First, a bit of business: I promised ON THE INTERNET that I would rake through the coals of yesterday’s fire, because DANGER!
So, I did:
There were quite a few hot coals, so I doused with water to augment the rain from overnight. Everyone safe!
Then on to Troy avec Marsh and two basenjis, who have become much better travelers than heretofore. (The dogs, not Marsh. Marsh was always a pretty good traveler.)
But how to measure the amount of accomplishment when it isn’t very much?
From the purposeful list:
- I swept the stairs of squirrel poop
- Marsh cleared more brush, brambles, and glass.
But from the incidentals list:
- I mooned around the house, studying all the work that’s left to be done
- I put together one of the solar walkway lamps with new rechargeable batteries, tested it, and mounted it outside roughly where our front path might be if we had a front path
- I came up with a variation on the kitchen layout that I’m quite pleased with, and described it to Marsh
- I met with our Neighbor the Plumber, signed his proposed contract for the entire remaining plumbing job, and paid one half
- He and I walked through the house discussing the various bits and the latest status of our design decisions. He agrees with my parents that we really might want a half-bath upstairs. We are reconsidering. He pointed out the gas-fired water heater we bought won’t work as it is too tall and lacks the required clearance to the low basement ceiling. He agreed to delay starting a week so we could use the existing sewer-line stack to flush the product of the power-washing … and then in discussion amongst ourselves afterward, began to doubt whether the power-washing idea itself was good enough to warrant delaying our move into the camper (for which an indoor commode is a prerequisite).
- Talked to builder and electrician on the phone, planning various things.
- Retrieved some tin roofing materials from the land’s collapsed sheds, for use on the rabbit hutch. Attempted to cut it into useful pieces, discovering that (a) the borrowed Sawzall lacked a useful metal-cutting blade, and (b) my own ancient rotary saw was ready to turn itself into trash. Packed up one piece of tin to bring home.
- Hooked up the hose to the sillcock to let the pump run some more, since last week’s sample was too chlorinated to test.
- Marsh found a mystery plant behind the dog pen which we have since identified as trillium:
- We chose a spot for my parents’ suffering “live” Christmas tree, and transplanted it with much optimism:
- We found another yellow-spotted salamander, this one IN one of the holes I had dug the other day with Mark. I moved him to a pool of water near the edge of the property:
In the main, we dillied and dallied, wrote lists, admired the clouds, checked the mailbox, and in general found circuitous and tangential ways to ensure we were still connected to our project and to each other, and still on the same page(s) of this multi-volume serial cliffhanger.
The importance of this activity should not be understated.