Gloomy Fall Days

 Its been cool and dreary here lately, usual for fall. Toady its been raining all day and will probably rain all week. There are 3 weeks till Thanksgiving and it will probably rain till then.

Lan put a new started into the Metro yesterday and it seems to be running now, I will start driving to work in that so we can save the tranny in the Escape for winter.

Today we went to the Orting house 

and delivered a washer and dryer that I picked up for free. Don said he needed to fix the plumbing for them & I said no, just leave them as they are & he actually did.

My big brother Jeff buried a Time Capsule out here 45+ years ago, I remember doing it. He put stuff in it like the front page of the news paper, a dollar or some coins, a few other things.

Earlier this week Mom & Heather dug for it and today we did again but didn't find it.

We did find LOTS of rusty nails, a few odds & ends and this piggy.  The pig is now going to live here on our farm forever more.

We've decided to tentatively put it on the market in Mid January, after the holidays. That gives me more time to get the wording on the sales add better and to make sure we have ALL the photos we might need.

Here is what I have for the add so far but this is just parts & pieces, I need it to be perfectly worded to attract as many buyers as possible.

MOVE IN READY! Nestled on an easy to maintain city lot with mature trees and a beautiful view of Mt. Rainier, this home is clean and well cared for. With a simple 2 bed 1 bath floor plan to enjoy, it is perfect for the first time home buyer or to scale down and minimize.

The cozy living room leads to a spacious kitchen with fridge and a gas range, then into the utility room with Washer and Dryer (dryer can be electric or gas!)

In addition to the 918+ SF downstairs, there is an additional 700sf+/- bonus room upstairs.

The great town of Orting has all the necessary amenities within walking distance including groceries, restaurants, schools, city parks, skate park and fishing in either of the 2 rivers. The Rails-To-Trails Foothills Trail is literally steps out the front door.

There is ample room in the detached garage with a shop behind it, the fully fenced back yard boasts a nice covered deck with BBQ spot, and has enough room for a sizable garden with NICE valley dirt. The yard has mature trees and flower beds.

Home updates include fresh interior paint, vinyl windows, newer roof, bathroom was just refinished…

Sellers offer a $2,000 kickback for flooring so you can choose your own colors of carpet.

It is the responsibility of buyers to verify all info regarding this property. 

We've taken a lot of photos and the house looks really good right now. 

This is the house I grew up in and holds SO MANY memories for me. I had asked Mom to please sell me the house once before & she refused so I'm just going to help her sell it and be OK with it.  The following photo isn't one I took but I'm going to use it in the add anyway

Those trees growing in the middle of the mountain view are in our yard!  Mom has mentioned they should be cut down but we can let the new buyers do it. Heck, the new buyers might be a lawyer who tears down the entire house and puts in a nice office building.

45 Days

There are only 45 days left till my Golden Birthday and on that day we will be getting to the airport somehow, going thru security, waiting for who knows how long & then flying into Las Vegas.

There, we will pick up a car we've rented on Turo, make a stop at Walmart and/or Costco then driving to wherever and staying the night. 

Next day it will be Thursday morning, so we'll drive into Pioche and get our room at the Overland Hotel, then head over to our house. Its going to be cold and no warmer inside the house so Walmart will be selling us a heater. Also food, drinks, maybe a blanket to keep us warm inside the house. 

We plan on taking a few drives out to the desert to enjoy it in winter. I've been wanting to make it out to Atlanta but after doing a tiny bit of research I'm finding out its locked up tight & no one can get into the buildings.  I like exploring those.

While in Pioche we will visit Jon, eat at any restaurant thats open, view the town Christmas tree and just freeze our butts off.

Another Trip

We will be flying into Las Vegas on my golden birthday

We rented this jeep

We'll drive to Pioche

(red is our house)

We'll stay here for a few days  

While we visit our house and maybe do a teensy bit of work on it. 

We NEED to experience a few days in Pioche during the winter, 

since we've had some summer days already.

I'd like to finalize plans on the layout too but who knows. Here are some of the plans I've found online:

So anyway, I was born in '62 and I'll be 62 in 62 days.

 

 

 

It was good to go see and work on the Pioche house September 16-27, 2024.

Lan did 99% of the work again.

Here is the front yard toward Toms house

within a half hour the fence was cut to make room to drive through.

We're going to put a 12 foot gate there eventually.

This wall/floor was rotten and theres NO 2x4s in this exterior wall.

Lan ended up tearing out a 10x10 section of floor, replaced all the rotten boards and put in new sub floor.

He used anchor screws to pull the exterior wall in to the new floor boards.

It looks like an easy job but it took him 3 days and 2 trips to St. George, Utah for boards and supplies.

This was 2-3 inches of space between foundation and wall.

Seet that metal fireplace chimney? 

Its gone now.

And THIS is the reason the kitchen and utility room floors are completely rotted out, 

the dryer vent was going directly under them.

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We took a few side trips for a little fun.

On our way home we took a side road 20 miles off the highway to look for petrified wood and agates, maybe might have found a couple pieces but I liked being out in the middle of nowhere with silence; no highways, no cars, no other people. 

 

All The Possibilities

I've been thinking about the kitchen & bathroom we will end up with in our Pioche house. 

I want something light and airy

After looking at hundreds of small kitchens online, I saw this one with high windows and since our walls are 9 feet high, I want high windows.

I also love subway tile

I don't want open shelves, that's just asking for dust to get on clean dishes

and things to look unsightly.

The kitchen needs a white sink but it doesn't have to be a farmhouse sink and it needs to sit above the countertop, not beneath it.

It must have a dishwasher and a smaller one is perfectly fine.

BIG TALL windows above the sink.

Light colored countertop.

White cupboards.

I'd like the oven built into the wall.

I do not want the cook top to be in any island we might have.

Gas stove is highly preferred.

I'd love to have the fridge, dish washer and stove to look like the rest of the cupboards.

And the bathroom

While I've LOVE a tub like this, it's not practical, we need a shower.

We also need a washer and dryer in the house and I'm thinking a stacked set beside the shower would be just fine.

I like this idea of a fold up table too but not if there will be guests in the house.

I like how this shower folds in on itself, making lots of room when its not in use. One thing I HATE is not having enough elbow room while I'm doing laundry.

Lan wants a shower that's bigger than 3x3 and I insist on a door, not a shower curtain.

The shower below looks kinda trailer trashy but this is the kind of stacked combo I want. 

I'm also perfectly fine with a small storage area for towels, TP and soaps. 

IF, and I seriously mean IF, we do Airbnb with it, I don't want anything extra in the house that guests can ruin. The shower MUST be easy to get into to clean. The shower will not have inset cubbies like upper photo, that's a gross mess.

And I'd also like a built in ironing board cubby

Even just a small board in case I need to ever look nice.

Ambleside Update

I went over to Prosser to visit Amble and had a lesson with Will.

He worked Amble first, shes very reactive and nowhere near ready to hook up to a cart.

I knew it would be a slow process and I'm OK with it, shes young and I'm betting in a year she will be more mature and ready for this job.

I have 3 leather harnesses but am going to get her a Biothane one.

They're much easier to care for, you can literally wash it while you're washing off the horse.

Will let the harness traces hang down while he worked her so that she can learn about stuff hitting her legs and to feel the movement of it on her sides and legs.

I'm excited to bring her home and actually have something I can work her with. I don't have to have a harness on her, I can just long rein her and I can do it all winter since we have a covered arena. 

Put it to use finally.