More cider!

Over the weekend we did another pressing. We had a big group of people (6 adults) and it made quick work. In four hours, we pressed 26 gallons, bringing our season total to 52 gallons!

We are fermenting the bulk of it, distilling some, boiling some down to make cider syrup and just drinking it. 

There are still more apples on the trees - the horses might have to eat them. 

Kitty kitty

Do not be fooled by this sweet face. 

Lucy is very good at her job. 

Testing, testing

Even thought we are nowhere ready for flooring (still need to: rough in plumbing, pour concrete overlay, build walls and tear down one wall) we recently saw one we liked at a price we could not pass up. 

This new flooring will go everywhere in the house that isn't hardwood, so we needed a whole bunch. Due to commitment issues, and a fabulous return policy, we are testing out a chunk to make sure it holds up well.  If it doesn't still look good in a few months, when we are ready to install it, back it will all go. 

Tis the season

For everything apple. 

We have used the press and grinder four times now, and it is working great! Our running total this season is 26 gallons. Last week a couple of friends and I did 15 gallons of cider in about 5 hours. A much better rate than last year. The garbage disposal grinder is fantastic and makes that job so easy. 

We've just been frittering around. 

Two batches of cider are cooking, and a small batch of perry (made from juiced pears).

And still, we have more to pick. 

Slow and steady

Progress continues at Thielingshire. 

Cutting the old garage floor to allow enough drop for the plumbing waste lines. 

Stuff and things

Yippie it's summertime! 

We are on project overload around here,  but truthfully, we do enjoy a good project.

My folks visited in May, and helped us with this fun project. 

Some rodents visited sometime and necessitated this project. 

Odin loved helping with the demolition. We took out four walls from the converted garage. The plan is to pour a concrete overlay (so everything had to go). 

Progress is slow but steady. We have an idea now of what is going to get rebuilt. 

We have continued to find places and ways to play between and around projects. 

We took the canoe to the ocean for the first time!

It did well.

Some friends are doing some landscape work. 

Odin made a cozy nest in topsoil. 

We saw pretty clouds and passing storms on the Strawberry moon Solstice. 

Treehouse!

My parents recently came out for a visit and to see our new place. While they were here we started construction on a treehouse! It was great getting to work with them on the project. We have a solid base, but still a long way to go.

Nearly their whole visit was spent working on the treehouse or going to the hardware store for more parts. But it was a great visit. 

The view from the top! 

The platform is done. We are working on the railings now. 

Employee and employment

Lucy came to us as a new employee. That is, she came to be a vicious killer. It is a well known fact that employees should not live in your house, so we have made a home for her in the barn. I have forgotten how much I like cats, especially when they purr. We have yet to see any proof of her success in her job duties, but I think we will keep her anyway.

Lucy is not the only one newly employed.  I took a part time job at Odin's school starting right after Spring Break. I am a paraeducator supporting students in all grade levels that need a little extra help. At present I am helping students with reading. I have only been at it about three weeks and I am feeling pretty good about my job duties. 

It is going well and a much needed distraction from remodeling drama.  

Same shirt, same room, different remodel. 

RIP Chev Chalet

Last week we cashed the insurance check. We debated long and hard about buying her back from the insurance company (for $391) and harvesting parts or trying to resurrect her. In the end, we were unable to find a place to take the husk of an RV once all the valuable bits were stripped off.

The rebuild might have been more enticing if we were not dealing with a major house project this summer. 

I left the final decision up to John  and he made the call to let the Chev Chalet go.

It is amazing how attached to this enormous inanimate object we were. We created so many great memories together in the past five years.

 Eventually we will get another but we are taking our time. 

Lucy the kitty kitty

Yesterday marked one week of our partnership with a cat. It was also the day we have her more freedom. As in total freedom. 

So far she is doing very well. 

She is holding her own with Freki who is still a little too interested at times. 

Who lives here Spring 2016

John

Michelle

Odin

Freki

Zarah

Vinnie 

Tearza

Amacus

Wi (the chicken)

And ...

Lucy our new barn kitty!

Springtime

Despite the drama with insurance claims, the sun has been shining, the grass has been growing, and the flowers are blooming.

We let the horses into the west field today. There was brief excitement, then the animals headed back to the comfort of the barn.

Re-remodeling

Recently we finished remodeling one of our bathrooms. It was mostly done in January, and finishing touches were done two weeks ago.  It came out great.

The past few weeks we noticed an off aroma in that area of the house. It smelled a little like earth farts, or escaping sewer gas.

 This weekend we decided to install a new laundry room floor (for cosmetic reasons), and also investigate the source of the aroma. We found some not too great things. Namely the cause of the odor, and evidence of rodents. 

Two pinholes in a water supply line. 

The bathroom today.

The bathroom (left) and laundry room (right).

We are on the road to a solution. With the help of our insurance company we have a plan, and some great people doing the work. They will be back tomorrow to remove more sub floor and dry out the rest. The rooms involved are all part of the converted garage (no crawl space access). The flooring was all removed today and tomorrow hopefully we will see the extent of the damage.   Then new flooring!

The other side of Adventure

Last weekend really was a great weekend. The RV incident was not ideal, but we had so much support form everyone involved, that it was not an ordeal. We did what we had to do, then let the insurance people figure it out from there. 

We did lots of this:

Or, passive recovery in the sunshine after skiing hard. 

John dusted off his snowboard for the first time this decade. 

There were pictures with "The Mountain".

And corn dog auto portraits. 

And loads of buddy time.