The Water's Rising

It's very early in this process. So it's not too surprising that the "to do" list right now seems impossibly long - and getting longer every day.

Take the lack of a furnace as a case in point. We contact an HVAC contractor to prepare an estimate on a new furnace and duct work. He wants us to have an energy audit done so he knows what size furnace we will need. The energy audit reveals that the attic needs insulated (not a huge surprise). The insulation contractor says he can insulate the attic, but won't do it until we evict the bats and clean up their mess. Every pest control place I've called says they don't handle bats. I've called two county extension offices and got the same reaction at both - "Hmmm. That's something we've not dealt with before. We'll have to look into it an get back with you." And that's where we are right now.

We're also facing the reality of the weather. The roofing contractor informed us that temperatures are already cold enough that he will not be able to resurface the standing seam roof until spring. Any hope at getting the exterior painting done before spring has also been all-but-given-up. Highs are in the 40s the rest of this week, with wet snow in the forecast for the weekend.

But all is not woe. The bat issue will be an adventure, I'm sure, but it has promise of being an educational and interesting one. I've been perusing websites and it seems that the best time to bat-proof a house is in the dead of winter when most bats are hibernating in caves. In addition to sealing all openings to the attic, several websites recommend installing bat houses on the property as further encouragement to the returning bats to stay out of the house. Call me crazy, but there's a part of me that thinks this could be kind of fun!

And although Charles and I have been stymied this past week with full time jobs and two kids with nasty coughs, my parents have been busy at the house. My dad was brought over his loader tractor earlier in the week. He pulled down the outhouse and cleaned up several brush piles behind the house. (About gave me a heart attack that day when I pulled in the drive and saw smoke rising above the house! But it was just the burn pile he had started in the back yard.) And yesterday my mom donned coat and gloves to attack the weeds and junk next to the shed. Our mason starts work tomorrow, shoring up a shifting threshold and replacing the lintel over the walk-out basement stairs. And Charles's parents have offered to watch the kids on Saturday, which should help Charles and I get a productive start to the weekend.

So the water's rising for sure, but I don't think we're in over our heads yet. (Hopefully I've be of the same opinion a week from now!)