Homeowner 101

Saturday quickly turned into an advanced course of Homeowner 101.

I learned how to cut down a 30 foot tree, rip out a vanity, and shut off the main water valve to my house.

I learned that sometimes when you turn an old water valve back on that it can break, which means you might then need to find the manhole outside and shut off your water from the street.

I learned that sometimes a job that you expect to take a few hours might actually take a few days.  I learned how to solder.  (And that soldering is different than welding.)  I learned to say things like, "I need a three quarter inch ball valve with a quarter turn and copper sweat," and "you have to use the emery cloth and flux before connecting the pipes, heating them with a blow torch, and applying the solder to seal the connection."  Not only did I learn how to say these things, I actually understood what they meant.  I learned that there is a difference between propane and MAPP gas and that MAPP stands for "methylacetylene-propadiene propane."  (Phew, I also learned that even though I'm a teacher, some words are really big and I'm happy for abbreviations.)

I learned that, yes, a mortgage is cheaper than rent, but being a homeowner has a whole other world of expenses.

The biggest lesson, or more so reminder, that Saturday gave me, though, is that I have the most amazing people in my life that any person could ask for.  Without these people, I could not have learned any of these lessons or stayed sane enough to make it through on my own.  I realize that there is no way that I could ever fully repay the people who have been so willing to help me out, but I hope that they understand that I am forever grateful.

Despite whatever headaches our day of projects may have brought, I know that it was a day I will remember for some time.  So here is to the story we will still be telling in ten years that goes something like, "Remember when you first got your house and we were shining flashlights in the manhole at midnight and praying that the blow torch didn't catch your drywall on fire?"  Thanks for the memories :)

Sometimes life comes along and knocks down your tree

Just as the title states, sometimes life just comes along and knocks down half of your tree.  It's been a relatively dry summer with very few storms, so the jury is still out on why this branch decided to fall off.  I suppose this just confirms my decision to cut the whole tree down.  I just realized that it is a crab apple tree and it's apparent that a great deal of it is dying.  The branches on the backside look like they could be mayhem for my fence if they start falling.