Marsh stayed home to get Annie to vet for spaying, so it was a big day all the way around. Annie somehow attracts obsessive worry on all our parts, so the day was fraught. She came through just fine. And then Glo ran Marsh ragged, basically — as I understand it — rearranging the entire farm. Or at least a hearty few rounds of Musical Sheep. At any rate, we men received little sympathy for our puny aches and pains tonight.
But on to Troy! Brother-in-law Tim and his 2nd son Oscar came along and brought their smarts, muscles, and a very useful pipe wrench. Above: the kerosene tank that has graced the porch is now outside! Ready for a buyer (should one come forward) to haul it away. Know anyone who needs a good 275-gal oil tank in good condition, suitable for K1 or home heating oil? $150 OBO.
Then we removed the errant toilet from what will be the bedroom:
I had a sewer plug bought for a project in Virginia that had never materialized, and it fit perfectly. Now just waiting for the plumber to remove the whole works.
Then we tackled the kitchen, removing the drop ceiling, the upper cabinets, the window trim, the paneling, and some of the sheetrock:
At the end, the cabinets took up station where the oil tank had been, until I can weatherproof them outside (they may be useful at a later date in a workshop or basement).
In the middle of all this the heating contractor stopped by to walk through with me the changes our recent planning has wrought on the heating requirements, and overall he felt the changes made things slightly simpler and easier. The big news is they are delivering the new furnace tomorrow! So I had to clear the dwindling ice and snow from the Bilco, and make sure it opens safely.
While out back I admired the lot in the beginnings of spring plumage:
On the way home stopped for gas at our “local” (2.1 miles from home) Troy general store, which proved to be everything we could have hoped. Deli, butcher, pizza parlor, mini-grocery, liquor, hardware, ATM, tarps, waterproof boots, 5-gallon barrels of truck transmission fluid, towing cable, ice, and more. It’s also a hunting inspection station – bring in your harvested deer! All within walking distance.
As I paid for the gas, I told the ladies at the counter I was new in the neighborhood, that I’d checked out the store on purpose, and was impressed that it carried frickin’ everything.
Lady 1: “Well, we try!”
Lady 2: “Welcome to Troy!”
Lady 1: “Don’t hear that often.”
Came home to find Annie recuperating groggily from her indignities:
