2nd October 2009

My windshield just got replaced a moment ago and it was $175 including install here, VS $225CA for just my deductable in Canada. The guy here said that Crystal Glass did a very good job, so for those of you in Canada, if you need your windshield replaced, go to Crystal Glass. Or, if you are in Oregon, try Precision Auto Glass. They even came out to replace it, I did not have to drive in and I got it replaced about 4 hours after I called them to get an appointment.

This afternoon or tomorrow morning, "B" and I are going to look at a 8 harness floor loom she found in an ad. She wants a second opinion and my pickup to haul it to her home if she gets it. I am going over to her house tonight to get some advise from her hubby who is a IT about what I did wrong on my html code...so hopefully soon I can get the blogs back up correctly.

Also one of the homes I put the last bid in on, has dropped in price again today and is only $5,000 more than my last offer on it, so I have my realtor talking to their realtor today. I am keeping my fingers crossed. I am still not keen about the flood zone, but I DO plan on buying a metal boat JUST IN CASE even though it has not flooded there in the last 70 years! I really like the area otherwise (and the price if I can get it for what I offered). And the neighbors are not too close. Maybe I will have a house before baby is born after all.

Photo Above: This is what the surrounding countryside looks like (in most directions) from the house I have put a bid in on and is talking with the realtor about again. I can wake up looking at that everyday if I decide to buy it. However, it is in a 100 year flood plain. But hey, it is Oregon!

If I get this house, I have to bust my bum in getting the roof repaired before the winter storms hit (thankfully my friend G who has done carpentry for years will come down to help me with the roof). That is the main concern with it. I also would like to get some farmer to mow the fence line in the pastures for me, since the grass is 6-7 ft tall which I have not seen in years. Ideally (and probably pushing my luck) is to get the garden area established by tilling it this fall and then be that much ahead in the spring. IF I get all that done, start on fencing on good weather days and indoor fixing on yucky gloomy days.

I always buy fixers, so this is the list if I get it... (over time)

The house itself:

1.   Replace the roof. May as well do the whole thing.
2.   New septic
3.   Rip the carpet out of the whole house and replace in the bedrooms
4.   Tear out the specialty room he had for a hobby/business and turn it back into a dining/livingroom
5.   Tear out the linoleum and see if it is hardwood underneath or have to put another floor covering over
6.   Update the bathroom since it is half torn down for remodeling. Replace the shower/bathtub/toilet
7.   Remove dry rot in the laundry room and finish wall.
8.   Install woodstove
9.   Paint the outside of the house (and I even have colors picked out already)
10. New fridge as it is lacking one. The stove/oven and dishwasher are new and there
11. Set up the basement area (the side with no concrete) for a rootcellar
12. Set up the nursery :o)
13. Replace the front door, reset the door to the deck
14. Replace 2 windows which were boarded up for the hobby
15. Replace two steps on the porch
16. Rebuild the deck
17. Window screens
18. Take the bars off the window where the 'office' was
19. Take out or replace a baseboard heater which looks sketchy
20. Fresh paint inside
(The list is mostly not as bad as it sounds)

The land:

1.  Fence the property and cross fence, gate the driveway
2.  Paint the barn/shop to possibly match the house
3.  Get a small flock of sheep for mowing purposes (as well as meat and wool -- already have buyers for meat)
4.  Landscape work, there are things such as branches ON the roof of the house
5.  Till a space for the garden. I still need about a 3,500 sf garden although I have a longer growing season
6.  Build a chicken pen to go with the chicken house which is already there (already have buyers for meat & eggs)
7.  Build a hog pen and housing (already have buyers for meat)
8.  Build a greenhouse unless the solar room will work.
9.  Build breeding pens for the chickens and turkeys

The 'homesteading' part

1.   Order chicks and poults. I am pretty sure what breeds I want
2.   Find a decent milk goat or small dairy cow (or both)
3.   Establish a "Seedy Saturday" in the area, as there isn't one
4.   Find the local farmer's markets (and there are several)
5.   Locate weaner pigs for the first couple years until I find a breeding pair of hogs
6.   Set up my office for DTTR to get it up and running properly again
7.   Order my scion grafting stock for my ancient varieties of heirloom apples and pears
8.   Get my grapes, strawberries, blueberries installed
9.   Set up my herb garden
10. Set up my dyer's garden
11. Set up wind generator or solar/wind hybrid (I think wind is more feasible for that site)