Weekly Update: 8.31.24
September slips toward us like an Ozark fog -- stealthy, humid, and cool. Last night's storm blew in a cold front that had us sleeping with the tent windows open, drinking in the balmy air while we dozed. It's still summer, as the blazing August afternoons this week reminded us -- but tomorrow is September, and September promises autumn. And so, we wait, our eyes watching the honey locusts' yellow leaves fall like confetti, the ancient trees beginning to celebrate the longed-for equinox.
It was a difficult week -- in large part, because it was so hot. We were fairly miserable by noon each day, and relief only arrived late at night, when the tent AC finally cooled us off. After starting substitute teaching last week, Levi got sick. After a few days, his kids were also snuffley. I had migraines every day starting on Sunday, and with the rest of the family, struggled with the beginning of the fall allergies. We all tried to keep our spirits up, making an effort to practice gratitude. However, by the end of the week, we were all exhausted.
Despite being generally uncomfortable, we did make progress on our homestead. Dad and Jeremiah installed our whole house fan this week. Since we can already run it with an extension cord, it is a construction zone game changer. Installing the fan involved removing one section of wall framing and putting in another. Our original fan was small, fitting neatly into 16-on-center framing. The new one is 24 inches in diameter, requiring a header along with different framing. Setting the fan in place was very tricky, but the guys managed it -- despite the oven-like temperatures in the bunkhouse. We plugged the fan in right away, and the temp dropped five degrees within minutes.
This week, we also worked on our wiring, completing some final tasks. Grace and I finished most of the outdoor outlets, and our dad installed the range outlet. We decided to order some flexible PVC to bring the main power into the house, as the angle it has to navigate is quite sharp. We worked on organizing the bunkhouse and the totes stored under our tent, but we didn't make as much progress as we wanted. Still -- we made a solid start, and we hope to finish next week.
Since we will have electricity in the next couple weeks (we hope), we started thinking about appliances. Having a washing machine and refrigerator will make life much easier, freeing us up to work more on the house. We thought we would watch for deals over Labor Day weekend. After shopping around and doing research, we decided to order all of our appliances from Home Depot. They had several really good deals, and we already had a 10-percent-off coupon, dropping the prices even more. In the end, we purchased a stackable washer and dryer, a refrigerator, a range, and a microwave -- all for well under 3,000 dollars. According to the checkout statistics, we got everything for about 43 percent off. We were elated.
On Friday, we took a day off from the bunkhouse to sort through family heirlooms. A truck arrived in the morning with a load of items that belonged to our Memaw, who passed away last year. Among the treasures were several antiques from our great-grandma's homestead in the Arkansas Ozarks. We also received her wooden bed frame, handmade on a lathe by family members when she got married. My mom refinished it as a young woman, and since then it has belonged to my grandma. The bed sustained some damage during the trip, but we are sure we can repair it. We also inherited an 1800s treadle sewing machine that belonged to the other side of the family -- the side from the Missouri Ozarks. Dozens of other precious items arrived as well, including some of our Memaw's blue glass collection, some handmade decor, the surviving pieces of our great-grandma's Jewel Tea dishes, a sweet little wooden bookshelf, and a vintage ottoman the family has always called "the round deal." That phrase places my family squarely in its linguistic and socio-economic bracket. I didn't know the term "ottoman" until I was a teen, but I'd spent my whole life sitting on "the round deal" at Memaw's house. My little nephew took to "the round deal" immediately, sitting on it, and asking how soon we would be able to unpack and use it in the bunkhouse.
Sorting through so many precious memories was emotional for all of us, and there were tears all around. Several items are old and in need of restoration, and I have a feeling they will feature in future blog posts. For now, we feel incredibly thankful that so much family history will decorate our bunkhouse from the very beginning.
Between the health issues and family memories, we were all a bit raw and worn out as the week ended. Since the weather promises storms on Saturday, we are planning a slower day -- making progress, but giving ourselves permission to catch up on sleep and various personal tasks, too. We are all feeling pretty excited about the next phase of our bunkhouse build. Our appliances won't be delivered until the end of the month, so we have time to get some sheathing up and flooring down in the kitchen, laundry closet, and bathrooms. I've been working on a list of supplies, figuring out how many sheets of siding and square feet of tile we need. All this is on our minds as autumn looms on the September horizon, and with it, the promise of cooler temperatures, golden leaves, and copious pots of mulled tea. We are tired, but we have a lot to look forward to.
