet time.  *sigh*  The builder tried to cheer me up by firing up my super duper old lady Pat Boone-made-me-buy-it tub, which promptly began to leak through the floor.  I walked out before I burst into tears.  Ten minutes later I was informed there was something that the factory hadn't tightened, but it was all set now and the tub won't leak again.  Hopefully.  Oh, by the way...did you pick up some hoses for your washing machine?  You know they don't come with them anymore.

No, I was not aware of this.  *tears up*

So I have about ten different parts orders that I'm waiting for now, and I can't get an occupancy permit until all plumbing is finished and working.  Bummer.

BUT...

 The toilets are in, and even Roo is impressed.  The downstairs toilet is a bit of a monster.  It has to pump up to the septic tank, and there's a pump/grinder behind it that ensures only tiny particles are being moved through the dispersal pipe.  When that grinder comes on, it's very loud, and a little frightening.  But hey - I hadn't planned to have a downstairs bathroom, so I'm not going to knock it!  How nice will that be when I'm gross from doing outside chores and don't want to go all the way up to the main bathroom?  Wicked.  Wicked friggin' nice.

I've started pickling the inside of the front door to take some of the yellowy curse off of it.  Hopefully one more coat should do it.

My garage is clean as a whistle!  I actually pulled Clementine, my truck, in there last night.  I didn't think she'd take up as much room as she does, but it'll still be nice to have her high and dry come winter.  There should be room enough for Reputa the tractor and some other equipment in there, too.  

And here's the backyard pièce de résistance.  Remember the ugly sewer vent? 

That horrible pipe I was going to have to live with in my backyard and look at day in and day out?  Well, check this out.  

How cool is that?!?  It's a solar light on an upright vent attachment that allows the pipe to do its job, but in a not-so-ugly way!  Once I get some loam in there and start building my gardens and lawn area, you'll barely know it's a functional ornament.  

It's all about the little victories.

I Blame Pat Boone

 Days 120 and 121 were made up of me listening to the builder and the plumber tell me what a nightmare my super duper old lady Pat Boone-made-me-buy-it tub is.

I should in full disclosure mention that my tub isn't the same brand Mr. Boone hawks, but it's pretty close to the same.  

Anyway, there are all kinds of plumbing related issues with my awesome tub that went over my head, and they had to cut a hole in the media room ceiling to reach the underside of the pipes and whatnots.

Live and learn.

The downstairs bathroom/utility room got a ceiling that brings me back to my elementary school days...

The pain in the butt tub got a surround...

The dryer got a vent and the washing machine was put in place...

And the place had a good vacuuming and tidying up.

The plumber should be back soon to finish hooking up the various things which require water, and the heating guy was here to hook up the things which require propane, and the electrician will be back to do the last few things which require electricity.

In the meantime, I painted my front door...

Unboxed my new microwave...

And liberated a truckload of stuff from my storage unit.

I'm hoping I'll be able to get the rest of my crap moved in before I have to pay another month's rent on the unit...fingers crossed.  And even if I'm moved in, the fridge is still on hold until June 6th, and the propane company won't be out to install my tanks until June 16th.  A minor bump near the end of a very long, winding road. 

Once Again...The Doors

 Days 118 and 119...it's down to the wire!  

The kitchen faucet is now in...I went crazy and bought one of those touch faucets. 

Also note the cabinet hardware is on.  I absolutely love it!  Here's a closeup of the beautiful Celtic knot detail:

The "front" door is now up, but needs to be trimmed.  I'm painting the porch side deep blue and am just going to polyurethane the kitchen side, I think.  I'm on the fence between leaving it natural or pickling it (white, of course).  It feels like a lot of natural wood in this corner.  I need to live with it for a little longer before I decide.

The builder went above and beyond with the downstairs doors.  I'm so in love with these!  I plan to give them a light whitewashing or stain, so you can still see the woodgrain.

bathroom/utility room door

A little bit of trim, the last of the plumbing and electrical, and some paint touch-ups, and it should be ready for the final inspection. 

So close...

 The house progress came to a slight standstill last week, but it's back on track now.  Days 115 through 117 saw my dryer and my kitchen stove arrive, finally!

...and my stair railing went up (so fancy!)...

...and the front door arrived.  

But the best thing was today, because today my countertop finally arrived and was put in and I love it - definitely worth the wait.

The plumber was here and set up the sink and dishwasher, so that part is finally underway, too.

Happy belated birthday to me.  😊

Weekends are for working.

 I'm working on that tiered garden project again, but taking different approach this time around.  It's finally sinking in that the compacted rock and overgrowth of weeds is beyond my ability to manipulate with a shovel and a pick-axe, so I'm working above ground rather than in-ground.  

Instead of building a cement block wall into the hillside, I've decided to flatten the top two tiers to the best of my ability and build level work areas there.  I'm putting weed block barriers on the slope where I had planned to build block walls, and will give them a generous blanket of bark mulch when I'm done.  

To prep the tiers for raised beds, I'm using a lasagna method of gardening.  I'm starting with a layer of cardboard, followed by a layer of fresh stall pickings, followed by a generous layer of well composted manure and shavings.

 

 

Once I've added a layer of aged manure to the top tier, I'll think about how I want to progress from there.  I can still use the cinder blocks, or I can cut up the old deck frame and use that wood.  When the actual garden frames are in place, I can top dress the beds with a soil and peat moss mixture.

Also, this counted as day 114 for the house.  The electricians were here doing more wiring and installing lights.  They put Mom's ceiling fan in her porch:

And they put my fan in the vaulted ceiling portion of the main floor.

I was kind of shocked by how big it actually was, but if it were smaller, it wouldn't look right.  I love the patina - it's supposed to look like weathered iron.

We also had a bear visit this week.  A smaller one pulled down the bird feeders last week, so Mom had been bringing them in at night.  She forgot to bring in her little metal trash can full of sunflower seeds though, and a bigger bear came along, pulled the top off the can, and helped himself.  We saw him gorging himself on the front porch by the dawn's early light.  I didn't get any pictures of the bear, but I did get shots of its prints in the soft topsoil.  

Again, for reference I wear a women's size 10 shoe.

So here's what I learned.  A bear's front paw will generally measure the same length and width.  Back feet will be longer.  A paw print that measures 5" by 5" generally belongs to a bear weighing between 150 - 170 lbs., which means this bear was probably between 180 - 200 lbs. That was the last of the bird feed that Mom had on hand, so hopefully that means it's the last we'll see of the bear.