The Beat Goes On

It just never ends around here. . .really, it is hard to imagine how this is going to end up. . .I can pick up where I left off, which would be to say that we just got the shower back up and running and how did it happen anyway. . . I think it was just in the course of fixing the bath plumbing -- no, I know, it was when he was installing the new dual flush toilet we foolishly purchased at Costco (I mean, we couldn't pass it up, Brian had already purchased a (used, of course) elongated-bowl toilet at Second Use for $50. (!) and here was a brand new, dual flush, elongated-bowl toilet for a mere $80. (!!!) How could we resist??) So anyway, he had installed the toilet and was in the midst of installing the new integrated sink/countertop (that I had told him not to buy because I want the cabinet gone from the bathroom, but as usual, my words fell on deaf ears. . .) so the new sink was going in and at the same time we were cleaning out the disgustingly clogged drain, and of course the process was grueling in its involvement and Brian could not get the sink hooked up -- at least 4 trips to Island Lumber and the newly-unclogged drain was still leaking. . . we were getting frustrated, but little did we know, our frustration was just beginning. I think I decided to do the dishes in the midst of the process only to find there was NO Hot Water -- which was one thing we thought was safe, since it was a relatively new hot water heater installed within the last year. . .by now you likely know the drill, and our problems began with the beginning of the trouble-shooting process. Brian couldn't find the shut off breaker to the thing -- it was hard-wired and it did not appear there was a breaker on the property that controlled that power. Of course, it took quite a while to go through all the breakers, not only in the house, but in the store, in the apartment above the store, in the post office, in the garage, in the crawl space below the store. . . there are a lot of ways to control the power to this place, but none of them were hooked up to the hot water heater. . . So luckily Brian has a few (?) tricks up his sleeve and he managed to disconnect the HWH without curling the remaining hair on his head any more. We packed up the thing and hauled it off to True Value where it came from with a full warrantee (one wee bit of luck) Long story short, we installed the new HWH and it STILL didn't work, there was no power to the thing and we had no idea where the power was coming from anyway, so we were stuck -- high and dry -- ended up being 4 days without Hot Water until Brian was able to attach the wiring of the HWH to the dryer outlet, so now we don't have a dryer, but we do have hot water -- and so the beat goes on.

Every Dog Has His Day

Two days without Brian and I'm starting to feel optimistic. . . well, I'm not sure that's the reason, but it is surely part of it. . . We are getting used to this place, decrepit as it is, and are getting back into the swing of things. We (the guys & I) roused ourselves at 6 am yesterday and went to the Argus Ranch for a day of Agility. It was a l o n g day -- they always are, but this one was even longer since we had to tack the trip to and from plus the ferry ride on to each end of the trip. We had some fun, esp. Henri, who happened to be the dog who was having his day. . . He was on fire -- and burned up the courses -- and his speed did not trump his accuracy in 4 out of 6 runs! He finished in 1, 2, and 3rd place and got one more Q, so that was a great showing!! Not only that, as always, he had FUN!! Hanna, on the other hand, looked like Coco Chanel at a Monster Truck Rally -- she would have rather been anywhere else than there. . .or so she let on -- and she made me work for each and every jump or tunnel that she gave me! And believe me, she was not giving them out too generously. . . She got one Q on her first run of the day and it was down hill after that.

Brian had the compound (Hyannisport West as it has become known in certain circles) to himself and he even managed to get a few things done in between football games. . . Although he did not get the bathroom drain unclogged or the dishwasher fixed so really, whatever he did, it was not enough. . . (which is what he would say I say all the time anyway, so what is the point. . . Does he in fact, have a point??) Whatever, I don't know, but what I do know is the dishes are piled high. . .see for yourself. . .





This sink is the best part of this junk-pile. I think it was actually in the workshop when Brian bought the place -- I don't think it was even one of his "treasures". . . If it was, he would surely not let us use it for this place -- he is "saving" all of his treasures for a project more worthy. . . if you can believe it! I do love the sink, it is the quintessential "wet area" -- you can splash water and be as messy as you want and it can handle it. It is perfect for our lifestyle, inwhich the sink is used for things like washing dog bowls and cookie sheets in my case, or dog shit off your shoes in Brian's case. We have gotten into a few "conflicts" over that last use esp. in the Orchard House, where there was a sink in the basement (4(!)sinks actually before we rented out the unit) where the shit could have been washed off the shoes far from any food prep areas. . . Here the only other sink is the one in the adjacent bathroom and that one has a distinct drainage problem. . . so the dog shit is definitely not a good idea. . .

The only problem with this sink is that it pools water in the back corner, not through any fault of its own, but rather because the back leg needs a bit of a shim under it to compensate for the slope of the floor. A good "Shim" in the right spot is the key to living in this house -- we have them everywhere, even under the espresso machine. . .you should see how difficult it is to roll out a pie crust -- it is impossible to keep the rolling pin from taking off. . . Needless to say, Brian is not thrilled with the sink -- he prefers something a little more "conventional". . .

So other than interior design decisions, we have not been too productive out here I hate to have to admit. . . It really feels most of the time like we are pilgrims or pioneers or whatever you want to call them. . . Everything is SO difficult AND time-consuming! It took several DAYS to get the washing machine hooked up, and even now, when it drains, water comes up into the kitchen sink. . . The dishwasher needed to have a wall outlet installed so we could plug it in, so Brian did that, and we ran it 3 times at the most, and it crapped out. . . of course it was one that Brian found on Craigslist for free or at least next to free I'm sure. . . but still, all the time spent getting it in, now taking it out, it is not a deal. . .but don't tell Brian that. . . The bath tub faucet was leaking and Brian tried to fix that and ended up having to replace the entire supply pipe including adding shut off valves at the tub, since they were so screwed up. . . of course that took a few days. . . I know there's more, but you get the picture. . .it is overwhelming. . .and that doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of the more major projects like the roof, of which about half is covered in 6 mil poly to keep it from leaking, and the heat or lack of it, both of which I am sure we will soon be noticing are deficient.

We did pick up a vent to use with the "new" gas fireplace we bought, but the fireplace will not do the trick, we need to install a wood stove I think, if we are going to be warm this winter. I REALLY hope it is a dry, mild winter. . .ha, ha, as if that's even a possibility. . .

Well, I have not been writing not for lack of inspiration, but mainly just because I couldn't bring myself to acknowledge the depth of our demise. . . some days it feels positively insurmountable. . .

Today we have a break from Brian because he actually has a bit of a job (bit being the operative word. . .) He is getting the gutters to install for a buddy of his. . . so 2 days of my own thoughts and not having to decipher the irrational verbage that I am bombarded with daily. . . it really is a refreshing break! A bit of a job is a good start, but we need more than that! Let it be noted that I am not just implying that Brian is the only one who needs a job or at least some money, the distinction being that Brian does not see a relationship between the 2, but who am I to judge at this point. . .


Know anyone that wants to buy a dump truck?

Big day - we got a fridge!

We had a bit of a day off today -- we went to town & picked up our new(to us) fridge - purchased, no, stolen, for a mere $150. On Craigslust, oops, typo - or could be a freudian slip since The "L" Word is playing in the background (Brian insisted on watching the episode he fell asleep half-way thru the other night. . . He just got very frustrated listening to how everyone apologizes to eachother & is so concerned about each other's feelings -- I mean, imagine that. . .
Anyway -- what was I saying last night? We are in -- but we were a day late getting out, just as I was afraid of and we still have a garage full of stuff to move plus all the pots on the deck plus a few fix-ups so it is not yet final. This place is pretty much in the state I expected it would be in -- the floors aren't all in, nor are they sealed, & now all of our furniture is in so the "moving" is not even close to being done. The hole in the ceiling & walls where the chimney was have been patched, & we now have a kichen sink & a stove but all that happened yesterday. I have some photos but I can't figure out how to get them posted from this phone so they will have to wait for the laptop to be operational which should happen on Wed.
We did take a break on Sun. Aft. And took the dogs to the beach for a couple of hours. It was a perfect late summer day - warm, sunny, & breezy -- it felt GREAT! I need a day or 2 of rest -- we both do although Bruno insists we must persevere -- even though there is compelling evidence to the contrary -- yesterday he was looking for something in his pockets & realized he had his shorts on backwards & today we stopped at Ikea to get a utensil rack for the kitchen & he left it leaning against the side of the truck. . . Or maybe that's just the status quo -- who can even remember what that is?

We're in. . .

Just lost the post because of the crappy cell phone reception on this I-phone! Well it is just another drop in the bucket of defeatism I am carrying. In a nutshell -- it went pretty much as expected -- and the state of affairs here is also pretty much as predicted -- grim. I will try this again sometime.

Days fly by and it is now 6 days until we move. Of course, we made great progress yesterday, so today Brian decided to sabotage the track to a on-schedule finish that we were on. Stu and I tore out all the carpets yesterday -- it was liberating! Imagine carpet that has been in there for decades -- literally! You could have grown a garden in the dirt that was under the carpet in the study/library area! It was unbelievable. The good part is that under the carpet and the subsequent dirt, is old lino -- not the old, old asphaltic based stuff, but old enough to be pre-vinyl. It is not old buggy decaying wood decking as predicted by Brian, so that is a relief. Brian, by the way, spent the entire day yesterday, filling in a hole in the kitchen that he uncovered when he tore out the cabinets. The floor and wall between the porch and the kitchen were rotted away to the extent that you could see the dirt floor of the crawlspace through the exposed floor boards -- there must have been a leak in the pipes under the kitchen sink, and it was rotted to nothing. Not to mention the 2!! rats nests UNDER the kitchen cabinets. Now those set me back a few notches in my anticipation of the move, or should I say, my lack of anticipation grows stronger with the discovery of each rats nest! I am not a fan of all the spiders, but the rats really make me squirm. . . I don't know if I can co-exist peacefully with rats. . .I know I managed to live, albeit, a bit squeemishly, with mice, when I was living out on the "Rolling J Ranch" all those years ago, but I thought those days were gone. At 47 I was thinking things were supposed to start to settle down and one could begin to coast for a while, but apparently, that is not in my game plan. . . I have to accept that unconventional means just that, and the expectations of what to expect go out the window -- you can't have it both ways baby! Anyway, I am rambling, mostly because I am dead tired! I mean DEAD TIRED!! I would love to blog the night away, but I only have the energy for a brief spurt of a blurb, not really enough for a full-blown blog -- I wish I did, I have a lot to say.

One thing I know is that whatever I do, it is in the best interest of my attitude to NOT, at any cost, go into the workshop. That really sent me into a tailspin this morning. I mean, it is so hard to just accept that we have to move out into this hovel because "we" are flat-broke, when Brian has tens of thousands of dollars of "stuff", mostly purchased at Second Use in that workshop. Well, it is not confined to the shop anymore, it has overflowed into the store, both the main floor and even upstairs. . . He admitted that he likely has over $100,000. worth of "stuff", inventory, whatever you want to call it, in storage. It is hard to even know where to start with a list. He has 3(!) wood-burning stoves, an entire oak staircase, 2 or 3 (!) (again with the !) cast iron bath-tubs, countless old cabinets and windows and doors, and a heartland gas range and a 6-burner Thermador gas range, not to mention the commercial Viking range and hood that he got out of the old Routt Memorial Hospital. . . I could go on and on, but you must get the picture. He has a sub-zero refridgerator (that he didn't mention to me that he bought because he knew I would go ballistic after the 3 month sub-zero debacle we went through with our Orchard kitchen) and get this, he has the old refridgerator from Orchard that he wanted us to use in the new house, but it turns out it isn't working, so now, instead of using the sub-zero, he is looking for ANOTHER refridgerator!! To buy!! Second-hand, of course!! My blood boils just thinking of it. Which is why, you see, I can not go into that shop, or my attitude plummets and I have a hard time keeping the peace -- it is all I can do not to go into a full-blown rant. . .

Where was I?? Oh yeah, the sabotage. Brian decided that the old brick chimney in the corner of the kitchen just HAD to come down, not only did it have to come down, but the bricks needed to be salvaged, so Stu spent the entire day on that, and he got about a third of it taken down. Great! At that rate, we will be moving into a house with a huge hole where the chimney was and easy access for all the rats in the area to come right in, not to mention no new floors. . .one of my only requests. . .how can I be surprised? At least Brian was "kind" enough to drive me to the drive-thru' bank on the way to the job-site this morning so I could take out $400.00 to pay Stu! I tell ya, Brian is such a great guy!! Then tonight, he pulled a stunt that I haven't seen since high school -- he didn't have money for gas for his truck, so we had to go pick up the new to us washing machine and dryer in my car. . . When I couldn't contain my sarcasm at that move, he said he didn't have time to go to the bank to get the money before we had to be at the pick-up place, but still, that is pretty lame. . . So I paid for that too -- the new washer/dryer. It was only $100. -- from a real nice woman -- her email was "tinky louise", so you knew she would be a character! Then we pulled up to a BRIGHT ORANGE house -- a really great deep orange, and she had a (I was going to say fat, but I think chubby is more appropriate) white bull-dog who was a real character named Jelly Biscuit! He was so lovey and attention demanding -- I'm sure the guys would have loved him! Anyway, we did get a deal and I know this woman would have been someone who I would have liked to get to know -- she is pretty cool, but she is moving to Virginia to care for her ailing parents, so I don't know whose shoes I'd rather be in right now. . . I find myself doing that a lot these days. . . comparing shoes. . . and it's not very often I wonder. . . usually it is not my own. . . but another thing I am not, is a care-giver!

Anyway, the rollercoaster ride continues, the (fading fast) romantic side of me loves the property out there and knows this is kind of a cool thing to be doing, aside from the circumstances that are necessitating it. But the tired, complacent side of me really wonders what it is going to be like living in a rat-infested, spider laden house that needs propping up at the least, a new roof, all new windows, unless you want to put plastic over the existing ones like the tenants did. . . etc, etc. . . I like romance, but I think the typical aging process is overtaking me, and the comforts of heat, and security and cleanliness are becoming priorities. . . I'm not saying I need to live in a new mobile home in a gated trailer park, but. . . what?? I doesn't matter. I have a LOT more to expand with on this topic, or should I say expound? but Brian just told me I have to go to bed! WE have to get up EARLY he says. WE have to go pick up some garage doors and a gas fireplace he found on Craigslist in the am. -- in Puyallup -- be there at 9. Then on to the Island for a full day. So it will have to wait. I must do as I'm told. Besides, I know I have a lot to say, but right now, it is gone from my mind. . . hopefully it is temporary and I'll remember it tomorrow. But I know that doesn't always happen. Which is why the blog is good. You can just write it, then it is there, and not subject to memory. Always tenuous, the memory. Esp. with the amount of crap I've been breathing in these days. At least that's my latest excuse. It's always something with me. At least that's what I'm told.

9 days left and counting

This is my first entry. I am starting it half-way through the move, and since I am dead tired by the time I arrive home at 8 pm, by the time I make the dogs their gourmet meal and throw together a sandwich for myself and my dahling husband, Brian, the last thing I really want to do is sit at my computer -- but it has been suggested that it may be a good thing to do, esp. after my appeal for help at a low point I had yesterday. I sent out a cryptic email to a few close friends who I thought would understand -- I can't remember exactly, but it was something about hell on earth or living hell -- well I know hell was the operative word. . . Anyway, I, along with Brian and our two dogs are in the process of moving down -- we are moving out of our lovely home in West Seattle into a property on Vashon Island that really could be described as uninhabitable -- interesting,, cool,, oh yeah, unique in a huge way, but livable, not so much. . .(I can't believe I just used that expression, but in this case it really works, so I'm going to leave it against my better judgement. . .)

So we are trying to get the place together enough to move into, by the time we have to be out of our home, in 9 days. We started about a month ago, right after we rented our house to a perfect couple, ironically, from Vashon Island. Anyway, I will go into details hopefully another time, but as I was saying, there is SO MUCH to do, and SO LITTLE time left, and Brian was getting bogged down with the details, so we sat down and put together a schedule of completion, which Brian promptly ignored and continued going down the path of superfluous tasks. I think the schedule idea sort of backfired, since Brian is the king of having his back up against the wall and all the schedule did for him was emphasise how much time we had in front of us, unlike what it did to me, which was send me into a panic.

So anyway, I tried to impart my sense of urgency upon Brian, but it was lost on him, and I shouldn't have been surprised, but I am going to have to move into that hell-hole, so my concern is hard to moderate! Plus, I know from too much experience how Brian and his deadlines pan out -- usually IF they have a successful ending, it only happens with at least one or two near-all-nighters at the BITTER (and I must emphasise BITTER) end.

Anyway, of course I was the looser of the battle, and I could not contain my frustration, so my only outlet was the email -- not really intended as a call for help, it was more of an appeal for understanding. . . and I knew who to appeal to. I have to say, I have THE BEST friends in the world -- the BEST dogs and the BEST friends! So if other things in my life a lacking in the quality department, I make up for it in these two areas!! I had two phone calls last night from friends who didn't quite know how serious I really was. Which was touching. I wasn't desperate, just frustrated, and I don't know what I would ever do if I reached the point of desperation, but who knows, maybe I would send an email. . .so it's good to know that it would work. But first thing this morning, the barrage of emails began, and my friends (and one spouse) carried on a dialogue about my situation and several suggestions of how to deal with it, not to mention corrections of fellow friend's suggestions, and when I finally took a break from the drudgery, the laugh that I had as a result of reading those emails, was exactly what I needed!! My day got instantly better and I began to feel a tiny bit hopeful, not that we'd get everything done that I thought should be done by the time we moved in, but hope that I'd be able to deal with it. . . I finished painting the bathroom and put another coat of paint on the back bedroom and hopefully tomorrow will see an end to the painting. Although I wish we were using low VOC paint, we are not and that oil-based KILZ is killing me!! Plus, who knows how long it will take for the paint smell to dissipate. . . Is this me -- two negative thoughts for every positive one?? I should think about that. . .

Well I NEED to get to bed -- I keep hearing about how I am holding up the process because I am not up by 6 am, okay, 7 am, well, I will say I am almost always up by 7:30 . . . There may be some truth to that. That's all I'll say about it!