Saturday, January 18, 2014

Blue Box is Home

   Last weekend we finally got to spend a couple of days working on our rental property. I have been cleaning the kitchen and Steve and Stevie were working outside on demolishing the greenhouse. The greenhouse was full of junk and did not look nice. Hannah kept running back and forth between inside and outside. We made good progress and made a list of items we need to buy to make minor repairs.
   Steve also continued to research online how to install a wood stove. We had someone come in on Monday to give us an estimate on wood stove installation. He was very unprofessional and really did not know much about the process. He said that they would get back to us on Thursday or Friday with an estimate but we have not heard back from him. It does not matter whether they get back to us or not as we have decided that Steve will install it himself. And he got started this week.







   Right now we are just waiting for a dry day to make the hole in the roof to install the chimney. We hope to be able to complete the installation on Monday.
   We were also waiting for a day when the ground is dry to bring the Big Blue Box home. We needed the grass area next to the drive way to be dry and firm so that we could turn around with the trailer. It snowed on Friday and the temperature never got above freezing on Saturday. That meant that the ground stayed firm enough and we went to the storage place to get the trailer. 

Trailer hooked up and ready for the final trip

We made it

The Blue Box is almost empty

Little helpers

   The trailer is now empty and all of hour belongings are in the house. We will clean the trailer up and paint the floor of the trailer and then put it up for sale. 


Sunday, January 12, 2014

Field Trip to Fire Station Number 9

   On Thursday, January 9th, we had a fun field trip. Kelly arranged a tour of fire station number 9 in Johnson City. The firefighters were happy to show us their station, truck and other equipment. We started out with a tour of the station, saw where the firefighters rest at night, heard the alarm that wakes them for a call, etc.
   After the tour of the station, we got to the exciting part - the fire truck. The two firefighters took time to show us all of the equipment as we worked our way around the truck. The kids had an opportunity to touch everything, climb on and inside the truck.







   After learning about all the equipment in the truck, one of the firefighters put on his gear so that the children could see what they wear when they go into a fire. They explained to the kids how they crawl to stay low to the ground and explained that if ever they are looking for them in a fire, that the kids need to come to them, not hide. It was really good for the kids to see the firefighter in full gear first hand as it could be a scary sight for a little one.


   At the end of the visit, all of the kids got a chance to climb into the back seat of the fire truck. 



   The fire station is located right next to Winged Deer Park. Most of us had time to go play and the kids had energy to burn. The temperatures were around 40 degrees but it was partly sunny and very nice outside. It was a perfect day.

Betsy Goes to the Doctor

   When Steve went to start our truck (which we lovingly call Betsy) on Tuesday, Betsy would not start. A friend mentioned she had a good auto mechanic but when we called him, he was really busy and it would be a whole week before he could get to it. He recommended another mechanic and we had the truck towed there on Wednesday, January 8.

   We bought the fuel pump and took it to the mechanic. He finished the work the next day and charged a very reasonable amount. The towing service was also very reasonably priced. Betsy is back home and runs well.

The Big Freeze

   The early January brought us more winter fun. A large mass of very cold arctic air was moving south and our temperatures dipped well below freezing. The cold front made it to our area during the evening hours on Sunday, January 5th. It was still about 50 degrees at midnight and raining. By the time we woke up, it was about 12 degrees and on Monday night, the thermometer dipped all the way down to 2 degrees Fahrenheit. Tuesday was even a little colder with a low of -1 degree.  Wind chill was about -20 degrees during the night. We got about an inch of snow again and tried to enjoy it. But it was just too cold to spend much time outside. Despite the freeze, it just looked beautiful.






   Since we were staying home during the couple of cold days, we decided we would do some work on the rental house. Steve drove the truck up the hill in the morning and turned the heat on. That way we could comfortably work inside. When we went to the house a few hours later, we had to walk because the driveway froze over and the truck was sliding. When we got to the house, we found out that the lock was stuck. We only have a key to the dead bolt but not the regular lock. We tried every key we have, but no luck. It was very cold to stay outside for much longer and we returned back to our house to regroup. We will have to figure out how to break into the house without doing too much damage.



   Inside, Steve and the kids were chopping wood and kept the fireplace going. We are very thankful that we got the fireplace converted to burn wood. It was keeping the living room a little warmer. Our regular heat was just blowing cool air and - with the fireplace going - was able to get the house to 65 degrees. It was definitely livable, but not nice cozy. We have decided to get a wood stove to get some real heat in the house. 


   We were also using our emergency space heater (that Steve and the kids put together) to add some heat to the room. It gets remarkably warm.

   Since this is our first winter here, we were not sure how well the heating system works - especially since temperatures around zero are not very common here. We decided to move the kids into our bedroom for the night. That way we could run the space heater if necessary. It also seems that the vents in our master bathroom and bedroom are closest to the air handler and have the warmest air. The kids were very excited about the change. With the bedroom doors closed, the room stayed nicely warm and we were comfortable. 


Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Winter Fun

   We were excited to start the new year with some good winter fun. On January 3rd, we got about an inch of snow. It was enough for a little bit of fun outside.













At the end of the day we enjoyed nice warm fire

Fire!

   We have been thinking about back  up heating system for a little while. The house only has a gas fireplace and the gas company is not available to come here until January 9th to connect it. Steve was talking with our neighbor Jim and he said that our chimney looks just like his - and his fireplace can be converted from gas to wood. We investigated the fireplace model and sure enough, it is designed for both gas and wood. Steve did not waste any time, pulled all the gas related parts out and as of December 29th we have fire.




   Since we now have a wood fireplace, we need wood. We have some fallen trees on our property and our neighbor is also letting us have any downed trees on his property. Few days ago Steve and David cleared a four-wheeler trail that starts on our neighbor's property and goes to the top of our property across the street. On December 31 we went out to cut some wood and Stevie and I went to check out the new trail (Hannah has already seen it as she helped Dad when he was clearing it). 

Steve cutting a tree near the trail

Hannah is learning about ferns

Little hikers

Hannah's backpack is full of toys

Steve catching up to us after he cut the wood

At the top of our ridge

Hannah loves trees

Nature girls

Stevie helped load the wood in a wheel barrel

Going back to the house - in front of our neighbor's barn

Our homestead with Holston Mountain in the background

Stevie set up every single piece of wood for Dad to split

Splitting wood