A day off.

Didn't get much done today and that was by design. The rebuild is going to be a long haul. In order to maintain our sanity, we need to take the occasional day off.  Besides, Mom is in town.

The one place we have always wanted to take her was Multnomah Falls and the Columbia River Gorge.

So we went.

Oh yeah, this place.

We remembered to bring Mom.

We drove down and took the scenic highway. Our first stop, well, after the produce stand... and the overlook to take that picture, was Vista House. Yeah, that little place in the picture.

Pretty

Insert random picture here.

But then it was on to the main attraction: Waterfalls.

The hike down to Latourell was still lush and green

The flow wasn't super awesome, but we kind of expected that

And we remembered to bring Mom...again.

Still beautiful though.

The low flow of water and really warm day presented us with an opportunity we hadn't seen before.

Going behind the falls

So many new photograph opportunities.

And textures

Mom decided to stay out in the sunshine.

Max, on the other hand, decided to get as close to the falls as he could.

He paid the price of getting soaked.

 Then it was down the road a piece to get to the one Mom had wanted to see for a long time.

Multnomah.

Yes, we still had Mom... And Sarah.

And the kids, it was a banner day for remembering people.

 Of course, I had to do it.

Wait for it.

Waaaaiiitttt for it...

BAM! Long exposure shot.  Feels so good.

 We finished our tour of the waterfalls and headed into Portland for a stop at Powell's Books.  What an amazing store. 

IT has about 600 Billion books, rough estimate.

And it has this...so awesome!

I dunno...Looks kinky

The Grimoire of the Mages...How cool does that sound?

By William Penn!

Holy Cow!  The book is from 1480!

This would be such a cool book to read. 

Then it was time to head back home to rescue our poor lonely puppy.  Tomorrow, back to work.

Oh yeah, and a job interview for our new potential employee.

 

We have roof!

Wohooo!

There was a ceremonial signing of the check and it was all ours.

Purty ain't she.

Of course, there still isn't a floor in the utility room.

I had to reinforce everything.

  Hey, I'm working a full-time job too.  Now if I could find someone to pay me to rebuild my own house... I don't think I'm fit for reality TV though.

And I built this thing.

Doing a little jig!

I found the idea on the internet. It helps me cut 2x4's and 2x6's nice and even without anyone there to held the boards for me. Dead simple too, just line up the marks and follow the guides.  

But it hasn't all been work.

Really Dad? Could have fooled me.

Nope, the huckleberries are in full fruit as well as the thimble berries. Life is sweet.

We had the electrician out to replace the main power panel.  Turns out melty wires aren't good. Who knew?  I suppose that's why I hired a professional.  But we are up to full power now.

I thought the heat meant it was working.

Things are progressing. I'm trying to keep the blog updated because fun and interesting things are happening. However, it is freaking busy! Oh yeah, and I'm trying to finish the edits on the Adventure Nickel book.  I think we have a cover! 

We are getting things back into shape, rescuing things where we are able and trying to bring things back to life. But we are also trying to find places to make improvements.

Like everything else though, it is unfinished.

Can you see the potential?

Where were we?

Where were we?  

Oh yeah, tansy. 

 

 

Tansy is gone... at least mostly.  We'll pull whatever else pops up.  

I got the porch resurfaced.  It isn't the prettiest, but it will do the job.  It doesn't matter because we will probably have to pull it all up anyway.  Turns out, there is some rot behind it.  I'm betting that isn't the last time I say that. 

 

Yeah, there was no flashing at all. 

 

 

Working on a neat jig nailed to the corner there, tell ya about it later.

 

Yeah, and we will be replacing all the siding too. So, it was a temporary job from the start, but it still had to be done.  Can't fall through the porch and injure ourselves. We are far too busy for that kind of nonsense.  

So, I started in on the floor in our future laundry room.  There was a leak (another one) and the floor was warped. I pulled up all the sub floor and started framing in to put some new stuff down. 

Demolition isn't as fun as it sounds all the time.

Oh yeah, and Mom is here!  She came into town to see her (hopefully) future home.  She quickly saw the same potential we saw.  I was very glad to hear that. She knows things like this and her opinion was very important to me. I hope she contributes her wisdom to many future projects too.  

Interesting Saturday night. We were showered and in our PJ's getting ready for bed. Sarah was scouring Craigslist as we both are wont to do. She was looking for a deal on a washer and dryer. She found one nearby for $200 that was no great shakes, but would work. We were going to go pick it up on Sunday. While browsing, Sarah found a new ad for a much nicer set, steel drum/no agitator, for $350. She texted them to see if it was available to pick up tomorrow. If she got these we wouldn't have to upgrade later. They said it was available, but for that night only. 

It was 10:30 pm. 

She replied we didn't have $350. She did have $200 we had taken out for the other set. They said they would let it go for $250 if we would pick it up right now. They were moving and had to be out of the house. She offered to pay cash and a $50 check. They said yes. We were on our way. 

It was an hour drive to their house. We got their around midnight, loaded up and headed home. 

On the way we saw a rocking chair along the side of the road and decided to pull over and throw it in. We got home around 1:15. 

Life is weird sometimes. I think it is important to be available to take advantage of opportunities when they arise. 

And we are looking to hire on some permanent help.  More on that as it develops.  

Lance the roofer is almost finished with the roof. It look lovely.  That is huge.  None of the other repairs matter if the roof leaks.  

 

The roof was awful and the root of most of the problems.

Just peeled up. The material was the consistency of dry crackers.

Improving by the minute.

 

Oh yeah, and termites.  We found termites at the single wide.  

Adventure = discomfort. We are having a hell of an adventure. 

Today's plan...

I wanted to finish putting the new boards on the deck.  The worst of the rotted ones are gone, but it just looks so half-finished.  But the rain started.  I don't mind getting wet.  The tools are another matter though.

Oh well.  I went into the house. One good thing about having a thousand things to do is that it is easier to deal with interruptions. Just move to another project.

Through the window I saw an official county vehicle coming up the drive.  Uh oh... this can't be good.

Our lovely county representative informed us that we had the noxious weed tansy ragwort on our property and would be responsible for removing it. He walked us down and showed us patches of the plant and showed us the identifying characteristics. Then, Sarah, the boys, and I got busy pulling weeds.  A few hours and two huge bags later we had cleared out all we could find.  Another good thing about having a thousand things to do is that one more doesn't seem like much.

That didn't take long

Interesting day today.  It needs a written note while it is fresh. We have spent the past several days living out in the RV on the land. It was fine at first, but as closing kept getting pushed farther and farther back we watched as our fresh water tank levels dropped, our waste water tank levels rose and our lights dimmed due to low battery. Several times we were operating by headlamp or battery powered candle. Every girls dream, right? Live with your man squatting on some land in a non-functional trailer.  Kids too.  Geeze. 

Eventually, we closed.  The adventure officially began. We could do stuff. We hooked up the sewer system to get the stink down. We didn't know enough about wells or electric to get that turned on without help. We called people.  Again, Bo came to the rescue and gave us names. 

We ran an extension cord from the house over to the RV. Hey, a floor lamp is an improvement when you are living in the dark. The coffee pot on a cookie sheet in the bedroom by the window where the extension cord came through was a little weird, but hey... Coffee.

The propane systems were life savers. 

This morning it all started to come together. I got out with the nail gun and me and the kids started working on the porch. We were periodically interrupted by contractors coming out to help us get the utilities on. The electrician discovered it might need more than he thought and had to go out for parts. The guy helping us with the well showed back up and replaced the pressure gauge and contact points. We turned that sucker on and bingo.  Water.  

 

He checked it at the well first, to test it before turning on the houses making about 10 gallons per minute. The system had been pressure checked during inspection and the boys and I had been in the night before to check all the faucets and make sure they were closed. I wasn't too worried about it, but you never know. 

He turned on the feed to the house and we heard it pressurize with a whoosh. IT just kept running.  There was a leak.  I ran up to the main house and checked everything. Nothing was leaking, but I could hear water pouring.  I followed my ears until I found it.  The hot water heater was filling. 

Whew.  

I ran back and told the well guy.  He was worried. There were air bubbles coming out with the water. That might mean something bad.  He kept explaining it to me and I listened.  It was getting close to time for me to go to work, so we said we would use the water now and worry about it later.  I got up to the house and rigged up a system that ran from the washer hook-up out to the RV so we could have water.  AMAZING!  Electricity and running water at the same time!  

I was getting ready to get into the shower when Michael came up and asked for the door knob for the single wide in the back. That was one of the tasks I assigned him and he wanted to get it out of the way. Sarah and I keep discussing what we are going to do about our potential well problem when Michael comes running back up yelling about water all over the place.

We ran to the single wide. 

Sure enough.  Water was everywhere. I had mistakenly turned the valves for the washer in this one on instead of off.  They were t-handles instead of twist knobs and I had  misinterpreted how they were supposed to be.  10 gallons a minute for around half an hour equals about five inches of water in the whole place.  

It only took me one day to flood the place.

 

 

There are no beginnings but humble beginnings.  I left for work and Sarah and the kids had to clean up my mistake. 

 

Sarah and the boys pulled up all the floor coverings, swept out water contaminated with rat  and mouse poo and cleaned up for five hours.Oh yeah, and the years worth of slime, rust, crust, and whatever else was in the pipes got dumped into the bathroom.  Fun.

Adventure equals discomfort.  We are certainly on an adventure.

 

We are learning. Growth through overcoming adversity.

We did it.

It has been a while folks, but with good reason, as you will see.

The old adventures have slowed as of late and most of that is in preparation for a new brand of adventure.

WE bought a wreck. 

Seriously, what were we thinking?  The place is a total insurance fire waiting to happen. Take a look.

Not that bad, really. What are you talking about a wreck?

Let's take a closer look, shall we?

There are three semi-permanent structures on the land. One is a 1973 Peerless single-wide mobile home. One is a steel clad building where the previous tenant ran a commercial auto and truck garage. The last one is a 1994 Fleetwood double-wide. That one will be our home and the focus of most of our initial attention. And it will need it... All of it.

Wait, that can't be good. Are those mushrooms growing out of the wall?

Well, at least this doesn't look important. It's at the bottom of the wall, that means it is probably extra.

Yeah.


So, the place was foreclosed for two or three years and essentially vacant. The owner lived in a run-down RV hidden on the back of the property until he got too sick to take care of himself. Sad, right. The roof leaked and rotted out a large portion of the back corner of the house. It will need lots of repair.

OK then, how about the inside? 

Well that doesn't look too bad!  Is that laminate flooring?

Yes it is.  Let's take a closer look.

Years of vacancy have taken their toll. Even the Empire questions our sanity.

Yeah, all that's gotta come out.

And the list goes on.

There is:

A leaky bathtub

Mold and mildew

AVERT YOUR EYES!  What is THAT!?!?

Yeah.

So, all my free time is accounted for in the foreseeable future.

The kids are going to learn some skills. 

We moved onto the land.  The power wasn't on, the well won't work.  We were good in the RV for the first few days, but the water ran out, the batteries died and we found ourselves out here in the boonies pretty much totally out of the modern comforts of life.

And we're happy. 

What, you thought we would do it the easy way?  No, the rewards of the hard way are better.

It's 5.9 acres 25 minutes from downtown Olympia. We got into if for a steal because of our legendary realtor (She gets her own blog entry later.  For real, she is amazing.)

It has a garage. 

Comes with abandond cars!

Plenty of room for mayhem.

Children not included.  Well, kinda.

I have plans for this space.

It has...

Fruit trees.  Lots of fruit trees.

And

The single-wide. A blog post of its own someday. 

And

Fields of wild flowers.

And every once in a while...

It does this.

Oh yeah...and we got in under six figures.  It means a lot of work, but I think it will be worth it.  The value will be in the work as much as the final product.

What more could you ask for?

The mountains are calling

The mountains are calling and I must...

Please hold. Your call is important to us and will be answered in the order received.

We haven't been adventuring much lately. We've been waiting for this big happening which keeps, well, not happening.

Today was too pretty. Besides, what better way to ensure an important call will come in than to be out of cell phone range, right?

We decided to revisit an old favorite. We went to Mount St. Helens.

Let's go back, waaaayyyyy back, to 2011 and our first visit.

Oh my goodness. Look at us.

Max looks so different now, or is that Michael.

It has been a while. 

Yeah, it has been a while. The pictures showed me those were taken on Jun 4, 2011.

Flash forward to June 3, 2016.

My how times have changed.

The camera is better. Don't let anyone tell you it doesn't make a difference.

Max looks a lot less like a garden gnome.

And it was a lot warmer.

Today wasn't a day for hiking, we didn't plan well enough. Today we just went to the visitor's center and gawked at the mountain. But it sure was tempting. We need to get out and explore around there soon.

Just so much cool stuff to see.

The mountain is still there.

In all its glory.

The rare four-person photo. Thanks you kind passer-by.

The wild flowers were out in force today.

Just like last time though, the kids got bored early.

It wasn't a grand adventure, but a pretty day out. We resolved to get out and hike some trails. I think I may have even convinced the boys that they want to climb St. Helens some day. Maybe.

Oh yeah, and when we got back into cell phone range, we had a message.

But you'll have to wait, probably until next week, to find out for sure.