Construction Update #1

As most of you know, we demolished the old cinder block house on the property. Unfortunately, remodeling it was not a great option as the foundation was compromised and we found tons of mold, rot and termites during demolition. Very yucky! We were able to salvage some (cool rock, flooring, tin, etc.) that we and some friends will be reusing.

Here are some photos of the demolition and beginnings of the new work Matt has started for our new little house! Can’t wait!!

Here’s one more set of photos I snitched from Matt of the before and after demolition:

For Steve…

Here is a photo of the big front field, mowed, looking like a giant lawn. The little patches you see still out there are milkweed plants that I left for the Monarch butterflies.

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4″ of rain!!!

4″ of rain last night and water is back in the pond!!!! Yeah!!!

 

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Not enough to play…

We got a real light dusting of snow last night. You can see it here and there in the yard but no real accumulation. Bummer. Travis and Erin were up and dressed in their ski suits at 6 am ready to play in the snow. 😦 On the happy side (at least for them), school is cancelled today.

Oh well, we have another chance next week (and Steve will be here to deal with the freezing temps!!).

Getting the garage back

Thanks to Nick and Kathryn who cleaned all the disgusting wood shavings and chicken poop out of the garage!!! We almost have the garage back. Still lots of dust and feathers but at least the stink is gone. Yeah!.

Ready to work

Check out Erin’s new desk. She and I put it together yesterday. LOTS of little pieces but it came out really great.

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Good-bye Christmas tree

Well, the Christmas tree is down and in the burn pile awaiting a bonfire. The sheep find it interesting for some reason. I see them nosing around it on and off all day. Weird. .

Ladybugs in my shower

Every once in a while, I find a ladybug or two in my shower. We get no other bugs in the house other than an occasional spider or fly. They only show up in the master bedroom shower. They don’t stay long. How do they get there? Where do they come from? It’s a mystery.

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Erin’s floor

Steve, here is what Erin’s floor looks like now with the carpet replaced.

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Thank-you Fire Department

Our smoke detectors went off at 3:15 this morning. They are super-loud and of course woke me up instantly. I got up to see what the problem was, cursing them all the while as I thought it was a battery issue and Steve had just replaced them.

When I stepped out of my room, I smelled a burning smell (smelled like burnt toast or popcorn) coming from upstairs. Yikes! I ran up stairs, woke the kids, and told them to downstairs. Kathryn and I searched all over and could not find the problem. We checked the attic and all the electronics. We walked through the whole house. We checked everything in the kitchen. We checked the heat lamps on the back porch. We checked the heat lamps in the garage. We could not find anything suspicious.

I was still hesitant to send the kids back upstairs to bed not knowing what caused the problem. So, I then called the non-emergency number and asked if they could have someone from the fire department come help me check.

The truck came out without its siren on (as I requested) but with lights still flashing. (I hope I did not give Troy and Minerva a heart attack!) The firemen also thoroughly checked out everything. The only thing we could decide is that it must have been something (a piece of insulation, a bug, dust?) that burned on a heater coil. Whew!

Back to bed a 4:15. All is okay. Thanks Fire Department!!!! .