Showing posts with label home. Show all posts
Showing posts with label home. Show all posts

Friday, August 23, 2013

Wild Friday Nights

D & I are definitely not of the partytilthebreakofdawn type. Both of us prefer calm, small gatherings, and being in bed before the next day starts. (Many days this week, I've fallen asleep on the couch before 10:00, and on Wednesday I said I was going to go to bed in a few minutes, but was persuaded not to because it wasn't yet 8:30.)

Tonight has really not been an exception to that rule (hence me blogging away while he showers at 8:30). However, it has been crazy exciting. Let me tell you why:

Our basement is freezing cold in the winter, but we only have gas logs that cost us an absolute fortune to run. D's Nama has a wood stove she's looking to get rid of, and is willing to give it to us for the small fee of getting the monster price of iron out of her home. Being the newlyweds with a home and me still 2 weeks shy of my first full time paycheck since 7/2012, we LOVE free things that will save us money. 

Unfortunately, a previous owner has sealed up the chimney. They used to have a wood stove, and got rid of it for the gas logs we can't afford to use. Tonight, largely due to the fact that the leaves are changing in freaking August and it was cool enough for me to wear pants and long sleeves to work in the flower bed this afternoon, D decide to do the initial measuring for and locating of the chimney pipe. He enlisted my assistance, and it was my job to hold the beginning of the measuring tap at a particular spot. 

I did a great job on the exterior of the house. 

On the interior is when things got interesting. 

The point of reference for me to hold my end of the measuring tape up to was the corner of the basement window. When I reached up and moved aside the curtain, a bat came flying out. 

A.  Freaking. Bat

In. My. Basement. 

I squealed. I ducked. My hubby may have let out an expletive or two. All the while the bat was flying circles around the basement. I ran, ducking, to the door, left it open, and hid behind the storm door, holding it open and praying that the stupid nasty thing would fly out. D was attempting to hit it with his hat, and missing. 

D went out of sight, and then shouted, "I got it!" Sure enough, it was lying on the carpet and immobile. He had knocked it out of the air with a level. I was thoroughly  impressed. 

Then we had to decide what to do with the thing. My suggestion: beat it to sure death with the shovel. D felt like bat blood would be gross on the carpet. I felt like a room full of new carpet because we killed the bat was a valid monetary sacrifice. I also suggested that bat blood on the carpet was preferable to a round of rabies vaccinations (in case you don't know, they're gross, painful, and include giant needles).  We decided to scoop it up with the snow shovel. It started crawling. We then decided to cover it with the snow shovel and scoop it up with the regular shovel. It started flying. Again. (I'd like to note here that the reason we had these tools close at hand is because I kept picking up things to protect myself with; and that by we deciding, I stood cowering while he acted out our decisions.)

After another series of squeals from me because the stupid thing was at large again, D made a masterful swing with the shovel, knocked the bat into the wall, and it fell into D's open tote box of Legos.

He then drug the box outside, picked up the Lego mat the bat was on, and dumped it out on the other side of our fence, in the woods. 

Thank freaking goodness. 

We got back to our project, only after D made a thorough check of the window for more bats. He proceeded to cut a couple of fairly large holes in the Sheetrock & insulation, exposing the concrete and no chimney pipe. But at least we don't have a bat inside anymore!

Like I said, we don't do big party nights. That doesn't mean we have boring ones!

Oh, and here's a picture of one of our dogwood trees. Its leaves are changing colors already. I'm highly upset about it. I dislike fall because it means it will be cold soon, and I hate the cold. It's a pretty picture though!


Monday, July 15, 2013

Weekend Wrap-up

This weekend was a pretty complex one. 

I start on Friday, when I drove home for the funeral for a family friend. While under sad circumstances, I was able to spend some time with family members I don't generally see. 

Saturday morning, we had a quick visit from the kids (during which my niece wouldn't give me a hug, complaining of a sore face because, "My Daddy cut my face with grass at my house." I have no clue where that came from, nor does my brother). That was followed up by my first trip out on my parents new paddle boards. Let me just say, I love me some paddle boarding! It's super fun, and I think it's way easier than kayaking (my mom disagrees with me on this point). 

The middle of the day brought on a migraine for my mom, and my dad needed to go get some parts for the tractor and the lawn mower. On his trip, he was going to stop and pick up Subway for us. About 45 min later, he called saying that he couldn't get the food because he left his wallet at home. I got in the car and headed that way, only to discover that their credit card machine was broken. I had to dig through my car to come up with the cash for lunch. I found it, and had a quick catch up with 2 girls I went to high school with, one of whom I hadn't seen since graduation!

That afternoon, after a series of showers, my niece walked over and asked if I wanted to eat at their house (after being sidetracked asking questions about my dad on the ladder). I had to go verify the invitation after she informed me that for supper we would have, "cheese sticks dipped in ketchup." Gross. (Please note: J served roast, potatoes, and corn, not cheese sticks and ketchup.)

The kids spent the night at my parents house, so we headed back down to the pond, where we paddle boarded and kayaked. B (6) did both by himself and did an excellent job! DP (3) struggled by himself but was too stubborn to not get a chance. He had to be drug back across the pond because he was stuck against the bank. And Miss O? She's only 2, and her biggest accomplishment was standing up on the board for the first time, though she did have a death grip on my mom's shorts the. entire. time. 

On Sunday, after I was woken up at 6:53 AM by an excited 6 year old, I spent the morning with the kids and my parents, before heading back to my parents house. 

My husband surprised me by installing this: 
 

See that wooden strip between the 2 types of flooring? That is something we've been wanting for a year. Before, we had a metal strip that the nails kept loosing out of, ripping holes in countless socks. 

Then, he surprised me even more!  


See this light? That is now installed in our bedroom closet! You see, this closet is my least favorite thing in our house. It's long, but the doors only open up to half of it. 


See, here's D's side, and all those clothes are inaccessible without moving them all to the center, and nearly impossible to see with just the bedroom light. I am so super excited to have a light in there, especially since my new job will have me up before 6 AM starting 8/1! 

How was your weekend? I'd love to hear about it!