Demolition Duo
Another vacation week is in the history books. We made the trek back to Rogersville early Saturday morning, August 19th, as soon as Dave arrived home from work. Hauling our most recent investment, we were certainly testing our tow capacity limit!
1996 Mustang Skid Steer
Dave found this used skid steer on Facebook Marketplace. Not too shabby after a few adjustments, some welding, a new exhaust, and fresh paint. It runs like a champ and we put it to good use. Worth every penny!
Such a Good Boy
Zeus didn’t get car sick this trip and was only zapped by the electric fence once. He is still frightened by the sound of our power tools! During the day, he’d hide in the shade, under the trailer, but his evenings were spent exploring the property and hanging out on the front porch with us.
No More Leaks
After the 10 hour drive to TN, we unloaded what we could before dark, enjoyed a couple cocktails on the porch swing, discussed the project we were tackling first, then settled in for the night on our trusty air mattress.
Last trip, we had to fill our mattress up each night before bed and it would swallow us both by 3AM.
We were much more comfortable this time around. No more leaks!
Septic Sunday, August 20th, 2023
The majority of our first day was spent running the drain-waste-vent pipe network into the main drain line for two bathrooms, the laundry, and kitchen. Dave shared an 18-inch crawl space under the floor of the old/existing section of the house with God only knows what types of bugs and spiders! He’d holler up what size pipe and how long it needed to be, and I was the cut woman. I was fortunate to have more breathing room as his apprentice; simply fetching the right tools, fittings, joints, etc., as he needed them. Zeus supervised, except for when I was running the saw, then he would run and hide under the trailer outside, LOL.
Since he was already under there, Dave also added extra support for a couple of the floor joists before stopping for the day.
He definitely earned, or should I say needed, his creek bath before dinner!
Momentous Monday, August 21st, 2023
Dave managed to fix the well pump which hadn’t been used for 18+ years . We still have some equipment to update next visit, but we now have running water, hooray! Pure bliss! The past two years have certainly served as a reminder, how often we take things for granted, like the commodity of running water/electricity, and how much we have to be grateful for each and every day.
The afternoon rolled on and we had not only one, but two wins to chalk up. After reaching elevated levels of frustration, and a lot of shoveling, we finally located, and were able to uncover and inspect the septic tank. Then Dave dug the trench for running the water main feed from the well to the house, and finally, we wrapped up the workday with some “light” trim work around the front porch ceiling.
After dinner, we went for a scenic sunset 4-wheeler ride around the property and capped off the evening from our front porch with a cocktail, listening to the collective Katydid chorus, and watching the fog roll into the valley. I sure wish I could capture that on video! It is fascinating to witness!
Tear it down Tuesday, August 22nd, 2023
Demolition duo right here! Let me tell you, the number of sturdy old nails used in the construction of this shed was absolutely insane. We kicked it into beast mode, and boy did it feel good to swing the hammer and use the crowbar to pry/loosen/rip the boards off, ha-ha! We salvaged a lot of the planks which will be used to build our chicken coop down by the barn. Then Dave used the skid steer to knock it down the rest of the way, and break it apart. We stripped off the tin roof (that will be recycled) and used a chainsaw to cut the large pieces into smaller, manageable ones. Finally, we started a fire, a controlled burn, and continued feeding it for two days straight!
Wicked Wednesday, August 23rd, 2023
The morning air was filled with quite a bit of cursing as Dave had to get back under the crawl space to work on connecting the water main feed to the house; it didn’t go as smoothly as expected, but he got the job done! Then he buried the water line and began grading the site for our future patio and garage.
We had to make a run to Lowes for last minute supplies. While we were in town, we stopped for dinner at Holston’s Kitchen in Morristown, then picked up some more ice for our coolers.
Finally, we finished hanging the outdoor lights on the back of the house, and the highlight of our evening, was fitting our handcrafted wagon wheel chandeliers. I am totally in love with how they turned out and cannot wait to see them in the finished room!
Thinking Thursday, August 24th, 2023
We finished burning the remains of the old shed and started moving the salvaged materials to the barn for storage, WOO HOO! While the shed certainly served its purpose housing our supplies the last two years, it was an eye-sore, and I’m glad we’ve finally removed it. A huge undertaking for the two of us to conquer in just two days. If I do say so myself, we sure make a talented team!
Some more grading around the house, and lots of discussion (and measurements) around our future site plans. We’ve now arrived at a point where we can start doing some work, not just on the house, but on the barn rehab and future patio, garage, and chicken coop. How EXCITING!
Festive Friday, August 25th, 2023
It was Dave’s birthday; I think I hurt his ears when I sang Happy Birthday to him the minute we awoke, might I add, on our trusty air mattress (no leaks, thank the good Lord)!
We finished everything on our To-Do List and a few extras. Following a quick lesson, I womanned (why is this not a word?!) the skid steer and raised Dave up in the bucket so he could trim some tree limbs to open up our view of the mountain and make a little more room for the future garage. Talk about trust!
We finished moving our salvaged material to the barn, loaded our truck and trailer for the ride home, and cleaned up the work site. I must say, our new magnetic sweeper has surely saved us from hundreds of flat tires!
After lunch, we went on a midday nature hike to the highest point of our property and shared a celebratory toast (actually a bottle) of our Ol’ Tenny Red! A FANTASTICAL ADVENTURE!
We came down the mountain and cleaned ourselves up with buckets of ice cold well water, AHHH, went into town for Dave’s birthday dinner at the Cowboy’s Steakhouse, then stopped for a Sonic Blast treat on our way back.
As usual, we ended the night on our front porch. Only this evening, we had the pleasure of watching a massive rainstorm roll in. It was the perfect end to the week and great sleeping weather also!
Next trip is planned for October, stay tuned! We appreciate our cheering section! LOVE YA’LL!!!!!!!! MUAHHHHHHH!
