We don't need no stinking big projects!

As I said in our last update, we're operating under something of a self-imposed sequestration, and we've put major projects on hold until we get our fiscal house in order.  Well...what am I going to post on, you ask?  We have been able to squeeze a few small projects into the budget.  That's a good thing, because we really don't do too well at sitting around.  ;)

One small project that's been needing to be done but kept being put off (because I was dreading doing it and I managed to put it off because I was working on big projects) was the re-plumbing of the drains for our kitchen sink.  The garbage disposal was completely locked up and useless, and was constantly causing clogs on the right side of the sink.  We have a dual basin sink.  We decided to rip out and not replace the disposal, as we have a septic system and figured it'd be better for it in the long run if we didn't.  At the start of the project I thought I could remove the disposal and plumb the drain to tie into the existing plumbing.  Yeah...that didn't happen.  The J bend wasn't your typical removable J bend.  It was glued PVC, and it was leaking.  Still, I thought I could salvage some of the original work.  After more than a few false starts and trips to the hardware store, I wound up cutting out all of the old work and re-plumbing it all the way back to the stack, including new drain/basket assemblies in both sides of the sink.  Didn't I say that I was dreading this project?!  I did learn (re-learn) a valuable lesson.  Though it might seem cost effective up front, plumbing to tie into existing fittings isn't worth the time and effort.  Once I decided to go all of the way back to the stack this project immediately simplified itself.  We also now have the added benefit of all new plumbing and no old headaches.

Another small project we ticked off our list of to-do's was organizing our linen closet.  We have a pretty darn small linen closet, at about 36" wide x 16" deep.  We had hanging organizers in there, but they didn't give us the ability to use the entire depth of the closet.  It worked fairly well for a while, but that was back when we were just coming up here once a month.  Now that we're living here, it is definitely time for an upgrade.

Before

With storage space being a premium we really need to maximize what space we do have, so we bought a simple closet organizer and got to work.  Here is the completed project...less the linens that are now filling the shelves.  We even managed to create a space for stowing the vacuum cleaner and attachments. :)

After

The only other project we tackled since the last update was getting our camper ready for the camping season.  I spent a Saturday scrubbing down the entire exterior, and fixing a few things that needed fixing.  Shelly will spend this week prepping the inside.

We're going on our first outing of the season this coming weekend, meeting up with friends from the camping club.  So, that means that not a darn thing will get done around here next weekend.  I think we're okay with that.  :)

Until next time!

Life Intervenes...

I know that it's been a while, but as the name of this update implies, life threw us a curve which required that our attention be places far from the blog.  Sadly, we recently lost Shelly's mom.  Mom was battling several significant health issues, with kidney failure and dialysis three days per week being the most severe.  She fought the good fight, but Mom grew tired and made the decision for herself to discontinue dialysis and enter hospice.  We moved into Shelly's folks house to spend the last few weeks caring for and spending time with her, and in the end Mom passed while surrounded by loving family.  We were so very proud to be able to honor Mom's wishes right until the very end, and it was one of the most challenging yet rewarding experiences we've been through as a couple.

I have to share one of the overwhelming positives to come out of the experience.  The hospice care workers who we encountered, and the care that people in their line of work provide...they can absolutely restore your faith in humankind.  I know that they did mine.  I truly cannot say enough good things about these angels on earth.  The absolute "Good" within these people is truly something to behold, and though I pray that you do not find yourself in a situation where their services are required, if you do I wish for you all of the love, caring, and respect that we encountered.

Being there for Mom and dealing with the emotional aftermath has certainly put us on our heels, but we're slowly feeling things begin to ease back into a sense of normalcy.  We're looking forward to getting back to work on old Shangri La and updating you all with our progress on several different fronts.

Spring is slowly creeping into the air up here, and before the trees bloom there is work to be done.  I've been doing research on caring for our fruit trees, and the one thing that all of the documents I found agree on...you trim the trees in late winter, before the sap starts running.  So, I worked on doing just that over the past two weekends.  We have fourteen apple trees, one pear tree, and one almond tree that we newly planted just this past year.  The apple trees had been seriously neglected for the five or more years that this place sat vacant, and I did the major pruning on all but four of them at the end of last winter.  This year I fine tuned the ones I had pruned last year, and tackled the first time pruning on the remaining four.  I also tackled the pruning of a crab apple tree, whose branches were trying to take my head off when cutting the grass.

After the snow melts I'll be laying down some fertilizer, and watering per the recommendations I've been reading.  As long as mother nature cooperates, and we don't get a hard freeze after the trees bud like we did last year, we should get a pretty darn good fruit harvest.  That's when the magic happens, when Shelly turns those apples into jelly, sauce, and pies.  Mmmmmm...  Shelly is making plans and strategizing for this year's garden as well.  She learned a ton from last year's failures, so we're adjusting our game plan a bit.  More to follow as we get on to that project.

That's really it around here.  In addition to dealing with life's twists and turns, we're also going through something of a self-imposed sequestration.  We're working hard at paying everything off, and I do mean everything.  We've had to sacrifice some progress on the basement and other projects for the short term.  Those that know me, you know that I'd be lying if I said that it isn't eating at me a bit, staring at a half finished basement.  I absolutely know, though, that it is completely worth it for the long term health of our finances, and our ability to fund projects with income and not credit.  Shelly, aka The CFO, is totally rocking the checkbook, and is making the most of every dollar coming into the house.

I did manage to pick up one very much needed item, and still stay within the CFO's sequestration guidelines. ;)  We are very much in need of a door to cover the 11' wide opening on our barn.  I've been pricing the track and hardware for a sliding door, and OUCH!  Enter Craigslist.  I scored one heck of a good deal on 24' of heavy duty track, the door hardware and rollers, and all of the mounting hardware.  I got it all for just...get this...$85!  So, you should be seeing a barn door project update popping up here in the not too distant future.  :)

Until next time!

Blog of eternal stench Part II...Project Complete

I was able to finish up the Blog of eternal stench... project today, completing the plumbing to bypass the basement cistern.  I had to make a judgement call on one of the two floor drain lines.  One of the drains is perfectly placed in the laundry area.  The second drain is in the middle of the floor, sitting uselessly in our workout area under rubber jigsaw-type floor tiles.  I didn't have enough room in the cistern to plumb everything in 3" PVC with that drain line tied in, and I really wanted to keep everything at 3".  I figure the larger the diameter of the drain the fewer issues I'll have with clogs.  I despise clogs.  Decision made...the one floor drain in the laundry area is all we need.

Here is the finished product on the plumbing.

I went with a tee to give me an easily accessible cleanout, which will also double as a drainage point for the dehumidifier.  Here's the finished product.

I really couldn't be happier with how this project turned out.  No more standing water...no more freezing cold air jetting out of the drain pipe...and NO MORE STENCH.

Until next time.  :)