...this happened.
Meet Winnie. She showed up unexpectedly. She has a brother too - who is probably just named, That Other One. I gotta had it to Daisy. She has terrible timing. She snuck these new goats in without a peep. We had no idea.
Our two newest interns.
The day started with quacking and flapping... followed by Zander and Kai lopping along the flight path, all smiles, and amazed that runner ducks fly. I was surprised to as I watched one of our ducks fly about a mile away, bank to the right, and then land on the pond. At least it was OUR pond. Eventually she came up to the barnyard. Zander and Kai were sent to time out.
Then we went and looked at our kitchen floor. Remember the leak we fixed and how glad we were that it wasn't the roof? Yeah. We found out that it leaked under the floor...bad. The first day I thought I was imagining it when I felt the bump in the wood floor in the kitchen - so I pretended that it wasn't real. The next day I started to panic because I was pretty sure it was real.
Tuesday we started ripping things up.
First it was just to peep under the sink cabinet. We found a dead mouse and moisture. So we took off some trim around the wood floor. Underneath it was soaked. Soaked and horrible.
I got more tools.
The wood floor started to come up and each board revealed even more damage. By the end of the day we had taken up about a third of the kitchen floor. The shattered remains of my dream bamboo floor is now in the trash. The subfloor is ruined.
We need more tools. And more materials.
Of course, we immediately took action and got 2 HEPA air filters going and turned on the air conditioning to help get everything dried out.
And then the air conditioning stopped working. It was a hot hot day. It was almost 90* yesterday.
And then Daisy. After finally finding where the water damage ended in the floor we struggled to find positives. Fortunately we know how to fix the floor. We just need the materials and tools... cuz you know, all's I got is time and money to spend on stuff like this..... *dies just a little* So while I'm glad it wasnt roofing - something that I can't do - the flooring is expensive and a little tough to install.
But at least we don't have to call someone to come in and do it.
The single best thing about this house is.... was... the kitchen floor. When we got here we immediately ripped up the tile and I worked for days to lay the bamboo hardwood. It was beautiful and perfect for us. It's "soft" to stand on (unlike tile) and is practically indestructible. This is important because of the sheer amount of damage our Dog Horde can inflict on any surface.... and because Itty Bitty has to Tokyo Drift around every corner. Every time.
Nicholas helped by sitting in the middle of everything we had to move from under the sink.
I have to hand it to the flooring - despite all the damage to the subfloor the bamboo itself did not cup or twist... this is the flooring if you are interested. I would highly recommend it. I wish we had it for the entire house.
Anyway.
After ripping up the floor all day I skulked outside to do evening chores. I literally dropped the chick waterer when I saw new goat butts out there.
New goats.
Standing there.
Daisy looking confused and less pregnant. I thought she was due next week.
Of course I immediately turned and ran inside. My husband came out to help me get the goat situation sorted out.
If surprise goats weren't bad enough.... yesterday morning I had to go out there and milk a kicky doe..... after working on the floor I could barely even lift my arms. It was a trial for both of us but Daisy did great.
We had a few more failures as well. Including that my laptop is acting funny and the final blow.... my stove top espresso maker only made half a pot of coffee. I finally gave up and had cookies for breakfast. I stopped taking this whole thing personally a while ago.
Two major house repairs ... surprise goats...and a non-flying duck winging her way towards freedom.... it's just another day for us.
Fortunately I know someone who will let me borrow a floor nailer, I found a box of the bamboo flooring downstairs so we don't have to buy as much as I originally thought, we'll find someone to come out and fix the air conditioning, and this weekend we will become self-taught experts in repairing subfloor. Heck, the only thing left is for me to break the mower again... at this point that sounds like some kind of challenge.
Happy Thursday everyone? I dunno, man... I think I need more cookies....
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7 comments:
Wow, what an eventful day! The two new interns are beautiful. I just love goat surprises......not really. It always happens when you really do NOT have the time to devote to them. *sigh* But on a serious note...before you put that sub flooring in...get yourself some AG Lime, sprinkle it liberally under there, then lay the new sub flooring. The lime will help dry it out the rest of the way, and keep any "odors" down.
Good luck... have fun....and remember this.....whiskey helps! ;)
Oh, hell. You don't need cookies. You need whiskey.
THANKS, HDA.... that is great advice. And we have some - thank heavens.
Ha! Erica you couldnt believe the sad sounds I made when I stood in front of the booze cabinet and discovered there wasnt any gin.... *sigh* But onward and upward!
Oh no, but oh yes, you can handle this. Take your time, make certain it is dry first. Floors, pah, you' ve got Nicholas you lucky thing. And goats! And dogs. But mostly I envy you Nicholas. Floors are overrated .., no?
Nicholas DOES make everything better! Yay! thanks for the reminder, OneVGirl!
:-)
Life's always full of fun surprises! I like that flooring too! We had to do laminate in parts of the house, couldn't afford the real stuff. Someday. It seems repairs are a sad part of life. Stuff just happens. At least you can fix a lot of it yourself!
Thanks Nancy! And yep.... it's always something. We are extremely glad it is something we can do ourselves. We know some other folks who had bad repairs and had to make a claim on their insurance. :-/ So onward and upward!
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