Rub-a-dub-dub

Jeff went with me Thursday to pick up the antique clawfoot tub I found on Craigslist. It was very sweet of him to take the morning off and accompany me, but sadly it meant no one was left home to come get us when the truck broke down on the return trip less than three miles from the house.

We don't any idea what the problem is yet. We were driving merrily along down the only hill in the whole stretch before our exit when Jeff suddenly said something happened. He lost all ability to accelerate or shift, but thankfully steering and brakes still worked. And we have AAA, which tows up to three miles for free. We were 2.9 miles from home, to be exact; so after an hour wait, the rollback wrecker showed up and we had a little pyramid going on. The tub on the truck, the truck on the wrecker, the wrecker on the road, and the two of us in the cab with the driver.

Home again safe and sound, we now have to get the tub out of the truck (and did I mention Jeff has a broken finger?) before we can do much about finding and repairing the problem. But that will have to be an adventure for another day, as Thursday, Friday, and the rest of the long weekend are already booked full!

Bring on the Roasted Potatoes!

Jeff and I can't stop singing "bring on the roasted potatoes!". It's all because of a little NPR story we heard last week about PBS auto-tuning some of the old favorite program hosts. Now, I didn't even know what auto-tune was, let alone how it applied to people like Bob Ross and Mr. Rogers, but I do love Julia Child. So we surfed on over to YouTube to hear the full version. How great is this!

Plum Shriveled Up!

Here's a sampling of our first batch of "sun-dried" tomatoes for the year. We've been enjoying the fresh, ripe cherry and plum tomatoes in salads, soups, pastas, etc., but when they start coming out of our ears, I turn to dehydrating.

I don't know if it's just the variety I planted, or the early lack of rain, or some other microclimate factor, but my Roma tomatoes are quite small this year. But that just makes drying them go all the more quickly. My technique is to slice lengthwise, arrange on a cooling rack, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and place in the oven at 200 F. It usually takes at least six hours, but with the small ones, I got it done in just over four.

Another little summer treat is homemade peach milkshakes. I still can't get them to taste quite as good as Chik-fil-a, but I comfort myself that they probably use some less healthy recipe or ingredients!

Now you see it...

Now you don't!

Before:

After:

After all the stress and anxiety of getting the new water heater installed, I have eased the memory by erasing the view of that very appliance. Until we know if a tankless water heater is in the budget, this ceiling mount curtain track and canvas drop cloth will serve the purpose of disguise.

In the photos, it looks vaguely like a tiny European shower or a changing booth for Superman, but I think it looks a bit more attractive in person. And certainly better than a large metal tank with pipe protuberances everywhere!

Coop de Jour

Our little "rag top coop" has a new top! (Sorry for the puns; we've been having a lot of fun at the chicken coop's expense.)

One of our last projects before Jeff is back teaching classes full time was updating the coop. It was built badly, un-plumb, out of square, etc. by the previous tenant, but the posts were set in concrete and it had sides and a door. We had fixed the wire mesh several months ago when the chicks needed an outside home, but it still had no roof. We had tarped it for a little protection from the strong winds, sun, and rain, but that was a very temporary fix at best. So using (almost exclusively) scrap materials laying around the farm, Jeff designed and constructed a proper metal roof.

Just a little shot of the joists and roof underside

After all the effort he put in, I'll be reminding the girls daily that it's time they repay him in eggs!

Nothing Much

Not much bloggable the last few days. Still dealing with the stove in the middle of the kitchen floor, so we grilled out on the back patio yesterday and enjoyed the lovely August weather. I would have never thought the adjective "lovely" could modify any Southern summer month, but it's been wonderfully pleasant the last week or so with mid to high 80's and only slight humidity. The open pasture to the west of our farmhouse allows glorious breezes and stunning sunset sight lines, so we whiled away our dinner hour through the twilight.

The nice weather and abundance of rain has been good for the plants. Here is the Cleopatra Canna:

And the wild Passion Flower vine:

And a small sampling of our Sweet 100 cherry tomatoes (and a few random Roma):

When in doubt...

Always wash your hair before the guy comes to change out your water heater, even if he assures you it will only take a few hours!

The gas line is in, but the troubles ain't over. Everything I worried about happened, and even things I never thought to fret over occurred as well. If it could possibly go wrong, it probably did. But with facing the worst comes the realization that it can only go up from here.

The job of installing the black iron for our natural gas line was suppose take about half a day. Wednesday was that day, but the guys came several hours late after having to go to three supply places for the right materials. Then the kitchen floor got gouged while moving the behemoth range out to get to the shut off valve. This I almost expected, so I took it in stride. Jeff had to remove one of the air conditioner ducts for the workmen to get into the crawlspace, so the house naturally wasn't cooling as well. It was very humid yesterday and the men were coming and going and basically had to leave the door wide open, so it was getting uncomfortable fast.

Then there were some unexpected glitches that required the guys to leave several times for more parts, more tools, etc. So it's pushing seven o'clock at night and none of the appliances are hooked up. Then the water heater, that was delivered in the morning and sat there all day, is discovered to be a 50 gallon instead of a 40 gallon. Usually a bigger tank would not be a bad thing, but it's two inches larger in diameter and we don't have any extra room for that. So we tell them to go on home and we'll deal with swapping it out in the morning. Which leaves us with no gas, no hot water, and my stove sitting in the middle of the kitchen. So no dinner, either. But what we do have is a constant leak out of one of the open pipes to the disconnected water heater, which necessitates leaving another faucet on in the "hot" position to divert the small stream of water down a drain (don't ask why this worked, it's a long story).

This morning, after a cold sponge bath, we get the water heater swap worked out. But that means our crew doesn't get started until almost 11 am. Which is okay, since it gives time for the rain to clear up and most of the mud to dry, so it doesn't end up in the house. With the new water heater is a sudden sunny moment. The pressure relief valve, an obstruction that juts out from the water heater at a bad place, can be relocated to an alternative port on the top! Hurrah, this is great news. Except the guys don't have the right socket size to get the nut out. So Jeff volunteers to go to the store and get one. He does, and after quite a struggle, they get it out. Except this isn't an alternative port for the TP valve as the workman thought, it's a very necessary component of the water heater. So the nut goes back in, the valve moves back to its previous undesirable location, and we've spent an hour on this little learning moment. Back to business.

After a few unpleasant discoveries as to the location and orientation of a couple of the new pipes, installation of the lines and appliances continues. Right up until the gas fitter tries to convert the Thermador range and realizes he doesn't have the right tools. And can't get the right tools. No problem, I say. I'll just get the appliance guy to come convert it. Except they are booked up until next Thursday. And the shut off valve has to stay accessible, which means the range can't be pushed in until then. A whole week of tripping over this big stainless steel beast (as I dare not risk additional floor damage by moving it any more than necessary), and no gas for cooking.

It's in the middle of this crisis that we realize something has happened to the hot water lines in the bathroom. They are the only pipes stuck in a concrete slab, so we have very few options for replacing them. Being old and galvanized, every time the pipes are drained and then filled, I think a little piece of them dies. They don't quite perform as well with each restart, and today was no exception. The hot water at the sink faucet is at about half the volume of the cold. Thankfully, the shower is better, but it's still noticeable. Perhaps some of it is due to the kink in the hot water connector off the water heater that Jeff noticed after the installers left.

Oh well, we survived the last few days and I imagine we'll manage the next week or so. Hungry, but clean. Things could be much worse. Every time we go through something like this, I learn to be more thankful for the convenience we do have, and I learn to beat my prayers a little more fine for the next time around!

Newest Addition

Jeff told me today he's excited about our new addition. I had to laugh, because to anyone else, that would sound like we're bringing a baby (or at least a baby animal) home. But no. Our new addition is actually to the home!

We are moving into Phase 2 of the bungalow renovation. This is the chapter in which Jeff and Sarah get a real bedroom and bathroom of their very own.

Since it's only the two of us to begin with, I suppose all the bedrooms and bathrooms are technically ours. But we are currently residing in what should be (and will be) the study. And we are using what should be (and will be) the downstairs hall/guest bath. The upstairs of the house has been mostly lonely, lowly storage facilities. But it's a great space with two semi-finished (by 1920's standards, anyway) bedrooms, and another unfinished space with lots of potential for the master bedroom.

But no bathroom upstairs. And no good way to use one of the existing rooms for that purpose. So the plan is to add a large gabled dormer into the attic space on the rear of the house, like so:

Existing floor plan:

Proposed plan:

When Jeff first saw this version of my plan, he said I was dreaming big. But after getting some quotes, searching for salvaged building materials, and being thrifty, I think we can get the custom tiled shower, the free-standing clawfoot tub, the double vanities, and the tall triple windows all within our cash-only budget. Oh yeah, and the room to contain it all, too!

Inspiration shower:

Tub like this, but under three longer windows (minus the seaside view):

Two vanities, arranged a little like this (or maybe just one long one):

As part of the reno, we will have the whole second floor rewired (or wired, as Jeff says, given that there are only three pull chain light fixtures and one electrical outlet in the entirety of the upstairs). We'll also insulate all the rafter bays and wall cavities, most likely with a new spray foam application that also acts as an air barrier. Not that old houses are drafty or anything; we just feel the need to be on the cutting edge of building science ;-). If I can find a good deal or a gently used version, we'll also upgrade to a tankless water heater to save space in the mudroom/laundry. We are slowly but surely nudging this old lady of a house into a fresh and stylish new lifestyle.

Zoological

Jeff and I took our nieces to the Memphis zoo a few weeks ago on our way to Edmond, OK to meet up with my sister-in-law. Bekah had never been to a zoo before, and I've never seen pandas, so it was a good enough reason to make a special trip! We had a great time and even managed to stay decently cool, given all the shade and water features they employ.

D-I-Why????

Jeff came up with that clever blog post title today after we were about to tear our hair out. It's been a stressful past few days after returning from our trip to Edmond, OK. We had some fun final days with the nieces and a much needed break for the weekend, but now it's back to the grind!

While still away, we received a phone call from our pet sitter that there was a problem with the inground dog fence. The transmitter was beeping the warning tone that something was wrong with the electronic barrier and the dog collar wouldn't work. Thankfully, she caught the problem before DaVinci got out. But that meant he had to go back on the tether, which he now hates after having a taste of freedom.

The tether had accidentally been cut by the limping lawn mower (more about that later) in a necessarily hasty cutting of the grass a few days prior. So first Jeff had to repair the tether. Then he spent hours on Tuesday and almost all day today trying to find the problem. He cut, he spliced, he repaired, he replaced, he tested; and still the problem remains. We will make one last attempt tomorrow after purchasing some needed supplies, but if this doesn't fix it, I really don't know what we'll do. We're just thankful this didn't happen while the girls were here.

Then there is the problem of the lawn mower. Using an eight year old bargain basement push mower on an acre isn't easy. Add to that the rickety bolts and sloppy handle that let the deck either rise up or scrape the ground at inopportune times, and it's a real treat. Then, the rear tire finally fell off while Jeff was trying to get the yard mowed the morning we left town. He had to rig up a chain to hold it on while he finished, and it still meant he had to hop the back end around on every turn.

The (blessedly) frequent rain recently has meant lots and lots of mowing. Jeff told me he has parked that sorry mower at least five times and said "never again", only to be forced to get it out and crank it up to keep the yard tidy. We have been too busy with other things to research and buy a new one, but as we stare at the jungle that is our lawn already, I'm afraid it just can't wait.

Then there is the gas line. Our propane tank is (finally!) almost out of LP, but now is a bad time to try to get the black iron installed. It means temporarily taking out a piece of ductwork under the kitchen, so no air conditioner while the work is being done! And it requires moving my big Thermador range and a base cabinet, which will likely scrape the kitchen floor and necessitate repairing the finish. And it's another work crew tromping in and out, which means DaVinci has to be shut up so he doesn't accidentally escape, and a whole house mopping once they get done.

Oh yeah, and then there's the fridge door repair. The refrigerator handle suffered some abuse while the girls were here, and on a fancy appliance such as ours, it means the whole paneled door has to come off. That's nine screws and a bit of wiggling and finagling. We have gotten that part done, but now I need to do the required touch ups and repair. And then reverse the process and put it back on. Which is guaranteed to be harder than getting it off!

Add to that the undercabinet lighting and backsplash we need to finish. And the two different contractors I'm meeting with this week regarding our bathroom addition upstairs. And the fact that my favorite chicken was killed a few weeks back. I didn't have time to post about it, but Jeff and I were so upset. Some loose dogs came on the property and got Atomic Cluck. If I had seen it, she might have had a chance, but it was too late by the time we knew about it. So now we're trying to monitor the young birds and keep them safe, which means additional upkeep and repairs to the coop, since they are in it more frequently.

If only there were someone we could hire to do these things. But finding a knowledgeable person you can trust and afford isn't an easy task. So we continue to DIY it all. I'm just thankful Jeff has a flexible work schedule and can devote more time to the fence tomorrow. Because Sunday he'll be driving about seven hours total to two different clubs that will take all day. At least I'll have plenty of projects to keep me busy while he's gone!