Fall update

in which everything seems to happen at once

Dear Everybody,

It’s the Fall Equinox. It’s been very dry, but the terrible heat that hit the rest of the country missed us, for the most part; we had only one serious bout of fire weather a couple of weeks ago, and while the precautionary power cut lasted 40 hours, nothing near here burned. So we’ve been pretty fortunate on the whole. We’re now down in the mid-40s at night, and about 70-80F during the day, lovely fall weather. I saw the first leaves turning yesterday.

The last three months have been simultaneously very fast and a small lifetime. I was unable to keep up with my daily journal, as it took too much time and energy even to sum up, especially after some very long days. But I can at least bring you up to date with the major developments.

When we left off last time, I had just moved into Truepenny, swapping with Jenny so that I could figure out what was so moldy in the living room. For her part, Jenny has settled in very comfortably at Lamson, and walks to the community center several times a week to work on her book collection. She’s decided to sell the Red Bug; we’ll see whether the proceeds will cover the cost of a used golf car, which should suit her needs very well.

A few days after moving in I did find a very moldy cardboard box in the living room and removed it, which improved things enough that I could take off my respirator in the house. But it didn’t solve the whole problem, and I continue to wrestle with mold exposures. A few weeks ago I put up plastic drop sheets to isolate the living room from the rest of the house. That, and closing the windows and doors at night to reduce the humidity, have had the biggest effect. However, when I go into the living room to look for something now, I can tell there’s a serious problem in there. I strongly suspect water damage from when the old water heater self-destructed, but I haven’t been able to get to that corner yet. The clock is ticking: both main sources of heat (the mini-split and the woodstove) are in the living room…

The drains have been fixed, after they all clogged completely for a week. Out of desperation, having failed to get any of three handymen, I dug up the line to cut it (and have it drain into the garden) and found… a cleanout. A little time with a primitive drain snake cleared it completely, and it’s been fine since.

I was a little rattled at the time, because the plug to Jenny’s trusty space heater broke off in the outlet a week after I moved in, arced spectacularly, and nearly caught the kitchen on fire. It’s a good thing it was supposedly my day off, since it meant I was home for a change…

We lost all but two of the chickens to daytime raccoons. I finally managed to secure the run well enough that those two are still happy and healthy, and producing enough eggs for me and Jenny. Once they go to their new home (maybe with Jenny, maybe someone else) I’ll look into rebuilding the Shippen.

As far as the to-do list goes:

• The plumbing at Lamson has been fixed, though the contractor we got for grab bars fell off the face of the earth—I’ll try again once things calm down a little. We continue to add shelving units.

• The old fridge and stove are currently in the garage, after I made space by clearing out the last of the moldy boxes of books at last. The old stove turned out to have a plug after all (can’t be sure in 1950…) which is even the same configuration as the new one! So I can skip the electrician for right now, and as soon as I bring in the new stove, I should be able to plug it right in. I haven’t made further progress, but it should be just an afternoon’s work to clear the rest enough to start stripping the floor.

• I didn’t score a kitchen faucet in my scavenging runs… but when I idly turned on the hot tap while doing dishes one day, it actually ran! The silt clogging it appears to have shaken loose. I still don’t have hot running water, because I need to drain and refill the hot water tank first. Once that’s done, I can turn it back on, just in time for cold weather.

• The weed trees will survive another year, I’m afraid. We also didn’t burn anything before the ban descended, but it should lift again on October 1. I’m in the process of building piles that should burn thoroughly and cleanly so that when the time comes, they’ll be ready.

• The septic tank got lost in tall weeds, which means it will likely spend another winter under an (insulated) tarp. It should be all right.

• I didn’t have time for the pond. I do want to install a beaver cheater before the rains really come in, so that at least the pasture (and the septic leach field!) don’t flood completely this winter, but anything else will have to wait.

• I have my Oregon driver’s license, my car has Oregon plates, I’m registered to vote, and I’m in the middle of applying for benefits.

In addition:

• After months of quotes, modifications, assessments, and scheduling, the roofs on the Annex, mudroom, workroom, and garage have all been replaced. They only finished this last weekend, after a total of three days of noise and debris. But the new roofs look great! We went with composite shingles rather than metal for several reasons, but the color is similar to the shake roof on the house, and blends in well.

• I bought enough smoke alarms and fire extinguishers to properly outfit both houses. Lamson is set, and several smoke alarms have been installed at Truepenny; I can’t reach the areas of the ceiling in two of the bedrooms or the living room, but my bedroom, the office, and the all-important one at the top of the stairs have all been installed (thanks, Amanda!). I set up the security camera system to page me if it hears them go off, in case I’m not home. And we have fresh fire extinguishers for all the buildings.

• I cleared one corner of the office (Fa’s room) and installed my desk and desktop computer—then had to order ethernet cable and temporarily install a run to it, as the wireless just barely doesn’t reach…

• I cleared the back hall shelves and floor, and it serves as my pantry now. I discovered a portion of the floor has severe water damage, and I’ve sealed it with builders’ paper until I can replace the masonite.

• Kathyrn Jane came over and tore through the downstairs bathroom, clearing it out with her usual ruthless efficiency. Seven trash bags later, we had sorted the gold from the dross, established that the sink is in full working order, and cleaned the scary toilet (thanks again, KJ!)

• I cleared the mudroom almost completely to make room for my cooking appliances; the old wooden table now has builders’ paper taped on top, and the sink has been cleared and scrubbed to within an inch of its life. I have a new microwave, since the old one decided to start arcing uncontrollably on my day off (I never say I’m taking “a day off” anymore). Keeping it company is the air popper, the rice cooker, a lovely new toaster oven, a new electric kettle, and my trusty instant pot. It’s still essentially an outdoor kitchen (hello yellowjackets), but at least I can cook a wide variety of things.

• I made two full pickup runs of trash to the transfer station, and I’m scheduled for the hazardous waste dropoff this Saturday. Some of the items I found in the mudroom were…. exciting. (When was DDT banned, again?)

• I ordered the new floor tiles for the kitchen, dining room, and pantry, and picked them up in Salem.

• I decommissioned one of the very old freezers. Only three to go…

• I set up a large tent on the front lawn to act as extra space to hold stuff for assessment and sorting.

• I cut down a straggling tree next to the front porch, then I unmounted and remounted one end of the gutter in front of the office window. It still slopes slightly the wrong way, but I’m hoping that as long as the spout remains clear, it will no longer cascade all of its water down at the join of the house and the porch. I put a baffle at the inside corner of the roof to make sure that doesn’t contribute to the problem.

• I helped Jenny set up and take down for the large, two-day city-wide garage sale. We sold several hundred dollars worth of stuff from the Flea Market, and I scored a few things, including a set of small cubbies that will work nicely in the downstairs bath, and a shop vac that needs new bearings. (Those have been ordered, and should be here by the end of the week.)

• The garden has been doing all right; voles have taken their toll, but I got a very good garlic harvest, the cucumbers and beans are producing steadily, and I’m starting to get the main tomato crop now. I’ll dig the potatoes very soon… they had a lot of setbacks, so there aren’t a lot of spuds, but it’s difficult not to come out ahead with potatoes. When I planted the fall cabbage and broccoli, I took the opportunity to line the bottom of that bed with hardware cloth, to foil the voles. The other beds will get the same treatment.

• Finally, on a hot day in late July, two teenage girls showed up at the front door, barefoot, scratched, and just about hysterical. They had missed the curve coming down the hill, brushed past a stout tree, and flipped the car into the creek ten feet below. I let them use the phone and my laptop to contact their mom, then 911, and I flagged down the ambulance 20 minutes later. They were physically all right, just very, very shaken. The car was pulled out of the creek later that evening, and that was the end of it.

If it sounds like a lot of things going on, you’re not wrong. I had my hands full juggling everything, and some things will just have to slide into the next season, or next year. I’ve been working to keep my eye on the ball, and focus on critical things to avoid consequences. The rest can wait.

The week before the roofers were due, Conrad mentioned that the driveway bridge was probably due for replacement in the near future. Having thought that it was replaced less than a decade ago, I was dismayed to discover that it’s still the original bridge from the 70s, with new boards on top. Taking a little time last week, I put my water shoes on and waded down the creek to have a look at the underpinnings… and wished I hadn’t. The bridge itself, which rests on the bank on both sides of the creek, is in excellent shape—but the 30” tree trunks that stabilize the bank are not. The downhill one is mostly solid, but rotting nonetheless, and the uphill one has been hollowed out by rot and high water until less than half of it remains.

I promptly called the roofing company, then Conrad, and informed them both that it was probably safe to use as long as it was dry weather, because the soil of the bank is quite hard… and, in fact, the two small dump trucks eased across the bridge twice each, with no issues. But as soon as the rainy season soaks the ground, I wouldn’t trust any vehicle on that bridge, and that’s only a few weeks away at most. I got a list of engineers from the county building department, and I called the lovely contractor who saved us by repairing the septic tank last year, in the hope that we can get someone out here to tell us how to stabilize the bridge for winter. I would like to avoid walking 250 feet to the upper parking area in all kinds of weather until we can get it replaced next year. We’ll see what can be managed.

The next three months will hopefully slow down a bit, but I expect to be attending to a number of things:

• Installing a downspout between the workshop and garage roof to handle the runoff properly. The roofing company doesn’t do gutters, but they did tell me what piece to ask for at the supply house, and it should be just a couple hours of work. I should also check the price of treated 4x4s to see whether I can replace the rotten post on the other side without taking out a second mortgage.

• Continuing to box up and move out a lot of the clutter in the office and dining room, with particular attention to whatever I might still be reacting to. My health is improving by leaps and bounds, but I could do without the sinus headaches and blurred vision.

• Tackling the living room. I want to clear the corner nearest the kitchen, move out the small organ and the old couch, and see if I can mitigate any old water damage. I need to be able to run the main heater (and woodstove, in a power failure) to heat the house before midwinter brings the real cold.

• Re-flooring the kitchen and moving all the fresh appliances in. I don’t expect to have the dryer functional this year (that will take an electrician to put in a 220V outlet), but I may try to hook up the washer if the old faucets will oblige, and having a full working oven range and an indoor refrigerator would be delightful. Not to mention the freed up garage space to park the truck under cover, if the bridge allows…

• Talking to an electrician about upgrading the breaker panel. The roofers really drove home the fact that the circuits in this house are overcommitted and labyrinthine; we need something like twice as many to properly serve the house and outbuildings without risking overloads. There are incentives available in various places to help with panel upgrades if one is installing a charging station for an electric car, and as I hope to own an EV when the Accord goes to its final destination, that seems like a good option to explore. The actual rewiring of the house will be something I do piecemeal over the next several years, as I fix up each room and building. (Wired ethernet will be part of that.)

• Making a list of possible keepsakes and heirlooms and sending it to family members. The organ is on that list, along with some of the items in the Annex; I’m keeping some things because they belong with the house, but others should go to whoever in the family wants them, before I list the rest for sale.

• Learning how to take care of this place in the winter. At least I won’t have roof leaks to worry about, but I’m sure the house and yard have needs I’m not yet aware of, and keeping myself and the animals comfortable will take a bit of work.

As always, I’ll upload the latest batch of photos; you can find the Google album here. I can’t promise any captions right now, but we’ll see what I can do in the coming weeks.

My next post will be at the winter solstice, between major holidays, when I will hopefully be settled and snug in a house with far more amenities. I hope the next three months goes well for you all, and I’ll check in with you at the end of the year.

—Sam