An Answer For Fr. Peter... (or)... The Story of the House Next Door

Soon after moving into Barefoot Manor, we noticed that the house next to us seemed to be empty. It was a little strange, because I remember noticing folks peeking at us out the windows when we came to tour our house before buying. We asked around the neighborhood, and heard that the folks living there had just disappeared between one day and the next, and the general feeling was that they had lost the house and just walked away from it. Within a couple of months, there was a for sale sign and that familiar paper we had seen on so many foreclosed homes taped to the front door.

I talked to Mom and Dad about the possibility of them purchasing it, since I couldn't at that time. We went over to look, and it was really kind of sad. The house was an old two story "farmhouse" style place. It had probably been built around 100 yrs ago, and it looked it. The former owners (and I mean the former owners for the last 50 years or so, not just the ones who left most recently) had not really taken care of the place. The foundation was crumbling, there were holes in the walls at every corner, the roof was falling apart. The chimney was falling apart, the back porch looked ready to fall right off the hosue, and you could see where rodents had been going in and out of the attic. Mr. Barefoot got to talk to the guys hired to clean out all the junk left inside the house, and they told him that it didn't have electricity upstairs and that the house had obviously been hard-used. The house had been adorable and charming once upon a time, but we quickly realized that it was beyond our resources to fix this one up.

So the house sat empty for another year.

The city finally bought it, and I got all excited thinking that they would possibly just knock the house down and make a small park on the lot. They have done that on a couple other lots here in town where there had been empty houses falling down, and I thought it would be wonderful to have that empty lot with some picnic benches and some pretty grass.

Then the city gave it to the Historical Society. So I started hoping that it would be restored, or at least dismantled and the bits salvaged.

That was not to be. They eventually condemned the house and donated the site to Habitat for Humanity.

The local fire dept used the house for drills for months. They practiced rescues and how to put out fires in different locations. It was noisy, but kind of fun to watch. Finally, this past Saturday, they burned it to the ground. I wasn't there to see it, but Mr. Barefoot sat outside most of the day watching the show. He said they set it on fire several times, and then practiced putting it out. I am sure it was a wonderful opportunity for the local firemen to practice, and it has inspired Little Sprout to be a fireman when she grows up. It seems the whole neighborhood showed up to watch, and Mr. Barefoot was kept very busy keeping them out of my flower beds. Rude people! Now the plan is for Habitat to build two homes on the same lot (ask me how I feel about THAT grrrrr...), and for local families to move in.

I know that several folks approached both the city and Habitat about salvaging some of the historic wood trim and other things from the home before they burned it, but I don't know what the result of that was.

So that is the story of the house next door. Right now I can look out my kitchen window and see the pile of (still smoking) rubble left behind. Soon crews will start cleaning up the mess, and building the new homes. I don't look forward to the noise while I am trying to sleep, or the people looking over my fence at me while I garden. Hopefully nice families will move in, and there won't be too many windows overlooking my yard.

Who says I am not an optimist?

Now, Fr. Peter, I am curious... what do they do with condemned homes over in your area? Or is allowing a home to get that run-down just not an option? I know that Americans do not have the same sense of national history that most other countries have, and that (especially in Europe) there are many MANY more historic buildings in wonderful condition than here. It seems, from what I have seen on the TV and in magazines, that many of the very old buildings I have seen are built with stone or brick. Does that make a difference? I know that in the U.S. (at least in MN), stone or brick is hard to come by and most homes are timber frame. We tend to let old homes fall apart and then replace them (atrocious behavior, but true). I am curious how things work in other parts of the world, so would you be willing to share? Thanks!

I just might survive this...

Well, folks, I took some of your advice about the cold thing. Some of it made me laugh (I am looking at YOU, Fr. Peter!), and some of it I had forgotten (how could I forget to put the garlic in the soup! *headsmack*). I have been through 3 boxes of tissues, and finally resorted to TP. I have consumed approximately a gallon of orange juice. I have slept upright in Mr. Barefoot's chair for two nights running. Today, I feel almost.....ALMOST like it would be worth it to survive this sinus pressure.

Right now my focus is on finding some way to moisturize the air here at Barefoot Manor. We have two vaporizers, but either my bedroom is too big and drafty or they have just started to go kaput after 3-4 years use. They just aren't putting out the steam they used to, and I really can't even tell the difference if they are on or not.

I would like to just boil pot after pot of water on the stove, but I am afraid my gas bill will be outrageous if I try that.

If we had old fashioned radiators, I would put pots of water on them to help...no such luck. :(

So now I am stuck trying to figure out what to do. Humidifiers are expensive and noisy (besides being a pain in the butt to keep full and clean). Getting a new vaporizer or two would be cheap, and I like the warm mist more than the cold. That wouldn't necessarily help in the main part of the house, though. They just aren't powerful enough to handle big rooms. I have heard of folks who hang dry their clothes inside to help with the humidity, but my laundry area is in the basement, and I have a hard time believing that the moisture would affect the air on the main level of the house. Besides which, I really don't have the space to line dry everything inside the house. Barefoot Manor is a small place, despite it's grand name.

I have resorted to taking several long hot showers a day just to breathe the steam. I am probably the cleanest person in creation right now! I am flat out of ideas folks...really. And my nose and throat are loudly demanding a solution.

Any ideas?

What Do You Do?

Seriously.

What do you do when your Sprout defiinitely still needs a nap but refuses to stop crying when you lay them down? Little Sprout is at the age where she is convinced that she doesn't need a nap anymore, and will do anything to get out of taking one.

She still needs one, and even when she doesn't need one anymore I will need one, so what the heck am I supposed to do? I have it on very good authority that duct taping her to her bed is against the rules, so what are my other options?

Any ideas?

In other words:

HELP!!!!!!!!!!

What I Did And A Question

I spent my day off thrifting. I picked up some holiday decorations, but mostly just enjoyed being able to run around without the Sprouts.

When I got home, I used up the last of our zucchini (you wouldn't believe how long those suckers can stay fresh just sitting on the counter) making a Zucchini Stuffing Casserole. It's a FABULOUS recipe I got from my friend Sunny when we were moving. Unfortunately, the first batch didn't turn out real well. Mr. Barefoot wanted me to put more stuffing in the casserole, but I forgot to increase the liquid portion of the recipe so things got a little dry. I made 3 batches (2 for freezing), and attempted to make adjustments with the next two, but I guess I won't know how well it turned out until I get a chance to cook them up and eat them.

Now for the question I have for all of you lovely Readers.

I have been looking at my great big pile of holiday decorations and thinking that if I wait until the day after Thanksgiving to start decorating the house it will take me until Christmas Eve to finish. Then I will have to spend all of January taking it all down again.

How early is it okay to put up your holiday decorations? Seriously. If I start now, I will probably be done by Thanksgiving. That would give us a whole month of enjoying it before I had to start taking it all down.

Whaddaya think? Would it be really bad to start now?

Scratching My Head

K, when we moved to Burr Oak Inn (Ha! Mr. Barefoot can't decide what I call our place here!), we were pretty excited to see that there was already a shed in the backyard for storage. I had big plans for putting some windows and a decent door on it and turning it into my own personal potting shed/garden storage area, since Mr. Barefoot has laid claim to the garage as his "man~cave".

Problem.

The idiot shed is located in the only sunny part of the yard.

Crud. I need to get it out of there so that I can start my veggie beds.

My first thought was that we could just tear it down and rebuild it somewhere else. The former owners never got the roof finished on it, so it needs a little work anyway, and I figured that would be the easiest way.

Now we are talking about just moving it, but it isn't on skids or anything, just sitting on the ground.

Anyone out there know how to move a shed? We are talking pretty big here, like 10x15 feet maybe. I don't have the first clue as to how to move this thing.

Hey, I wonder if it was actually supposed to be a fish house or something? That big with no floor? But how did they move it?

Anyway, I digress.....the point of the story is:

HELP!!!!!!!!!!!

OH! MY! GOSH!

Remember, I didn't wanna jinx anything....

BUT....

We put an offer in on a place that we both love, and they ACCEPTED IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So now I am putting out a request to all of you to please do whatever you do (pray, send good thoughts, light a candle) in hopes that nothing goes haywire between now and closing (at the end of this month, holy crap).

I am terrified, yet so excited.

A HOUSE!

I Have a Question

Really, I would like an answer to this one if it isn't too much trouble.

How, exactly, would becoming more self-sufficient and reducing your impact on the environment change your lifestyle?

See, I have been thinking about this a lot just lately, and I am trying to figure out exactly what is so hard about the whole thing that we don't do it. I just can't seem to figure out what the big deal is. And I am as much at fault as anyone else, so don't go thinking I am getting all "holier than thou" on anyone.

What I am beginning to realise is that we have all been brainwashed into thinking we need all sorts of things that we don't really need. I know some of you that read this are older than my 30 years. I grew up in a large farmhouse with lots of room for our family of four, but I remember my Grandparent's little rambler that also housed a family of four and was only about half the size. Then there were my Grandparent's on the other side of the family, and they had a family of six in a house even smaller than that! The farther back you go in US history, the smaller the houses and the bigger the families. Heck, Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote of when her family of five lived in a two room house. Two rooms, not two bedrooms. Not all that long ago it was totally normal for children to share a bedroom. I have seen reruns of The Brady Bunch, and if it's on TV you know it's true. Hehe

Seriously, though, what is really necessary for (good quality) life?

I am not saying that I would particularly like to live with 3 or 4 generations all under one roof and everyone sharing a room. I do like my privacy, after all. But I could, if need be.

Then there is the whole Electricity thing.
What does 'lectric provide for us that we really need? Microwave? No, it's really REALLY nice, but I don't really need it. Light? Well, what are candles, oil lamps, and (duh) the sun for? TV? Refrigerator? K, well that one is tough since iceboxes have been out of style long enough that it could be hard to find an alternative. Still, folks lived for years without them, so I figure I can learn to as well.

So we move on to heat/cooling.
Well, here in the frozen north, I can't say that I could do without some form of heat in the winter. I don't really care how buff you are, when the windchill is -30 deg F, you need something to keep you warm. However, do we really need to set our thermostats quite so high? In the summer do we need to run A/C all day every day? Probably not, seeing as folks have lived without it for many, many moons. Still, this is one area where I get a little iffy. When I was in CA last year visiting FIL and his wife, it really sucked to wake up to a freezing room in the middle of the night and have to get up and restart the fire to take the frost off my nose. I wonder if I could handle something like that on an every day basis.

What about running water?
Quite simply, there are too many ways to rig this up for me to really worry about it too much. Heck, my honorary Uncle didn't have running water when he first moved up to his place (outhouse and everything, folks), and though it was a bit of a hassle to fill the reservoir every day he seemed to get by just fine.

Obviously, this is just a quick overview. Still, I would like your thoughts on it. What would really have to change in your life if you just gave it all up?