Planned and Unplanned Updates

Since I last wrote, we've made some more updates to the house. Some were planned and others were not. But hey, we're in quarantine, so what else is there to do?

First, the planned updates. We found a water barrel at Rebuilding Exchange for $30, and I built a platform for it out of scrap wood. The goal is to use it to feed a drip irrigation system for our raised garden beds this year. We also installed a more purposeful storage system in the front entry, slapped some carpet on some shelves for the cats' entertainment, got a new living room rug, moved the old living room rug to the office, and made the wellness/guest room more cozy with a rug and a lamp. Our skin cracked, floors creaked, and plants cried as winter dryness set in, so we had a home humidifier unit installed, and it's made a big difference. Finally, we replaced the front porch light and house numbers and added a fancy beaded curtain to the entry of the left pantry area where we have cleaning supplies, trash, and recycling. We apparently don't like doors very much. Plus, it's easier to move through the curtain to throw things away than to have to always have a hand free to open the door first.

Next, the unforeseen. We've had a list of tasks we need to complete prior to the drainage tile installation in our basement next month, and the first one we went to tackle was cleaning our main line to ensure that water and sewage can flow freely out and away from the home. When the plumber ran a camera into the line to inspect he found 1) that we have some gnarly roots coming through the line, and 2) he couldn't clean them out because the previous owner installed a one-way check valve (meant to keep sewage from flowing from the city line back into the house) that his hose would get stuck on if he went through it. The problem wasn't the valve itself, it's that the owner covered the access port over with cement so we couldn't remove it. So now, we had to have that valve excavated and replaced with a standard access point before the line could be cleaned. Behold, the horrors lurking beneath.

So that was fun. Then came the mouse attack. Like, literally. Old house, mice are to be expected, fine. But one night, we caught a big mouse in a trap (think Gus Gus from Cinderella) who'd been chewing holes in the dried goods in our food pantry. Eartha was freaking out about the mouse as I disposed of it, and the terrier in her wouldn't stop obsessing. So I went to show her that everything was fine now by rolling a cart out from beside the stove, and a tiny mouse jumped at me like a flying squirrel. So I screamed, Eartha was essentially telling me "I told you so!" as she scrambled after it, and Rachel screamed. It was an eventful evening and the tipping point for our need to assess the situation in the pantry and secure things more effectively. It was a full day's work: we learned mice can chew through baseboards and that they're disgusting. We sealed holes and secured the shelves such that mice shouldn't be able to hide away under them anymore, and everything's in storage bins. I feel good about the end state.

Now, we're back to tasks in the basement prior to the drain install. We have to move everything along the walls to the center of the basement so they can install drain tiles and a sump pump. I'm looking forward to getting past this big project and having the extra assurance of a water-sealed basement!