Four weeks in residence
Oddities and details...
There are two keys to this house, one opens the front door and basement, the other opens the back kitchen door. Except for once to make sure it worked, I have not used the second one. There are two locks on each of the two doors, for a knob and a deadbolt, but just the knob on the basement door. The one key which opens both locks on the front door and the basement knob has to be inserted and turned differently for each of them--teeth facing up, turn key to the right for the top lock, teeth facing down and turn the key to the left for the doorknob (because the doorknob was put in upside down, we did that by mistake once in replacing a lock), and then teeth facing up but turning to the left for the basement door because it looks like a different maker or model but was able to be keyed to the same or...I have no idea. It was mildly confusing, I had to stop and think whether I was doing each of them right, sometimes I wasn't, and wonder if I was crazy or was remembering the upstairs wrong. (I wasn't crazy or wrong, the keys are just weird.)
Now that it's May, I have finally taken off the flannel sheets and washed them to be put away, but that doesn't mean that the furnace might not be turned on briefly of a morning, still. It doesn't stay definitively warm in this climate yet, though I am pulling out my lighter weight clothes. Some summers, not often but sometimes, the average July high temp is only in the 60's, so lighterweight long sleeves stay out.
(For those who aren't local here, see this ad, part of a delightfully quirky series of Northwest "types." goosebumped beach bum. It will give you an idea. My kids could also definitely identify with blue tarp camper. There's one called "Relentless Recycler" and, well, a long poking-fun list. Apparently, as I went looking, they had a contest for people to create and submit some of their own 'profiles.' One of those, Alison, was called Ceaseless Knitter.)
The laundry is in the basement, accessible from outside, aforementioned key in hand. It is right under this room, and sitting at the computer desk I can hear the dryer signal. Since it's now dark, and there is no working outside light, it had to happily buzz away and wait for me to fetch it in the morning.
I figured out where I had to put the cereal boxes (which didn't fit anywhere, even on their sides), above the stove and placed on either side of the vent tube, but that cupboard, added later, doesn't want to open except from above--which is seven feet off the floor. It has spring hinges, but is too flush to the range hood to let your fingers get under to pull. Knobs, of which there are none now, have been purchased for the bottom center corners, but meanwhile I hop onto my cheerful little movable round stool, open the doors from the top center, hop down with my cereal box, and go have breakfast. The top of the doors doesn't rebel, probably because no one has previously ever pulled on that part, on account of the aforementioned seven feet.
I finally put the silverware in the divided wooden drawer, but I'm not happy; it sticks and it's on the wrong end of the kitchen. There is no good place. I may change that still. And the kitchen sink? I said, oh good, there is a sprayer arm, followed by oh rats, it doesn't work. I do miss my dishwasher a little bit, but my mother is right, with only two of us it's not so bad. But turning off the water? It's like the uneven floors. It starts to go off, then glurps out a shot of water for an extra three seconds; then it's done.
And I have a spot dug up yesterday as an act of service, so I can grow some tomatoes, sugar peas, and zucchini. Nothing too ambitious, but it's not truly summer without real tomatoes. I'm getting them on Saturday, and I hope they grow wonderfully.
There are two keys to this house, one opens the front door and basement, the other opens the back kitchen door. Except for once to make sure it worked, I have not used the second one. There are two locks on each of the two doors, for a knob and a deadbolt, but just the knob on the basement door. The one key which opens both locks on the front door and the basement knob has to be inserted and turned differently for each of them--teeth facing up, turn key to the right for the top lock, teeth facing down and turn the key to the left for the doorknob (because the doorknob was put in upside down, we did that by mistake once in replacing a lock), and then teeth facing up but turning to the left for the basement door because it looks like a different maker or model but was able to be keyed to the same or...I have no idea. It was mildly confusing, I had to stop and think whether I was doing each of them right, sometimes I wasn't, and wonder if I was crazy or was remembering the upstairs wrong. (I wasn't crazy or wrong, the keys are just weird.)
Now that it's May, I have finally taken off the flannel sheets and washed them to be put away, but that doesn't mean that the furnace might not be turned on briefly of a morning, still. It doesn't stay definitively warm in this climate yet, though I am pulling out my lighter weight clothes. Some summers, not often but sometimes, the average July high temp is only in the 60's, so lighterweight long sleeves stay out.
(For those who aren't local here, see this ad, part of a delightfully quirky series of Northwest "types." goosebumped beach bum. It will give you an idea. My kids could also definitely identify with blue tarp camper. There's one called "Relentless Recycler" and, well, a long poking-fun list. Apparently, as I went looking, they had a contest for people to create and submit some of their own 'profiles.' One of those, Alison, was called Ceaseless Knitter.)
The laundry is in the basement, accessible from outside, aforementioned key in hand. It is right under this room, and sitting at the computer desk I can hear the dryer signal. Since it's now dark, and there is no working outside light, it had to happily buzz away and wait for me to fetch it in the morning.
I figured out where I had to put the cereal boxes (which didn't fit anywhere, even on their sides), above the stove and placed on either side of the vent tube, but that cupboard, added later, doesn't want to open except from above--which is seven feet off the floor. It has spring hinges, but is too flush to the range hood to let your fingers get under to pull. Knobs, of which there are none now, have been purchased for the bottom center corners, but meanwhile I hop onto my cheerful little movable round stool, open the doors from the top center, hop down with my cereal box, and go have breakfast. The top of the doors doesn't rebel, probably because no one has previously ever pulled on that part, on account of the aforementioned seven feet.
I finally put the silverware in the divided wooden drawer, but I'm not happy; it sticks and it's on the wrong end of the kitchen. There is no good place. I may change that still. And the kitchen sink? I said, oh good, there is a sprayer arm, followed by oh rats, it doesn't work. I do miss my dishwasher a little bit, but my mother is right, with only two of us it's not so bad. But turning off the water? It's like the uneven floors. It starts to go off, then glurps out a shot of water for an extra three seconds; then it's done.
And I have a spot dug up yesterday as an act of service, so I can grow some tomatoes, sugar peas, and zucchini. Nothing too ambitious, but it's not truly summer without real tomatoes. I'm getting them on Saturday, and I hope they grow wonderfully.
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