It's been a great weekend for productivity here at the Forever Home. Zorak hauled the carcasses of dead appliances down to the Recycle Guy, so the carport-that-wants-to-be-a-fire is looking a bit more, well, a bit less terrifying.
I cleaned the kitchen pantry, then sorted, organized and inventoried the food storage shelf (yes, "shelf", singular. We're not good Mormons, Catholics, or survivalists... just slackin' Protestants). I am tickled, though, to see that we've nearly met our first goal! I was hoping to get to a two-month supply, and we're just about there! We need to flesh it out a bit, as there are some things I've completely forgotten to store - like pasta, and (gah, this is embarrassing to even admit) water. Yes. Yes, I know. Der. However, I'd only begun this project in September, so I'm quite happy with the results, and we've been able to accomplish it without any appreciable increase in our grocery bill.
We have the back yard staked out for a fence! We have the new garden boundaries marked, as well, and we have the spot for the chicken coop laid out. Now, if only we can decide just how we want to design the coop, we might make some progress on it! I tried to talk KathyJo into coming down with her crew so we could turn the menfolk loose down there, but she's not budging. Pfft. You'd think she's enjoying the snow or something. ;-)
Oh, hey, and while we marked out the back yard boundaries, the house spoke to us again (shhh, you're the only ones we tell about this stuff - the neighbors might think we're nuts... but, then again, that could come in handy...) Anyway, there's a door off the kitchen that leads out back. We don't use it because, like so many other things on this place, it's scary-dangerous. The first step is over a foot down, and if you misstep, you'll tumble down a painful, brick-edged, gauntlet. The little iron railings have long rusted away, so if you mistakenly attempt to grab hold of one, you'll only increase the likelihood that you'll be impaled before you hit bottom. As of yesterday, that door is now marked for a small landing and wooden steps that'll lead into the back yard. (Not only will it be lovely and functional, but then the children won't have to traipse through our bedroom to get to the back yard. WOOHOO!)
Zorak eyeballed my hammock trees for a tree house. He even measured them. I don't want to sound territorial, here, and I would do anything for my children, but I worked for two full summers to clear enough briars and poison ivy to get *to* those trees, so I could hang a hammock. Not so they could build a tree house. A hammock, darnit. I've never had a hammock. I'd like a hammock. I WANT a hammock. Besides, there are eighty bazillion suitable tree house trees on the property, but not so many suitable hammock sites. *ahem* Um, so, that particular piece of land is currently in limbo. (It'll probably end up being a tree house. Maybe I can sling my hammock beneath the deck?)
We ran out of propane on Saturday morning. Gah. I hate this little tank. (Riiiiight. Because it couldn't have anything to do with the fact that I'm the one who forgets to check it? OK, let me rephrase that: I hate that I forget to check that little tank.) If you ask for a delivery Not On Your Delivery Day, they hit you with fees: "Should've Checked Your Tank, Stoopid" fees, which add up to several hundred dollars. Plus, you pay a higher price for the gas, itself, at an "off route" price. We called to find out just what the "off route" price is, and see about scheduling a delivery, but the emergency delivery guy never called back, so Zorak hooked up a little tank and we'll use that until Monday.
I had to smile. That brought back memories of our first home together, when we were often too poor to afford the 100 gallon minimum delivery. (And that was when it was $1.75/gal., too.) He'd use the small tanks to limp us along, getting them refilled at the gas station (back when gas stations still did that sort of thing) on his way home from work, switching the tanks out, until we could save enough money to get a real delivery. I'm glad we're not *there* anymore, and that if the guy had called back, we could have had a full tank. However, I'm also so thankful Zorak is the guy he is and does such a good job of providing what we need. (Now, if he could just find me a mental supplement, or a personal secretary, or *something* so I won't forget to check the darned tank next time!)
I have no idea what we'll be doing today. Zorak stayed up far too late last night drafting fence panel designs, so I'm sure we'll be ready to make some headway on those shortly. And the carport-that-wants-to-be-a-bonfire is much less creepy now that it's all cleared out and semi-functional. I was hoping to get some sewing done, but that's not looking like it's going to happen. That's okay. There's plenty to do in the meantime, and when the time comes, I'll be ready!
ACK, and they're heading outside without me! I'd better go.
Kiss those babies!
~Dy
6 comments:
Sounds like a great weekend, and I might have help for your hammock. :-) They sell hammock stands, and they aren't too expensive. Then you can put your hammock anywhere you like, regardless of which trees re where. Like maybe you prefer the garden. Or the front yard. David tried to get his hammock in the front yard. Tried. :-)
Good golly you put me to shame in the accomplishments category. You all are busy busy busy!
Hope you get your hammock -- fight for it sweetie!
melissa
Oh, I would SO fight for my hammock spot! Hey, you need a place to lie and nurse the baby where you can keep an eye on the other kids while they're playing outside. I want a hammock, but I have no such excuse.
Your story about when you had to scrape by on the little tanks reminds me of some stories of my own. I remember how we waited until the lease was up on our cockroach infested apartment. (The entire complex was infested; it was not due to my housekeeping.) We couldn't afford to lose that $150 deposit. I nearly lost my mind worrying about cockroaches crawling on my baby in the middle of the night. Ah, good times!
Wow, Catholics are supposed to be good at that whole stocking up thing? Darn, I must have missed that handout in RCIA. :-D Sorry, couldn't resist. The Mormon plan though is impressive - I knew a couple people in my buying club who were doing that and they are *prepared*!
Sounds like a great weekend, I hope your Sunday was lovely as well! (And good luck on your hammock spot - I completely understand. Thankfully our property abounds in good hammock spots... which also means there are too many trees to keep down the fire danger, but we'll just ignore that aspect for now)
Jennie, I've seen those framed hammocks. The problem is that if you flip one of those, the metal bar underneath hurts like the dickens. And you can tip them. Or, maybe not *you*, but *I* sure can! :-D I'm not saying I'm clumsy, or anything, but, you know, I'm hoping for a hammock that won't have anything harder than non-compacted soil beneath it. :-) (OK, I'm clumsy.) LOL @ the image of David lounging in the front yard - that would've been precious!
Melissa, no shame, believe me. I think I just make it sound good when I write it down. Really, compared to what remains to be done, we didn't get to too much. :-S
Jenni, we need an excuse for a hammock? OK, we can fix you up - you need a hammock because it would be a fantastic place to do an entire photojournal piece entitled "The View From The Hammock" - hang it somewhere splendid, and then shoot away!
Amber, ROFL. I don't know. My brother did, for years. We thought it was a Catholic thing, too. Hmmm, maybe there's an Advanced RCIA course? Or, hey, you didn't drift off at all during your seminars, did you? Wouldn't that be a thing to miss? (Something I would do, probably. I'm so bad about that.)
We do have oodles of trees. I just didn't want to have to hoof it too far from the house to lounge. The kids are small. They're energetic. They don't mind running up and down the hills. Me? I want to stay close enough to smell the bread when it starts to burn. Yep, that's about it. I could write a whole book on my plans for the yard: Landscape Design From Lack of Momentum. It'll be a best seller, eh? ;-)
Dy
Heh. If my chickens and goats wouldn't drop dead on us in the meantime, I'd so be there already. Even if I wasn't sick of snow. :)
Ernie's pushing for a hammock. If I knew him less well, I might go for it. But he already thinks deep thoughts in the lawn chair on a regular basis during good weather. Sometimes, he snores while he thinks deep thoughts.
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