Tuesday, the 23rd of October

I got up this morning determined to accomplish some things.  Outside the weather was not looking any better, inside there was stuff to do.  You would think with as little furniture as we have in the house that there couldn't be much to do.  However, with no furniture I find we (as in me) are tossing things in piles wherever…  floors, window seals, kitchen counter.  Nothing is getting put away, partly because I haven’t taken the time to decide where ‘away’ should be, but also because I need to do some cleaning.

When we moved into the house it was pretty clean on the inside, except for some dead bugs in window seals.  However, there were clearly some areas that not only weren't clean, but hadn't been used in some time.  The front steps were nasty with spider webs.  The last folks living here both worked so I imagine they came home late at night and didn't notice them.  But I did.  And as soon as I got a broom I started working on them. 

Then there were the ‘old’ spots.  For the most part the house has been remodeled, but there are a couple of places were the old farmhouse still shows through.  The first floor bathroom with its old, grey tile floor, the pantry shelves made of rough lumber and the basement.  The basement is a whole post to itself, so we’ll put it aside for now.  For now, I’m working on the pantry and the bathroom.  I think the bathroom is cool.  Yes it’s old but it’s got character.  With just the right accents it will be great.  Though I suspect the grout is not supposed to be black.  It will take awhile with a toothbrush and grout cleaner, but I finally started working on it. 

And there is the pantry.  It looks to be so useful…  at first glance.  Then I realized inside the sliding doors on the bottom it’s just a little creepy.  Okay, very creepy.  It smells of old wooden house.  It’s dirty.  And there are the ever present cobwebs.  I have no desire to store anything here, but I decided Greg’s toolbox would be okay.  I’m not cleaning it.  The top cabinets have potential but they are so high I have to have a ladder just to reach them.  Were the people who built this place giants?  We finally bought a ladder so I have no excuse.  All kinds of clutter has been piling up on the shelf waiting to be put away.  Finally I braved it.  Rubber gloves on, hot soapy bucket of water and a rag in hand.  I climbed the ladder step by step and peeked inside, looking closely all around for actual LIVE spiders.  It looked safe enough.  And I started scrubbing, shelf after shelf.   Since my ladder wasn't tall enough to see the top shelf I decided to let it go, three shelves would be plenty.  I climbed down and waited for it to dry before starting to organize.  And waited.  And waited.  As I said yesterday, we’re going to need some dehumidifiers around here.  Finally it dried enough to start putting stuff away.  For now it’s just the random stuff from around the house.  I’m sure it will have to be rethought when the household goods get here, but it sure felt nice to get everything put away. 

Then I was off to vacuum with the funny little red vacuum cleaner with a smiley face that we got from the housing office.  Someone told me these things do a great job.  Clearly they have never owned a Dyson.  Then I moved upstairs and conquered the mess of clothes that have nowhere to hang in the dressing room.

Next I decided to brave the fog and take care of some stuff outside.  Cleaning up after the dogs is much harder than in our small yard in Colorado.  Thankfully though they seem to have picked favorite spots to go.  It’s like an Easter egg hunt… but much grosser.

When you step out the side door of the house you step into a small courtyard.  It’s very old stone and moss covered.  It’s gated to the front into another small courtyard.  To the back it is gated to the back yard.  I’m not sure what was intended for either of these areas, but with time I'll figure out something interesting to do with them. 

Right next to the door is a small stone box that had weeds growing out of it.  At least I think they were weeds.  At first I thought it was mint but it definitely didn't smell like mint.  It actually smelled gross.  I’m working on pulling it all out and possibly starting a small herb garden there in the spring.  With it right outside the kitchen door, I’m betting that’s what it was meant for anyway.

Across the courtyard are two doors.  One is locked and goes to the controls for the heater.  The other is an empty storage shed… except for the spiders.  Over the weekend I made a start at letting the spiders know I was coming by cleaning off old webs from the door.  Not sure if I have the courage to attempt running them out.  Not really sure I need to store anything there anyway. 

There is still a lot to do outside to clean up, but at least for now the inside looks presentable. 

Unfortunately by the time Greg and Sally got home it was starting to get dark and she could see little of the view.  Not that the fog would have allowed much view anyway.  Before it got too dark we went for a walk on the dam then gave her a quick tour of the house.  For dinner we drove over to The Sportman’s Arms.  It always surprises me as far as we are 'out' that there’s always a crowd here.

We had a very nice, but short visit with Sally.  It’s always great to have a chance to reconnect with old friends.  I’ll be happy to get our furniture and nested so we can host friends here at home.  Afterwards Greg and I drove her back into Harrogate to her hotel.  That's the first time I've rode these narrow country roads at night in a fog, it was strangely hypnotizing.