Progress

Well, we are about 6K into our 10K renovation/repair budget and are just barely making a dent in what we need to do, but what we've done so far has been important to the house, and both things we've done so far needed to happen while we were not living there, since they are the kinds of things that generally make people flee to a hotel for a couple of days. So we've stayed here in the rental and let the guys work before we move in.

The first thing was replacing the well pump and casing. We knew there was an issue there, and negotiated a significant price reduction because of it, so it was the first thing we set about fixing once the property became ours. Country property is only as good as the well it's on, and this well needed work. Not for lack of water -- there's plenty of that -- but the pump was 22 years old, the casing was metal and was gradually disintegrating and instead of fixing it, the previous owners had instead installed no less than three filters running into the house in order to keep the metal flakes from the pipe from entering the household plumbing.

If your house uses no less than three kinds of water filters, plus one at the well head, you might have a well casing problem, not a water quality one.

It was also only pumping a meager seven gallons per minute, pitiful by even California drought standards. Work on a well is a can you can kick down the road, but at your own risk. Generally well pumps like to give out at the start of three-day weekends, at the hottest time of the year....usually when you have houseguests about to arrive. Life is stressful enough without adding that to the mix.

And so the well guys showed up last week, replaced the aged pump and changed out the metal casings for heavy-duty PVC, and the result was....sparkling clean water, coming in at the rate of 27.5 gallons per minute. That's what I'm talking about, Oregon! Bring on the water! That's almost a 400 percent increase from what it had been at. It makes me want to wash the car in the driveway just thinking about it.

The second thing we did was have the yellowed, too-varnished floors stripped and refinished with a clear coat, using a German product designed NOT to yellow over time. What a difference THAT made! See below. It looks like the floors can breathe again.

Floors before. OK if you're a fan of orange.

Floor after! (Excuse the blue tape the guys put on to protect the carpet.)

The window guys, the locksmith, the general contractor, and the garage door guy have all come over and done their respective craft. And I bought five bare-root roses, so I'll spend some time getting them in the ground soon. Pics to come.

Like most challenging things, it will be worth it in the end. And doing it this way is allowing us to get to know the house gradually, before we move everything in. 

Coming up next...replacing the ugly, dirty whirlpool bathtub with a regular soaking tub. What hides in those jets, bacteria-wise, truly scares me, especially since I use the tub on a nightly basis. But like everything else, the result will be worth it.

Overwhelmed

So right now I'm slightly....OK, actually more-than-slightly overwhelmed at what we've taken on at the new house. As per usual, there is a lot we've learned since closing escrow that has added to our to-do list and will put a strain on our wallet. There are busted window casings, broken blinds, and garage doors that don't open. Is it ever any other way? Do people ever buy houses without hemorrhaging money for the first six months? 

I'm not even gonna list all the things that need to be done, because it will probably make me cry if I see it all written down in one place, and I don't think you have that long to read it all anyway. But some of it has to happen before we move, and the rest will be done by us (long) after we're in.  I don't even have a date for moving right now, because as I said....some things have to get done first, which means I'm relying on The Guys (collective term for the Flooring Guy, the LockSmith Guy, the Tile Guy, the Windows Guy, the Contractor Guy, and the Garage Door Guy) to start work on the things that are on the Before We Move list.

That's right, I'm expecting contractors to show up and complete work on time. Clearly I have lost my mind already.

But once we're in, I suspect I'll have projects going on for literally years. And since I actually like projects, this may be the most perfect house ever for me. But looking at it from the start is a little like staring up at a skyscraper you are about to climb. Hopefully once you get past the 10th floor it'll get easier. Hopefully.

In the meantime, I'm enjoying our last few weeks in The Vineyard House. The Vineyard House is like good, strong alcohol...incredibly enjoyable until it gives you a headache. I will miss the views, the grand trees in the back, and the quiet -- but not the total isolation or the fact that something died under the house recently and is causing intermittent stinkage. Neither Big Ag or myself feels inclined to crawl into the crawlspace and inspect, and the company does not seem to be inclined either. They already have this place rented out when we move, so I guess the new employee/tenants will have to deal with it.

I also had the fun experience of having a mouse living INSIDE my car recently, which stays in the barn when I'm not driving it. One electronic trap later and I have solved that problem. But living in a working vineyard has its drawbacks, I'm tellin' ya.  Yet I will miss it deeply. How dysfunctional is that?

So in the overwhelming moments, I'm having to just breathe deeply and remain in the present. After all, how does one eat an elephant? One bite at a time. Of course this situation is actually TWO elephants. One elephant is this house (packing and readying to move) and the other is the new house (unpacking, projecting and making it  a livable home). But taking it all in good time all any of us can do when faced with a pages-long to-do list...