Weekly Update: 3.2.24
My mom and I stood in the Menards plumbing department, each holding a detailed print-out of the pipe fittings we needed. The exercise felt like a cross between I Spy and an Easter egg hunt, as we crisscrossed each other looking for the 1-and-a-half-inch long sweep elbow or the 3-inch-45-degree Y. It was a daunting yet joyful moment. After months of shopping mainly in the lumber department, we were filling our cart with pipe fittings, washer boxes, and air admittance valves.
We had planned to order what we needed so we could simply pick it up in store, but the picking cost was nearly 40 dollars. We decided to save the money and shop the old fashioned way, since it would also be a good opportunity to use some of our Menards rebates -- money we earned with earlier purchases that can only be spent in-store. And as it turned out, I rather enjoyed our trip. It was fun seeing all the plumbing materials laid out across several aisles as we weaved our way around, collecting everything that we needed.
The rest of the week was mainly filled with planning, prepping, organizing, and shopping. We didn't do much in the bunkhouse, but we made so much progress in other areas, we all feel satisfied.
The week started with a Saturday trip to Springfield to celebrate Jeremiah's birthday. We sisters, Jeremiah, and our folks went to the Springfield Escape Room, something we have wanted to try for years. Our room was called "The Cure." We were all locked inside a "lab" for an hour, and our goal was to find the "cure" and escape. It was challenging, but we completed our adventure with 15 minutes to spare. We had a lot of fun, despite the facility and props being in a less-than-pristine condition.
We spent the rest of the day shopping and running errands before dinner at a Chinese buffet. We sisters enjoyed hunting for deals at various stops. Our favorite find was clearance flannel shirts from Bass Pro.
While we were in Springfield, we were finally able to pick up our big Ryobi miter saw. The saw came in handy this week when my Dad and I cut a leftover 2-by-12 into planks for a rustic shelf. We have been needing some more tent storage, as we have been continually moving around several baskets of batteries, chargers, and other miscellany. Now we have a good space for not only our baskets, but also water pitchers and additional coffee supplies.
We have been without our big saw since the first part of December, when we dropped it off at Team Tools for repairs. The saw had started having problems last fall, which culminated in the screw that holds the housing together falling out. Closer inspection indicated normal use of the saw had stripped the screw shaft. The saw was unusable, and we needed it working to complete our roof. Out of desperation, my dad put a slightly larger screw in so we could finish the job. Since the saw was still under warranty, we contacted Ryobi. They told us to take the saw to Team Tools, our nearest service center. After dropping off the saw, we didn't hear anything from Team Tools for about six weeks. We knew the warranty repair process takes awhile, so we were not too concerned, but we finally decided to call and check on our saw. The repair guy told us it would not qualify for warranty repairs since we had "modified" the saw with that non-factory screw holding everything together. That didn't seem fair, so we contacted Ryobi ourselves. After talking to a couple different customer service agents, we got the repairs approved. It took a few more weeks, but Team Tools finally called us to let us know the saw was ready -- just in time for Jeremiah's birthday trip. The whole experience was quite the hassle, but it all worked out in the end.
When we weren't galivanting around Springfield, we were busy at the homestead. Grace and I finished the final rake wall on Thursday. After spending weeks plugging away on the tedious task, we felt like doing a happy dance. Bonnie stopped in for a pocket-hole-drilling lesson, as we found we had an easier time starting each stud with a couple screws and finishing with nails.
While Grace and I worked on the walls, Bonnie-Jean moved all of our cold storage out of the storm shelter this week. She set up a rustic kitchen area in what will be my folks' room. Now that it is March, storms are finding their way back into our weekly forecast, and we want to have our shelter available for its intended use. Bad storms are no fun in a wall tent. Despite our prep for bad weather, though, we had beautiful clear skies most of the week with bright stars shining over us at night.
We have all been encouraged by Dagger's continual progress. After weeks of problems with his paw (which began when he stepped on a thorn) and several trips to various veterinary clinics, he is finally healing. Bonnie-Jean is still soaking his foot now and then to assist the natural process, but it won't be long before he is back to his old, playful, active self. Tilde has missed her wrestling buddy, and both dogs enjoyed spending most days outside this week.
Grace had to report to Greenfield for jury selection on Monday. While she was willing to do her civic duty, we were all thankful that she didn't get selected -- she is so invaluable around our homestead. She did enjoy an interesting day of meeting people from all over the county. She also took the opportunity to sample some lemon bar ice cream from That Place. Grace said the ice cream was fantastic.
It is an exciting time on our homestead. Our slow but steady headway on the bunkhouse is encouraging. Several family members have been spending time doing outdoor work. My mom and nieces have been cleaning out the dry creek bed just down from the build site. Jeremiah has been prepping the garden site. Levi has started removing brush from our fence line for maintenance and (eventually) a walking path. I love looking around and seeing what each person is contributing, seeing order slowly emerge from the chaos. None of us could do this without the rest. Now that we are stocked up with supplies for the next phases of the build, we plan to work on the roof over the weekend and hopefully start the plumbing during the week. We sisters will start insulating the blocking between rafters and do a bit of finishing work on the walls. I'm already looking forward to seeing what we accomplish -- together-- this coming week.
