Update 12/15/2020: It was brought to our attention that the previous link to the basics on playing hammerschlagen was no longer available, so I found a new one. It isn’t quite as entertaining as the last, but it does the job.

It’s been a few interesting weeks around here! Progress is a bit slower on the house right now as we were waiting on permits and getting subcontractors out to do the next stages. In the meantime, we’ve been keeping busy with little projects here and there. Our new neighbor, who we love, gave us the best worst advice – “Download the Offer Up app on your phones,” she said, “You’ll find all kinds of cool things!” Oh yes. Yes, we have.

It started with a chain saw. Unfortunately, Pat didn’t get that one but he did find out that Lowe’s does price-matching, even if it’s Amazon. So, he got a great deal on a chain saw. He went straight to work on one of the big logs from the yard to cut down for an anvil stand. He cut off a few rounds that we foresee playing hammerschlagen on.

Now… “What is hammerschlagen,” you ask.

Well, we were introduced to the game by our friends who recently opened Buzz Bomb Brewing in Springfield, IL. As a side note, if you live in or visit Springfield, pay them a visit at their recently opened tap room downtown. Good beer and good people! Anyway, back to hammerschlagen. It’s a fun game that requires using a ball peen hammer with one hand (I think the one hand is because you’re really expected to have a drink in the other!) and tapping a nail into a stump with a low range of motion. Here’s a good youtube video of some folks having a good time playing (or, it was, but that video went dark, so here’s a new, basic hammerschlagen tutorial):

So Pat managed to get the stump just right and now has it buried about 1 foot deep in his shop for future use. Then we found a used wheeled string trimmer on Offer Up but it turns out it wasn’t the greatest deal. It needs some parts replaced so will cost us only slightly less than a new one. And lastly, Pat got a deal on a couple large propane tanks that will keep him cranking in the forge for many hours to come. I almost bought a stainless steel farmhouse/apron sink on Offer Up. It was a good price and still in the box! I hadn’t asked to have one installed with the kitchen remodel because I thought they were too expensive. Well, after a few rounds of not being sure the person selling it was home when I was going to pick it up, I looked online. I found the same sink but a little bigger for only $35 more than the guy was asking. Guess what arrived this week?!?!

Who gets this excited over sinks??? This chic does, obviously.

I’ve been spending time on cleaning up some raw alpaca fleeces while the weather is good for drying them outside and doing a lot of bird watching. The Pierce County Conservation District paid us a visit, at our request, to look at the back acreage and help us figure out what’s growing back there. I admit the visit wasn’t all I hoped it would be, but it was still helpful. We have a few invasive species that we need to deal with so that the native grasses, bushes, and trees don’t get strangled out. It’s going to be a bit daunting to tackle and we’re waiting to hear back if one of the weeds growing is Tansy or not. If it is… say a prayer for us because it’s EVERYWHERE.

As for the house itself, slow and steady is the key. We hit our first surprise large enough to require a “change order”. There was a spot on the floor that busted through a bit when stepped on. When the workers went into the crawl space to shore it up and replace it, a sill plate on the front of the house basically crumbled into nothing. Yikes!!! It looks like at some point in the past, the front yard was getting standing water (the draining ditch out front is said to not be very old but has helped the issue) and it rotted the plate out. So, we are going to have to repair the damage and pull the wall back in to support the floor since it’s kind of “hanging out” by itself with no connection to the outer wall. It has to be done, so no point in lamenting over it. I’m glad it was found and will be solid from here on out.

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It’s getting a bit more exciting now though! The kitchen wall has been reframed, the new Cadet wall heaters are here, and so is the new electrical panel! With the new wall framing complete, I can visualize the new bathroom (and tub!!) set up and I’m already dreaming of showering in a regular sized, normal pressure shower again. Lastly, the plans for the foundation repair were submitted to the County last week and should be approved this coming week, or so we hope, and then the subcontractor can put us on the calendar. There are only a handful of things we can complete while waiting on the foundation, so we hope the wait won’t be too long.

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And if anyone out of the area happened to see on the news about the Horizon Air plane that was stolen off the tarmac at SeaTac, well, we were not in any danger from that but we DID experience the fighters out of Portland breaking the sound barrier as they flew by. And let me tell you. It wasn’t the first time I’d heard that sound, but it sounds creepier when you live in a mountain valley. The way it rumbled all around us, well, I won’t lie and say we didn’t at least momentarily consider the volcano! It certainly had the whole area on alert while everyone tried to figure out what the hell happened, but it was pretty obvious right away that it involved a plane flying too low in an area it did not belong.

That’s really all for now. I hope to have more interesting interior updates on the house to post soon! Although, I would like to welcome some comments below about this door. This is the backdoor currently on the house. We’d originally planned on replacing it but I’ve fallen quite in love with it. What would you do with this? Would you keep it or replace it with a new insulated door? If you kept it, what would you do to refurbish it? It definitely needs the old skeleton key doorknob replaced for security, which I kind of hate because it’s so freaking cool! But feel free to comment with your ideas on restoring this beauty if you have any!