NEW DUNBURY

But apparently around here, the early bird spots the box turtle.  I looked out the big window to see one hiking across the straw on the septic field amid the shoots of young grass poking their way through.  A couple of hours later, I caught him (her?) checking out one of our rock piles.  I took a couple of snaps but haven’t gotten them out of the camera yet.

Since it was cool (relatively) I decided  to do a little work that I’ve been avoiding in the heat: moving rock.  Small stuff, but very suitable for trimming out the drainage boxes under the rain chains.  I worked on five of them before deciding that, though cool(er), it was way too humid for that kind of work.

Retreating to the basement and blogging about seemed a better idea.

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… to someone whose first words to you are “I don’t like you”?

That’s what I got from the freight company’s delivery person when she pulled up today.  Apparently she was being funny.  Turns out she really liked our quiet little cul-de-sac and the looks of our place.  She didn’t like me because it was our place and not hers.

She brought us some furniture-type stuff: nightstands for the guest bedroom, a pedestal for the niche, and a storage unit for the guest bathroom.  All are now assembled and in place.

Their packing debris (and a lot of other debris) went to the dump/recycling center in the lovely 95 degree weather.

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Yup, it’s been that long since a posting. Hence this will be a long post.

Since the subtitle of this blog includes the “adventure” part, I reckon moving in is not the official end of the blogging.

Last night, coming home from a weekend trip, we had one of those adventures. Our mailbox had been ripped from the post and was lying in the drainage ditch. Saturday’s mail was inside. At least we presume it was all there.

I just came back inside from putting it back up. The wooden shelf that topped the post was what gave way. The 3/8″ screws had been bent as they ripped out of the post and were un-removable. I dismounted the boards from the box itself and reattached them to the post with new screws, then reattached the box. The lower left front corner seems to be the point of impact for the dismounting. It was crumpled, with the door edge bent in on itself. I straightened it (mostly) and the box is working again. Actually, the door is a bit easier to close.

Was it vandalism? Or was it just an accident, as in someone in the dark missing where the road was? Impossible to know, but none of the other boxes on the street seemed to have been “hit.” If it happens again, I think we’ll have a good idea.

On a more positive note, progress is being made on converting the house to a home. Boxes are becoming scarcer. Many selflessly gave of themselves to Governor’s School for art projects. Many more have gone on to the great recycling bin in the sky — Well, it’s not really in the sky, but you know what I mean.

So far, we’ve kept all the contents of said boxes, except packing materials, which went the way of the boxes. Some it is going into “well, it looks like we really have no place for this” and “I guess we really don’t need this” piles for future dispersal. Most is finding places to live around the house, not always on the first try. However, the main floor is looking remarkably home-like.

Liz has unpacked all the paperback fiction (though she swears there’s a wayward box somewhere) and gotten it up on the shelves in the guest room and organized as well. Yes, the guest library is back in business. She is also in process of scanning all those beggars into LibraryThing. It’s a Herculean task. The Sisyphus-like task of the main library remains — since most of the main library remains in boxes.

The library loft shelves aren’t done yet, though some of the supports are in place. I will need shop help to process the shelving, as I don’t want to be trying to throw around and cut 3/4 inch plywood by myself. Scheduling plywood arrival to coincide with help arrival remains on the to-do list.

A couple of weekends ago, the manly men of good character, Tom T and Jeff J, arrived to help with some work in the garage. We got some drywall up and partly mudded, much of the trim around the windows and doors, and shifted a lot of wood, including the massive left-over timbers (which needed to be moved to get the drywall up.) Along with the work, these was much scarfing of Peewee’s BBQ, Liz’s stuffed shells, and good green products from our CSA farm. (For more information on the latter, you can check our Liz’s Live Journal reports.)

In the course of that weekend, we had another “adventure.” Desiring to make the place more comfortable for our working guests, we turned the air conditioning on for the first time. A few hours later, we discovered that the unit was venting water into the basement. The condensate outlet had never been plumbed to the floor drain. Naturally, said outlet was on the opposite side of the unit from the floor drain. Turns out that the filter was full of construction dust and the unit was freezing as it tried unsuccessfully to force cool air through while receiving continuous demand for cool air from the thermostat. There was much mopping of water, but we got on top of the situation before the water had spread too far.  The next day we got a special visit from the HVAC guys. The unit is now plumbed to the drain, but the promised replacement filters are MIA. No further problems to report on that front as of yet.

The following weekend, Liz and I spent a very sweaty time rummaging through the acres of furniture in the famous Green Front store(s) in Farmville. We came nowhere near getting everything on our “hunt” list, but we did score an armoire and blanket chest for our bedroom. Lovely cherry pieces to match the bed and nightstands. We also got a small cabinet for the guest bath. Four furniture gorillas loaded the armoire into the van, I got it out. In a uncharacteristic bit of wisdom, I did not attempt to move it from the garage to the house by myself. We recruited some of the landscaper’s guys (see below) to help me get it in the house.

After said trip, and much furniture thinking, we decided on (and ordered) some nightstands for the guest bedroom and the other small chest for the guest bath.

I did mention landscaper guys, didn’t I? They’ve now been and gone with Phase 1 of the work. We’ve been seeded for grass and wildflowers over the septic field, around the back of the house and down the geothermal trails. Two days of sprinkler shifting got most of it a taste of water. This weekend’s storms did a much better job. Supposedly, we’ll see the first sprouts of “nursery” grass within the week.

I’ve been doing some work in the basement, setting in the Billy bookcases so I could unpack books and dinosaurs. The shelves are mostly functional but the “prettifying” will have to wait. I also built the platforms for the movable game table, promptly stacking up stuff on them as said stuff may be eventually organized under the table top. I came up with a scheme to use the last white miniature cabinet (which wouldn’t fit on the wall) on one platform and get another for the second platform — this would create additional, desirable display space. Alas, Ikea has once again failed us: said cases are no longer on offer. I must re-plan my under-table layout.

I have also been back out in the garage, adding baseboard to the “salle” area as well as drywall to part of the storage area, stairwell, and loft. There’s more to do, of course. And mudding; there’s mudding to do. Alas, I find no joy in Mudville.

I shall endeavor to get back on line with more frequent updates of the settling in process. These long gaps mean things get forgotten.

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