Saturday, June 7, 2014

Moved in

It has been a long tiring week. I think I will die here as I don't intend to ever move again. I am not as young as I think I am and my body can't do what my brain envisions any longer.

The house had been sitting vacant for about 6 months. We have been pulling lots of weeds. There is no landscaping - just gravel. We will win that battle eventually.

This manufactured home was built in 2004, so the carpets and linoleum (which probably weren't top of the line to begin with) are a little tough in spots, but we can live with it for a while. The cabinets are "Knotty Alder" and in decent shape. The house was not abused, but at one point there must have been a dog in the house. I think they used to lock it in the guest bath as the bottom edge of the door is scarred.

There used to be a stick built house here, built in 1962. Talking to the neighbors that have been here 45 years, the guy used to build metal boats in the shop/garage which are still here. The house eventually became a rental, drug dive and was torn down.

I've been working in my shop the last few days. Every bench was covered in steel. Before I knew about the boat building, I figured it was a weld shop. I've torn down almost everything, cut a doorway between the garage and shop so I can roll the bike through, and am building a barn door out of a couple old interior doors I found in the shop attic.

Lynn has set up a sewing room/office that she seems tickled with. I found an old library table at a junk shop and cut the legs down for her. She has a nice big work surface for all of her fabric. I'm not really a quilt guy, but she sure enjoys making them.

To get the VA loan for the place, I had to replace the stove. One igniter on the gas stove didn't work and that almost killed the deal on the last day. So, before I got possession of the house, I put a stove in it. The previous owner had come down $5,000 on the price and agreed to pay the extra costs associated with selling VA, but had said he would do no repairs. That included the swamp cooler. We were told it worked. The squirrel cage was frozen and the motor burnt out as soon as I plugged it in. I don't like swamp coolers anyway, so I tossed in in the scrap heap that went to the dump. Of course we will have a week of 90 degrees temps now. Guess I'll be shopping for an air conditioner.

90 here seems hotter or more oppressive than 110 in Apache Junction. Could be humidity or elevation or a combination of the two.

Fallon is a nice little town, similar to Ellensburg, friendly people. The valley is green near the river, the desert isn't far away. The economy seems to be recovering here. There is a new Dairy Farmers of America dry milk product plant in town, Big 5 sporting goods is opening a store, and there is talk of a new cineplex.

We've tried most of the restaurants in town, nothing special, but there are a few we like. There is a Super Walmart, Safeway, Ace Hardware and my favorite, the Big R farm and ranch store. 30 miles away in Fernley is a Lowe's, but I haven't had to go there yet. We've made a couple trips to Reno just to explore. The bike hasn't been out much. The Washington plates have expired and I have to get a Nevada insurance agent before I can register it here.

I guess I've rambled enough. Guess I didn't feel like going out and being productive today.