Updates from Stronghold
I have been MIA for a while, I am sorry about that. We went on vacation to Dublin to see family, Scotland for a dear Navy friend’s wedding, and Switzerland for some quiet time. It was…restorative.
We really had not stopped for months. Between the house drama, moving, and the work we needed to do post-move. I. was. spent.
We have completed several big projects since I last wrote:
I have concluded buying this project house has changed our lives permanently. We don’t just go out to dinner, or with friends, or to brunch anymore like we used to. Yard work has replaced going out. I am cooking a lot more, and life just feels, well, simpler, and nice. When we work all day on a house project we can see our accomplishments, and it feels so good. We should buy stocks in Home Depot…We go so much we had to get a car!
We had some sad news today. Our neighbor, 101 year old Dave passed away on Sunday. A lot of you have seen his sign out front when you come over. May he rest in peace, and I hope we can provide some comfort to his wife and daughter by bringing them food this weekend.
What I love about Stronghold
Coming soon: 100 ft paradise and sustainable garden
You may remember we were approved for rain barrels. We had the District Dept. of the Environment out again to audit us for Riversmart homes grant. DC provides approved homeowners with $1,200 subsidy to work with contractors to install items in yards that help with water and environmental issues.
We were approved for shade trees, pavers, or a rain garden. We need to pick one, and only one. A new driveway would be nice but we are also thinking about building a garage– so wasted money there and a lot out of pocket. Rain gardens are nice but it would need to be on the West, this means ripping up our sidewalk.
Shade trees, option 3, and the one I am leaning towards. Considering we are still waiting for our rain barrels, I am not in a rush to make the decision. However, planning for this will possibly alter my plans for the yard.
In all my prepping for Spring, last weekend I went back to high school (Wilson, that is) to take some sessions on gardening. It was amazing and I would highly recommend RootedDC next year for sessions and seeds galore for free. My haul included beans (heavy givers to the soil), and since then I have taken what I learned and ordered grass seed, a soil test bag, and buckwheat (a good cover crop to prep the soil after remediation for harvest).
As my thumb grows greener, I will keep you updated on what I learn.
Step 1. Seems to be testing the soil. But before that I need to dig up all the left over construction debris so I can see nice soil. That will be my weekend.
Below is the drawing from Riversmart of our yard and ideas of where the trees might go.
What do you think, rain garden, shade trees or pavers? Can I turn this into something great!?
McMillan Development
One of the reasons we bought in Stronghold was the promise or hope that McMillan will be redeveloped with the community in mind. Friends of McMillan website linked on the right has lots more details. While no timing is set, it is a wonderful sight.
Thankful for hot water
Today we got our new water heater while I worked from home. I am so lucky that I can do that in a bind. While we still are without heat I am SO thankful for hot water. I really appreciate this little item so much more now. You should too.
Today’s excitement:
As I type from under a down comforter in long johns.
Well last Wednesday we were enjoying a little pizza for an early Valentine, and we had the oven on to keep the pie warm. All of a sudden we were overcome with the smell of gas. It got stronger and stronger so we Googled what to do if you smell gas. “Run” and call 911 was the basic answer. So we called Washington Gas.
Even though their website said much of the same, they had us open all the windows and wait 15 minutes. (I am sure they get a fair share of false alarms so I didn’t blame them). We were both clueless as to where the gas main line was to do anything about it. The smell subsided and after a few hours of monitoring we went to bed, only to wake up to the smell being super strong again. I called Washington Gas and they came out and tested for gas levels– we were ok but we were told that we cannot turn our boiler/furnace or our hot water heater on again. They red tagged them DANGEROUS, HAZARDOUS CONDITION.
We knew this was coming. It broke once before and contractors somehow got it back running. We were told at the time they needed to be replaced and when we do that we should offer them to the Smithsonian. I think the water heater may be from the 50s. We can take 1/2 a hot shower with it as-is. It frankly stinks.
So here I am wearing thermal underwear, ski socks, and under my comforter waiting to see when we might be able to have the new items ordered through our homeowner insurance. I am not 100% sure they have authorized the replacements yet. Today the heater guys came to tell us again it needs to go, and we now wait to hear more from HMS. The hot water contractor still needs to call me to schedule an appt. I am thinking we are going to have to turn on hot water in order to take showers this week. This is crazy and I am freezing. But it could always be worse.
One more little adventure for the books. We shall overcome.
UPDATE: CALLED WASH GAS FOR HELP TURNING ON WATER HEATER. TELL US NO WAY SHOULD WE TURN ON. HEADING TO HOTEL NOW FOR THE NIGHT. LOL.
Thankfully we have some calming lotion in the hotel, and room service is on the way! Life is good, craziness and all.
Caulking
We paid for the more expensive contractor thinking we would get more bang for our buck and higher quality. I guess when it comes to caulk, maybe I should have done more research on what they were using.
I don’t ever remember having this issues anywhere else I have lived, nor does my parents shower have this problem. Do any of you have issues with cracking caulk?
I felt bad calling our contractor so I bought some tub and tile caulk and tried to fix it. It made me depressed our nice new shower is somewhat falling apart already. I need to call the contractor because this is not acceptable, right?
