Wednesday, May 31, 2017

Update From the Farm, Homestead, Ranchette...

Good morning!!!
I haven't blogged in almost two months, which seems like an eternity.  I have missed writing and sharing our little adventures with everyone.  We have been super busy (like all families during the month of May).  BUT, the last 48 hours have felt like a complete downward spiral, then upward spiral, then down, then up...let me explain. :) In the middle of the night Sunday/Monday, we woke up to a horrible storm.  It started around 12:41am and lasted until 5:30am.  I have NEVER seen lightning like this storm was displaying.  It basically felt like someone had a strobe light going for 5 hours.  Lightning in the country seems so different than in town.  I realize it is the same lightning, but when you don't have city lights, building, neighborhoods, etc.  the sky seems wide open.  It is cool and creepy all at the same time. I don't remember the exact time on the clock, but we had all three kids in our bed while my husband and I walked around gathering flashlights (the power had already gone out), checking the radar on our phones, and reassuring our middle child that things were fine.  Oh, and muzzling Ginger because she completely looses it during storms (insert sigh and eye roll).  While my husband was upstairs and I was downstairs we both saw a huge flash of red, orange, and yellow followed by a horrible crack/pop/boom type sound, then a burnt electrical smell.  It pretty much startled the living daylights out of all of us.  The search for a fire began and thankfully we did not find anything.  We were without power for a few more hours as the storm continued.  Everyone ended up falling asleep, the kids in our bed and us on the couch. The next morning (Memorial Day), we began to inspect the damage.  The following items were completely fried from the lightning strike: Both TV's
DVD player
Direct TV DVR Box
Modem/Internet
Cell phone chargers
Garbage disposal
Washing machine
A/C relay switch (no A/C, but thankfully the technician was able to fix it quickly the next day)
Radio
I am pretty sure I am missing something, but you get the idea. We are so thankful the house did not catch on fire and no one was injured.  This list is annoying, but it is just stuff. We have an electrician coming out tomorrow to look over the entire house and make sure we don't have any electrical shorts.  A huge bonus is the new modem is so much better and our Internet is actually fast.  That is why I sat down to blog this morning, the hamster no longer has to spin the wheel to make the Internet run! We are also in the middle of  renovating our kitchen and laundry/mud room, so you can imagine how the inside of my house looks.  Yesterday, while we had a revolving door of repair people and technicians coming and going, I sanded, primed, and painted 22 drawers and 10 cabinet doors.  We have 59 drawers/cabinet doors when you add up the kitchen and laundry room.  It's amazing how productive one can be when there isn't a TV - LOL!  New counter tops and backsplash will be installed in a couple of weeks.  After that we will start to tackle the floors, add new lighting, and shiplap the large wall behind the kitchen table.  I hoping we are finished by 2025!

Just keep sanding, just keep sanding, just keep sanding...

The kitchen was originally all oak.  I will have to post some before and after pictures at some point.  This is our buffet that looks into the living room.  The counter tops have already been removed and the doors and drawers have been painted.  We will also add hardware to everything.  I will have to stand on my head to sand and paint that bottom piece!

In other news, the chicks are huge and look like miniature chickens.  We have 5 baby barn swallows in a nest over our backdoor.  They are adorable, but the momma barn swallow will give you a serious fly by if you get to close.  The kids watch them safely by standing on the toilet and looking out the window in our downstairs bathroom.  :)
Baby Barn Swallows!!!  There are actually 5 babies stuffed into that nest!  

We have started working on the pond.  It was in such bad shape.  Eventually we hope to have a small dock, picnic table, and hammock out there.  Plus we would love to hang some white lights in the trees.  You know this would go a lot faster if I didn't have to teach and Charlie didn't have to work...hahahaha!  It's a good thing we like projects! Elizabeth :)