The homestead is making slow progress. No matter how much work we do, everything takes so much longer than expected. Sometimes it feels like life itself gets in the way. The bathroom sprint quickly fizzled as family from out-of-state came in mid-July and then in August. The visits were wonderful of course, but as August moved on there was a nagging sense of needing to attend to homestead-projects-in-waiting. Intermingled were thoughts of another Wisconsin winter… (850kb PDF).
The bathroom is in pretty much the same condition it was a few weeks ago. Poor Greg, with his leaky toilet. However, there is a silver lining in this tale of a home repair quagmire. I did hit the jackpot. Probably not the usual “jackpot” many people would think of, but an eco-ally jackpot for sure. I was able to participate in Free-Cycling rural style. Most people think of free-cycling as an Internet thing, but in a rural area where 50% or fewer of the people have computers, the easiest way to free-cycle is to place an unwanted item at the curb side with a free sign. It works well, and I stumbled across a beauty for the in-process bathroom.
I was running errands in town on a wickedly hot day. As is usual when I drive anywhere of great distance, I carefully planned my route to increase efficiency and to decrease carbon emissions. On my way back to my parents’ house, I drove down the main drag. The street was full of parked cars and there was actually a bit of traffic. As I drove by an old Victorian home with a for rent sign in the yard, I couldn’t believe my eyes. There it was, just sitting there with a big “free” sign on it. An antique claw-foot tub in pristine condition! I just about drove up onto the lawn in my excitement to claim the thing, but I wasn’t willing to smash through the parked cars with my cute, little VW beetle.
Not to be deterred, I drove immediately to my parents’ house to find someone to help me move it. Much to my dismay, the only person home was my very pregnant sister. She wasn’t going to be up to the task. With nothing else to be done at this point I decided to go back to my place to drop off my things. As I was taking in my bags, a couple of teenage boys came walking by. I jumped at the opportunity to ask them if they might help me move the tub. It was only about one block away. So close, and yet so far! We made a gallant effort, but that tub wasn’t going anywhere. Those old tubs can weight between 250-400 pounds (113.4-181.4 Kg) and the odd shape doesn’t help either. So we left it at the edge of the yard and I took the “free” sign off it. I hoped no one else wanted this whale of a prize. After standing by it for few minutes I finally went home and anxiously awaited the arrival of some muscle.
Much to my relief, my father and brother-in-law showed up. I rounded them up immediately and helped to hook up the trailer. We were off to grab the tub if it was still there. It was and we loaded the heavy thing up. I chuckled at myself for being so ridiculous-most people don’t share my opinion of “treasure.” I am so excited the antique tub! :) What are the odds?
A brief side note on the dog - the black one in the tub who had been sprayed by the skunk. We were able to decrease the skunk smell on the dog with some vinegar and baking soda (we didn’t have hydrogen peroxide and wouldn’t have used it as it is really caustic). If anyone has a way to decrease skunk breath let me know. That lingered much longer....
