There has been more activity around the Heart House in the last week or so. We attended a local sweet corn festival, my sister Kitt and her partner Matt arrived for a visit, a new water heater was installed, and more of the house was scraped and painted. Details are next.
The nearby town of Lime Springs held a sweet corn festival that featured a parade and car show along with some vendor tents. Free sweet corn and watermelon (while supplies lasted) were incentives to come to the event.
We started off with the car show, and there were some very nice vehicles present. A walk down the avenue brought us to the heart of Lime Springs and we were able to snag some free watermelon. It was quite good.
The parade was typical for a small town, including only one marching band. Parade entries included floats from local vendors and service providers, some restored older tractors, and even a family float advertising their upcoming reunion. That was a new one for me.
After the parade we returned home and continued working on scraping and painting the east side of the house. The front porch walls were completed and prep work started around the east side bay window. Scraping the multiple layers of old paint is slow going, and many of the boards have to be re-calked and repaired, slowing the process. We move along as well as we can.
Here are a couple photos of the east side front porch and work underway below the bay window.
A few posts ago I mentioned we had to replace the failing hot water heater. O’Brien Plumbing and Heating, from Elma, showed up to do the work this last Thursday afternoon. The work took about 90 minutes and we now have our hot water back. Below are a few photos of the replacement process.
We are currently experiencing a deluge of rain after having been drier than average this summer. In comparison, I came across this graphic about extreme weather during 2020 on the internet.
Other than heavy rain and some wind which brought clumps of leaves and small branches down on the lawn we have not suffered any damage. The dogs, however, were unsettled by the thunder and lightning and were constantly seeking reassurance from us (mostly Pam) as the storms continued. The forecast for the upcoming week includes a high probability of more rain. This will cut into our outdoor work time but we can use the break to work on indoor projects.
The highlight of the recent days, ongoing as I write this, is a visit from my sister Kitt and her partner, Matt. Kitt and Matt had last been here in 2019 as we were moving and before I had retired. They had helped assemble my bed frame and moved a few boxes for us. Kitt and Matt had brought along a full Thanksgiving meal for us on their 2019 visit.
This time around Kitt and Matt were given a tour of the house and yard and a summary of all the changes that have occurred since 2019. We spent quite a bit of time in conversation and eating meals. The bad weather limited outside activities, such as sitting on the porch, but the time passed quickly just the same.
Fall is approaching and we hope to get back to scraping and painting more of the house. In addition, we have contacted Bob the Builder and arranged to rent some scaffolding from him for use over the Labor Day weekend. Pam intends to use the time to paint the ginger breading on the west side of the laundry room, experimenting with widths of the different colors she plans to use in all the the home’s peaks. Fall will be a busy time for us!
In a previous post I said I would be creating a new gallery consisting of photos taken on my recent trip to the Alpine Tunnel, located in western Colorado. I have created that gallery and uploaded it to my host server. If interested you can access the Alpine Tunnel gallery from my Galleries page or go directly to the Tunnel’s home page. On the Galleries page you will need to scroll down and find the section titled “ATV and Off-Road Trips” then click on the “Alpine Tunnel” thumbnail image.
That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!
Pam’s Penny
Mother Nature seems intent on deleting a 7″-8″ rainfall deficit in a single three-day stretch this weekend. The lawn is a giant wading pool at times. Yikes.
Happy Trails.
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