Friday morning came, and we were having a contractor and sub contractor party. Which was good, because we had a very big, heavy piece of furniture to move. When I found my big giant pear seat for two, I also came across a beautiful mid century danish credenza in perfect condition for a pretty sweet price. I had fantasies of how lovely it would look in Jesse's future office. What I didn't realize, was that It weighs about 200 pounds. After moving the craigslist couch and everything else, my back was done, and that credenza lay in the middle of the driveway outside. There was not a chance in hell I was moving that one more inch.
Jesse decided that it couldn't sit in the middle of the driveway, so he put it on a large tarp and dragged it into the carport.
The guys arrived while I was dropping off the uhaul, and when I came back, I saw the 200 pound credenza and made a mental note to remind Jesse that he hadn't asked the guys to move it yet.
When I got inside, there were guys everywhere. An HVAC guy in the basement, some guys outside looking at the siding, an electrician, and a plumber. We were all having conversations at once, and it was very efficient, because we could talk to the electrician about what could be done while the siding is off, and the HVAC guy AND plumber together about the pros and cons of radiant heat. I want radiant heat. The house currently has a disconnected wood burning furnace (didn't know those ever existed), and an oil burning furnace. Someone poo poo'd the idea of using bio diesel, though I have to look into why that won't work. Eventually, we want to be off the grid, so the HVAC guy says geothermal is the way to go and would work with radiant heat. He eased my fears about radon and said "go visit the website". The plumber said the only way radiant heat would work is if we convince the natural gas people to run a line to our house. I don't want natural gas, but running radiant heat from electricity is cost prohibitive. Yada yada yada, time to be an expert on everything at once. This all started with - the siding is rotten and we need to replace the sagging roof beam. One thing for sure, I like all these guys, and am confident in their abilities.
We said goodbye to everyone, and turned off the cartoons. Time to digest everything.
Oh wait, did anyone ask the guys if they could move the credenza? Crap.
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Back to the farm Thursday night. Yay!
Since I had the trailer most of the day and the speed limit on that puppy is 55, I let Jesse take it back to the farm. This mama don't ride no 55. He was also taking a detour to pick up a ping pong table from a friend.
I loaded up the car and took the kids and decided to meet Jesse there. They were a little bored in the car, but are learning to entertain themselves by looking at the beautiful scenery. They have also learned to pack their backpacks with books and colors.
I have to say, when we arrived at the farm, I was more than a little scared. There's this cellar door that doesn't lock (or so I thought), and I was convinced someone was camping out in the house. I mean, if I were cruising around looking for a place to stay and saw this house, I would totally bunk down here when nobody is around.
The kids were running around the house, and on one hand I wanted them to go ahead and do that so I'd feel safe, and on the other hand, I knew I had to force myself to be mature enough to be the one to face the predator that was waiting for us in the house.
So, I grabbed the kids and took them outside on the guise of checking the mail. That would take at least 15 minutes for us to trek down to the road and back. Maybe the predator would hear us too, and find that to be a great opportunity to leave without a confrontation. Then I called Jesse and said, "where the hell are you? I'm scared!!!!"
Luckily, Jesse was only 15 minutes away, so when we got there, he promptly set up the kids picnic table and headed inside to check all the rooms.
But not the basement, because there's a big hairy Octopus down there.
I loaded up the car and took the kids and decided to meet Jesse there. They were a little bored in the car, but are learning to entertain themselves by looking at the beautiful scenery. They have also learned to pack their backpacks with books and colors.
I have to say, when we arrived at the farm, I was more than a little scared. There's this cellar door that doesn't lock (or so I thought), and I was convinced someone was camping out in the house. I mean, if I were cruising around looking for a place to stay and saw this house, I would totally bunk down here when nobody is around.
The kids were running around the house, and on one hand I wanted them to go ahead and do that so I'd feel safe, and on the other hand, I knew I had to force myself to be mature enough to be the one to face the predator that was waiting for us in the house.
So, I grabbed the kids and took them outside on the guise of checking the mail. That would take at least 15 minutes for us to trek down to the road and back. Maybe the predator would hear us too, and find that to be a great opportunity to leave without a confrontation. Then I called Jesse and said, "where the hell are you? I'm scared!!!!"
Luckily, Jesse was only 15 minutes away, so when we got there, he promptly set up the kids picnic table and headed inside to check all the rooms.
But not the basement, because there's a big hairy Octopus down there.
Back in Portland - loving my yard
I'm having a love affair with my house in Portland right now. Maybe it's because everything we planted two years ago is in bloom, maybe it's the weather, or the fact that we almost sold this sucker a month ago. Regardless, our time here in this house is limited, because we have a goal, and that's Hood River, baby!
We got back Sunday night, and the sounds of the city, after being in such quiet solitude, were so welcoming. Kids running in the front yards playing, neighbors, and friends stopping by to chat. Such a contrast from the week we just had.
One of the first things we did was check the plum tree. It was getting pretty ripe before we left, but not quite ready to pick. But check this out! We must have had 25 plums this year, compared to the two last year. A number of the plums had started to shrivel and fall at the beginning of the summer, so I googled fruit tree and decided to prune the fresh stalks to preserve the fruit. It worked! It was work. I also read that it's good to prune it to keep it low and easy to pick, but if you do it at the wrong time, you can kill the tree or something. Not pruning, though, can result in a 50 foot pear tree that is beautiful, but unreachable. My neighbor behind me has such a tree.
After I took this picture, the kids grabbed the camera and took a few themselves.
Then I headed to the front yard to take some pictures of my favorite plants in bloom.
Later in the week, the kids practiced some face painting skills they picked up in art camp. Best face painting technique is only achieved when tongue is hanging out of your mouth.
I did a little shopping and made a very unpractical purchase at my favorite local consignment store. Jesse later told me that it looks like a pear. Should go great in that giant tree right next to the pear orchard! The ladies in the store, whom I'm very familiar with (considering I furnished almost our entire house from here over the past three years), gave me kudos for climbing into this puppy, high off the ground. Sold!
Whoops, wait, we don't have a moving truck. Time to rent a Uhaul! We talked about buying a trailer for back and forth trips, but trailers run about $2500 new and are hard to find used in food cart city. So we decided to rent one and see how hauling a trailer feels.
I was pretty intimidated, but the guy at the rental place hooked it up for me and there was no going back. I decided to make a last minute craig's list sofa purchase and next thing I knew, the trailer was too full to bring the things we originally intended to bring. Like tools, farming bins, and random other things that we don't need in Portland anymore. Why I have a farming bin is beyond me. Because once I thought it looked cool?
I picked up Jesse on the westside with the trailer and gave him a small anxiety attack when I almost took out a Mercedes on a turn (I didn't almost), and we were off. I'd been driving it all day by then and was fully confident. The turns are tight on a 5x8 trailer, but a 5x8 trailer doesn't hold much.
The giant pear didn't fit. Maybe next trip.
Back to the Hood!
We got back Sunday night, and the sounds of the city, after being in such quiet solitude, were so welcoming. Kids running in the front yards playing, neighbors, and friends stopping by to chat. Such a contrast from the week we just had.
One of the first things we did was check the plum tree. It was getting pretty ripe before we left, but not quite ready to pick. But check this out! We must have had 25 plums this year, compared to the two last year. A number of the plums had started to shrivel and fall at the beginning of the summer, so I googled fruit tree and decided to prune the fresh stalks to preserve the fruit. It worked! It was work. I also read that it's good to prune it to keep it low and easy to pick, but if you do it at the wrong time, you can kill the tree or something. Not pruning, though, can result in a 50 foot pear tree that is beautiful, but unreachable. My neighbor behind me has such a tree.
After I took this picture, the kids grabbed the camera and took a few themselves.
Then I headed to the front yard to take some pictures of my favorite plants in bloom.
I did a little shopping and made a very unpractical purchase at my favorite local consignment store. Jesse later told me that it looks like a pear. Should go great in that giant tree right next to the pear orchard! The ladies in the store, whom I'm very familiar with (considering I furnished almost our entire house from here over the past three years), gave me kudos for climbing into this puppy, high off the ground. Sold!
Whoops, wait, we don't have a moving truck. Time to rent a Uhaul! We talked about buying a trailer for back and forth trips, but trailers run about $2500 new and are hard to find used in food cart city. So we decided to rent one and see how hauling a trailer feels.
I was pretty intimidated, but the guy at the rental place hooked it up for me and there was no going back. I decided to make a last minute craig's list sofa purchase and next thing I knew, the trailer was too full to bring the things we originally intended to bring. Like tools, farming bins, and random other things that we don't need in Portland anymore. Why I have a farming bin is beyond me. Because once I thought it looked cool?
I picked up Jesse on the westside with the trailer and gave him a small anxiety attack when I almost took out a Mercedes on a turn (I didn't almost), and we were off. I'd been driving it all day by then and was fully confident. The turns are tight on a 5x8 trailer, but a 5x8 trailer doesn't hold much.
The giant pear didn't fit. Maybe next trip.
Back to the Hood!
First weekend in Hood River comes to a close
The end of the week was here and we were lucky enough to have Brian and his sons out for the weekend. This was a pretty welcome relief, because even though jesse really wanted to enjoy his kids all week, it was pretty clear that they were needing some structure, and we were needing a break from the whining. We signed them up for art camp on Thursday, and they spent the day in the most amazing compound - for lack of a better word - creating art and playing. They came home filthy and happy. Dirtier than even Trackers outdoor camp.
During the day, Jesse spent the time clearing out the yard from massive amounts of wood and debris spread out around the house. I spent time pulling up carpet. It was a dirty job.
Afterwards, we picked up the kids, freshly painted, and headed to the farmer's market. We parked by the local swimming pool, holy cow, and then did a quick jaunt through the market, where M found a most interesting pie stand.
But first you have to check out this community pool. I never really gave it a second look before, because it just looked like a big white dome. I didn't think anything spectacular could be inside. But what I didn't know is that they pop the top off this sucker in the summer. Check out the view! Hello, Mt. Adams!
The next day, Friday, since we, I mean the kids enjoyed camp so much, we signed them up for another day. We didn't have as productive a day, but got multiple cups of coffee, wandered around, met with the contractor, and bought a little table for the kitchen at the Dwelling Station in Mosier. They even posted a picture of us on their website! If you scroll down far enough, you will find us! But here's the picture, if you don't feel like it.
http://thedwellingstation.com/find-cool-stuff/
The women that run this place are a hoot. They were singing the praises of restore-a-finish and even gave us a demonstration. Jesse said later he felt like he was in some kind of infomercial.
Afterwards, we picked up the kids. M had a butterfly painted on her forehead, and Jacob had a full rainbow on his (awesome!!!). So we all met Brian down at the waterfront for some play time. M enjoyed the princess treatment as two younger boys spun her around. The expression on her face says it all...
Then we all headed to Pfreim, a new brewpub on the waterfront, for dinner. This place always has a wait and is super kid-friendly. We just need a bridge to the playground and more outdoor seating and we're all set. We drink - kids play.
http://pfriembeer.com/
Finally, we all headed back to the farm where Brian was planning to set up camp in our backyard. I wasn't too comfortable with that, so I let Brian know that we have black bear and cougar in the forest on our land and sometimes they are spotted (though I haven't seen them). We have seen some deer wandering very close to the house, though! Beautiful! Molly is quick to chase them off, though, but for a fleeting moment it is pure bliss.
The kids were not too keen on camping out after Brian told them about the bear, so they camped out in our living room. So, it's a 7 bedroom house, but currently only 2 bedrooms are habitable and the kids didn't want to bunk together. I'd say the living room is the nicest room in the house, though!
Brian had bought some train tickets and treated his sons to a train ride the next morning. We've been thinking about taking the ride on the Mt. Hood RR, but it's about a 20 mile ride that takes almost half a day to complete. Maybe on a cold day!
https://www.mthoodrr.com/
Brian and the kids decided to stay another night, so the kids got a lot of playtime in together. You could tell that B was missing his mom all weekend, but he and J bonded at the beach and spent the next day playing legos together. And it was his birthday. Happy Birthday, B!
After the beach, I headed to Double Mountain Brewpub for some takeout pizza (though takeout is highly discouraged), and a growler for the men.
http://www.doublemountainbrewery.com/
We had a nice picnic under the big tree and watched the sun set.
The next day we were ready to go. As we were heading down the driveway out of town, we said goodbye to our little friend, the tank.
During the day, Jesse spent the time clearing out the yard from massive amounts of wood and debris spread out around the house. I spent time pulling up carpet. It was a dirty job.
Afterwards, we picked up the kids, freshly painted, and headed to the farmer's market. We parked by the local swimming pool, holy cow, and then did a quick jaunt through the market, where M found a most interesting pie stand.
But first you have to check out this community pool. I never really gave it a second look before, because it just looked like a big white dome. I didn't think anything spectacular could be inside. But what I didn't know is that they pop the top off this sucker in the summer. Check out the view! Hello, Mt. Adams!
The next day, Friday, since we, I mean the kids enjoyed camp so much, we signed them up for another day. We didn't have as productive a day, but got multiple cups of coffee, wandered around, met with the contractor, and bought a little table for the kitchen at the Dwelling Station in Mosier. They even posted a picture of us on their website! If you scroll down far enough, you will find us! But here's the picture, if you don't feel like it.
http://thedwellingstation.com/find-cool-stuff/
The women that run this place are a hoot. They were singing the praises of restore-a-finish and even gave us a demonstration. Jesse said later he felt like he was in some kind of infomercial.
Afterwards, we picked up the kids. M had a butterfly painted on her forehead, and Jacob had a full rainbow on his (awesome!!!). So we all met Brian down at the waterfront for some play time. M enjoyed the princess treatment as two younger boys spun her around. The expression on her face says it all...
Then we all headed to Pfreim, a new brewpub on the waterfront, for dinner. This place always has a wait and is super kid-friendly. We just need a bridge to the playground and more outdoor seating and we're all set. We drink - kids play.
http://pfriembeer.com/
Finally, we all headed back to the farm where Brian was planning to set up camp in our backyard. I wasn't too comfortable with that, so I let Brian know that we have black bear and cougar in the forest on our land and sometimes they are spotted (though I haven't seen them). We have seen some deer wandering very close to the house, though! Beautiful! Molly is quick to chase them off, though, but for a fleeting moment it is pure bliss.
The kids were not too keen on camping out after Brian told them about the bear, so they camped out in our living room. So, it's a 7 bedroom house, but currently only 2 bedrooms are habitable and the kids didn't want to bunk together. I'd say the living room is the nicest room in the house, though!
Brian had bought some train tickets and treated his sons to a train ride the next morning. We've been thinking about taking the ride on the Mt. Hood RR, but it's about a 20 mile ride that takes almost half a day to complete. Maybe on a cold day!
https://www.mthoodrr.com/
Brian and the kids decided to stay another night, so the kids got a lot of playtime in together. You could tell that B was missing his mom all weekend, but he and J bonded at the beach and spent the next day playing legos together. And it was his birthday. Happy Birthday, B!
After the beach, I headed to Double Mountain Brewpub for some takeout pizza (though takeout is highly discouraged), and a growler for the men.
http://www.doublemountainbrewery.com/
We had a nice picnic under the big tree and watched the sun set.
The next day we were ready to go. As we were heading down the driveway out of town, we said goodbye to our little friend, the tank.
Craig's list was just not working out for me. As we pulled out of the driveway, our neighbor came up and introduced himself. Mr. N owns the orchard next door and he's a super friendly guy. He offered to have his scrap metal guy pick it up and we agreed to meet up with him next time we were in town. Mr. N is an interesting guy. But we'll talk about him another time. He is multi-layered, pretty much like everyone we've met in Hood River. The more you get to know him, the more fascinating and amazing you realize he is.
Jesse headed home, and I took a detour by the Lavender festival going on closer to Mt. Hood with the kids.
We wore those kids out. They slept most of the way home. Good thing, because I realized halfway home that I had an empty tank of gas. FYI, there are pretty much no gas stations for a very long stretch of freeway. Think I drove 30 miles on empty. Stressful! But wow, what a week we had...
Monday, July 29, 2013
More House Pics
More house pics. These are the photos that were on the realtor website.
Time to get to work!
This one just up the street went sale pending the week we moved in. Look at this stunner! Dialed in! And something to take inspiration from.
Sunday, July 28, 2013
First Night and First Day
Have you seen the previews recently for the horror film that takes place on a remote farm? If not, how have you managed to avoid it? Just the previews alone are enough to scar someone for a long time. Our first night at the farm was a night where I might have slept about 30 minutes, lights on.
How to relay those fears to Jesse without giving the kids something to think about was no easy task either. So I kept a light on all night, and tried not to look down the hall at all the dark doors closed in the dark hallway.
I should note that this house has very very good Karma. It's not like the house is haunted or anything. It's a very nice house, from a very nice family. I just have a problem with the first few weeks or so in new places. You know, getting used to the sounds of a new place. I've never lived in a house that was less than 80 years old, and it's always the same experience. I'm scared, I don't go in the basement or attic, and I don't sleep. Only one time did I actually ever experience a ghost, and it was in a friend's house in the Heights in Houston. My sister will back up that claim, as she had the same experience. It was pretty tame...a woman walking the hall in the middle of the night. Now old houses on the east coast, that's a different story. There are some amazing, seriously old houses over there, but some of the stories...whew.
The first full day in our house, I decided to surprise Jesse with a full farmer experience. I hired the local eco guy to come remove the 500 gallon gasoline tank on the property that had not been properly decommissioned. Which means, gas could have been building in the tank, possibly resulting in a random explosion. Eric, the eco guy, called a friend, a local guy to come backhoe the dirt out and remove the tank.
The backhoe guy's name is John. Here's John:
John was really good at using the backhoe. When he arrived bright and early on Tuesday, everybody ran out to see the action. he dug that giant tank out of the ground and crushed it. We left it for the local scrap metal guy. Then he asked if we had any dirt to backfill. Why yes we did, a little random hill in the middle of the yard, and poof, two things taken care of at once.
I was so thrilled with the whole experience, I asked him if he could return to help us get some of our fields ready to plant, to which he replied, "ma'am, this is just my toy. I split my time between here, Mexico, and Maui, so I'm not here much. But give me a call if I can help sometime."
Bye Bye, John!
We set up some lawn chairs to get a nice view of the mountain. We spent a lot of time in those chairs that week.
Later that day, we went to our favorite waterfront park. Jesse scaled the tallest mountain in the land...
then, helped the kids up too!
We finished off the day with a nice dinner at Brian's Pourhouse. Happy Birthday, Jesse! Way to do it in style!
How to relay those fears to Jesse without giving the kids something to think about was no easy task either. So I kept a light on all night, and tried not to look down the hall at all the dark doors closed in the dark hallway.
I should note that this house has very very good Karma. It's not like the house is haunted or anything. It's a very nice house, from a very nice family. I just have a problem with the first few weeks or so in new places. You know, getting used to the sounds of a new place. I've never lived in a house that was less than 80 years old, and it's always the same experience. I'm scared, I don't go in the basement or attic, and I don't sleep. Only one time did I actually ever experience a ghost, and it was in a friend's house in the Heights in Houston. My sister will back up that claim, as she had the same experience. It was pretty tame...a woman walking the hall in the middle of the night. Now old houses on the east coast, that's a different story. There are some amazing, seriously old houses over there, but some of the stories...whew.
The first full day in our house, I decided to surprise Jesse with a full farmer experience. I hired the local eco guy to come remove the 500 gallon gasoline tank on the property that had not been properly decommissioned. Which means, gas could have been building in the tank, possibly resulting in a random explosion. Eric, the eco guy, called a friend, a local guy to come backhoe the dirt out and remove the tank.
The backhoe guy's name is John. Here's John:
John was really good at using the backhoe. When he arrived bright and early on Tuesday, everybody ran out to see the action. he dug that giant tank out of the ground and crushed it. We left it for the local scrap metal guy. Then he asked if we had any dirt to backfill. Why yes we did, a little random hill in the middle of the yard, and poof, two things taken care of at once.
I was so thrilled with the whole experience, I asked him if he could return to help us get some of our fields ready to plant, to which he replied, "ma'am, this is just my toy. I split my time between here, Mexico, and Maui, so I'm not here much. But give me a call if I can help sometime."
Another wind surfer enthusiast. Seems like no matter how old or young you are, if you live in Hood River, you're here for the wind!
We set up some lawn chairs to get a nice view of the mountain. We spent a lot of time in those chairs that week.
Later that day, we went to our favorite waterfront park. Jesse scaled the tallest mountain in the land...
then, helped the kids up too!
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