At Home

Alex is here for the night, and it's a good night for a fire.

The Farmhouse - Looking Good

The farmhouse is ready to show to the first prospective tenant tomorrow morning. Max filled about 6 large trash bags from the basement (which measures about 10 feet by 12 feet), and I worked on the kitchen and bath.

We won't tell the tenant that we haven't quite gotten around to making sure the furnace works.

Puzzles

Every day there are new puzzles. Why doesn't the shower valve go all the way to hot (because it was put on upside down and there was a metal filing in the valve). How are you supposed to clean the storm windows if the screen won't come out (the whole Anderson storm/screen comes out and then you remove one of the storms so you can clean both sides ). Why won't this cabinet door shut (because the magnetic catch needs to be brought forward far enough to catch the metal plate on the door).

All are annoying if you are feeling stressed, but if you slow down and puzzle them out, it makes the day full of small victories.

Some of us have little to worry about except what time dinner is.

Cloud-Splitters

The high peaks of the Adirondacks are called cloud-splitters. On these frosty mornings we often wake up in the clouds - literally.

Water!!!

Having determined that digging up 30 feet of underground water line was not a good option - especially because water lines here are about 6 feet underground - Max did the work-around today to get water from the farmhouse to the attached guest quarters. We are not quite sure why it wasn't done that way originally, since town water isn't metered here.

So, of course the minute Max finished the plumbing and turned on the water he discovered there was also a big leak. It took a while to find the source, but it turned out to be an obviously frozen pipe by an old chimney. It was an awkward spot that meant cutting the wall open, but the problem was solved and now we, at long last, have water to the guest quarters.

Stuff - Gone

The lure of the dumpster was too much for Max. He set aside plumbing and started one of his favorite activities - throwing old things away. So, by the end of the day the dumpster was more than half full, and the store, the carriage house and the back porch had been cleaned out - not to mention miscellaneous piles in the yard and the red truck. The photos show stuff that was not thrown away, plus some nice clean spaces. The upstairs of the carriage house may become Casa Eaton Est.

Note to Dumpster Fairy: next time leave the dumpster downhill from the junk.

The Dumpster Fairy

Woke up this morning to discover that the Dumpster Fairy had been by and left a present for us.

Margot

Margot is a great organizer. She makes projects sound fun! So, "we"/
(Margot) decided yesterday that our project for the 2 days they were here was to get the farmhouse in condition so that they could photograph it for a Craigslist ad and a Facebook post so we can get it rented.

Of course nothing goes entirely as planned, and there were a few diversions - like Mark the town water guy who came and had a nifty machine that traces water lines when he hooks a battery up to one end. That led to more digging. But in the end the goal was met! Three cheers for Margot!

Guests

The Farmhouse

The original farmhouse is a snug sunny home. I would love to live there, but even late September weather reminds me it is time to get back to Tucson, where the temperature will finally go down to the high 80s this week.

So, we will rent this home. And, the project today was to work on it so we can finally advertise it. Didn't quite get that far, but we made real progress.

Alex and Margot worked on tucking the insulation back into the attic - it had a bad case of the droops. Margot made the upstairs sparkly clean. Max installed the new fan over the range and plumbed a new sink faucet. And I worked on the laundry room floor. Stella and Wendy ran in circles everywhere, and Rosa supervised the plumbing.

Alex and Margot met the dairy inspector and his supervisor to go over details of the milk room.

The Clampitts

A Nice Break

We headed over to Vermont to stay with Max's Mom. We cooked steaks and Max made an apple pie. A good time was had by all.

Alex's Project

Alex came up last night and spent today up at the barn getting ready for the Dairy Inspector who is coming on Monday to give Alex and Margot advice about how to set up the milk room. He worked inside to convert the bull pen (the kind that holds large dangerous creatures - not major league pitchers) into a open space, and then worked outside to remove a cattle chute and clean up the area. These 8x8 posts were set in concrete. Oh, to be young and strong!

Miscellany

Another day struggling with plumbing to the guest quarters - a future B&B. Max cut the main supply line today and there was plenty of water there. That line, and the piping, is accessible from this hatchway that opens up to a space that's about 30" high and 3 feet wide. So, that was really good news - no more digging! But now the puzzle is to find which of the lines is blocked. This is only for a bathroom, so there are a limited number of possibilities.

Max started with the hot water tank. But first he had to replace the burned out element. That was impossible given the general deterioration he found. So, now we have a new hot water tank that he is plumbing as I write this. So, keep your fingers crossed!

Other pics include Rosa and her ball which can keep her amused all day, and in progress shots of the kitchen (yellow) and guest quarters (red).

The mountain behind the Sugar House is called Ebenezer Mountain. On the old maps it is labelled Rattlesnake Knob. There are rattlesnakes in some of the rocky areas in the Adirondacks. Shades of Tucson!

The space shuttle flew over Tucson today and Kristin and her co-workers - one of whom took this photo - went up to the roof to see it.

And last but not least our thoughts are with Linda and Keely and Ray. Happy Wedding!

Good Advice

Found this advice to clean the range hood which obviously was not followed. This hood is history.

And, Rosa is fascinated with the compressor. It must make a noise only she can hear.

Another day of plumbing challenges. We can get a trickle at the barn and guest quarters, but then it stops. So, maybe we will have more luck on another day.

And, I check my email at the end of the day.