Cleanup, lagging sales, failed installation

Saturday was a cleanup day at the farm. It is always amazing to me how much we are willing to put up with as things accumulate in different areas of the house. The sunroom is one of those areas of accumulation. It is a transition area between the outdoors and the house. Right now, it serves as the transition area for the dogs – both large and small. Added to that, we had moved some shelves and other items around to give Norman access to the fireplace to install a set of gas logs for us. Saturday, I had had enough of the mess and began to fill trash bags with gallon jugs, discarded footwear – some of those had been gnawed upon by past litters of pups. There were containers that we had taken plants from to be repotted, broken toys, old towels and blankets now in service to the dogs, and at least ten pairs of boots. Rubber boots, leather boots, large boots and small boots. When I was done, Victoria and Mama got in and swept up the spilled potting soil, the leaves and hay, and the general dirt that the adults, children and the dogs had tracked in. For right now, the room looks pretty good. Now I need to spend a week in other areas of the home and farm.

For all the advertising, all the phone calls, we sold only one puppy this weekend. Mama got several calls on Friday and three people expressed interest in the pups, but in the end, only one showed up to buy a puppy. I did not meet the buyer. He was getting to the farm at the same time I was leaving for bus calling, but both Mama and Victoria said he was delightful. The other buyers did not show up. So, we still have six puppies to sell…and we still have two adult goats and two kid goats to sell. I am a little frustrated that Mama and I have never been able to sell things with the same level of success that others seem to have, but it has been a lifelong lack for both of us. Admittedly, I am less concerned about selling the goats than I am about selling the dogs. I can accommodate keeping the goats. I will not keep the puppies.

About three months ago, Norman started installing a set of gas logs in the fireplace. It has sat for quite a while waiting on a part or a fitting. Mama and I were never sure. With the recent cold snaps, there was a renewed interest in getting the installation completed. Mama called Norman to see what was lacking and he came over Saturday to make the final connections, only to find that he did not have the parts needed to make that connection. When I understood where he was in the process, I took over the installation I ran to the hardware store to get the fittings but did not have time to put them on the line because Mama and I had a date to eat out with the seniors from the church. [We went to the Chinese restaurant. The church wanted to support Yilin and Cheyenne’s family.] After eating with our group, Mama and I went to the office to do some more research. We did not get home until after 8:30 pm.

When I did get home, I hooked everything up but was not able to get a flow of gas to the fireplace. When Norman and I pulled the old line up out of the place where it had been tucked into the sunroom floor, we suspected that the line might have some debris in it, but we could not easily determine if our suspicions were correct. Hooking up the line was the best way to find out. Oh, well. Mama and I were looking forward to having a fire in the fireplace. We are closer than we were a few months ago, but still not there. Now, I will have to disconnect the logs from the lines in the fireplace and blow back through towards the supply side of the lines. I do not bend as well as I used to, so it will be a challenge for me to get that done. That was the reason we had Norman do the installation in the first place.

I may have time tonight, before our coaching session. We’ll see.