Some of the process

We are moving forward on some of the repairs and set up of our home. It's never as fast or as smooth as one would hope, but we are moving along.


We have the veranda almost all ready. I figure I need a place to host people, as one never knows when a neighbor will come by for tea. The kids play area is at the end and we have red carpet and our little dining room table on the other side, near the kitchen.

This is the man who laid it using his Swiss army knife. And has earned the right to rest on it!

The kitchen is a work in progress! We have removed the massive heater that was taking up a large amount of our kitchen space.

the beast

Austin giving it his all to remove "the beast"

In the end it took a disc grinder to cut the thing out and four grown men to carry it out. Two of those men repaired the mud walling, where it had previously gotten wet. It was a quick and very messy process that now has me cooking out in the entry way. I'll keep cooking in the entry way until the plumbing is finished, possibly another week or week and a half away. Though notice I did find another work table down in our cellar. After some good scrubbing and then staple gunning (sorry Dan, probably not the exact terminology) cute plastic table cloths to the top, I really love my counters.

The very disheartening part though, is that the night they patched up the wall with a mix of cement and mud, Austin and I laid awake listening to a large mouse chew through our newly repaired walls. He had been sealed in and didn't like it. I HATE mice/rats. They are disgusting. So now our mission is to get the mouse. Last night's trap attempt failed, so we'll try again tonight.

We are making slow headway on the bathroom too. Austin, also my plumber, has removed the rusted through tub and gas water heater. I've used comet (or our equivalent) and a scrub brush on the floor and it's starting to feel a little cleaner. The sewer smell that backs up through the pipes is one thing we are eager to get ride of. Until we get those sealed off, Austin has wrapped them with plastic bags, and last night was the first night we slept without being awoken by the awful stink. Though one night I did sleep with Viks under my nose and that helped.

So there is our progress. Slow and steady but at least it's starting to feel a little "homeier," minus the mouse of course!