Day of Discoveries

I am not sure if it is the pain my body is in or the fact that today was the first day we spent at the house with daughter Sophie but not much seemed to get done today. We did a lot of cleaning and a little more demo in the basement but by far the most exciting parts of the day were finding out some new things about our house.

Unfortunately, many of our discoveries were not necessarily good. We found several new leaks in the house and feel that we need a plumber a bit more urgently. While at the house, we had some torrential rains. This revealed some seriously clogged gutters, as rain seemed to be flying from everywhere except our downspouts.

On a positive note, we found that the last owner had screens made for the front porch windows. This was one of the top items on our list of things to do and it is nice to know that the work is cut down somewhat. We also found a bottle of wine.

Now, don’t get the wrong idea, I don’t think that the previous owners were leaving us a gift or anything. We found the wine while trying to figure out a better way to organize the pantry. The fridge, a somewhat oversized monstrosity, was situated in the pantry facing the kitchen, taking up all usable space in that room. It looked like there was enough room to turn it, giving access to additional shelving beyond the fridge. I began pulling the behemoth forward and hear an incredible crash. I quickly grabbed the ladder to climb up and see what had happened. I saw, on the backside of the fridge, a pile of magazines, tools, old papers, wood chips, candy, a tin of popcorn from the holidays, many other miscellaneous items and the bottle of wine. I persisted and moved the fridge into place. It was tight but it opened and you could now use the entire pantry.

Unfortunately, when the fridge was previously moved, in 1996 judging from the archeological remnants of magnets, birth announcements, restaurant coupons and other items affixed to the side of the fridge that had been turned toward the wall, the water line to the ice maker became dislodged and has been leaking for several years. The floor boards beneath the fridge all need to be replaced and there is a significant amount of rot in this area. This will have to wait for the kitchen remodel that won’t take place for some time.I wasn’t smart enough to grab the camera until after I finished cleaning the bulk of the mess. But the photos might give you a little idea of what it was like. The mess behind the fridge filled a large “contractor size” garbage bag. I hope that we don’t have to pay extra with this week’s pick up.