In and Out
We left off, dear reader, with a new driveway which would facilitate all future truck visits (pick-ups and drop-offs — more on that below). Naturally, the universe sent another rainy spell, just to keep me humble. But now that the skies have cleared up, things are HOPPING.
We’ve been visited by:
A Bear
A youngish bear to be sure, but just after the rain let up, it it moseyed through my yard, passing about 20 feet from my front steps, and then across the front yard toward the road and the wide world beyond.
(careful observers will spot the chicken tracks coming and going in the mud as well; they’re everywhere)
A Plumber
At last! The new well still produces bleachy-tasting water, but that’ll flush out before long. Can’t overstate the benefits of indoor plumbing.
A hairy-faced young’un named Behren
— rented himself to me yesterday to help pull carpeting out. From left: the naked living room floor; what 600 square feet of carpet + pad looks like when dumped outside the door (plus some other junk); me and the boy catching the breeze after all that dusty work. Thanks bud!
the Foam Insulation Guys
Local building codes require the rim joist—where the house meets the foundation—to be sealed up. The father & son crew arrived about 9:30 am, spent most of their time preparing the site (plastic protection over the windows), then sprayed & cleaned up thoroughly after themselves (it is a messy process). They were back in their truck and out the driveway by noon.
Building materials
You may recall that this end of the house needs an extreme makeover to fix up where the garage and fireplace/chimney were pulled off by the house movers. I found a carpenter who’s interested in this oddball challenge, and not long after the spray-foam guys left, a big-ass truck pulled up and unloaded two kinds of siding, a set of gutters, some sheathing and a bunch of other stuff. Eric the carpenter and his crew start on Friday.
A big-ass trailer
How does one get rid of the aforementioned carpet, padding and other junk? My new friends at Olo Hauling, of course. Bianca and Josh arrived mid-afternoon, muscled the old appliances (fridge, stove, dishwasher) out of the house and crammed it all into the trailer, and made it look easy. They offered to take the brush pile from the front yard too, but I said I’d rather have a bonfire and invite them over for beers later in the summer. It’s a plan.
Whew. The view through the windshield this afternoon is starting to look pretty good, even with bear tracks.
